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President Awards
A Troop the
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT Vietnam vets receive presidential citation for heroism Army Times Article NY Times Article Subject: Second Information Bulletin on Presidential Unit Citation Ceremony Ladies and Gentlemen, This note is intended to answer the questions that recently have been submitted to our office regarding the upcoming Presidential Unit Citation ceremony at the White House on October 20. Our goal is to make the attendance of all Alpha Troop veterans as simple as possible so that everyone can come who desires to do so and without worrying about the details. We also will update you here on recent developments. There is a lot to talk about, so this will be a long e mail (or letter for those who still have not found someone with a computer to accept messages for them). Because of its size and the difficulty of addressing a very diverse audience of readers, the writing may not be the most elegant that you have experienced. Until the White House actually announces the prospective attendance of the President at the PUC ceremony, you may not disclose his role to anyone outside your family and other Alpha Troop veterans. This is important because a number of our Alpha Troop veterans have been or are being interviewed by local newspapers and media outlets and we do not need any slip ups. E mail us if you are contacted by the media or if you contact them so that we can help with advice and technical assistance. We want to see you in the papers or on TV, and with the right information. The upcoming PUC ceremony will have some similarities to the nationally televised White House event several days ago honoring SFC Monti and featuring the posthumous award to him of the Medal of Honor. Your PUC presentation also will be televised, at least on cable channels and it will be held, just like the MOH ceremony, in the East Room of the White House. It is no exaggeration at all to say again that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for you and your family. Everyone who can attend will never forget being admitted to the White House and hearing the citation that you earned read aloud and accompanied by words from the President of the United States. We Alpha Troop veterans will be there representing not just ourselves, but our old (and today’s) 11th Cavalry Regiment and all Vietnam veterans everywhere. This is, all at the same time, an emotional duty to our fellow soldiers of the Vietnam era and an unparalleled honor for us personally. There is no reasonable excuse, short of a crippling illness, for not being in the White House on October 20 with the rest of your comrades, just as you were almost 40 years ago when you courageously did your duty in the jungles of War Zone C. Of the 150 invited guests for the ceremony, we have been allocated 125 spaces for ourselves. So far, we have invited: several persons (White, Swan, Conrad, Leach, Reed, Shaw, Henry, confirmed to date) who helped us gain the PUC in Washington or who were our commanders in Vietnam; three representatives from the 11th. Armored Cavalry Veterans of Vietnam and Cambodia (Hathaway, Sorich, Hughes); three veterans from Alpha Company, who rode with us 39 years ago, and Charlie Company, the unit you rescued (Armer, Hobson, Woodward); and, four or maybe five representatives from the active duty Regiment (CO, CSM, Alpha Troop CO and First Sergeant and maybe a guidon bearer). That leaves the veterans of the battle and/or the mortar explosion of the night before (March 25, 26, 1970) about 105 spots, allowing for a few later guest additions. As of today, we have 75 veterans confirmed to come who are in ‘Category 1’—present at the battle or the mortar explosion, or a representative of a March25/26 veteran if deceased. John Sorich and JC Hughes are calling every one of the 300 odd names we have as possible veterans of those two days in an attempt to reach even the most isolated. Their diligent labor is being rewarded, although they are surfacing stories of emotional trauma more frequently than we had hoped. Consequently, men who have not surfaced for decades will be with us in Washington on October 20. Sorich and Hughes still have several dozen names to go, so the ‘Category 1’ tally will rise. Sally Garza, my capable assistant spends almost all of her time now coordinating the travel plans and answering questions of veterans. The other 25 anticipated guests not on our list of invitees (150 total as above minus our 125), plus a group to be invited directly by the White House includes: the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Army, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, other very senior military and civilian officers, Senators and Congressmen and, of course, the President of the United States. They will all be there to honor you and, through you, all veterans of the Vietnam War. Having won this decoration by your valor and sacrifice 39 years ago, all you must do now is appear on time at the hotels that we have selected and as described below. We’ll do the rest. Once through the process of assigning seats to ‘Category 1’ veterans, we will proceed to ‘Category 2’ Alpha Troop veterans (service in War Zone C from January 1 to March 24, 1970) and add them to the group going to the White House to the extent we have seats available. (We also will need some ‘Category 2’ veterans who don’t get confirmed seats to bring their suits and other gear to Washington to substitute for the inevitable last minute drops of ‘Category 1’ veterans. That will be a last minute drill, so come prepared if you wish to go to the ceremony, but do not have a seat confirmed before arriving in Washington.) Before we take the step of closing out the ‘Category 1’ attendance and proceeding to select ‘Category 2’ veterans for confirmed seats, I will be given a list of battle veterans who have declined to come to the ceremony. I will call them personally to insure that their decision is final. We are determined that no ‘Category 1’ trooper will be left out who is physically able to attend. There probably will not be room at the ceremony for all ‘Category 2’ Alpha Troop veterans or any ‘Category 3’ veterans (Alpha Troop service in War Zone C after March 25 to May 1, 1970) or for those on the lengthy waiting list of non-veterans. But there is a very good alternative for all those folks, as described below. We sincerely want all War Zone C Alpha Troopers (January 1 to May 1, 1970, ‘Category 1, 2 and 3’)and others outside of Alpha Troop, but who were involved in the battle directly or indirectly, and their families to join us in Washington. For those we cannot get into the White House and for the families and friends of the veterans who themselves will be going to the ceremony, we are working with the Department of the Army and the White House to arrange a reception in the Pentagon. While this arrangement is preliminary and not committed by the Department of the Army yet, the general idea is for all of us to gather at our hotel (see below) and travel by Metro to the Pentagon. After security clearance, we will be admitted to the Pentagon auditorium, all together, and then the veterans bound for the ceremony will depart for the White House on busses, escorted by a police detachment to control traffic. All of those who cannot be seated in the East Room of the White House, families and guests of the veterans, ‘Category 2 and 3’ Alpha Troop veterans without seats, and other 11th Cavalry veterans and friends will remain at the Pentagon and be provided a special tour of the building while the seated veterans are in transit to the White House and in the process of being admitted. Those in the Pentagon then will watch the PUC ceremony live via a cable broadcast to the auditorium. As soon as the ceremony is over, the veterans at the White House will be escorted directly back to the Pentagon. Our main reception will be held there, and it will include everyone who can be with us in Washington. We have selected the Pentagon for the reception site because it is not possible for anyone new to be admitted to the White House after the formal ceremony begins. However, our whole group can be accommodated at the Pentagon. This way, we can all celebrate together and be separated only for the thirty minute ceremony at the White House and the escorted transit time between the Pentagon and the White House and back for the veterans and invited guests who are bussed there. Then we leave the Pentagon together by Metro and return to our hotels; naturally, those with cars can use them rather than the Washington Metro to go to and from the Pentagon. All of this is still tentative, but if it does not work out just like this, there will be an alternative. In order to be part of any of this we need to submit to Department of the Army the following: Full name, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Country of Origin (USA probably) and Citizenship (USA probably) for all persons going to the White House and the Pentagon. Please send us this information at once so we can list it for DA and so the Secret Service can do its background check. Admission to the Pentagon may be allowed with less information than requested here, but please do this anyway and right now for each veteran and each guest and dependent: anyone you are bringing. E mail your data to Sally Garza at the address on this e mail or just hit the ‘reply’ button on your PC and send it back immediately. Or call us if you must at 713 655 9800, X116. All you need do is supply the above data, bring a dark suit and white shirt and a conservative tie, and try to find your old medals. If you cannot locate your medals, the way to get duplicates is described by Frank Cambria in an e mail identifying Medals of America as a good source, http://www.medalsofamerica.com/moaMedalsBridge.aspx?service=army. (I have attached a copy of Frank’s full email which provides additional information.) Alternatively, you can probably find them at a local Army/Navy store. It is desirable that you wear the small ‘miniatures’ that are about one half the size of your regular size medals. They line up easily above the breast pocket on your suit and look very tidy. Almost as good, however, is to bring your full size medals and wear them. Finally, if this is just too much trouble for you, don’t wear medals at all. We want you, not your decorations. Colonel Laughlin (or LTC Scott Coulson), could you tell us how to obtain the small PUC badges? It would be impressive if we passed these out before the ceremony and all of us wore them over our right breast pockets, regardless of whether all the men wear their personal decorations or not. (Does the Ft. Irwin PX carry them?) Also, Col Laughlin, I think we have agreed to leave the old Alpha Troop War Zone C guidon in the present sealed case and bring it, along with the current troop guidon, to Washington. We should make arrangements to have a tripod or equivalent on the raised platform in the East Room upon which the old guidon will be displayed. Emory, you may wish to suggest to the White House speech writers that some reference to the historic old guidon still sealed in the museum case might be included in the President’s remarks. Naturally, gentlemen, these are only suggestions. Now for the travel arrangements. You should fly, bus or drive to Washington as you see fit, of course. For those flying, you will find going to Baltimore is usually cheaper than the other local airports. If you fly to Baltimore, there are easy Amtrak and Marta trains that run almost from the airport (free bus service to the train station from the airport) straight to downtown Washington (40 minutes). From there, you hop on the Metro (subway) and make the short trip to one of the hotels we have chosen. Except for the ceremony itself, you only need casual clothes and not many of them. (Be sure to check the Washington weather before packing.) Traveling like this, you avoid the cost of a car rental and rely just on cheap public transportation. Those living in the area or driving from elsewhere can go straight to the hotels. After much labor, the tireless Sally Garza has found economical, but still acceptable hotels in the greater Washington area, and not too far from downtown. The two Comfort Inns, both within the Alexandria, Virginia city limits, that we will use have a total of 70 rooms in the larger facility and 24 in the smaller. First come first served, so please make your reservations promptly and as indicated below. The larger of the two will be our base of operations, but both provide ready access to the Washington Metro system, so you can get around on your own without a car. If we fill these two facilities, we have identified a third choice, which is somewhat more costly (all the larger hotels are; we tried hard to find space that is economical for families, and the Comfort Inns won). For those who desire more luxurious rooms, please choose a hotel in the vicinity that will afford convenient access to the main Comfort Inn in Alexandria. Schedule your arrival and departure as you wish, and make your hotel reservations accordingly at whatever hotel you prefer. Ms. Claudia Craft, traveling with me, and I will arrive on the afternoon of October 19, unless required to be present earlier by the organizers of the event. We will depart on the 21st, the day following the event, unless required to be present longer. The party traveling from the Regiment originally intended to stay where we stay, and they may still be following that plan, or another plan specified by DA; in any event, they will be joining us for most of the time in Washington. By all means, schedule additional days in the nation’s capital for touring around while there if that appeals to you. On the evening of October 19 and all day on October 20, you will be occupied. Here’s the hotel information: Comfort Inn, Alexandria, VA TEL: 703.922.9200 5716 S. Van Dorn Street, Alexandria 70 combination double and king size rooms at rate of $99/night (total daily rate of $107.91) Free breakfast Distance to Metro: 1.5 blocks Distance to White House on Metro: 20 minutes; Comfort Inn Alexandria Shuttle (8 passenger) to/from Metro: runs from 7am until 10pm and is set up upon request by calling hotel. NOTE: This is the first, economical choice. Comfort Inn, Springfield, VA TEL: 703.922.9000 6560 Loisdale Court, Springfield 24 king size rooms at rate of $99/night (total daily rate of $107.91) Free breakfast Distance to Metro: 1 mile Distance to White House on Metro: 45 min; Comfort Inn Springfield Shuttle (12 passenger) to/from Metro: runs from 7am until 10pm and is set up upon request by calling hotel. NOTE: The Comfort Inn, Springfield is located two miles west of Alexandria and in an area where there is some traffic congestion. Crowne Plaza, Old Town Alexandria, VA TEL: 703.683.6000 901 North Fairfax, Alexandria 70 Double and 10 King size rooms at rate of $135/night (total daily rate of $151.52) No breakfast included in this rate Distance to Metro: 1 mile Distance to White House on Metro: 15 minutes; Crowne Plaza Shuttle (10 passenger) to/from Metro: runs from 5:30am until 10:30pm and arrives/departs every 10 minutes and 40 minutes on the hour on each end. NOTE: The Crowne Plaza, Old Town, Alexandria (the alternative choice) is located in Old Town and it would be a good selection for those interested in visiting the local tourist sites there. The Comfort Inn hotels offer free breakfasts and we will arrange two large dinners for all of us together, including guests, dependents and local resident veterans. We will pick out moderately priced, fun, convenient restaurants in the Alexandria area for the evening of October 19, before the ceremony, and October 20, after the ceremony and reception; we will pay for the meals by passing a hat or some other way. On the 19th, we also can use our dinner time to make last minute arrangements and to be sure everyone knows the program in detail. We cannot schedule lunch right now because we do not know at what time the formal ceremony will take place on the 20th. As you can see, we are trying to take care of all details so that the veterans and their families and guests have no concerns about any aspect of our visit in Washington. I expect to rely upon the three fellows from the 11thACVVC to help with communications during the two day visit and with group movements around the area. Other volunteers will be welcomed. Now, here are several miscellaneous details. Department of the Army and the White House communications staff are writing the press release announcing the PUC ceremony and the President’s role in it as you are reading this. When you see the press release, you are free to mention the President’s participation to the media or to anyone else. Alternatively, and right now, there are two articles in important national publications that are available for you to read. These are articles describing the PUC and Alpha Troop and they appear in The New York Times and in Forbes Magazine Online. They can be accessed on line by clicking on http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/us/01vietnam.html and http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/30/poindexter-trucks-vietnam-entrepreneurs-medal.html. The second part of The New York Times feature is a series of audio/visual interviews with Alpha Troop veterans and they can be accessed on line by clicking on: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/10/01/20091001-vietnam-audio.html. I regret that I personally became so much the focal point of the Forbes article, but we can only cooperate with the authors and editors and they write what they want. Another very good article about the battle by George Hobson, the commander of the unit, Charlie Company, that Alpha Troop rescued can be viewed by clicking on: http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/oct/01/citation-recalls-anonymous-battle-of-1970/. Finally, here is another current article from the Dallas Morning News which generates more high profile coverage for A Troop: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/DN-vietnamvets_01nat.ART.State.Edition1.4c42d41.html. A couple of veterans have asked for letters explaining the PUC event so that they can present a letter to their employer to obtain time off to travel to Washington. If you need one also, let us know. For those for whom we have written letters already: if you need a more authoritative version, tell us and we will ask the Department of the Army for official support in writing them. For those who require financial assistance to make the trip, contact me or Sally Garza and describe what you need. After you have tried family and friends, and still are short, I will be happy to send you a check confidentially. If you want, you can pay it back later, but that will not be necessary. Being low on cash right now is not an acceptable reason to miss out on this historic event. We want you to be with us, no excuses. (We have asked the government for financial assistance for travel or accommodations, but that is not likely to be forthcoming.) Finally, a last request. We can use your help in encouraging some of our reluctant ‘Category 1’ comrades to come to the ceremony. Please call those battle veterans who you know, but who you believe are hanging back. Get them to Washington for their own good and for ours, and to stand in the stead of other Vietnam veterans who are not so fortunate to be honored as they will be on October 20. And, if you have a little time available, please contact John Sorich at 612.929.0054. He can supply you some of the names of men you served with many years ago in Alpha Troop, but who have not yet decided to join us. I ask you to contact them, patiently hear their stories, and help them to see that this ceremony is, perhaps, what they long have needed to come to grips with a painful chapter in their early lives. Even though dozens of us are way down the line in planning the PUC ceremony, we have been warned that nothing is a sure thing in Washington. A last minute crisis that takes the President out of reach or otherwise interrupts the ceremony is always possible. If that happens we will reschedule, if allowed, or make an alternative arrangement. I can assure you that I have personally encountered nothing but the most favorable and supportive attitudes everywhere in Washington and in the active duty Regiment when it comes to our PUC ceremony. The authorities in Washington want this to happen for us, the Alpha Troop veterans, and I am confident that they will deliver insofar as it is humanly possible. It now is up to us to do our part and play an honorable role in a national event that will affect so many. So, send your personal data to Sally Garza now, make your hotel and travel reservations, get your clothes and medals organized, and we will be together again on October 19th. It will be wonderful to see our old comrades, most of us for the first time in 39 years, and to render our final duty to the memory of what we once accomplished together and to our fallen brothers. Allons. John Columbia Tribune - Columbia, Missouri http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/oct/01/citation-recalls-anonymous-battle-of-1970/ New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/10/01/20091001-vietnam-audio.html?hp The Clarion-Ledger - Jackson, Mississippi http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009909240353
From Court House to White House Gridley Veteran to attend first PUC of Obama Administration Vietnam veteran among those to receive Presidential Unit Citation The Battles Never End Valor for the Anonymous Battle
Events 24th Annual Reunion Coming Up Optional tours this year include visits to San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey Bay and a military vehicles museum. More information on the event is available at www.11thcavnam.com/reunion/info.htm.
Gallantry, Determination and Esprit de Corps The Presidential Unit Citation is awarded in the name of the President of the United States. A unit receiving the citation must display such gallantry, determination and esprit de corps in accomplishing its mission under extremely difficult and hazardous conditions as to set it apart and above other units participating in the same campaign. The degree of heroism required is the same as that which would warrant award of a Distinguished Service Cross to an individual. According to the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, the Presidential Unit Citation was originally named the Distinguished Unit Citation. It was established by executive order in 1942 for units of the Armed Forces of the United States and allied nations for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy occurring on or after December 7, 1941. The order directed the Secretary of War to issue citations in the name of the President of the United States to military units for outstanding performance of duty. The Distinguished Unit Citation was renamed the Presidential Unit Citation in 1966. By either name, it has been awarded only 127 times*, including Alpha Troop’s decoration, in the almost seven decades since it was established. *This tally treats the Third Infantry Division’s PUC, granted for its service in Iraq, as one award. |
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