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Kathleen Wintering (Nagy)

 2019 HAPPY THANKSGIVING to  the class of 1966!   Kathy Wintering Nagy

David Mitchell

Jack,

I also have heard interesting stories about Vietnamese attitudes towards us. I have met 2 American, and 2 Vietnamese Americans who have traveled back to Vietnam as tourists. These four people all report the same interesting attitude towards us - that the Vietnamese harbor very little resentment towards us, but they still despise the French. We forget sometimes, that was about 100 years of brutal colonial, racist abuse.

But one Vietnamese American lady had an even more interesting expereince. She and her sisters (born in the U.S.), go back every few years as tourists and can freely enjoy all the sites (including great French and Vienamese restaurants). They still have relatives in Saigon. Her parents (born in Vietnam) have gone a few times but must report in at a local police station every single day. And her Grand parents simply will not go. The grand father was an ARVN General and has been told he would be arrested if he ever sets foot in the country again. A strange tale of three different generations. 

Another middle aged lady told me she was about 6 years old, living in Saigon, when the TET offensive was going on. She ran out into the street to see what all the excitement was about and was exposed to live fire. Her mother had to run out and grab her and was wounded slightly while carrying her back into their home. A little different from life on Yaronia Drive. 

Interesting that the booming economy followed the first few years of Communist "collective" economic system which collapsed. Since they transitioned into a "Capitalisitic" system and allowed foreign investment the economy has gone bonkers. You would have first hand knowledge of that. Now it seems they face problems of overdevelopment, even in the Delta, where rice paddys are filling with silt and canals are experiencing growing pollution issues.

But the Governement is still jailing "counter revolutionaries". Human Rights Lawyers and some Catholic priests are still being jailed on occasion. There is a site where those stories are reported on an ongoing basis.

I had a huge shock some years ago when I looked at Vinh Long on Google maps. Vinh Long was a small city of about 30,000 people on the banks of a large split of the Mekong. There was one dirt "highway" from Saigon and furhter south into the Delta - with no bridge - only boats - to cross the river. I could hardly beleive what I saw. A 4-lane super highway with an enormous suspension bridge across the Mekong. And traffic - mostly buses and motorcycles, crossing this huge span of highway. 

And the photos of gowth, even in smaller towns, with luxury hotels along the river was amazing! The "capital" of the Delta is Can Tho ("can - toe"), which was about 100,000 people back then. I believe I read somewhere that it is now a miilion and a half people! 

David Mitchell

Mary Margaret,

Loved the music in #6574. Almost seems like the've been spying on a Marked Men for Christ retreat. 

Janie Albright (Blank)

Thanks, MM! We also have another classmate who is living in a nursing facility and that is Nancy DeCola. I am looking for her address to post as well. It only takes a few minutes to send off a card and brighten their day.  If anyone has Nancys address please post it send to me. 

if you know of anyone else who is in a care center or could use cheering lease post. 
 

Again, Happy Thanksgiving! 

James Hamilton, M. D.

To all of our Class of '66 I add my wishes for a very Happy Thanksgiving. We can all be thankful for something, whether it be in our past or present. My wife and I shall be heading south to New Mexico - hopefully in a window between these snows which are attacking a large part of Colorado and so many other states - to spend the holiday with my sister and her family. It will not be as adventurous as Joe's trek across the country, but it will include a few hours of good scenery and a most interesting truck stop near the Cimarron exit off I-25.

Enjoy all, 

Jim 

Janie Albright (Blank)

Thanks Dave Mitchell for finding Nancy DeCola's address and phone number and sending it to me. Nancy is on dialysis 3x a week.  I know she'd like to hear from you. :)

Nancy DeCola

Mayfair Village Nursing Care Facility

3000 Bethel Rd. #410

Columbus Ohio 43220

614-264-6008 (cell)

John Maxwell

David Mitchell

As we all enjoy the warmth of family and/or friends gathered around the table, and the turkey, dressing and gravy, canberries, and all those tasty traditions, remember there may be some of our own who are squatting in some far away outpost, happy to have their boxes of canned C-rations.

* (I believe they are no longer is use - better products have replaced them - hopefully) 

Some of you will remeber what delightful "treats" we "enjoyed" among the choice of meals. Chicken with Dumplings, Beef with Potatos, Ham and Eggs - chopped, Pork with god knows what.  Most of them of a quality that I would not have fed to my dog.

My favorite, and one of the few I could stand, was always "Beans and Wieners in Tomato Sauce". 

I always gave away my pack of 3 cigarettes, and rarely used the tiny roll of toilet paper. But the crackers and cheese paste was always a welcome addition to the main meal.

How about Turkey Loaf for Thanksgiving?

And who could forget that most neccessary of appliances, one of the most ingenious tools ever devised by mankind, the handy little "P-38" can opener - the "key" to fine dinning (literally), with a tiny hole drilled in it to attach it to the chain holding your dog tags - always right there hanging around your neck when needed.

We Give Thee Thanks - Almighty Father in Heaven.

Hope you are all with someone you love and having a blast!

(I'm so full of Oysters I barely have room for Turkey)

Michael McLeod

I'd forgotten the pallid literary flair that accompanied life in the military -- "meal, combat, individual" brings it all back. And I will always have a sentimental place in my heart for the simplicity and ingenuity of the p 38.  

David Mitchell

Mike,

All joking aside, I think you and others will agree, the p-38 was one of the cleverest instruments ever devised. For those unfamilar, that upright part with the curved cutting edge folds down flat so as not to harm those who wore it on their dog tag chain. And that little nitch, serves a unique function for opeing a metal can of food.

I was going to post this story yesterday for Thanksgiving but an Oyster Roast and two different Turkey dinners got in my way.

I will call this  post, "Dining in the Delta". 

*  (warning, this will be boring as hell - just a Thanskgiving tribute to a time long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away)

On our airfelld at Vinh Long we had two sources for hot meals, our own squadron "Mess Hall" a large half tent, half pole barn, that seated officers and enlisted men - about 300 at a time. It was buffet service and three very boring meals a day for up to 600 men per meal. And there was an officers club down in the opposite direction about 300 yards walk from my hooch. It was a flat roofed little building that leaked like crazy during the rainy season (the Monsoons), where we could order much better meals in a dining room-bar, and paid cash out of our pockets. There was a menu of maybe 6 items. It was open only for lunch and dinner, whereas the Mess Hall served all three meals. And finally there was an Enlisted Men's Club with service somewhat like the Officers Club.

But when we flew our missions - most days - or about 4 days on and one day off, we were away from teh airfiled, out in the "A.O." (area of operations) - at one of about 10 or 12 little remote air strips all across the "Delta", where we staged that particular day's mission. These were simple airstrips with refueling "bladders" and no base facilities at all - usually about 20 to 45 minutes flight away from Vinh Long. During those days, when we were not in a "contact", or "engaged" (in direct contact with VC or NVA - yes, like what infantry guys call a "fire fight"), we used the second refueling break to stop and have lunch. Every 2 hours or so we had to refuel at the little airfields we were working out of that day. 

And those lunches were from the same "C-rats" (C-rations) that my photo showed above. But here is where the fine "art" of cooking a C-meal comes in.

The box contained three or four cans (plus small paper and cardboard packs of cigarettes and toilet paper, and (I think? - forgetting some of this) a plastic eating tool - spoon, spork, somehting like that?

The large can was the main meal - the medium can was usually 4 (tasteless) crackers - and the tiny thin can was usualy a cheese spread - slightly cheddar flavored - more like cheese wizz. A fourth medium sized can was usually fruit. 

So here is where the genius comes in with the magic little  "p-38" tool. You used the p-38 in its' normal function (opened at a right angle as shown above) to cut open the top of the can, leaving a small portion attached so as to be bent back as a handle. The we opened the medium can and took out the crackers. With that empty can we used the p-38 to rip holes all around the top edge of the open can to create vent holes for a flame. Then we bent the top of that can slighlty into an oblong shape, to support the large can on top of it without rocking. but first we thrw some dirt of gravel into this empty can and crawled under the belly of the helicopter and pushed the fuel drain button with our finger to get a shot of jet fuel (JP-4 as I recall) into the dirt in the can. Wen we lit that, the flame was hot as hell, and would burn for a few minutes while we set it on the ground and held the large, main-meal can on top of it. Finally, we would sometines add bit of the cheese paste into teh main can and mix it in to a melt, thickening the juices that were part of the main meat course. that went well with some meals, not for all of them. I found it to be an exquisite combination with the tomato sauce that was in the "Beans and Wieners" meal.   

If you look closely, you see a couple of the medium cans with full flame and some large "meal cans" resting on top of them - or about to be placed on top.

Bon Appetite!

Note: Guy on far left was shot down twice and was the co-pilot of the ship that picked me up when I went down. The guy and far right was shot down 5 times!  I am in touch with both of them since my reunion 5 years ago. 

Mark Schweickart

Dave – Your posts about your days in the millitary never cease to amaze me. You seem to always have total recall, as well as having photos at hand to enhance your comments. How is this possible? I could never put my hands on a photo from 50 years ago, or if I could , it would take me hours to locate. But thankfully, you do have this ability, and I commend you for it. Fascinating.

David Mitchell

Mark,

Funny you should bring this up. I feel like I have way too few phtotographs from that time in my life. I went into the service with a keen interest in photography. I took a few shots now and then in flight school with some cheap camera. But once I arrived in Vinh Long, I got lucky and found something I had dreamed about for several years - a really nice SLR - a Canon FT-b. It was one of only two on the shelf at our tiny PX and I grabbed it as soon as I saw it. (kept it for about 20 years until it was stolen out of my car - my excuse for moving on to a nicer Minolta - then back to a Pentax). But for some odd reason (and we have all shared the same disappointment in my reunion group), we simply did not use our cameras nearly as much as we should have. It meant taking it in the ship with us, sitting it on the floor of the cockpit, and almost never using it while in flight. In a ship with only one pilot, that was out of the question unless we occasionally asked our Observer to take some shots with it. Thus almost 100 per cent of our shots are while on the ground between sorties. And we should have done a better job of that. I still kick myself that I have no good shots of several people who were very important to me. 

My decison to collect, scan, and organize the few dozen shots I have, was finally prompted by my reunion 5 years ago. I am glad for what I still have, but there would be so much more stuff that I simply never shot.

Interestingly, we had one of our favorite "Observers" - a handsome young Sgt. John Klark, who took an 8-mm movie camera in the cockpit with him every day - and shot short bits of movie film often - during the mission! Imagine carrying (and being ready to fire) a loaded C.A.R.-15 in your lap, with bags and strings of four different types of grenades at your feet or strung by the door opening beside you, and operating your intercom mike, while carrying and filming with a movie camera - and all the while watching out your door like a hawk for clues of hidden VC or NVA beneath us! 

Someone in our reunion group had re-connected with Klark just before our reunion. they had exchanged a few phone calls and were planning to get together. The return calls from John seemed to stop and finally his sister (also in touch with one of our guys) called to say he had died of a heart attack. When I contacted the sister -  and met her once - about a year later, I mentiond that John had shot all those rolls of movie film. She said, "Oh, you mean those little yellow Kodak boxes with 8-mm film rolls?" I said "Yes", do you know if they still exist?" She said, "Oh yes, we have boxes full of them, but we can't find them." 

Since then, I have been referred to a guy at our local county news channel, who wants to make a documentary about us, but he will not begin without those movies. I call that same sister about every two years and ask if they have found them. They have not, and I doubt they ever will. His three sisters have split up all his belongings and have moved it all several times. My guess is that they are lost forever. This is frustrating because there is almost no recorded history of us and our crazy mission (or the few of us who flew it - maybe 1,000 guys out of over 40,000 American Helicopter pilots in the entire Vietnam War). Just two novels and a segment on the History Channel - plus one horribly misrepresented scene in Apocalypse Now. 

BTW, you should see the funny reaction I get when I run into someone who actully knows first hand what a "Loach Pilot" actually was. They had either seen our mission first hand in the field, or been stationed at one of our few bases and were familiar with the operation. It's only happend about five times in my entire life, but they alwasys tilt their head sort of sideways, and go "You mean, you were one of THOSE guys?"

I nod my head and we always both laugh.

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

O-H.....

https://www.facebook.com/jim.wallace.735/videos/10211134302136305/ 

Video taken 3 years ago of my now 6 yr old grandson, Ryan.

John Maxwell

David Mitchell

Jack,

We had to be "heroic" to get through some of those so called "meals". If it hadn't been for the "Beans and Wieners", or the "Spagetti w/ Meat Balls", I would have starved to death. 

!! Note:

 I just heard that former OSU QB and NFL QB/Wide Reciever Tyrrelle Pryor walked into a Pittsburgh ER around 4:30 a.m. with stab wounds. He is in cirtical condition. Few details on who did it, but it was in Tyrrelle's own apartment.

According to Pittsburgh TV News, Police have arrested a woman. 

Just watched a sensational catch for the Bucks before latest score,

David Mitchell

Interesting excerpt from a portion of Wikipedia  "Michigan - Ohio State Rivlary"

The first game foretold a long Michigan winning streak, with Michigan winning or tying every game from 1897 to 1912 and thereby compiling a 12–0–2 record before the contest was postponed for several years. The Ohio State Alma Mater "Carmen Ohio" was written on the train ride home to Columbus following the 1902 contest, which saw Ohio State lose to Michigan 86–0. The lyrics and melody (Spanish Chant) have remained largely unchanged since its conception.

Although Michigan played Ohio Wesleyan in it first game in the "Big House" on October 1st 1927, It's "dedication game" was against Ohio State later that same month - in the photo below.

The series is about to become Michigan 58 wins - Ohio State 51 - 6 ties.

(In about 10 minutes)

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

For your enjoyment!

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

Every. Single. Person. from the moment of conception has been loved into existence by God, who has created each one of us according to His purpose with a unique plan for our future.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/miracle-baby-ohio-state-football-star-j-k-dobbins-spared-by-abortion-announcer-details?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mattwalsh

Mark Schweickart

What a bizarre concept for a memorial. Jim, since this is in your stomping ground, put on your hiking boots and take a walk. Let us know if you can find it.

David Mitchell

Mark,

KInd of a sneaky interesting piece. I was unaware of this monument, but what catches my attention was the reference to the indigenous people we used in part of that War. He mentiones the "Hmong" (a specific ethnic people, also refered to as "Montagnards" (a French nickname of the "Mountain Peoeple" - some of which were Hmong, and others were different tribal groups). They lived mostly in the Central Highlands area and fought bravely on our side by the thousands and lost many thousnads in combat against NVA, VC, and Laotion Communists.

(Sure wish I could get Al Judy to speak up here. Marine "re-con" inside Loas was his calling card back then.)

I just saw a facebook post that I cannot now find about this bit of history. 

During my Dad's second AMA volunteer medical tour in Vietnam, he was able to visit with Montanyards. He was stationed at Da Nang on that (his second) trip - where he was able to visit with one of his "other sons" (Tom Litzinger) a few times. He met a guy from Columbus - by chance* - sitting in the transit lounge of Tan Son Nhut (tawn-saw-noot, spoken quicklyt) Air Force Base (and Civilian airport for Saigon). The guy invited him to visit him and his family (Presbetyrian missionaries part time // Columbus Insurance sales part time). He and his wife and kids had been affilliated with a misson in Kontum for about six years and there he introduded Dad to a young American female civilian Doctor (Pat Smith - I think?) who ran a clinic at the missison for a number of years. If memory serves me she also started the mission. 

At Kontum, they served the local "Montagnards" and Dad got to be involved with, and learn about these people over several visits. It is interesting to note that the Montagnards were very distinct from, and discriminated against by the Vietnamese. But it is also noteworthy, that unlike many of the Vietnamese, the Montagnards hated the VC, NVA, etc, and fought them on our side like junk yard dogs. (correction - some Vietnamese hated them too, but just weren't very motivated fighters)

I have heard more than once that the VC and the NVA were in fact, terrifed of them! Those that were not trained and equipped by us (and thereby had American equipment and weapons) would hunt them with their traditiinal blow guns and bow and arrows - and as such, were extemely effective fighters.

* I have a funny small-world story about Dad and the Insurance Salesman from Columbus - for another time.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Mark, 

It has been many years since I have 4-wheeled and photographed in mountains near Westcliffe. Although the video stated that LTC Beckley owned land there and was not going to build his monument there, I suspect it is in that region. The Rio Grande National Forest is one that is near Westcliffe. 

The Colorado high country probably has other hidden monuments and if I were younger, I would love to search for them. 

Jim 

David Mitchell

I guess this is as good of "another time" as any. If you are having trouble sleeping this should help. Mind you, it's an "OSU football" story, not a Vietnam story. Well, maybe more of a "small world" story.

My dad was making a short in-country trip from his base (on his first trip to Vietnam) to a place called Vinh Long, where he was planning to surprise a young helicopter pilot that he knew (rather intimately) for a short visit. He was based in a place called Tay Ninh, a town and miitary base to the norrthwest of Saigon, and ironically just on the other (northern) side of that same "Parrott's Beak" where we first entered Cambodia (officially that is). I seem to recall there was a large base of the 25th Infantry there (or was it the "Big Red 1" (First Infantry Division)? - both rather famous American combat units.

He had to get a military "hop flight" from Tay Ninh back into Saigon's Tan Son Nhut airport, and from there, south to Can Tho (capital of the Delta), and finally from there, a short flight back to the north to Vinh Long. 

(That visit is yet another story - for yet another time)

While he was waiting in the transit lounge at Tan Son Nhut, sitting and watching the flow of people - all kinds of people from all walks of life - he saw an American businessman walking by in dress slacks, white button down shirt, and carrying a brief case with something that caught his eye.

------------------

Now let's switch back to Columbus, to a moment where Ohio State was about to have a wealthy, famous football Alumni donate the cost of a new "astro-turf" football field for the "shoe". I forget his name (help - Fred?), but I seem to recall that he owned "Friendly's" restaurants - - (Fred?) and had made a fortune.

But the order for the turf (or the surface preparations for it) were delayed for some reason. So it was decided to wait one more year and play that one additional season with the natural grass field.

Someone in Columbus came up with the clever bumper sticker that read "EVEN ON THE GRASS - WE'LL BEAT THEIR ASS". Perhaps some of you recall this.

-----------------

So, as Dad is sitting there, watching all the humanity passing by, the guy with the briefcase walks by with the bumper sticker on his briefcase  "EVEN ON THE GRASS - WE'LL BEAT THEIR ASS". Yes, in the midle of Tan Son Nhut airport!

Dad jumped up, ran after the guy, and caught up with him in the crowd. They met and exchanged contact info and stayed in touch. The man's name was Dick Pendell - insurance saleman from Columbus / missionary in Kontum. On dad's second visit to Vietnam, Dick was the one whp helped dad arrange to go down from Da Nang (base of dad's second visit) to Kontum, and to meet Dr. Patty Smith, and learn about (and offer medical care) the "Montagnards" (mostly Hmong) people.  

And they stayed good friends for years back in Columbus. 

I wonder if anybody can remember whether indeed we did "Beat Their Ass" that year?

(Michigan, that is)

Fred?

David Mitchell

Hey, Buckeye football fans, Have we been missing a story right under our noses?

The Buckeye basketball team is off to it's best start in years. Tonight (last night) they just clobbered #7 ranked North Carolina in their own "Dean Smith Arena". You just don't beat a highly ranked Tarheels team by 25 points in their own house!

And do we have some other stories flying under the radar here? Do I recall Clare mentioning someone named Danny Hummer (from Upper Arlington) - a senior on this roster. (and what is this about the Air Force Acadamy in his Bio?)

And could the "OSU Director of Basketball Operations" -  one David Egelhoff (resident of Clintonville) - be the son of Chuck Egelhoff - Watterson 1961 or 62-ish? - - and (gorgeous) Norma Daritas from OLP?

Clare? 

Fred Clem

David Egelhoff is Norma & Chuck's #3 son.  He played basketball @ BWHS in the late 90's (a teammate of Dr. Thomas Clark Litzinger).

The donor of the Ohio Stadium turf was Alex Schoenbaum who played for the Buckeyes in the late 30's.  He founded 3 restaurant chains:  Captains D's, Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken & Shoney's.

Michael McLeod

Dave: Just the fact that you remember all the names of those places in 'nam makes me suspect that you've got a pretty functional brain for your age. Of course the jury is still out on that, but still