From:  Dick Ellis

     Date:  October 14, 2013

Subject:  Mr. Heston











Dick Ellis with Charleton Heston

I looked at the list of stars who visited in 67-68 and discovered I interviewed most of them....This guy was the greatest.... before the interview I asked him some questions about himself saying....Mr. Heston this and Mr. Heston that....  He waited until we were live and said..."Hey Dick, call me Chuck!!!!" Dickie

     From:  Bob Nelson

      Date:  October 13, 2013

Subject:  Woody Hayes Loses His Temper in South Vietnam, Jan 1969

Wow, just read this.  Can you spell ego!

Bob

From:  Bob Nelson

Date:  October 13, 2013

Subject:  Woody Hayes Loses His Temper in South Vietnam, Jan 1969

When Jessel came to our team site he was aloof from all.  I've got pictures--will have to find them.

Bob

    From:  Bob Nelson

      Date:  October 13, 2013

Subject:  Celebrity Guests in Vietnam on AFVN

See if I can find some pictures--know I have them around some place.

Bob


    From:  Bob Nelson

     Date:  October 13, 2013

Subject:  Vietnam USO Shows

This is good Paul... Saw the 65 and 72 shows..never forget when Anita Bryant and then Delores Hope sang White Christmas at the end.  You could have heard the proverbial pin drop and there weren't many dry eyes.

Bob

    From:  Frank Rogers

     Date:  October 13, 2013

Subject:  Celebrity Guests in Vietnam on AFVN Dandy

Don Meredith known for BASEBALL???

Frank

    From:  Paul Kasper

     Date:  October 11, 2013

Subject:  Celebrity Guests in Vietnam on AFVN

Dandy Don Meredith (baseball)

Gary Merrill (Actor)

Robert Mitchum

Greg Morris (Actor)

Jim Nabors

Chuck Conners


     From:  Paul Kasper

     Date:  October 12, 2013

Subject:  Vietnam USO Tours

For Vietnam Veterans


Bob Hope Shows in Vietnam

    From:  Rick Fredericksen

     Date:  October 11, 2013

Subject:  Woody Hayes Loses HisTemper in South Vietnam, Jan 1969

Mike,

You've been providing good content to the group.  At least I like it.

Rick

    From:  Mike McNally

     Date:  October 12, 2013

Subject:  Skip Young and George Jessel

Here's a Wiki link for Skip Young.  It says he was a Navy, and he is resting at the Riverside National Cemetery.  Skip Young seemed to generate a laugh just by appearing onscreen.  I've attached an image of George Jessel onstage at the MACV theater.  I attended the show, probably in 1969.  I can't recall what Jessel talked about.  Here is his Wiki link.  It says he is resting in Culver City CA.

Mike

    From:  Mike McNally

     Date:  October 11, 2013

Subject:  Woody Hayes Loses His Temper in South Vietnam, January 1969

It's college football season and a good time to read, or re-read, the attached PDF (see link below) is from the Texas Tech Vietnam Archive.  The document is an After-Action Report by an escort officer, describing the tour of South Vietnam in January 1969 by two college football coaches from the state of Ohio.  The men were Woody Hayes of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Bill Hess of the Ohio University Bobcats.

Both men had just completed highly successful seasons.  Hayes had just won the Rose Bowl against USC, and Hess had finished the regular season undefeated, then lost by just a touchdown to Richmond in the Tangerine Bowl. Hayes and Hess could have taken a few weeks off. Instead, they headed for South Vietnam to meet and greet the troops. If you were in South Vietnam in January 1969, but didn't see the coaches in person, perhaps you saw or heard them interviewed on AFVN.

Near the end of the tour, while visiting Qui Nhon,  Woody was upset that the escort officer had not supplied him with water while Woody was narrating a Rose Bowl film.  Woody invited the escort officer to step outside to settle the matter. The escort officer says he did not reply to this request. *

If Mother Teresa had lost her temper after a two-week whirlwind tour of Vietnam, I would understand.  For Woody, it's almost surprising it took him two weeks to explode.

Thanks to all the individuals who came to South Vietnam to visit the troops.  They did not have to do it.

Mik

The "After-Action Report" on Woody Hayes by their escort officer describes this incident.

    From:  David Gale

     Date:  October 11, 2013

Subject:  Network Name

One of the Miss America's from the early 60's was Nancy Ann Fleming.  She grew up 15 miles from my home.  No I didn't know her!  But our band did March in a parade for her homecoming.  That was a thrill to see her on stage.  But that march was a few miles and I'm sure we looked pretty ragged by the time the TV camera's were broadcasting the parade.  I've run into a couple of those camera operators here in Grand Rapids.

David

    From:  Rick Fredericksen

     Date:  October 9, 2013

Subject:  Rick Fredericksen's Feature Story about AFVN News Censorship

Nice story--I can hear his voice now.  Great line!  Say, did you see your picture (at least I think it is you) on the scrapbook page Jim created using my photos on the history page?

Rick

    From:  Ray Profetta

     Date:  October 9, 2013

Subject:  Rick Fredericksen's Feature Story about AFVN News Censorship

Yes I did.  I was looking at the page Jim put on the web site and what a surprise to see a picture of myself!  I emailed Jim to ID the picture with my name.

Ray Profetta (SP5)

AVFN Saigon

June 68 - July 69

    From:  Jordon St. John

     Date:  May 26, 2012 

Subject:  Network Name

There was a similar bombing in late '69, blew out windows, old studio camera's bounced half-a-foot.  Joe DiMaggio was doing an In-Town interview.  Everyone hit the deck but him.  He just kept on talking.  I was running camera at the time.

Jordan

    From:  Jack Holsomback

     Date:  May 24, 2012

Subject:  Network Name

Dickie, Are you sure of the bomb location? That looks like the new station, not the Brink Location.

Jack H

Celebrities in Vietnam

May 2012 through October 2013

Starts with a reference to the car bombing of the Saigon Studios in early 1968.

Joe DiMaggio

Sebastian Cabot

Miss American USO Tour 1970

George Jessel

Skip Young

List of Bob Hope Shows in Vietnam - 1965 to 1972

Woody Hayes (Ohio State Buckeyes) and Bill Hess (Ohio University Bobcats)

Charlton Heston

AFVN Group Conversations

    From:  Paul Kasper

     Date:  October 10, 2013

Subject:  Celebrity Guests in Vietnam on AFVN

Roy Acuff (Grand Ole Opry USO Show)

Philip Ahn (Korean actor who always played in the WW-II Movies)

Susan Anton (Miss California & Miss America USO Show)

Gene Autry

Ed Bagley, Senior

Ernie Banks

Joey Bishop

Sue Blue (actress)

Pat Boone

James Brown (singer)

Les Brown

Ambassador Bunker

Raymond Burr

Sebastian Cabot

Vickie Carr

The Cascades

Jan Clayton (of Lassie fame)

Anne B. Davis

Sammy Davis Jr

Bob Denver (Gilligan)

Jackie DeShannon

Bing Devine (Cardinals GM)

Little Jimmy Dickens

Joe Dimaggio

Pete Duranko (All-American football player at Penn State and pro football player with the Denver Broncos)

Pamela Anne Eldred (Miss America 1970 Miss America USO Show)

Ron Ely

LtCmdr Glenn Ford

The Brothers Four

Bob Gibson (baseball)

Johnny Grant

Mel Gray(sports Fb Star)

Woody Hayes (OSU Football coach)

Dwayne Hickman ("Dobie Gillis")

Tippi Heddren

Charelton Heston

Don Ho

Bob Hope

Vice President Hubert Humphrey

Ink Spots

Shelia James (Zelda Gilroy, of "...Dobie Gillis)

Georgie Jessel

Danny Kaye

Jack Kelly

Ann Landers

Walter Lantz & wife

Vicki Lawrence (Carol Burnett Show)

Gypsy Rose Lee

Mary Martin

Diane McBain

McGuire Sisters

Tony Martin

Dandy Don Meredith (baseball)

Gary Merrill (Actor)

Robert Mitchum

Greg Morris (Actor)

Jim Nabors

Chuck Neinas(Big 8 Commisoner)

Wayne Newton

Chris Noel

Mel Pinder, 1968 Olympic Gold Medalist (sprinter)

Pat O'Brian

Susan Oliver (Actress)

Herb Orvis (Univ Of Col)

LTG Palmer

Ike Pappas (CBS news)

Fess Parker (Davy Crockett)

Floyd Patterson (Boxer)

Melody Patterson

George Peppard

Martha Raye

Sabrina Sharf

Tom Salsbury (Musican)

Nancy Sinatra

BGen Jimmy Stewart

John Steinbeck III

John Steinbeck IV

Ron Swoboda

William Tallman (Hamilton Burger) was the L.A.D.A. (Perry Mason show)

Nguyen Van Thieu

Sue Thompson (country singer who sang "Norman")

Opera Singer Tucker

Willie Tyler & Lester (Comedian/Ventriloquist)

Abagale VanBuran (Dear Abby)

John Wayne

General William Westmoreland

USO road company of Hello Dolly (65-66)

George Jessel on stage at MACV in 1969.

[I never saw Skip Young on TV, but I doubt if that is him on the left.  Jim W]

    From:  Frank Rogers

     Date:  October 112, 2013

Subject:  USO Tours

Georgie Jessel, America's Toastmaster General, had a really foul mouth on a tour of Korea even when being interviewed, such as pronouncing Korean town names in a sexual manner.  Say "Nonu Kisoon" rapidly.  The only handshake tourist I met in Vietnam was Skip Young who played Wally, the neighborhood friend of Rickey Nelson on Ozzie & Harriet.   Surprised me as a pleasant conversationalist and listener.  Don't remember him doing anything else in entertainment.

Frank

    From:  Nancy Smoyer

     Date:  October 11, 2013

Subject:  Woody Hayes Loses HisTemper in South Vietnam, Jan 1969

I've been mulling this over.  I don't know Woody's rep and have no opinion about him other than what I read here.  Yes, it was good of him to go to VN then, and yes, he obviously wanted to see as many men as he could, but he does sound more than a little demanding--the kind of person who's used to getting his way, e.g., stay longer at a base camp, go to the ship.  I wonder how those exchanges went.... But to get mad at and challenge your escort officer to a duel because you're thirsty is a bit much.  I wonder how many EM's humping through the jungle challenged their LTs because they were thirsty (probably some), or how many wounded men yelled at their nurse to get them water (probably some!)  Two weeks of "hardship" versus 12-13 months???  Give me a break! On a lighter note related to thirst, here's a story.  It was at the end of the day, and we were doing our game-playing thing at the EM club of one of my favorite units (Radio Research at Cu Chi).  They were drinking.  I was "thirsty."  Donut Dollies are not allowed to drink in uniform, so my buds emptied a coke can and filled it with beer which I sipped from as we played.  It tasted funny but I assumed it was because of the mixed drink, until one of the guys said to me in shock, "you're not drinking that, are you?"  Turns out he thought it was empty and had been putting his cigarette ashes in it. I always got caught (well, almost always) when I broke the  rules.

Nancy

    From:  Mike McNally

     Date:  October 11, 2013

Subject:  Miss America USO Tour 1970

Perhaps some of you got to see the 1970 Miss America USO Tour when they visited South Vietnam.  "The Jackstaff News" for August 26, 1970 (published by the U.S. Naval Support Activity, Saigon) has a couple of pages with info and photos about the tour.

The group was led by Miss America 970, Pamela Eldred, who actually won the title in September 1969.  Here is a link to her

Wiki page.

But the member of the group who is perhaps best remembered is the second runner-up (tie), Susan Anton.  Here's a link to her

Wiki page.

Mike

    From:  Ray Profeta

     Date:  October 9, 2013

Subject:  Rick Fredericksen's Feature Story about AFVN News Censorship

This has nothing to do with news at AFVN, but I remember Sebastian Cabot was in country, he came to the radio station.  We had him record some voice overs and PSA's.  One was, with his great deep voice..."From the sandbag capital of the world."  Then we put a big drum roll under it tagged it with  AFVN Jingle.  I think it got played twice and they made us pull it!

Ray Profeta (SP5)

AFVN Radio, Saigon

June 68 - July 69