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1/21st FIELD ARTILLERY - SABER NEWSLETTER ARTICLES

The 1st BN 21st ARTY held our first reunion in Fayetteville, N.C.  Eighteen members gathered together at the Fort Bragg NCO club for dinner. I have not really communicated with  anyone since I left Vietnam back in 1969. It was really neat to be back with the First Team. Even though I did not know anyone there before our dinner, afterwards I felt like I have known all of them for years, being  part of the First Team.  It was great to get back together !!!!!!!!

Attendees included:  Don DAVIS, A Btry Commander, Ron FORREST, FO (Forward Observer), Woodrow JOHNSON, B-Btry, Ollie LANGFORD, B-Btry Commander, and  Doug MARSH, HQ.  Randy MITCHELL and Carl MONTEAN from B-Btry also attended. 1st Sgt (A-Btry) Austin MORRISON attended and provided everyone with the current duty roster. It was well received with no complaints about extra duty.

We had representation from our LNO's (Laison Officer) by Joe PRICE and John WAGNER. Joe SCARBOROUGH, C-Btry provided insight on the "Bong-Son Swimming Team" in which Ollie LANGFORD and Joe SCARBOROUGH were the primary leach collectors in the Battalion.

The 1/21st reunion was kicked off  by Col. Ernest TERRELL with an invocation and personal reflections of his memories of the time in the Battalion.  Col. Ernest TERREL advised the group that we have a responsibility to meet again and continue our association.  Also attending were Richard SUNDT, Jerry WHITESIDE and Dave TENLEY. Richard SUNDT appointed as the representative to plan the next reunion at Fort Hood. Ron FOREST and Don DAVIS will assist him in the planning
and notification of members. John KRIER will continue as Treasurer and Doug MARSH will assist in publications and communication. Robert HOLMAN will assist with the roster of members  and work closely with Doug MARSH on
member communications.

Awards were presented at the meeting. Col. TERRELL, Robert HOLLMAN, Ollie LANGFORD and  John KRIER received name plaques in appreciation for helping with the 1st BN / 21st ARTY reunion and  "Vietnam Veterans appreciation certificates" from the state of Georgia,  VETERANS LEADERSHIP PROGRAM,  were awarded to: Col. TERRELL, Robert HOLLMAN, Ollie LANGFORD and John KRIER.  Joe GALLOWAY and Hal MOORE also will receive certificates.  ( Joe SCARBOROUGH made and donated the plaques. "Thanks Joe!" )

Many of the wives attended and it was a real reunion for them. There was a lot of swapping stories concerning car pools and grandchildren and of course providing information concerning sons and daughters.

We met later on at the motel to discuss plans for organizing our group, developing our own web pages and getting more historical information on the 1st BN 21st ARTY.  We plan to put pictures of our reunion into our website for all to view.

Doug MARSH volunteered to help get web pages set up and to look into historical information and we agreed to make the group more informal at the current time. Our goal is to reach every member and provide a means to communicate and
join in with our next reunion.

Our thanks to the many people who helped at the 1/21st reunion and the Division Reunion.  THANKS !!!!

Doug Marsh   (dougmarsh@worldnet.att.net)  - writer and former "Radio Operator"

I received the following letter from Gandy RAY at USARPAC DCSOPS in November. I enjoyed it so much I asked him if we could share it with you. I hope you enjoy it also.

"Just got through reading my "Saber" and the article you wrote ref. the 1/21st reunion.  Congratulations on volunteering to start collecting us all together again.

I've also not had much contact with the unit since 'Nam but do have contact with a number of my Delta Company, 5/7th Cav Infantry buddies.

I graduated from Artillery OCS on 4 Mar '68 and joined Delta Company as their F.O. in early April.  I was assigned to Charlie Battery, 1/21st from Apr 68 to Oct 68 but spent all that time in the bush with Delta Company as the F.O.  My Artillery RTO was a young kid (I was 22, he was 19ish) named Willie Taylor from Georgia.  Great RTO.  He got to the field about a week
before I did and we also came out about a week apart.  We would see the battery when the infantry company came back to the fire base for short stand down periods.

In late Sep early Oct. I left Delta Company and went back to Charlie Battery where I was Fire Direction Officer running the Fire Direction Center till Apr 69 when I rotated home.  The two main movers in the FDC with me were Specialist John Dill and Spec. Krable (s.p.?).  In November, 68 I was sent south as advance party for the Arty. Bn. to set up the Artillery air
advisory in III Corps when the 1st Cav deployed from I Corps to III Corps that month.  We spent Thanksgiving in a brand new fire base 45 miles north west of Saigon on the Cambodian border.

I did a second tour in '70 after Airborne and Ranger school as an advisor with the Vietnamese.  The 1st Cav Division HQ was in my Province, Binh Doung, NW of Saigon.  It made life as an advisor much easier to be able to walk into the nearest American base camp (the 1st Cav's) wearing that horse blanket on my right shoulder.

Hope this helps with your data/history collection.

My personal email is <Ranarunner@hawaii.rr.com  mailto:Ranarunner@hawaii.rr.com>  should you wish
to answer me back.  "Garry Owen!"

Ray Gandy
"Scarlet Guidon Seven Zero"  Apr-Oct 68
"Scarlet Guidon 63"  Oct 68- Apr 69"
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Thank you Gandy for your letter. I would like to wish you all a Happy New
Year and don't forget to sign up for the reunion in Texas.

Doug Marsh

"The building of the 1/21st Artillery NCO/EM Club in 1965-66"

The Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO's) and enlisted men (EM) were more than a little disgruntled that they didn't have any place to gather, swap stories, and "wet their whistle."  So the battalion commander decided to have an NCO/EM Club built next to the bamboo enclosure that contained the beer/soda storage and  conex container.  This decision was a great morale
booster.  The officers already had a small club between the S-3 tent and the Mess Hall, in which they could socialize and have a drink.

The survey team laid out and built the subflooring for the building.  It was left up to the custodian to have the rest of the club built.  We were artillery so we had plenty of ammo boxes that we could use for the building.

What we didn't have, we could buy in An Khe.  There was a store in town that had material donated by our government.  That material was sold to us because we could not get it through our supply channels.  If we were willing to pay for it, it could be had.

The supply system had sodas available for the troops.  In a yard on the base, thousands of cases of beer and soda were left in the sun, because the supply system was not set up to handle selling to the units.  I remember Coca Cola left in the sun for three months and then issued to the units.  To this day, I rarely drink Coke.  This same situation was true for the beer.  Some companies who sent beer to the military in Vietnam, did not send their best beer.  That was a mistake.  The companies failed to realize that soldiers would continue to drink beer when they got back to the States, and their beer may not be their choice
as they would drink what they had become accustomed to.

The supply system was so slow, that much of the time the units were out of soda/beer or both.  So, a good NCO would find ways to take care of the troops.

Two deuce and a halfs were used to drive to Qui Nhon for beer and soda. There were many trips made to the Quartermaster yard to get the beverages.  In the yard were two huge piles of loose cans of beer and soda- not in cases.  A bargain would be struck that if we bought the cans in the pile instead of getting cases, we would pay for seven cases for every ten loaded.  The beer cans were supposed to be separated from the soda, but everything went into the trucks, no separating.  A lot of
cans can be put into a truck, especially if cardbo ard is used to shore up the sides, front and back.  Sodas cost less than beer, but since everything was mixed when thrown in the truck, we paid for sodas and got beer for the same price  Many extra cans were "acquired" when trips like these were made, at least once every two weeks for two months.

Sometimes there wasn't any beer and soda available within 50 miles. Then arrangements would be made to use two UH-1s (Slicks) helicopters to get beer in Ben Hoa.  A Slick could carry 40 cases of beer.  Ben Hoa had beer stacked on the docks, but no way to deliver it to the troops.

Beer and soda are a great morale booster for the troops while in a stand-down status.  Liquor (booze) was acquired through the supply system.  I cannot remember when we were ever out of booze.

After acquiring additional beer and soda, free beer and soda were offered to anyone who could spend an hour or two using a hammer to build the club. This offer worked out fine except there was one soldier in the Survey section that could drink a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon in a little over an hour.  Needless to say, he was discouraged from building the club.

The club was built from  ammo boxes, plywood and screen wire.  The roof was made of tin sheets.  The club was very large.  One third was used for the NCOs and the other two thirds of the building for the enlisted men.  There were two front doors.  A juke box, on the inside, separated the two doors.   Plywood sheets were used to separate the bars.  A back stairway led into the bamboo enclosure containing the beer, soda and the conex container where the liquor and money were kept.

As the club was being constructed, slot machines were ordered for the troops enjoyment.  The machines paid 90% for the troops and 10% for the house.  We had an NCO that could set the machines and also maintain them..  Tables and chairs were made out of ammo boxes.

However, we had a small problem.  The Vietcong could shoot someone because of the straight line distance from the green line (perimeter around the base) to the club.  It was decided to construct a berm to prevent this from happening.  Fifty soldiers would work on the berm until it was constructed.  The custodian of the NCO/EM Club didn't want to see the troops do the work, so he arranged to go to the Engineers and request the D6 bulldozer that was used in the garbage dump at division.
The NCO in charge of the bulldozer drank Creme De Menthe and the bulldozer operator drank soda.  So it was arranged for them to have these libations as payment for their work.

After the arrangements had been made, the bulldozer came down the road and turned into Headquarters Battery and continued up the road to the berm site.  In four hours the berm was completed  where it would have taken soldiers with shovels two weeks.  I didn't have the heart to tell the Commanding Officer that an 82 MM mortar shell on a tin roof would kill and wound a whole bunch of troops.  He was a combat soldier from the Korean War and knew that already.  Fortunately though, we did not get any incoming mortar fire in our area while I was there.

Many arrangements, for the benefit of the troops, were made by using liquor, beer and soda,  including getting the bulldozer again for some other work that was needed in the Battalion area. The arrangements did not cost the club any money because of the beer and soda acquired at Qui Nhon at the above mentioned bargain price.

Never underestimate the power of liquor, beer and soda to get a job done.

"Combat" Club Manager
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This May 28 will be Memorial Day.
When you read this article please say a prayer for them, we miss them all so very much.

From the Prayer book  "A Soldier Prays in Vietnam"

Prayer for the Other Fellow
Stay with us, God, for each of us has need of You. We are all together in this now and need you more than ever. We want you to be a part of our outfit, God.  You know each of us for real - our good points, our faults, our ups and our downs, help us live, work, play and pray better together, as real mature men should. God, I pray for all the other guys whom You know need special graces from You right now: for those whom I have a hard time getting along with or those whom I always seem to rub
the wrong way. Help me see these men as You do and let me not judge any man for what I don't like about him. Guide and direct all our shared thoughts, words, efforts and actions so that through our contacts with one another we may become better men by this time we are in service here together. Above all, let no man be less a good man because of me. Yes Bless us, O God. Thanks for staying in our outfit, dear God.

Author Unknown

Doug Marsh (Vietnam 68-69)
Scarlet Guidon 10 Mike
dougmarsh@worldnet.att.net

The 1st BN 21st ARTY held their second reunion at Killeen, Texas, during the 1st Calvary Division Association's 54th reunion.  Eleven members, and several wives,  attended the reunion. We signed up four new members.  This brings us to a total of 57 paid up members.  It was not hard recognizing each other because most of us were wearing the black baseball cap with the red 1-21st FA and the gold crossed cannons underneath the red lettering.  Members that did not have hats bought one from JOHN KRIER who just happened to have hats available.  The price of the hats is ten dollars.  We also sold some of the handsome pocket crests to wear on our jackets at the banquet.

It was great seeing old friends again.  We heard that another one of our comrades had passed away.  It is sad when you have the time to spend with old friends and don't because something else interferes with your plans.

We talked with some of the 1st Cav people about setting up our own recognized organization, including bylaws and a tax free identification number.  They are going to help us get the recognition we need, including a web site with their organization so that Internet users can identify our unit and contact us for membership.

Those attending included:  GENE BERNHARDT, RON FOREST, LARRY GUTHERIE, JOHN KRIER, DOUG MARSH, JOE PRICE, JOHN RIKE, JOE SCARBOROUGH, ERNEST TERRELL, ARLYN WOOD, RAY WILLIAMS.

 New members attending were:  WALTER HOFFMAN, HUGH (TIM) MILLAR, SCOTT RODKE and the present Battalion Commander of the 1/21st Artillery,  LTC CARLTON REID.

The members voted on officers for the coming year.   COL TERRELL will remain our President.  JOE SCARBOROUGH was nominated as Vice President  and JOHN KRIER remains Secretary-Treasurer.  DOUG MARSH will continue as Historian.

DOUG MARSH has done a lot of work getting our website together and helping with our newsletter by encouraging members to write stories.  We need articles to put in the "SABER" to represent our organization.  We are requesting that each member send a short "blurp" about yourself as to what your job title was and what you did in that job title when you were with the 1/21st.  ( to Doug Marsh at  "dlmarsh @ qwest.net")

Last year we put a picture in our newsletter and on the website.  This year we plan to do the same thing, hoping to increase our membership.  Everyone is urged to contact their friends and acquaintances who were in the 1/21st and encourage them to join our organization and attend our reunions.

An idea would be to charge 20 dollars for membership which would include 10 dollars for membership and 10 dollars for the black baseball cap mentioned above.  The pocket crests can still be obtained for 15 dollars.

Doug's personal notes:

On the way home from Killeen to Omaha, after the reunion, my wife noticed a big smile on my face. She asked me what I was thinking about and I must admit "I had a outstanding time at the reunion this year".

The hotel and meeting rooms were great, got to meet old friends I hadn't seen in 32 years and the hospitality of the active military towards us was outstanding.  On post at Fort Hood, I was able to visit the museum, the horse cavalry detachment and troopers of the "First Cav".

The museum had all sorts of things to look at from every war. I understand that they have much more but display room is limited. I saw a flight uniform of a helicopter pilot LT. BROWN I thought I might have known. It turned out that this was another LT. BROWN.  I visited with the museum director and he indicated that I had some pictures from Vietnam taken in 1969 that he was interested in getting copies of that I will be sending to him.

The horse cavalry detachment is much bigger than I imagined. I think I was told they had about 32 to 38 horses. They make their own horseshoes and each person that works in the detachment makes their own special shoe before they leave.

I still am in awe at the demonstration they performed for all of us at the parade grounds. The Horse cavalry detachment, the soldiers in War Era uniforms, the tanks and then -  that Cobra gunship flew over the parade field...Wow !!!!

While at the museum I visited with the men and women and toured the military vehicles. I was amazed at the amount of complexity of all the electronic equipment in our active Army.

My personal thanks to troopers at Fort Hood and everyone for all the hard work that made this reunion a success. Thanks much.

Next year, the reunion will be held at Colorado Springs, Colorado.  We will let you know when and where as we get the information.  If you plan to attend our third reunion and make your reservations early, you can stay at the hotel where most of the meetings are held.  If you plan on going, it is best to arrange for tickets to events ahead of time as most of the events were sold out and it was difficult to obtain tickets at the last minute.