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information found on Reunions page __________________________________________________ New Posting 2/23/08
JOINT POW/MIA Accounting
Command (JPAC)
West Beach dig site To see many more pictures from this dig click here This is part of a email from Monte Marchant , Quartermaster of VFW 11575 post in Cambodia. Monte: I recently went with JPAC (Joint POW/MIA Accounting
Command) out to Koh Tang and have some
updates. Most importantly, there has been a recovery on the Island. There will
a repatriation ceremony on March 1st at the Phnom Penh airport. Mayaguez
Memorial Post members will be attending and participating in the
ceremony. We'll ensure we have adequate photo/video coverage to capture the
memories and pass them on. Also I understand that a cousin of LCpl. Joseph Hargrove is with JPAC on this dig and here is a news paper story about it. On the trail of his family's hero
For nearly a year Cary Turner has told the story of U.S. Marine
Lance Cpl. Joseph Hargrove -- of how he was left behind on the small
Cambodian island of Koh Tang in 1975 and of the years it took before
his family began to learn the truth. And for almost that long,
Turner has been telling people that he wants to watch the members of
the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) team when they excavate
his cousin's suspected gravesite -- just to make sure they do their
job, just so the family knows every effort was made. Now,
after months of planning and fundraising, he is there, having
arrived in Cambodia on Jan. 16. Before he left, Turner
admitted that he was nervous about making the trip -- nervous about
the potential of camping out on the island, of not knowing the
language or the culture, and of simply being taken out of his
comfort zone. "I'm getting a little bit stressed, a
little anxious," he said. "I've been talking the talk and now it's
time to walk the walk." Fortunately, he said via
satellite phone last week, things are going better than expected.
"We're in pretty safe here," he said. "It's a beautiful place."
Helping assuage those earlier feelings of nervousness, he explained,
was the meeting he had with the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia after
arriving.
"He said he was pleased with what I was trying to do for my
family. He was supportive of me, and that really made me feel good,"
Turner said. The next piece of good news, he continued, was
when he, Ralph Wetterhahn (the author of "The Last Battle: The
Mayaguez Incident and the End of the Vietnam War") and their
Cambodian companions decided that rather than camp out on the
island, they would just sleep on a fishing boat anchored off the
coast.
But the most reassuring part of the trip has been the contact
they have made with the JPAC team.
"Everything's going better than I would have hoped," Turner
said. "JPAC's welcomed me with open arms."
Not only, he continued, have they allowed him to watch their
excavation efforts, they have even let him get a little bit of
hands-on experience with some of the more basic shovel and screening
work. "They're letting me help, so I help a little bit and
then get out their way because I know they're just being nice," he
said. And while the team didn't start with the site identified
as Hargrove's, he feels sure that when they get there, every care
will be taken -- an especially comforting thought since it's
unlikely that he will be able to stay in Cambodia long enough.
The team's deployment is expected to last into March. Turner is
planning on staying until at least the end of the month. "I
have all confidence that if there are any remains to be found,
they'll find them," he said. "Even if I have to leave before they
excavate all the sites, I have peace of mind." Regardless of
what happens next, though, he is pleased that he at least had the
opportunity to take his quest this far -- and he hopes he will be
coming home with M-16 and M-60 shells from where Hargrove and Marine
Pfc. Gary L. Hall and Pfc. Danny G. Marshall made their last stand.
"All the effort that's been put forth, this is what it's all about.
I'm just glad I'm able to do it," he said. Gail Hargrove, Joseph's
widow, also is thankful for what Turner's been able to do. "I
was real excited to hear from him (last week)," she said. "I'm
thrilled that he's over there. I'm thrilled that he made it safely.
It's made me feel good how JPAC has responded to him."
By
Matthew Whittle
Published in News on January 28, 2008 01:46 PM
The 2008 Reunion Challenge Coin has arrived!
Get them at the Koh Tang Store!
_____________________________
New posting 2/18/08 Mayaguez Vets Memorial Dedicated
Jerry Gettelfinger (H&S 2/9 ) provided
the land for a local fire station/Community Center The Monument is located at: 7601 Hwy 337
NW, DePauw, IN 47115 Jerry Gettelfinger contact information,; jerry.gettelfinger@in.usda.gov (812) 347-2065
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ***NEW at the Koh Tang Store*** These After Action recording were mostly made in June of 1975, 28 different Marines who were interviewed about their experience on Koh Tang Island. runtime 8 hours Get yours at the Koh Tang Store! Give Thanks to Tina Bailey who spent
hours chasing down these recordings from the Ford Library which came on 40 some
individual cd's. Fred then spent over 50 hours converting the files to .mp3
format and combining onto a single data DVD.
***NEW***
***NEW***
This is a newly found well written article that was published by the Sea-land Service Corp for its employee's back in 1975. Our friend Don Miller from Sea-Land shared it with me at the reunion in DC. Tough the picture for the story, a 5.4 meg file.
New article The Mayaguez Incident a Generation Later ***NEW***
Dave Lykens, Co-Pilot of Knife 52 put together a show from his tour which included both the Saigon evacuation and the Mayaguez Mission. Click Here for the show. This was converted from Power Point to save download times. This is a 4 meg file. ______________________________________________________________________
Al Bailey's Koh Tang vest. Last Year Reunion Newsletter click to download .pdf RECENTLY DECLASSIFED INFORMATION FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. FOR ALL OUR TIMELINE BUFFS THIS IS A PERFECT PLACE TO START.***NEW*** Find the DOD files under: Print Media/Documents ***NEW*** ***NEW*** Find the Deck Logs under: Print Media/Documents ***NEW***
For the most complete list of known participants and associate members of the Koh Tang Beach Club, contact Fred Morris. Participation List If you have knowledge and can help fill in the blanks on the list, email the information to kohtangmorris@kohtang.com You also may mail it also to: Fred Morris, 208 Grand Blvd. Evansdale, IA 50707
You can use PayPal to donate to this site, OR Check out the ribbons we earned on the Island and on the float.
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