Society of the Vietnamese Airborne Team 162

Quarterly Report September 30, 2013 Fellow Red Hats, Red Markers and Mu Do, Family of the Vietnamese Red Beret 33rd Annual Reunion – The 33rd Annual Family of the Vietnamese Red Beret reunion was a great success. It began 18 July in Fayetteville, AL, at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum with the dedication of a paver honoring the five commanders of the Airborne. For the past two years, John Martin has helped coordinate this dedication working with the Mu Do and Paul Galloway at the Museum Foundation. Your Society contributed $1,000 toward the cost of the paver. Mick Cole arranged for lunch following the ceremony at a culinary school not far from the Museum. Fifteen Society members attended the ceremony (including Dan Moses, who I failed to mention in the earlier after action report on the reunion.) The Mu Do reunion continued in Atlanta through 20 July. The Society recognized with tokens of appreciation Dr. Tien Quang Le, M.D., Chairman of the Central Committee of the Family of the Vietnamese Red Beret, and Bernard Nguyen who was in charge of the reunion planning. The events were well done, the entertainment was wonderful and the parties were outstanding. The only blot on the festivities was an injury to Bill Block. On Saturday after lunch, he slipped on a wet spot on the floor of the hotel in Atlanta and broke his left kneecap. He is now recovering after surgery. Our thoughts and prayers are with him. 2014 Society Reunion – It is now time to start making your plans for the next Society reunion. We will meet in Tampa, Florida on 29 May though 1 June 2014. Registration fee is $90.00 for each attendee plus membership renewal of $20.00. The registration fee covers food and drink in the hospitality room, the dinner banquet and a meal in conjunction with the bi-annual meeting. For lodging arrangements, our man on the ground, Bill Ball, has contracted with the Doubletree Hilton at the Tampa Airport. Rooms at the Doubletree Hilton are $105.00

a night plus tax. Mike Flynn has already sent an email with detailed hotel reservation information, and he is sending it along again with this report. It is not too early to make your reservation to lock in a room. You can always cancel if necessary. Bill is also working on activities while we are in Tampa. Options he is exploring include a visit to CENTCOM, a visit to the Armed Forces Military Museum or a trip to the Liberty Ship and Maritime museum in Tampa harbor. As we home in on choices we will keep you informed. Our planned guest speaker for the banquet is Major David M. Anderson, an Air Liaison Officer who will return from an Afghanistan rotation about 45 days prior to our Reunion. I expect that he will be able to contrast the type of close air support and control presently employed with that we experienced in SEA 45 years ago. For now, we need a ballpark figure of number of attendees. More than 50 people have already indicated they plan to attend. If you believe you will be attending and have not yet told Mike, please send an email response to him at mjf162@mindspring.com. This will help refine requirements for hotel rooms, transportation and other logistic support. Vietnam War Commemorative Partners – We have submitted an application for the Society to become a Vietnam War Commemorative Partner. The DOD should process the application shortly. Once approved, our activities to support and honor American and Allied veterans during the period commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War will be recognized by DOD and advertised on their website. There is no cost to the Society for becoming a Partner. Thanks to Tim Thames for bringing this to our attention. Ft. Benning Initiative Regarding SFC Charles J. Moore - The 11th Pathfinders and the 1-507th PIR continue to move forward toward naming the new Pathfinder Building in honor of former Red Hat SFC Charles J. Moore who was KIA in Tay Ninh on 14 Sep 1968. Ft. Benning named a building at Lawson Field in honor of Moore in Dec 1968. Subsequently, the building was demolished, and Ft. Benning would like to now name another building in his honor. Pat Coleman, Moore’s commander in Vietnam, reports that MSG Reese at the 507th has submitted a package for approval, but there is no update on the status of the request. Airborne and Special Operations Museum Exhibit – We have little additional information on a project to modify our exhibit featuring Covan and Mu Do mannequins to add a third figure representing a Red Marker. Paul Galloway of the Museum Foundation says the Museum will probably not work on their cost estimate until next year. So it is unknown if they perform the modification during calendar year 2014. We will continue to stay in touch with Paul. Vietnamese Soldier and American Advisor Statue in Arlington, TX – In late June 2013, some of our Vietnamese comrades broke ground for a major new Vietnam War Memorial at the Veterans Memorial Park in Arlington, TX. The memorial

will feature a ten foot bronze statue of a seated Vietnamese soldier looking at a map of his country with an American advisor standing behind him. The seated soldier brings to mind a similar figure that formerly stood at a war cemetery in Saigon. I am not aware of another memorial anywhere featuring both an American and Vietnamese soldier. The following digital video clip shows the planned location of the new statue within the park: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hEF65WbHBtI&t=0 (if the link does not load, copy it and paste it in you browser window or search on you tube for Vietnamese Memorial Arlington, TX) Mu Do Tom Bui, Vice President of the foundation sponsoring the memorial, plans to include 1) the MACV Patch with Airborne Tab, 2) a US Master Parachutist Badge and 3) the words MACV Advisory Team 162 alongside the Vietnamese Airborne Division symbols on the wall by the statue in recognition of MACV Advisory Team 162. He informs me that anyone wishing to contribute to this project can do so by sending a check to:

Heroes of South Vietnam Memorial Foundation 3020 Matlock Road, # 200 Arlington, TX 76015

(A Non Profit Organization - Tax ID # 452777722)

Death of LTG (Ret) James B. Vaught We are saddened by the passing of former Division Senior Advisor LTG (Ret) James B. Vaught on 20 September. General Vaught was a warrior and patriot who served his country in many ways on and off the battlefield. LTG (Ret) Joe Kinzer represented the Society and spoke at the memorial service in Conway, SC, on the 28th. Joining Joe at the service were his wife Bonnie, LTG (Ret) Mike Davison and wife Joyce, and Karen Sinkovitz. Dr. Hiep Nguyen, Vice President of the Gia Dinh Mu Do, represented the Vietnamese leadership with a contingent of five troopers and spoke at the service. Our thoughts and prayers are with Florence Vaught. Nhay Du,

Gary N. Willis Gary N. Willis President