VVA Chapter 1069 started the "Member Bio and Photo Album Booklet" project in 2014. The purpose of this project is to help promote more camaraderie within the Chapter membership and to provide a way for all members to learn more about each other, specifically information related to each member's military time and/or tour in Vietnam. The intial presentation and viewing of the Album took place at our Chapter's October monthly meeting, and was greeted with much enthusiasm and approval by the membership.
The basic idea behing this project is to collect an abbreviated military and Vietnam War tour biography (Bio info form) of each member, which includes a current photo and past military photo, and several (1-6) Military and/or Vietnam tour photos. The complete Bio would therefore consist of 2 pages total, the 1st page containing (1) a current photo/image of the member, (2) a set of questionnaire fields containing the basic Bio information, and (3) a final user-filled paragraph of some Vietnam commentary/story (would be optional). The 2nd page would consist of 1-6 military and/or Vietnam tour photos. If a member has some additional special photos and/or special commentary, then addtional pages will surely be allowed. Also, of those in our membership who are retired military, we will allow additional Bio pages including photos and a page solely dedicated to the time-line showing the member's complete military history.
We currently have completed the Bio and Photo pages for several of our chapter members. Although voluntary, we are encouraging all members to participate in this project. Every family should have an album of this kind, and there's no doubt about it, VVA Chapter 1069 is a family! We hope that many of you will either send your Bio information sheet and photos to Bob Supak via email, OR, start bringing your Bio info sheet and photos to our future chapter meetings, and give the material to Bob.
The above photo shows the nifty 3-ring binder that we purchased for storing the members Bio and Photo pages. This is a large 3" ring binder and we wanted it to be something special. It has a carrying handle and shoulder strap. It will be brought to every chapter meeting and event, such as our chapter stand downs & parties, and available for viewing by all members and their spouses.
The above photo shows the inside of the binder with cover sheet. There's also storage on the left side for extra Bio forms and other album related material. Following the cover sheet, are the individual member's Bio & Photo pages.
The above photo shows the individual Bio & Photo booklets, that each member will receive, when he/she is inducted into the Chapter Album. Again, this booklet contains only the member's personal Bio & Photo pages, which the member will be able to take home with him/her.
The chapter's Bio & Photo Album'Booklet project is coming along very well. By the end of the year, I hope to have a total of 15-20 chapter members in the Album. As we add more members to the Album, it seems to be a more popular item for viewing at every meeting. If you have not yet turned in your Bio information & photos to me, please consider doing it before our next meeting on December 10, which will actually be our annual Christmas party. I would love to be able to say at the upcoming 2014 Christmas party that we have 10 more members added into the Album. The following is the current status of the Bio & Photo Album.
Chapter member, Dwight Winkler, is the newest member to be included into our chapter Bio & Photo Album. Members at November's meeting were able to view his Bio & photos. This makes a current total of 8 chapter member's Bio & Photo pages residing in the Album.
Since that last November chapter meeting, I have completed the Bio & Photo pages and personal Bio/Photo booklets for 5 more of our chapter members! They turned in their final Bio information and photos to me at Wednesday's meeting. These 5 additional members will bring the total participation to 13.
For those who I have not yet taken a 'current' photo, if you email me the requested Bio information, plus photos & captions, AND a 'current' photo of yourself, I promise to have your Bio & Photo pages ready for the 2014 Christmas party.
If you would like to participate in this project, please start bringing your filled-out Bio sheet and pictures (if you have any pictures - if not, that's ok) to the next chapter meeting. OR, email me the information & photos.
A link to the blank Bio form can be found at the bottom of this page. You will also find a link to the instructions sheet. Both are PDF documents that you can view or print.
You may also simply answer and email the Bio information shown below, back to me, and I can start working on your Bio page. And remember, all Bio information that you provide, including photos, is optional.
-Member Name (Age Optional):
-Spouse Name:
-Current Residence (Town/State/County):
-Draft/Enlistment Residence (Town/State/County):
-Military Entry Date:
-Military Entry Type (Drafted, Enlisted):
-Branch of Military:
-Basic Training (Fort?):
-Advanced Training (Fort?):
-Total Vietnam Tours:
-Date Arrived in Vietnam:
-Date Left Vietnam (DEROS):
-Where were you in Vietnam:
-Who were you with in Vietnam (Company, Battalion, Division, etc):
-What did you do in Vietnam (MOS, etc):
-Total Years in Military:
-Final Rank:
-Retired From Military? (Yes, No)
-Home Phone (optional):
-Cell Phone (optional):
-Email Address (optional):
-Include any interesting commentary or stories regarding your military time and/or Vietnam tour:
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding this project, please email or call me (Bob Supak).
For those of you that may still be having reservations about participating in this project, let me remind you that the Bio & Photo album is private and will be for viewing by chapter members and spouses only. The album will never leave the Chapter for public viewing at any chapter event. Taking photos of any contents of the album are prohibited and warning pages do reside within the album. The chapter does recognize everyone's privacy concerns regarding their past military experiences and will do everything to maintain that privacy. And actually, there are only 3 main pieces of information that we would really like from each of you (1) WHEN were you in Vietnam? (2) WHERE were you in Vietnam? (3) WHO were you with in Vietnam? So that with these 3 bits of information, it may be possible for two or more chapter members to perhaps determine that they were in the same place and at the same time, and perhaps with the same organization.
Print and fill out the member Bio form (see link below), then bring to next chapter meeting, then give to Bob Supak, along with 1-6 photos of your military and/or Vietnam tour time. Alternate option is to email Bob with the information requested on the form, that you wish to provide. Note that all the bits of the Bio information is optional. If you have photos in digital format (i.e. jpegs, gifs, etc), then you may also email those images/photos to Bob.
Click here to view or print the member Bio form (PDF file)Click on the link below to view or print the instructions for participating in this project.
Click here to view or print the member Bio Participation Instructions (PDF file)