JUMPING MUSTANG BUGLE

1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment September 2007

Volume 26 issue number 3

LETTER TO THE BUGLE
  First, I would like to commend Earl Waters for a great reunion. From listening to the entertainers talk, you can tell he is very much loved. Which means he gives a lot of respect and love in return. We got home after midnight, totally exhausted. We didn’t even unpack the car, just jumped into bed and passed out.

  The next morning, I got my cigarettes and a cup of coffee and went into my garden. While I was away, Karen Thompson had weeded my whole garden. It looked beautiful. Looking closer, I realized that two plants in the corner were missing. Upon closer inspection, I saw that a crawling vine had not only twisted around them but had pulled them to the ground and covered them over.
  We all have gardens of some sort in our lives. May it be a husband, children, grandchildren, or an organization. As a woman or I should say as women, we try our best to keep our gardens happy and growing.

  No, I wasn’t drafted, and No, I did not enlist. I never went to boot camp or Vietnam. But I know that to the best of my ability I keep my gardens protected. I hate poisoning, so I will crawl around and rip the weeds out.
  Sometimes even the best families get weeds. Please rip them out as they are killing our garden. The bottom line is that we need each other, we’re not whole without the group. The weeds have to go before they strangle all of us.
Marie Laurie

*WARNING ORDER*
2008 Jumping Mustang Reunion
Place: Myrtle Beach, SC
Facility: Sand Dunes Resort Hotel
Dates: September 17 through 21, 2008
Rates:
Ocean Front double: $84 (Rates are for double ocp. Add $10 ea pers over 12)
Ocean Front Jr Suite: $99 (Above rates do not include taxes or applicable resort and hospitality charges.)
They are good from five days before and three days after event dates.)
Reservations: 1-800-599-9872. Identify yourself as Jumping Mustangs. Only forty rooms are blocked so get your reservations in early.
Web site: www.sandsresorts.com , then click Sand Dunes Resort.
*For those of you that might not remember, a warning order is an order to alert personnel to an impending operation. It is meant to give as much information as is available at the time it is issued.
Ted Danielson
2008 Reunion Host

AUTHOR OF THE CHAPLAIN'S CORNER
The last issue of the Bugle contained a page from the September 14, 1965 issue of the 1^ST Brigade Bugle published on board the USNS Geiger. It also raised a question regarding the identity of the Chaplain at that time. Ted Danielsen sent an inquiry to Bill Lord, Chaplain of 1/12 Cav when the Division sailed.
He responded as follows: "We had Chaplain (Major) Wendell Wright (Baptist) as 1st Brigade Chaplain, Chaplain (Cpt) Ralph Spears (Lutheran) within the 1/8th. Chaplian (Cpt) Michaerl Rogers (Catholic) serving everyone, but attached to the 2/8th and I was attached to 1/12th and Protestant stuff for 2/8th. The 2/19th, when in the r field were "covered" by Chaplain Wright at Brigade and the batteries by whomever they were supporting.
Who wrote the Chaplain's Corner? Can't say...probably each of us in turn.
Thanks to Ted and Bill Lord for the effortsin answering the question .
 

THANKS TO THE EARL WATTERS FAMILY
 Thanks to the Earl Watters family and friends for a wonderful reunion. They made us feel welcome. The accommodations and programs were outstanding. Earl does an outstanding P.R. job for New Mexico. He should be on their payroll. It is always good to break bread with brothers and their families.
Please support out elected officers.
May God bless and keep you safe until we meet again.
Honor and Courage
Roy Martin

SORRY FOLKS

  Most of you know that I am Public Relations Officer for the Jumping Mustangs and that I take a lot more pictures normally at the reunions than I did at the 2007 reunion. Since it appears we will not have a reunion book this year, I'll send one set of every picture to Frank Vavrek so he can scan them and put them on the web site as he sees fit. Individuals in the pictures will get one in the proof book which will be at the reunion with me and available for you to look at in the hospitality room. I didn't get as many pictures because a lot of my time was taken up trying to smooth out problems between two members and the rest of the Jumping Mustangs.
  Unfortunately, that was unsuccessful even with the help of Robert Gonzales and Roy Martin, who are probably some of the more understanding long time Jumping Mustangs, and the time provided by the board and individual members. Roy, like myself, is one of the charter members as was one of the members who were creating problems. Many people view Roy as an understanding father figure, I certainly do.
  The Army denied him a regular army commission not because of his competence, which was above reproach, but his age.
  Thanks for trying, Roy.
  On another note, you may have noticed two notebooks, which I started, labeled "Deceased" and "Current." The idea behind them is to create records of who we were and who we are. I didn't have much spare time in the hospitality room to explain them, but a number of members said that it would be nice if they and their wives could see pictures of the members while they were serving in Vietnam with the 1st of the 8th along with a picture of them at a reunion. Also a short biographical sketch would be nice.
  The pictures will be 4x6" vertical and the biographical sketches will be 4x6" horizontal.
  Some of you may feel comfortable writing up a short narrative on a 4x6 card with a typewriter or computer. Others might want to send notes that will help me put together a biographical sketch. Some of the things we would like would include, month and year of birth, childhood hometown or towns, year joined the Army, units and approximate dates of service, service with 1/8: ex (1st Plt. Sgt. A/1/8 Aug 65-May66), year left the service, significant things outside the service.
  Let me know what picture I took at a reunion that you like best (key code on back), send a vertical of you in Vietnam, send bio.notes.
Glenn H Sheathelm


Reunions
   # Year  Where        Attendance

    1. 1986 Eureka Springs Ark 46
   2. 1987 Killeen, TX 73
   3. 1988 Clarksville, TN 97
   4. 1989 Biloxi, MS 55
   5. 1990 Arlington, VA 133
   6. 1991 Anaheim, CA 47
   7. 1992 Billings, MT 78
   8. 1993 Indianapolis, IN 125
   9. 1994 Arlington, TX 140
 10. 1995 Columbus, GA 165
 11. 1996 Bismarck, ND 100
 12. 1997 Williamsburg, VA 156
 13. 1998 Sacramento, CA 146
 14. 1999 Houston, TX 117
 15. 2000 Fayetteville, NC 220
 16. 2001 Spokane, WA 109
 17. 2002 Biloxi, MS 223
 18. 2003 Kingston, RI 120
 19. 2004 Jacksonville, FL 143
 20. 2005 San Diego, CA 125
 21. 2006 Las Vegas, NV 190
 22. 2007 Albuquerque, NM 163
 23. 2008 Myrtle Beach, SC
 24. 2009 Minot, ND

  We used to come across these hanging ant's nests, the ants wove leaves together to make these nests and they resembled hanging beehives. The nests were about the size of a football and were home to thousands of biting ants.
  Well some masochistic trooper discovered that by tilting your head very quickly so as to miss the nest yourself and getting your head back to straight ahead as fast as possible you would cause your good buddy behind to walk head on into the nest. He would instantly be covered from head to toe with ticked off ants and just as quickly be standing naked in a circle of laughing troopers shaking his fatigues and promising a pay-back for the dirty deed. This was a rare occurrence because we didn't run into many of these nests and thankfully Charlie missed the show!
  We were on the perimeter at An Khe and chewing the fat in a bunker. A Vietnamese dog handler walked in with a German Shepherd. He gave a command in Vietnamese and the dog healed. The guy hung around for awhile then gave another command and they left.
  One of the troopers looked over at Sgt Maka (Platoon Sergeant)with a surprised look and said “Wow! That dog is really smart!”
Maka sardonically asked - "Why Kilroy? (not real name) Why is the dog smart?”
Kilroy replied, "He understands Vietnamese!"
I have to admit that I paused on that one for a second or two!
  We had an SOP in the platoon that when we got into a leech infested area we would stop on the half hour to get them off rather than stopping for each individual leech contact!
  Well one time we stopped off the half hour slot. I was informed that the reason for the halt was a leech. Sensing a court martial offense (just kidding), I went up towards the point. Sure enough there was Sgt. Boffman (real name) extracting a leech. Now Sgt. Boffman was a soldier par excellence and I suspected that he had good reason for stopping, and he did!
As I asked for the reason, he gave me a kind of look for yourself nod. The leech had parked on a testicle. We all agreed that this should be an exception to rule #1 re: leech removal.
Eddie Doubet

Editor’s Note: Since we usually couldn’t feel leeches, how did Sergeant Boffman know that he had a leech there????
JUMPING MUSTANG BUGLE SEPTEMBER 2007


"MANAGING THE WAR"
The major criticism of President Bush is that “he mismanaged the war”. This statement has been made by Democrats, Republicans, Generals, and aspiring candidates for public office.
Please tell us how you would manage the war. Then tell us one war that was perfectly managed.
When did the President become the “War Manager”?
This is your opportunity to demonstrate your exceptional expertise on war “Management”.
Personally, I thank President Bush for his courage, and unwavering stand in fighting the war on terrorist. More important, Thank you Sir for your Christian values.
Thank those brave men and women that put their lives on the line every day for our freedom.
Could these Warriors be classified as War Managers?
They are my heroes. Please pray for those in harms way.
May God bless you and God bless America.
Respectfully,
Roy D. Martin, Major
Airborne Infantry, Retired

MENTIONED IN DISPATCHES!

  August 31, 2007, AD Warhorse, Iraq, "....of course, other sectors in Baghdad remain contentious, and progress can be reversed in the wake of a single trigger event.
  But even across the river in Rustamiyah, where the troopers of the 1st of the 8th Cav - a butt-kickin' outfit have been fighting Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army in urban-guerrilla warfare, hopeful signs are emerging. A few days ago, Mookie unilaterally announced a six-month timeout for his gunmen. Partly, it's a political move - but it's also due to the sacrifices and fortitude of 1-8 Cav and other frontline units. So why don't you hear more about our military's successes? It goes beyond the old media dictum that "if it bleeds, it leads." Plenty of journalists have staked their reps on our predicted failure in Iraq - and they hate the reversal of fortune the surge is achieving.
by author and journalist Ralph Peters
(from an article discussing the reasons we are not hearing about military successes in Iraq)

LETTER FROM THE 1^ST CAVALRY DIVISION ASSOCIATION:
  July 2007: "Please thank the entire Jumping Mustang Chapter for their most generous donation of $500.00 to the general fund of the Association. Your donation will assist the 1st Cavalry Division Association to help defray costs associated with day-to-day operations and ensure that we can continue the programs that we offer out members. An acknowledgement of the generosity of the Jumping Mustangs will be included in the July/August issue of the Saber.
  The office staff of the 1st Cavalry Division Association is extremely grateful of your generosity and support of the Association and its programs.
First Team!
Dennis E. Webster
Executive Director