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ABOUT THE WEBMASTER Born: 2/6/49
Hometown: Blue Island, Illinois Place of Residence: Tinley Park, Illinois High School: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Class of "67" First Job: Jewel Foods, clerk to produce manager Married: April 1969 Entered US Army: May 1969 Basic Training: Fort Leonard Wood, MO AIT: Fort Ord, CA First Duty Station: Fort Lewis, WA - 3rd Armored Cavalry Vietnam: April 1970 - Co B, 1st Bn, 5th Infantry (Mech) Cambodia: May 16, 1970 M-60 Machine Gunner: May to August 70 APC Driver: August 70 to February 71 Resupply: February to March 71 Discharge: March 30, 1971 Children: Erin (74) Chad (76) Sean (81) Kevin (84) Work: Jewel Foods 1971-73 Holsum Bread, Route salesman 1973-78 Butternut Bread: Route Salesman, Division Sales Mgr., District Sales Mgr., Operations Manager 1978 - 2011 Divorced: 2003 Remarried: Carolyn Visage 2005 Retired: 2011 |
The 5th Infantry Regiment Association Website
In 1995 I was given my first computer as a gift after having played around with a Commodore 64 for several years. Within a year or so I discovered the internet which was still pretty new and in its infant stage, at least to me. I found a Vietnam Vets chat room on Dalnet and soon started reliving and talking about Vietnam for the first time in 25 years. In doing so and talking to others, I soon discovered that many did not have a camera with them in Vietnam or lost their pictures through the years. When I returned from Vietnam I had put all my pictures in an album in chronological order the best I could. It was at that time I decided to share my pictures with other veterans and with the world. In 1997 I launched my first website, “A Year on the Jumpin’ Jack” under the tutelage of my grade school sons and one day to be son in law. I do owe them a lot of thanks. If it were not for them it would have never got onto the internet. I made that website a pictorial of my year and tried to express my feelings under every picture. The most important part of that website was that I got to memorialize the members of my platoon and squad that had been killed in action during my year.
It was shortly after that I found a website for the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry (Mechanized) and joined the then 5th Infantry Chapter of the 25th Infantry Division. It was put on the internet by Gil Lewis in its one page early form. In August of 1998 it was decided that I would take over the website. The first notable change I made was the expansion of the memorial page and vowed I would try and get a picture and make a tribute page for every fallen member of our unit. That project has turned out to be the most rewarding and healing experience a Vietnam Vet could have ever asked for. It has lead me to meet and become acquainted with many of the families of our KIA’s, to which I have and maintained personal friendships.
I also want to thank all the contributors to the website to name a few, Larry Hadzima (Vietnam History) Richard Coffelt, Dick Arnold, Ken Davis (extensive help with memorial page names) Sam Kier (Korean memorial page and 5th Infantry History) Denis McDonough (many pictures of KIA’s) and to all of those who have sent in material over the years. I apologize if I have missed any one. Special thanks to Ron Henry for giving us unlimited resources and space to work with on our servers and financial support.
The website can only be as good and comprehensive as the material that is sent in for me to post, so I ask that if you have any information that you feel will add to our website please send it in.
The 5th Infantry Chapter was about 80 to 90 strong when the website went up on the internet in 1998. We have grown to annual membership of around 500 and I hope that the website has played a huge part in that. It is my hope to get all “Bobcats” back inside the wire whether they are World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, or Cold War.
Randy Kethcart
Bravo Company 1970
Webmaster@bobcat.ws
In 1995 I was given my first computer as a gift after having played around with a Commodore 64 for several years. Within a year or so I discovered the internet which was still pretty new and in its infant stage, at least to me. I found a Vietnam Vets chat room on Dalnet and soon started reliving and talking about Vietnam for the first time in 25 years. In doing so and talking to others, I soon discovered that many did not have a camera with them in Vietnam or lost their pictures through the years. When I returned from Vietnam I had put all my pictures in an album in chronological order the best I could. It was at that time I decided to share my pictures with other veterans and with the world. In 1997 I launched my first website, “A Year on the Jumpin’ Jack” under the tutelage of my grade school sons and one day to be son in law. I do owe them a lot of thanks. If it were not for them it would have never got onto the internet. I made that website a pictorial of my year and tried to express my feelings under every picture. The most important part of that website was that I got to memorialize the members of my platoon and squad that had been killed in action during my year.
It was shortly after that I found a website for the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry (Mechanized) and joined the then 5th Infantry Chapter of the 25th Infantry Division. It was put on the internet by Gil Lewis in its one page early form. In August of 1998 it was decided that I would take over the website. The first notable change I made was the expansion of the memorial page and vowed I would try and get a picture and make a tribute page for every fallen member of our unit. That project has turned out to be the most rewarding and healing experience a Vietnam Vet could have ever asked for. It has lead me to meet and become acquainted with many of the families of our KIA’s, to which I have and maintained personal friendships.
I also want to thank all the contributors to the website to name a few, Larry Hadzima (Vietnam History) Richard Coffelt, Dick Arnold, Ken Davis (extensive help with memorial page names) Sam Kier (Korean memorial page and 5th Infantry History) Denis McDonough (many pictures of KIA’s) and to all of those who have sent in material over the years. I apologize if I have missed any one. Special thanks to Ron Henry for giving us unlimited resources and space to work with on our servers and financial support.
The website can only be as good and comprehensive as the material that is sent in for me to post, so I ask that if you have any information that you feel will add to our website please send it in.
The 5th Infantry Chapter was about 80 to 90 strong when the website went up on the internet in 1998. We have grown to annual membership of around 500 and I hope that the website has played a huge part in that. It is my hope to get all “Bobcats” back inside the wire whether they are World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, or Cold War.
Randy Kethcart
Bravo Company 1970
Webmaster@bobcat.ws
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DISTINGUISHED MEMBER OF THE REGIMENT
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BOBCAT OF THE YEAR 2007
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