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KenC Admin 
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Well, as many of you know, I went to Ft Riley last week. It was an amazing trip and I received an amazing honor. I was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the 16th Infantry Regiment (DMOR), an honor held by only 104 others including WWII Veterans. As most of you also know, I am involved with raising funds (you will all be hit up later in the year - ) for the Infantry Company, Bandido Charlie. Bandido Charlie is the only officially named company sized unit in the US Army and is, in fact, Company C, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. The 16th Infantry Regiment has been on continuous active duty since 1861. It is the most highly decorated Regiment in the US Army and Company C of the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment has, in fact, the distinction of being the most decorated unit in the United States Army! The best part of the ceremony was that it included a week of being with the active duty soldiers of the 16th Infantry Regiment and of the Big Red One for nearly a week at Ft. Riley, Kansas…and it is unbelievable to me how well received we were by the troops of the active 16th Infantry Regiment battalions. It is a tribute to the incredible leadership and training provided by LTC Luke and LTC Kries and their respective Command Sergeant’s Major, Scott Smith and Wylie Hutchison, and, it is a tribute to the quality of soldier in today’s Army! Our soldiers spent the week giving us expert demonstrations of their skills and training processes, their technology, their leadership and their professionalism…all the while, tending to our every need. We watched their training exercises and their skilled assaults, fired their weapons and “played” in their simulators, but most enjoyable, at least to me, was the time we spent simply talking with them. In the field, sharing lunches in the Mess Hall (they have some silly new name), at the DMOR Reception and at the 16th Infantry Annual Ball, I have never seen or spoken with such well trained, highly educated, physically fit and well led troops. They are committed to the mission and to the Army…it was overwhelmingly evident at every level of command that we encountered from PFC to the Division Commander.  Moi firing a sniper rifle!  In front of the Bandido Charlie Orderly Room with the current 1st Sergeant, Company Commander, and men I commanded in Vietnam (they are identified in photos below). The flag displayed flew over the 2nd Platoon Leader's Command Track in Vietnam. The spot in the lower left is blood.  At a training site with 2 active duty Bandidos (who both served with the Bandidos in Al Asad, Iraq) my Command Track Driver, one of my Squad Leaders, my Medic and my 1st Sergeant from Vietnam.  At the awards ceremony with the current 1/16 Battalion Commander, "Mack" (my command track driver from Vietnam, "Top" (my 1SG from Vietnam), Moi, "Woody" (a friend, classmate, former Bandido Charlie CO and current Aide to the Secretary of the Army), "Doc" (my medic from Vietnam and his wife (an Honorary Member of the Regiment). |
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Skipdawg 3T WIS 
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smile8.gif This crazy Salty Dawg of a Navy Vet thanks ya for sharing this Brother. Very KEWL!  |
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Tony Duronio 3T WIS 
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Looks like a wonderful time Ken. Just the description got my adrenilin going, I can just amagine the emotion you felt on every level. God Bless our military..you guysyourock.gif |
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Paxman 3T WIS 
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Thanks for sharing this, Ken. It is an honor to be associated with you and your men. I just shared this post with my wife and we both want to thank our past and current heroes who have done, and continue to do, the heroic work which makes this country as great as it is. Thanks for the look inside! You know I'm down with Bandido Charlie when the time comes for you to do your good work and hit us up. It is truly our honor!:D |
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oagaspar Site Founder 
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Ken...You still got the "Right Stuff" Buddy!....it is a honor to have you as my friend and confidanthand6.gif....I'll bet the active duty soldiers of the 16th were as honored having you and your compadres there as you were by being inducted into DMOR.... what a distinquished honor .....Congrats! yourock.gif |
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KenC Admin
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oagaspar wrote: Ken...You still got the "Right Stuff" Buddy!....it is a honor to have you as my friend and confidanthand6.gif....I'll bet the active duty soldiers of the 16th were as honored having you and your compadres there as you were by being inducted into DMOR.... what a distinquished honor .....Congrats! yourock.gif Thank you, Oscar and everybody. ...and yes, a major surprise to me was that our admiration of them and their skills was equally, if not more so, matched by their stated admiration of Veterans, especially those who served in Vietnam. We were, without fail, greeted with warmth and affection. Each and every time I thanked a soldier for serving, his response, without hesitation, was something to the tune of, “No sir, we thank you for serving and for setting the high standards for us to follow!” It literately brought tears to my eyes on several occasions…the sincerity was overpowering. For those of us who were Vietnam Veterans, it was finally acknowledgment that what we did was not in vain…they look to us as examples as to what they are doing. They look to us as those who know what it is like fighting an unpopular war in an unpopular time. They know it can be demoralizing, but our unsung perseverance gives them the moral support they need to go on…to proudly do what is right in a time of adversity. Their continuation of our traditions and their repeated admiration of what we went through is, after 40 years, the best, the finest “Welcome Home” I have ever heard! Bottom line: I have many, many military medals and badges, but getting to meet with and share experiences with these young men, the finest soldiers in the world, far outshines any award given! Like our very own "murphy j", they are my personal heroes! |
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Willieboy 3T WIS 
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Powerful stuff Ken. If it weren't for you guys, I don't know where our country would be. Thank you. |
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hucky 3T WIS 
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Hope you enjoyed your Trip Ken woohoo.gif Do you have any pics of your crew when you guys were younger? That would be cool too. I bet you could tell some mind blowing stories back in the day. Thanks for all you did and do. Huck |
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KenC Admin
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hucky wrote: Hope you enjoyed your Trip Ken woohoo.gif A couple of "Back-in-the-day" shots..... FSB (Fire Support Base) Riley, Vietnam...south of Lai Khe..PSG Paige, 1SG Herrera, 1LT D'Olivi, CPT Costich, 1LT Barouski, 1LT Knudesen, 1LT Spangler  Phu Loi Base Camp....one of the M48 Patton Main Battle Tanks on my tour assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry (aka Quarterhorse Cav)  Running the LA, CA recruiting Main Station.....  Bandido Charlie Command Track...Mack, my driver, is standing....taken somewhere near An Loc, I believe....  |
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murphy j 3T WIS 
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It sounds like you had a good trip Ken. I appreciate your admiration for those of us that are still serving, but it always been the Vietnam era guys that I looked up to and tried to emulate. They were and still are the example that many of us try to live up to. Thank You Ken for being one of those examples and Thank You for your service . |
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pacifichrono 3T WIS 
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Hey Ken, that looks like a fantastic experience. Congratulations on your honor. Wish I had more pics from back in the day. This is one of the few I have...taken at the mouth of the Cua Viet River in early 1967. This Marine base was later named Camp Kistler. As you know, I still wear that watch occasionally. It's never been serviced - ha ha. Below is one of at least three youtube videos of my battalion (3/4) at this base. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_As6V91TWVg&NR=1 |
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KenC Admin
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pacifichrono wrote: Hey Ken, that looks like a fantastic experience. Congratulations on your honor. Wish I had more pics from back in the day. This is one of the few I have...taken at the mouth of the Cua Viet River in early 1967. This Marine base was later named Camp Kistler. As you know, I still wear that watch occasionally. It's never been serviced - ha ha. What? You had tents to sleep in and sandbags for protection...you probably had a mess hall and hot chow, too!!!  |
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pacifichrono 3T WIS
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KenC wrote: pacifichrono wrote:Hey Ken, that looks like a fantastic experience. Congratulations on your honor. Wish I had more pics from back in the day. This is one of the few I have...taken at the mouth of the Cua Viet River in early 1967. This Marine base was later named Camp Kistler. As you know, I still wear that watch occasionally. It's never been serviced - ha ha. I remember switching from hot chow to C-rats and back again many times. Do you remember what that did to your digestive system? I'm still trying to forget! ;) |
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KenC Admin
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pacifichrono wrote: KenC wrote:pacifichrono wrote:Hey Ken, that looks like a fantastic experience. Congratulations on your honor. Wish I had more pics from back in the day. This is one of the few I have...taken at the mouth of the Cua Viet River in early 1967. This Marine base was later named Camp Kistler. As you know, I still wear that watch occasionally. It's never been serviced - ha ha. No...because when we went to the boonies, we stayed in the boonies...sorta like, 90 days out and 90 days out. We never came into base camp. No tents...and the very rare hot meal flown in by chopper. |
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teddyhanna Guest
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Super great story Ken I was touched, just awesome.....yourock.gif My Dad fought in World War II, and the Korean War. He was in the Army as Warrant officer II, his job was to bury all the Jewish people that were slaughter by Hitler. He brought home pictures in a photo album of the massive people that were killed and told me countless stories. From the age of 9 he showed me those pic's of what Hitler had done. They would dig with bulldozers 15 to 20 feet trenches to bury the mass amount of dead. My brother was in the Air Force from 1966 to 1989, when he came thru the air ports the protesters (Vietnam area) would spit on him, so from early age I was taught to be thankful for the Americans in the military. I do not have the honor to say I was in the military, but I have the up most respect for the men and woman that serve.... |
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Ablejack 3T WIS 
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Congratulations on your recognition Ken. And thank-you on this Veteran's Day for your service. |
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aloy 3T WIS 
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Wow Ken, reading about your trip just blew me away! I was so touched, it gave me goosebumps and made my heart race! I had no idea! All I can say is thank you and God bless ... Last edited on Wed Nov 12th, 2008 02:49 am by aloy |
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tny795 3T WIS 
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Congratulations on a well-deserved honor....:) I'd sure like a try with that sniper rifle. BANDIDOS FOREVER! |
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scottran 3T WIS 
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Congrats Ken on a well deserved honor! Thank you for your service. |
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sleddog218 3T WIS
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Congrats on the well-deserved honor Ken. Looks and sounds like a wonderful trip, thank you for posting, and as always, thank you for your service! I wasn't online for Veterans Day, so I didn't have an opportunity to thank you there. David |
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