NDQSAAir Defense Artillery service during the Vietnam War
NDQSA
There are a lot of pictures taken at every reunion. Allan Penwell has taken it upon himself to turn some of the best into short videos. We will keep working on collecting photos from as many past reunions as we can to add to this archived collection.
NDQSA held its 42nd annual reunion in San Antonio, Texas, June 4-8, 2025. Over 120 attended the event, counting family and friends. Thursday’s trip was to the Nimitz Museum of the Pacific in Fredericksburg, Texas. The master of ceremony at the banquet was VP Rick Liebendorfer. Saint Barbara medals were presented to Phil Hosey, Sam Hopkins, Earl (Tex) Holt, Pete Cheney and Noel Brown. Molly Pitcher awards were received by Lynne Cheney, Lanh Hemphill, and Terri Holt. Guest speakers talked about Quad 50’s in Vietnam and included Jackie Carver, Bob Lauver, and Barney Barnes, a United States Marine friend who described the importance of the support they received from the Quads and the Dusters during the 1968 Tet offensive and the battle for Hue. There were 57 members at the annual business meeting.
NDQSA held its 41st annual reunion in Washington, DC, November 8-12, 2024. The “Operation Welcome Home” reunion attendees participated in the Annual Veterans Day Observance at the Wall on 11 November. This year’s theme was the 40th anniversary of the “Three Servicemen”” statue and the 20th anniversary of the “In Memory” plaque. For our trip we visited the new National Museum of the United States Army, at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. We may be older and slower but we still take a great picture. After the Sunday night banquet, dancing was to 1960’s music with The Hubcaps.
NDQSA held its 40th annual reunion in Cleveland, Ohio, June 28 – July 2, 2023. It is with real pride that the National Dusters, Quads & Searchlights Association, Inc. is the oldest Vietnam veterans service organization in America. Our trip this year was to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. John Huelsenbeck cut the 40th Anniversary cake that was generously supplied by Jackie Carver and Mary Severin. We also got a new reunion welcome sign, thanks to Peg and Allan Penwell. It has been a good year.
NDQSA held its 39th annual reunion in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, July 5-10, 2022. On the evening of 7 July NDQSA members joined air defense soldiers from Fort Sill for an evening of baseball and camaraderie between these your and old soldiers. Vince Tedesco threw out the opening pitch. There is a video preserving that in his website heritage scrapbook. The next day we traveled by bus to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for a ceremony at the Vietnam Air Defense Artillery Memorial. We also visited and toured the new Air Defense Artillery Training Support Facility. They have done a good job with the Duster display in the museum area. The banquet was enjoyable and dancing to the Tim Man Band, our all time favorite band, was a treat.
The NDQSA 2019 reunion was held in the great southern city of Mobile, AL. It was short bus drive to Pensacola where we toured the Naval Air Museum. Our memorial service was held on the U.S.S. Alabama. On banquet night, Four Chaplains award were presented. One afternoon a group of Steve Belt’s friends met to honor him with a memorial service. For the slides and more please see his scrapbook. The best part of the reunion was just gathering in our hospitality room with wives and friends to celebrate our heritage and meet new friends.
The 2015 NDQSA Reunion was held in Colorado Spring. Events include a Cog Train ride to Pike’s Peak, Fort Carson Museum, memorial ceremony at the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall while it was set up at Fort Carson, banquet, and auction. Can’t forget the fun at the hospitality room.
NDQSA held its 30th annual reunion in Washington DC, May 24-29, 2014. The “Operation DC” reunion was our best attended reunion, and it was filled with memorable events. All enjoyed visiting the historical sites on The Mall, including the WWII Memorial, the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Arlington, and the Lincoln Memorial. On Memorial Day, May 26, 2014, buses were loaded, and there was a service at The Wall in the morning, and the crowd cheered us as we walked in the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. The following day was a visit to the National Museum of the Marine Corps, and in the afternoon, we reminisced and climbed on our Vietnam-era weapons at the Tank Farm in Nokesville, Virginia. The member meeting and banquet finished a long weekend for our NDQSA veterans, wives, and family members.
NDQSA held its 31st annual reunion in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, August 7-11, 2013. The highlight of the week was the dedication of the Vietnam Air Defense Artillery Memorial at Fort Sill, Oklahoma on August 9, 2013. NDQSA’s project “Operation Eagle” raised over $70,000 to create this enduring tribute to all Air Defense Artillery soldiers who served in the Vietnam War. The newsletter story about the dedication is reproduced in the preserving our heritage section of the website home page. This reunion was the largest gathering to date with 150 members and their families because so many had played some part in Operation Eagle. Thanks specifically to Luke Clark, Vince Tedesco, and Dave McCray for their organizational efforts and direct labor.
This video is a collection of some of the other reunions until enough photos have been collected to make their own reunion video. It includes: 2010 Savannah, Georgia; 2011 Boston, Massachusetts; 2015 Colorado Springs, Colorado; 2017 Albuquerque, New Mexico; and 2021 Norfolk, Virginia.
description content section: contains reunion location. dates it was held and some information high points of the reunion
aim for four to five lines
below left will be a local area photo of some generally known or significant feature of the area
below right will be the link to the appropriate YouTube video archived in the official YouTube channel of the National Dusters, Quads & Searchlights, Inc.
Dusters, Quads & SLTs, Association https// youtubr.com/@NDQSA
