11th Cav Visitors Guestbook

Submitted by
Name: JJ Knepper
From: Illinois
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
I have lfound quite a few photos from 1968 of the 541st MID. Would like to hear from someone who could tell me more about them, especially if you knew Lt. Thomas Knepper from Chicago.

Added: July 7, 2015

Submitted by
Name: Hurst Palfey Rinehart
From: Michigan and I have lived in England since 1971
Website: http://drpalfi.co.uk
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
Update 5. You can see the 1st 470+ photos I have scanned so far of the 2,000 or so that I took in Viet Nam August 68-69 in my Facebook Albums. My Facebook link is Palfi Laughologist Rinehart. Click on "Photos", click on "Albums", go down to the 7th row to a picture of a really hard looking Afro American Trooper. That is my Viet Nam Album "Clown at War" Album. I hope you enjoy it. Any "Comments", criticisms or added information are appreciated. My phone number in England is 01144 1329 832695. Ring anytime and I can call you back immediately. Be Lucky, "Doc" Rinehart AKA Hurst Palfet Rinehart "Palfi"

Added: June 14, 2015

Submitted by
Name: Hurst Palfey Rinehart
From: Michigan and now England since 1971
Website: http://drpalfi.co.uk
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
Update 4 from "Doc" Rinehart. I have spoken with George Red Elk who remembers lifting a KIA out of his Tank D13 on August 13, 1969 in a Firefight at Loc Ninh. He does not remember the man's name but that he had only been on D13 a few days. "Chief", as I heard him called that day" was TC, but said he was loader that day and had given Sgt Charles Crockett Matthews Command of the tank. I think Mattews had been on D33 with 3rd Platoon and Ken Hendricks before, but D33 had been blown up. Red Elk remembers that all 3 Platoons were out together that day. Matthews was the only KIA in 11ACR that day. He had just sent his wife Mary a letter that morning marked Noon August 13, 1969. The 1st Platoon leader Lt. Richard Wallach was also horribly wounded in that Ambush. He was shot through one lung and his arm. He was dusted off on the same chopper as Sgt Matthews and laid out upon his corpse. There was a Medic Wallach remembers as Stephans. The only Stephans I can find in any of the Unit Rosters is Ronald E. Stephens of HHT 1st Squadron. I do not know if he was a Medic. Perhaps it was a Medic on a dust off chopper from another unit. I am in communication with Charles Crockett Matthews's widow Mrs Mary Matthews Singleton and she has been most grateful to receive more details surrounding the circumstances of her husband's death. They were childhood sweethearts and married for four years since the age of 18. As I mentioned before, the Loader on the Tank D31 that I rode on with Lt Steven Linthwaite, was wounded in the legs from the shrapnel caused by an RPG that went through the front of our tank. I would like to know his name too. It might have been John Klinepeter or Larry Parks. I am still looking for the Afro American Medic I spoke to the day after the big Firefight on the 13th where Matthews was killed. You can see a picture of him with Lt Steven H.Linthwaite at an October 69 Stand Down in Quan Loi in a picture in Quinton and Avery's D Company Website in the 1969 Photo Gallery by Ron Pineau. Please forgive me for all these long drawn out inquiries, but I have let all this lie for 45 years and need to resolve things a little. I'll repeat: I was only in Heavy Combat 3 days and nights and home in about 10 days and in serious shock for about 6 months. I have suffered with PTSD every since and any names will help. I do not expect miracles, but I have made tremendous progress so far over the last 5 months thanks to this wonderful website, Whitepages and talking with and exchanging emails with 11thACR Tankers: contacting and discovering the Platoon Leader I was with that fatal day(Steven H. Linthwaite), the name of the KIA that day(Charles Crockett Matthews), where I was(Loc Ninh NDP), the unit I was with (£rd Platoon D Company), and the man who lifted Charles Crockett Matthews, 22 years old and In Country only 55 days out from a large puddle of blood in the bottom of a tank(D13) I was called to attend(George Red Elk, exchanged emails and Facebook Messages with his widow (Mary Matthews Singleton of Clyde, North Carolina)and learned a great deal about how a squadron is structured, operates and how a crew functions. I have also discovered that, in spite, of how "tight" certain tank crews were, not many people knew others outside of it and sometime did not even get to know the names of fellow crew members, because people were shifted about so often to fulfill vacancies, dusted off, replaced, and killed. I spent most of my time in fairly secure rear areas helping to run the Aid Station at Regimental Headquarters in Bien Hoa, at the 37th Medical Company Emergency Unit at Blackhorse Camp, working in the Vietnamese Hospital at Xuan Loc and at Quan Loi. Yes; I treated the severely wounded, processed a couple of KIA's, experience a few rocket attacks and drove the ambulance with the severely wounded and KIA's through tracers at night from Bien Hoa to the Hospital at Long Binh, went out on MEDCAPS,but my 3 days and nights with D Company were Hell on Earth. I am actually glad I experienced it, even though it tore me open a new perspective I lived for 3 days only what 1 out of 12 guys went through for months on end. Absolute terror, loneliness and a harsh reality. Big respect!

Added: June 14, 2015

Submitted by
Name: Byron Edevold
From: Bagley Mn
Website: http://gvtel.com
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
Got news that Mike Gould passed away he was with HOW 2/11,1970/71. He's from Meeker CO.

Added: June 14, 2015

Submitted by
Name: Greta Boone
From: Wsynesboro, VA
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
I'm Great Lawson-Boone of James Garfield Lawson and I'm grateful that he is remembered.
My mom never spoke of him to me and I only recently got to know what he looked like.
if you have good memories of him, I would like to hear from you.
Kindest regards,
Greta.
Thank you for your service.

Added: June 14, 2015

Submitted by
Name: Hurst Palfey Rinehart
From: England
Website: http://drpalfi.co.uk
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
Mary Matthews Singleton who is the widow of of Sgt Charles Crockett Matthews who rode on D33 with D Company 3rd Platoon who was KIA on D33 on August 13, 1969. She is still hoping to get more information about Sgt Matthew's circumstances on that day. She is also hoping to find the person she met at the 2012 Blackhorse reunion to whom she lent the last photograph she took of her husband at the graduation at Fort Knox Armory School and who promised to publish it in Thunder Run and return it to her. That might have been to the picture editor who recently passed away that I believe Alan Hathaway may have mentioned somewhere not so long ago. Mary wrote me that she received a letter a few weeks after Charles Matthews was KIA from someone named Roland Stephens who said he was a medic with Charles when he died, but that she is not 100% sure because he gave no other information. If Charles was the KIA I attended it could not have been Stephens. I have searched the Master Roster, D CO, 1/11 Roster,Unit Rosters and the 37th MED CO Roster and cannot find Roland Stephens.

Added: June 5, 2015

Submitted by
Name: Hurst Palfey Rinehart
From: England
Website: http://drpalfi.co.uk
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
Update 2. A Quick Note from Doc Rinehart especially for Mary Matthews Singleton, because she has been searching a long time and she is obviously ever vigilant and lives in hope. To start Mary; I am not yet sure that Charles was the man I found KIA, or that the experience I described occurred on the August 13 1969. It seems the most reasonable date. I was only in heavy combat for three days, never knew where I was, who the wounded loader was on the tank I rode on, the name of the man lying in a vast puddle of blood in the bottom of the tank next to our tank, which I was called to treat. If it was your dear husband he did definitely die instantly. There is a Richard Wallach of Middleburg VA. who was the only D CO, 1/11 tanker wounded on that day. He might have been the Loader who received shrapnel wounds in his legs when our tank was hit by an RPG that fatal day.I rang his Insurance office a few days ago, but have received no reply. I shall send an email to him next. No one out there during my 3 auspicious days yet remembers me. Lieutenant Linthwaite who I rode with was the 3rd Platoon Leader of D CO, 1/11, but he only remembers a few names and not your husband's or mine. He did remember some specific details I described and this begins to give me some hope. The fact that I never knew the name of the KIA on that horrible day has bothered me for years. I do have faith that we'll win. I will never give up and I will inform you when I am certain. I know that your husband rode on tank D33 and his friend was a Ken Hendricks. I see that Sgt Hendricks died of a disease on 10/October 1969 not 1970 as I said before. I only began my search about two months ago, spend several hours a day researching unit rosters, sending emails, searching the white pages and trying telephone numbers. I have discovered a great deal. I have exchanged emails with about 10 different people. When and if I am one day 100% certain that the KIA I was called to was your husband I will confirm that the details surrounding your husband's circumstances are as I have described in my previous "Comments" I will let you know.There is a very scratched photo of Charles and Ken in the D Company Website Photo Gallery. Have you seen it? I will email it to you now. I see that you have sent me an email. Perhaps you have a few details about Charles that the Army told you such as the name of the location, time of day, his platoon leader or platoon number(1,2 or 3) or who his Company Commander was(possibly Captain Ron Caldwell). This would help me in my search. I hope you can see the 451 photos of Viet Nam on my Facebook site. Palfi Laughologist Rinehart. Click on "Photos", Click on Albums and Click on the Album "Clown at War". It is in the 7th row down. The Album Cover Photo is of a very hard looking Afro American Trooper. Lots of Love, Palfi

Added: June 5, 2015

Submitted by
Name: Hurst Palfey Rinehart
From: England
Website: http://drpalfi.co.uk
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
Update 2. A Quick Note from Doc Rinehart especially for Mary Matthews Singleton, because she has been searching a long time and she is obviously ever vigilant and lives in hope. To start Mary; I am not yet sure that Charles was the man I found KIA, or that the experience I described occurred on the August 13 1969. It seems the most reasonable date. I was only in heavy combat for three days, never knew where I was, who the wounded loader was on the tank I rode on, the name of the man lying in a vast puddle of blood in the bottom of the tank next to our tank, which I was called to treat. If it was your dear husband he did definitely die instantly. There is a Richard Wallach of Middleburg VA. who was the only D CO, 1/11 tanker wounded on that day. He might have been the Loader who received shrapnel wounds in his legs when our tank was hit by an RPG that fatal day.I rang his Insurance office a few days ago, but have received no reply. I shall send an email to him next. No one out there during my 3 auspicious days yet remembers me. Lieutenant Linthwaite who I rode with was the 3rd Platoon Leader of D CO, 1/11, but he only remembers a few names and not your husband's or mine. He did remember some specific details I described and this begins to give me some hope. The fact that I never knew the name of the KIA on that horrible day has bothered me for years. I do have faith that we'll win. I will never give up and I will inform you when I am certain. I know that your husband rode on tank D33 and his friend was a Ken Hendricks. I see that Sgt Hendricks died of a disease on 10/October 1970. I only began my search about two months ago, spend several hours a day researching unit rosters, sending emails, searching the white pages and trying telephone numbers. I have discovered a great deal. I have exchanged emails with about 10 different people. When and if I am one day 100% certain that the KIA I was called to was your husband I will confirm that the details surrounding your husband's circumstances are as I have described in my previous "Comments" I will let you know.There is a very scratched photo of Charles and Ken in the D Company Website Photo Gallery. Have you seen it? I will email it to you now. I see that you have sent me an email. Perhaps you have a few details about Charles that the Army told you such as the name of the location, time of day, his platoon leader or platoon number(1,2 or 3) or who his Company Commander was(possibly Captain Ron Caldwell). This would help me in my search. I hope you can see the 451 photos of Viet Nam on my Facebook site. Palfi Laughologist Rinehart. Click on "Photos", Click on Albums and Click on the Album "Clown at War". It is in the 7th row down. The Album Cover Photo is of a very hard looking Afro American Trooper. Lots of Love, Palfi

Added: June 5, 2015

Submitted by
Name: Mary Matthews Singleton
From: Clyde, NC
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
I am the widow of Sgt. Charles C. Matthews and would like to contact Hurst Palfey Rinehart, as I read his comments of May 7, 2015 and he was the one who found my husband on August 13, 1969. I was not able to obtain his e-mail information. Any help would be appreciated.

Added: June 4, 2015

Submitted by
Name: Joseph Radler
From: Originally from st petersburg,fl. I live in breckenridge, co now
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
Hello, my fathers name was kenneth radler. My dad died from very bad brain, throat, intestine cancer. I knew about blackhorse from the youngest age, i would wear his awards and decorations. I look back and remember he seemed happy when i wore them. He told me when i was younger he was called crazy ken. Because of what all of you saw and did, he raised me with his knowledge and experiences. He taught me to staff fight to the point we had bloody fingers when i was under 9. He taught me about terrorists and never negotiating. He taught me about using my surroundings and finding weapons to defend myself. He taught me about never, ever giving up. Nothing is impossible. Him being blackhorse and raising me like he did is why i was able to leave south st petersburg, and now live in breckenridge, colorado as the auto painter of the ski resort. I feel strongly about having my 1st tattoo of the blackhorse insignia, his birth and death dates. I am very proud of all of you, and of my father. If any of you knew him or could tell me more about your experiences, i would really like to know more. Thank you for all you have done and the hell you endured for the USA. my email is joseph.radler1@gmail.com and my cell phone is 8507606681.

Added: May 29, 2015