BW-110: Bill Wendover with family in CA after returning from Vietnam - Note from Bill, October 4,1968 just arrived home from Nam. Brother Robert, Marge and Don my parents greeting me at the front porch. So glad to be in this picture. - Gunfighter Photo Collections, Company A, 1/6th Inf.- powered by SmugMug

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A-1-6 > BW-61: CPT Francis X. Brennan receives his first Silver Star in the summer of 1967 at Fort Hood, Texas. Brennan came to Ft. Hood after serving as a Recon Platoon Leader for 12 months in Vietnam with the 2nd Battalion 35th Infantry, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. He had trained with the recon platoon in Hawaii and than deployed with them to Vietnam just prior to Christmas in 1965. Brennan noted that TET of 1966 was as bloody as TET of 1968, but the worst engagement came in August 1966 in the Ia Drang Valley. Brennan tells about a “pitched battle, hand-to-hand at times, formed a tight perimeter and fighting for three days until the North Vietnamese broke contact as 1/7th Cavalry of the 1st Cavalry Division broke through to us”. Larry Swank remembers being grateful on 8 Feb 68 at Lo Giang that our CO was an experienced combat veteran. He can remember Brennan stopping the advance on Lo Giang just before the tree line and ordering the 2nd and 3rd platoons to lay down a base-of-fire. Within a few seconds the incoming automatic weapons fire seemed louder than the outgoing fire and mortars started landing along the front line of Company A. Brennan forced the NVA to launch their attack before all of Company A had entered the kill zone. Swank thinks Brennan’s action saved the rest of the company from the fate of the 2nd platoon, which had entered the trap and had over 90% of its men killed or wounded. When Brennan left the 1st Bn 6th Infantry he went to 5th Special Forces and served there for another year as a Mike Force Battalion Commander. That unit was the immediate reaction force that went into the Special Forces A Team camps strung along the boarders that were under attack by NVA main force units. He worked with montengnard, nung, Cambodian and Laotian soldiers.

A-1-6 > BW_New_9-2: Drafted 24 May 1966. Pvt. E-1 William L. Wendover. Dropped out of Fullerton Jr. College went surfing for a year. LA induction center, first airplane ride in my life to Ft. Leanord Wood. Mo. for zero week. Shots, GI issue, etc. and then on a bus to Ft.Riley. Ks. Assigtned to the 1st Bn 84th Artillery, 9th division. This was a very different situation then normal Basic, AIT, etc. All through Basic, Advanced individual training, Basic unit training and Advanced Unit training we were maintaining, transporting and firing our 155mm Guns. Even had a Battery of 8 inch on tracks as seen in the background of this photo Trained as a Gun crew member , fire direction control, Ammo and 5 Ton truck driver. The 9th Div shipped to the Mekong Delta and my first unit fired Artty off barges. I was off to OCS trying to avoid Nam ,"right". Being with the 1st of the 84 th Art. made it a snap for me to call in indirect fire, aircraft , etc, I did not know how useful being a red-leg was going to be in Nam as a blue-leg . 1st Plt often patrolled alone detached like so many other units of our orphaned Bn. Did not truly understand the awsome power our Artillery could bring to bear until Lt. Larry Swank fired that time on target (TOT) mission on Hill 352. We had seen Arch lights, Puff the Magic Dragon and Snoopy. Fired missions from Battleships and seen what our planes and gunships could do but that day on LZ Center Larry had everyone cheering - see a photo of that TOT at this link: http://a-1-6.smugmug.com/gallery/660206_ZtMP3#31005875_5SHHj-A-LB Then use your back arrow to return to Bill's photos.

A-1-6 > BW-110: Bill Wendover with family in CA after returning from Vietnam - Note from Bill, October 4,1968 just arrived home from Nam. Brother Robert, Marge and Don my parents greeting me at the front porch. So glad to be in this picture.

A-1-6 > BW_New_11: Captain Ruth Olive Wendover receiving the Army Commendation Medal from the Commander of Letterman General Hospital, Presidio, S.F. for service to our returning Vets that went through Psych. and Physical /Occupation Wards at Letterman upon returning home from Nam. By the time Ruth made Capt. she knew on which side of the uniform the name tag was pinned. However to her last day in the Army she still wore her Navy Peacoat with Army buttons sown on because it was 1969 and she liked it better against the Pesidio fog.

A-1-6 > BW_New_5-5: (Not from Bill Wendover on July 2nd, 2008) 27 April 1969. Lt Wendover's last day in the Army. Just passed our Company in review during Battalion parade which explains the heavey starch in the fatigues and the peacock helmet. . The 45 cal. pistol on my hip is going in my Co's brown car in the background and I'm getting in that white cougar and heading West to Calif. Had a hard time fitting in state side but lucked out being one of eleven infantry officers on the post and the post C.O. was Infantry. After leaving Nam I got a 30 day leave and went home. I had orders to report to Ft. Sam Houston, Tx. Back in Texas again. I was assigned as XO of the only basic training unit for conscientious objectors in the U.S. Army . A total turn around from Nam, what am I doing here? Turned out great. You all know and respect the medics,we had and they were the greatest. Well except for hand to hand , bayonet drill and qualifing with a weapon they had to go through what we all went through"Basic". The best thing was that Ft. Sam being a hugh medical post was where all the nurses, dentist, doctors, occupation therapst etc. had to come for "Basic". Every seven weeks 600 newly graduated nurses came through Ft. Sam . My wife was in the 6th class to rotate through. By God Texas isn't so bad after all. I went all the way back to Tx. to meet and marry my Canadian lady. Still have that peacok helmet liner down in tha barn and I am still very proud of that 198th Inf patch on my shoulder.

A-1-6 > Bill and Ruth Wendover at Stonefield Vineyard, which they own and operate. The vineyard was established in 1984

A-1-6 > BW_New_14_1: This is my vineyard dog "Mugs" a pure bred yellow lab. Can't get into any truck without him tagging along. In 2007 Stonefield Vineyard had it's best year in 23 years bringing 52 tons to the winery

BW-110: Bill Wendover with family in CA after returning from Vietnam - Note from Bill, October 4,1968 just arrived home from Nam. Brother Robert, Marge and Don my parents greeting me at the front porch. So glad to be in this picture.

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