GET READY FOR "SHAMROCK STAND DOWN 2008" - NOVEMBER 6--8, LAS VEGAS
We're excited to announce this very special event coming in November of this year. The "Shamrock Stand Down" will be our first effort to assemble D Troopers from all the years D Troop 1/10th Cav was deployed in Vietnam. If you served in Vietnam with D Troop, make plans NOW to attend. It will be an event you don't want to miss. See the Shamrock Standdown 2008 page on this website for more details and keep watching this site for additional details!
D TROOP 40 YEAR "DEROS" REUNION HITS VEGAS
D Troopers from the '66-'67 landed in Las Vegas for a 40th Anniversary "DEROS" reunion, September 21-23. Planning time was short but attendance was great. Alan Peterson, who is an "Original original" D Trooper spearheaded the effort to round everyone up and the turnout showed his hard work. "Base Camp" was a nice condo south of the Vegas strip that afforded us an opportunity to gather and share and generally raise a little hell outside normal hotel confines. There were some of us who wanted to set up a "piss tube" enclosure out front of the condo just for effect, but cooler heads prevailed. Our Base Camp was the site of a Saturday afternoon poolside barbeque that proved to be a fun event for all.
D Troopers attending: (L-R) Jerry Lehman, Rick Flores, FNG(?), Phil Passmore, Steve Moreno, Rick Skindrud, Larry Corthell, Bob Burns, Marty Contreras, Manuel Maldonado (hiding behind Marty), Al Peterson, and Doug Donnell. It was really special having all these great guys together again, sharing memories and lives in a way only "Brothers" can.
While Jerry Lehman's wife Janet tried to find out who had been drinking her Merlot, w
e all shared D Troop stories and renewed old friendships. First time attenders included Rick Skindrud, who served several terms as a State Representative in Wisconsin and continues to serve in the state legislature as Sergeant at Arms. Bob Burns (Photo at right, with Rick Skindrud and Manuel Maldonado) stopped off on his way to a new home in Louisville, KY, long enough to share a bunch of slides of in-country photos that will eventually make their way onto our photo website. Larry Corthell regailed the gathering with lots of stories, and then after the reunion, headed for a Corvette racing school in the area. And, of course, we can't forget Al Peterson, who was so helpful with organizing the event, including putting together the reunion T shirts. 
The Trooperette's who attended made grocery and refreshment runs and generally kept us in line. Someone suggested that Barbara Donnell (Doug's wife) be made unit First Sergeant in recognition of her management skills. Barbara reacted to the suggestion with a promise to give all us Troopers an Article 15 for being generally loud and unruly at reunions. Guess we'd better not make that appointment, huh guys? (Who's the FNG in the photo? Just a resident at the condo who came down to hang out at the pool and got invited to join us for burgers and dogs -- so he did!) (Photo at Right: Steve and Cruz Moreno, Rachel and Rick Flores)
Everyone was excited at the continued rapid growth on our roster of so many who served with D Troop subsequent to our initial deployment tour. We are really looking forward to an opportunity, hopefully in 2008, to get in one place all our brothers from all the years that D Troop served in Vietnam. That will be an experience to remember.
D TROOPERS SADDENED BY LOSS OF BROTHER RICK GINTER
Our brother Rick Ginter, who served with D Troop at Fort Lewis and in Vietnam recently passed away after a long battle with MS. Rick was an early contributor to the D Troop reunion effort, and had a lifelong friendship with Marty Contreras. Rick and his OH-23 pilot, Jim Bergquist, both attended the Washington reunion in 2006. D Troopers everywhere extend our heartfeld sympathies to Rick's wife Sandee and their family. Rick is on Heaven's Flightline, and is sadly missed by all of us.
D TROOP REPRESENTED AT 4TH DIVISION NATIONAL REUNION
Doug Donnell and Dennis Jorgensen (SP4, Door Gunner) attended the annual meeting of the 4th Infantry Division Association in Colorado Springs in July, 2007. The 4IDA has among its membership veterans from World War II, the period between th.e wars, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Iraq, where components of the 4th have served multiple tours. 4th Infantry Division headquarters is at nearby Fort Collins. It was a thrill to meet and visit with many fellow 4th veterans who served in Vietnam alongside D Troop, especially those who served in other 10th Cavalry troops, some of which operated in areas apart from the main force in Pleiku.
Doug had a very special reunion with LTC (Ret) William "Mac" McAlester (Photo at right), Commanding Officer of 10th Cav Provisional Troop, the "in house" basic training unit from '65-'66 that contributed personnel, including Doug, HQ and HQ Troop cooks, and many of the men who made up D Troop's Aero-Rifle Platoon, to all units of the Squadron prior to deployment to Vietnam. "Mac" went on to command A Troop and later served as 10th Cav S-2. Mac proudly maintains contacts with many of the men he trained for combat.
Dennis Jorgensen is an inspector for the US Department of Mines in Green River, WY, and, yes, still has the trademark 'wicked' sense of humor. Standing in the lobby of the hotel in Colorado Springs, Dennis said, "As I was driving down here, I thought 'oh gawd, I'm going to be standing around with a bunch of old farts in shorts and gimme caps." We looked around and...well, let's just say that was a fairly accurate depiction of the scene.
While we're on the subject, The Original D Troop encourages all D Troopers and 10th Cav vets to join the 4th Infantry Division Association, 10th Cav chapter. There is a small membership fee that gets you an ID card and a subscription to "Ivy Leaves", the quarterly newsletter full of interesting info and details of upcoming 4thIDA events. To join, go online to www.4thinfantry.org, or email Doug Donnell, dwdreps@yahoo.com, or Jim McIntyre, 10th Cav Chapter Treasurer, at C14buffalos@insightbb.com.
NEW FACES AND BEAUTIFUL LOCALE HELPED MAKE REUNION 2006 A SUCCESS!
The 2006 reunion in Washington was an unforgettable experience. Robert "Bob" Beck (SP5, Huey Crew Chief) rode his Harley all the way from Minnesota to join in. Jim Bergquist (1LT, Scout Pilot), on the otherhand, came down from Stuart Island (Pop. "30 or so") in the San Juans. John Hart, Ron's Brother, and his wife, drove over from their home in Ferndale, WA. And Robert "Bob" Mayer (SP4, Crew Chief) and wife Jeannie came all the way from Florida. (Photo at Left: L-R, John Hart, Phil Passmore, Rick Flores, Jim Bergquist, Bob Mayer, Bob Beck, Doug Donnell, Paul Hradil. (Photo @The Original D Troop, 2006)
For many of us, the highlight of the event was a trip to Fort Lewis. Arriving on post, Erin Benson, our contact with post public affairs office, escorted us to the old D Troop barracks, where we were welcomed by MAJ Bennett and SFC Martinez, of the 2nd Infantry Division, both of whom were exceptionally hospitable and helpful. Their unit was in the process of deploying to Iraq (second tour). MAJ Bennett's dad served with a Cav unit in Vietnam, so there was a good sense of kinship between us. After spending some time just scouting the old digs, our hosts treated us to a briefing on their mission, answered questions, and shared experiences with us. Being around these guys made us very proud of
the Army today.
Following the briefing, our hosts surprised us by presenting each D Trooper with the Army Freedom Team Salute. Following the award presentation, we had lunch at what was the 10th Cav HQ and B Troop mess when we were stationed there. The visit complete, we were off to the Fort Lewis Museum for a guided tour. (Photo at Left: Top Row (L-R) SFC Michael Martinez, Doug Donnell, Jim Bergquist, John Hart, Phil Passmore, Bob Beck; Middle, Standing: Bob Mayer, Erin Benson; Front, kneeling: SSG David Cook, MAJ Robert Bennett)
As usual, the reunion included lots of fellowship, food, and libations. Gig Harbor provided some fun opportunities, as well. The setting on a small protected harbor couldn't have been more beautiful. On Saturday afternoon, a group of D Troopers and Trooperettes commandeered a boat from a local rental agency and headed out for a cruise. Arrrrgh! Beware the D Troop Navy, mates. (Photo: D Troop navy Cap'n Bob, Helmsman; Cap'n Doug, Navigator; Cap'n Rick, Morale Officer, Elaine Hradil, Trooperette; Cap'n Paul, Engineer. Photo @The Original D Troop, 2006)
Special Reunion 2006 thanks to:
LTC Steven Kinnear, US Army Freedom Team Salute program, for putting together the special awards.
Erin Benson, with the Fort Lewis Public Affairs Office. Job well done, Erin.
The Inn at Gig Harbor, Gig Harbor, WA
Gig Harbor Boat Rentals - When we came back to the dock, owner said, "Well there's the senior's (sic) discount, the veterans discount, oh heck, Ten-bucks each ought to do it."
First Instal
lment of D Troop Archives Posted to Web
The first group of images from the growing D Troop Archives have been posted to the web as part of our continuing efforts to convert to digital hundreds of images from several slide and photo collections contributed by D Troopers. The first albums have been posted to Google's Picasa site at http://picasaweb.google.com/OriginalDTroopArchives.
Thanks to everyone who continues to contribute to the archive project. Manuel Maldonado (L. From his collection) made his tremendous selection of slides available, and Dennis Jorgensen made a large contribution to the gallery as well. We've had many additional contributions, including collections from Phil Passmore, Al Petersen, Bob Beck, Marty Contreras, and others, that are waiting for processing by our highly skilled and well paid archive staff, as soon as he gets time. It's a huge job that will no doubt be well worth the effort, and, hopefully, will never be completely finished as more and more D Troopers report in and make their collections available.
Reunion Memories
This photo is from The First Official "Original D Troop" Reunion, held in Las Vegas, April 1-3, 2005. Our reunions are a source of renewed friendships, great fellowship, and lots of laughs (along with a tear of two here and there). We invite all D Troopers to attend. We're doing our best to get a better handle on our reunion plans so we can plan them further in advance and provide greater opportunity for attendance. If you are a D Trooper, or you know someone who is, please contact us. We'd like to see these photos have to go "Wide Angle" to show all those present. We have a unique brotherhood and each Trooper has something unique to contribute.
(Photo from 2005 reunion. Top Row, L-R: Doug Donnell, Manuel Maldonado, Rick Flores, Steve Pratt, Jerry Lehman, Raymond Frederick, Marty Contreras; Bottom Row: Steve Moreno, Al Coy, Paul Hradil, Rick Ginter. Photo courtesy: P. Hradil.)
