Finding Bill Newvine

For the past decade, I’ve been on a journey to learn more about my uncle Bill Newvine.  (Bill Newvine is on the far right in the picture above.) Bill died in 1968 at the age of twenty-three, just seven months after returning from service for the US Army in the Vietnam War.  He was killed in a car accident.  I was eleven years old.

In the years immediately following his death, our family mourned the loss.  My grandparents never got over it.  Billy was the youngest of four children and was born twelve years after my dad.  My grandparents visited his grave every day, excluding the time when they would vacation in Florida. 

 For years, the biography of Billy Newvine was told in one sentence:  my dad’s younger brother, served in Vietnam, and died seven months after returning from the service.

 For years, it concerned me that Billy’s life (everyone in the family called him Billy) was so short and his legacy reduced to just fifteen words:  served in Vietnam, died in a car accident seven months after returning from the service.

 In 2000, I began a journey to find out more about Billy.  It started with a chance search of his name on Google.  I found a photograph of Billy taken from his time in Vietnam.  The source of that photograph was a website for the unit he served during his tour of duty.  That site led me to an email of a soldier who served alongside my uncle.

 That soldier sent me a couple of photographs of Bill (his adult friends in the military dropped the “Y” from his name) including the one I first found in my web search.  He also sent a letter with some reflections on Bill the soldier and friend.

 I detailed some of those reflections in my first book:  Growing Up, Upstate in 2006.  I’m now writing a sequel and am revisiting some of the stories I told in the first book. 

 This revisiting of my years growing up in a small upstate New York village has led me back to the website where I first found that image of Bill.  I’m now in contact with three soldiers who knew and served with Bill in Vietnam.  I’m learning more about Bill’s tour of duty, the kind of man he was, and the kind of friend he was. 

 The unit’s company clerk knew my uncle and would occasionally have Bill join him for visits to the Enlisted Men’s Club.  Another soldier told a story of how he went out for several beers with Bill the night before they reported to the induction center. 

They entered the same unit in basic training, and remained friends throughout their time in the service and afterwards.  Bill had asked him to be in his wedding party once his hitch was up.  Bill died before that wedding could even be planned.

 Another soldier knew who Bill was, but was in headquarters during the tour of duty and did not serve alongside my uncle. 

This man is helping me connect with other soldiers in the unit.  He organizes a newsletter for the unit and remains in close contact with dozens of soldiers who served in what we now know was the one of the most intense periods during the Vietnam war.

 I’m learning more about this unit and their bravery under fire.  In what is referred to in the organization’s newsletter as the Battle of Suoi, Bill's company came to the rescue of a firebase that was close to being overrun by the enemy on March 21, 1967. 

That date was one day before my tenth birthday.

 The group was given the Presidential Unit Citation.   The only one other time that unit received this very prestigious award was at the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. As one of the officers in that group described the honor, “Not bad company.”

 I’m learning more every day as I check my email, follow up on new links, and have dialogues with the men who served with my uncle Bill in Vietnam.  It has been a labor of love and it is by no means over. 

 Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

Will Californians Have a Voice in 2012

All I’m really hoping for in this presidential campaign season is that Republicans will have a real choice by the time Califonria’s primary comes around.

In 2008, the GOP crowned John McCain with the big prize before Republicans had a chance to participate in the California primary.  There’s reason to believe the frontrunner may have it wrapped up this time around too.  That would be a shame.

Many registered voters declare a party when they register so that they can participate in the primary process.  With the race being wrapped up before the campaign gets to the Golden State, it’s easy to lose interest. 

The State legislature voted to lump the California Primary into the regular June election cycle.  That saves money, and in a time where every dollar is important to the state’s bottom line, you can understand why the legislature made that decision.

We’ll see what the next few weeks bring.  For now, it’s a long shot that California will play a major role in the selection of the next Republican presidential candidate.

In the meantime, I found a fascinating polling tool to help undecideds determine which candidate best fits one’s feelings on issues that are making up this year’s race for the presidency.

A friend sent me a link to the USA Today website where a presidential preference measuring tool is available.  The web visitor answers eleven questions asking where the user stands on such issues as immigration, national defense, taxes, and energy. 

It then links the responses to the actual stands of the current slate of Republican candidates, as well as President Obama.  The tool then tells the visitor the candidate who most closely stands for the positions entered.  It also gives a second and third choice.

You can use the tool by following this link:  http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/candidate-match-game

I took the test over the weekend and was surprised by the results.  According to the tool, my top choice for President is John Huntsman.  Surprised?  I was.  But I wasn’t nearly as surprised by my number one computer choice as I was by number two.

The candidate for President who ranks second in my preference tool according to the USA Today site is none other than Barrack Obama. 

This is pretty remarkable given I didn’t vote for the President four years ago and have no intention of voting for him this time around.  In fact, I’ve never voted for the Democratic presidential candidate since I first voted for Gerald Ford in 1976.

I have voted for some Democrats over the years.  When I lived in upstate New York, I voted for Mario Cuomo in 1990.  The Governor was running against businessman Pierre Rinfret.  I had met Mr. Rinfret when he stopped by the television newroom I was working in for an interview. 

Seeing him off camera before and after the interview was enough to convince me that the incumbent Cuomo deserved my vote.

In California, I’ve voted for Congressman Cardoza the last two times.  Frankly, I’ll miss his leadership on Valley issues.  I’m sorry to see his seat lost to redistricting.

The USA Today poll, more than anything else, shows that in my case no candidate is a perfect fit.  But that’s all right with me. 

The primary season is the time to sort out the issues that are important to us.  It’s a time to critically evaluate how the candidates will deliver on the promises they make, how they will respond under pressure, and whether they have what it takes to be a leader.

By the way, if you’re wonder was my number three choice according to the USA Today preference tool, it was Mitt Romney.

Let’s hope Republicans get a chance to have their voices heard in June.

 Steve Newvine lives in Merced.