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Chapter 78 Officers for 2007: President Ramon Rodriguez Chapter 78 activity for the third quarter was highlighted by several major events. Ramon Rodriquez (president) and Jim Duffy (asst. vice president) represented Chapter 78 at the SFA Convention in Oklahoma City . Jim Duffy (asst. vice president) participated in the A-109, Thuong Duc , Vietnam reunion dinner. David Sullivan (secretary) participated in the Lost Commando's reunion dinner. Ramon Rodriquez (president), David Sullivan (secretary) and Art Dolick (sgt-at-arms) presented a SFA memorial plaque provided from SFA national headquarters to Mrs. Mizuho Bobroskie. As previously noted in the spring DROP Jim Duffy (asst. vice president) was the Detachment CO of A-109, Thuong Duc , Vietnam when the NVA conducted a 60 day siege starting in the spring of 1970. At the SFA Convention in 2006 Jim came into contact with some A-109 team members who served in 1970 and some who served previously back to a 1969-1967 time period. The idea for an A-109 team reunion dinner came about after observing a team dinner by Robert Pryor and his fellow team mates of A-344. The A-109 reunion dinner was held on July 3, 2007 at Toby Keith's Bar & Grill in Oklahoma City . A special forces A-109 reunion dinner commemorative plaque crafted and prepared by Greg Biela was presented to the restaurant for Toby Keith's collection of military memorabilia. There were fifteen participants to include Jim Duffy (A-109), Greg and Catalina Biela (A-109), Bob and Michele Cierniak (A-109), Charlie Inot (A-109), Ron Huegel (1 st Force Recon Company @A-109), Barry and Iris Archer (1stMSFC @ A-109), Scott Maddox (DCO Company C, 5thSFG) and Ruth Popescu, Frank and Patricia Dooms with son Josh ( A-101 Lang Vei & Hill 52) and Richard Allen (A-101 Lang Vei & Hill 52)/www.langvei.com. All of these named SF soldiers and marine were assigned to Thuong Duc or supported A-109 team operations. Hopefully, seven additional team members that were located after the 2006 SFA Convention will be able to join us in any future reunion gathering. A search for a former team mate, Chief Kenneth Hernasy was resolved with the help of Daryl Wildcat (10th SFG), a participant in the 2007 convention's Indian Pow Wow. The tribal connection led to a meeting with his cousins informing us that he had died in April, 2004. The cousins were presented a 5 th SFG RVN coin engraved with ODA-109 and a DVD with A-109, Thuong Duc , Vietnam photos of the camp and team was sent to them. David Sullivan (secretary) represented Chapter 78 on July 7, 2007 at the Lost Commando's reunion dinner. For David it was a unique opportunity to see and meet many Vietnamese and Chinese prisoners of war. Former commando Colonel Tai Moc, Team Dragon, a member of Chapter 78 spent 20 plus years in a North Vietnamese prison. There were many celebrations amidst the obvious sadness – those known to have gone, over 122 commandos as witnessed in the program guide by team name and the slides displayed by the overhead projector. One such celebration was actually a dedication of a golden bust of Mr. Sedgwick D. Tourison Jr., author (Secret Army, Secret War, Naval Press Institute 1995) who spoke fluent Vietnamese. Standing at the ready was a color guard displaying both the American flag and the former South Vietnam flag. On Friday, July 13, 2007 Chapter 78 members Ramon Rodriguez (president), David Sullivan (secretary) and Art Dolick (sgt-at-arms) presented a SFA memorial plaque to Mrs. Mizuho Bobroskie. Her husband Mizuho passed away in April, 2007 and his ashes will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery . Note: Please review Chapter 78's expanded and newly updated website and sign our guestbook at www.specialforces78.com.
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