Princeton resident and Col. Stephen Trigg Chapter Compatriot John Humphries has been busy gathering information on veterans in his home county of Caldwell, Kentucky. This morning he hosted a breakfast and presentation ceremony at the Central Presbyterian Church in Princeton. Caldwell County Compatriot Robert Ward assisted him in doing the honors.
Veterans honored included:
Bob Hayes – U.S. Army
Bob Hayes was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Army after completing ROTC training at the University of Kentucky. He ranked third in a class of 160 and had the opportunity to choose an area other than infantry or armor. Bob chose the medical services corps. Bob began his military service in June 1969 at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. After six months of training he was sent to Fort Dix in New Jersey to prepare a new field hospital for Vietnam, which was completed six months later but never used. While stationed at Fort Dix Bob also spent one week on duty in New York City. During a postal strike he was sent to an office near Madison Square Garden and helped sort the mail.
Bob received orders to Vietnam in 1970 but they were rescinded when it was learned that his older brother Jim was serving a third tour of duty in Vietnam. Bob was sent to South Korea instead. In Korea Bob was the supply officer for a medical group.
Bob Davis – U.S. Marine Corps
Brian Davis enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1990 and served for 20 years. Brian participated in Operation Desert Storm in Kuwait. He subsequently served at Camp Lejeune and on numerous Navy amphibious assault ships. He was deployed as part of the UN peacekeeping team in Bosnia/Herzegovina and later stationed in Japan. After 9/11 he worked for the Marine Corps’ chemical biological response team outside Washington.
James “Dog” Menser – U.S. Marine Corps
James “Dog” Menser was on a plane to Parris Island, South Carolina two 10 days after he graduated from high school in 1993. James was in the U.S. Marines for eight years. He was trained at Parris Island and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. James served as a crewman on an amphibious assault vehicle, also called an Amtrak. James was based at Camp Pendleton in California but traveled the world visiting Hawaii, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, the UAE, Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia. He trained Kuwaiti soldiers between the two Gulf Wars. He served in Somalia at the age of 21 after the Black Hawk Down incident. James helped provide security for UN peacekeeping forces from Bangladesh and Pakistan when they decided to withdraw. When he was not deployed James served at Camp Pendleton’s rifle range and eventually became a marksmanship instructor.
Joe Shore – U.S. Marine Corps
Joe Shore served in the Marine Corps from 1969 to 1971. He was trained as a radio field operator but served in Vietnam for a year in a different role. Joe handled “S&C,” “Secret and Confidential,” documents related to the conduct of the war. In this role he had top secret clearance.
Compatriot Humphries has several other presentations planned in coming days. He has already purchased another seven medals for area veterans. We look forward to his coming reports!
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