July 8, 2002: Welcome to the NEW HOME of our Banshee Web Site.
Help us support our hosts, The Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University.

B Troop Members who have donated materials to the Vietnam Archive

The Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and making available for study the records of the Wars in Southeast Asia.  The archive accepts donations of all kinds and sizes and currently has a wide range of sources available for students, scholars, and the general public.  All of our holdings are preserved in keeping with modern archival conservation practices and procedures to ensure they remain available for future generations.  If you are interested in conducting research, please consult our online holdings lists, contact us below, or come and visit us (directions to The Vietnam Archive).  If you have a more specific research question or need help finding specific information concerning the Was in Southeast Asia, you can submit an online reference request or contact us below.   And if you are interested in donating your personal papers and effects to the archive, please fill out this brief online contact form and someone will call you as soon as possible.   

    We believe that all of the sacrifices made during the Wars in Southeast Asia are significant.  The individual collections and recollections of the men and women who participated in these events are equally important.  At the Vietnam Archive, we welcome all materials and perspectives concerning the Wars in Southeast Asia and consider no individual collection or donation to be too small.     

Contact Information

Meet our Staff!

Mailing Address:
The Vietnam Archive
Texas Tech University Libraries
Special Collections Library
Room 108
Lubbock, TX 79409-1041

Reunion 2008 Scheduled for October 9-12, 2008 in Branson Missouri

Mark you calendars for Thursday October 9, 2008 thru Sunday October 12, 2008 for our next Association Reunion in Branson MO, Stonecastle Inn (formerly the Settle Inn). More information is now available in the BANSHEE GAZETTE.

2007 Reunion Held July 26-30th at Ft. Campbell, KY

2007 Ft. Campbell Reunion Photos - Courtesy Randall Kunkleman

2007 Mini Reunion Cruise. May 6, 2007, 7 Day Carribbean Cruise to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

Mini Reunion Cruise Photos 2007 - Courtesy Dave and Jinger Martin

2006 Reunion Held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. September 19 – 22, 2006

Colorado Springs Reunion Photos 2006 - Courtesy Don Slavinski and Dav Martin

We changed days of the week to help keep cost down.

2005 Reunion Held September 23-24 in Las Vegas

2005 Reunion held in Las Vegas, NV September 23 & 24, 2005 at the Plaza Hotel & Casino.

2004 Reunion held September 10-12, Lake Whitney, Texas

B TROOP 2/17TH CAVALRY ASSOCIATION REUNION 2003, Dayton Ohio
Dates September 11-14, 2003.

B TROOP 2/17TH CAVALRY ASSOCIATION REUNION 2002
Stars and Stripes Reunion Package
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Arlington, Va.

Our 2002 reunion was held in Washington D.C over the Veteran's Day weekend, Friday thru Sunday November 8th, 9th and 10th, 2002. Watch here for all the details.

This reunion is being held over the Veteran's Holiday. This is a long weekend according to my calendar and if you have ever been to DC for another Veteran's Day you know how crowded it can get. The year 2002 is also the 20th Anniversary of the Vietnam Memorial. If you were at the tenth and/or the fifteenth Anniversaries, you know the crowds are even worse.

Read all the details by CLICKING HERE: 2002 Reunion Details

Jim Matthews
6743 Madison Avenue
West Mifflin, PA 15122

Watch for more updates in the Banshee Gazette.

Our 2002 reunion was held in Washington D.C over the Veteran's Day weekend, Friday thru Sunday November 8th, 9th and 10th, 2002. Click here for new photos courtesy of Randy and Helen Kunkleman.

Our Year, 2001 reunion was held in Lubbock, Texas September 21 - 23, 2001. Special thanks to Dave Martin and to the Vietnam Archives at Texas Tech University.

Lubbock Texas 2001 Reunion Photos - Courtesy Randy Kunkleman

Our year 2000 Reunion was held at at Fort Rucker Alabama on September 29 through October 1.
Some of the attendees comments include:

"We had a GREAT time as those on this list will attest."
"... it was a great reunion, we all had a great time and not enough time to talk to every one ..."
"I had a great time and enjoyed everyone's company."

Fort Rucker Reunion 2000 Photos
Courtesy Max Roberts, Randy Kunkleman & Steve Jones

Las Vegas, 1999 - GREAT TURNOUT, GREAT FUN AND GREAT WEATHER. GREAT JOB, JIM. A special thanks to Dr. Ronald Frankum, Jr., head archivist at The Vietnam Center, and his staff for their review of the Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University.

We saw the Award Winning "Healing on the Hill" film documentary of 1999 - Back to Nam - The Last Recon Platoon (see below).

Our 1998 Ban'Shee REUNION at Fort Campbell was a great success. We had members from 1958, when B Troop first went Air ASSAULT (Airborne) using H-34's. The Association officers did an outstanding job of organization, special thanks to Kent Hitchings for all his hard work. We were treated so well by B Troop 2/17 at Fort Campbell and we were honored by the presence of Doc LaPointe's Family.

Dan Schave, Webmaster.

In Memory Of:

John-Michael Orland Hendrix

John-Michael O. Hendrix was born February 12, 1949, in Bremerton, Washington, to Prince and June Hendrix, and died November 13, 2006, in Granite Falls, Washington, from complications of pericarditis (heart infection).

John, an Eagle Scout, grew up in Seattle and Yakima, Washington. On the street in Seattle he befriended a small, lost Tibetan boy, whose family became life-long friends. Because of this boy, John developed an avid interest in Tibet and managed to convince multiple people to finance a trip to India for him to work with the Tibetan refugees. He was 16. John brought back a rug for Hubert H. Humphrey, who also became a friend and met with the Dali Lama. His life journey took him to join the Army to become a pilot. He graduated from Helicopter Flight School at Fort Rucker and served three tours in Vietnam. He was shot down seven times and wounded three times. He received the Bronze Star and four Distinguished Flying Crosses for his amazing work as a Light Observation Helicopter Pilot.

He and Patti Gingell, an Army O.R. nurse at the 85th Evac Hospital, were married in Phu Bai Vietnam in 1971. After leaving the Army, he flew all over the world doing oil exploration mostly as a "long-line" pilot and fighting forest fires. He hung up his "rotor-wings" for good in 1993 and began a career in writing, which gave us To Have and To Hold. Granite Falls' students read the book and brought about the reinstatement of the Veterans Day Parade in 1994, which put Granite Falls on the world map. His dedicated service to his world and his country will never be forgotten. He will be missed. His true joy in life centered around his daughters, of whom he was very proud. He is survived by his daughters, Heather and Heidi; his mother, June; sister, Anna Mae; and brothers, William, David and Patrick.

He was predeceased by his daughter, Hollyann (in 2005); and his father. Internment will be at Tahoma National Cemetery. Celebration of Life will be held from 1 until 3 p.m., Sunday, at the family home.

Please send donations in his name to your local Vietnam Veterans Chapter.

As Published in The Herald (Everett) from 11/17/2006 - 11/18/2006.

Ten Year Commeration of Operation Desert Storm (ODS) and
2-17th CAV Squadron's Open House in February, 2001

The Squadron Open House was held all day on 24 February 2001 from 0900-1600 in conjuction with the ten year commemoration of Operation Desert Storm (ODS).

Other events commemorating the ten year anniversary was held on 23 February 2001. If you attended any of these events let us know what you thought. Leave us information in our Guest Book.

Your Host Was:
CPT Brian Davis, davisb@emh2.campbell.army.mil

Congratulations

Bill would rename road after veteran

As reported in the DAYTON DAILY NEWS, Sunday January 5, 2003.
MILESTONES: Section of highway in line to be named for Vietnam hero

The Ohio House and the Ohio Senate voted unanimously to rename a section of the Trotwood connector off Salem Avenue north of Dayton as the "Joseph Guy LaPointe Jr. Memorial Parkway". The bill, sponsored by Rep. Fred Strahorn, D Dayton was signed by Gov. Robert Taft on Monday January 6.

In the picture is: Cindy LaPointe, Katalyn LaPointe (Cindy's granddaughter), Randy K., Governor Taft (Sitting), Joe III, Kandy Nevin (Cindy's sister), and Representative Fred Strahorn.

Joseph Guy LaPointe, Jr Memorial Page

as reported By Diane Richey
Columbus Bureau, DAYTON DAILY NEWS, November 2002

COLUMBUS - The Ohio House voted unanimously Thurs-day to rename Salem Avenue, through Trotwood and Clayton, after a local Medal of Honor winner killed in Vietnam.

The roadway will be known as the Joseph Guy LaPointe Jr. Memorial Parkway.

LaPointe was drafted after graduating from Northridge High School in 1966 and became a medical aidman in the Army. A pacifist, he did not carry a weapon but instead transported medical supplies, said Rep. Fred Strahorn, D-Dayton, who sponsored the bill, which still must go before the Senate.

LaPointe was hit by a burst of fire June 2, 1969, while adminis-tering first aid to a fallen comrade and shielding the body of another, but continued his duties. He was wounded a second time, but remained at his post. A grenade killed him and the two men he was helping during a battle on Hill 376 in Quang Tin Province.

LaPointe's death came before he could take a planned trip to Hawaii to meet his wife, Cindy, and 5-month old son, Joseph LaPointe III, whom he had never seen. LaPointe has received the Congressional Medal of Honor, Silver Star and Bronze Star.

The training center for all Army medical-aid soldiers at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, where LaPointe received advanced training, carries his name.

A housing complex and a medical clinic at Fort Campbell, Ky., home of the 101st Airborne Division where LaPointe was assigned, is named after him, along with a hospital helipad at Fort Benning, Ga.

The Army Reserve Center near Harshman and Airway roads on the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base also carries his name.

He was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame at Fort Rucker, Ala, in April 1998.

THE JOSEPH GUY LAPOINTE CLINIC DEDICATION

Approximately two weeks before our 2000 reunion, I received a message informing us that there would be a dedication of a new troop clinic on Ft. Campbell on October 4, 2000. The message was an open invitation for anyone that served in B Troop that would like to attend the dedication.

The new clinic was going to be dedicated to Joseph Guy LaPointe who was killed in action June 2, 1969 while serving as the medic for B Troop 2/17th Cavalry. "Doc" sacrificed his own life while trying to save other wounded members of the B Troop "blues" that were pinned down by heavy enemy fire, just after being inserted on Hill 376 outside of Tam Ky. For his actions "Doc" was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Due to the time constraints involved we were not able to put the information out through the Gazette. We made an announcement at the 2001 Reunion, that if anyone was interested they were more than welcome to attend.

From the reunion Judie and I, along with Dave Martin and Jinger made a side trip through Kentucky, on the way home, to attend the dedication. Also in attendance were Wayne Lange and Joe Garcia. We tried to contact several of you that reside in the Ft. Campbell area, but couldn't make the connection because of one reason or another. Needless to say, Cindy and most of the LaPointe family were in attendance. Even though we just saw most of them a few days earlier in Alabama, it was great to see them again.

We were well received by active members of the 2/17th Cavalry and current Ban'shees, not to mention the reception we received from the personnel responsible for the dedication. The dedication was an event well worth attending and my only regret is that we didn't have more time after the dedication to socialize. Dave and Jinger had to start getting back to Texas and Judie and I had to make it back to Pennsylvania that night.

Jim Matthews

Bob Acklin induction into the Texas A&M University Hall of Honor

COLLEGE STATION - Texas A&M University recognized the lifetime achievements of four former cadets on Oct. 28, 2000 including the late Capt. Robert L. Acklen Jr, Class of '63.

... Cadets at Texas A&M would do well to emulate the heroic and humanitarian example of Capt. Bob Acklen. He graduated from Texas A&M with a bachelor of arts degree in history and was commissioned an Army officer in 1967. In 32 months as a helicopter pilot and infantry company commander in Vietnam, Acklen received 17 decorations for valor in combat. He left the fighting in Vietnam, only after suffering a broken back in a helicopter crash. During his 22 months in the hospital, doctors said he would never walk again but he proved them wrong, completing the rugged Army Ranger Course as an honor graduate a year later. Acklen continued to serve until 1976 when he was retired for physical disability as a result of his Vietnam injuries. At retirement, his military decorations included the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, six Bronze Star Medals (four for valor), 40 Air Medals (four for valor), four Army Commendation Medals (three for valor), the Purple Heart, and three Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry, among others.

The selflessness Acklen displayed in combat continued in his civilian life. He earned a degree in computer science, becoming a computer programmer and systems analyst in Dallas. Over several years, he donated his services to help develop the computer system of the St. John Ophthalmic Hospital in Jerusalem, traveling to Israel at his own expense. For that work, Acklen was made a knight of the Order of St. John. He worked with veterans groups, assisting fellow Vietnam veterans and their families, and with civic organizations such as the Jaycees and Lions Club. For his service to those in need, he was made a knight of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus by the Duke of Savoy. Tragically, his global humanitarian efforts were cut short when he died of a brain tumor in 1998 at age 57...

Sunday, August 20, 2000

Bill Wroolie was elected National Jr Vice Commander at the 68th National (MOPH) Convention held in New Orleans. YES! From here it's an automatic process. Next year Junior Vice. The following Vice, and the year after that NATIONAL Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart in the U.S. Top Honor.

Congratulations Bill! In my mind you've always been the best and greatest ever. (if you've read 'Eagle Bird Down' you'll know how much former Banshee Bill Wroolie means to me)

Of course you could congratulate him yourself... Bill & Mary Beth Wroolie

Steve Jones

INFORMATION REQUESTED

Looking for Edward Daniel Hughes from Chicago

Saturday, December 09, 2006 Maggie (Hughes) Czerwionka, sister of Edward Daniel Hughes, is looking to reunite with him. He served with B Troop in 1959 and participated in an exercise called California Eagle I that was reported in "THE COURIER, Ft.Campbell, Ky., Fri., Nov 20,1959". Any information can be sent to: Maggie(Hughes) Czerwionka (MagHughes05@aol.com) 5827 N. Kirby Ave. Chicago, IL. 60646 1-773-685-3187 cell # 1-773-627-4110 As reported in THE COURIER Nov 20,1959: California Eagle I, Largest In States History 180 Combat Ready Eagles Jump into Beale, AFB By DAVE DEFERENCE More than 180 combat-ready paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Divisions Troop B, 17th Cavalry dropped into Beal AFB Nov. 15, to launch the largest airborne operation in California's History. Code-named California Eagle I, the exercise was conducted by Capt. Leroy M Richmond, a veteran parptrooper with more than 17 years Army service...

Do you remember WO1 Charles A. Richardson?

Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 14:45:30 -0800

I am a friend of WO1 Charles A. Richardson, B Troop 2/17, KIA 6.5.70 as a copilot on his second month in country. I am looking for any details and or friends that knew him. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

I found your page through one of his Army buddy's who posted a message on the wall. They too were close friends and we have been in communication. He directed me to your site, which, I must add is awesome.

I checked class photos, but, to no avail. He was in Ft. Wolters, TX class designated "Class 70-3"

Thank you for your courage, duty and service. May God continue to bless you and your family.

Jerry L. Neff

Looking for Wayne Ramsey

Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2000

I would dearly like to find Sgt. Ramsey. He took a nasty hit from shrapnel that pierced the armor under his seat. He was evac'ed a day later, and I never saw or heard from him again. I had a tape recorder in the cockpit a day earlier, with Ramsey as my Gunner. My father swore that that accent (Ramsey's voice) was from Tennessee. My dad was born in Tennessee, and took great delight from hearing Ramsey's voice saying "Aaaahm reddy!" when we were about to go back and mark an antiaircraft gun in the A Shau. A day later, we were hit by a missile of some kind, right in the belly of the OH-6. It blew the fuel cells off the ship in a ball of flame, came through the armor, and the shrapnel took the heel off one of his feet. Needless to say, the next few minutes were desperate. I was yelling on the radio and looking for someplace not full of gooks to set down. The intercom was dead, or I thought it was, but when I looked over my shoulder, crates of grenades, Willy Petes, and assorted explosives ( I'm not gonna mention Ka-Doosh Bombs, cause we really didn't have any, honest) were going out of Ramsey's door. Hurt as he was, he never lost his head, and got rid of the stuff that would have blown us to glory if he had kept it. We crash-landed, in flames, and were rescued by an Australian Ranger who was closer to the action than anyone knew. The Aussie's name is John Barnes. He remembers B Troop very well, and he is alive and well in Deception Bay, Queensland. The B Troop Slick Pilot who came in through a river of NVA tracers to pick us up is Bob Erickson.

So I would really like to find Ramsey, just to know that he is alive and well.

Sincerely
Bob Donnelly

Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 - From Randy White, L Co 75th INF Airborne Ranger

Just a note of thanks for running the request for info about the April 23,1971 mission on your web site. It brought me some responses that helped fill in some unknown info on who the casualties on that day were.

"I taped the note I had for them, with the 101st Airborne Division patch, a picture of Doc, Fleming, and Richard..."
Read "ITEMS OF Interest" 1999 Visit ot The Wall and 1999 VietnamTour.

"The Task Force reaches the summit where a 2 June 1969 survivor finds that nothing has changed."
Read: The Last Recon Platoon

Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2000

Dear Fernando,

Last Thursday night, Vietnam TV reported an special event at Cam Lo, Quang Tri province.

They excavated the site that George Steiner and others in the Minnessota Volunteers group showed. The remains of an estimated 30 NVAs were found. They are continuing the excavating work on the site. In the reports, they expressed their deepest thanks to Steiner. The remains now have been buried at Highway 9 Cemetery.

Thank you Fernando and many thanks to the Minessota Volunteers and especially George Steiner.

Quy