This website was begun in 1999 by Terry Bender, an Infantryman who
served with the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry in Vietnam in 1967-1968. 
With Terry at it's center, the site quickly became a gathering place for Veterans
seeking  to reconnect with long ago memories and friends with whom they shared
a common bond.  People from all over the world began to submit important
historical photos and documents pertaining to this proud Regiment.  Families of
our fallen brothers were able to use this site to learn the details and circumstance
of their loved one's passing.  Other families have used the factual and historic
material on this site to add important pieces to their personal family histories.

When Terry died unexpectedly in December, 2003 the flow of communication
stopped, and the site fell dormant.  Several veterans and Terry’s family members
came together out of concern that what had become a valuable historical resource
might be lost.  It was agreed that the veterans of the 14th Infantry Regiment
would assume ownership of the website and support its perpetuation.

This has proved difficult for 2 reasaons... one, we've lacked the technical abilities
needed to keep the site active and growing, and two, we have not yet formed an
actual, functioning veteran's organization.

The magnetism of the site seems to have provided it's own solution to the first
of these problems, in that a volunteer, Candace Miesse, was drawn to it while
researching her grandfather's service with the 14th.  She has taken on the
formidable task of the restructure and maintenence of the site.  We are
sincerely thankful for her expertise and enthusiasm for this project. 

We hope you will enjoy the new format of the site and find it easy to navigate.
 I will serve as the point of contact and hope that old-time contacts with Terry
will check in and let me know how we're doing.

No one can take Terry's place as the center of this site, but together we
can ensure that his work be saved, that the history of the Golden Dragons
in Vietnam be recorded and preserved, and that the site again become the
center for communication between people that Terry meant it to be..

The next natural step for us, I believe, is to form a 14th Infantry Regiment
Association, to keep the history and presence of the Golden Dragons alive
and accessible.  It’s becoming more critical that we do this soon as none
of us is getting any younger.  To succeed, this organization will need some
of you to do something that you were cautioned never to do in your
military service...  step forward and volunteer!
How about it?  Give me a shout at
 Tom@1-14th.com