Class of: 1965
Brick: yes
Deceased: 2016-06-10
Email: [email protected]

Although I graduated from Stetson in ’65, I went to U of F and got my MA in Journalism & Comm. so I delayed my entry on active duty until spring ’67. I was the Post Pictorial Officer for Ft. Bragg for about 8 mo. before I got orders for Vietnam and arrived in country in Jan. ’68 just in time for the TET celebration. I was assigned as motion picture advisor for MACV command in Saigon working with the ARVN Psychological Warfare Div. By that time I was a 1st LT and ran the still film and motion picture facility that supplied all photos and combat footage to the Vietnamese language local Saigon newspaper and TV station. Because we were working for the Psychological Warfare Div. we only provided “good” news about the war and how the ARVN was trouncing the VC at every turn. My film crews (all ARVN and Vietnamese civilians) went to every major battle all over the country. I went along periodically, but mostly stayed in Saigon editing and scripting the “news” footage for Saigon TV. My office closely resembled the Robin Williams facility shown in “Good Morning Vietnam.” We had a radio station, a newspaper printing facility and TV studio in our compound. A Lt. COL. was the officer in charge and there was a Lt. or Capt. who worked with an ARVN counterpart in each division. My section produced nightly TV “news”, plus a weekly review of the war as a 30-min. newsreel, plus a special report on each major battle, such as the Battle of Hue. Every weekly summary and each special report was dubbed in Vietnamese, English and French and copies were sent each week to the Peace Talks which were going on in Paris.

Our compound was attacked in the “May Offensive” and we defended ourselves pretty well for a bunch of technicians and TV and radio personalities. Personally, I shot thousands of feet of movie film and hundreds of still photos, but I never fired a round from my .45 pistol which I always wore in a shoulder holster. In the end I rec’d a Bronze Star for setting up the first color film processing lab in country and a handful of Vietnamese medals for mostly the same things and for great “news” coverage. I was sent home on New Year’s Eve 1968 after two R&R’s in Hong Kong and Hawaii. I’ve told many people that it was an interesting and educational experience for all of us who survived.

In Feb. ’69 I married my high school sweetheart and went to work for The Miami Herald, the Philadelphia Inquirer and finally, the Muskegon (MI) Chronicle where I spent 20 years as Publisher. I retired in 2007 and am now a City Councilman and active grandfather. There are lots of stories, if you want more just ask. [Editor’s note: Gary passed away June 10, 2016 at the age of 73.]