Centaur Website Newsletter - January 2025

INDEX: News, Checking In, Corections , MyPages, War Stories & Photos , Deceased

--- News ---

NOTICE: There have been problems with Newsletter Distrubution. It was not known that Google Gmail limits the number of Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) addresses to 500 (unless we go commercial - which will never happen). Because of this some of you may not have received the Nov and Dec Newsletters. They always go out within the first couple days of each month. If you didn't receive one each month then there may be a problem with your email. Let me know.

To reduce this problem the Newsletter Distribution List is being purged of those who have not checked in for 3 years or more. Here is a list of the emails deleted so far: "Aranda, Julian C", "Chesnut, Gary", "Cichon, Brian", "Cleckler,David","Costillo, Oscar","Collins, Britt Taylor","Conway, John","Cranney, Lee","Crha, Joe", "Cunningham, Johnny","Dawson, Greg","Dell, Fred","Dismer, John D","Doiron, Nicholas", "Draganjac,Bruce", "Ennis, Marin","Fleming, Richard","Fluhr, Gilbert","Fowler, James", "Poole, Ferris" <farris@studio10photo.com>, "Williams, Richard" <rich3946@hotmail.com>

2025 Vets Reunion: So far no one has volunteered to do the 2025 Centaur Veterans' Day Reunion. A big but rewarding job. Think about it!

--- Checking In---
Thanks for checking with us once in a while

.....Bruce Wywitzke....... Bob Jones ......Tom Dooling.......John Evans.......Mike Peake........Marty Jenkins.......
.....Simon Collins......Clay Maxwell.........Karl Kaufman.....Randy Jones......Joe Bowen.....John Jones.......
.....Larry Welch....Bill Carroll...Lloyd Goldsmith....Russ Ray....Gene Yonke....Brian Harrison....Greg Jessup
.....Jim Kirker......Gary Jones......Gordon Eatley......Angie M. Koll.....Tim Walsh.....Marshall Huckaby.....
.....John Moore......Frank Dillon......Criner, Roger "Pete"......Lowell W. Kennedy......

Susie Hooper (Wayne's Wife) checks in: "Bruce this is Wayne's wife Susie, please keep sending your newsletter. Wayne has been going thru some physical struggles for the last six months resulting in the amputation of a good portion of his left leg. He does have the onset of dementia but as of late has had a enormous come back. The VA here in Miami have taken very good care of him. This VA has a special Spinal Cord ward of which there are only about 24 I believe in the U.S. It breaks my heart to see many of the vets on the ward that have absolutely no one to come see them ever and most spend months at a time when they are admitted. May your holidays be jolly and thank you for all the effort you put out for our soldiers.  Thank you for your service doesn't seem to be enough, thank you for my freedom." - Sincerely Susie Hooper

Gary Haverdick Aerorifles 1971 assigned to camp Frenzell Jones, is not currently listed on our Rosters. We are still seeking more information through his niece Angie M. Koll. John Moore found a 1971 news article says SGT Haverdick was a Team Leader and has received the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal (with V), the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal. If you remember anything about him please email the Webmaster powellcentaur@gmail.com

John Jones sends update of his eBook: "I did complete a separate work on military signage / artwork that appeared during the war. Ever changing as units came in and out, switched locations and moved bases. Their mostly wood and painted construction often saw a short lifespan In the tropical climate, but were captured in photo images, by the soldiers that crossed their path"

 

--- Website Corrections/Updates---

Added couples pic to Ron Holmes Infosheet.

Mike Peake does a total remake of the Centaur Call Signs page with signifantly new information.

Bac Ha's Orphanage Christmas - Dec 68 is updated and now listed on the War Stories Essay page.

Flare Ship and Twenty Minute Fuel Light added to Glossary

Jim Kreil LOH Crew Chief April to October 1969 has posted his InfoSheet. (Linked to from his MyPage)

Thomas J. "Budda" Sinclair LOH Scout Platoon Leader in 1969 now has a link on his MyPage to his Biography. Tom was a CPT with the Centaurs and retired as a Full Colonel. He is highly decorated and a very storied character. Jim Kreil and Tom Fleming both talk about him.

Russell "Russ" Mattison CW2 Flare Ship (Huey) and Cobra Pilot War Story Night Rescue Crashed Cobra Crew - Aug 1968 has that link added to Meeks Video page of that story and MyPages of Marcinkowski and Gabreilson.

Reunion Section update of links to old reunions is now updated. New links for Cav (1998 - 2004 - 2014 - 2016 - 2022 and the long lost movies of 2018 ). New Centaur links (2024). Still more to go. Do you have any input?

 

--- MyPages --

 

Robert "Bob" Tegelman Aerorifleman from April 1965 to November 1966.

Bob has updated his MyPage with a new Current Photo. Bob and Lu attended the Panama City Beach Reunion this year.

He is applauded for his hard work as a Centaur Director.

 

 

 

Lloyd Goldsmith 1LT Cobra pilot June 1971 to March 1972 has a new MyPage using photo from the 2024 Centaur Reunion.

Lloyd attended the Centaur Vets Reunion in Panama City Beach this year and did a Video Interview for us. It may be some time before we can get that video edited and up on the website.

 

 

 

Gregory A. "Greg Jessup CPT Property Book Officer in F Troop from January to October 1972.

Thanks to Stretch Harrison for finding Greg and getting his information. Greg now has a Centaur MyPage with several MP's and an InfoSheet.

 

 

 

Russell "Russ" Mattison CW2 Flare Ship (Huey) and Cobra Pilot has an upgraded MyPage.

See his War Story Night Rescue Crashed Cobra Crew - Aug 1968.

 

 

 

 

Stephen R. Pullen CPT LOH Pilot F Troop March to May 1972. Steve was Aerorifle Platoon Leader then LOH pilot during his first tour with 2/17th 101st Airborne; then to our F Troop.

He went on to serve as a Special Forces Officer, Ranger, serving in Grenada, Bosnia, Somalia and Iraq. Here is a link to a very great video interview of his career.

 

 

 

Daniel G. Nate Sr. PFC LRRP 1968-69 now has a draft Centaur Friends MyPage, an MP1 and InfoSheet.

Also see the News article he published thanking the Centaurs for rescuing the LRRPs; and his special thanks to Jim Filiatreault.

 

 

 

--- War Stories & Photos---

 

Night Rescue Crashed Cobra Crew - Aug 1968: by Russ Mattison flying the Flare Ship that rescued Meeks and Marcinkowski on 18 August 1968.

John Gabrielson was Russ's Copilot, but crew memeber names not remembered.

 

 

 

Combat Delvy story by Bill Carroll. CPT Frank Delvy was a larger than life war hero in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He saved a lot of lives and trained many Centaur Gun Pilots.

 

---Deceased --

 

Jerry D. Spicer SGT LRRP 1966 to 1967 died 9 May 2019

 

 

 

For the CIVO Board of Directors,

Bruce
Bruce Powell, Newsletter Editor and Webmaster of centaursinvietnam.org
email: powellcentaur@gmail.com
1031 E Highline Drive, Payson, AZ 85541 (Summer)
11875 S Ironwood Drive, Yuma, AZ 85367 (Winter)

 

 

 

 

 

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Centaur Website Newsletter - December 2024

INDEX: News, Checking In, Corrections, MyPages, War Stories & Photos, Deceased, Reunions/Events, Hats & Shirts

--- News --- revised 5 Dec 2024

 

Our Highly Successful Centaur Vets Reunion in Panama City Florida is reported on the evening TV Channel 7 Newscast in Panama City Beach, Florida.

Click Here to play the (modified) Newscast. Be sure to use the "Full Screen" feature of your Browser!

We need someone to Host the next years Centaur Vets reunion November 2025. A significant amount of money has been raised to assist in doing that reunion. Contact Jan White for more information. jancwhite@msn.com

 

--- Checking In---
Check in with the Webmaster once in a while so we will know you are still around! powellcentaur@gmail.com

....John Moore .....Trudy White ....John Jones (his archive link)....Matt Jackson.....Jerry Kidrick SD Air & Space
.....Bruce Wywitzke..... Bob Jones ..... Jim Brothers......Tom Fleming......Dave Sale..... Tom Dooling......
.....Rennie Funderburk.....John Evans.....Fred Stuckey...... Brian Harrison......Jim Kreil...... Joe Owen.....
.....Larry Patterson....Mike Peake......Frank Dillion.....Gene Peters.....Rolland Fletcher.....Jan White.......
.... .Marty Jenkins....... Ron Holmes......Phillip Norton....... Bill Eberhartdt......Bill Carroll........Greg Jones..

William V. Carroll CW2 Update to new email address.

Ferris Poole email rejected.

Trying to contact Jose M. Casanova

--- Website Corrections/Updates---

Item 75 in the Help Section has been added answering the question "What can I do to help?"

William R. "Bill" Malloy WO1 Cobra Pilot Nov 72 to Jan 73: Brian Harrison has added two more links to Bill's MyPage for the SAR Mickey Wilson and Navy Bombs DaNang War Stories.

Michael Peake: Continues his research on finding lost Centaur Aircraft.
"In transcribing the Daily Reports of the 11th CAB, I discovered another Centaur aircraft not in our database. Also, this report mentions Rick Kline's AH-1G 100 taking rounds in the rotor system during the shoot-down of AH-1G 160. Again, this is an example of how the VHPA Goldbook data sometimes needs to be considered with a pinch of salt, or in this case, a barrel. It shows that the aircraft in question was assigned to the 334th AHC after F Troop, but that unit departed RVN 1 March 1972, a full month before the Daily Report showing it was a Centaur aircraft. Also, take note that this would have been another A/C F Troop would have received from "Blue Max" once they left country. " Mike

 

 

 

Jim Brothers updates the Bob Forringer MP1 with the three missing names of Kempson, Tonelli and Evans.

 

 

 

Mark Ponzillo MyPage has link to his 3 Part Video at lrrp.com. It was done in 2005 and much more detailed than the one he did for us at Nashvill in 2012.

Ron Holmes Mypage has been updated.

--- MyPages --

Rennie Funderburk WO1 Cobra Pilot 1972 now has a MyPage an InfoSheet and an MP1 (from Billy Malloy)

Links to Joint Military Commission, SAR Mickey Wilson and Navy Bombs DaNang have been added to his page.

He and Dennis Hogan were also in Iran together.

 

 

 

 

Farris L. Poole WO1 Cobra Pilot 1970 to 1971 now has an updated MyPage with current photo and colorized Nam photo.

Farris is a Photographer in Franklin, TN and maintains a Facebook page: No contact yet.

 

 

 

 

Ronald "Ron" Harrison LRRP 1970 to 1971 now has a draft Centaur Friends MyPage.

Ron attended the Centaur Vets Reunion in Panama City Beach November 2024 and did a Video Interview.

He last visited us at the Squadron Reunion in Nashville in 2012.

 

 

Donald E. Purdy SP4 Rifleman with the LRRPs 1969-1970 now has a draft Centaur Friends MyPage. Don did a Video Interview at the Centaur Reunion.

The Nam photo was taken of him in 1969 at Tra Cu sugar mill along the Vam Co Ding River.

Don has a distinguished military career in the Army retiring as a Command Sergeant Major.

 

 

Timothy S. "Tim" Walsh LRRP January 1970 to March 1971 now has a MyPage.

Years later Tim became the 75th Unit Representative. See his notes/articles at lrrp.com

Tim did a Video Interview at the Centaur Reunion in Panama City Beach 2024. It will be published soon. He He helped Trudy White do the Reunion Auction.

 

 

Colin Hall LRRP Platoon Sergeant May 1970 to May 1971 now has a draft Centaur Friends MyPage.

Colin came to Centaur Reunion this year with his wife Pearlie and friends. He did a Video Interview and provided great information for his yet to be published InfoSheet.

 

 

 

Bill Eberhardt LRRP from November 1968 to June 1969 now has an upgraded Centaur Friends MyPage.

Bill and Lynne joined us at the Centaur Reunion in Panama City Beach this year. Bill did a Video Interview.

 

 

 

 

Richard "Rick" Ellison SP4 LRRP October 1966 to February 1967 has his MyPage updated.

He and Georgia attended the recent Centaur Reunion. Rick did a Video Interview.

 

 

 

 

 

Robert "Bob" Byrd LRRP 1968 to 1969 now has a Centaur Friends MyPage.

Bob and Teresa attended the Centaur Vets Reunion in Florida 2024. Bob did a video interview.

 

 

 

 

John McGee LRRP May 1968 to November 1968 Unit Director for Company F 25th ID LRRP/50th INF. LRP/75th Rangers now has a Centaur Friends MyPage.

John and Fran were at the Centaur Vets Reunion with guests. Unfortunately we did not get a couples pic with them.

 

 

--- War Stories & Photos---

 

Fred Stuckey SGT LRRP December 1968 to July 1970 does an Introductory Video at the 2024 Centaur Reunion in Panama City Beach, FL.

A newly found photo of Fred in Nam reading the Stars and Stripes Newspaper has been included.

The link for Fred's 2016 Reunion Video has been corrected.

 

 

---Deceased --

We hope that those who served with these men will send comments and stories that we can add to their InfoSheet/Deceased page.

Joseph R. "Joe" Brosh (SP4?) Armament Specialist died 16 April 2024.

His page is converted to Deceased and an InfoSheet/Obit has been added. His name is also on the Deceased Roster.

He had intended to send us some Nam pic but never got around to it. If you knew him and had contact, see if you can get the family to find the photos for us.

 

 

 

Michael E. "Rocky" Cimbrec SP5 Avionics Mechanic April 1970 to April 1971 died 8 October 2022.

His page is converted to Deceased and an InfoSheet/Obit has been added. His name is also on the Deceased Roster.

He had intended to send us some Nam pic but never got around to it. If you knew him and had contact, see if you can get the family to find the photos for us.

 

 

-- After Action Report---

Centaur Vets Reunion November 2024 - Panama City Beach, FL

Jan and Trudy White again hosted the Reunion in Florida in a most organized and professional manner. They hosted dinner for those arriving early at their amazing Restaurant "Dat Cajun Place" a short distance from the Hotel. Tell your friends about this great place.

Trudy single handedly took care of the Reunion Registrations. Very organized.

Each attendee had a room with a spectacular balcony view of the ocean and beach. A free large breakfast Buffet was provided by the hotel both Sunday and Monday mornings.

The hotel, Holiday Inn Express Inn, provided a 24/7 Hospitality Room with TVs (NFL games) and treats during our stay and it later became our Banquet Room. The Bingo session with prizes was held in the Hospitality Room.

The Duck Races were a fun event held on the "Lazy River". The small river is a feature on the Hotel grounds. Jan had tried to get little plastic helicopters for this but had to settle for plastic ducks. We loved the Ducks!

Trudy had a large scale model OH-6 helicopter made to present to Jan for all his work with the Centaurs.

John McGee, current Unit Director for the LRRPS announced that the LRRP Organization is presenting every Centaur with the official extremely high quality LRRP Challenge Coin. It was designed by Marshall Huckaby and approved by the orginal Centaur LRRP Mark Ponzillo. Also each wife will receive a specially designed Wife's Coin. Marshall Huckaby and Tim Walsh did the presentations.

After the really wonderful Buffet Banquet Trudy conducted the Raffle and Auction. Trudy was a great MC and Auctioneer as over $1300 was raised to be added to the funds used for the next Reunion.

The Hotel gratiously gave us the entire party room floor above the Hospitality Room for use by Bruce Powell and Tom Dooling to do Video Interviews. About 25 videos were shot. It will take several months to get them all edited and up on to the website. Individual photos were again done by Bob Jones.

We are desparately hoping that someone will step forward and take on the job of Hosting the next reunion in 2025. If you are interested check in with Jan White at jancwhite@msn.com

-- Centaur Shirts and Hats --

Marty Jenkins has two Loach Hats and 5 Cobra F Troop Hats, OLD style Navy Blue. Contact him directly if you are interested in this. mjenkino@gmail.com

 

 

Below are the Dale Dow designed T Shirts that are now available from Christine (Dow) Smith:

D Troop: Small  Medium  Large   XLarge   XXLarge   XXXLarge   4X Large
-----Yellow: 23 -----21 ------43------- 25 --------33---------- 3
-----Gray: ---22----- 28 ------27------- 25-----------22 -------6------ 4

F Troop: Med Large  XLarge   XXLarge  XXXLarge  4X  Large
----Yellow: --11------23------ 19------ 19 ----
----Gray------11 -----24 -------8 -------25 -------------15--------- 5

Shirts are $20.00 each including shipping costs.

Christine (Dow) Smith email at jaychris0126@live.com