Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Showing posts with label People Magsamen-Frederick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label People Magsamen-Frederick. Show all posts

Thursday, January 08, 2015

Military Payment Certificates and P38s

Military Payment Certificates and P38s

January 8, 2015 - March 6th, 2007


January 8, 2015 - March 6th, 2007

January 8, 2015 – The mother of a childhood classmate who died in Vietnam passed away just recently. I was looking through my files to refresh my memories of the events from about 45 years ago and came across this post down memory lane from 2007 – and I decided to re-post it. Enjoy….

March 6th, 2007 - I was actually researching, of all things, C-rations (the predecessor to MREs – Meals Ready to Eat) and the H-21 Shawnee (a tandem rotor flying banana helicopter 1949 - 1967,) when I came across this entry on military payment certificates.  I had not seen one of these in ages.

I also, on the same web site as I found the pictures of the MPCs, came across a picture of (what I remember being called in the Marines, 1971-1973, NOT deployed to Vietnam) a “church key.”  Is that correct or is my memory failing me in my old age?  It is a “P38” can opener.

For the young folks out there who are not familiar with MPCs or the P38 can opener – see the attached below.  It is from a web site titled, “Tall Comanche,” which appears to be a site for “Company C, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Calvary Division, Vietnam 1965 – 1972: http://www.tallcomanche.org/index.html

It is a pretty neat site – check it out…

The pictures of the MPCs and the can opener were found here:



It was illegal to carry American currency in Vietnam.  As soon as you arrived "in-country", you had to turn in your "greenbacks" for MPC.  Officially, the Vietnamese currency was the piaster, but there was little the MPC couldn't buy.  In order to keep the MPC from being the real currency, every few months everyone had to turn in their old MPC for new ones - and each series would be different from the others.  Of course, this caused a panic in the Vietnamese who had accepted MPC from GIs.  These samples are from 1969, and were contributed by Mike Hayes.



Okay - did you carry yours with your dog tags, or did you carry yours on a key chain?  For the uninitiated, this is a can opener - and its shown approximately actual size.  From Mike Hayes, April 1969 to May 1970.




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Saturday, March 03, 2007

20070228 Reconnecting a friend to Fred Magsamen




Web site helps reconnect a friend to Fred Magsamen

February 28th, 2007 – Posted March 3rd, 2007

Last Wednesday’s Westminster Eagle has a letter to the editor about a column I wrote for the Westminster Eagle – and later a blog post I wrote on the Winchester Report on May 26th, 2006: "On Memorial Day, Freddy Magsamen is No. 11 in our hearts."

Web site helps reconnect a friend to Fred Magsamen

I just blundered (literally) across a story about Fred Magsamen that Kevin Dayhoff wrote for The Westminster Eagle way back in May 2006. ("On Memorial Day, Freddy Magsamen is No. 1 in our hearts," May 26, 2006.)

His story brought tears to my eyes. I am the Ken Van Arsdel whom he quoted in the article.

I can't tell you how much the article means to me. I counted Fred as a good friend É best friend É although I knew him for only a few short months.

The intensity of life as a soldier in Recon Company, CCN, seemed to distill daily experiences into moments that were both potent and poignant. Great friendships were formed quickly in the maelstrom of the events we lived. Sadly, they were often brought up short, as the odds caught up with us.

Mr. Dayhoff's article told me more about Fred than I ever knew, and I miss him all the more for it. Thank you for remembering him, and for sharing those memories with the world.

The Internet is a wonderful thing; without it I would never have seen your article.

Or would I? It is an experience like this that makes one question whether "divine intervention" or "karma" are more than just pop culture concepts.

Ken Van Arsdel

San Andreas, Calif.

(Editor's Note: The Magsamen article and others are available on our Web site, at http://www.thewestminstereagle.com/.)

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Tuesday, May 30, 2006

20060524 Columns on Frederick John Magsamen

Columns on Frederick John Magsamen
May 24th, 2006
Westminster Eagle on May 24th, 2006:
“Next Monday, Carroll County will commemorate Memorial Day. The tradition of the Memorial Day parade and ceremony in Westminster began in 1868. That year, Mary Bostwick Shellman followed General ...”
The most comprehensive column on Freddy Magsamen is in the
May 24, 2006, “Lest We Forget!” Kevin E. Dayhoff
Monday is Memorial Day. It was almost 140 years ago that the tradition of setting aside a day to honor our country's fallen heroes began with Gen. John A. Logan's May 5th, 1868 General Order No. 11 to adorn the graves of Union soldiers with flowers.
Also, related:
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Labels: Magsamen Frederick John, Military, Military Memorial Day, Military Veterans Day, People Carroll County, Vietnam, Winchester Report, Westminster Eagle, The Tentacle

20060524 Columns on Frederick John Magsamen






Columns on Frederick John Magsamen

May 24th, 2006

Westminster Eagle on May 24th, 2006:

On Memorial Day, Westminster's own Freddy Magsamen is No. 11 in our hearts 05/24/06 - By Kevin E. Dayhoff:

“Next Monday, Carroll County will commemorate Memorial Day. The tradition of the Memorial Day parade and ceremony in Westminster began in 1868. That year, Mary Bostwick Shellman followed General ...”

Read the rest here:

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=978&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1189178&om=1

The most comprehensive column on Freddy Magsamen is in the

Winchester Report on the Westminster Eagle Website:

On Memorial Day, Freddy Magsamen is No. 11 in our hearts

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=978&NewsID=722063&CategoryID=18298&show=localnews&om=20

The Tentacle

http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=41

May 24, 2006, “Lest We Forget!” Kevin E. Dayhoff

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=1615

Monday is Memorial Day. It was almost 140 years ago that the tradition of setting aside a day to honor our country's fallen heroes began with Gen. John A. Logan's May 5th, 1868 General Order No. 11 to adorn the graves of Union soldiers with flowers.

Read the rest here.

Also, related:

Carroll County Maryland Vietnam Memorial Park, Westminster

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Labels: Magsamen Frederick John, Military, Military Memorial Day, Military Veterans Day, People Carroll County, Vietnam, Winchester Report, Westminster Eagle, The Tentacle