JUMPING MUSTANG BUGLE

Volume 26 Issue Number 3

First, I would like to commend Earl Waters for a great

reunion. From listening to the entertainers talk, you can

tell he is very much loved. Which means he gives a lot

of respect and love in return.

We got home after midnight, totally exhausted. We

didn’t even unpack the car, just jumped into bed and

passed out.

The next morning, I got my cigarettes and a cup of

coffee and went into my garden. While I was away,

Karen Thompson had weeded my whole garden. It

looked beautiful. Looking closer, I realized that two

plants in the corner were missing. Upon closer

inspection, I saw that a crawling vine had not only

twisted around them but had pulled them to the ground

and covered them over.

We all have gardens of some sort in our lives. May it

be a husband, children, grandchildren, or an

organization. As a woman or I should say as women,

we try our best to keep our gardens happy and growing.

No, I wasn’t drafted, and No, I did not enlist. I never

went to boot camp or Vietnam. But I know that to the

best of my ability I keep my gardens protected. I hate

poisoning, so I will crawl around and rip the weeds out.

Sometimes even the best families get weeds. Please

rip them out as they are killing our garden. The bottom

line is that we need each other, we’re not whole

without the group. The weeds have to go before they

strangle all of us.

The last issue of the Bugle contained a page from the

September 14, 1965 issue of the 1st Brigade Bugle

published on board the USNS Geiger. It also raised a

question regarding the identity of the Chaplain at that

time.

Ted Danielsen sent an inquiry to Bill Lord, Chaplain

of 1/12 Cav when the Division sailed. He responded

as follows:

“We had Chaplain (Major) Wendell Wright (Baptist)

as 1st Brigade Chaplain, the Chaplain (Cpt) Ralph

Spears (Lutheran) within the 1/8th, Chaplain (Cpt)

Michael Rogers (Catholic) serving everyone, but

attached to the 2/8th and I was attached to 1/12th and

did Protestant stuff for 2/8th. The 2/19th, when in the

field were “covered” by Chaplain Wright at Brigade

and the batteries by whomever they were supporting.

Who wrote the Chaplains Corner? Can’t say

...probably each of us in turn.”

Thanks to Ted and Bill Lord for their efforts in

answering the question.

published on board the USNS Geiger. It also raised a

question regarding the identity of the Chaplain at that

time.

Ted Danielsen sent an inquiry to Bill Lord, Chaplain

of 1/12 Cav when the Division sailed. He responded

as follows:

“We had Chaplain (Major) Wendell Wright (Baptist)

as 1st Brigade Chaplain, the Chaplain (Cpt) Ralph

Spears (Lutheran) within the 1/8th, Chaplain (Cpt)

Michael Rogers (Catholic) serving everyone, but

attached to the 2/8th and I was attached to 1/12th and

did Protestant stuff for 2/8th. The 2/19th, when in the

field were “covered” by Chaplain Wright at Brigade

and the batteries by whomever they were supporting.

Who wrote the Chaplains Corner? Can’t say

...probably each of us in turn.”

Thanks to Ted and Bill Lord for their efforts in

answering the question.

Spears (Lutheran) within the 1/8th, Chaplain (Cpt)

Michael Rogers (Catholic) serving everyone, but

attached to the 2/8th and I was attached to 1/12th and

did Protestant stuff for 2/8th. The 2/19th, when in the

field were “covered” by Chaplain Wright at Brigade

and the batteries by whomever they were supporting.

Who wrote the Chaplains Corner? Can’t say

...probably each of us in turn.”

Thanks to Ted and Bill Lord for their efforts in

answering the question.

Please welcome the following new members: James

M. Wyman, C Co, 65-66, 449 “D” Cork Harbour

Circle, Redwood City, CA 94065; Michael & Maxine

Lidbetter, E-A-HHC, 1670 Oak Hill Rd., Many, LA

71449; and Roger and Debbie Shaputis, A Co, 65-66,

460 Hume St., Brownsville, OR 97327.

Pappy will be going into Surgery on 5 September for

lung cancer. Please keep him in your prayers. He will

be in Womack Army Hospital. The extent of the cancer

will not be known until the surgery is performed.

He is in good spirits.....he is tough and has been

through a lot these past eight years.

The major criticism of President Bush is that “he mismanaged

the war”. This statement has been made by

Democrats, Republicans, Generals, and aspiring candidates

for public office. Please tell us how you would

manage the war. Then tell us one war that was perfectly

managed.

When did the President become the “War Manager”?

This is your opportunity to demonstrate your exceptional

expertise on war “Management”.

Personally, I thank President Bush for his courage, and

unwavering stand in fighting the war on terrorist. More

important, Thank you Sir for your Christian values.

Thank those brave men and women that put their lives

on the line every day for our freedom. Could these

Warriors be classified as War Managers? They are my

heroes. Please pray for those in harms way.

May God bless you and God bless America.

Respectfully,

Thanks to the Earl Watters family and friends for a

wonderful reunion. They made us feel welcome. The

accommodations and programs were outstanding. Earl

does an outstanding P.R. job for New Mexico. He

should be on their payroll. It is always good to break

bread with brothers and their families.

Please support out elected officers. May God bless and

keep you safe until we meet again.

As I recall a sense of humor could really help to relieve

the sweat, anxiety and boredom of our "walks In

The Sun". Maybe some of the guys will remember

some of these tidbits and offer some of their own .

We used to come across these hanging ant's nests,

the ants wove leaves together to make these nests and

they resembled hanging beehives. The nests were

about the size of a football and were home to thousands

of biting ants. Well some masochistic trooper discovered

that by tilting your head very quickly so as to

miss the nest yourself and getting your head back to

straight ahead as fast as possible you would cause your

good buddy behind to walk head on into the nest. He

would instantly be covered from head to toe with ticked

off ants and just as quickly be standing naked in a

circle of laughing troopers shaking his fatigues and

promising a pay-back for the dirty deed. This was a

rare occurance because we didn't run into many of

these nests and thankfully Charlie missed the show !

We were on the perimeter at An-Khe and chewing

the fat in a bunker. A Vietnamese dog handler walked

in with a German Shepherd. He gave a command in

Vietnamese and the dog healed. The guy hung around

for awhile then gave another command and they left.

One of the troopers looked over at Sgt Maka ( Platoon

Sergeant ) with a surprised look and said Wow ! that

dog is really smart ! Maka sardonically asked - " Why

Kilroy ? ( not real name ) Why is the dog smart ?

Kilroy replied " He understands Vietnamese !" I have

to admit that I paused on that one for a second or two!

We had an SOP in the platoon that when we got into

a leech infested area we would stop on the half hour to

get them off rather than stopping for each individual

leech contact ! Well one time we stopped off the half

hour slot .I was informed that the reason for the halt

was a leech. Sensing a court martial offense ( just

kidding ), I went up towards the point . Sure enough

there was Sgt. Boffman ( real name ) extracting a

leech. Now Sgt. Boffman was a soldier par excellance

and I suspected that he had good reason for stopping

and he did ! As I asked for the reason he gave me a

kind of look for yourself nod. The leech had parked on

a testicle. We all agreed that this should be an exception

to rule # 1 re: leech removal.

Editor’s Note: Since we usually couldn’t feel leeches,

how did Sergeant Boffman know that he had a leech

there????

August 31, 2007, AD Warhorse, Iraq, “....of course,

other sectors in Baghdad remain contentious, and progress

can be reversed in the wake of a single trigger

event.

But even across the river in Rustamiyah, where the

troopers of the 1st of the 8th Cav - a butt-kickin' outfit

- have been fighting Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army in

urban-guerrilla warfare, hopeful signs are emerging. A

few days ago, Mookie unilaterally announced a sixmonth

timeout for his gunmen. Partly, it's a political

move - but it's also due to the sacrifices and fortitude

of 1-8 Cav and other frontline units.

So why don't you hear more about our military's

successes? It goes beyond the old media dictum that "if

it bleeds, it leads." Plenty of journalists have staked their

reps on our predicted failure in Iraq - and they hate the

reversal of fortune the surge is achieving.

So why don't you hear more about our military's

successes? It goes beyond the old media dictum that "if

it bleeds, it leads." Plenty of journalists have staked their

reps on our predicted failure in Iraq - and they hate the

reversal of fortune the surge is achieving.

reversal of fortune the surge is achieving.

Members of A Company, 2nd Bn, 7th Cav who served

in Vietnam during Operation Paul Revere in July-August

1966, and then moved to Phan Thiet in September 1966

are invited to attend a mini-reunion of the company and

attached units, with other interested First Cav Div

Troopers in that area.

When: September 20-22, 2007

Where: Sheraton 4 Points Hotel near Columbus Airport

& 1-85. Their telephone number 706-327-6868. Shuttle

service is available.

Cost: A Company Trooper Rate is $ 79.00 plus taxes =

$ 90.00

Activities:

September 20, 2007: Sign in - no activities planned.

Meet and greet old friends. Sherman will be at the sign

in desk.

September 21, 2007: Bus tour to Fort Benning, firing

range, basic training area, and others places to remember.

Lunch at the mess hall (you pay). Attend a

Battalion fire demonstration with a chance (maybe) to

fire a weapon. Unit dinner with host bar at 1830 at the

hotel. The cost of the dinner is around $ 24.00.

September 22, 2007: Bus tour to Fort Benning's

Infantry Museum. After the tour of the museum, there

will be a catered BBQ at Col. Chittenden home. The

cost is $ 10.00. A retreat will be at 1800.

If you have any questions, contact Sherman. His home

address is 800 S. Saint Asaph St., Apt. 401,

Alexandria, VA 22314-4362. His e-mail address is

shermf@comcast.net.

# Year Where Attendence

1. 1986 Eureka Springs Ark 46

2. 1987 Killeen, Tx 73

3. 1988 Clarksville, TN 97

4. 1989 Biloxi, MS 55

5. 1990 Arlington, VA 133

6. 1991 Annaheim, CA 47

7. 1992 Billings, MT 78

8. 1993 Indianapolis, IN 125

9. 1994 Arlington, TX 140

10. 1995 Columbus, GA 165

11. 1996 Bismark, ND 100

12. 1997 Williamsburg, VA 156

13. 1998 Scarmento, CA 146

14. 1999 Houston, TX 117

15. 2000 Fayetteville, NC 220

16. 2001 Spokane, WA 109

17. 2002 Biloxi, MS 223

18. 2003 Kingston, RI 120

19. 2004 Jacksonville, FL 143

20. 2005 San Diego, CA 125

21. 2006 Las Vegas, NV 190

22. 2007 Albuquerque, NM 163

23. 2008 Myrtle Beach, SC

24. 2009 Minot, ND

26 July, 2007: “Please thank the entire Jumping

Mustang Chapter for their most generous donation of

$500.00 to the general fund of the Association.

Your donation will assist the 1st Cavalry Division

Association to help defray costs associated with day

to day operations and ensure that we can continue the

programs that we offer out members. An acknowledgeJUMPING

MUSTANG BUGLE September 2007

Association to help defray costs associated with day

to day operations and ensure that we can continue the

programs that we offer out members. An acknowledgeJUMPING

MUSTANG BUGLE September 2007

ment of the generosity of the Jumping Mustangs will be

included in the July/August issue of the Saber.

The office staff of the 1st Cavalry Division Association

is extremely grateful of your generosity and support of

the Association and its programs.

First Team!

is extremely grateful of your generosity and support of

the Association and its programs.

First Team!

Most of you know that I am Public Relations Officer for

the Jumping Mustangs and that I take a lot more pictures

normally at the reunions than I did at the 2007 reunion.

Since it appears we will not have a reunion book this

year, I’ll send one set of every picture to Frank Vavrek

so he can scan them and put them on the web site as he

sees fit. Individuals in the pictures will get one in the

proof book which will be at the reunion with me and

available for you to look at in the hospitality room.

I didn’t get as many pictures because a lot of my time

was taken up trying to smooth out problems between

two members and the rest of the Jumping Mustangs.

Unfortunately, that was unsuccessful even with the help

of Robert Gonzales and Roy Martin, who are probably

some of the more understanding long time Jumping

Mustangs, and the time provided by the board and individual

members. Roy, like myself, is one of the

charter members as was one of the members who was

creating problems. Many people view Roy as an understanding

father figure. I certainly do. The Army denied

him a regular army commission not because of his

competence, which was above reproach, but his age.

Thanks for trying, Roy.

On another note, you may have noticed two notebooks

which I started labeled “Deceased” and “Current.” The

idea behind them is to create records of who we were

and who we are. I didn’t have much spare time in the

hospitality room to explain them, but a number of members

said that it would be nice if they and their wives

could see pictures of the members while they were serving

in Vietnam with the 1st of the 8th along with a

picture of them at a reunion. Also a short biographical

sketch would be nice. The pictures ill be 4x6" vertical

and the biographical sketches will be 4x6" horizontal.

Some of you may feel comfortable writing up a short

narrative on a 4x6 card with a typewriter or computer.

Others might want to send notes that will help me put

together a biographical sketch. Some of the things

we would like would include month and year of birth,

childhood hometown or towns, year joined the Army,

units and approximate dates of service, service with

1st/8th ex.(1st plt.sgt A/1/8 Aug 65-May66), year

left the service, significant things outside the service.

Let me know what picture I took at a reunion that you

like best (key code on back), send a vertical of you in

Vietnam, send bio.notes.

picture of them at a reunion. Also a short biographical

sketch would be nice. The pictures ill be 4x6" vertical

and the biographical sketches will be 4x6" horizontal.

Some of you may feel comfortable writing up a short

narrative on a 4x6 card with a typewriter or computer.

Others might want to send notes that will help me put

together a biographical sketch. Some of the things

we would like would include month and year of birth,

childhood hometown or towns, year joined the Army,

units and approximate dates of service, service with

1st/8th ex.(1st plt.sgt A/1/8 Aug 65-May66), year

left the service, significant things outside the service.

Let me know what picture I took at a reunion that you

like best (key code on back), send a vertical of you in

Vietnam, send bio.notes.

Ocean Front double: $84 (Rates are for double

occ. Add $10 ea pers over 12)

Ocean Front Jr Suite: $99

( Above rates do not include taxes or applicable

resort and hospitality charges. They are good from

five days before and three days after event dates.)

Reservations: 1-800-599-9872 . Identify yourself

as Jumping Mustangs. Only forty rooms

are blocked so get your reservations in early.

Web site: www.sandsresorts.com .. then click

Sand Dunes Resort

*For those of you that might not remember, a

warning order is an order to alert personnel

to an impending operation. It is meant to give as

much information as is available at the

time it is issued.

Sand Dunes Resort

*For those of you that might not remember, a

warning order is an order to alert personnel

to an impending operation. It is meant to give as

much information as is available at the

time it is issued.