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REUNION AGENDA
The documentary film "In the Shadow of The
Blade."
We hope to have a few other films or videos available they are
Tomahawk related.
We will have guest speakers.
A Vietnam Book Fair with authors there to sign their own books.
Video of trips back to Phu Loi and old areas of operations from my
2002 and 2004 trips.
Ceremony to honor KIA / MIA Tomahawks & those who are no longer
alive.
Opening cocktail tail party - introductions,
registrations, networking and fellowship gathering
Group Breakfast - with opening prayer and guest speakers
Last night Dinner Party - A time to chat, plan next reunion,
share news and life stories - open
to all to say something. Photos of group. Closing prayer and blessing.
Pizza & Beer Party
Group outing to night spots and casinos
Sharing of old unit photos and slides
Reunion photos and news will be posted on this website.
Official History Report 1967 (Missing)
&
Desired
We are looking for the missing histories for the periods:
1/1/68 through 9/30/68
1/1/70 through 3/31/70
7/1/70 through 3/31/72
Thanks,
Russ
FILM PREMIERE NOVEMBER
8th - IN TEXAS
Tomahawks will be gathering with Robin Hoods in Austin,
Texas for the film premiere
of "In The Shadow of The Blade" on November 8th. Photos of the event will
be shared.
George W.
Crofoot Remembered
Date: 10/24/2003
From: Russellklayton
To: roaminmona@yahoo.com
Ramona Crofoot,
I happened to be looking through the 128th website visits and noticed your
December 27, 2002 comments.
I was googling my father's name and this site came up. I was wondering if
anyone knew
my father, George W. Crofoot. He's the one mentioned in
the 22 April 1966 entry
regarding acquiring the Tomahawk. He passed away
January 2002. He retired from the
Army as a Lt.Col. in 1980 and served two
tours in Vietnam.
I have been searching for your father for about a year. I even went as far
as to write an email
to the principle of the school that sent the Tomahawk
to the company in 1966. I am very sorry
to hear that he passed away. You
will notice that among other things, your dad was the source
of our
Company name and call signs. The unit still exists and is currently in
Korea.
Comments in my database history of the company:
When the discussion of a Company name arose, the EM wanted to call the Co
the "Sandbaggers"
but the powers to be thought the connotation was
inappropriate. George Crofoot suggested the
Tomahawks. The Maint Det
selected the "Medicine Men" and Pvt. Fernandez designed the Logo,
which we
had made on the local economy.
On 26 MARCH 1966 the Company Commander, Major Gene C. Reed, called a
formation of the
company and detachments for the purpose of accepting a
“NEW TOMAHAWK” from Captain
George Crofoot. Selected officers and men were
awarded the Air Medal by Lieutenant Colonel
John Lauterback, Commanding
Officer, 11th Aviation Battalion.
The 128th Aviation Company of the 11th Aviation Battalion, hereafter
referred to as the “TOMAHAWKS”,
now have a unique weapon of the past. In
comparison to the 128th’s M-60 machine guns, rocket pods
and grenade
launchers, a brass-headed tomahawk seems a bit obsolete, however the 128th
feels “If it’s
good enough for the Indians, it’s certainly good enough for
us”. The idea of acquiring a tomahawk, symbolic
of the 128th’s own
namesake, was that of Captain George Crofoot, who wrote to his uncle, Carl
Y. Naessig
of Webster, S.D. The letter asked if any tomahawks were in the
area. Naessig searched, but found only
stone-headed mashers that could
never stand up to the “rigors of war”. The Flandeau Indian school in
Flandeau, S.D., after hearing of Naessig’s hunt, volunteered their
services and donated a hand made
brass-headed tomahawk that is not only a
weapon of war, but also a peace pipe. The tomahawk was
presented to the
Commanding Officer of the 128th, Major Gene C. Reed, of Jefferson, Tex.
After
receiving the weapon, Reed gave a small speech, which he concluded
by saying, “Peace we seek,
and fight we give, seeking a peaceful end”. Lt.
Col. John Lauterbach of Redwood Falls, Minn., the
Commanding Officer of
the 11th Aviation Battalion, was on hand for the ceremony, along with all
members of the 128th. The tomahawk, 16 inches of wooden pipe and molded
brass, was displayed
after the ceremony.
Your fathers data base info:
CROFOOT, George SD CPT T-??? Tomahawk Intelligence Officer
0/65 0/66
Your fathers "NAME" cell comments:
Larry K. Clark wrote: CPT George Crofoot was the Intelligence Officer
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crofoot, George Captain, Intelligence Officer (Pg. 26 , 1966) On 26
MARCH 1966, the Company
Commander, Major Gene C. Reed, called a formation
of the company and detachments for the
purpose of accepting a “NEW
TOMAHAWK” from Captain George Crofoot. Selected officers and
men were
awarded the Air Medal by Lieutenant Colonel John Lauterback, Commanding
Officer,
11th Aviation Battalion.
The 128th Aviation Company of the 11th Aviation Battalion hereafter
referred to as the “TOMAHAWKS”,
now have a unique weapon of the past. In
comparison to the 128th’s M-60 machine guns, rocket pods
and grenade
launchers, a brass-headed tomahawk seems a bit obsolete, however the 128th
feels “If
it’s good enough for the Indians, it’s certainly good enough for
us”. The idea of acquiring a tomahawk,
symbolic of the 128th’s own
namesake, was that of Captain George Crofoot, who wrote to his uncle,
Carl
Y. Naessig of Webster, S.D. The letter asked if any tomahawks were in the
area. Naessig
searched, but found only stone-headed mashers that could
never stand up to the “rigors of war”.
The Flandeau Indian school in
Flandeau, S.D., after hearing of Naessig’s hunt, volunteered their
services and donated a hand made brass-headed tomahawk that is not only a
weapon of war, but
also a peace pipe. The tomahawk was presented to the
Commanding Officer of the 128th, Major
Gene C. Reed, of Jefferson, Tex.
After receiving the weapon, Reed gave a small speech, which he
concluded
by saying, “Peace we seek, and fight we give, seeking a peaceful end”. Lt.
Col. John
Lauterbach of Redwood Falls, Minn., the Commanding Officer of
the 11th Aviation Battalion, was
on hand for the ceremony, along with all
members of the 128th. The tomahawk, 16 inches of
wooden pipe and molded
brass, was displayed after the ceremony.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crofoot,
George Captain, Intelligence Officer (Pg. 27 , 1966) ROSTER OF KEY
PERSONNEL
Captain George Crofoot, Intelligence Office
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crofoot, George Captain, Intelligence Officer (Pg. 53, 54 & 55 , 1966)
On 12 JULY 66 the
“TOMAHAWKS” were assigned the mission of providing
airmobile support to the Special Forces Camp
(Det-B32) Tay Ninh. At 1335,
three slicks landed to pick up approximately 40 refugees and drop them
off
at Bao Don. With the search and destroy operation complete at 1430, six
slicks were ordered into
the PZ to pick up the 3 CTT platoons. The slicks
started receiving small arms fire about 2 miles out
from the PZ, but
continued the flight. The approach route was taken under fire by the
slicks’ door
gunners and the gunships. Touching down in the PZ, fire was
received from all sides, hitting 5 slicks
and setting one afire. The
burning ship was flown by CWO J.R. Oates and Captain G. Crofoot. The
crew
chief was SP4 Bynam and the gunner was Sgt. Nicholson. The crew evacuated
the burning
aircraft and took up defensive firing positions. Not knowing
chalk three had caught fire, chalk one
and two departed the PZ. The crew
chief of 517, SP4 Clark, attempted to extinguish the fire, but
to no
avail. Observing from above, “TOMAHAWK” 6 ordered the CTT troops off the
four remaining
aircraft to protect the downed crew and maintain security
of the LZ. The C&C ship at this time came
into the PZ to pick up the crew
of the burning aircraft and in doing so was also hit by the sniper fire.
The sniper round came through the window, striking “TOMAHAWK” 6 on the
chest protector and
ricocheting off and hitting his left hand. The C&C
ship departed without the crew from the burning
ship en-route to Tay Ninh.
As the remaining aircraft returned to the LZ, plus the ones on the ground
and with the “GUNSLINGERS” suppressing the wood line, everybody was
extracted. The
“TOMAHAWKS” returned to Phu Loi, minus one UH-1D. The
“GUNSLINGERS” expended 53,000
rounds of 7.62 and 116 2.75 rockets, killing
4 VC. The slicks hauled 233 troops and logged 24 hours of CA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Silva, Charles Edward wrote: Other Tomahawks included Ben VanEtten,
Norm Batten, Gale Sights,
Ben Johnson, Dick Schweitzer, Avie Bourg, Jim
Parker, Joe Anorga, Slick Shulmeric, Fred Pierce,
Willie Williams, Howard
Burks, Bill Lawrence, Lou Stadler (Witch Doctor) George Crofoot, Ralph
Battle,
Lou Copeland, Laarry Doll, Moses Erkins.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ed Silva wrote: George Crofoot was Native American Indian. He was
instrumental in getting the Original
Tomahawk. He was a Captain and a
slick driver.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE ARMY REPORTER, is published weekly under the supervision of the
Information Office. United States
Army Vietnam and is an authorized Army
publication. The command newspaper has a circulation of 80,000
and is
printed by the Pacific Stars and Stripes Tokyo, Japan.
22 Apr 66—Tomahawk Adds to 128th Power
PHU LOI (1st INF—lO)—The 128th Aviation Company of the 11th Aviation
Battalion at Phu Loi, referred
to as the “Tomahawks,” now have a most
unique weapon of the past. In comparison to the 128th’s M—60
machine guns,
rocket pods and grenade launchers, a brass—headed tomahawk seems a bit
obsolete,
however the 128th feels “If it’s good enough for the Indians,
it’s certainly good enough for us.” The idea
of acquiring a tomahawk
symbolic of the 128th’s own namesake was that of Captain George Crofoot,
who wrote to his uncle, Mr. Carl W. Naessig of Webster, South Dakota. The
letter inquired whether any
tomahawks were in the area. Mr. Naessig
searched, but found only stone—headed mashers that could
never stand up to
the ‘‘rigors of war.~~ The Flandeau Indian School in Flandeau, South
Dakota, after
hearing of Mr. Naessig’s plight, volunteered their services
and donated a handmade brass—headed
tomahawk that is not only a weapon of
war, but also a peace pipe. The tomahawk was presented to
the commanding
officer of the 128th, Major Gene Reed at a ceremony March 26th. After
receiving the
weapon. Major Reed gave a small speech, which he concluded
by saying, “Peace we seek, and fight
we give, seeking a peaceful end.” Lt.
Col. John Lauterbach, the Commanding Officer of the 11th Aviation
Battalion, was on hand for the ceremony, along with all the members of the
128th. The tomahawk, 16
inches of wooden pipe and molded brass, was
displayed after the ceremony. The 128th Aviation Company
first landed in
Phu Loi on October 27th, 1965 and was on combat status by December 7th.
The 25
helicopters assigned to the 128th have the responsibility of
airmobile combat assault missions, tactical
resupply, and reconnaissance.
Since the 1st of January the Tomahawks have participated in Operations
Crimp, Mallot, Rolling Stone, Mastiff, Honolulu, and Silver City.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm sure there is more data on your dad in the database and I will send
you anything that I come across.
I am still looking for additional data
for him as well. I don't have his call sign and the exact dates that
he
came to the company and left to come home yet and I don't have his home
address.
Later,
Russ
PS: I am going to let everybody know that your dad passed away and will
color code the database
accordingly. If you don't mind, I am going to list
your email address as a family contact in the database.
If you wish, I can
also enter your telephone number for those who aren't computer literate.
If your
interested in talking to any of the guys that served with him I
could also indicate that in his cell comments.
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