History of
the 3rd Recon Association, RVN
Updated 29 November
2020
During the summer of 1989, six members of Alpha Company
1966-67 miraculously reunited after 22 years of separation: Ray Strohl, Al Rooney, Bob Young, Gerry Anderson, Bob Bruder, and George Neville. We found each other by luck and
perhaps a little help from a higher power. We arranged to meet, spending a
wonderful August weekend at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Rockville, Maryland. The
time flew past and we devoted a moment to silently leaving a few tears on the
ground beneath the Wall. We also visited the Iwo Jima Memorial, Marine barracks
8th & I, and the Marine Corps Historical Center. When we were not touring
the Washington area, we sat around the hotel, spreading out our tattered
documents and photo’s from Vietnam. We talked about that time, reflected
on our experience and our memories, and tried to put our lives after Vietnam
into perspective.
Our wives came with us, curious about the bond
remaining between us Recon vets after more than two decades. They saw how
friendships forged in Vietnam endured the test of time and geography as if
Vietnam occurred only yesterday. Our loyalty to each other reminded them of the
strength of character they already knew that we possessed in abundance.
During the weekend, we decided to locate more of our
brothers. Our initial methods were crude and amateurish. We called information
operators, guessing that former Reconner’s may
still reside in hometowns vaguely remembered from our past. We were hesitant
and apprehensive, wondering how our message would be received. We were
apprehensive about the unknown, and feared rejection from brothers who may not
want to revisit their past. We pushed on, though; convinced that unifying our
common history by placing it in the present was a worthy mission, one that was
necessary to accomplish. At the time, we had no idea what the coming months
would reveal.
By a similar circumstance, a small group of men from
Bravo Company 1968-69 stumbled upon each other. One of these men, a man
previously unknown to me, quickly became a very close friend. His name was
Floyd Nagler, a former Reconner
of remarkable energy and personality. We joined forces and our dream of
reuniting our Recon family became a reality. Floyd became the catalyst for our
efforts, and through him, things began falling into place.
We decided that any man located would be contacted
by telephone before any attempt was made to correspond with him. These calls
typically resulted in a poignant, rewarding experience and each had a
strikingly similar characteristic.
The man called was stunned that a Recon brother
contacted him. Some thought it was a cruel joke. Others were incredulous. The
majority of former Recon Marines contacted had not been in of touch with
teammates and friends since their tours ended. Most had given up hope of
reuniting with the men with whom they served. Some cried, some telephone
receivers hit to the floor, while other Recon Marines said: "Hold on a
minute while I sit down and compose myself enough to talk."
There was no doubt that a spiritual rekindling and
awakening of emotions from the past revived friendships and a deep sense of
brotherhood. Those feelings, and the memories of heartache and sorrow for our
teammates that fell in Vietnam. Many of us began a long deferred grieving
process.
After a time, there was a consensus among those Reconner’s in contact with each other that an
association of former members of the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion was an
extremely beneficial endeavor worthy of maximum effort.
By the January 1990, we had located approximately
125 men who had served in the battalion. We generally felt that meeting was to
everyone’s advantage, and decided that Las Vegas would be a wonderful
venue in which to gather. The reunion was set for 27-29 April 1990. Since we
did not have an association or treasury we booked into a small hotel called the
El Rancho. Fifty-five men and their families were able to attend on short
notice. It was a festive and productive weekend. Everyone shared their desires
on the nature and composition of 3rd Recon Association, and discussed how we
would go about the task of locating the 3,500 men who served in the battalion
during the Vietnam War. Bylaws were proposed, meticulously considered, and
implemented. Officers were nominated and unanimously elected to lead the
Association during its formation and to set course for the coming years.
Plans were made to initiate an investigative process
attempting to locate everyone that served. This was a project never attempted
by members of a former combat unit, and the problems seemed insurmountable. I
never dreamed we would be so successful. However, with a dozen or so dedicated
and tireless people we were able to accomplish a small miracle. We didn’t
find everyone, but we made one hell of a dent in the battalion rosters we
requested and received from the Marine Corps Historical Center.
Because of Vegas ‘90, the Association applied
for recognition of a Tax Exempt Organization, under Section 501-(c) (19), on 25
May 1990. After plowing through many tiers of the IRS, we received Tax Exempt
status on 15 March 1991. We qualified as a War Veterans Organization so
donations to the association would be tax deductible. Not many Veterans groups
have that distinction.
The next few years were some of the most rewarding
of my life. So many men were reunited. The healing effects of knowing you still
had a teammate or fellow Recon Marine to talk with, seeing men wipe tears of
joy from their eyes after meeting a brother long lost, were immediately and
obviously apparent. Some last saw their brothers on a MEDEVAC helicopter, or in
an evacuation hospital. Others said their good-byes on a dusty airstrip knowing
there was little chance of seeing each other again. The scene of men who cared
for each other so much, only to be separated by fate and then re-united is not
easily described. Suffice it to say it was a scene not easily depicted except
by the phrase "Band of Brothers." It is rare unity, and a precious
commodity in the society in which we live today.
The years passed quickly. We have had glorious
reunions- Vegas 90, Hilton Head 91, San Diego 94, and Vegas 98 – along
with scores of smaller gatherings between teams, platoons, and companies or
just a few Marines taking some time to be with each other for a few hours or a
few days. Our number has grown to where we have located 2,800 of those that served
in the 3rd Recon Battalion during the Vietnam War.
As I close this small insight to the association
history, I remember a note I received after Hilton Head 91. It was directed to
the association and said:
" Again many thanks for your work to pull
together a beautiful weekend. The barmaid from the Mariners Inn looked
strangely at me when I hugged Andy goodbye. That bothered me so I asked if she
ever seen one man hug another? Not until this weekend
was her response. It was not a sarcastic reply but rather one of respect and
one that said much about the weekend."
Semper Fidelis,
George G. Neville, Jr.
Photographs
Bob Young, George Neville, Ray Strohl,
Al Rooney at Iwo Jima Memorial-Aug 1989
Al Rooney, Ray Strohl, Bob
Young- Vegas 90
Charter
Members of the of the 3rd Recon Association, RVN
55
Attendees
Dated Names Indicate Deceased
Anderson, Gerald H. – 12 August 2000
Arkoos, John
Armer, William
- 8 Mar 2008
Bannister, Donald – 15 July 1997
Best, George V.
Boland, Thomas B.
Boyda, Robert J.
Buhl, William J. -
16 July 2013
Collins, Patrick G. – 24 June 1996
Didonna, Antonio – 20 July 2016
Durham, Douglas –
23 May 2014
Esquerra, Gary
Evans, William R.
Farmer, Frank
Garcia, Ivan Jimenez
Gordon, Alan
Grimm, James H.
Guy (Acosta), Mariano "Junior"
Hoover, Ronald E. Sr. - 5 May 2018
Hopkins, John M. – 11 Aug 2017
Huff, Tim
Hunter, Bobby G.
Jamieson, James W.
Johnson, Gary L. - 5 Jan 2014
Johnson, Michael
Kaler, Dan – 31 July 2010
Lowrey, Robert E.
McMullin, John "Moon" A. – 4 July
2020
Muns, Karel J.
Murray, Freddie L.
Nagler, Floyd A.
Neville, George G.
Olsen, Gary
Paynter, Stanley – 12 Sep 2002
Reasoner, Michael L.
Renard, Thomas R.
Rich, Donald L.
Richards, Lawrence D. – 19 Feb 2008
Ringwood, Paul R.
Rooney, Alan T.
Rudolf, Thomas R. – 24 June 2000
Savelkoul, Jeff
Shockley, James G. – 14 Sep 2020
Slay, Charlie T.
Strohl, Raymond E.
Thompson, William
Vetter, Larry
Wilhelm, Phillip J.
Wilson, Fred - Deceased
Wilson, Henry
Wolfgram, John
Wood, John R.
Wyatt, Donald P.
Young, Robert E.
Zink, Robert A. – 10 Sep 2009
__________________ 55 Attendees