The following PhuLamers have been located:
Hess, John E.  70 -71 bettyhess28@...   Akron CO.
Jones, Edward  69 -70 edward.jones1.ctr@...
Lazenby, Henry    4/69 - 12/70   hflazenby@... Suwanee, GA
Smith, Edwin   3/68 - 3/69 bocfishmonger@...  Lusby, MD.
Johnson, Michael 69  mhjohnson48@... Nashville, TN.

And a digest of recent Phu Lam related messages


From: Henry Lazenby   69 -70  hflazenby@...
I was at Phu Lam from 21 April 1969  thru 17 Dec 1970 with the ADMS CO as a AVN
Technical Controller (32D20H4), I celebrated my 19th and 20th birthdays there!
--------

From:  John Hess  70-71   1jmason@...
I worked about a block from the presidential palace and i stayed in a hotel
downtown.
Co A 369th    1970-1971
looking for anyone who served with me in Phu Lam
-------------------

From Edwin (Smitty) Smith  68 -69 bocfishmonger@...
Found this site yesterday. Thank you for such a great place to find fellow
PhuLam alumni. I was there from March 68 thru March 69.This brings back a lot of
old memories mostly good but a few not so good.
--------------------

From: Michael Johnson '69  mhjohnson48@...
I was stationed at Phulam all of 1969. I was an SP4. Worked in the main
communications building processing messages that came through.
I am looking for someone else that was stationed there with me. His name is
Tommy
Davis.  I remember spending time with David Damico and Tommy Davis.  A few other
guys, but do not remember their names.
-------------

From: Ellen Cariaggi  esperry@...
Comments: My brother Craig Cariaggi passed away 1/19/09. If anyone remembers him
please E-Mail me your thoughts. Thanks so much,

[Note from Howard: Craig's MOS was 72B;  at Phu Lam 12/68- 3/69]
--------

From: Richard Tu    <richardtubsma@...>
My Name is Richard Hoan Tu, was at Phu-Lam from beginning to the end, was as an
Electronic Engineer worked in Transmitter building, finally worked in
Switchboard building. I am still survive in Garden Grove, California.
Thank You very much.
Richard Hoan Tu
------

From: patrick kirkpatrick 68 - 69 captainkirk47@...>
I still check the roster to see if Douglas Woods has checked in. When I worked
at the phone company I must have made a few thousand phone calls to every D
Woods in every phone book I could get my hands on.  When I went to Las Vegas, I
looked for him and his girl friend Elane Pink. I think the world just swallowed
them up.
I don't know how good my films are now. Some were damaged from a broken pipe. I
had two 8MM projectors both no longer work. I have a hand crank editor I can
check them out with. I'll get back to you on that.
-----
From  William Skaggs 6/68 - 7/69 EAGLECREST@...
…there is one person that I remember that may not be on any list.  I am pretty
sure he was a Sergeant and his last name was Cooper.  We called him Coop.   He
worked in the Service Section and probably was in charge.   As I remember, he
was a friendly, easy going person... the type that everyone liked. He went on
R&R to the States in June or July of 1968 and while there was killed in a
traffic accident.  If I remember correctly, he was either married, engaged or
heavily involved with a Vietnamese woman.   I think we took up a donations for
her after we learned of his death.  It could be that all this is part of my
faulty memory and maybe he never existed.
-----------
From: Thomas E. Lassek '67 - '68   granmagranpa@...

      A few weeks ago I was contacted by a retired SGM asking me information
concerning PTSD. Unfortunately I wasn't able to help him much, however, in the
November/December VFW Magazine, page 14, there is a full page article on page 14
that addresses his concerns in total based on a recent decision by the VA which
fit's his situation perfectly.
       Can you post this message Howard, so possibly this gentleman could
recontact me since I didn't save his email address. I've saved the article and
can send it to him via email attachment.
  Tom Lassek
---------------

Note from Howard:

Thank you to the following 4 PhuLamers who have offered to help other PhuLamers
with questions regarding health issues and VA benefits:

John Fillian,  Cornell Mattox, Bruce Greiner, and Matt Meslou.

Long live the memory of Phu Lam and those who served there.

Howard

I am looking for one or more PhuLamers, to help coordinate communications about
common health issues and VA health benefits.

As we all are getting older, I am receiving more and more emails about these
issues.  Some PhuLamers send me information, and others ask about information.

Whoever is interested in being a contact point for these topics, let me know.
Hopefully there will be more than one volunteer. When I get these emails, I can
foward them onto the volunteer(s)

As an example, below are three recent emails I received:

-----------------

From: targetman4u2@...
Subject: Prostate Cancer/Agent Orange
How many of my brothers have  been treated for prostate cancer?  The VA presumes
that we may have come in contact  with Agent Orange, while in country.  Get
yourselves check for the cancer, get treated and file a claim for disability.

------------

From: "Mr Randolph Simpson" <tinysimpson@...>
Howard: You may know more about the chances of guys at Phu Lam being exposed to
this stuff than I do, but I thought I would forword this on to you. You may feel
the info contained may help any of the former Phu Lamers that did the spraying

VA: Agent Orange Benefits To Cover More Illnesses
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki has announced that the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will establish a "service-connection"
between the notorious Vietnam War herbicide Agent Orange and three additional
specific illnesses. The herbicide was widely used by U.S. forces in Vietnam to
clear trees and other vegetation used as cover by enemy forces. Shinseki's
announcement follows recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) findings that confirm
Agent Orange's role in numerous diseases. The illnesses newly added to the
service connection list are Parkinson's disease, ischemic heart disease, and B
cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia. Other illnesses already recognized
under VA's "presumption" rule as being caused by exposure to herbicides during
the Vietnam War are acute and subacute transient peripheral neuropathy,
chloracne, chronic lymphocytic
leukemia, diabetes mellitus (Type 2), hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma,
non-hodgkin's lymphoma, porphyria cutanea tarda, prostate cancer, respiratory
cancers, and soft tissue sarcoma (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma,
Kaposi's sarcoma, or mesothelioma), "We must do better reviews of illnesses that
may be connected to service, and we will,"  Shinseki said.

------------------------

From: Matt Mesplou Hadabuck@...
Subject: Type II Diabetes and Agent Orange
During a conversation with a friend, he suggested that I contact the VA to see
if I could get my insulin medication from the VA at a reduced cost.  I had no
idea whether I could get it or not but I thought it would be worth a shot.  I
sent an email to the VA and merely asked the question.  I got a response back
from the VA and said some one would contact me in 5 to 10 business days.  To my
surprise, I got a phone call from a representative of the VA at Mather Air base
that very same afternoon.  Again to my surprise, the rep advised me that not
only could I get the medication but I could be classified as 25% - 30% disabled.
-------------------------

Long live the memory of Phu Lam and those who served there.
Howard