From left to right: Larry Reid, Cleve Chick, David L. Cowley, Larry R. McCormick, Wendell Affield (To put this blog post in context, please read the August 18 post.) Reunions can be poignant, frightening, illuminating. This past week my wife, Patti, and I attended the 2013 Mobile Riverine Force Association Reunion held in Indianapolis. I …
Ambush on Hai Muoi Canal, Vietnam 18 August 1968
Within the first twenty seconds of the ambush, Armor Troop Carrier (ATC) 112-11 takes 3 rockets in the well deck, incapacitating a full platoon of army troops A black army sergeant manning this 50 caliber machine gun was severely maimed when a B-40 rocket burned through the one inch armor. He was a true hero. …
Busy Summer for Muddy Jungle Rivers
Armor Troop Carrier Mobile Riverine Force, Vietnam About a month ago I received an email from “Snipe,” the engineman on the boat I was cox’n on, ATC 112-11 in Vietnam. We’ve exchanged a few messages, he has not heard from any of the other crewmembers either. Perhaps one day— June I participated in Bemidji Library …
1930s International Traveler Advice
Here is a four page excerpt from the front matter of my grandmother’s diary titled, “My Trip Abroad.”
SS American Farmer Played Important Role in Family
> SS American Farmer On September 24, 1937, my grandmother, mother, and aunt traveled to Europe aboard the SS American Farmer. My grandmother, Elsie, kept a detailed account in her diary. In this excerpt, Pol, fifteen years old, is my aunt and Bar, seventeen years old, will be my mother ten years later. “Third day …
Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference 2013
This past week I participated in a writing workshop titled “Nonfiction and the Archeology of Memory,” taught by Joni Tevis. Joni’s website, http://www.jonitevis.com/ Joni’s class was a perfect fit for the project I am working on, reconstructing our family’s past from the wealth of primary documents I have. The biggest takeaway was when Joni told …
Muddy Jungle Rivers Current Events
Tuesday, April 16, will be a busy day: At 8:30 AM I will be on “Coyote Country Radio” KKWB 102.5 FM discussing Muddy Jungle Rivers. At 7:00 PM Fosston Community Library and American Legion have teamed up to host a book reading and discussion. The public is invited. This past month I visited with …
Chickenhouse Chronicles: Whidbey Island, Washington
My great grandfather, Calvin Philips, owned several thousand acres on Whidbey Island, Washington in the early 1900s. Over the course of several decades it was sold. Today his original Greenbank Dairy Farm is a community center. http://greenbankfarm.biz/history/ Ironically, I craweled across the the Naval Base land he once owned during my SERE (survival, evasion, resistance, escape) training …
Operation Comfort Warriors Donation
American Legion National Commander Jim Koutz, I had the honor of meeting you while you were visiting Bemidji, Minnesota. I donate this case (24 books) of Muddy Jungle Rivers for your Operation Comfort Warriors program. Feel free to use the books in whichever way you think most fitting. (Mailed to National Headquarters …
“Muddy Jungle Rivers” Book Reading and Discussion
Blackduck Community Library and AMVETS have teamed up to host a book reading and discussion by Wendell Affield, author of Muddy Jungle Rivers, a Vietnam War memoir. The event begins at 6:30 PM, March 14, at Blackduck Good Samaritan Senior Living in the “great room.” The public is invited. Muddy Jungle Rivers is a close-up …