Vietnam Veterans Round Table Discussion



Veterans Round Table Discussion

Carmel High School: May 6, 2016

Sessions

• B1: M.C. 8:30 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. B2: M.C. 9:40 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

• B3: M.C. 12:00p.m. to 1:20 p.m. B4: M.C. 1:40 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Description of Events

• Vietnam Veterans Small Group Discussions (Media Center Pods, Labs, and Reading Rooms):

o Wes Anderson, David Bandelier, Tom Blandford, Brad Brooking, Dave Brooking, Dick Chegar, Dr. James C. Dillon, Frank Dixon, John Dyar, Eric Edwards, Don Hawkins, Gary Hildenbrand, Lloyd Louks, Wayne Moni, Ron Paye, Bill Reisa, Dave Sander, Jim Schmidt, Jerry Shrewsbury, Randy Snyder, David L. Speth, Ron Sukenick, and Wallace Vaughn

o Veterans will be stationed throughout the pods, labs, and the reading areas in the Media Center.

o Students are encouraged to rotate from veteran to veteran to gain a well-rounded perspective of the Vietnam War from those who experienced the conflict first-hand.

• Chuck Little, “Drafted and the Unintended Consequences” (Classroom 1)

o Specialist 5 Little was stationed at Camp Enari, in the Central Highlands. His photos from Vietnam document his experiences, as well as the serious implications of Agent Orange.

• Ron Osgood and Phil Zook (Classroom 2)

o Vietnam War Veteran, Ron Osgood, is currently a Professor in the Department of Telecommunications at Indiana University, specializing in documentary storytelling and video production. His documentaries include Shirts and Skins (2003), Trouble No More: The Making of a John Mellencamp Album (won regional Emmy in 2004), and My Vietnam Your Iraq (aired on PBS in 2011). Osgood has also created an interactive website, vietnamwarstories.indiana.edu, which helps tell the story of the Vietnam War from the combat soldiers that fought against one another, as well as the civilians who experience the war first-hand. Teaming up with Ron, is Phil Zook. Phil will present on his experiences in C Company; 1/7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division in both III Corps Area of Vietnam and in Cambodia. While serving with his battalion in May-June 1970, his squad received the Valorous Unit Citation. Ron’s new project, as well as their collective experiences will form the basis for their discussions.

• Tim Bagwell (Freshman Media Center Courtyard/Pond)

o Tim Bagwell, a resident of Bloomington and a Marine Corps combat veteran of the American war in Vietnam, will be reading his original anti-war poetry and answering students’ questions about his experiences of combat in the northern portion of South Vietnam, a US military region known as "I Corps,” and located immediately south of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). He qualified for a shortened tour of duty in Vietnam when President Richard Nixon pulled out the 3rd Marine Division in July, 1970, as the first step in disengaging US combat troops from the war. In 1971, Bagwell was assigned to ceremonial guard duty at Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and then appointed the orderly to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is the highest ranking military officer in the US. While at the Pentagon, he joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War, was investigated by the Defense Intelligence Agency as a security risk, lost his top secret clearance to the Pentagon and was eventually honorably discharged as a conscientious objector. IN April 1971, while still on active duty, he participated with VVAW in its Dewey Canyon anti-war demonstration in D.C. and returned his war medals to the US Congress. He has never replaced them.

o In addition to VVAW, of which he is still a member, he is also a member of Veterans for Peace. Currently, he is medically retired (100% from Social Security disability and 70% from VA disability) due to a life-time of suffering from combat-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Brief Biographies of Veterans in Attendance:

Wes Anderson

• Rank: Spec 5

• Unit: 1st Cav Division

• Tour: Vietnam 1967-1968

• Experiences:

o Served in the artillery and computed data for the Howitzers.

o During his service, his base was overrun on April 5, 1968 and he was wounded nine times.

o Spent ten months in the hospital before returning to active duty and serving until 1972.

Tim Bagwell

• Rank: Corporal (E-4)

• Unit:  Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division

• Stationed:  Quang Tri—in I Corps (Rear Area), LZ Vandegrift (Staging Area)     

• Tour:  3 Years on 4 Year Enlistment

• Experiences: 

o Combat: Jan. 1969-July 1969 in I Corp (incl. Dewey Canyon)

• Additional Info:

o Fall, 1970 assigned as Orderly for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Thomas Moorer

o Spring, 1971 discharged as Conscientious Objector; returned medals to Congress; member of Vietnam Veterans Against War and Veterans for Peace

o Member of performance poetry group, Sentient Souls

Dave Brooking

• Rank: Corporal E-4

• Unit: Lima Company, 3/7, First Marine Division

• Stationed: From DMZ to just south of DaNang in I Corp Area

• Length of Service: Approximately 20-Months

• Experiences:

o M-60 Machine Gun, NCOIC Crew-Served Weapons - Platoon Leader

o Currently Chief Historian and Americanism Officer for the Military Order of the Purple Heart

Dick Chegar

• Rank in Vietnam: First Lieutenant & Captain

• Unit: 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry/173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate)

• Stationed: Bien Hoa Air Base, operated in 2/3 of Vietnam

• Tour: 12 months, 1965-66

• Experiences:

o 3 months A Company Executive Officer; 3 months Battalion Adjutant; 6 months A Company Commander

• Additional Info:

o Retired Major General

Dr. James C. Dillon

• Rank: Lt. Commander

• Branch: U.S. Navy

• Stationed: Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital

• Tour: July 1970-June 1972

• Experiences:

o Chief of Cardio-Pulmonary Medicine

o Direct of the heart stations

o Head of the medivac operations for the hospital

Brief Biographies of Veterans in Attendance:

Gary Hildenbrand

• Rank: Retired Command Sergeant Major (E-9)

• Branch: Indiana Army National Guard

• Years: July 1966-March 2005

• Stationed: Throughout the U.S., as well as in Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, Germany, and Slovakia

• Experiences: Significant duty assignments include: Administrative Specialist,  Platoon Sergeant, First Sergeant,  Battalion Operations Sergeant Major, Battalion Command Sergeant Major, Brigade Combat Team Command Sergeant Major, Enlisted Commandant, Indiana Military Academy, and Garrison Command Sergeant Major 

Chuck Little

• Rank: Specialist (E-5)

• Unit: 4th Infantry Division, 704 Maintenance Battalion,

• Stationed: Camp Enari, Central Highlands

• Tour: 1968-1969. 13 months in country; 19 months total service

• Experiences:

o Drafted

o Fire Control Instrument Repairman turned Clerk

o Guard duty (every 3 nights)

• Additional Info:

o Unknowingly exposed to Agent Orange

Wayne Moni

• Branch of Service: U.S. Navy, Naval Aviator

• Rank: Captain, USN (retired)

• Years of Service: 1965-1994

• Aviation Squadron Assignments: VP-40, VT-7, VA-196, VA-128, VA-145, VT-19

• Aircraft: T-34, T-28, T-2, S-2, P-5, P-3, A-4, A-6, F/A-18

• Carrier Landings: USS Lexington, Ranger, Constellation, Kitty Hawk, and Enterprise

• Experiences: Shot at in Vietnam, planned strikes in the Middle East, SIOP planning (nuclear plans).  While serving in Washington D.C., briefed Congress on the sale of the F/A-18 to international allies, negotiated the turnover/sale of Subic Bay Naval Base with the Governor of the Philippines.

Ron Osgood

• Branch of Service: U.S. Navy

• Stationed: USS Oriskany (CVA 34); spent 23 months over three cruises to Yankee Station in Gulf of Tonkin

• Tour: 1968-1972

• Experiences: Interior Communication Electrician and worked on Pilot Landing Aid Television

• Additional Info:

o His project, vietnamwarstories.indiana.edu, tells of the Vietnam War from the combat soldiers that fought against one another. His current project has taken him on multiple return trips to Vietnam as well as throughout the U.S., interviewing both American and Vietnamese soldiers and refugees who participated in the war.

Ron Paye

• Rank: Corporal (Marines)/Warrant Officer (Army)

• Unit: E Company; 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines/129th Assault Helicopter Company

• Stationed: Da-Nang/Lane Army Airfield near Qui-Nhon

• Tour: 4 mos. in country; 3 years in Marines/8 mos. in Vietnam; 18 years US Army

• Experiences:

o Infantry company; guarded Marine Air Wing

o Pilot of AH-1G, Cobra Attack Helicopter in support of ground forces

Brief Biographies of Veterans in Attendance:

Bill Reisa

• Rank: Lt. O-3

• Branch of Military: U.S. Navy

• Tours (Vietnam): 1966-1967

• Experiences:

o Flew on 144 combat missions over North Viet Nam during his 2 tours

o Participated in combat hops from Ranger, Intrepid, Oriskany, Constellation, Coral Sea, Hancock, Forestall, Enterprise, plus USMC Air Station at Chu Lai, SVN

o 57 decorations in all, plus Naval Flight Officer Wings and Coxswain Pin

o Qualified as NFO, Coxswain, Boarding Officer, Harbor Patrol Officer, Firefighter, and EMT

o Earned “Expert” with both rifle and pistol

o Mobilized for Desert Storm (assigned ICONUS for counter terrorism detail), 1991

Gerald Shrewsbury

• Service: Geologic Survey Officer and Detachment Commander

• Branch of Military: U.S. Air Force

• Tour: 4 years (1965-1969)

• Experiences

o “Super-surveying” for ICBM sites at SAC bases throughout the Midwest and western states.

▪ Located points on the Earth’s surface to permit missiles to hit

o Worked as cartographer with the U.S. Air Force to devise targeting maps for Vietnam

• Tour: 2 years. 13.5 months in Vietnam

• Experiences:

o Field Medic; Treat and/or evacuate all routine and emergency medical problems.

o Participated in Medical Civil Action Program visits to local villages. Often treated locals who came to our facilities.

Dave Sander

• Branch of Service: US Air Force

• Experiences:

o Served four years as an Air Traffic Controller

Jim Schmidt

• Rank: E-5 Specialist 5th Class converted to Buck Sergeant (in Vietnam); E-8 Master Sergeant (at ETS)

• Branch of Military: US Army Artillery and Signal Corps

• Unit: 69th Signal BN, 1st Signal Brigade

• Tour (Vietnam): May 1972-March 1973

• Stationed (Vietnam): Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base, Saigon, Republic of Vietnam (RVN)

• Experiences:

o 8.5 years active duty/3 years active reserve

o Evaluated and maintained operational readiness of DSTE, Autodin Switch communication, and TTY equipment at the MACV Communications Center on Tan Son Nhut AFB.

o Flew into remote outposts to provide onsite technical expertise and technical support to all DSTE Subscribers throughout Vietnam. While at the compounds, assist in protecting the sites.

o Flew rescue missions with Air Force PEDRO rescue helicopters.

o Escorted known drug addicts from their unit in country to airplane departing for US.

o Awarded Bronze Star for meritorious achievement in ground operation against hostile forces

o Awarded several other medals and unit citations including Vietnam Cross of Gallantry

o Exposed to Agent Orange and has battled numerous health complications as a result

Brief Biographies of Veterans in Attendance

Randy Snyder

• Rank: Staff Segeant (E-6)

• Unit: Arctic Rangers (Airborne)

• Stationed: Alaska

• Tour: 3 years (Company disbanded in 1972)

• Experiences

o Special Ops.

o Team Leader; Team 2-7

o Jump Master, Air Terminal Guidance, NCO School

o Instructor: Arctic Summer and Winter Warfare School

o Participated in the first Polar Ice Jump in history

David L. Speth

• Branch of Service: U.S. Air Force, 1964-1968

• Tour: Vietnam 1967

Ron Sukenick

• Rank: spc4

• 528th QM

• 1st log command

• Tour: 1968-1969

• Army retired

Wallace Vaughn

• Rank: Spec 5

• Unit: 10th Cavalry/4th Infantry Division

• Stationed: Pleiku/An Khe (Central Highlands)

• Tour: 2 years. 13.5 months in Vietnam

• Experiences:

o Field Medic; Treat and/or evacuate all routine and emergency medical problems.

o Participated in Medical Civil Action Program visits to local villages. Often treated locals who came to our facilities.

Phil Zook

• Rank: Infantry 2nd Lt.; 1st Lt.; Captain, Regular Army 1969-1973

• Unit: C Company; 1/7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division

• Stationed: III Corp Area & in Cambodia

• Tour: Dec. 1969-June, 1970 (in-country)

• Experiences

o Stateside and Vietnam service as a Platoon Leader and Executive Officer in Infantry Companies

o Wounded twice and decorated three times.

o While serving with the battalion in May-June of 1970, the squad received the Valorous Unit Citation

Eric Edwards

• Rank:  Specialist 5th Class (E-5)

• Branch of Service:  US Army

• Stationed: Northern I Corps/DMZ; near borders of South Viet Nam, North Viet Nam and Laos

• Tour: Viet Nam 1968-1969; Age in Vietnam: 20-21

• Experiences/Job: 

o Combat Intelligence Detachment, attached to 1st Cavalry Division (AirMobile) Infantry

o Enemy troop movement and battle plans, Prisoners of War, After-Action Assessment

Map of Vietnam

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