President,
Tom Miller
tamillerjr@juno.com

Vice President,
Mike O'Bryen
pobirish@bellsouth.net

Secretary,
Chuck Winslow
cwin@affirmative.net

Treasurer,
Bob Basner
bobnconnie2@aol.com

Chaplain,
Jim Spiller
spiller612@msn.com

Historian,
Bob Rusthforth
bobrush@us.ibm.com

Membership,
Walt Evans 
wme1949@aol.com

Judge Advocate,
Hap Trainor
cwtrainor@evt.net

Quartermaster,
Michael Chaney
ssgpooch@ leaco.com

Reunion Coordinator,
Joe Offutt
offuttj@bliss.army.mil

Executive Board

Jerry Brown
Don Brown
Gerry Dubois
Bruce Goldsmith
Ed Stewart
Joe Offutt
Tim O’Neill
Jim Stafford

Replacement of Medals

Medals awarded while in active service are issued by the individual military services if requested by veterans or by the next of kin of deceased veterans. Army veterans need to send requests through the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) for verification of awards and the NPRC will forward the request to the appropriate service department for issuance. Requests for replacement of medals should be submitted on Standard Form 180, “Requests Pertaining to Military Records.” Forms can be obtained from your County Veteran’s Service office by calling 1-800-827-1000 or online at: www.vba.va.gov

The Steel Tigers Yahoo Group is an informal way to keep in touch with others in the Steel Tigers family. This email group is open to all of the valiant tankers from the 77th Armor Regiment who served so willingly and bravely in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Kosovo, and who continue to serve in Iraq. Any MOS that served or serves with the 77th may join. The group is also open to the family of those who served or serve in the 77th.

To join go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com

Good morning, Tom. Please tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Tom Miller and I'm a tanker. I served on HQ 66. That's enough.

A little more, please. 
I was commissioned through the Reserve Office Training Corps (ROTC) Program in 1953, just weeks before the end of the Korean War. Let's just say that I went to all the Army schools that were appropriate for Armor officers, up through the Army War College. I qualified on every weapon in a tank or armored cavalry unit and I lived for field training and maneuvers. My assignments were spread over troop commands starting with tank and armored cavalry platoons and working up to an armored cavalry squadron in Germany and a tank battalion in Vietnam. Demilitarized Zones seem to be my specialty, as I served there in Vietnam and Korea, and in the inter-zonal boundary in Germany.

Were all your assignments with troops?
No one is that fortunate. My staff jobs were mostly in operations positions, but included maintenance, intelligence, communications, and training. Lots of training. Staff positions included duty with the Armor School, Army Reserve, ROTC, Army National Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, German Army, and the Department of Army. I spent much of my career with American citizen soldiers; they taught me things different from the professional soldier. Finally, in 1984, the Army decided I was too old, and told me to go home after 30 years, 7 months and 19 days.

What was your most interesting assignment?
Without doubt, command of the 1/77th Armor in combat. Never have I been privileged to work with a better-trained unit, or to lead a more dedicated organization of real American soldiers.

Can you think of something fun or dumb that you did in Vietnam?
Yes, probably the least fun and most dumb thing I did in Vietnam was the day I agreed to get out of the Brigade Deputy Commander's perfectly good helicopter and wait by myself for part of our Scout Platoon to come pick me up. We had been flying close to Wunder Beach and had just seen someone armed with an AK-47 run away from a small cooking fire. We lost him in some small bushes where a village used to be. I only had my .45 cal. pistol and it was already dusk when they dropped me off. Let me tell you, I felt mighty alone out there for about 30 minutes until that bunch of Scouts arrived. We found a few pieces of uniforms, equipment, and a little ammo but we never found that man or any of his buddies. I was just glad they didn't look for me while I was walking up and down the beach.

Where do you think our 77th Armor Association stands today?
We are on the brink of becoming a self sustaining organization with a long future. The credit for this goes to our early leaders. I almost hesitate to mention any names because there are too many to list. We started with the efforts of Tom Rosser and Peach. Without them, we would never have existed. Over the years, we have been held together by hard work and long hours put in by Jerry Brown, Bruce Goldsmith, Chuck Winslow, Jim Spiller and the principal organizer of our last and best yet reunion, Jim Stafford. We really could list every volunteer for any position, and we must include our most faithful members who have attended every reunion. That comes up to about forty hardcore members. I give them the credit, and thank them and all the rest I didn't single out.

HQ66 Crew in front of a M48 Tank.

How about our last reunion, was it fun? I believe everyone present thought so. We had plenty of time to talk about old times, comrades gone and those we still need to find, and to look toward improving for the future. We really enjoyed the companionship, stories, and information the three guys from the active 1/77 Armor brought us from Iraq and the rear base in Schweinfurt, Germany. They made us feel like we still had purpose. We were honored by their presence.

We also had opportunities to have hands on fun and games, both with the driver simulators and the gunnery simulators. I noticed that most of the family members took part in the fun. Of course, we ate too much, but it was all good, including the BBQ picnic and the Ohio River Boat Cruise/Dinner. And that band! That was a super topping to end the party! Thank you, Jocko!

Back to Vietnam, what were the orders from on high while you were there?
There were a couple of things that were not necessarily visible to the trooper on the ground. One was the decision that the casualties in Vietnam would be reduced to no more than two hundred a week. Now, I'm not for having casualties in any number but what that meant was we might have the bad guys surrounded and pinned down, really pounding them, but if the casualty count was getting up early in the week, we might be ordered to break contact and return to our bases. That's just dumb; we ended up being shot at by those same bad guys a week later.

Another might just have been my desire to lead the Battalion on the more daring missions. Many of you went on Operation Remagan, the first return to Khe Sahn after the Marines left. The battalion was on other similar task force operations, but never again under our own command. When we went west again with a large force, it was always under the command of the Deputy Brigade Commander. In my opinion, as a ground infantryman, he didn't know all that we tankers could and should have been doing out there. The tanks were moved around too slow, and returned to the same places too often. There was too much looking and not enough recon by fire. I thought it unnecessarily cost too many men and tanks. But that's just my opinion and I understand others may think differently.

What are some of your plans for the Association?
First, we need to do those things necessary to become a viable organization. We need to increase our due paying membership and learn how to control where and how we spend our money. We also have to improve the services we offer and increase interest among the 77th Armor base from which our members come.

CSM Joe Offutt is working now to make the 2006 reunion in El Paso/Fort Bliss the best yet. For the off year in 2005, we are going to offer opportunities for smaller groups to meet. There will be more said about these activities later. We are checking into alternate funding sources so we can offer more services and have more fun, all without increasing our dues. We are also seeking ways to better serve both us older veterans from times passed, and future 77th Armor Association members now fighting in Iraq. That's just a start. It's going to be a busy two years.

What is the most important thought you want to leave in closing?
That's easy. It is an honor having been selected to lead this great group of men into the future. I pledge you will get the very best I have to offer. You are now my priority. I know that I cannot do this alone, but you have selected a slate of Association Officers and Executive Committee members who will also work their best. And, they will make sure that I stay on the straight and narrow path to the future greatness of our Association. Together, we will succeed.

In closing, I ask every one of you, officer, member, prospect, to help by giving us your suggestions on how to solidify the ranks, improve the product and reach for the stars. Every suggestion will be welcomed and considered. Please, phone, mail, or e-mail me.

Thanks for the opportunity to express myself today.

* * *

Tom Miller can be reached by email at tamillerjr@juno.com or by telephone at (703) 476-1798. Please send correspondence care of the Steel Tigers 77th Armor Association.

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