The White Falcon - 28.10.1966, Blaðsíða 2

2
WHITE FALCON
Friday, October 28, 1966
EDITORIAL
Ask Not Wliat You Can Do...
For A1C “William H. Pitsenbarger there was never a choice. He
was of the breed of men who need not be asked, “What can you do for
your country?” He knew. He always knew.
He knew when he volunteered for training as a pararescueman.
He knew when he completed Army paratrooper school, Navy under-
water swim school and Air Force rescue survival training.
He knew when he voluntarily entered a minefield to save a Viet-
namese soldier who had been wounded. He knew each time he went
down a rescue helicopter cable in Vietnam to help lift a fellow man
to safety.
And he knew when he had himself lowered to a Vietnamese
jungle floor to give aid to trapped Army infantrymen. He left the
relative safety of a helicopter to join men who were facing death
themselves. To those men he represented hope.
He also represented compassion as he used his medical skills
and equipment to bandage the wounded. He was courage as he flit-
ted from body to body, gathering ammunition and weapons for the
walking wounded to use in a fight for their own lives.
And when his lifeless body was found next morning, he had be-
come a statistic, a memorial to man’s long quest for peace and free-
dom. He was also a legend.
Only two men among the trapped group lived to contribute to the
legend af A1C William H. Pitsenbarger. But there were others, men
knew him, men who worked with him, men who owed their lives to
him.
These were the men who provided the information about his ex-
ploits which earned him the Air Force Cross. He was the first en-
listed man to receive the nation’s second highest medal. He also
earned the Airman’s Medal, four Air Medals and a Purple Heart,
all of which were presented to his parents recently by General J. P.
McConnell, Air Force Chief of Staff.
But medals shown to friends of the Pitsenbarger family in Pigua,
Ohio, do not provide an answer to why an Ohio boy died in Vietnam.
Between Piqua and Vietnam there is an incredible gap—a gap of
distance, of time, of culture and of values. Perhaps there is but one
common link which bridges that gap-man’s common devotion to the
cause of freedom.
It is the cause that sent A1C William H. Pitsenbarger to Viet-
nam as a member of the U.S. Air Forces’s 38th Aerospace Rescue
and Recovery Squadron at Bien Hoa AB. It is the cause for which
he risked his own life to save the lives of others. And it was eventu-
ally this cause for which he died.
Army men he saved, Air Force personnel with whom he served,
Vietnamese for whom he fought, his fellow citizens of this nation
and the parents who loved him—these ale people who must continue
to bear the burden he carried so well. He displayed understanding,
skill, dedication, courage and a sincere regard for other men.
There is no need for anyone to ask what William H. Pitsenbarger
did for his country. The question we must ask, as citizens, and as
military men, is: “What can we do for our country—and for him?”
As military men we must give generously of our skills, keep bright
the fire of individual dedication. We must extend ourselves to do
more—doing it better—for to do less is to lose faith with American
First Class William Pitsenbarger who gave himself.
THE WHITE FALCON
U.S. Naval Station Keflavik ^
White Falcon’s mission—To in-
form and entertain all hands, to
serve as a positive factor in pro-
moting the efficiency, welfare and
contentment of personnel.
Commanding Officer
Capt Emile E. Pierre, Jr., USN
Executive Officer
Cdr Richard C. James
Public Affairs Officer
Ens William R. Brenneman
Editor
JOl George Cates
Reporters
SN, William Stanley
SN, Edward Veillette
The White Falcon is published
weekly on Friday in accordance
with NAVKXOS P-35, revised June
1958, for free distribution to personnel
of Naval Station Keflavik. It is printed
commercially by the Isafoldarprent-
smidja, Reykjavik, Ice., from non-
appropriated funds.
Opinions and statements made in
articles published here are those of
the authors and are not to be con-
strued as official views of the U.S.
Govt., Dept, of Defense or the Navy
Dept.
WHITE FALCON
Deadline
Mondays—3 p.m.
ffCO WideA
Club 1fleu>A
by Mary Keener
The semi-annual Installation Din-
ner in honor of our new officers
took place Friday night, Oct. 14,
in the ballroom of the NCO Club.
The newly installed officers of
the October to April term are
Mary Keener, president; Nancy
Driscoll, vice-president; Ruth
Cheatham, Secretary; Jill Tay-
lor, treasurer; and Charlotte
Cornelius, parliamentarian. Many
thanks go to our officers, Linda
Devitt, Ginny Bowen, Dottie
Simon, Carmela Graeff, and Edie
Polosi, as their term proved to be
both fruitful and successful.
Sue Luttei, Eleanor Simmons,
and Sandy Trainer were our wel-
come guests at the Oct. 18
social meeting. It was a well
organized and enjoyable social,
thanks to our hostessess, Ruth
Cheatham and Nancy Driscoll.
Mary Cramer won a prize for the
best free-hand drawing of a witch.
It has been discovered that Win-
nie Beutlespacher has the largest
hand in the club. She won a prize
for picking up the most clothes
pins. Dottie Simon, Nancy Dris-
coll and Edie Polosi were also
prize winners.
Chaplain a
Corner
by Father John W. Wishard

This will be my last CHAPLAIN’S CORNER column for the
White Falcon. When one concludes a 14 month tour of duty at a
station where he has become so involved not only in the superficial
duties but in the personalities of so many people, he cannot leave
without leaving something of himself behind. Military life is like
this putting down roots and then uprooting. On some this can
have a traumatic effect — it can make them afraid to give of them-
selves freely because they dread that moment when they must excise
themselves from close friendships.
We speak of “military acquaintances” and often try to avoid the
joy of knowing and loving those around us because that joy can
turn to a moment of sorrow as we pack and move on to other duties,
other people. But for the one who really gives of himself, really shares
his personality, his talents, his humor and his friendship, this fre-
quent change is enriching, not impoverishing. For this man, who has
loved his friends not for the selfish purpose of making his own life
less dull, but in order to make others happier, has made friendships
that will endure the test of time and distance.
I leave with regrets — for I have not been afraid to love my
“parish” and the people in it. I have become a part of many families,
and a friend of many men, and these friends will stand the test of
time and space for I will not forget them. When I leave, I can give to
all those in Iceland only one message, that was given by my patron,
St. John the Apostle when he left his friends behind — “My little
children, LOVE ONE ANOTHER”. No matter how arduous the duty
or restricted the life — if people live together in mutual charity, the
life will be pleasant.
O'
There will be a Bless Luncheon
for Patsy Dowis on Monday Oct.
31, at 12 noon in the NCO Club.
Patsy has been a very active mem-
ber in our club since December,
1965. She has served on many
committees and we certainly
thank her for all her coopera-
tion and wish her and her family
lots of luck in their new duty
station.
A cordial invitation goes out
to everyone to attend the Fashion
Show we are presenting on Sat.
evening Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. at the
Rod & Gun Club. The Style Cen-
ter is responsible for the beauti-
ful clothes that will be shown.
Sandwiches, cake, punch, and cof-
fee will be the refreshments for
the evening.
Hospitality kits are available
to everyone in need of one, either
just arriving or derossing. They
can be obtained from Anna Millet
who lives in new housing. 1046E.&
Toastmasters —
(Continued, from page 1)
on the strength of his award win-
ning speech entitled “Laughter”,
delivered at installation night,
was Charles Tucker. Toastmaster
Charles was thus a dual winner
for the evening, being voted the
“best contributor” of the meeting,
by ballot of his fellow Toast-
masters, and winning the “Out-
standing Toastmaster” award for
the term.
FOUNDED 1960
The Vulcan Toastmasters Club
was founded here at the NATO
Base in October 1960 by a group of
officers and U. S. civilians assig-
ned to the base. Icelandic em-
ployees working at the base as
well as Icelanders from surround-
ing communities, including
Reykjavik are active club mem-
bers. The current membership in-
cludes military - personnel, U. S.
and Iceland civilians from the
NATO Base and Icelandic busi-
ness and professional men from
the capital city.
Prominent activities of the
NEW NCO WIVES CLUB OFFICERS—It’s all over now and these ladies will be busy in their newly
elected position from October to April 1967. Installed Oct. 14 were (1-r) Mary Keener, president;
Nancy Driscoll, vice president; Ruth Cheatham, secretary; Jill Taylor, treasurer; and Charlotte Cor-
nelius, parliamentarian. (Photo by PHI, Tom Taylor.
club over the years have included
presentations of introductory lec-
tures on Iceland to new arrivals
on the NATO Base, as well as
radio and television shows ex-
pounding on the Club’s activities
and purposes.
TOASTMASTERS WORLD-WIDE
The Vulcan Toastmaster Club
is a member of Toastmaster Inter-
national. This international or-
ganization is a nonprofit, non-
partisan, nonsectarian educational
organization providing its mem-
bers with opportunities to im-
prove their abilities to speak in
public, conduct meetings and de-
velop their executive abilities.
This month, Toastmaster Inter-
national observes its 42nd anni-
versary. The first Toastmasters
meeting was held at Santa Ana,
Calif., on Oct. 22, 1924, and since
that time the world-wide speech
organization has trained more
than one million men in the art of
self-expression.
Toastmaster was founded on
the premise that you learn by
doing. This theory has proved
highly successful. Toastmasters is
not a school for orators. It is a
self-help organization which
teaches men to listen analytically,
to think constructively, and to
speak effectively and concisely.
The first Toastmasters club at
Santa Ana was purely a local ac-
tivity but the members of that
original club took the idea with
them when they moved to other
cities and countries. The organiza-
tion has never had a paid organ-
izer, but today there are Toast-
masters clubs in countries and
territories throughout the free
world. Every branch of the mili-
tary service has endorsed the
program and men in uniform are
meeting each week at Toast-
masters clubs on ships and at Air
Force, Army, Marine and Navy
landbased installations.
The Vulcan Toastmasters meet
every week at 7 p.m. in the Offi-
cers Club. A regular program of
impromptu and prepared speaking,
with evaluation and constructive
criticism is conducted at each
meeting.