Veterans of Vietnam MC - Region 3
Unsung Heroes
(con’t. from page 13)
When Tootie was a Sgt E5, he wanted to get out
of the “woods” so he convinced the EXO, Major
Butler, they needed a bar in the Officer’s Mess. He
then had a guy in the unit build a bar. He ran the bar
approximately the last month to month and a half “in
country.” Problem solved!
When I spoke with Kinky (1965 & 1968) he told
me that ever since he was old enough to read GI Joe
in the Sunday paper he always wanted to go into the
military; he wanted to be a tank commander. After he
turned 17 he enlisted in the Army, took all of the tests
and physical and passed. The Army had already met
the quota for the month but he was ready to get out
of Shreveport. He checked back every month and this
went on for 3 months, always told the quota had been
met. All of the recruiters were downtown on Texas
Street so he went to the Navy recruiter on Monday and
told them what was going on. By Wed he was headed
to San Diego. After boot camp, Kinky went into naval
aviation, and then became an air crewman. He was an
Aviation Ordinanceman, primary duties was to make
sure the armament system on the plane was working
appropriately. Kinky was in bomber squadron VHA 2
his first 4 years. “VHA 2 was the first A3D Skywarriors
to make bombing runs over North Vietnam. The
A3D was the largest plane that could operate off of an
aircraft carrier.” They operated off of the USS Coral Sea
at the time, CVA 43.
When I asked Tootie what made him want to join
an MC and Veterans of Vietnam MC in particular,
he stated, “You want to be around the people who
understand where you are, because they have been
there”
“About Vietnam The tragedy- indeed, the
immorality-of those years was that for the first time in
our history our country and its government failed to
match the heroic sacrifice of our men in the field. This
must never happen again.” – Ronald Reagan “
When I asked Baudot the same question, he replied
with: “Membership, brotherhood, and respect. It’s a
dying club. Once all of us are gone, there will be no
more VoVMC. It’s a very unique club.”
The colors and what they represent are:
The more I get to know these members of Veterans
of Vietnam Motorcycle Club, the more respect I have
for them. I have completely enjoyed the visits I’ve had
with them and the friendships that have come out of
it. So many of our guys came back from Vietnam sick
with PTSD and/or Agent Orange, broken, betrayed,
but the ones I’ve met through the Veterans of Vietnam
Motorcycle Club don’t dwell on all of this. As a couple
mentioned to me in our talks, at least they made it
back home unlike 58,470 plus brothers and sisters
who gave the ultimate sacrifice between the years of
1959-75. So here 40 years after the war officially came
to an end, these heroes have a brotherhood like many
vets and bikers, but yet like no other. They’ve allowed
me a tiny glimpse into their past with their memories
and I’m completely honored by this. I thank you all
for your service, your time, your patience in preparing
this article and asking so many questions. If you want a
laugh, go visit these guys when they are all together.
Thank you, VoVMC!
I pulled the following off of the website, vovmc.org
“The VoVMC colors are in Honor of the Vietnam
Service Ribbon.
Kinky’s light-hearted story took place in California
in VP50, an antisubmarine squadron. He got real
close with his co-pilot, LT Coleman, who was not
a career military officer. Lt Coleman told Kinky,
“When I get out, I want you to watch this.” He got
his discharge papers; he came out of the hangar side
door by the offices. Lt. Coleman’s wife was waiting on
him; he unbuttoned his shirt and threw it off, took his
undershirt off, and proceeded to strip down until he
was stripped down to his undershorts by the time he
made it to the car.
The YELLOW is for the color they never showed;
The RED is for the blood they shed;
The GREEN is for the jungle in which the blood was
shed.”
VoVMC Region 3 covers the states of Louisiana, Texas,
Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
Region 3 Officers are Representative, Donnis
“Wheelkicker” O’Bryan; President Ken “Rice” Dodson;
Sgt At Arms, Kenneth “Tootie Ray” Deemer; VP,
Harry “Toego” Brunn; Treasurer, Richard “Papaw”
Hargis; and Secretary Bill “Baudot” Machen. National
President is Dennis “Baron” Patterson. And Region 3’s
own Charlie “Dogman” Blood is the National Sgt At
Arms.
To any Vietnam Veteran in Region 3 who might be
interested in joining the VoVMC, please contact
Donnis “Wheelkicker” O’Bryan at wheelkicker@
vovmc.org. Their meetings are the third Tuesday of
each month at 7pm. They are generally held at the
Podnuh’s BBQ on Mansfield Road in Shreveport,
Louisiana; although they are occasionally moved.
Stacey “Snoopy” Conly
Kinky states he saw more action in the bars and the
Philippines than anywhere else. I declined to hear any
of these stories; I’m sure you all understand.
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