Tonight, New Years Eve will feature what is called a "Blue Moon". Generally known as a second full moon phase in a single month. The moon was full on December 3rd and it will be full again tonight december 31st. This phenomenum happens about every 2.7 years but this year is special as it happens on New Years Eve. By coincidence I posted about the last "blue moon" in may 2007. Click Here To See That Post
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Wait! One more post and I'm out
I got a call from Smokey friday letting me know Buddha was stepping up his fight with cancer. I've got contact info on Bob "Buddha" Tavitas if you want to get in touch with him. Thoughts and prayers going out to one of my brothers.
Here we are december 25th,1968 Merry Christmas
Here we are december 25th,1968 Merry Christmas
Friday, December 18, 2009
Time Out!
That's what I'm calling starting tonight. I hope everyone enjoys a happy and safe holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Seeya in 2010,
Joynt
Seeya in 2010,
Joynt
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
In The Summer Of 69...
It seems everyone in the world has heard about the battle for Hamburger Hill during Operation Apache Snow in mid may of 69 but only a select few know of Death Valley and Operation Lamar Plain. One of those "had to be there" things the rest of the world wasn't being told about for some reason.
It was a strange coupling of 2nd bde infantry battalions, 1st/501st and 1st/502nd under opcon of 1st bde Headquarters. Along with aircav, ara, arty and all the pee of the gods the air force could bring we jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Redleg Roger Ables of 321 arty has been researching Op Lamar Plain for years. An example of his effort was in the sept-oct(09) issue of VVA Veteran Magazine. Check it out at this link Operation Lamar Plain
It was a strange coupling of 2nd bde infantry battalions, 1st/501st and 1st/502nd under opcon of 1st bde Headquarters. Along with aircav, ara, arty and all the pee of the gods the air force could bring we jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Redleg Roger Ables of 321 arty has been researching Op Lamar Plain for years. An example of his effort was in the sept-oct(09) issue of VVA Veteran Magazine. Check it out at this link Operation Lamar Plain
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Geronimo-TV
"The Ten Thousand Day War" is a thirteen part documentary covering three decades of conflict in Vietnam 1945-75. Part 1 is an over view of the series and can be viewed here: The Ten Thousand Day War
I'll try to upload a new part each week so check the <--sidebar for updates.
I'll try to upload a new part each week so check the <--sidebar for updates.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
REUNION 2009
REUNION 2009
CLAKSVILLE, TN
On June 4, 5, 6 2009 Co A 1/501st 67 to 72 Vietnam Veteran’s held their 2nd annual two year Reunion in Clarksville , Tn . I would like to thank the Reunion Committee (Jack Clarkin and his wife Alice, Larry Miller and his wife Betty, Floyd Abbott and his wife Jan) for a job well done in planning this Reunion and making it a great success. Also special thanks go out to Roger Queen and his wife Janice with help planning the Ft Campbell Tour.
The Reunion started out with registration Thursday morning June 4th with 34 Brothers registering during the day. There were a total of 64 (34 Brothers and 30 guests) that attended the Reunion. Thursday evening was spent in the hospitality room socializing, eating finger food, looking at pictures and watching CD picture slide shows. On Friday June 5th we took a bus to Ft Campbell and toured the Engagement Skills Trainer (shot laser weapons at simulated targets), toured the 101st Museum, and ate at the 101st Mess Hall with the troops. Friday evening was free time Saturday evening June 6th we had our banquet and meeting to plan our next reunion in 2011. The rest of the evening was spent socializing and saying our good byes.
It was decided to have the 2011 Reunion in Washington DC at the Wall. It’s going to take a lot of work and money to have the reunion in DC but with the help of all of you I feel through donations and fund raisers over the next 2 years we can keep the cost down so that everyone can afford to attend. I’ll be doing another Reunion Album to post on the Geronimo Site, so send me your pictures. We also had a “Touching Moment” at the reunion on Thursday and Saturday that you might want to check out, by clicking on the following “url”
http://www.geronimo-vietnam.com/1A/touching_moment.html
“Again” I would like to thank the Reunion Committee for a job well done and thank everyone that attended the reunion for coming. Hope to see you all at the 2011 Reunion.
Brothers Forever
Barry
CLAKSVILLE, TN
On June 4, 5, 6 2009 Co A 1/501st 67 to 72 Vietnam Veteran’s held their 2nd annual two year Reunion in Clarksville , Tn . I would like to thank the Reunion Committee (Jack Clarkin and his wife Alice, Larry Miller and his wife Betty, Floyd Abbott and his wife Jan) for a job well done in planning this Reunion and making it a great success. Also special thanks go out to Roger Queen and his wife Janice with help planning the Ft Campbell Tour.
The Reunion started out with registration Thursday morning June 4th with 34 Brothers registering during the day. There were a total of 64 (34 Brothers and 30 guests) that attended the Reunion. Thursday evening was spent in the hospitality room socializing, eating finger food, looking at pictures and watching CD picture slide shows. On Friday June 5th we took a bus to Ft Campbell and toured the Engagement Skills Trainer (shot laser weapons at simulated targets), toured the 101st Museum, and ate at the 101st Mess Hall with the troops. Friday evening was free time Saturday evening June 6th we had our banquet and meeting to plan our next reunion in 2011. The rest of the evening was spent socializing and saying our good byes.
It was decided to have the 2011 Reunion in Washington DC at the Wall. It’s going to take a lot of work and money to have the reunion in DC but with the help of all of you I feel through donations and fund raisers over the next 2 years we can keep the cost down so that everyone can afford to attend. I’ll be doing another Reunion Album to post on the Geronimo Site, so send me your pictures. We also had a “Touching Moment” at the reunion on Thursday and Saturday that you might want to check out, by clicking on the following “url”
http://www.geronimo-vietnam.com/1A/touching_moment.html
“Again” I would like to thank the Reunion Committee for a job well done and thank everyone that attended the reunion for coming. Hope to see you all at the 2011 Reunion.
Brothers Forever
Barry
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Reunion(s) Update
June was a busy month for Alpha vets. The first weekend of June my blog partner Barry Gregorich headed up a return trip to Fort Campbell Kentucky for his group of vets that served from late 1970 on up to the end in early 1972. Close to 40 attended and a good time was had by all once again. Congrats to Barry and his cohorts for a job well done. I expect to see some great pics showing up at the website soon so keep an eye out for them.
Just last weekend (June 20-22) Val Zappert's "Rat Pack" had another gathering in Texas. These vets mostly served from late 69 'til well into 70 during which Val was Alpha company's CO. Val is kind of new on the scene but after attending the Branson reunion in 06 he got fired up. He's been locating his fellow soldiers and organizing reunions about twice a year. Val is also behind the creation of a new Alpha company website. Ass Kicking Alpha be sure to check it out. A permanent link to the site has been added to the namvet links page.
It is really cool to see the enthusiasm that Barry and Val and all the vets involved have been displaying in recent years.
Something a bit older (I first attended in 94) is on tap August 14-20 and that's "Week Of The Eagles" at Fort Campbell. General John Cushman (ret) is calling for another 2nd Brigade reunion during the event. As Colonel "Jack" Cushman he commanded the brigade before and after thier arrival in Nam mid december '67. All members of the original brigade and those who joined the unit as replacements in '68 are strongly urged to attend. Since I fall into the replacement category this reunion is on my wish list. I've heard that a Division "Welcome Home" to Namvets is on the agenda and please take note that "Week Of The Eagles" is open to the public with an excellent airshow over the weekend. I will post hotel info separate.
I'd also like to mention the "Kokomo" reunion which is always the third weekend of September (this year 18-20). The oldest and largest all services namvet reunion in the country. This is a giant party that over 40,000 will attend. Live entertainment, food, drink and military vendors plus camping, grilling and drinking. Smoke'em if you got'em. Alpha company has five connecting 20'x40' camping lots on site as our basecamp. Come join us for some good times.
For 2nd bde schedule and Hotel info click on "COMMENTS" below vvvv.
Joynt
Just last weekend (June 20-22) Val Zappert's "Rat Pack" had another gathering in Texas. These vets mostly served from late 69 'til well into 70 during which Val was Alpha company's CO. Val is kind of new on the scene but after attending the Branson reunion in 06 he got fired up. He's been locating his fellow soldiers and organizing reunions about twice a year. Val is also behind the creation of a new Alpha company website. Ass Kicking Alpha be sure to check it out. A permanent link to the site has been added to the namvet links page.
It is really cool to see the enthusiasm that Barry and Val and all the vets involved have been displaying in recent years.
Something a bit older (I first attended in 94) is on tap August 14-20 and that's "Week Of The Eagles" at Fort Campbell. General John Cushman (ret) is calling for another 2nd Brigade reunion during the event. As Colonel "Jack" Cushman he commanded the brigade before and after thier arrival in Nam mid december '67. All members of the original brigade and those who joined the unit as replacements in '68 are strongly urged to attend. Since I fall into the replacement category this reunion is on my wish list. I've heard that a Division "Welcome Home" to Namvets is on the agenda and please take note that "Week Of The Eagles" is open to the public with an excellent airshow over the weekend. I will post hotel info separate.
I'd also like to mention the "Kokomo" reunion which is always the third weekend of September (this year 18-20). The oldest and largest all services namvet reunion in the country. This is a giant party that over 40,000 will attend. Live entertainment, food, drink and military vendors plus camping, grilling and drinking. Smoke'em if you got'em. Alpha company has five connecting 20'x40' camping lots on site as our basecamp. Come join us for some good times.
For 2nd bde schedule and Hotel info click on "COMMENTS" below vvvv.
Joynt
Saturday, May 16, 2009
A New Project
My blog partner Barry Gregorich has been collecting photos from all the different guys he's been in touch with since being reaquainted with his nam budies a few years ago. His goal is to get pics of Alpha company grunts from the beginning in Dec '67 until the end in Mar 72. He sent me a disk of about 200 pics so let's get this party started. The Grunts Of Alpha Company This photo project will be an open and ongoing affair with frequent updates assuming you people send in your pics. Pick out your best Nam mugshots and send them to Barry at barrygregorich@yahoo.com and be sure to include names of those in the pics or any other relevent info so Barry can add it to your pics. This project will be a permanent addition to the "In The AO" page so get yours in to Barry asap.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
A New Book
I want to inform "all" Alpha Company vets of a recently published book inspired by the letters, journals and poems of A 1/501 namvet Phil Woodall. Phil was a member of the original Alpha company that arrived in Vietnam in December 1967 and he extended his tour to July 16th, 1969. For those that never met Phil he was the easy going son of a preacher man and in Nam his nickname was "Memphis". Well, Phil had a way with words and he left his mark in many places before his untimely death in January 2007.
The book is titled "RESURGAM" which is Latin for "I shall rise again" and is subtitled "Standing on the Ground of Remembrance". This work is an interesting blend of both fact and fiction which has literally been twenty years in the making. In late fall of 1987 author Jean A. Niedert decided to pay a visit to the "Traveling Wall" Vietnam Veterans Memorial which was then in Charlotte North Carolina. Curious about an envelope laying up against the wall she took a closer look at the words written on it expecting to see a name but instead saw the words "Alpha Company".
I'm not going to spoil it for you but will say that Jean happened to stumble onto this blog while searching Alpha company images and wondered if I was the Joyner that Phil wrote about. My mind got blown bigtime at that point. A limited edition printing was done December 30th, 2008 and I was one of the lucky ones to get an advance copy. Jean recently told me she is doing an accounting as to how many from this first printing are left. She also said positive responses she's received have far exceeded her expectations and a second much larger printing is imminent.
One other point I'd like to mention is that "RESURGAM" is actually part one of a trilogy and Jean is hard at work on part two. One thing I think you can count on is Alpha company being prominent throughout the trilogy. Anyone that ever served in Alpha company from WWII to those currently serving in A-Stan are going to want this on thier bookshelf. Here's what you need to do to get yours. Go to this link: Ground Of Remembrance and click the link there to request a copy. If first print books are still available you'll get one asap (ask Jean to sign it for you) if not you'll be added to the waiting list for the second printing. I was one of the first at Jeans blog and she said she has drafts of more posts she intends to make. This will be an ongoing story so I'm suggesting that you A 1/501 vets sign in there and leave your mark to see what develops.
Last but not least: Over in the Geronimo TV link I've added Dear America, Letters Home From Nam This is an HBO special first aired on The History Channel in 1988. One of the letters featured in this film was written by Phil Woodall. About 53 minutes into the video comes a segment about Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination and Phil's letter follows. I apologize for the quality and audio miscues but it was the best copy I could find.
Later, Joynt
The book is titled "RESURGAM" which is Latin for "I shall rise again" and is subtitled "Standing on the Ground of Remembrance". This work is an interesting blend of both fact and fiction which has literally been twenty years in the making. In late fall of 1987 author Jean A. Niedert decided to pay a visit to the "Traveling Wall" Vietnam Veterans Memorial which was then in Charlotte North Carolina. Curious about an envelope laying up against the wall she took a closer look at the words written on it expecting to see a name but instead saw the words "Alpha Company".
I'm not going to spoil it for you but will say that Jean happened to stumble onto this blog while searching Alpha company images and wondered if I was the Joyner that Phil wrote about. My mind got blown bigtime at that point. A limited edition printing was done December 30th, 2008 and I was one of the lucky ones to get an advance copy. Jean recently told me she is doing an accounting as to how many from this first printing are left. She also said positive responses she's received have far exceeded her expectations and a second much larger printing is imminent.
One other point I'd like to mention is that "RESURGAM" is actually part one of a trilogy and Jean is hard at work on part two. One thing I think you can count on is Alpha company being prominent throughout the trilogy. Anyone that ever served in Alpha company from WWII to those currently serving in A-Stan are going to want this on thier bookshelf. Here's what you need to do to get yours. Go to this link: Ground Of Remembrance and click the link there to request a copy. If first print books are still available you'll get one asap (ask Jean to sign it for you) if not you'll be added to the waiting list for the second printing. I was one of the first at Jeans blog and she said she has drafts of more posts she intends to make. This will be an ongoing story so I'm suggesting that you A 1/501 vets sign in there and leave your mark to see what develops.
Last but not least: Over in the Geronimo TV link I've added Dear America, Letters Home From Nam This is an HBO special first aired on The History Channel in 1988. One of the letters featured in this film was written by Phil Woodall. About 53 minutes into the video comes a segment about Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination and Phil's letter follows. I apologize for the quality and audio miscues but it was the best copy I could find.
Later, Joynt
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Geronimo-Vietnam TV
Greetings fellow namvets. It looks like spring is finally coming to the Chicago area and in the spirit of renewal I've decided to try something different for the website. Over the past year I've downloaded numerous tv shows and movies relating to the vietnam war era. I recently purchased more webspace and bandwitdh usage from my server and will begin hosting these productions directly on the website.
First point of order is that these shows will be hosted as WMV(Windows Media Video)files. If Windows Media Player is your default player and you have a good hi-speed internet connection these shows will automatically start streaming and playing in just a few seconds of buffer time. This is important to remember because other players such as RealPlayer, Quicktime, etc will likely prompt you to download the file instead of just playing it. You can go into the advanced settings area of these other players and set them to accept .wmv streaming files if you prefer not to download. However, there is absolutely nothing wrong with downloading and saving these files to your computer to play at your liesure if you want. If downloading be advised the files will be large (on average over 200mb) and may take a while depending on your internet connection.
One last thing. We all remember the politics of the day back then and my presenting these programs in no way reflects the political views of the geronimo-vietnam website in general or myself personally. This is strictly for entertainment purposes only.
The first presentation is a History Channel special regarding a photojournalist's adventures in nam from the early years until the downfall of Saigon.
The Unseen War
I will leave this first program up for a few weeks and I would appreciate any comments you have. Just click the comments link at the bottom of this post and tell me what you think.
Thanks, Joynt
First point of order is that these shows will be hosted as WMV(Windows Media Video)files. If Windows Media Player is your default player and you have a good hi-speed internet connection these shows will automatically start streaming and playing in just a few seconds of buffer time. This is important to remember because other players such as RealPlayer, Quicktime, etc will likely prompt you to download the file instead of just playing it. You can go into the advanced settings area of these other players and set them to accept .wmv streaming files if you prefer not to download. However, there is absolutely nothing wrong with downloading and saving these files to your computer to play at your liesure if you want. If downloading be advised the files will be large (on average over 200mb) and may take a while depending on your internet connection.
One last thing. We all remember the politics of the day back then and my presenting these programs in no way reflects the political views of the geronimo-vietnam website in general or myself personally. This is strictly for entertainment purposes only.
The first presentation is a History Channel special regarding a photojournalist's adventures in nam from the early years until the downfall of Saigon.
The Unseen War
I will leave this first program up for a few weeks and I would appreciate any comments you have. Just click the comments link at the bottom of this post and tell me what you think.
Thanks, Joynt
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Week Of The Eagles
I'm going out on a limb here but from all reports it looks like this years 'Week Of The Eagles' at Ft. Campbell Kentucky will be held August 14th to the 20th? That's a bit odd because it starts on a friday but apparently there are many good reasons for this change from the norm.
So... the smart money says if you plan to attend get accomodations in Clarksville or Hopkinsville starting thursday the 13th thru sunday the 16th. Rumors have the Division Run on friday 14th and the Big Air Show on saturday the 15th. As yet none of this is written in stone so check back here for updates. Right now it's every man for himself but we will designate a local motel as A 1/501 hdqtrs once this info is more firm.
see ya there, Joynt
So... the smart money says if you plan to attend get accomodations in Clarksville or Hopkinsville starting thursday the 13th thru sunday the 16th. Rumors have the Division Run on friday 14th and the Big Air Show on saturday the 15th. As yet none of this is written in stone so check back here for updates. Right now it's every man for himself but we will designate a local motel as A 1/501 hdqtrs once this info is more firm.
see ya there, Joynt
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Kokomo Update
I just received the latest newsletter of the HCVVO (Howard County Vietnam Veterans Org) host of the annual all services reunion in Kokomo Indiana. Along with the newsletter was a campsite request form and I'm starting early in pestering those of you that have been holding down a site in our basecamp in Veterans Park.
Go ahead and reserve your lot for 3-4 days regardless of what your current plans are. We lost one lot last year because of being late with a request. Lets just quickly secure our camping area and sort out the details later. September 18th to the 20th are the target dates. A minimum of two nights or more must be reserved.
lets do this, Joynt
Go ahead and reserve your lot for 3-4 days regardless of what your current plans are. We lost one lot last year because of being late with a request. Lets just quickly secure our camping area and sort out the details later. September 18th to the 20th are the target dates. A minimum of two nights or more must be reserved.
lets do this, Joynt
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