AROTC Features Vietnam Veteran Alumni

The University of Idaho Army ROTC highlighted seven Vietnam Veterans and U-Idaho alumni at Military Appreciation Day, which was held at the Vandal football game against University of Wyoming on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012.

 
The alumni were:

USAR, Captain (Retired) William Steven Brown
Class of 1968   Beta Theta Pi

CPT Brown served in Vietnam in 1970-1971 as a Mobile Advisory Team (MAT) Team leader embedded with a South Vietnamese Ranger Company. 
He recently stated, “My Idaho years are some of the greatest of my life.” 




Colonel (Ret) James B. Byrnes US Army, Infantry
Class of 1962

COL Byrnes served two tours in Vietnam.  The photo to the left shows 1LT Byrnes as a Recon Platoon Leader with the 173rd Airborne Brigade.





Mike Dalton
Class of 1969

In this photo, 1LT Dalton with I Corps working on the QL9 highway between Hue and KheSan. 






Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Richard A. Jurvelin
Class of 1964

This is a photo of Richar Jurvelin in Vietnam in 1968. 






USAR Colonel (Retired) Roger L. Knight
Class of 1968

In this picture as a 1 LT Knight in Vietnam in 1969 as a platoon leader and company executive officer in D Company, 169th Engineer Battalion, building the Quốc lộ 20 or National Route (QL-20). 

COL Knight was also called up for Desert Storm before retiring in 1994. 


US Air National Guard Colonel (Retired) Tony McFarland
Class of 1961

This photo was taken in March 1966 when CPT Tony McFarland was an Aerial Observer in the 25th Artillery, Cu Chi, RVN.





Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) John Schumaker
Class of 1960

Throughout 1968 MAJ Schumaker served in Vinh Binh Province as the Regional Force (RF) and Popular Force (PF) Advisor. In 1969 he served on an Regional Forces (RF) evaluation team and traveled with a major in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). From 1970-71 MAJ Schumaker was the senior advisor to the ARVN Ranger Forces near Da Nang. 

“A sergeant and I frequently accompanied RF companies on raids and attacks on suspected Viet Cong locations. We often persuaded the Navy patrol boat crews to carry us up and down the Mekong River to landing sites and into canals in advance of the attack. It was always a warm and welcome sight to see the US Flag popping on the fantail of the PBR's when we met them at river's edge for operational loading. We were not allowed to fly the US Flag on our own compound in Phu Vinh, the province capital.”