September 2026 News!
Table of Contents |
|---|
A Short Note from the Association President
3rd Brigade News
COL Eli Bernhein Jr
Return to Vietnam
2027 Reunions
2027 Elections
Dates in Rakkasan History
In Memory
Chapter News
Fundraiser Update
Contact Us
A Short Note from the Association President |
My fellow Rakkasans:
September is well underway, bringing with it the return of football, the promise of fall, and a season of change for the Rakkasan Association. The holidays will be here before we know it, and 2027 is already beginning to take shape on the horizon. I am excited about what lies ahead for the Association and look forward to sharing important updates and progress reports over the next several months.
We recently revised the Membership page on our website to better explain membership types and classes, as well as to highlight the items included in membership packets. While there is still work to do to enhance the overall membership experience, we have made meaningful progress. We are also continuing to strengthen the “Dates in Rakkasan History” section of our newsletters by highlighting historical events from the regiment’s founding through more modern deployments and milestones. We encourage members to get involved by submitting stories and photos connected to their Rakkasan experiences. These efforts will carry forward into everything we do as an Association.
The Board of Directors continues to meet regularly to discuss priorities, organizational matters, a Rakkasan Store, and planning for the 2027 Reunion. Please stay tuned as we continue moving forward together.
I also want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Rakkasan Association Vice President and Torii Chapter President Frank Peterson, along with the Torii Chapter, for sponsoring a wonderful July picnic in conjunction with Rakkasan Fight Night. The photos captured the excitement, fellowship, and enthusiasm of the event. Congratulations to all who participated, and especially to the winners of each fight.
As July came to a close, we lost one of our true heroes, Fred Forsyth. Fred was among our few remaining Korean War-era veterans, and his passing reminds us that life is precious and that the bonds we share should never be taken for granted. Rest in peace, Rakkasan, until we assemble again. In August, we also received news that several of our Desert Shield and Desert Storm Rakkasans had passed. In their memory, I encourage each of you to take a moment to reach out: call a buddy, email an Army compatriot, or spend time with a Rakkasan friend. A simple message can mean more than we know.
In recent years during our annual reunion, we have proudly awarded scholarships to young students. At the 2026 reunion, we granted five scholarships, each worth $2000.00. This initiative is one of the most significant ways we support the next generation, and ongoing financial contributions are essential to maintain its strength. Please visit the Scholarship Page on Association's website to find out how you can contribute and support this vital effort.
LVNF
Bob
3rd Brigade News |
Rakkasans in Action: Forging Collective Lethality in August
In August, the Brigade conducted intensive, multi-echelon Situational Training Exercises (STX) designed to sharpen our tactical proficiency and maintain peak combat readiness. Our units executed rigorous Company STX, Platoon STX, and Squad STX, systematically building collective lethality up to synchronized, collective maneuvering. These exercises tested our leaders and Soldiers in highly realistic, demanding scenarios. We reinforced our fundamentals, communication protocols, and unit cohesion. Every squad and platoon proved their ability to coordinate movement, firepower, and execute complex mission objectives under pressure.
Simultaneously, our 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment (White Currahee) successfully conducted a comprehensive Battalion Air Assault operation. This complex, highly synchronized tactical exercise showcased our Division’s hallmark air assault capabilities, rapidly projecting combat power and validating our collective readiness for vertical envelopment in any operational environment. The coordination of aviation assets and the precise insertion and tactical maneuvering of infantry elements on the ground by Currahee Soldiers set an exceptionally high standard across the entire Brigade.
Looking Ahead: Building Individual Mastery through EIB and RECONDO
As we transition into September, our operational focus shifts from collective maneuvers to individual mastery, specialized tactical skills, and physical endurance. The Brigade will dedicate this upcoming month to Expert Badge (E3B) training and rigorous RECONDO training. The EIB is a true hallmark of infantry excellence, challenging our Soldiers’ physical stamina, land navigation abilities, weapon systems mastery, and medical proficiency through a series of grueling tests. It represents the absolute standard of tactical excellence, and we expect our Soldiers to rise to the occasion and earn this prestigious badge.
Running concurrently with our EIB preparation is RECONDO training—a rigorous, focused block of instruction designed specifically to enhance individual combat skills and critical tactical tasks. RECONDO will challenge our Soldiers both physically and mentally, honing their survival capabilities, advanced land navigation, scouting, and marksmanship to forge elite, self-reliant combatants. By reinforcing these core individual capabilities, we ensure that every Rakkasan possesses the foundational expertise, confidence, and lethality required to dominate on any modern battlefield.
Let Valor Not Fail!
COL Ryan Bell
RAK6
COL Eli Bernheim Jr |
Four years ago, Beau Brumfield, one of our board members, got a call from an unknown number, which he didn’t answer. The voicemail from a guy named Joe Coschignano was concerning the estate of Col. Eli Bernheim. Col. Bernheim had recently passed away with no next of kin and had left the Rakkasan Association $60,000. Beau lived close to the executor (who was Col. Bernheim’s neighbor), so they arranged a meet-up. Joe gave Beau all of the Colonel's shadow boxes and memorabilia.
The Colonel was with 2/187 in the Philippines and was awarded the Silver Star for valor as the BN S-4. He was resupplying the foxholes during a Japanese attack in a jeep under fire. At one point, the jeep was actually on fire! Col. Bernheim went on to serve in Korea and Vietnam. He was known to some of our Korean War vets but had stopped attending reunions by the time the current Association board/leadership was in place.
When Beau went to the lawyer managing the estate's office to get the check, he was surprised that he was given Col. Bernheim’s remains, quite the odd situation! That was 4 years ago, and there has been lots of frustrating coordination between the Association and Arlington Cemetery to get the Colonel interred. Imagine calling out of the blue to get someone into Arlington whom you never met? The Colonel has spent the last 4 years on Beau’s living room pool table under a Tori (see pic below). Unconfirmed rumors are that the Colonel was even present at a reunion or two!
Rakkasans take care of Rakkasans. Your association is here for you. You may consider leaving something to the association when you depart this earth, even if that something is just pictures or memorabilia from your time in service. Anything your next of kin doesn’t want may be something we would love to display. Col Bernheim’s shadow boxes and swag are prominently displayed in 1/187th’s conference room. His memory lives on through both the association and the active component.
It’s been said that a soldier dies twice. Once when his heart stops beating and again when his name is spoken for the last time. Col Bernheim is still with us.
We have the premier regimental association in the United States Army. Help us keep it that way!
COL Bernheim's ceremony and internment at Arlington Cemetery is scheduled for December 17, 2026 at 11:00 AM. There will be Rakkasan Board representatives present. If you are in the area and able to attend, please let us know.
Return to Vietnam |
Rakkasan Association Board of Directors member, COL (Ret) Martin Jeremy Bowling, along with Executive Secretary Theresa Scheets, recently visited Vietnam with a group of ten veterans (and family members) from the 3/187th who served in combat in 1968. Jeremy Bowling, who co-founded The Longest Climb Foundation, the non-profit organization that sponsored the trip, has now taken veterans and their families back to Vietnam for the third time. His inaugural trip occurred in 2019 when, as the 3/187th Commander, he accompanied the Hamburger Hill veterans back to Hill 937, marking the fiftieth anniversary of the battle.
Theresa Scheets is the daughter of COL George Scheets (deceased), who commanded the 3/187th from July 1968 to January 1969 and is the founder of The Steel Thread Project. The ten veterans who participated in the journey all served under COL Scheets (then LTC).
The group managed to visit five significant battle sites from September and early October of 1968, where fifty-nine Rakkasan lives were lost. During each site visit, we listened to the stories of the soldiers who lived through the battles.
Additional activities included a visit to Phuoc Vinh (a village adjacent to the 1968 3rd Brigade Basecamp, which sat north of Saigon), the Song Be Bridge, the US Consulate General, a meeting with members of the Ho Chi Minh Veterans Association and a visit to Peace Village.
2027 Reunions |
The 2027 National Rakkasan Association Reunion is in the works!
The 2027 reunion will be held in June of 2027. The exact dates and preliminary details are being finalized. Once we have these items worked out, we will let you know.
In the meantime, check out the photo galleries from the 2026 National Rakkasan Association Reunion held this past May.
A bit of reunion history - the first 187th Regimental Combat Team Association Reunion was held at the Maxwell House in Nashville, TN in July of 1982. There were several hundred Rakkasans, family members and friends in attendance.
101st Airborne Division Association
Florida Gulf Coast Chapter
Snowbird Reunion
If you can't wait until June of 2027, the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the 101st Airborne Division Association will be holding their Annual Snowbird Reunion from January 13th to 16th, 2027, in Tampa, Florida. There is a good chance that a few Rakkasans will be in attendance.
Keep an eye on the Snowbird plans through the 101st Airborne Division Association website.
2027 Board Elections |
The 2027 Rakkasan Association Board elections process begins November 2026!
Nomination & Declaration Phase – November 1, 2026 to November 30, 2026.
Election Phase – January 1, 2027 to January 31, 2027.
Positions open in the 2027 election process are:
President
Treasurer
Board Position 5
Board Position 6
Board Position 7
Printable and online Nomination and Declaration forms will be made available in October of 2026. For more details, please check out the Elections Page on our website.
Dates in Rakkasan History |
September 1950
On September 6th and 7th of 1950, the main body of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team left San Francisco Bay on the USNS Heintzelman and the USNA Anderson. Their initial destination was Japan. The 187th advance party had left the US earlier in September, flying into Japan where they set up a temporary command post at Camp Wood. A few days after the main body arrived, the 187th RCT moved to Kimpo Airfield in Korea, followed by a landing at the Inchon beachhead where it joined the fight against the North Korean forces.
"On 22 September, the 187th Airborne began arriving at the Inchon Beachhead area after landing at Kimpo Airfield from Japan. The 3rd Bn. 187th went into battle quickly. With elements of the 5th Marines and 7th Infantry Division attacking west from the Kimpo Peninsula, the 187th swung directly north attacking up the Kimpo Peninsula between the Han River and the Yellow Sea. Intelligence estimated that enemy strength on the peninsula was over 3,000 NKPA troops of the 31st, 32nd and 33rd Battalions of the 107th Security Regiment". Quote from page 47 of "The Rakkasans, 187th - The Steel Berets", by Fred Waterhouse.
Through the end of September, the 187th continued the fight to clear the Kimpo Peninsula. On September 29 1950 the South Korean government returned to Seoul and by early October of 1950 the Rakkasans transitioned into a short period of training and preparation for their next combat operation.
Although the 187th suffered one paratrooper killed in early September while in Japan, their first killed in combat action in Korea occurred during their push north along the Kimpo Peninsula.
September 1968
On September 5, 1968, Alpha Company, Delta Company and one platoon of Charlie Company of the 3/187th were inserted as a blocking force in an eight-company cordon around a village in which a large number of VC/NVA soldiers were believed to be located. In the early morning hours of September 6, 1968, the Alpha Company positions were overrun. The following day, the 3/187th conducted a series of Eagle Flights in search of the enemy forces, resulting in additional battles on the 7th and into the early morning hours of the 8th. These actions resulted in the loss of forty-one Rakkasans killed in action, but September 1968 wasn't over. By the end of September, a total of fifty soldiers from the 3/187th paid the ultimate price during combat operations in Hau Nghia and Tay Ninh Provinces. Their actions contributed to the award of the Presidential Unit Citation to the Regiment.
September 1990
In early September of 1990, the advance party and shortly thereafter, the main body of the 3rd Brigade flew to Dhahran International Airport in Saudi Arabia, followed by a move north to the King Fahd International Airport where the 101st Airborne Division established Camp Eagle II… better known as Tent City.
“After arriving in Dharan, the Rakkasans along with other units of the 101st moved north about 40 miles and established Camp Eagle II. This would become a huge tent city for the Air Assault Troops. The camp was located inside King Fahd International Airport complex, parts of which were still under construction. The mission for the Rakkasan Brigade at Camp Eagle II was to acclimate the soldiers to the desert, link-up with equipment, and plan for follow-on defensive operations." Quote from page 150 of “The Rakkasans, 187th - The Steel Berets”, by Fred Waterhouse.
OIF 07-09
In September of 2007, 3rd Brigade Combat Team began deployment to Iraq following "The Surge" or build-up in US troop presence. The first stop for many was Camp Buehring, Kuwait before movement into southwest and southern Baghdad, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, including the Mahmudiyah/Triangle of Death area.
OEF 10-11
On September 21, 2010, elements of the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment repelled an attach on Combat Outpost Spera in Kwohst Province, Afghanistan.
"Both remotely piloted aircraft and strategically placed surveillance cameras identified the insurgent forces preparing to open fire with a mixture of small arms and rocket propelled grenades. Using information gained from these sensors, soldiers from Task Force War returned fire to suppress the enemy forces."
2012
In September of 2012, the Rakkasan began deployment to Afghanistan assuming responsibility for Khost, Paktia and eastern Paktika provinces.
In Memory |
James "Jim" Kenneth Snow
1970 - 2026
James "Jim" Kenneth Snow passed away on August 31, 2026 at the age of 56. Jim served with Alpha Company, 3/187th during Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
Lee Lamont Farris
1966 - 2026
Lee Lamont Farris passed away August 14, 2026. Lee served with Charlie Company, 1/187th during Desert Shield/Desert Storm and was Life Member of the Rakkasan Association.
Chapter News |
Torrii Chapter
Based out of Clarksville, TN but accepts members from other areas.
President: Frank Peterson
Vice President: Louie Lee
Treasurer: CSM (Ret) Chuck Judd
Secretary: Sheila Patton
For information on the Chapter please email toriichapter@outlook.com.
Buckeye Chapter
Based out of Delaware, Ohio. Meets at the VFW Reed Miller Post #3297.
President: Scott Hutmire
Treasurer: Hunter Everett
For information on the Chapter please email michael_smith672@yahoo.com
Hamburger Hill Chapter
President: Bob Harkins
Vice President: Charlie Ricord
Secretary: Greg West
Treasurer: Mike Smith
Meets annually during the Hamburger Hill Chapter Reunion.
Fundraiser |
3/187th Memorial Stone Fundraiser
Vietnam 1968-1971
We are 100% funded!!
Progress: Thanks to everyone's generous support, the 3/187th's Memorial Stone is fully funded. Latest news is that the stone is being cut and prepared. Next step will be the proof with the names of the KIAs listed.
We will keep everyone posted regarding progress. Thank you again!
contact us/contribute |
Monthly E-Newsletters
If you have news or events that you would like to feature in future e-newsletters, please reach out to us. We welcome submissions of short stories about your experiences with the Rakkasans, information on important dates in Rakkasan history, the significance of staying connected, or other topics pertinent to the Rakkasan legacy, both past and present.
Photos & Memorabilia
If you have photos, memorabilia - either your own or a family member (father, grandfather, uncle, etc.) - that you would like to share with the Rakkasan Association, please reach out to us.
until next time - let valor not fail |
Comments