A Tribute to our Pi Deuteron Veterans

In coordination with the return of the Fiji Islander, we would like to commemorate our Pi Deuteron brothers who have served our country in the armed services.  Islander week happens to fall on 9/11.  Our philanthropy is also the USO.  We cannot do enough to thank them for their willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice to maintain our freedom.

Ron Ferguson

I am very happy to see the Fiji's are recognizing those that have served their country, especially the young men volunteering to serve in these perilous times!  (two current brothers:  Troy Teegarden '19 and Carter O'Daniel '19 plan on joining the armed forces after graduation)

I was proud to serve in the army security agency from November 1966 to 1970. My military occupation was low level voice intercept operator. Spent 1 year in the defense language institute learning Vietnamese Hanoi dialect.

Went to Vietnam June 1968, first 6 months operated in on the ground and ran missions with the 82nd airborne ( very proud to note my son was a paratrooper with the 82nd and served in Afghanistan) and 101st airborne 

The second 6 months spent flying  as a crew member primarily "across the fence".

After Vietnam worked at the national security agency until discharged. 

I am so happy to see our warriors being recognized. Thank you

Dale F. Peel Class of ‘66

After graduation from KU in 1966, my military career consisted of:

·      1966 – Kansas University graduate, commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in USAF

·      1967 – Pilot training, Vance AFB, Enid, Oklahoma, one-year program

·      1968 – Various military schools:  Jungle Survival, Sea Survival, etc.  Attended McDonnel Douglas F-4 Fighter training

·      August, 1968 – Assigned to 559th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing as a 1st Lt., Cam Rhan Bay, South Vietnam

Flew a total of 226 combat missions, 54 of which were over North Vietnam,    earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses and 12 Air Medals.  While there, I visited with two pledge brothers, Bill Henry and Ron Ferguson. 

·      September, 1969 – Returned to the USA.  Flew Convair 240/340 aircraft as a Captain until my discharge from the USAF in 1971. 

·      May, 1972 – Hired by Western Airlines. 

·      1989 – Western Airlines purchased by Delta Airlines

·      June, 2004 – Retired from Delta Airlines after 33 years, Captain and Flight Instructor

G. William (Bill) Henry

1944-2015  -- Bill enlisted in the Army OCS (Officer Candidate School) in September, 1968,  Within about a month he dropped OCS and switched to artillery as an enlisted man.  He did his basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo., and artillery training at Ft. Sill in Lawton, OK.  He was sent to Viet Nam in April of 1969 and was stationed at a small landing zone, Duc Pho, and assigned to Fire Direction Control.  He was part of the Americal Division stationed in I-Corps.  He returned to the states in May, l970, and was released from the army as soon as he hit the states.  He stayed in Viet Nam for 13 months, one month over the normal 12 month assignment so he would be released from the army as soon as he hit the states.

Bill and Vicki would like to thank Dale Peel for visiting Bill at Duc Pho, against Bill’s wishes as he felt it was too dangerous for Dale as Dale was to leave Viet Nam shortly.  However, it meant the world to Bill and was something he never forgot.

Bill served as our chapter president during his time in the Fiji house.

Bob Bunten

Bob was an Air Force F-84 pilot and flew combat missions in Korea.  The missions were for interdiction and close air support.  After successfully completing the required missions, he and his squadron were transferred to Gifu, Japan where they practiced low level methods of delivering the atomic bomb.  Thankfully they never practiced with or delivered a bomb.

Bob pledged Phi Gamma Delta in 1946 and graduated in 1950.  After his tour of duty in Korea he was the base operations officer in Valdosta, Georgia.  He married a Kappa, Barbara Banta,  in 1952 on the day he received his wings.  Bob passed away on June 9, 2017.

Grant Goodman

I graduated from KU June, 1966.  In September I began OCS training and graduated in December with the rank of Ensign in the USNR with a 3 year active duty commitment.  I was stationed aboard the USS Agerholm, DD 826, a destroyer with nuclear weapons capabilities.  While on board we made two deployments to WESTPAC (western pacific/Vietnam) for 6 and 7 month tours.  

1.        First job was DASH officer.  This included flying an unmanned drone helicopter that could carry a mark 44 torpedo, or a nuclear depth charge.

2.       Second job was ASW (anti submarine warfare) officer and Nuclear Weapons officer.

3.       Third job was CIC (combat information center) officer where weapon systems were controlled during combat.

First deployment we were assigned to plane guard duty during flight ops for an aircraft carrier.  Between tours I qualified as an OD (officer of the deck) when the ship was underway.

During the second tour I was CIC officer, and we were primarily on the gun line supporting ground troops.  During this tour we fired over 10,000 five inch shells, both day and night, at the enemy.  At the end of this tour I was released from active duty to pursue graduate school.

Leonard Robert Boyd

The following is a brief history of the military career of Bob (Boydo) Boyd, Pi Deuteron Class of 1964. As Boydo was finishing his classes to get his degree and arranging the sale of his vending machine business in 1969, he realized that he needed to try to join a National Guard unit or face the prospect of being drafted. He contacted the Breidenthal family and General Breidenthal, then commander of the 69th National Guard Division in KC, secured a position for him as a rifleman in the Division. Within a couple of months Boydo was able to convince his superiors that he would be much more valuable in the supply chain than as an infantryman. So when the Division shipped out to Long Binh, Vietnam, Boydo was an essential cog in the Division’s supply/logistics process. He became so adept at barter/trade (jeeps, generators, etc.) that some of the senior NCO’s thought he would be a good manager of the NCO Club in Long Binh. So that is the post he occupied, reportedly turning a profit in the Club for the first time ever, until President Nixon was recalling our troops beginning in 1970. Boydo shipped back to KC with the 69th Division after spending less than a year in Vietnam. Having done his tour he was released from further service and moved to Hutchinson to take over Boyd Motors. However, Vietnam did come back into play a little later when Boydo was speeding on the Kansas Turnpike between KC and Wichita late at night in order to make a meeting in Wichita the following morning. He was pulled over and when he handed his driver’s license to the Highway Patrolman the Patrolman looked at it and said “Sargent Boyd you don’t remember me but you helped me secure some critical material for my unit in Vietnam and I told you then that I would find some way to repay you. This is the day and there will be no speeding ticket and I will be giving you an escort (which included a flashing red light) to Wichita to insure that you get there safely.”

Pi Deuteron’s William K. Jones, Jr., Pledge Class 1968; U. S. Marine Corps: 1966-1992

I pledged Pi Deuteron of Phi Gamma Delta during the Fall of 1964.  My father was a 1938 KU graduate, a member of SAE and a career Marine Corps officer. My sister was a KKG engaged to a recent KU graduate and Pi Deuteron brother, Don Hatton.

A mediocre KU student, studying liberal arts, I took my Spring sophomore semester off to attend Marine Corps Reserve training in California from February 1966 through July 1966.  One reason for completing enlisted Marine Corps “boot camp” was that I planned on becoming a Marine Corps officer.  I returned to KU and Pi Deuteron in the Fall of 1966, returning to class and participating in Marine Corps Reserve training in Topeka as a PFC Marine rifleman 0311.

I completed Marine Corps officer training (platoon leaders’ class) during the summers of 1968 and 1969 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in August 1969.  My career as a Marine officer extended from August 1969 until July 1992, with a variety of command (leadership) positions mixed with staff or training assignments.

I’ve operated with Marine and joint US forces/allied forces as a lieutenant through lieutenant colonel in Vietnam, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Canada, Panama, as well as both coasts of the USA.

I’ve been awarded the Army’s Basic Parachutist Device, the Navy/Marine Corps Parachutist device (recon Marine), and the West German Parachute device.  I also have been awarded the Presidential Service Badge, numerous expert rifle and pistol awards, and various campaign and unit awards to include the Bronze Star with V.

A summary of jobs:

            -Rifle platoon commander (2nd lieutenant) Vietnam (1970-71)

            -Company commander:

                        -Lima Company, 3rd Bn., 1st Marines, Camp Pendleton (71-72)

                        -Presidential Security Company, Camp David (Captain)

                        -Reconnaissance Company, 3rd Recon. Bn., 3rd Marine Division

                        -Officer Basic School, Quantico: (Captain and Major)

-National Emergency Airborne Command Post, Emergency Action Officer (81-83) (Major), Offutt Air Force Base, NE

-Headquarters Battalion, Headquarters Marine Corps, Executive Officer (lieutenant colonel) 84-87

-Plans officer, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Okinawa (87-88)

-Operations Officer, Marine Forces Panama (pre-Operation Just Cause)

-The Joint Staff, Conventional War Plans Officer, The Pentagon, ’89-92 as the Space and NORAD War Plans specialist.

I loved being a Marine and defending America. I retired in 1992 to be closer to my four sons.  Semper Fi!