Posted Nov 16, 2008

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Posted Sep 2, 2008

Among the Charlie Co, 3^rd Tanks photo images on the VTA website is the attached photo.  Bob “Vax” Vaxter was able to not only recently recall the name of the “unknown” man but he has actually found him and is planning a mini-reunion for those of the 3^rd Platoon that he is in contact with.

From left to right: Tony Simms, Tom Freeman, Me (Bob Vaxter) and Daryl Clock.

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Posted Sep 2, 2008

Richard Barraza

I am looking for anyone who knew my father.  He served in H&S 3rd Tank Bn, 68-69 as battalion armor.

If any info email at sportytj@hotmail.com or tiffany.peterson1@us.army.mil

By Tiffany Peterson

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Posted Aug 9, 2008

I'm looking for information from any tankers that participated in Operation Allen Brook from May 4-20, 1968. 
There were tanks from Bravo and Charlie Co. 1st Tanks and from 2nd Platoon, Bravo Co. 5th Tanks. 
I am trying to work up a map of the operation for our map series at http://www.usmcvta.org/VNMaps/maplocater.htm

Lloyd G. "Pappy" Reynolds USMCVTA Webmaster
Bravo3rd@earthlink.net

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Posted Jul. 20, 2008

Christopher G Hicks of Morganton, NC is trying to find two Marine tanker buddies Sergeant Gram or his tank commander Glen.  They were together in Charlie Company, 3^rd Tank Bn, 3rd Marine Division in 1968 – 1969.  If anyone has any information, please contact:

Don Smith
206 Rink Street
Morganton, NC 28655
(828) 438-9337

morgantonnc@yahoo.com

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Posted Jul. 20, 2008

A brother Marine grunt “Big John” Pessoni of the Khe Sanh Veterans Association wants to locate the tank crew that took out an NVA recoilless rifle position that was firing on them at Khe Sanh Base in Jan or Feb of 1968. 

John’s phone # is 732-948-980

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Updated Jul. 20, 2008

I have an update on looking for:
C. I. Thorpe which is C. D. Thorpe is Deceased 1987.
F. A. Martinez is Francisco Antonio Martinez
A.A. Williams is Alfred Arnold Williams
I got these names through the National Records Center in
St. Louis Mo.
I was lucky to get them.
Semper Fi
Robbie

Posted Jun. 29, 2008

I have been searching all over for the members of my Marine tank platoon.  I have found nine so far and three have become members.

 For a bit of history my platoons were:

2nd Platoon, Alfa Co, 1^st Tanks - 1965 – We left the States and sailed to Okinawa.
3rd Platoon, Alfa Co, 3^rd Tanks – 1966 – We changed platoon numbers and battalions when we got to Vietnam in December.
3rd Platoon, Charlie Co, 3^rd Tanks – 1966 - We changed company designation in April

 I'm having trouble finding these Marines:

Michael J. Anderson
Jerry M. Burrell
Philip K. Garza
Robert E. Payne
Donald A. Rowe
C.I Thorpe
F. A. Martinez
A. A. Williams

If you can post this on the “Looking For” on our website it may help my search.  These eight are all that’s left to find of my platoon.

If anyone sees this and has some contact information for any of these men please get hold of me right away.

Semper Fi  Harvey “Robbie” Robinson,  5600 Burns Drive, Silsbee, TX 77656-9120

(409) 385-6399
usmctanker65@peoplepc.com

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Posted Jun. 10 2008

In the hospitality suite in Las Vegas I was talking to a tanker that had
throat cancer surgery and was now getting 100% from VA.  Our corpsman, Doc
Forsythe, has throat cancer and he is getting a lot of crap from VA.  He
asked me if we could find the other guy & hook them up.  I know it's fishing
deep but maybe you can find out who the member is.

Doc Forsythe's email is: docnomo2@yahoo.com

Thank you.

(Cpl) Doug Scrivner 
USMC 1967-1970 Semper Fi  RVN 68-69
BLT 2/7  B & C Co. 1st Tanks (Zippo) 1st Mar.Div.
docascriv@fuse.net

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Posted Jun. 10 2008

Hello, my name is David Matranga.  My father Daniel E. Matranga (aka “Pogo”) served in Vietnam with 4th Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Tank Battalion, 1at Marine Division from July 1969 to July 1970.  He served on Operation Pipestone Canyon on Go Noi Island south of Hill 55 and in Dodge City.

 My dad died about 10 years ago of a heart attack.  While he was alive he did not like to relive any of his experience in the war.  My mom, brother and I have starting trying to find some of his buddies or fellow Marines that may have served with him or knew him.  I would like to add a post with some pictures of the tank he commanded, "Miss Goodie Two Shoes", along with pictures of him and his platoon, to see if anybody out there might remember him.

 My dad after coming home from Vietnam had a major battle with cancer that I believe he attributed to his exposure to Agent Orange.  That was in 1984.  He then he survived seven surgeries and went on to live until the age of 51, when he died of a sudden heart attack in 1998.   My dad, like many Marines who were there, was pretty quiet about his experiences over there.  But even with him keeping most of his memories inside, his love and loyalty for the Corps was extremely evident. 

 Recently my mom found a box that is almost 40yrs old that held many-many letters that he sent to her while he was over there.  She hasn't read them since she received them back in 1969.  We are finding out the names of a few of the men he hung out with and many of the "nicknames" of the men in his Platoon, along with bits and pieces of his experience over there.  We would love nothing more than to find out the names of the men in his platoon and to contact as many as we could. 

 The 2 names of tanks that my mom has found are "Miss Goodie Two Shoes" and "Cheap Thrills Two".  He mentioned the names of  Lt. James Skoog, and Ron Kleffner and the nicknames of the men in his platoon were: “Rock,” “Andy”, “Panther”, “Brother Luv”, “Gater”, “Slim”, “Bug Baron”, “Raley”, “Gunny”, “Harry Harle” and “Stevie.”

 This is a direct quote from one of his letters to my mom about "Rock":

 "This may seem hard for you to believe but other than you and my family, he means more to me than any other person in the world.  We've been through some moments together that I will never forget.  I have a feeling one or the other or both saved each other's life."

 We would like to find out who "Rock" is and to be able to meet him.

 I know that in September of 1969 while serving on his tank he was injured twice and received two Purple Hearts for mine accidents.  He was then transferred to a book keeping job that he hated.  He wanted nothing more than to get back to his platoon but it never happened. 

 If you need some more information please let me know.  Here are a bunch of pictures that we have found.

My mom's name is Linda Matranga. 

6 Chestnut
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 362-6111

Email: lexamae@sbcglobal.net

 I am Dan’s son David Matranga

Email:  dmsh2@aol.com

(512) 228-9181

 S/F

David

 

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Posted Apr 28 2008

From: "bear4tracks" < >

Thank You for your website, in April 1967 I was deployed to Vietnam, however when I arrived in Camp Hansen, Okinawa for staging battalion, myself and approximately 40 other marines missed a movement as a result of being marched to sickbay to donate a much needed blood supply.

As a result of missing that movement, I was sent to 3rd FSR at Camp Hansen, and assigned to the rebuild area for tanks, amtracks, and a few Ontos. My initial assignment as a PFC was to the decontamination detail, where I operated a steam cleaning jenny, used to clean decontaminates off the units and assemblies after amtrack crews disassembled them. They did not want the crap that was on them in the shops. They al so brought complete engine assemblies to us to rebuild.

I remained on that cleaning operation until January of 1968, and then was assigned to operate a mobile truck crane and would help crews remove the power plants and other components, and take them to the various shops for rebuilding, and then would pick up rebuilt ones from live engines and then assist crews putting the power plants back into serviced vehicles. I was used on three different bases helping Amtrac crews. (Camp Schwab, Camp Hansen, and what is now called Camp Kinser where I believe the junk yard was located that brought the stuff from Vietnam to Okinawa to be disposed of)

After returning to the states I broke out with a very bad skin disorder, my doctors sent me to the VAMC believing something in the military caused the skin disorder they could not clear up.

 I am on my fifth appeal since 1977, I am diabetic and have prostate problems. I believe whatever was on the amtrack and assemblies I steam cleaned got into my blood stream, we had no OSHA or safety procedures at that time. I breathed the hot steam into my lungs, and my clothes and boots were always soaking wet. It was not my MOS to do this but I was assigned to the unit because I missed a movement, believing I would deploy with that unit when and if time arrived.

I tried refusing the job but was threatened with brig time and a large fine for insubordination, by the NCO in charge of my unit.

 My claim is sitting at the Appeals Management Center in Washington, D.C. Attorney Dave Meyers of the Veterans Consortium is helping me, and he posed a question on April 23, 2008, and this is part of his response to a email I sent previously:

 Another thought struck me this morning on the way to work (don't ask why). Have you explored an involved history of the vehicles you were cleaning?  There are always some kind of guys who get all excited about equipment (usually weapons or tanks - I knew a CPO who was nuts about the Navy's big guns, could tell you about a shell's rpm a mile from the barrel, etc.) There may be books, or articles about the stuff you were cleaning, and frankly, all you need would be a line or two about how the XYZ half-tracks were returned for cleaning.

The amtracks were not sent back for cleaning, they were sent back for repair.  The Secretary of the Navy presented my unit with the attached MUC because it was our participation in that war that helped make the initial Amphibious landing possible.

The Marine Corps did not maintain daily records on anybody, we done our jobs and w ere proud of the things we did with the tools we scrounged up to do it with. I once stole a truck off the Army with my wrecker just to get the tires I needed to keep my crane operating. I went to the salvage yards at NAHA (maybe Camp Kinser) along with crews and helped removed used parts from vehicles to keep others moving.

Is there any thing you can help me with that would give weight to my claim.  I didn't know what was on the stuff we cleaned?  I maintained this throughout my appeals. I ruined a T Shirt a day from the sores oozing puss out of my body.

Another site has pictures of all the amtrack types I helped work on. (amgrunt@bigfoot.com) But is no longer active? As a result of working with the amtrack crews my MOS was changed to mechanic, but was never instituted by the Marine Corps stateside, but my SRB was stamped to that affect. My initial as assignment when I returned to the states I was sent to Norfolk as a mechanic when 10th Marines were sent there to teach midshipmen amphibious landing techniques.

Due to Congress giving veterans presumptive status for AO exposure if they spent time in Vietnam, they have been jacking me around, because the Navy brought Vietnam to me, they keep raising the BAR against me and my family.

I found two Marines I served with that have signed affidavits stating I was assigned to the detail; one was the NCO that threatened me with insubordination for refusing the job. Meyers believes additional statements from someone who was there in Vietnam would give my claim more weight.

 Thanking you in advance, for more information contact: I have a roster of all the Marines in my unit. I don't know what the MOS was for the Amtrac crews. Even that would be helpful be cause at one time there was over 400 Marines in that unit.

Barry L Fetzer
566 Main Street
Vintondale, PA. 15961
Phone:  814-749-0715

Email: bear4tracks@floodcity.net

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Posted Mar. 29 2008

My name is Jerry Horn and I am a former Marine (stateside pogue). My brother-in-law and best friend, Jerry Gibbons, served with A Co., 3rd Tanks 66-68.  He died from heart procedure complications in 1999.  He often shared his tank stories with me.  He saw a lot of action in his two tours.  He was assigned to “Task Force Robbie” for a while and he generally spent most of his time up near the DMZ.  He was a proud former Marine tanker.  His widow recently found some pictures that he had taken in Vietnam.  I've attached them to this message. Jerry is the Marine facing the camera in the two solo shots. I hope you can use them. His son would also like to hear from anyone who served with him.

 Thanks and Semper Fi.

 Jerry Horn
117 Cherry Lane
Medford, NY 11763
Home # 631-654-9403   Cell #    631-278-2837

jfhorn@optonline.net

               

        

 

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Posted Mar. 22 2008

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Posted Mar. 10 2008

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Posted Mar. 9 2008

I am helping my father, James Thomas look for information about his tank and fellow Marines.  My father is now living at Hines VA Hospital due to various forms of cancer caused by Agent Orange.  He was on a  tank named Thor.  I think that it was an Alfa Co tank.

Contact me at my home address:

Michael J. Thomas
4105 s. Drexel blvd.#2NR
Chicago Il. 60653

SAMOHTLEACHIM@comcast.net

 

Posted Jan 5 2008

My name is Rick Trader.  My dad, who died in April of 2003, was Col. E. P. "Red" Trader, Jr.  He commanded 1st tanks back in 1972.  He also served with 1st Tanks (I believe as ExecO) in Viet Nam back in 1965 and/or 1966 (or maybe that was 66/67).  He also served at ExecO for H&S Co., 1st Tanks, back in 1960.  I guess what got me looking on the internet was that we just found an old 8mm home movie (only about 3 1/2 minutes in length) of dad (a 1st Lt. then) passing command of his company to some other chap.

 At any rate, I guess I was just looking for anyone who might remember dad.  As I recall, he sort of made a name for himself when, under his command, 1st tanks was awarded top battalion in the division (I think Houghton was the commanding general back then).  I guess that is relatively unheard of for an armored battalion.  My son, now serving as an F-18 mechanic with the MAW314, out of Mira Mar Air Station, ran into an officer in a local mall a year or two ago.  In the course of conversation the officer stated that he was ExO of 1st Tanks.  Nathan commented that his grandpa had been CO at one point in time.  The man noticed Nathan's name tag (Nathan was strolling the Mall as a Toys for Tots rep, I think) and asked if it was “Red” Trader.  Nathan affirmed that.  The guy laughed and said, to some affect, that Nathan's grandpa was "legendary" due to some accomplishments under his command.  He threw out a couple things and Nathan had remembered hearing some stories.

 I also know the pride that dad had for 1st tanks, literally until the day he died.  That was always his crowing pride.  Sitting in the chair in his living room, only a few weeks from his death of liver cancer---he watched 1st tanks roll into Bagdad.  He literally had tears on his cheeks just reflecting on the deep pride he held for this unit of fighting men.  "Way to go, 1st Tanks!," he said.  Sitting there next to him I could only embrace his pride with him.

 At any rate---after viewing this 8mm film today, and in light of the rain coming down and having some time on my hands, I figured I'd google dad's name.  Found his obits.  Googled some 1st tanks info and have found several sights.  One had after action reports, but I couldn't get them to load.  Those would be interesting to read, from dad's time with the battalion on his first tour in Nam.

 My daughter works at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, at Quantico.  I live down in the Richmond area.  I hold all of dad's Vietnam era pictures and slides, and my daughter is our family's die-hard historian.  We'd both love to hear if there is anyone out there who remembers my dad---especially from his service in Nam---but frankly, at any time in his career would be fine too.

 When dad was dying we went through a couple boxes of pics and then came upon a bundle from Nam.  Nothing spectacular, but I had never seen any of them.  He said that mom (who was the consummate Marine wife--dying in 1986) only wanted my brother and me to see the happy, smiley face pictures from Vietnam, so we never saw the gun ship photos, and other more every-day photos.  We only saw the ones of dad behind his desk with a monkey on his shoulder--or standing outside his quonset hut.  Dad never spoke of his Vietnam service and only when I sat going through all of his citations and decorations with him (I was 45 at the time), did I even hear the smallest of stories.

 Any counsel you might provide as to where one such as I might locate folks who may have known dad, or served with him in Nam, would be great.

 Thank you for your help and time.  Happy 2008 to you and yours.

 My contact info is as follows:

Rick Trader
13812 Orchid Dr.
Chesterfield, VA  23832
(804) 639-0638 (Home)

rick@boneem.org

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If you could help me locate someone from Vietnam I would certainly appreciate it.
We were together at Parris Island in Platoon #154.  His name is Michael P. McCabe.  After ITR he went into tanks and I went to First Division as a Grunt.  I saw him again on Hill#55 in the April-May ’66 time frame.  If you have him on your roster I would appreciate if you would forward my information to him.

E-mail: jg_hunka@cox.net

Semper Fi,

Jim Fronkier
15 North Greenfield Avenue
Hampton, VA 23666-2625
Phone (757) 838-7341.

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My wife's brother, PFC Dennis Lynn Cook, was killed in combat in Vietnam while serving with Alpha Company, 1st Tank Battalion, in May 1968.  We're trying to establish contact with anyone who served directly with him during this time period. 

Following are particulars related to PFC Cook:

PFC Dennis Lynn Cook, assigned to a M48 tank crew, 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company,1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division

KIA: 6 May 1968, Thua Thien Province; killed by sniper while loading WIAs on medivac choppers.

PFC Cook was stationed at Subic Bay before shipping to Vietnam

Home Town: Yoder, Indiana

Father's Name: Kenneth Cook (deceased)

Mother's Name: Laveda (Bowman) Cook (deceased)

Contact Info: Tom & Eileen (Cook) Hitzeman, 4048 S. Tecumseh Road, Springfield OH 45502

 Phone: (937) 324-3268

Email: TAHitzeman@aol.com

I'm looking for anyone who was with Terry Bloomer 1st Plt C Co. 3rd Tanks 11-67 to 12-68 ?
I went in the corps with him on the Buddy plan all the way to Okinawa and then we got seperated.
He went to 3rd Mar Div and I went to 1st Mar Div.
I can't find him anywhere now. Last story I got he was Living in Indiana.
Had a couple of heart attacks and maybe even open heart.

We Found each other!!! 5/20/07

I got an email from him this morning.
He lives about 32 miles from me, we are getting together next weekend,
I have not seen him since 81 or 82, should be interesting.

Doug Scrivner
USMC  Semper FI
docascriv@fuse.net   or  scriv.jr@juno.com    

Could you ask the membership if anyone remembers an Angelo Cuttia.  He may have been with Charlie Co. 3rd Tanks in Viet Nam in 1965 - 1966.  He is a tall guy. I ran into him tonight at a local sea food joint.  I hadn't seen him in a few decades.  He was in the Corps during Korea. He got out and then went back on Active Duty.  He eventually retired (I think) as a Captain.  I'm going to find him again and have coffee or whatever. He was one hell of an athlete locally at Woodward High School in Toledo, Ohio.  The world gets smaller as one gets older.  Thanks

Semper Flames

Don Masztak
308 Beachwalk Trail
Luna Pier MI. 48157
My cell: 419-340-3328 is always on.
Email marine1@charter.net

Today I received a call form a Hank Fuller Company Commander of Ed's Platoon.
Hank was a wittiness to the explosion that hit my friend Ed, and helped him to the helicopter.
Hank was full of information, names, places ect. He even has a picture of the APC that
drove off of the mine! Hank and Ed will speak some time next week.   WOW

    Thank you for your help.	
Email : pwew@cox.net 
Phone: (850) 689-2931
Thank you, Gene Wright

From: Jabemk32@aol.com
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 21:33:33 EDT
Good Evening George D Rose,

I saw your ad on your Vietnam tankers reunion.  I am trying to get in
contact with USMC member that I knew in Vietnam.  He was a Tanker and a
Major in 1968.  His name is "DIXIE" GARDNER and he was from Washington
State 

I would appreciate any information that you can provide on him.

Besides my email address, I can also be reached at:
Home Phone: (253) 584-8904
Cell Phone: (253) 224-0817
Address: 7316 96th Avenue SW, Lakewood, WA 98498-3317

Semper  Fi,

James A. Bourgeois
Jabemk32@aol.com

Clyde Hoch passed this along to me. Thought I'd share it. I know the two in the middle (John Maxwell and Clyde Hoch).
Can't remember the names of the other two. If you can help, send me a toss.