When Ever Duty Calls
Our Country To Be Free,
With A Thunderous Roar
We Will Ride Again, 11th Cavalry

Welcome.  I'm Bob Hersey.  I served with K Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment from April 1968 until April 1969.  I am proud of my service with the Blackhorse Regiment in Vietnam and of the men whom I served with. This site is dedicated to them - those who came home and those who did not.

While in K Troop, I photographed over 500 subjects chronicling the lives of the Blackhorse Troopers - their courage, their sacrifices, their triumphs and their heartaches.  The Photo Gallery is a tribute to them.

 
If you explore nothing else on this website, please at least visit the Photo Gallery and see why the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment was the finest fighting force of men in Vietnam.

In addition to taking over 500 photographs I sent home to my parents 92 letters and 22 audio tapes.  All 92 letters are reprinted on this site.  ^ãReal Audio from some of my audio tapes are available here as well.

What else will you find here?  Begin at Base Camp.  This is your base of operations.  At Base Camp you will find the "meat and potatoes" of K Troop (sorry, I was a cook).  In the Orderly Room you will find my 201 File, letters, DD Form 214, the daily report and more.  Hungry?   Stop by the Mess Hall.  The coffee's on and so is a little lighthearted humor.  Along your journey, you will find an informative history of the "Blackhorse Regiment" - the 11th Armored Cavalry.

In addition, you will find a tribute to K Troop's fallen heroes on the Taps page.  See which Hollywood celebrity has joined the growing list of contributors on Contributor's Corner.   Stop by the Motor Pool and see why the VC called the M113A - Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle (ACAV) the - Green Dragon and don't forget to visit the photo gallery.  The pictures tell the whole story of K Troop in Vietnam.

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I very much value your opinion about what you find here.  If you would care to express your views please send me your remarks by way of the Feed Back form.

Allons!
(Let's Go)

Bob Hersey

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Before You Go,

Please sign the Guest Book.
View The Guest Book

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Today In History

No One In K Troop Was Killed On This Date.

The Honor Roll is dedicated to the 62 brave men of K Troop who were killed in Vietnam.  We honor their memory.  Their names are inscribed here that they might never be forgotten.

For the Honor Roll by date in history - Go Here

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23rd Annual Reunion

Hyatt Regency O'Hare - Rosemont, Illinois
11th Armored Cavalry's Veterans of Vietnam and Cambodia
August 21st - 24th, 2008

Chicago was the site of the 23rd Annual Reunion of the 11th Armored Cavalry's Veterans of Vietnam and Cambodia.  Held at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare this reunion unofficially turned out about 600 members of the 11th ACVVC.  Adding to the number were family and friends.  By early indications this year's reunion was a huge success.  For complete story go here.

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Jimmy McCain Returns From Iraq Welcomed Home By Pease Greeters

Photo courtesy of Fred Schottler

February 11, 2008 was a special day in the life of Marine Lance Corporal Jimmie McCain, son of Senator and Republican presidential  nominee John McCain and Cindy McCain and members of his family.  Jimmy, a member of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division returned home from Iraq along with 330 of his fellow Marines.  They arrived at Pease International Tradeport in Portsmouth, NH to a warm welcome by Pease Greeters.  Jimmy's flight was originally schedule to land in Bangor, Maine but was diverted to Pease due to high winds in Bangor.  On the way to Pease, the aircraft developed flight control problems and declared an in-flight emergency and made an emergency landing.  The plane landed safely.

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Specialist Jeremy Connelly Greeted On Return From Iraq Welcome Returning Soldiers From Iraq

It was thirteen months since I first met Army Specialist Jeremy Connelly from Indiana.  Specialist Connelly was heading to Iraq in June, 2007 for a thirteen month deployment.  His flight brought him to Pease International Tradeport for refueling before heading overseas.  I, along with my wife Hellen, are members of what are known as Pease Greeters.  We have been greeting planes since March of 2007 having met over 50 flights.

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Blackhorse Cigarette Lighter Found Australian, Keiran Bailey Finds Lighter On Australian Beach 38 Years in the surf.

Keiran Bailey of Victoria, Australia found this remarkably preserved lighter clearly marked Black Horse with our distinctive Blackhorse patch on the face and on the back, 11th CAV, Xuan Loc, Vietnam with the date, 1969-1970.  Keiran found it during the Australian summer of 1991-'92 while snorkeling in a place called Congwong Bay on the northern corner on the march larger Botany Bay, some 23 Kms south of Sydney, and sent the lighter to me to preserve and to share it with our Blackhorse brothers.  Bill Lewellen, of K Troop, is bring this historic artifact to the 23rd Annual Reunion in Chicago of the 11th ACVVC for everyone to see and marvel over.

Keiran writes that while snorkeling, he was looking for some shells, rocks or sponge coral for his marine aquarium.  He says that while swimming along he noticed a metallic glint about 15 meters from the shore.  Upon investigation he notice the lighter wedged between the sand and some pebbles in a crevasse about 15 feet deep with only the shinier base of the light showing in the light of day.  He recognized it immediately as a Zippo lighter not unlike the one he himself owned.  The lighter sat in his undersea treasure collection until a year ago when he examine the inscriptions, did a web search and sent in on to us here at Ktroop.com.

Inscribed on the bottom of the light are the words, "New Oriental", presumably the manufacturer.  The lighter has no personal inscription so we can only wonder who might have lost it.  In all likelihood it was lost by a Blackhorse trooper while on R&R (rest & relaxation) in Sydney.  If it did wash from the shores of Vietnam all the way to Australia that would be an extraordinary journey for this lighter to take, but I wonder?

Mr. Bailey writes in the letter that he enclosed with the lighter, "I am very pleased and it makes me content to know that this lighter is finally in its rightful place among its original owners.  I hope and pray it conjures up some good memories for your Blackhorse buddies.  I'm sure that if this lighter could talk it would disclose a vast amount of incredible stories to share with us all".

I thank Mr. Bailey for sending the lighter along to us, at his own expense, and after having done some creative internet investigative work in locating us hear at K Troop, 11th ACR, Vietnam at Ktroop.com.

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Pease Greeters Welcome Returning Soldiers From Iraq

Lt. Col. Joe Greeley of Somersworth, NH piloted 50, B17 bombing raids over Germany before his 21st birthday.   Here, Joe is seen greeting a Boston native as he and his fellow soldiers arrive at Pease International Tradeport on their way home after completing their tour of duty in Iraq.

The Boeing 737, operated by Miami International Airlines, arrived at the former Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth, NH recently and was welcome by a throng of greeters know as the Pease Greeters.  The guests of the Pease Greeters (formed by the Marine Corp League of the Seacoast) have time to stretch their legs, refresh themselves, make free phone calls and visit with the greets while their plane is fueled before continuing on to their final US destination.

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Your place in history at K Troop's - Contributor's Corner.  See who has contributed their photos, stories, personal letters and more.  Who knows, you might see yourself in your buddy's photo.  Do you have some of your own that you would like to share?  Send them along and I'll include them.  For more details, visit your corner of K Troop - Contributor's Corner.

Your newest contributor - Errol Brumm served as K Troop's maintenance sergeant in 1967-'68.

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My Audio Tapes Sent Home From Vietnam

I, like many of my buddies, sent home audio tapes to loved ones.  Some of us sent reel to reel and others sent cassette tapes.  I recorded mine on a Sony, portable desktop cassette tape recorder.  The recordings captured my impressions of the war and my service with K Troop.  Not only do they convey personal messages, exchanged with my mother and father, they also contain radio transmissions, firefights, TV broadcasts and sounds of Vietnam.  I've chosen what I consider to be the best of the 22 tapes and placed them here.  A fraction of the total are available now.  New excerpts are added each week.

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