July 1, 2016 A/2/12, 1966-67 Volume 16, Issue 1 WALK OF HONOR

July 1, 2016

A/2/12, 1966-67

Volume 16, Issue 1

WALK OF HONOR

I don't know how quick this note will be, but don't stop me. I'm on a roll. This picture

shows just a bit of a site next door to the Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, Georgia. The area is

called the Walk of Honor where a number of American Infantry units have built monuments to

commemorate the history of their units. The 4th ID has one of those monuments. The latest to be

placed there is the 22nd Infantry Regiment Monument.

Rusty Armstrong, of the 1/12 and current editor of the IVY Leafs, 4th Infantry Division

newsletter was the first to come up with the idea of the monument. He mentioned the lack of a

monument at the walk to a couple of 1/12th Red Warriors. One of them, a former 1/12th Officers

named Ed Northrop, lived within 80 miles of Ft Benning and decided to investigate the site with

his wife Joan.

Following that visit Ed Northrop, a boat person of the 1/12th Infantry, initiated a committee

that not only took up the challenge of funding the effort but also began design work while

preparing for the installation of the monument along the Walk of Honor.

Ed asked around to see who he could use as a Point of Contact person for the 2/12th battalion

and Bob Babcock, the 4th ID Association Historian, mentioned my name. He contacted me and I

agreed to help to get the word out to our group, while Arnold Krause would do the same on his

2/12th Vietnam website. As the concept of the memorial was being organized, I volunteered to

work on the historical aspects of our unit to be used on a monument

plaque.

Here is a background on Ed Northrop relative to his time in Vietnam

with the 12th Infantry. Ed was a boat person who served in HHQ of the

1/12th and was sent to Vietnam on the Nelson M Walker with the 2nd

Brigade of the 4th ID two months before us. He spent his first few months

in HHQ and on January 1967 he took command of C Company of the

1/12th Infantry. In his Company was Sgt. John Raymond, who some of

you may remember from their basic training at Fort Lewis. He was the old

timer who trained us on how to fire our M14s during basic. Sgt. Raymond

was 49 when he was killed by a sniper. I have much more on Sgt.

Raymond that will come out in the next newsletter.

This is what Ed wrote about the project:

Ed Northrop , Vietnam

1967

"In early August, my wife Joan and I were visiting the National Infantry Museum (NIM) at Fort Benning, GA. As part of our tour, we visited the "Walk of Honor". This is an area set aside by the NIM to allow units, mostly Regiments and Divisions, to erect

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monuments that reflect a specific unit's history. There are currently about 35 monuments on the Walk of Honor, of various sizes and costs. I noticed there was not a 12th Infantry Regiment Monument. There are monuments for the 4thInfantry Division, the 25th Infantry Division, the 22nd Infantry Regiment, and the 35th Infantry Regiment. On Veterans Day of this year, there will be one for the 8th Infantry Regiment.

Therefore, the reason for this letter and the project is to coordinate the effort to erect a monument that reflects on the 12th Infantry Regiment's historic achievements.

The committee would like to emphasize that this monument is to be a reflection of all five battalions of the 12th Infantry Regiment. Past, current, and future member Soldiers of the 12th Infantry Regiment are all to be honored with this monument. (Currently the 3rd, 4th and 5th Battalions are inactive. The 1st and 2nd Battalions are active and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division at Ft Carson, CO ? both deployed to Afghanistan at the time this is written). I have been in contact via email with both active duty Battalion Commanders and they are enthusiastic about this project.

I have visited the Walk of Honor three times, met with those in charge of the facility, and after much consideration, selected and paid a deposit on a 20' x 20' concrete pad site. The project has started.

We reviewed cost options of existing monuments and found that they vary significantly. The cost depends on the scope of the design, type granite, engraving, etc. After much discussion, the Monument committee has tentatively agreed that $100,000 is a reasonable goal.

Installation of the monument is dependent on donations. IF, we receive donations quickly, we will erect quickly; if we are slow with donations, the completion date will take longer. Be assured, our effort to complete a beautiful monument is passionate; we hope all who read this will share that passion.

Our 12th Infantry Regiment Chapter Officers and Monument Team are: 1. Herb Taylor- President of the 12th Infantry Chapter and current president of the 1/12 reunion (Vietnam 66-70) 2. Ed Northrop-- Monument project Coordinator 3. Tim Swan-- 12th Monument Treasurer 4. Rusty Armstrong -- Publicist and Trusted Advisor. ORIGINATOR OF THIS MONUMENT PROJECT. ( changed my lifestyle !) 5. Bob Pearson --Monument Design Group Facilitator 6. Bill Comeau ( Alpha6xray... )-- 2Bn /12 Inf Regt POC (Vietnam) - also 12th Regt Historian ( researched all u would ever want to know and more). 7. Mike Hamer -- (mehamer...) -- 3rd Bn/12th Inf Regt POC (Vietnam) 8. Dennis Witt -- MOH project Coord (found 7 so far throughout the 12th History) and new "Face Book" project Director. 9. Jim Daniels -- Vietnam 1/12 Web Page Coordinator 10. Wilfred Pla -- Information Distribution Specialist for 1/12 Inf Vietnam group. 11. Rick Adams -- 4th Infantry Division Association Treasurer and Advisor to me ! (Processes all PayPal collections for Project then to Tim ) 12. Bob Babcock -- President National 4th Inf Div Association and longtime friend."

To give you an idea what the Walk of Fame monuments looks

like, I am going to post a PDF file online that you can get off our

home page:

Or

you

can

see

a

YouTube

Video

of

an

aerial

view

of

not

only

the Walk of Honor, but also the National Infantry Museum site by

going here:



.be

Ed and his lovely wife, Joan today

So it looks like your old Infantry Regiment is in need of you once more. The easiest way that

you can contribute to this grand monument to our historic unit is to go to the website where more

information is being updated weekly:

So far the design work is ongoing and still not completed, but when it is completed I will

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July 1, 2016

A/2/12, 1966-67

Volume 16, Issue 1

share with you what was decided on for our testimonial.

I am told that we have currently accumulated twenty thousand dollars in funds, but we have

a long way to go to meet our goal of one hundred thousand dollars that will be needed.

To those that go online and see that wonderful aerial view of the site, you may wonder

where our plot is located. We are on the opposite side of the 4th ID which is prominently shown

in the video.

Here is a map of the site with our location noted:

SITE LAYOUT OF THE WALK OF HONOR SHOWING OUR PLOT LOCATION AS A STAR

AND RECTANGLE SHAPE SHOWING THE 22ND INFANTRY SITE (shown in Photo)

For those of you who are not online, this is the order donation form that the rest of us will be

using to donate:

Donations can be sent to chapter treasurer Tim Swan, 3110 Muir Field Rd., Madison, WI

53719. The association is a non-profit 501(c)(4) - 170(c)(3) War Veterans' organization. The Project

Coordinator for this effort is Ed Northrop who can be contacted at vmi62edn@.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Return the lower portion with your donation to the address above or donate online



I want to

help make the new 12th Infantry Regiment Monument at Fort Benning, GA a reality. I have

included my donation of: $25 $50 $100 $250 $500 $1,000 Other Memorial to:

Name

Unit

Address

City

State Zip

MAKE CHECKS

PAYABLE TO: 12th INF Regt Monument Fund with note on memo line "Walk of Honor

Monument Fund"

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