Memorial Day
- Monday 5-26-2008 -
All give, some give all...
You made it possible for those you saved to carry the war torn banner the final mile.
Your beleaguered brothers and sisters of the field and your nation at home have been given the gift of this beautiful day to share with our remaining loved ones through your selfless acts of valor and intrepidity.
We hear the laughter of children, the wave and whisper of flags in the warm breeze and reflect on those we love, have loved, and lost.
Your lives and deeds define our nation, your metal gives us strength, your fire lights our way to a brighter future.
One lays down and a million rise up... rest in peace.
The following is a great quote from the American Indian Veterans Memorial
Though this unidentified trooper was not a member of the 6/14 he is a Vietnam Veteran and just as the icon of the 6/14 Warbonnet Satanta (White Bear) this true Vietnam Brother was a Kiowa native American.
"My people honored me as a warrior. We had a feast and my parents and grandparents thanked everyone who prayed for my safe return. We had a "special" [ dance ] and I remembered as we circled the drum, I got a feeling of pride. I felt good inside because that's the way the Kiowa people tell you that you've done well."
-- Kiowa Vietnam Veteran --
"Ex Hoc Signo Victoria"
- Saturday 5-24-2008 -
Oh Heck Yeah!
Launch a few five star " illums ", yank off a round from the M107, and give the 1-million candlepower Xenon on Arty Hill a 360º so all will see...
We've regained control of our site!
We have waited for this day since we first started having trouble in 2006 and then the real seige fell on September 11th last year when we lost access to the host server and could not update or change any information on our beloved 6/14 Arty Website.
We won't go into all the details surrounding the why's and the wherefore's of this real cramp in our keester we'll just move up and move on to the reopening of ...
So let's get right down to the most important part and without question our very favorite, welcoming all the absolutely wonderful newly located 6/14 Brothers that have contacted the site just before we went off the grid and since.
We first want to say to each and every one of you noble commarades of the field how extremely sorry we are that it has taken so long for you to received a formal salute from your friends and brothers here at "Your Website"
Welcome Home Brothers
We whole heartedly welcome to the list of Brothers:
Theodore "Ted" Stachowiak - I was with A Battery 6/14 in 1968-69 at Plei Djereng , I was the #2 man and driver of an 8 in called MARY . We're the guys on the gun called the WIDOW MAKER
Dr. James L. Freeman - I was a 2nd Lt. in "C" Battery, later assigned as Battalion S-2. I served from Feb - June 1965. They were packing up to go to Vietnam when my discharge date came due
Willaim F. Baylor - A battery 6th/14th 1972-1976
Douglas "Earl" Williamson - April 1972-april 1975 Pinder Barracks, Zirndorf
Craig Danielson - Service unit: B btry 6/14th FA, June 1979-March 1981 E-4, Cannon crewman, armorer
John August Cisar - Medic with Battery C 6/14 Artillery between Oct. 1968 and May 1970. I served at LZ Mary Lou near Kontum, Dakto, Ben Het and other locations in the Central Highlands.
Ruben Lerma - B Btry 6/14 Arty Ben Het Period - Nov. 7, 1968 to Nov. 1969 Nickname "Pancho". I carried an M60 during the siege personally handed to me by Sgt Mjr Earl Hodge. Proud to have served with 6th of the 14th.
Thomas J. Littman - I served for just a few months with HHB 6/14 FA in Zirndorf, after being transferred from 2nd Bn 78th FA in Bamberg. I was transferred in on 31 Dec.1983 and ETSed on 06 April 1984. I was First Cook and a Food Service Specialist (E-4) for HHB 6/14 FA during those months. SSG Genco was my Food Service Sgt & Capt. Fleming was the Btry CO
Nick M. Roger - Assigned to 2/14 FA and 6/14 FA at Pinder Barracks and Merrill Barracks. 1971-1974. Service Battery, Battalion Maintenance Platoon, Battalion Dispatcher.
Steven Lowery - A btry 6th BN/14th FA Pinder Barracks Zirndorf, Germany 1984 – 1986
David E. Mastrorocco - C-Btry Fall 66' to May 67' FDO
(We met Brother David at Ft. Sill during the 40th OCS Graduate Reunion and FOB Kelly dedication May 2007)
Larry A. Conner - Was in the 6/14 HHB Dec. 67 to Mar 70. SP-4 36K20 Field Wire (RTO) I went to A, B, C and was in D Btry at LZ Oasis for 3 months
Homer L. Spaulding - A Btry 6/14 at Ft. Sill 1965 and went to Vietnam-Pleiku as E-5 FO, worked battalion operations and served as FO for Special Forces Ops with Plei Mrong, PleiMei, and Ducco forces, and Vietnamese Ranger units
This is not all the wonderful men that we have heard from and that we wish to welcome, it's just all we have marked up for tonight... more noble 6/14 members tomorrow.
I don't know about you Redlegs but I spend quite a bit of time scouring the darkest corners and furthest reaches of the tangled web of the internet looking for anyone or anything "6/14 Arty" related. Well, it was a little over four years ago that I ran across a guy who had an interesting lighter on his military memorabilia website. It was listed as No Longer Available but being the "Nothing ventured, nothing hits you on the side of the head" kind of a guy I went ahead and gave him a holler anyway. When I got in touch with "Ol' Joel" I found out he was still active duty and living in Germany. He said he used to have the lighter I saw on his website but he didn't know where in the heck it was.
"I don't think I have that anymore but even if I do it would be in the bottom of one of the hundred boxes and footlockers I have spread all over state side cause I sure don't have it with me here in Germany. It might be back at my old house in the USA but I don't know. If and when I ever get back state side I'll dig around for it and see but like I say... I don't know."
Well, that was the end of that.
So here we are four years later and I hadn't had any comm with Joel that whole time but I thought, what the heck, I'll fire off an email and see if he's still around and how he might be doing. Low and behold he said was heading back to the "Real World" and though he had forgotten about that old lighter he said he would dig around and see if it might turn up. Well a few mini-storage units, a couple of basements and numerous footlockers later and danged if this choice gem didn't turn up and he asked if I would still be interested...
... can you say Hoo-ahh!
Click the images above for an enlarged view of both sides of this Flame'n Beauty
There were a lot of 6/14 engraved lighters but, anybody recognize this one... ?
Let us know...
