| Ralph Keiper Sherry Keiper MOS: Vietnam 64A30 64C40 Germany 31G30 31B10 Served: August 15th, 1989 to March 17th, 1972 Vietnam January 2nd, 1970 to December 2nd, 1970 Germany January 1971 to March 17th, 1972 V.V.A. Member: 333772 2006 E-Mail: rlkeiper@104thengineers.com Company: Vietnam: 20th Engineer Brigade, 79th Group, 104th Engineers Germany: 8th Division,1st/59th Low Altitude Aircraft Artillery Address: P.O. Box 516 Pocono Pines, Pa. 18350 Phone: 570-350-7588 Cell 570-355-2064 Home Web Master www.104thEngineers.com www.vva678.net 20thEngineerBrigadeReunion.com |
| Middle Group Andy Mullis, Ralph Keiper, James Peake, Sylvan Jessee |
| Back of truck, John Groh leaning on tire. |
| Back of T-Shirt |
| Company T-Shirts that Benny Wilhelm had made and yes he still has a few left. Front of T-Shirt |
| Dong-Tam during just after a heavy rain storm |
| Ashville NC Reunion 2006 Andy Mullis, John Groh, Ralph, Roger Kriz, Sherry |
| 2007 Reunion in Fredrick, MD. With an extended trip to "THE WALL" Dennis & Debbie Ward, Pete & Wanda O'Mally, Roger Kriz. Ralph, John & LuAnn Groh, ??? & Bruce Pulley, Sherry, Pam & Andy Mullis, Benny & Linda Wilhelm |
| This was taken during a Vietnamese Religious Holiday our drivers Celebrated, I am the guy in the middle. |
| This Vietnamese Guitar was given to me by the mountainard warriors, it is on display in the American National History Museum in Washington DC. |
| This was taken in the Fall 2007 in Scranton when they hosted The Traveling Wall. It was on loan from The Tobyhanna Army Depot. |
| Short-Timer Calender |
| Government Building of some sort in Lai Khe |
| Sky Crane lifting a 5-Ton into a Fire Base Area to ready construction. |
| Not sure if Goodyear Owns this Rubber Plantation or not. |
| Lt. Mellon's jeep, Not sure of location but it is before it was hit. |
| This sign was located just before the bridge leaving Bien-Hoa 1970, I tried to contact the restaurant this year (2008) but was unable. |
| We were attached to the 588th Engineers when we entered Cambodia March 1970 |
| Ralph Sharper and Pete Blalock trying to get our convoy support out of the mud. |
| One of my favorite places when we received free time. |
| Our convoy support, somewhere near QL-13 I believe. |
| Probably the Police Station just outside Loc Ninh |
| I believe this is the hill coming out of Ben Cat before you get to Lock Khe, it was being paved as you went out the back gate, the road name was Highway 1. |
| A bomb crater from a B-51 bomber, the guys are sizing it up for a bath hole, yes we really did that. |
| This bridge was built by our Australian Members of the 20th Brigade. |
| Can't remember just where we were here, it is somewhere near or just in Cambodia |
| Lt. Mellon's Jeep again. |
| My sleeping area at Camp Frenzel Jones, pictured with me is Billy Kresge, a cousin from the Blakeslee Cornors, Pa. Today he works for his brother Larry Kresge.. |
| Roger Kriz and I on base, Roger lives in New Jersey and comes up to my house about every other month, we e-mail every week. |
| He called himself "Joe" and he was one of our translators, we were sure he was front the North but he claimed he was not, notice his size, not many South Vietnamese were that tall, must have had some French in him. |
| On No, Say It Ain't So! Ralph had his right foot broken while we were repairing our truck tires, this was a nightly occurance, some were punctured by items on the road and others were shot out by the VC, Steven Petz tossed a truck rim over toward me while we were fixing tires one night. |
| 2008 Reunion which was held in Rockville, Illinois. This photo was taken by The Rockville Vietnam Monument , this helicopter is mounted just above their memorial wall, John made contact with the person who designed it and he opened it up so we could take pictures. James Geisler, John Willson, John Groh, Ralph Keiper, , Kenneth Laughlin, Arturo Vela, Richard Pratt, David Warnke, Phil Kunkle, Kevin King, John Warkintin, Roy Orr, Guy Livenston, Pat DiGregorio |
| A typical seen on any roadway, the children were everywhere, here are two of our Vietnamese drivers, biggest thieves you ever seen. |
| Roger Kriz and Billy Kresge stopped by at the same time, they probably got wind that I purchased a new stock of Vodka. |
| A little break along the road and then on to nowhere. |
| Here is the front of the line to the trip to nowhere. |
| Roger always liked to have his picture taken, he just wanted to prove he was really here in this hell hole. |
| Here in the land of 1 train and a war going on, you wouldn't think someone would chose the train to fight with. |
| He should have called Consumer Report to see if GMC Trucks can hold up to a train. |
| And in this corner, the train weighing in at a little over 1 1/2 tons and moving 5 mph. |
| Anyone for a trip down mud lane? |
| So Daddy, How do you build a Fire Base? Well you start with a jungle, drop in some Engineers, add some mud, heat, rain and hours of work, then let the Artillery move in and call it home. |
| Here is some of our 20-ton trucks filling with asphalt destined for a new place for the VC to drop mortars in on. |
| Good sign, the army had a special group in charge of making signs and they really put all they had into it. |
| Numbers, Numbers everywhere but just try to find road service. |
| The 100th Bridge Company strikes again. |
| AWARDS |
| "BOONIE HAT" that I wore through-out my tour in Nam, I still have the hat and it is in excellent condition. |
| Benny & Linda Wilhelm, Dwayne Sharper, Andy & Pam Mullus, Ralph & Sherry Keiper, John Groh and Ralph Sharper at the Asheville, N.C. Reunion |
| A game of baseball on the Phuoc Vinh Airfield before any paving has taken place, that is Pete O'Malley pitching. |
| We were attached to the 31st during the building of the Phuoc Vinh Airfield, They did the paying and we hauled in the black-top. Notice the star on the drivers door of the 5-ton, most of the guys had them covered over with mud or some other compound as if the enemy shot at the center of the star it would hit you in the legs-hip area. |
| Ralph & Sherry outside the Ashville Hotel. |
| LuAnn and John Groh, they were the "HOST" of the 2005 Streetor Illinois Reunion, this was the 1st of two reunions that they hosted and it was well planned out. |
| The Veterans Line up. |
| The Veterans Wives |
| Ralph & Sherry |
| John Groh, Ralph Sharper, Ralph Keiper |
| Ralph Keiper, Ralph Sharper, John Groh, Sherry Keiper, LuAnn Groh |
| Here is a group picture of the Veterans who attended the Fredrick Md. Reunion, this was the local VFW Monument. |