Delta Company 1/20

Delta Company, 1st Of The 20th, 11th Light Infantry Brigade
Americal Division

Delta Company 2008 Reunion Newsletter

DELTA COMPANY, FIRST OF THE TWENTIETH
ELEVENTH LIGHT INFANTRY BRIGADE
JUNE, 2008
REUNION NEWSLETTER

Men of Delta:

All of us who attended our 2008 Reunion send you our warmest greetings from Bowling Green. We had a great time at the Reunion and wanted to get a newsletter out to you, and certainly to those who could not attend this years Reunion. Some of us began arriving on Wednesday, with many more on Thursday, some on Friday and even a few on Saturday. All of our activities and get-togethers were held at the Holiday Inn in Bowling Green, where we had a large conference room to gather and reminisce, trade stories and lies, look at pictures, and get re-acquainted. For many of us it is by now a family affair, as wives and kids have by now developed their own friendships and interests.

We had a dinner Thursday night in the conference room with introductions all around. All of our 17 new attending men got a round of applause for their attendance. Friday morning we reconvened and welcomed some more folks arriving. Also on Friday morning, the Bargers, Dave & Rosemarie Wright and Ricardo Palomares drove to Murray, Kentucky to the gravesite of Billie Wayne Reed, who we lost on June 3, 1969. They met Billie's brother Michael and his wife and another family friend at the gravesite. Sherry had made a Delta Company wreath and all of them placed it on Billie's grave. It was a touching moment for the Reeds and our Delta family. We will post pictures from the ceremony on Billie's Memorial Page on the Delta website shortly (deltacompany.org). Also Friday morning, John Rosebrook and Alan and Leslie Conger drove to Jack and Pat Haydens to visit them, as Jack was unable to travel to Bowling Green.

Friday night we had dinner again at the conference room. Our guest speaker was Wilmer Cooksey, former General Manager of the Corvette plant in Bowling Green and a Vietnam Forward Observer veteran. Wil spoke to the friendships and bonds formed in the wartime environment.

Saturday, after lunch, we began our business meeting, as we have done in past reunions. We had a number of items on the agenda. We decided to hold the next Reunion again in two years, 2010. We discussed where to hold the next reunion and after much discussion, we would like to meet in Washington, DC, but we will need to research the specific hotel, costs, transportation and other logistics before confirming the Washington location. St. Louis will be our alternative, but based on the results of our Washington research. Richard Culver has offered to assist Wendell in the research, as Richard has made a number of trips to Washington.

For our committee officers, we re-elected the same slate of officers as before, with Wendell Strode as President, Dwight Sommar as Vice President, Mac McLellan as Treasurer and Sherry Barger as Secretary. Wendell also appointed Alan Conger as Newsletter Editor and web man.

Wendell also asked Bobby Renew (Rabbi to most of us) to serve as our Delta Chaplain, and asked Bobby to provide counseling services to our men, should they be interested. Bobby has been a Pastor practically since his return from Vietnam, and has devoted much of his time to counseling folks over those years, and is well-suited to help our men. Bobby has willingly accepted this position, and we encourage those of you who feel the need, to contact Bobby. He can be reached at 706-556-3720 and his e-mail address is renew.bobby@gmail.com.

We then got on with the fun of the meeting, our auction. We had many gifts, some donated by local business folks, most donated by our Delta men and women, many hand-made items and embroideries, and all special and unique. Our own John Ewing, a professional auctioneer, presides over the occasion, and he is a wonder to behold. Our conclusion to the auction is to present the Delta Company "Flag Memorial" as an auction item. You may recall that the "Flag Memorial" holds the flag that was flown over the Capital Building and was presented to Delta by Bonnie Walsh Ward, in gratitude of Delta's help to Alpha Company on June 10, 1969. Jason Wright had the Flag and a listing of all our lost men assembled in a display case. The "Flag Memorial" honors all of Delta's lost men. This year the Second Platoon "purchased" the Memorial in honor of all the men that made the ultimate sacrifice for Delta. Following the Second Platoon's "purchase", other men also "purchased' the Memorial, in honor of Sergeant Major Erskine Wade, who was with Delta from August, 1969 to August, 1970.

After the auction, Bobby Renew and Cliff Tholen presented their version of the Twelve Days of Christmas and a Christmas Carol, that they had written while together in Vietnam at Christmas, 1968. They had us in howls and as soon as they send in the lyrics, we will post them on the website.

Saturday night we had a formal dinner in the conference room, presided over with a prayer by Bobby. Following dinner, we held our Memorial Service for Delta's lost men. Our former Captain, Chuck Maxson had some opening comments and then each mans name was read aloud. Captain Maxson then gave those attending an opportunity to share a word or memory they had of that departed brother. It was difficult, but also a time to share humor and fond memories of our lost men. We concluded with a moment of silence for all those who were lost.

Sunday morning we all gathered for a buffet breakfast and some great last moments together.

A few other items: Capt. Chuck Seketa planned to attend the reunion, but at the last minute his doctors scheduled him for surgery and he was not able to attend. He is now recovering from surgery, doing well, and sends his warmest greetings to all of Delta and his sincere regrets that he could not attend. He looks forward to seeing all of his Delta friends soon.

Some of the men asked that we begin writing down our memories of actions or events in 'Nam, to compile stories of our company. If you have an event you'd like to record, please write it down in electronic form and e-mail it to the Delta website and we will post them on the site.

And lastly, all of us at the 2008 Reunion send you our very warmest greetings and hopes for a wonderful turnout at our 2010 Reunion.

Below is a summary of our attendees; * means new attendee:



*Bob Aquero                              J.D. Kilzer
 John Arias                             *Chuck LaFlamme
 Jack Armey                              Ken & Connie Leslie
*Jim & Diane Avedisian                   Jesse & Darlene Lewis
*David Baker                             Joe Lupo
 Cliff & Sherry Barger                   Chuck & Aryds Maxson
 Fred & Ruth Battle                     *Bob Maxwell
 Jesse & Charlotte Bickers              *Carl Mulhauser
 Billy & *Stoney (brother) Burruss      *Bob Patton
 Alan & Leslie Conger                    Ricardo Palomares
*Chris & Nancy Cook                     *Kenneth Quale
*Ronnie Cowles                           Bobby Renew
 Richard & Becky Culver                  Billy & Dana Rose
 Duke Davis                              John & Jan Rosebrook
*Ron "Doc" & Janis Davis                 Steve & Rebecca Russell
 Jim Drieth                             *Vernon "Stash" Sandlin
*Lynn & Kaye Duke                        Daryl & Nancy Seegert
 Tom Ebert                               John Simpson
 Randy & Charlene Evans                  Dwight & Penny Sommar
 John Ewing                              Wendell & Jan Strode
*Robert Frye & Nellie Jean & granddaughter     Cliff & Mary Jo Tholen
*William "Doc" Gariepy                   Erskine & Georgia Wade
 Bill & Kiva Gratzer                     Michael Wade
 Elmer Hall & Sandy Carson               Herb & Sharon Wielenberg
 Robert, Sheila & Ryan Hatten            Jan & Evy Winters
*Tom Hill                                Dave & Rose Marie Wright
 Bill & Linda Howard                     Jason & Jane Wright, Mindy, Lauren, Jayden
*Carmine & Sandra Iosue