NDQSAAir Defense Artillery service during the Vietnam War
NDQSA
Members of NDQSA and their wives traveled to Fort Sill to place a wreath on Memorial Day, May 26, 2025, just as they have done for years to honor and remember those who died in service to the nation. This granite monument stone is part of the NDQSA Memorial and is engraved with the names of those ADA soldiers who died in Vietnam. NDQSA has made provisions for memorializing them in perpetuity by laying a wreath at the memorial every year, even after we are long gone, so these men are not forgotten. This monument is within Centennial Park at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and is a lasting reminder of the courage, dedication and sacrifice of those 212 Duster, Quad, Searchlight, and Hawk men who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation and our freedoms in Vietnam from 1965-1972.
Picture Left: Back row – Luke Clark, Pat McLaughlin, Dave McCray, David Vaillancour and Richard Russell. Front Row – Mary McLaughlin, Donna Clark, and Vickie McCray.
Picture Right: Mary McLaughlin, Retired First Sergeant Kacey Kaymer 4/60th ADA, Donna Clark, and Vickie McCray with the Memorial Wreath.
Annual Veterans Day Observation
at the Wall
November 11, 2025
Annual Veterans Day Observance
NDQSA Memorial Fort Sill, Oklahoma
November 11, 2025
NDQSA Veterans Day observations happened in two locations this year. In the top right picture, standing behind the granite panel engraved with the names of the fallen, we have Luke Clark, David Vaillancour, and Richard Russell. In the row behind them are Rick Liebendorfer, Dave McCray, Eddy McCann, and Pat McLaughlin. Our thanks to them for making this happen. Somewhere off camera are some very supportive wives, so a special thanks to them too. The membership is reminded that part of the purpose of the Memorial Trust is to insure that a wreath is laid every year in perpetuity. The Trust also protects and preserves the rest of the NDQSA memorial to include the eagle and its base, pictured bottom right.
On the left side top we have the members who traveled to Washington, DC for the national Veterans Day Observation at the Wall. This year’s ceremony by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund was at risk because of the government shutdown, and approval was last minute. Left to right are Bob Cuce, Barry Willever, Paul Peters, Ray Villanueva, and Bruce Geiger. The NDQSA wreath is the red, white, and blue on the left. Bruce Geiger also gets permission for a Khe Sahn Veterans Association wreath. He and Ray Villanueva carried that wreath to the Wall for presentation honors. The guest speakers were Tom Burke, the Vietnam Veterans of America National President, and Betsy Tanner speaking for the American Red Cross “Donut Dollies.” This was the first year VVA was a keynote speaker. The full speeches of Tom and Betsy can be heard at the link in blue at the bottom of this section.
Your webmasters are probably holding the best for last. Because VVMF was faced with their approval challenge, when it finally came through they chose to ask Bruce Geiger to lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. Bruce has been working with them for many years and they trusted him with this great honor. We made a video clip of that part of the ceremony, and it is now preserved on the NDQSA YouTube channel. The link to that is in red.
In the bottom left picture our wreath honors party is joined by Becky Gorby, who came to the event looking for her boys in red jackets, and your photographer/author Richard Burmood.
During the past year we established a YouTube channel for our reunion videos and are linking to them through our website page: https://ndqsa.com/news/ndqsa-reunion-videos/
We are very proud of the Mitchell Stout pages. They reflect the most comprehensive internet based collection of information focused on one single Medal of Honor recipient that we know of: https://ndqsa.com/sgt-stout-khe-gio-bridge/ and https://ndqsa.com/sgt-stout-honor-and-remember/
Your webmasters have invested many hours helping members tell their stories. Adapting to technology is no longer just posting a printed heritage story written 20 years ago, even though they are great. Bruce Geiger’s story about Khe Sanh will always stand the test of time. https://ndqsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Khe-Sanh-Article_bg24.pdf
We now make short slide-show scrapbook videos when all we have is pictures like we did for Bernard Boimann, HQ/4/60 Camp Radcliff 1971. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70e-oQ22rUM
John Mowatt’s 53-page scrapbook took two years to complete. https://ndqsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Mowatt-Scrapbook_Lf2_250917webpub.pdf
That is also about how long it took to finish Vince Tedesco’s scrapbook. https://ndqsa.com/vincent-tedesco-scrapbook/
The secretary’s corner of the NDQSA website is committed to keeping members informed about the business of the association and the board activities that manage those functions.
The NDQSA Board of Directors meet several times a year, usually via telephone conference calls. Official minutes of these proceedings are maintained by the secretary IAW the bylaws. These Members Reports capture and condense the most relevant information. In the past this only happened in the newsletters but sometimes there have been space limitations. The website affords another opportunity to keep the NDQSA membership informed about the business of the association. Hover over highlighted “Members-Report” to access the linked document.
The NDQSA bylaws dictate that the annual meeting of the membership of the Association shall be held at least once each calendar year at a time and place designated by the board of directors. The minutes from those annual business meetings are posted here for all NDQSA members to review. Hover over highlighted “minutes meeting” to access the linked document.
The 2025 NDQSA annual business meeting was held on Saturday, June 7, 2025, at the Holiday Inn Riverwalk Hotel, San Antonio, Texas.
Annual Business Meeting Minutes 2024
The 2024 NDQSA annual business meeting was held on Sunday, November 10, 2024 at the Hilton Arlington National Landing Hotel, Arlington, Virginia.
Annual Business Meeting Minutes 2023
The 2023 NDQSA annual business meeting was held on Saturday July 1, 2023 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Cleveland Rockside, Independence, Ohio.