Where Are They Now?

This page includes the present known status of 14th Bn and 7th Group Members including a memoriam to those who have gone before us in Battle and in civilian life.

New Feature (11/27/06): Individuals with a * have provided a more in-depth summary of their past and present status. If you would like to be included, please submit additional information about yourself

If you have information for this page please contact me.

Brief Known Status

Name
Unit and Year(s)
Known Status
14th Hq /1963-65
Retired as Public Affairs Director for Peace Corp. Seattle Wash area.
Lt. 16th PsyWar Company 1963-65 Okinawa
Retired LTC. Harker Heights Texas
PFC Aytes
KD 1961
Killed Traffic Accident 1961
Irving Barker
LTC & XO of 7th Group 1967
Deceased in 1999. Wife Helen may be contacted.
KD 1962-65
Chilcoot CA
Lt. 15th Det of 7th Group 1966-1967
Semi-Retired. Owns Small Custom Bld Firm and Lives in Portland, OR
Britt A. "Blackie" Bowden

KD 1958-59; Japan Det 1959-60

Died of Cancer in 1980's
John Blanco
1st LT 7th PsyOp 1968
KIA Vietnam 12/17/68
John H. Bullard Jr.
Command Sgt Maj. 7th Group Okinawa 69-71
Retired after 30 years in Army. Deceased of Cancer in 1991 at Home in Fort Bragg
16th Co. 1962-63
Retired Law Enforcement Indianapolis Indiana
Richard Crecelius
CO Korea Det..1960-62
 Retired Col. Deceased in Florida 1989
Paul Carolan
KD 1958-62
Deceased April 2002 or 2003. Lived in Georgia
14th RB&L Hawaii 1956-57
President Cleveland Radio Station WCLV
16th Co. 7th Group Okinawa/Thailand/Cambodia 1970-71
Lives in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and works in Electronic Security
16th Co. 1962-63
Logan Utah. Affiliated with Radio KKEX
14th RB&L Hawaii1957-58
Retired Staples MN
William Gearning
7th PsyOp 1968
KIA Vietnam 5/19/69
CPT 7th Gp. 15th Det. 1966-68
 
KD 1962-63
Self Employed Electrician. Nantucket, MA
VUNC Okininawa 61-62
Retired Researcher Eli Lilly 2005
Alan Harriman
CPT 14thPsyWar Bn 1963-64
KIA Vietnam 1964
LT 15th PsyOPs Det. 1962-63, TDY Vietnam
Served in Engineer Army Reserves and retired in 1984 at LTC
Jeremiah June
7th Group 1969
KIA Vietnam 5/19/69
7th Group/15th Detachment 1965-66 Okinawa
Works in Printing Industry and Lives in Israel
KD 1960-62
Retired (1999) in Sonoma, CA after 40 years in Honolulu Radio and TV
Rudolph Kofoet
Lt 14th Hq 1962
Died Cancer 1990's Retired LTC
KD 1961-63
Cudahy Wisc. Will Retire from Water Utility in Feb 06
14th Hq/1963-64
Programmer/Analyst Waterloo, IN
Ed Masters

KD Dept Army Civilian 1960

Worked For AFKN, Deceased in late 1960's
16th Co. 1962-63
Wenatcher or Ellensburg Wash. St.
Micheal Merkel
1st LT 7th Group 1968
KIA Vietnam 3/24/68

Rob Michael *

LT 14th Bn 62-63 Printing/SF Counterinsurgency
George Mikuchonis

KD 1960
Vietnam/Japan/Okinawa

Retired as CWO3 and living in Killeen TX
KD 7th PsyOp 68-70
 
CPT 7th PhyOp 1966-68
Retired as Col. Lives in St. Louis Missouri
David Ogonowski 16th Co. 7th Group 66-67 Project manager for mining industry
James Pastore
7th PsyOp 1970
KIA Vietnam 4/9/70
Mike Peters
7th Group 15th Det. 1967-68
Won Pulitzer Prize in Journalism 1981; Author of Popular Comic Strip Mother Goose and Grimm
14th RB&L (VUNC) Korea 1957-59

Retired Radio Broadcaster, Searcy Arkansas ; Died 12/21/07

KD 1960-61
Tracy City TN; Retired from the SCL Railroad on disability
7thPsyOp 1966-67 Okinawa
Radio Announcer Fresno Calif.
7th Group 1965-67
Retired Oil Worker (Alaska). Raises Quarter Horses in Oklahoma
Steve Southerland
16th Co. 1962-63
Mailman in Topeka Kansas
Gary Taylor
7th PsyOp 1967
KIA Vietnam 6/12/67
Steve Tedrow
7th PsyOp 16th Co. 1966
Died in Alsea Oregon 9/18/04 at age 61
Cal Thomas
16th Co. 1962-63
Wash. St.
16th Co. 1964-65
Retired, Fremont Ohio
LT Ventzek
Exec KD 1960
Died Brain Hemorrhage in 1979
William K Usher
16th Co. 1961-63
Fayette, Cumberland N.C, Deceased 1997
LT 14th PsyWar & 7th Group 1965-67
Retired as Major. Lives in Hawaii

Members KIA Vietnam

NAME
UNIT
DATE
MEMORIAL PANEL
1st LT John A. Blanco Jr.
7th PsyOp Group
12/17/68
36W-32
Sp5 William C. Gearing
7th PsyOp Group
5/19/69
24W-54
CPT Alan Harriman
14th PsyWar Bn
8/15/64
01E-62
Sp4 Jeremiah June
7th PsyOp Group
5/19/69
24W-54
1st LT Micheal Alvin Merkel
7th PsyOp Group
3/24/68
46E-09
Sp4 James J. Pastore Jr.
7th PsyOp Group
4/9/70
12W-115
Sp5 Gary L. Taylor
7th PsyOp Group
6/12/67
21E-96

 

In Memoriam

Tom Pry, 14th PsyWar (VUNC) Korea 1957-59

It is with great sadness that I must report the death of Tom on 12/21/2007. Although I had never met Tom, we had a friendship based first on his experiences as a member of VUNC in Korea and then later as a reader and contributor to his web page.

Tom was very helpful in determining the history of the early Korea Detachement and its role in PsyOps. He was a broadcaster and writer in the detachment and continued this profession as a civilian for 38 years. Our friendship continued over several years with good natured humor related to his own web page.

Tom developed and edited a Blog called "The Old Man and The C:\ ...A 60-Something Looks At Life, Past and Present, If Not Necessarily The Future". His page was filled with humor and thought provoking witty pieces written by him and submitted by many others. I don't know how much longer his page will be posted but until it is removed you can access page here.

Tom also wrote for this page "A Memoriam To Blackie" one of his close friends who went with him to Korea, and "The Day The Money Changed", a report of how the US disrupted the currency in Korea in the 1950's. Click Here for stories.

I will miss Tom and hope his humor and wit is not forgotten. He was a good friend and one of us....A PsyWarrior.

Tim Yoho

Alan Bates Harriman, CPT 14th PsyWar Bn
KIA Vietnam 1964

Alan Bates Harriman, Capt.
Broadcast/Visual Activities - Okinawa
1st Special Forces Group
KIA 15 August 1964
ALAN HARRIMAN was born on April 8, 1938. He became a member of the Army while in Swampscott, Massachusetts and attained the rank of CAPT.

Alan was TDY from Broadcast/Visual Activities, Pacific - Okinawa, supporting 1st Special Forces Psyop missions.

On August 15, 1964 at the age of 26, Alan gave his life in the service of our country in a helicopter crash.

You can find ALAN HARRIMAN honored on the Vietnam Memorial Wall on Panel 1E, Row 62.

Note: The above information comes from POVA Page at: http://www.psyop.com/kia/harriman.htm


2nd Lt Rudolph Kofoet in 1962 at 14th Hq

Based on a 2004 e-mail from his son, Rudolph Kofoet died in the 1990's of cancer. He retired from the Army as a Lt. Col.. I am waiting for more specific information from his family to include about Rudolph.

It is interesting to note that Rudolph married the widow of Capt Alan Bates Harriman (above) who was KIA in Vietnam (1964).

1st LT Micheal Merkle 7th PsyOp Group
KIA Vietnam 1968

1st LT Micheal Merkle was a member of the 7th PsyOp Group on Okinawa. He was TDY to the 8th PsyOp Bn and Officer in Charge of Radio Station Pleiku when he was killed during an attack on that station. A full account of this attack can be viewed on "7th Group Accounts Page"

William K. Usher Jr., Sp5 (1942-1997)
Picture Taken at Christmas on Okinawa 1961

According to a son, William Usher Died on 22 Oct 1997 from Aplastic Anemia.

Bill was one of my best friends. He and I met at Ft. Monmouth Signal School in 1961 where we trained as Radio Station Attendants (MOS 270). We were posted to the 14th PsyWar Battalion on Okinawa in March 1961. I left Okinawa in April 1963 never to hear from Bill again. I looked for him over the years but did not learn of his fate until Oct 2004. I discovered his name as an Sp5 in a July 31, 1965 Morning Report for a USASTRATCOM Facility in Phu Lam Vietnam. Bill had evidently reenlisted and was assigned to the Communications Base. Howard Hickman a spokesman for those having served at Phu Lam had no additional information about Bill. I will always remember Bill Usher as I described earlier in this web page:

Every once in a while when I hear someone with a southern accent, I think of Bill Usher and remember an incident at the motor pool.. Bill and I were responsible for maintenance of several vehicles.. One day I asked if he had done any maintenance.. He replied that he had put "ALL" in the trucks.. "ALL"?? ..What is" ALL??" I responded.. He became very indignant and said "I put ALL in the trucks"....."OIL" he spelled.. "ALL".!

Expanded Status

Rob Michael (11/27/06)

Tim

Thank you for responding to my email regarding a listing in your compilation
of "Where Are They Now."  I was commissioned a 2nd Lt through the Kent State
University ROTC program.  I went on active duty in September, 1961 and
completed Adjutant General Basic Officer's Course at Ft. Benjamin Harrison
in November, 1961.  I served as the Acting Secretary, Special Warfare
School, Ft. Bragg, N.C. until beginning the Psychological Operations Officer
course in January, 1962.  From March to June, 1962 I was Section Leader,
USBVA-Pacific, Printed Media Section on Okinawa.  During the period
June-December of that year I served as a Psychological Operations Officer,
First Special Forces Mobile Counterinsurgency Team in Chaing Mai, Thaildand.
Upon returning to Okinawa I was named Assistant Editor, Shurei No Hikari
(Light of the Land of Courtesy) a 48-page monthly Japanese language magazine
distributed in 75,000 copies throughout the 48 inhabited Ryukyu Islands.  As
mentioned in another email to you, I took and passed the U.S. Foreign
Service written exam while in northern Thailand and, on my last day of
active duty in September, 1963, I took and passed the FS oral examination in
Washington, D.C.

I retired from the FS (USIA) in 1991 following a series to overseas tours in
Malaysia, Austria, Paraguay and Germany.  I held a series of post-FS
positions including fund-raising stints for a biotech research entity and
for the Smithsonian Institution.  Among my extracurricular activities I
served four years as a Trustee of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and as
an advisor to the George C. Marshall International Center in Leesburg,
Virginia.  Looking back on all that I have accomplished professionally, I
regard my two years on active duty as the most edifying, challenging and
satisfying period of my life.  The military teaches a person more about
him/herself than any other field of endeavor.  At the same time, any
individual who has worn the uniform in any capacity and at any rank will
always have the huge reward that comes from having fulfilled one's duty and
exemplified personal honor in serving  the Nation and its citizens. 

Rob Michael

Bob Richards For George Mikuchonis 5/21/07

Bob asked me to include a brief note about George Mikuchonis. Bob indicated that George has an excellent memory about his many tours not only in the Korea Detachment (1960) but also his tours in Vietnam, Japan, and Okinawa. Bob said much of the information he has sent me about the Korea Detachment came from George. As it turns out, others have also mentioned George by name. He must have made a lasting impression on many.

George retired as a Chief Warrant Officer and presently lives in Killeen Texas. I don't believe he has an e-mail address but if you would like to contact him please do so via Bob Richards