I am honored to announce that the 56th Colonel of the Blackhorse, Terry Tucker, has volunteered once again to serve the Blackhorse as the Honorary Colonel of the Regiment. He will succeed the 52nd Colonel, Secretary of the Army Tom White, who has been the Honorary Colonel since 2004. Terry will team with our Honorary Command Sergeant Major of the Regiment, Sergeant Major of the Army, Ken Preston to continue to provide mentorship for the Regiment. Many thanks to Secretary White for his decades of selfless service and dedication to our nation and great Regiment. And to Terry, we are grateful for your willingness to once again jump onto the saddle. We will recognize this transition during our Blackhorse Reunion in Atlanta, June 8-11, 2017. Allons! ____________________________ 2017 Reunion Update – Atlanta, Georgia Call for Donations: As we approach our 2017 Reunion in Atlanta, the Blackhorse Association is requesting donations for the Silent Auction. Proceeds from the Silent Auction assist in funding our annual scholarships. We had a great response last year and exceeded our expectations. So, we have set our goal to exceed last year in both participation and funds raised for the scholarship program. To that end, we ask that you set aside items you wish to donate to the cause and ensure they travel with you to the Reunion. For items too bulky for your baggage, we ask that you ship them to: Anne and Ken Smith We ask that you coordinate shipping with Anne and Ken via phone, 404-578-7419, orm email: opens in a new windowcntrymom40@nullaol.comcreate new email. Reunion registration information: Registration can be completed by mailing the registration form to AFR; the printable form is located on the Association’s website at opens in a new windowhttps://blackhorse.org/2017reunionform.pdf. Alternatively, please register online at opens in a new windowwww.afr-reg.com/Blackhorse2017. The cut-off for registration is May 11, 2017, but we are hopeful that you will complete your registration earlier because we are expecting a large crowd. Hotel reservations: We have rooms blocked for us at: Hotel Atlanta/Marietta Hotel and Conference Center Reservations can be made by calling 888-685-2500. To receive the special group rate, identify yourself as belonging with the Blackhorse Association at the time of reservation. Your reservation can also be completed online at: opens in a new windowhttp://www.hilton.com/en/hi/groups/personalized/A/ATLMAHF-ACRC-20170604/ To receive the special group rate, enter ACRC in the Group Code field. ____________________________ Honoring the Fallen from Vietnam From Latosha Adams, Manager of Online Communications Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund I work for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), the organization that founded The Wall in Washington, D.C. I am reaching out to you because I wanted to make you aware of our In Memory program. VVMF’s In Memory program honors Vietnam veterans who served and later died from illnesses related to their exposure to Agent Orange or PTSD. We started this program to give these heroes the recognition they are due. If you know of a Vietnam veteran who passed away from a service-connected illness, we encourage you to apply to honor them through In Memory. We are currently accepting applications for our 2017 In Memory ceremony and the deadline is March 3. Friends and loved ones can apply to honor a veteran and find more information at: opens in a new windowwww.vvmf.org/InMemoryProgram. We hope to make as many loved ones aware of this honor as possible! We hope you consider sharing this with other Vietnam veterans. I have attached a Facebook graphic and flyer for your use. We hope you help us spread the word! Best, Latosha Adams 1235 South Clark St Suite 910 Like us on opens in a new windowFacebook! Follow us on opens in a new windowTwitter! Connect with us on opens in a new windowInstagram! opens in a new windowwww.vvmf.org | opens in a new windowwww.buildthecenter.org CFC #: 11070 | United Way #: 1184 ____________________________ 
____________________________ 11th ACR Wreath-Laying Ceremony at Arlington Cemetery On February 2, 2017, members of the Regiment participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington National Cemetery; this was in commemoration of the 116th Anniversary of the establishment of the 11th Cavalry. Below are some ceremony photos taken by Allan Hathaway. After the photos, there is a link to Tom Smart’s video of the ceremony.     Video: opens in a new windowhttps://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0C5oqs3qGmkZtc ____________________________ Report from Morgan Hartsell on Her Summer Studies Hessen International Summer University Fulda University of Applied Science. With the gracious sponsorship of Hessen International Summer University at Fulda University of Applied Science, The Blackhorse Association was able to select and co- sponsor Morgan Hartsell for attendance during the summer of 2016. The university offered us one full-tuition scholarship for the 4-week program. We do not yet know if we will have this opportunity again for this summer’s July program, though we are hoping that we will. If this opportunity becomes available, we will quickly get the word out to you so that any interested college students, who are children of Blackhorse veterans, can apply. Our contact for the program this year will again be Randall Ponder, our copy editor; he can be reached at RandallPonder@nulloutlook.com. The following is Morgan’s report of her experiences in Germany during July-August, 2016, and it’s followed by photos of her in Schilitz and Fulda. It’s truly difficult to describe the desire to return to a place you were only at for a short time. Before last year, my world view was limited. I had only traveled out of the Carolinas twice and even then I didn’t manage to get very far. Truth be told, I didn’t even have a passport until I heard about this program. Needless to say, I have had many first experiences this summer, as I was lucky enough to be selected for the experience of a lifetime. I had heard about Fulda from my father for years since he was stationed there towards the end of the Cold War. Never would I have imagined getting to visit that very place. I figured that my vision of the town would be limited to Google searches. Because of the Blackhorse Association, I was able to walk the same streets and paths that my dad did all those years ago. Through an event at ISU, I was able to receive a tour of Point Alpha and check out the place where the border was watched throughout the Cold War. The Observation Post was adorned with tributes to the Blackhorse Regiment. I explored the old Army barracks with Frau Danzer, my contact at the German- American Women’s Club. She drove us around the area, which has been converted into apartments. There are symbols of the Regiment’s stay in Fulda throughout the complex. A plaque on the exterior commemorates the military presence in the area and mentions that the "11. Kavallerie Regiment" was there. Halfway through my trip I made a call home to check in. When I spoke to my father he asked me to bring home a T-Shirt from Green Goose, which is a bar that he used to frequent during his stay there. Apparently, it was popular amongst the men stationed in Fulda. I regret to inform all who attended, it has since been closed in Fulda. (Although I hear that there are locations open elsewhere.) During the first few days of being there, the program’s participants were brought to meet the mayor and given a tour around the city. At this gathering, Frau Danzer introduced me to the mayor. We had a brief conversation and he expressed that he was thrilled that there was a Blackhorse presence at ISU-Fulda and asked that I send warm regards to the Regiment. The program at ISU-Fulda was the perfect blend of everything. I had just the right amount of time both in and outside of class to enjoy being there. I took two courses; one in "International Health Aspects on Stress Management" and one on the German language. I participated in weekly cooking and canoeing excursions, which are memories that won’t leave me. I also got the chance to travel every weekend to destinations such as Berlin, Prague, Schlitz, and Frankfurt. There were just under 50 participants from around 17 different countries. I had the chance to meet so many amazing people who I hated to say goodbye to. Given the chance, I would have stayed longer. When I talked with the previous year’s recipient, Chandler Hallmark, she had joked that she "loved living in Fulda so much it might happen." I couldn’t fathom how a one-month stay could have that much of an impact on a person; but, since day one of my return home, I understood. I would like to thank everyone for allowing me to go on this life-changing adventure. I will forever be grateful for everything you have provided me with. The memories I made are ones that can never fade.   ____________________________ A Request for Assistance from Volker Bausch Former Director of Point Alpha I’m retired, but still doing this and that project. Amongst others, I’m working as a consultant for the company which is producing a new, additional exhibition at OP Alpha. This exhibition will deal with the "everyday life" of the soldiers (and families) in Fulda and Bad Hersfeld during the time of the Cold War. We want to show how you lived in these places, what you did outside your duty time, how you interacted with the German population, and also how you spent your off-duty time at the OP. This exhibition will be unique in Germany! The company in charge of the realisation of this project (funded by the Federal Government and the Government of Hesse) will send a camera team to the U.S. (basically to Washington, DC and Florida) to do some interviews with veterans. We are trying to set up a final list of veterans to be interviewed and are checking all options. By the way: Photos and objects of any kind for the exhibition are most welcome. Best regards from Germany! Volker Bausch Please communicate with Volker directly at opens in a new windowvbausch@nullgmx.netcreate new email if you’d like to support this worthy project. |
