CookLife CALL TO ARMS for 1st/5th Artillery Vets

Calling all Veterans who were with HHSB of the 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery, Vietnam, 1967-68-69, Phuoc Vinh, Quan Loi, and Lai Khe, as well as some of you who might have spent time in Dian, the First Infantry Division Headquarters.

HHSB 1st/5th Arty, Quan Loi Boys, is now on facebook. Check it out !!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Viet-Nam-1st-Bn-5th-Arty-1967-1970/14255145911909

We are asking you to leave a message here on this blog or sign in at military.com in the 1st/5th Artillery section of "Unit Homepages".

Repectfully,
Bob Cook


We've been in touch with these people so far:

Ron Artis
Mike Atkinson, OR
Will Bankert, MD
Mike Bazala, NJ
Alan Belz, IA
Aristide (Harry) Borelli, PA
Gary Dorn, IN
Clyde (Doug) Franklin, OH
Andy Halupa, PA
Vince Horn, IL
Fred Johnson, IA
Wayne McKinney, CT
Al McVetty, VT
Kevin Murray, NY
Ken Patria, NH
Tom Pfalzer, CA
Paul Rebholz, NY
Joe Severino, NJ
Richard Zavala, TX


Phil Sebek, unfortunately, passed away in 2000. We are in touch with his widow Martie.
Dave Ziemke also has passed in 1995. We have talked with his widow Sharon, and will stay in touch with her.
We were sorry to hear of Ron Maddalozzo's passing a few years ago. We are staying in touch with his widow Amy.



And here are some of the people we want to hear from:

''Davie" Davis, Sgt. Shadoan (Commo Chief) (maybe KS), Mat Cunningham, Larry Kavanaugh (medic), Bob Stagg (RTT) (maybe NJ), Gary Maynard, First Sgt. Murray Peden (maybe Thailand or CA), George Hoffman (RTT), Joe Sanchez (RTT), Bob Miller (RTT), SFC Ernest Hopson (S-1), SGM John Hall, Lt. Ray Derrick (S-1), Capt. Harvey Losasso (S-4), Charles ("Pete") Caldwell, MSgt. Jim Pyles, Major Meeker (maybe S-2), Major Robert Durham, Phil Shook, Paul Abbott, Jeremy Baskin, Bob Burton, Capt. Stephen Cork, Richard Easler, Ed Novack, Tim Rittmiller, Jerry Dempsey, Calvin Keating, John Simmons, Alfred Womack, Glenn Price.

If your name is on the list, please contact us if you were in-country with the 1st/5th Arty during the time listed above. And even if your name is not on the list, please feel free to contact us.

Let's hear from you !! You can leave a message on military.com, leave a message on this blog, or contact us through: cooks@ns.sympatico.ca
Good Luck and Welcome Home, Everyone !!

CookLife in Support of Interesting Websites

Here are a few links to Websites which you may find of interest:

Please feel free to leave comments on any of the CookLife locations.

http://www.americanthinker.com/

http://www.military.com/ [Web resource for all aspects of military living: includes military news, pay and benefits, education, veteran resources, reunions and locators.]

http://www.honorandremember.org/

http://PatriotPost.US/main/media.asp

http://nationalrepublicantrust.com/

CookLife Supporting Our Troops

After being drafted in 1967 into the U.S. Army, I took Basic Training (see photo at left) for 8 weeks at Fort Jackson, SC, as well as 7 weeks of radio school/morse code there. This was followed by 12 weeks of teletype training at Fort Gordon, GA, 10 days' leave (including travel time), and then off to Vietnam for a year and 2 weeks. For much of my tour, I was based out of Quan Loi, about 70 miles northwest of Saigon. Click here to view what it looked like back then: Quan Loi
Quan Loi, Vietnam (Latitude: 20° 13' 60 N, Longitude: 106° 24' 0 E).
Click here at Quan Loi for an even more detailed view. (More photos to will be added soon.)
Here's a blast from the past.....Christmas in Quan Loi, 1967: Cook and Hoffman at the 1st of the 5th Arty, HHSB.

As a proud Vietnam Veteran and ardent supporter of ALL our troops, I will have postings here which will lead to other locations. Please Support Our Troops !! Here is one example: American Veterans Institute

Here is a link titled: Until Then. It's a very moving tribute to our men and women in combat, and it has some great photographs accompanied by the hymn Until Then, sung by the Brigham Young Choir. (Please be sure to turn up your computer volume.)

Here is a link to Stolen Valor - one of the best books on Vietnam !!

In an attempt to locate members of the 1st Battalion 5th Field Artillery (1st/5th Arty - Alexander Hamilton's Cannoneers)(Phuoc Vinh, Quan Loi, and Lai Khe, Vietnam), we are calling on anyone who served during this time, 1967-68-69, to contact us via this blog or go to military.com and sign in. This is mainly geared to those people who served in HHSB, but any others are welcome to respond. This is our 40th Anniversay or thereabouts, and we have been lucky enough to hook up with a few veterans. We will look forward to hearing from all of you !! Feel free to Post a Comment on this blog (be sure to leave your contact information) or you can also make contact through our e-mail: cooks@ns.sympatico.ca

CookLife and Chasing Danforth

CHASING DANFORTH: A Wilderness Calling
By Robert W. Cook

Notice of Publication. Released in June of 2005.

Just published in June of 2005, CHASING DANFORTH is a new book which details the life of Maine’s famous guide and outdoorsman.

The overall theme is a biography of John Danforth, born in Bristol, NH, who built the first and famous sports lodge at Parmachenee Lake (near Rangeley) in Maine. Danforth constructed Camp Caribou on Treat’s Island in the 1870’s, and by 1890, he had established a network of over 16 camps in the greater Parmachenee area of western Maine. In 1892, he relocated to Florida with his J. S. Danforth, a 125-foot stern-wheel paddle boat which became the first floating hotel in Stuart, Florida. In 1902, he relocated once again to Dixie, Idaho, where he had 34 gold mining claims. At age 65, he died in Juneau, Alaska, in 1913.

CHASING DANFORTH is a well-researched book containing 176 pages, 118 classic illustrations (which includes maps, sketches, photos, etc.), an Index, a 12-page Bibliography, and 422 Endnotes. There are maps done by a professional cartographer, which detail many items never before seen in print. It also has many other items which will appeal to a wider audience, including those interested in the outdoors, as well as fishermen, hunters, trappers, and explorers. Printed in 8 1/2 " by 11" format, the book is available in both hardbound and softcover, and was printed by Franklin Printing in Farmington, Maine.


Chasing Danforth: A Wilderness Calling.
Book is still currently available at these shops:


http://www.snowsource.com/ (on line)


Visit or contact these shops:
** Books, Lines & Thinkers, PO Box 971, Rangeley, ME 04970
207-864-4355 blt@rangeley.org
** Ecopelagicon, 7 Pond St., Rangeley, ME 04970
207-864-2771 ecostore@ime.net
** L.L. Cote, Errol, NH 03579
800-287-7700 kevin@llcote.com


** Twice-Sold Tales 155 Main Street, Farmington, ME 04938
207-778-4411


And click here for the expanded version of the Bibliography (coming soon).

CookLife at the Woodpile

2010: We gathered wood right up until November 11th. Had a tremendous amount of help from Mary and Arthur !! Can't thank them enough.....

2010 Bob and Arthur












2010 Bob and Arthur











2010 Mary and Arthur

2008 Was another good year for hardwood.

2007 was a good year for wood ! After my knee surgery, we found out we had lots of friends and that was a blesssing !!

CookLife in Hockey

John and Colin.....the goalies.... Father and Son play against each other in Inverness, March, 2011 !!

Trent Campbell, Ali MacLean, Jesse MacLean, and Chris Angione at the Civic Center in Port Hawkesbury, NS, fall of 2005. "Cape Breton Crush" put on an exhibition game.

Here are some shots of "the boys" at the 2006, Atom B Provincials in Bedford, NS.

Click here for more Hockey.

CookLife at Lake Ainslie

Sunset at Lake Ainslie looking northwesterly from our home on the hill.

Lake Ainslie has been our home since the mid-'70's. I purchased this property in '72 and then had the good fortune to meet Florence in '74. There will be more photos of our home and property with wonderful views overlooking the lake in a link we will create later.

The Lake Ainslie home on the hill.

Continue to next page for Ship Modeling, Parmachenee, etc. (Click on "Older Posts".)

CookLife with Ship Modeling

My mentor and good friend Bob Lightley teaching me his framing techniques.
Cook's workshop, Cape Breton, 1988.









Here's a link that will take you to a few photos of the Bonhomme Richard. We'll have more on this posting as time goes along. This was my largest project to date (5,000 hours). It is now the property of the Naval Academy (Museum) at Annapolis. It's a thrill and an honor to have it housed there. If you would like further details on its construction, etc., please drop me a note and I can send you a brief write-up: cooks@ns.sympatico.ca

Click here for Bob Lightley's HMS Endeavour. Bob Lightley has been my mentor and good friend for many years. We have always enjoyed it when Bob and Jean have come to visit and work with us at Lake Ainslie !!

It is with a heavy heart that we must report of Jean Lightley's passing on Friday morning, the 4th of December, 2009. She was a good friend, and it was a great privilege to have known her. Florence joins me in sending our condolences to Bob Lightley and his whole family.

It is with great sadness tht I report the passing of my long-time mentor and wonderful friend Bob Lightley. Bob passed away on August 9, 2011, after a year of ill health. His son Michael has been wonderful about staying in touch from Cape Town, South Africa. Bob was a life-long resident of Cape Town along with his wife Jean who passed away in 2009. He traveled extensively in regard to his ship modeling and made friends in many corners of the world.
The National Maritime Museum in Greenich, England, recognized Bob as the leading ship model builder in the world, and certainly Bob was the world leader when in came to ship model carving.

Florence joins me in extending our sincerest condolences to the whole Lightley family.

We will miss his wonderful stories, his easy manner, and most of all his everlasting friendship.

Rest in peace, My Friend !!

Be sure to see our CookLife at Parmachenee posts.

CookLife at Parmachenee

Parmachenee......The Hatchery. Just getting started on the excavation of the lower pool. Larry Littlehale.

Sammie Spaulding. Neil Campbell. 2004.

[Click on the picture(s)

for larger views.]

Dillon and Megan

save the Arc !!

Bill Cruikshank and Bob Cook in Cabin # 2.

Second Post on CookLife

Now that the blog has been set up (thanks to our old friend Kevin Pammett), we will try to negotiate this whole blog scene and see if we can get some worthwhile information on here (along with some photos) of Bob and Florence and the rest of the families. This may take some time, as I have to go through the "learning curve" as to the loading of photos. However, once we get started, there may be no stopping us !!

We want to get all sorts of things on here so that everyone can share the experiences that we've had with so many different people over the years. And once we get some older photos scanned, we'll get them on here too.

If you have anything at all you want to share, either written or photographic, or BOTH, send in your stuff, and we'll find a way to get it on here.
Should be an interesing experience !!

Regards,

Bob and Florence Cook

First Message.....TEST

First message.....a TEST...and thanks to Kevin Pammett !!