About_Us

During the winter months of 2007 I began searching on the internet for members of the 218th Military Police Company who had served in Vietnam. I was primarily searching for anyone with whom I had served in Vietnam during the 1968 -1970 timeframe. Much of the information I found was in the pages of the Military Police of the Vietnam War website guestbook. Ultimately I was able to contact Dick Reiter (pictured Right), Paul Wayne Kirby and Ernie Rich. Our early conversations turned to ways to locate other members of the unit with the lofty goal of a reunion down the road. The efforts to locate more members led to my posting the initial 218th MP Co in Vietnam website in early 2008 with photos contributed by Dick, Wayne and Ernie. Those original website photos were full of faces for which none of us had names. That initial meager effort of a few web pages has grown with the additional contributions of many 218th MP Co members to the current website. Maintaining the website has become my primary contribution. Meanwhile Dick took on the task of creating a database of member names and any contact information that could be gathered, insuring that leads were followed to contact members and sending welcome letters. Dick has also been the guiding force behind the many surveys of members, procuring all the information from the many businesses in Branson, and generally carrying the weight of our goal of having a first class reunion in 2010. The objective of this website remains locating as many members as possible who served with the 218th MP Co in Vietnam and my hope is it will serve as a tribute to those who served, as well as being a vehicle to maximize attendance at any future reunions of the unit.

Seemingly insignificant things occur in life that sometimes impact many more things to come. As the job market was not particularly good in middle Georgia in the mid-sixties, I decided to enter the field of law enforcement first at the Houston County Sheriff's Dept. and later as a City Policeman in Perry, GA. Then came the letter from the draft board. My earlier offers to join the military had been rebuffed (another story entirely) but as a draftee the Army found me acceptable. After basic training my brief law enforcement experience no doubt prompted my assignment to the MP School and subsequently to the 218th MP Co. From May 1968 to April 1969 I was stationed in Nha Trang and assigned to town patrol, various security posts, and convoy escort duty, eventually working as an Investigator with MPI. From May 1969 to February 1970 I was stationed in Ban Me Thuot as Asst. NCOIC. Having re-enlisted in Vietnam with some five years to complete after that tour, I entered the Army CID, and later still the US Army CID Laboratory, earning an Associate Degree from Central Texas College and a warrant appointment along the way. After a military law enforcement career of 22 years I retired as a CW4 and joined the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement Crime Laboratory until a second retirement in 1999. My wife Arlene and I were married in 1986 in Oakland, CA. After retirement from FDLE we traveled, living full- time in our RV until 2007 when we settled on the Cumberland Plateau of east Tennessee. We divide our time now between travel, camping and enjoying bluegrass, gospel and a little country music.

SUPPORTING the THREE

I am the Infantry, follow me.
not a foot soldier, we're Mech you see.
We'll take the fight to the enemy.
I am the Infantry, the first of the three.

I am the Cavalry, follow me.
A modern horse soldier in an APC.
Charging straight forward to the enemy.
I am the Cav, most daring of the three.

I am the Armor, follow me.
The arm of decision I'll always be.
When the going gets rough, call on me.
I am the Armor, the best of the three.

Armor, Cav, and Infantry
rush headlong into the melee.
Braking the lines like an angry sea
deep into enemy territory.

Approaching a crossroads, what do we see?
The area secured by two lonely MPs
Directing us forward, how can this be?
How long have they been waiting for me?

What a crazy person an MP must be.
He has no firepower or armor like me.
And I thought everyone followed the three
Armor, Cav, and Infantry.

I am the MP, don't follow me.
You don't want to be where I will be.
Guarding the crossroads, waiting for the three.
Just my partner, a sixteen, a sixty and me.

With the objective taken, wait and see.
No one will remember the lonely MP
Who held this ground so they could run free,
But that's my job, supporting the three.

After high school graduation in 1965 from a small town in Wyoming, I entered the University of Wyoming to study Engineering but decided to quit and work for an oil company in February 1967. Less than 2 months later, I was drafted and during basic training at Fort Bliss, TX, I was asked to select what field I wanted to enter for AIT - I put down military police but really thinking all along I would end up in the infrantry. However, I was selected for the Military Police Corp and after AIT at Fort Gordon, I was assigned to security at Fort Ritchie, MD. After four months there, I recieved orders to Vietnam and served with the 218th MP Company from April 27, 1968 to April 27, 1969 in Nha Trang pulling town patrol, convoy escort and desk sgt. duties. After Vietnam, I returned to the University of Wyoming recieving a BS in Civil Engineering in December 1972. I began my 34 year career with FMC Corporation at their Green River, Wyoming underground trona mining and soda ash manufacturing facilities in January 1973. Most of my career was spent as a surface manufacturing supervisor and superintendant with the last ten years holding the position of Labor Relations Manager for the 1200 employee facility of which 800 were unionized with the United Steelworkers of America My career ended in June of 2006 because of a disability. My wife Marjorie and I were married in December 1973. We have two daughters and one grandson. We now spend most of our summer time in the mountains of Wyoming and in Boise, Idaho with our daughter and grandson during the winter.