VETERANS OF THE FIRST ENGINEER COMBAT BATTALION

VETERANS
OF THE
FIRST ENGINEER
COMBAT BATTALION
March,2016
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Neal Teschendorf, President
Jay Franz, Vice President
F.C. "Chuck" Humphrey, Secretary
Ron Danielson, Treasurer
Santos Colon
Joe Coppolo
Chad Covey Fred "Dick" Hass Blair Smoulder
Joe Vargas
Ron Labinski, Reunion Coordinator, Liaison Officer to First Engineer Battalion at Fort Riley, Kansas
Alan & Cecil Ann Simmons, Newsletter Editor/Publisher
Terry Hueser, Website Coordinator, Liaison Officer to Society of First Infantry Division
Robert Roby, Liaison NCO to First Engineer Battalion & Society of First Infantry Division
Larry Blair, Past President
www.diehardengineer.com
President: 1-920-933-5459
Vice President: 1-520-751-9259
Secretary: 1-208-238-3584
Treasurer: 1-508-238-7314
Save the 21016 Reunion dates!!! Sept. 11-14
Fort Leonard Wood/St. Robert, MO
2016ReunionInformation
ReunionDates:Sunday,September11-Wednesday,September14,
2016
HamptonInnSt.Robert/FortLeonardWood
103St.RobertPlaza
St.Robert,MO65584
Reservations:573-336-3355
ComfortInnSt.Robert/FortLeonardWood
103St.RobertBlvd.,St.Robert,MO65584
Reservations:573-336-3553
Checkin:3pm
Checkout:11am
Whenmakingyourreservationsbesuretomentionthatyouarepartofthe
1stEngineerCombatBattalionReuniongroup
togetthespecialrate!
Reservationsandpaymentdueby:August12
Dependingonthenumberofattendeesatthereunionthisyear,wemayhavetosplitup
betweentwohotelsthatarerightnexttoeachother.Afterattendeeshavereservedallthe
roomsallottedtousattheHamptonInn,theComfortInnwilltaketheoverflow.The
reunionhotelpackageincludesthreenightslodging,hospitalityroom,andtaxes.Unlike
otheryears,thesehotelscannotaccommodatelargegroupsfordinners.Oureveningmeals
willbeonourown.TheTuesdayeveningbanquetwillbeheldatFortLeonardWoodand
hostedbythem.
Cost:Bothsingleanddoublepackagecostis$98.99perday,includingtaxes.
Comingearlierand/orstayinglater:Therateisthesameastheabovefortwodays
priorandtwodaysafterwardbasedonavailabilityofroom.
Amenitiesforbothhotelsincludefreeparking,hotbreakfasts,andfreeWi-Fi,alongwith
non-smokingrooms,coffeemakers,hairdryer,ironsandironingboards.TheHampton
Innhasanoutdoorpool;theComfortInnhasanindoorpoolaswellasmicrofridgesineach
room.
CalloremailJayFranz(520-751-9259,[email protected])ifyouhaveanyquestions.
ScheduleofEventswillbepostedintheJulynewsletter.Inthemeantime,readKaren
Danielson’sarticleonpage3thatgivesatentativeideaofwhatwewillbedoing.
POINTS OF INTEREST
by Karen Danielson
It is March and six months away from our Veterans of the First Engineer Combat
Battalion Reunion. We have all had such marvelous times at other reunions especially
thinking of Tennessee last year and Washington, DC the year before.
Some of us will be flying into St. Louis. From there we travel southwest for about
two hours. We will be staying in St. Robert. Fort Leonard Wood is about ten miles
south from there.
After you’ve checked in on Sunday, meet up with everyone in the hospitality
room for snacks and drinks. Sunday and Monday evenings we will not have dinner in
the hotel as we’ve done in the past. We will meet in groups to dine where we wish and
order from the menu.
Monday afternoon will be free following Monday morning's business meeting.
Tuesday, many of us will tour the Post and the John Mahaffey Museum Complex as
guests of the regiment. Others will have the day to find points of interest in Waynesville
or St. Robert that are a few miles from where we are staying at the hotel. Springfield is
92 miles or 1 ½ hours from St. Robert. There are many other tourist attractions there.
Tuesday evening we will be all together for dinner on Post, again as guests of the
regiment.
Ron and I have been Googling and have found a number of places to visit with
our rental car, as bus accommodations are much too expensive in this area. Some of
the places we have noted are
Meramec Caverns - in Stanton for a walking tour of the caves
Fantastic Caverns - jeep-drawn tram cave tour
Waynesville - walking tour of several Historic Sites including a Court House
standing as it was in 1903.
Trail of Tears or Cherokee March from North Carolina to Oklahoma campsites
in Waynesville. (Several markers give a detailed description of that
unfortunate time).
Sections of Route 66 are also in the area; the Route 66 Museum is in
Lebanon, about 35 miles southwest of Fort Leonard Wood.
St. James Winery-about 30 miles northeast; Tasting Room is open 7 days a
Week
St. James also has a vacuum cleaner museum and the Rosati Winery
Museum
Most of all we look forward to the conversations in the meeting room, a drink with
friends before dinner, visiting at dinner, and just being present with those who return
year after year. Ron Labinski is working on many of the details. Barbara Lavier and I
will help schedule activities for our free time. Folks will have to car pool depending on
which sites they wish to see.
Hope to see you there!!
DO YOU KNOW WHERE THEY ARE???
We’ve lost touch with the following members. Their street addresses and emails are no
longer valid. If you know how to get in touch with any of them, please contact any of the
officers (listed on the front page), send a note to Alan and me (see return address on
back page, or email me at [email protected].
Baldwin, Alan, P. O. Box 1232, Colorado
Springs, CO 80901
O’Brien, David, 15435 277th Place NE, Duvall,
WA 98019
Bishop, Ted, 213 Jacksonville Dr., Berryville,
VA 22611
Potthoff, Brice, 3840 Rimrock, Apt. 1108,
Billings, MT 59102
Brady, Gerald, 220 Linden St., Scranton, PA
18503
Peterson, Mrs. Roger P., 6459 Wydown
Boulevard, Clayton, MO 63105-2214
Cox, Rodney, 7345 Orchestra Lane,
Melbourne, FL 32940
Pittes, Rose, 175 Derby Street, West Newtown,
MA 02465
Dance, Alice, 603 N. Jade Avenue, Key Largo,
FL 33037-3819
Redmond, Paul (we have an email address, but
no street address)
De Moll, Louis, 535 Gradyville Rd., Newton
Square, PA
Reunion, Johnny
Dixon, Robert, 42625 Hwy. 27N, Davenport, FL
33837
Durco, Michael, 504 N. River Road, Naperville,
IL 60563
Fallon, William, 400 18th Street, Apt. E-6, Vero
Beach, FL 32960
Gum, Bill, Rural Route 2, Box 89, Petersburg,
IL 62675
Hamm, Hiram, 812 Holley Drive, Eufaula, AL
36027
Huebler, Charles, 525 East Bonanza Road, Las
Vegas, NV 89101
Lowe, Paul, 924 Leigh Avenue, Vestal, NY
13850
Maine, Bob, 1641 Covey Lane, Abilene, TX
79605
Morrell, Billy, 4249 Old Jonesboro Road,
Bristol, TN 37620
Nippes, Ken, 707 Forest Glen, Pompton Plains,
NJ 07444
Rudolph, Francis, 5850 Meridian Road,
Gibsonia, PA 15044
Sanders, George, 688 Washington Street, New
York, NY 10014
Sidlowski, Walter, 281 Avenue C, Apt. 3A, New
York, NY 10009
Sonsteby, Arnie, 17163 Nouveau Avenue,
Lewes, DE 19958
Stephenson, Charles, 4380 Mustang,
Cottonwood, AZ
Stimel, John F., 4310 Willow Crest Drive,
Arlington, TX 76017
Vetrano, Jerry, 25 Stewart Place, Mt. Kisko, NY
10549
Waldstein, Jake, 501 Little River Road, Apt.
E311, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
Watchous, Ted, 306 Schuyler Avenue,
Burlingame, KS 66413
Woodall, Tom, 10712 Sandpiper Street, Boise,
ID 83709
Yingst, Robert G., 9 Mt. Effort Drive, Effort, PA
188330
Bits and Pieces
Another New Board Member
Joe Vargas is the last, but not least, new
Board member to be profiled here. Joe obtained
an Associate Degree in Business Administration
through National College. He served 9 years in
the military, including 3 years at Ft. Leonard
Wood. He was transferred to Ft. Riley and to
Vietnam with Charlie Company (‘65-’66). After
that he went to Germany with Headquarters
th
Company of the 78 Engineer Battalion and
back to Vietnam in 1969-70 with Headquarters
th
Company, 26 Engineer Battalion, Americal
Division. During his time with the Americal
Division he was awarded the Bronze Star and
Air Medal for serving as a RECON Sgt and Door
Gunner assigned to the S-2 Section. After
discharge, he attended college and worked for
Mountain Bell for 27 years. He is now working
part-time with Avis/Budget in the Denver area.
New Accessions
From the Castle Courier, A Publication of the
U.S. Army Engineer Museum: Jan-Feb, 2016
Army Engineer Association just mailed
the check for the Scraper that they have been
fundraising for over the past 20 months. We
anticipate arrival mid-March. Thanks to the
incredible support of our readers and the AEA,
we are on track to have our Vietnam-era Clark
290M restored around mid summer. This will
also be the timeframe that our new warehouse is
complete.
We heard from several sources that the
US Geological Survey was auctioning off copper
map printing plates. The Engineer Regiment’s
recently retired former Regimental Chief Warrant
Officer, Scott Owens agreed to purchase some
examples for the Museum. Scott purchased and
restored three examples. Thanks Scott, and
congratulations in your new role as the
President of the Sverdrup (Fort Leonard Wood)
Chapter of AEA.
Another great recent find was a handtinted, hand painted albumen photograph of
Lieutenant Colonel James Duncan Graham
(1799-1865). This beautiful artifact dates from
1860. Duncan graduated from the U.S. Military
Academy in 1817. In 1829 he was appointed to
the Corps of Engineers as a topographic
engineer, where he remained until his death in
1865.
We were recently blessed to hear of the
sale of an incredible collection of patches from
the magnificent collection of Dr. Mort Cohen.
Understanding the important role of the Army
Engineer Museum preserving COE material
culture and using these artifacts to educate
today’s soldiers, Dr. Cohen set aside those
patches needed in the Engineer collection.
Thank you to Dr. Cohen for his patience while
the Museum staff processed the purchase
request through the extremely cumbersome
Army acquisitions process. These patches will
be used to support a series of exhibits
highlighting the many different roles the COE
performed in the late half of the 20th Century.
Other recent acquisitions include: a WW1 era
galvanometer, several Engineer collar and lapel
insignia, about 25 other patches, a collection of
nine foreign mine training aids, 9 chevrons of the
1872 and 1884 models, and a collection of 43
Engineer unit newspapers.
Change
of Command
st
From 1 Engineer Battalion Facebook page
Soldiers assigned to Delta Company,
1st Engineer Battalion ("Avengers"), bid farewell
to CPT Aaron Griffith during a change of
command ceremony on Fort Riley, Kansas,
March 8, 2016. CPT Griffith concludes almost
one year as commander of the brigade Military
Intelligence Company (MICO). The new
commander, CPT Sterling Taylor (left), recently
finished 6 months as the Special Security Officer
in the 1st Infantry Division G2. Among the
guests was COL Timothy Hayden, commander
of the 1st ABCT, 1st Infantry Division. The 1st
Engineer Battalion wishes the very best to the
incoming and outgoing commanders.
website at www.dangerforward.org or contact
Terry Hauser at [email protected].
Officers of the First Division
Annual Dinner-2016
Correction
th
The 97 Annual Dinner of the Officers of the
First Division will be held Saturday, April 30,
2016, at the Hilton Hotel, Alexandria Mark
Center, in Alexandria, VA. For more details on
the dinner, please visit the Officers’ Dinner
In the November newsletter, the picture
captioned “World War II vets and family…”
should have read “Vets from German
Occupation…” Thank you to Esther for pointing
this out.
--------------------------------------------------------
Membership Renewal/New Member
Membership is open to all who would like to belong to the Veterans of the
First Engineer Combat Battalion. Please send in your membership form if
you are not current with your dues. Dues ($10.00 annually) are due in
September of each year. They can also be paid a year or more in advance. You
can also make a donation in someone’s honor along with your dues.
I wish to make a donation in memory or honor of: _________________________
Veterans of the First Engineer Combat Battalion
Membership: Renewal_____
New_____ Gift Membership_____ (if this is a gift
membership, put the name of the person receiving this gift below instead of your own name)
Name: _____________________________________________
Street: _____________________________________________
City: _______________________________________ State: ________ ZIP: ____________
E-mail: ___________________________________________ Phone: __________________
Rank: ______________________________ Served from: __________ to __________
Annual Dues: ___ 1 year ($10) ___ 2 years ($20) ___ 3-5 years ($30, $40, $50
If giving a gift membership: Name of Donor _________________________________
Make checks payable to Veterans of the First Engineer Combat Battalion
Send to: Ron Danielson, Treasurer,
216 Sheridan Street
North Easton, MA 02356
Just a reminder that 2016 dues are now due. If you haven’t paid for past years of your membership,
please send your current and back dues. Dues are happily received anytime during the year. If you have
questions, please call Ron at (508) 238-7314.
If you have a change in your address, phone, or email during the year, please be sure to let Ron
know so the records clan be updated.
BuildingSomethingfortheU.S.Army---andOurselves
ThiswillbeanattractionintheWashington,DCareathatwewillwanttovisitwithfamilyandfriends.
FirstEngineerCombatBattalion-ArmyMuseumPledge
Drive
Wehavemadesignificantprogressinthisfirst
yearofourdrive.WewillcontinuethedriveuntiltheFirst
EngineerCombatBattalion’snameisdisplayedatthetop
ofthewallintheMuseum’sVeteran’sHall
Howmuchhaveweraisedsofar?
Ouramountpledgedtotals$13,000.$7,267.00of
thathasbeenreceivedanddepositedintotheMuseum
Fund.
Whereisournameonthewallnow?
“Ithoroughlyenjoyedreadingandsigningthis
letter.WelldoneandCongratulations!Thankstoyour
generoussupport,theFirstEngineerCombatBattalionhas
joinedtheSilverServiceStarlevelintheVeterans'Hallof
theNationalMuseumoftheUnitedStatesArmy”.[from
GeneralAbram’slettersentwiththecurrentaward]
WheredowewanttobebyourreunioninSeptember?
Weneedjust$2,733byLaborDaytogetustothe
firstOakLeafClusterLevelandcompletethefirstyearof
ourDrive.
Ultimately,wewouldliketopassSilverOakLeaf
clusterlevel.Wecangettherebymakingfamily,friends
andemployersawareofourdrive.Theymaydonatevia
checkmadeouttoNationalMuseumoftheUSArmyFund
withdonornumber3207522onthememoline.Checks
maybemailedtoDennisO’DeaorJerryHunter(seepledge
formbelow).TheymayalsodonatedirectlytotheFund
headquartersbycheckorcreditcard.
Besuretomentiondonornumber3207522when
giving.
FIRST ENGINEER COMBAT BATTALION MUSEUM SPONSORSHIP
c/o: Dennis O’Dea
8 Courtney Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873-6053
FROM: NAME: ____________________________________________
ADDRESS: _______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
PHONE: ______________________
EMAIL: ____________________________________
I WANT TO JOIN THE VETERANS OF THE FIRST ENGINEER COMBAT BATTALION PROGRAM TO
SUPPORT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY AND ENSURE PERMANENT
RECOGNITION OF OUR ASSOCIATION AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. I PLEDGE A GIFT TO THE
NATIONAL ARMY MUSEUM FUND IN THE AMOUNT OF:
____ $1000 ____ $500 ____ $400 ____ $300 ____ $200 ____ $100 _____ OTHER
I WILL MAKE 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ ANNUAL PAYMENTS OF $ _____ PER YEAR.
I AM ENCLOSING MY CHECK IN THE AMOUNT OF $ ______
PLEASE MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO: NATIONAL ARMY MUSEUM FUND. Write FIRST ENGINEER
COMBAT BATTALION on the memo line.
For the folks who prefer to make their donation directly to the Museum Campaign and earmark it to our
recognition effort, here are the directions for the two options:
1) Make checks payable to the National Army Museum Fund and use the “memo” line to write “
1st Engineer Combat Battalion 3207522”.
Mailing address for checks: National Army Museum Campaign, Attn: Beth Seaman, 2425 Wilson Blvd.,
Arlington, VA 22201
2) Those preferring to donate via credit card can call Beth Seaman at (703) 879-0006. Let her
know at the time of the call that the donation is to be put towards the First Engineer Combat Battalion
Fund account number 3207522 in the campaign database.
Please advise Dennis O’Dea ([email protected]) and Jerry Hunter ([email protected]) that
you have made the donation directly.
Veterans of the First Engineer
Combat Battalion
Alan J. Simmons, Editor
1612 North Stillwood Drive
Leland, NC 28451
910-399-7057
[email protected]
Ft. Leonard Wood/
St. Robert, MO
REUNION 2016
September 11 – September 14, 2016
Mark your calendars and make your plans! Join the Veterans of the First Engineer Combat Battalion for our 34
reunion. The reunion’s highlight will be visits to Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Details of the 2016 Reunion are in this
newsletter.
th