MEDIA

RELEASE

for Lest We Forget

Contact: Lila Megna

Public Information Officer
269-982-7219/lilamegna@yahoo.com


Event Contact: Don Alsboro,
Colonel, US Army (Ret)
269-925-176/dealsbro@comcast.net
www.lestweforgetusa.org



Lest We Forget is sponsoring "A Welcome Home To Vietnam Veterans" June 19-21, 2015 at the
Southwest Regional Airport on Territorial Road in Benton Harbor, MI.
Many of our Vietnam veterans have never received "thanks" for their service in Vietnam. Over 3 million
American men and women answered the call of their country and it is time that they be properly
recognized.
All Vietnam veterans who attend will receive a special "Appreciation Certificate" for their service.
The Battle of Ia Drang was fought November 14-18, 1965 and was the subject of a book and movie
"We Were Soldiers and Young". Soldiers of the First Cavalry Division (Airmobile) participated in the
battle. Some of these former soldiers of the 1st Cavalry, 7th Infantry Battalion will be gathering for a
reunion and their program is called "Remembrances." Their reunion will be held at The Chapel, 4250
Washington Avenue, St. Joseph, MI at 7:00 pm Friday evening June 19th and it is open to the public.
The program will then shift to the Southwest Regional Airport where there will be two full days of
activities.

You will be able to meet and listen to Vietnam Medal of Honor recipients Walter Marm (Army), Don
Ballard (Navy/Marines), and Gary Wetzel (Army) and two Vietnam Prisoners of War (POW) Frank
Anton and Joe Kernan.
On Friday afternoon there will be a motorcycle procession led by Medal of Honor recipient Gary
Wetzel thru Berrien County with stops in Niles and New Buffalo at the Four Winds Casino.
At the airport there will be a considerable amount of aircraft led by "The Hooligans" who will do
precision flying across the airfield.
The "369 Huey Medevac" that flew in Vietnam will be offering rides along with other aircraft.
Patriotic singer John Steer is coming back to SW Michigan. He has recorded numerous songs and is
most known for his singing of "50,000 Names on the Wall." John lost his arm in the Battle of Dak To and
for many years struggled with PTSD and his injuries. He has counseled thousands of veterans and
received "The Presidential Award for Freedom" from President George H. Bush. John Steer will perform
his songs at 7:00 pm on Saturday June 20 in the Fiskar Hangar.
In addition, for entertainment on Saturday following John Steer, Lynn Roberts will do tributes to Bob
Hope, Jimmy Durante, Red Skelton, and Jack Benny. Lynn looks and sounds like all four of these
entertainment icons. He will present the "Bob Hope USO Show and will be supported by Jen Brohman
of Bridgman who will appear as Ann Margaret or one of the other starlets that travelled to Vietnam with
Bob Hope. It will bring back memories for those of us who grew up during the 60's and especially to the
Vietnam soldiers who saw Hope in person.

The presentations at the airport will be conducted in the Fiskar airport hangar which will be filled with
display items. The " Master Modeler" from Indiana, Jerry Lindquist will be presenting his very large
display of military dioramas, uniforms and other related memorabilia. Authors of books on the Vietnam
War will be present. Saturday evening at 6:00 pm, The Blue Star Mothers of Berrien County will
present a program on "Fashions of the 60's".
The Vietnam war dog handlers from Michigan, Indiana and Ohio will be having a reunion. There were
4,000 war dogs in Vietnam that saved over 10,000 lives. Many of the dog handlers will be bringing dogs
that they've trained to emulate their Vietnam war dogs. The dog handlers will be putting on
presentations and will be available to tell their stories.
The helicopters which come from Kokomo IN flew in Vietnam. They have been coming to our events
since 2008 and they offer membership rides for the public. If you've never flown on a Huey it will be a
very memorable experience. There will be two realistic Vietnam re-enactments on Saturday and
Sunday afternoons. These will feature the "famed Huey" choppers, VN War dog handlers with live dogs,
flame thrower, VN era military vehicles, Viet Cong and American re-enactors and much more.

The Saturday and Sunday performances will begin with parachute drops by the "Leap Dogs" from North
Carolina. There will be aircraft and military vehicles on display at the airport.
We will honor the services of local veterans in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. They will recount
their experiences in the battles of Hamburger Hill, Dak To, Saigon, Khe Sanh, and many others. The local
speakers will include Bud Baker (Army), Jim McCloughan (Army), Hank Richmond (Army), Ted Tees
(Army), Harvey Ross (Marines They will be interviewed by COL (ret) Denny Gillem who hosts a national
radio show for veterans and introduced by Jim Cassidy.
Sunday morning, June 21st at 9:00 am a Memorial Service will be held to honor forty-seven local
Vietnam veterans who lost their lives in Vietnam. Representatives of the families will receive a very
memorable tribute to their fallen family members.
We also will be honoring the Vietnamese people who supported the US Army. Many of them paid for
their assistance with a loss of their lives. For the Vietnamese who escaped to the U.S. there will be
special recognition and stories from several of them. We also will be honoring the Korean soldiers who
fought in Vietnam with the American soldiers. Over the ten year period over 350,000 Korean soldiers
served and over 3,000 lost their lives.
This event promises to be one that you'll never forget! Bring your family, especially your children so
that they can better understand what their parents or grandparents did and "SAY THANKS TO THE
VIETNAM VETERANS FOR THEIR SERVICE."
For information on this event:
www.lestweforgetusa.org
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dealsbro@comcast.net
269-921-7176