A/1/8 - B/1/8 INFANTRY, "BULLETS"
2011 REUNION,
RENO, NEVADA
JUNE 15-19, 2011
Thanks and a big salute to Gary McMichael, George Olsen, and Carlos & Susan Reyes for their help in planning this year's reunion.
We are also looking forward to seeing our recent contacts, Humberto Robledo, James Woods, & Frank Patton at this years reunion.
Charles Burnett 4th Plt, has also been located. He has some health issues. Also, all of you A/1/8 vets who live in the Calif. give it your
best effort on attending our reunion. It is something that you will never forget. The first one is the most difficult, but once you are there
seeing and talking to your friends of 44 years ago, you will immediately be A/1/8 again and you will be proud you came. Don't miss
seeing your buddy's this time, we are all getting older you know.
Any questions or suggestions let us know. See ya in Reno.
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2009 - A/1/8 at the 4th Infantry Division Reunion
A/1/8 held their reunion along with the national 4th Infantry Division reunion,
JUL 20-26 2009 in St. Louis, MO. The reunion was spectacular!!! Several
hundred attended, with over 150 veterans present. We saw the preview of the documentary on A/1/8,
Honor in the Valley of Tears, the story of 1st SGT David McNerney, Medal
of Honor recipient for his heroic actions during the battle of the
Battle of Polei Doc, March 22, 1967 in which Alpha Company was nearly overrun.
It chronicles the original Alpha Company soldiers Top trained at Ft. Lewis,
their journey by boat to Vietnam, and their tour of duty. Survivors recount their memories
of the battles they fought and those brave souls who fought
beside them.
Inside Tivoli Theater just before airing of documentary.
Eric Dow producer and director, and John Ponsoll editor, have done an incredible job. At the conclusion of the screening, there was stunned silence in the theater. Only the soft sobbing of those present disturbed the silence for several minutes, then Eric Dow and John Ponsoll got a standing ovation that lasted for quite a while. Both were very emotional over the response. It is quite a story. My hats off to them. They really packed a lot of information and soul into such a compressed time frame. They are working now, to get it distributed nationwide. I will keep you posted. 
This is the Movie Poster
L-R:
Ken Brosseau, Robert Granger, Homer Steedly -
B/1/8.
Waiting for bus outside theater after movie.
I had to privilege of meeting with Top McNerney again and was quite impressed with his stamina. He kept up with us and was his usual incredibly personable self.
Photo Courtesy Elaine Bargatze
Between us in background is Landis Bargatze, A/1/8 and over Top's shoulder is
Gerald Blankenship, neighbor and friend.
The guest speaker at the banquet was 4th Infantry Division Commander Major General David G. Perkins. He was both informative and inspirational. I got goose bumps. These guys are still the Fighting Fourth. The determination and courage of these men shown through the eyes of General Perkins. It nearly made me want to run out and enlist all over again. It was good to see that fire in his eyes. The spark still burns brightly in our troops. They are indeed our brothers in arms and are carrying on our proud tradition of service to the country. God bless them all.
Formal Banquet and Business Meeting
This is a photo of my wife Tibby and I at the banquet, photo by Elaine Bargatze.
The book by A/1/8 Medic John Bockover, Memoirs of the Men of
Companies A and B 1/8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division,
Vietnam - 1966-1970, was distributed to the members of the unit, who
attended. You simply must read this account of the original
A/1/8 unit, which traveled by boat from Seattle Washington to Vietnam and their
first year in country. The story of the Battle of Polei Doc,
during which 1st SGT McNerney's actions earned him the Medal of Honor, is told
by many of the participants, so that by the time you read about the battle for
the third or fourth time, the men wounded and killed seem like your own best
friends. It really touches you deep down in your soul.
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