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Our Hometown Voice- February, 2011 Page'12

Operation: Sweet AppreciationSparks Unexpected Reunion

A recent internet search byu.s. Marine Veteran and archivistRick LeBlanc of Florida turnedup an interesting result. Mr. LeB-lane was searching "VietnamVeterans" and his search results .eventually led him to UAW Local1050's "Operation: Sweet Appre-ciation" webpage. He noticed theu.S. Marine T-shirts in the pic-tures and recognized one of those1050 members. After 42 years,Rick recognized a team memberfrom his Vietnam CAP team; ourown Reginald Childs. Mr. LeB-lane contacted Chris Marotta,President UAW Local 1050, toverify his instinct, and the reunion.was on .. USMC CAP (Combined ActionProgram) teams consisted of 8Marines and 1 Navy Corpsmanwhich were inserted "to occupyand control areas .uncovered by

"Home of the Forgotten" CAP 1-3-9 cir. 1969

the forward movement of the USand ARVN units and to assist inRevolutionary Development ef-forts within these areas."! In otherwords, after an area was deemed"secure", a CAP team was embed-ded in a village, worked with and"trained the local militia, assisted.the village and ran combat opera-tions on their own. CAP teams alsoimplemented a South Vietnameseinitiative called "Chieu Hoi",which sought out North Vietnam-ese combatants and their support-ers to defect to the U.S. campaignin Vietnam.' Reggie joined theCAP effort which consisted of 30days of in-country training.Reggie was inserted into the vil-lage of Anphong in the Quang TriProvince of South Vietnam. "Itwas so far out that trucks couldn'treach us, and if it rained, chopperswouldn't come ... so you didn't getsupplied. .. we were the farthestfrom supply." He laughs when hesays "That's why we called it TheHome ofthe Forgotten"., When asked what his CAP teamdid from day to day, Reggie relat-.ed "We set up two ambushes petnight, L-shaped and (or) U-shaped.Duringthe day we patrolled 1-2clicks from the village."Reggie related a bond with hisfellow Marine James "Sam" Park-er. "I owe my life to him. He was

Is-R front: Rick Leblanc, Navy Corpsman "Doc"Clodfolter; SlSgt. Mike Murphy, back row: James"Sam "Parker and Reggie Childs. USMC CAP Vietnam

CommendationsFor his meritorious Service,Reginald Childs was awarded theBronze Star, a Presidential Cita-tion, a Navy Commendation and.various medals from the Vietnam-ese Government. Mr. Childs wasreluctant to talk about his decora- e, '{ii;.1l\..i --""-.tions, and attributed it to his Unit: :-:'':::-1~Th 1st C- bi d A' Or L-R: UAW Local 1050 Veterans Cmte. Jessee om me coon oup, Deel, Bill Lococo, Reggie Childs, & GSNEO3rd Platoon, 9th CAP; "CAP 1-3-9". Reps. at "Operation Sweet Appreciation " 2009.

Back in the world, Reggie earned This report is based on interview'an Associate's Degree in Labor of Reginald Childs and was repro-Relations from Cuyahoga Com- duced with his approval. Photosmunity College, and is now mar- are courtesy of Reginald Childs.ried. Reggie is a 2nd Shift Chief 1. h tt p :/ / cap mar i n e . com /

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a southern white kid from Missis-sippi, the South, and 1was a blackkid ...we were opposites. In one situ-ation (firefight) he could have leftme, but he chose to fight our wayout with mortally wounded ... ".

By Tim Yody,Photos by Reginald Childs

Steward in the Skilled TradesClassification. He has 11 yearsat Alcoa, and is an asset to theUnion Local, and Alcoa Cleve-land Works. "This is overwhelm-ing to me" Reggie says about thisreunion. It speaks to the bondbetween our Brothers m armswho've fought in the jungles anddeserts of the globe for our greatNation. Job well done .:Operation: Sweet Appreciationis sponsored by the Girl Scoutsof North East Ohio (GSNEO) - aGirl Scouts Gift of Caring serviceproject, which sends Girl ScoutCookies to U.S. troops overseas. -Operation: Sweet Appreciationsends "a taste of home" to U.S.troops deployed overseas. LocalGirl Scouts team up with theircookie customers to send boxes ofGirl Scout cookies to service menand women far from home.