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Welcome to The Home Page Of The 17th Signal Battalion Association
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This page last updated on February 28, 2008
| If you have an Email address please send it to the WEBMASTER. Please update your Email address when you change it!! If we have urgent or breaking news we can contact you. We will not share your Email with anyone else. If anyone asks for your Edress we will forward the message to you and you can do as you see fit. |
Click on the links below to visit these Organizations.
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of 2 Websites that have 102nd and 17th information. | 2nd of 2 Websites that have 102nd and 17th information. |
| PRESIDENTS
MESSAGE |
| President's Message
. The elections are over and it may be a while before we feel the impact of choices
made . Sometimes elections are held and there are no choices to be made. Is that
condition of existence an election ? This year's Association Reunion was , held
in Killeen , TX . Not having been in Fort Hood or Killeen since 1974 , I was astounded
by the development of each . The broad four lane divided highway from I 35 to
the city was designed and built for speed and comfort . The Shiloh Inn was both
comfortable and conveniently located for highway , restaurant , and shopping mall
access . Only 43 people attended the Reunion and since all attendees were not
voting members , I would estimate Robert A. Ironside, President.
17th Signal Battalion Association |
PAST PRESIDENTS MESSAGE Over 40 members from across the United States participated in the 2008 Reunion held September 18 - 21, 2008 at the Killeen-Fort Hood community. Fort Hood's long history dates back to the early 1900's to include serving as the training base for the 761st Tank Killer Battalion, a much-honored first African-American armored unit which served with distinction in WWII. Thursday while our members were checking in and getting situated at the Shilo Inn and Suites Hotel, the merry band of Board members were meeting to ensure the details of the reunion were locked down and ready to go. Friday activities started early and ran all day: Arlo Janssen (VP Public Affairs) and five fellow golfers enjoyed the beauty of the Stonetree Golf Course; Pat Ironside honchoed up a ladies day out to Salado for shopping and site seeing; and the first of two bus tours to Fort Hood were provided to 34 of our members and guests -- many of whom were greeted by Lieutenant General Rick Lynch, III Corps and Fort Hood Commanding General. I enjoyed leading the Fort Hood tours which included an official III Corps Command briefing and visits to the famous 1st Cavalry Division Horse Detachment stables, 1st Cavalry Division and 4th Infantry Division museums, seven miles of motor pools, and an enjoyable meal at the famous Ironhorse Dining Facility. Friday concluded with a special dinner presentation by Army veteran, Bob Bearden, a paratrooper with the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment who jumped into the skies over Normandy. His presentation captured the attention and hearts of 40 reunion members and guests at the Texas Land & Cattle Restaurant. On Saturday, September 20th, we stayed busy all day with the general membership meeting followed by our memorial service led by Chaplain Emmett Autrey, a tree planting ceremony in the area between the Killeen Civic & Convention Center and the Shilo Inn & Suites with our own permanent marker of the "17th Signal Battalion", and the second tour to Fort Hood. The Saturday evening banquet was a huge success with Sam Lietz leading the way in the punch bowl ceremony and involving all members in the punch bowl celebration of past reunions. Sergeant Major James R. Everidge, Operations Sergeant Major of the 57th Signal Battalion, provided a slide show of his soldiers deployed to Iraq and spoke of our average signal soldier - one with at least two deployments and always answering the call regardless of the mission. Judy Riding and her raffle helpers raised money for the Association with a lot of donated raffle presents and with the grand action of Judy's handmade, beautiful quilt won by Paul Kappler after a hard fought battle with Jerry Grady! On Sunday morning, Chaplain Emmett Autrey held an ecumenical service followed by the newly elected Board of Directors conducted their first Board of Directors meeting which set Baltimore, Maryland as the location for the 2010 reunion. Throughout the reunion, Monroe Manning, our Historian, took oral histories from several members for our archives; and Darrell and Judy Riding provided a relaxing hospitality room for all to enjoy. This reunion was also special in that it premiered our battalion association coin - thanks so much to Special Projects Officer Hal Taylor. As most of you are aware, this reunion was held following the aftermath of Hurricane Ike and our hotel was shared by families displaced by that natural disaster. I wanted to thank our members who donated $195 in cash and two bags of much needed items to the Salvation Army (Killeen). A huge thanks to the 2006-2008 Board of Directors, members, and guests in making this year's reunion truly successful. Photos of the reunion can be found at the official Association website maintained by Henri Vellmure, at www.17SignalBattalionAssociation.com. Special thank you to Don Roupe who volunteered to be our official reunion photographer and Sam Lietz for organizing and developing the memory book - beautifully done! James
"Jim" Bondi
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Arlo Janssen sends the golf report for the Reunion: Five golfers (Arlo Janssen,
Darrell Riding, Mel Strickland, Ray Elderd and Emmet Autrey) played at the nearby
Stonetree course in Killeen, TX, on Friday, September 19, 2008 in perfect weather.
The cost for each senior player was $21.90 for the cart and green fees. Each player
received a gift towel from the Killeen Civic & Conference Center & Visitor
Bureau. Sam Lietz also provided a box of logo golf balls for the players. Our
tee time was 8:04 AM, and the starter allowed us to play in one group. We used a modified format for scoring. The best drive from each hole was used to start the game, and we played to the green from that point. We also used the double bogey rule on each hole to speed up the play. Using this format, Darrell Riding had the low score, and we used seven of Ray Elderd's drives during the game. There were several chip-in birdies among our players during the game. Although
we had a small group, we had fun in the sun at the Stonetree Golf Club. |
| REUNION REPORT. In 2008 our 12th Reunion was held as planned in Killeen/Fort Hood, TX area from September 18th to September 21st, 2008. Those members and guests that attended had a most enjoyable time. Many members began to arrive on Wednesday, although two members did arrive on the 10 of September so as not to run in to Hurricane IKE which was coming up through the Gulf of Mexico. Registration began promptly at 0900 on Thursday the 18th in the hotel lobby under the supervision of Sam Lietz and Pat Ironside. A few minutes later the Hospitality Room was beginning to take shape under the supervision and direction of Darrell and Judy Riding. Some of our paraphernalia was transported by Ray & Agnes Eldred in their motor home. Thanks very much, it saved us a lot of postage. Our resident photographer Don Roupe and his ubiquitous camera were very much in evidence through out the reunion, Don got a lot of excellent pictures and will be working with Sam to create our Memory Book. You will see many of his pictures posted here as you browse the Web Page. On Thursday evening we enjoyed dinner at various restaurants and finished up in the Hospitality Room. On Friday morning the golfers left before sunup to accomplish their ritual of ground pounding and verbalizing severe profanity. On Friday morning we had a tour of Fort Hood and lunch in one of the Dining Halls (aka Mess Hall). During the tour we visited the 1st Cavalry Division's Horse Cavalry Detachment and were briefed on ;equipment they used in the 1800's and made themselves, Some of the soldiers on special detachment are still making saddles, boots and are maintaining wagons of the era. Next we were treated to a Command Briefing at III Corps Headquarters that was very impressive. The briefing was followed by lunch; boy these guys and gals do eat well in a very modern facility. We closed out the afternoon with a drive down the 7mile motor pool road and a visit to the 1st Cavalry museum with all of its attendant displays and vehicles dating back to WWII. Friday evening 40 of had dinner in the Texas Land and Cattle Company Restaurant followed by a talk by Bob Bearden on his adventures and subsequent POW in WWII. Saturday morning began with the Board Meeting and our Memorial Service lead by Chaplain Emmett Autrey, remembering our comrades that had departed our worldly abode since the last reunion. Next on our Agenda was the General Membership Meeting. We elected a new slate of officers. In the field adjacent to the Shilo Hotel we planted a tree in memory of our departed members. In the late afternoon we had pictures taken for the Memory Book, another Open Bar Happy Hour and then our Banquet, raffle and 50-50 drawing. There were a lot of great prizes and everyone that won were very happy with their winnings. On Sunday morning at the Final Board meeting the most important item was the location of the 2010 Reunion, which is scheduled to be held in Baltimore MD area. Below are some of the pictures from the Reunion. |
THE HOTEL
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Hotel | Korean
War Memorial |
HOSPITALITY ROOM
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FRIDAY EVENING DINNER
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1st. Cav. HORSE CAVALRY DETACHMENT
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COMMAND BRIEFING
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DINING FACILITY
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1ST CAVALRY MEMORIAL
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GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
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MEMORIAL SERVICE
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| Chaplain Emmett Autrey at Memorial |
Henri Vellmure at Memorial | Candle
Lighting by Arlo Janssen |
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| Candle Lighting by Sam Lietz | Candle
Lighting by Mel Strickland | The Memorial
Candles and Bell |
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Candle
Lighting by Bob Ironside | Candle Lighting
by Pat Ironside & | Candle
Lighting by Henri Vellmure |
TREE PLANTING
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We
planted a tree and placed a plaque at its base in the open park area between the
hotel and the Killeen Civic Center. |
THE TOAST
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BANQUET
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| Judy Riding & Pat Ironside our ticked sellers | Officers
2006-2008 | 50's Members
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60's Members | 50's
Ladies | 60's Ladies |
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Stonetree Golfers | Former
Company Commanders | |
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| Someone tell me what the caption for the above 3 pictures should be. If any of the above are misnamed also let me know. |
Jim
Bondi & SGM Everidge, | Our Distinguished
Speaker, SGM James R. Everidge, Operations Sergeant Major, 57th Signal Battalion,
Ft. Hood, TX. |
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2009 BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING & 2010 GENERAL MEMBERSHIP
The next Board of
Governors Meeting will be held in Baltimore, MD in September
2009. The purpose will be arrangements for the 2010 Reunion
General Membership Meeting will be held Baltimore, MD in September 2010.
Details will be provided as they become available.
| If you are moving or planning to move or have moved, please pass that information to the Secretary. We have had a large number of Newsletters and Rosters returned this spring. When we mail them they go Bulk Mail (pretty reasonable like $0.70 each) but when we have to re-mail them they have to be sent 1st Class (very expensive like $1.75 each). As you know Postal Rates have risen faster than gas prices, so please help us conserve our funds. |
17th
SIGNAL BATTALION ASSOCIATION PUBLICATIONS
Click
below to view publications
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| Aviation
History Written by Robert N. Dempster, April 1988",LTC USA (Ret)". Prepared for the 17th Signal Battalion Association WEB Site by Arlo Janssen in September 2006. | History of the 175th Signal Company |
Any member of the Association wishing to bring up any matter either at the Board Meeting or the General Membership meeting should contact the Secretary of the Association at least 90 days prior to the meeting.
OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS ARE
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PRESIDENT |
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VICE PRESIDENT IMMEDIATE |
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CHAPLAIN |
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LIETZ, MARILYN K. (SAM) |  |
SECRETARY
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TREASURER |
P.O. Box 370426 Denver, CO 80237-0426 Phone 303-770-2160 haltaylor@earthlink.net |
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SPECIAL PROJECTS OFFICER |
| MANNING, MONROE
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HISTORIAN |
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| KOIVISTO, JOHN, COL |
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| MOORE, BILL (DIANE) 27 Roger Rd. Edison, NJ 08817-4531 Voice 732-572-4262 FAX 732-393-1352 wwm1939@yahoo.com |  |
RECRUITER |
| VELLMURE, HENRI J. (THERESA)
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WEBMASTER |
| ROUPE, DONALD L. 17 Hampshire Dr. |  |
PHOTOGRAPHER |
| MEMBER
NEWS |
Send
them to the Secretary at least 45 days
before the due date along with any necessary corrections to the Roster information.
It will save the trouble and postage of sending out a notice to you. Dues
are $20.00 for two years or $38.00 for 4 years.
Dues for Surviving Spouses
are $5.00 for two years or $10.00 for 4 years. Thank You.
Anyone
interested in joining the Association should contact the Secretary
by E-mail.
The current Newsletter, Volume III Number 26 was MAILED ON December
06, 2005. The Association Roster #37
was mailed with the Spring 2005 Newsletter
on June 01, 2005.
Any members in good standing that have
not received these items by December 13, 2005 should contact
the Secretary
at the E-mail address shown below and provide complete updated mailing information.
Limited items from the Newsletter and/or Roster will be E-mailed upon request.
| A
new roster was mailed on May 01, 2006 showing all Active Members |
| Below are listed members that have joined the Association since our reunion in September 2008
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We are indeed pleased to have you and welcome to the 17th Signal Battalion Association.
| Since the publication of the February 2009Newsletter we have learned of the passing of Two of our members. Robert
Stewart, passed away on Sunday evening, February 15, 2009 Teresa Rhodes, wife of Bruce Rhodes, Member #556, passed away on January 1, 2009
WE EXTEND OUR SINCEREST CONDOLENCES TO THEIR FAMILIES |
We are looking for a few beat up old soldiers to join our Association, Recently we signed up Another new member.
If you know of anyone ask them to join. If you ask them they will join.
But first you must ask.
Any member of the Association wishing
to have information published in this Homepage please contact the Webmaster
or
for publication in the Newsletter, please contact the Secretary
by E-mail as listed below. All input in actively solicited.
Webmaster 17th Signal Battalion Association
