ON THE COVER: In Memory of Our Fallen, August 23, 1968 attack on FOB-4/CCN—KILLED IN ACTION: SSG Talmadge Horton Alphin, Jr., PFC William Henry Bric III, SFC Tadeusz Marian Kepczyk, SFC Donald Ray Kerns, SGT James Thomas Kickliter, MSG Charles Raymond Norris, SGM Richard Epps Pegram, Jr., 1LT Paul Douglas Potter, MSG Rolf Ernst Rickmers, SP4 Anthony John Santana, MSG Gilbert Arthur Secor, SGT Robert Joseph Uyesaka, SSG Howard Steven Varni, SFC Harold Robert Voorheis, SFC Albert Marion Walter, SFC Donald Walter Welch
In this issue:
SFACON 2025 —Don’t Delay, Register Today!
For the first time, SFACON will be held concurrently with the Special Operations Association Reunion (SOAR) at the Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Don’t miss this opportunity to visit with old teammates and friends. The post includes event information and how to take advantage of group rates at the Orleans.
Updates on two past stories and an announcement from a SF partner.
Gilbert Thad Gembacz: August 1, 1947 – July 8, 2025
Special Forces Association Chapter 78 mourns the passing of longtime member Gilbert Thad “The Judge” Gembacz, who died on July 8, 2025.
Help Honor Our Heroes: Support the Special Forces Monument
SFA Chapter 88 located in Northeast Florida is seeking your help to raise funds for a Special Forces Monument to be located in the Jacksonville National Cemetery.
Earthquake: Brigadier General Robert F. Titus—Fighter Pilot | Test Pilot | Leader
Read excerpts from William B. Scotts, book about BG Robert “Earthquake” Titus, to learn about an esteemed American fighter and test pilot, who completed 550+ combat missions in the Korean War and Vietnam War, and was credited in destroying 3 enemy aircraft in aerial combat.
From the Archive:
Special Forces Combat Outpost Pirelli
From the March 2018 Sentinel — August 15 will mark the anniversary of the day in 2007 that Green Beret Robert Pirelli was killed in action in a firefight in Iraq. Alex Quade had previously published this story in Soldier of Fortune (SOF) magazine’s December 2013 issue as “Special Forces at War: A Deadly Firefight in Iraq.” The link above will take you to SOF’s recent reposting of the story, which is now included in the “Best of SOF” on their website.
WHAT’S NEW?
MACV SOG Dick Thompson STRESS, FEAR, and the human reaction to combat. Side effects of STRESS
Featured Channel: MACV SOG ~ Interviews with warriors
Playlists: MACV-SOG
In this must-watch episode of “MACV SOG ~ Interviews with warriors,” Jason Collins describes this interview as: “SOG man Dick Thompson needs no introduction. He is a Vietnam SF combat vet who has looked the grim reaper in the eyes and just laughed, I think even he had pucker factor to see Dick’s steely eyes.
“All of Dick’s adventures in SOG are documented in his books and many interviews online. But it might surprise you that he had moments where stressful situations slowed his reaction times down. To the point he had a hard time under fire to change his mag, even though it was something that was easy to do in training. After the firefight, his c/o said If you can’t change your mag under fire, you will be dead.
“Dick decided action was needed to correct this. He learnt that a better understanding of what happens when stress occurs in the human body was required. Could the human brain be rewired through training? The answers to that are in the interview. But another question was, could these applications be used in civilian life as well? The answer is YES. Don’t worry, Dick talks about combat as well.”
SOGCast
Untold stories of MAC-V SOG. Vietnam. The Secret War.
056: Just Another Day in SOG with Robert “Bru” Taylor
Listen to Tilt’s new SOGCAST 057. Tilt sits down again with Dale Hanson. They discuss more hair-raising SOG tales of EXTREME VALOR in Dale’s new book SOG Missions to the Well which was just released in June. You can find this podcast in all of the major sources for podcasts.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or other major podcast providers. Video episodes are available on our YouTube channel SOGCast playlist.
Subscribe to @sfachapter78 on YouTube!
Be sure to select “All Notifications” to keep up with our new content. Watch and share the videos on our channel and stay tuned—new videos are on the way!
SENTINEL Awards
- Awarded best Special Forces Association Monthly Newsletter at SFA National Convention June 2011 and 2014
- Awarded Golden Quill at SFA National Convention June 2015 and June 2016
- Best Newsletter Award for 2017 from Special Forces Association National Board of Directors at the International Convention in Fayetteville, NC
- Special Forces Association (SFA) Cross Arrow Award for Excellence, 2018, First Award Presented by SFA in this category
- The War Reporters Award, Presented by Alex Quade – (War Reporter and Film Producer) for Chapter 78 Sentinel’s Commitment documenting Special Forces History, July 2018
- The Golden Arrows for Excellence in Newsletters 2019 awarded by SFA National
- The Golden Arrows for Excellence in Newsletters 2020 awarded by SFA National
The Sentinel is published monthly by Special Forces Association Chapter 78, Southern California — art direction and design by Debra Holm, Dinwiddie Holm Graphics. The views, opinions and articles printed in this issue do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Army or the United States Special Operations Command, the Special Forces Association, or Special Forces Association Chapter 78. Please address any comments to the editor at sfachapter78@gmail.com.
I look forward to the monthly edition and am never disappointed . It is truly professional and always interesting !
Thank you sir!