Fort Jackson 1969 Basic Training Yearbook – Company B, 2nd Battalion, 1st Training Brigade with Bau Bang Vietnam Training Feature

Front Cover, Fort Jackson Basic Training Yearbook 1969 Company B, 2nd Battalion, 1st Training Brigade. | GGA Image ID # 16c4ab5a33

📖 Review & Summary – Fort Jackson Basic Training Yearbook 1969, Company B

2nd Battalion, 1st Training Brigade – U.S. Army Basic Training, Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Graduated: 23 May 1969. Total Recruits: 192.

⭐ Introduction

The 1969 Company B yearbook from Fort Jackson reflects the U.S. Army’s high-intensity training at the height of the Vietnam War. With 192 recruits graduating in May 1969, many of these men were on the direct path to Southeast Asia.

Unlike earlier yearbooks, this edition includes an illustrated feature on the Bau Bang hamlet, a mock Vietnamese fortified village constructed at Fort Jackson. Its presence emphasizes how deeply training had become Vietnam-focused, preparing soldiers not only for combat but for the very specific terrain, traps, and tactics of the Viet Cong.

Extras: Illustrated Story of Bau Bang.

Explore the 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Yearbook for Company B, featuring 192 recruits, leadership portraits, and the illustrated Bau Bang training hamlet used to prepare soldiers for Vietnam. A rare Cold War–Vietnam transitional record.

Company B 1969 Organization and Schedule

• Organization: 2nd Battalion, 1st Training Brigade
• Commenced Training: 31 March 1969
• Completed Training: 23 May 1969

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 1 (Rigoberto Albert-Gerald Buck)

1. Rigoberto Albert
2. Dennis Alexy
3. Antonio Ambroselli
4. James Autry
5. Ronnie Bagwell 
6. Robert Bailey
7. Richard Bartel
8. Roger Batten
9. Frederick Bell
10. Richard Bellantoni
11. Francis Bianca
12. Charles Bode
13. Terrence Boggs
14. James Borland
15. Terry Borland
16. Danny Brady
17. David Bright
18. Charles Bruno
19. Gerald Cain
20. Francis Campolong
21. Henry Caputo
22. Robert Carothers
23. Roy Carte
24. Gerald Buck

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 2 (Anthony Cirlin-Arthur Ginsberg)

1. Anthony Cirlin
2. Joseph Colon
3. Sammie Cooper
4. Philip Costanzo
5. Charles Counts
6. Bob Cribb
7. George Dash
8. Fernando De La Cruz
9. Hector Diaz
10. Jerrold Elkins
11. Daniel Eppley
12. E. Fernandez-Perez
13. R. Figueroa-Molina
14. M. Flores-Alvarez
15. Anthony Forcelli
16. Richard Fortenberry
17. Samuel Fourman
18. Thomas Frantz
19. Lydio Fuentes
20. Grover Fuller
21. John Gagliardi
22. Stanley George
23. McArthur Gilliam
24. Arthur Ginsberg

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 3 (George Givargidze-Keith Isner)

1. George Givargidze
2. Epifanio Gonzalez
3. J. Gonzalez-Soto
4. James Gorham 
5. Melvin Grady
6. Larry Green
7. Richard Grove
8. James Grusofski
9. John Haggerty
10. Robert Hall
11. William Hall
12. James Harrington
13. Richard Harter
14. Anthony Hatfield
15. Melvin Hazlett
16. Edgar Hiles
17. William Holcomb
18. Jerry Hopkins
19. Stephen Horgan
20. Calvin Horn
21. William Huff
22. John Humphreys
23. Frederick Imes
24. Keith Isner

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 4 (Larry Jackson-Terry Neff)

1. Larry Jackson
2. Clinton Johnson
3. Robert Jones
4. Romelio Junco
5. Richard Junk
6. Michael Kolesar
7. Frank Kovaleski
8. William Kramer
9. Roger Loy
10. Frankie Lumley
11. William Lyons
12. Barry Martin
13. Wallace McClurg
14. Harry McKune
15. James Meyers
16. John Mizik
17. Dale Moore
18. Joe Mosley
19. Grady Moye
20. Arthur Mullins
21. James Murdock
22. William Myers
23. Richard Neal
24. Terry Neff

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 5 (Herbert Nelson-Walter Riznychok)

1. Herbert Nelson
2. Walter Nelson
3. Douglas Nichols
4. Michael Olivares
5. Gaspar Otero
6. David Paich
7. Manuel Perez
8. Victor Perez
9. Michael Paige
10. Ronald Parrott
11. Warren Zent
12. Fernando Pizarro
13. L. Pascuali-Torres
14. Frank Patterson
15. Edwin Perez
16. Allen Ramirez
17. Ronald Rantovich
18. Ricky Ray
19. Samuel Rhoden
20. Ernesto Rivera
21. Darrell Rice
22. Fred Riggins
23. Axel Rivera
24. Walter Riznychok

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 6 (Sonny Robinson-Reginald Smith)

1. Sonny Robinson
2. Robert Rooks
3. Ramon Rosario
4. Ellis Rorie
5. Carmelo Roman
6. John Rutter
7. Mario Salvini
8. Donald Sandie
9. Epifanio Santiago
10. J. Santos-Rios
11. Stephen Sarich
12. Ronald Saunders
13. Ed Scates
14. David Schleicher
15. Lester Scott
16. Frank Servidio
17. Ulysses Simonds
18. Louis Simonetti
19. Dale Singer
20. Cari Slaten
21. Arthur Smith
22. Donald Smith
23. John Smith
24. Reginald Smith

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 7 (Roy Smith-Frank Wurl)

1. Roy Smith
2. Samuel Smith
3. Tommy Snyder
4. James Sparks
5. Marvin Stroud
6. Walter Stumberger
7. John Teeters
8. David Thompson
9. Stanley Thompson
10. Vincent Trapani
11. Tracy Usry
12. Andres Valentin
13. Reginald Vyphuis
14. Herbert Walton
15. John Watt
16. Terry Weaver
17. Harold Webster
18. Bobby Whitten
19. Roy Wicht
20. Frank Williams
21. Morris Williams
22. Robert Wilson
23. Richard Wood
24. Frank Wurl

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 8 (Barry Young x2 Plus 22 Recruits Missing from Previous Pages [Photos out of order])

1. Barry Young
2. Burl Aye
3. Stephen Carroll
4. Roger Corbin
5. Edward Coleman
6. C. M. Figueroa-Garcia
7. AI Franco
8. Thomas Garner
9. William Garner
10. Luis Hernandez
11. Ronnie Haigier
12. Joseph Koraido
13. Heinz Konrad
14. Paul Kelly
15. Joseph Lopez
16. Tony Lecroy
17. Rickey Long
18. Jeffrey Milligan
19. Gary Parson
20. Peter Rudman
21. Richard Ramsey
22. John Smith
23. Joseph Thorne
24. Barry Young

Note: There are Two Recruits Named Barry Young.

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Leadership, Page 1. Contains Portrait Photos of COL Edward S. Saxby, LTC Leon R. Livingston, CSM Francis Johnson, CSM Jeffery Carter, CPT James W. Matthews. | GGA Image ID # 16c4ac09fe

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Leadership, Page 2. Contains Portrait Photos of 1LT Warren Wynn, 1LT John R. Wilborn, 2LT John L. Sullivan, 1SG Norman Jamison, Jr., SFC Lawrence Nine, SGT David A. Mitchell, SGT Richard Delaney, SGT John Warburton, and SGT Wayne Watson. | GGA Image ID # 16c4bab3cb

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Leadership, Page 3. Contains Portrait Photos of SGT Ruben Santos, SGT Michael Garrone, SGT Henry Walters, SGT William Morgan, CPL Roy Greene, SP4 Edward Kinsey, SFC Ned Wilson, PSG Felix Castro, SP4 Roy Silverfarb, and SGT Thomas Canada. | GGA Image ID # 16c4f9ec3b

🏅 Organization & Leadership

• Brigade Commander: COL Edward S. Saxby
• Battalion Commander: LTC Leon R. Livingston
• Brigade Sergeant Major: CSM Francis Johnson
• Battalion Sergeant Major: CSM Jeffery Carter

Company B Leadership:

• Company Commander – CPT James W. Matthews
• Executive Officer – 1LT Warren Wynn
• First Sergeant – 1SG Norman Jamison, Jr.
• Senior Field Leader – SFC Lawrence Nine
• Training Officers – 1LT John R. Wilborn & 2LT John L. Sullivan
• Drill Sergeants – SGT David A. Mitchell, SGT Richard Delaney, SGT John Warburton, SGT Wayne Watson, SGT Ruben Santos, SGT William Morgan, SGT Michael Garrone, SGT Henry Walters
• Drill Corporals – CPL Roy Greene & SP4 Edward Kinsey
• Mess Steward – SFC Ned Wilson
• Supply Sergeant – PSG Felix Castro
• Company Clerk – SP4 Roy Silverfarb

👉 The leadership team reflects the Army’s professionalized NCO corps—many likely Vietnam veterans themselves—who were charged with molding civilians into combat-ready soldiers in just eight weeks.

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 1 (Rigoberto Albert-Gerald Buck). | GGA Image ID # 16c55871da

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 2 (Anthony Cirlin-Arthur Ginsberg). | GGA Image ID # 16c6750fef

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 3 (George Givargidze-Keith Isner). | GGA Image ID # 16c68ab008

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 4 (Larry Jackson-Terry Neff). | GGA Image ID # 16c6930e25

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 5 (Herbert Nelson-Walter Riznychok). | GGA Image ID # 16c6a44aaa

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 6 (Sonny Robinson-Reginald Smith). | GGA Image ID # 16c6e388e5

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 7 (Roy Smith-Frank Wurl). | GGA Image ID # 16c6ea23ff

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Recruit Photos, Part 8 (Barry Young x2 Plus Burl Aye, Stephen Carroll, Roger Corbin, Edward Coleman, C. M. Figueroa-Garcia, AI Franco, Thomas Garner, William Garner, Luis Hernandez, Ronnie Haigier, Joseph Koraido, Heinz Konrad, Paul Kelly, Joseph Lopez, Tony Lecroy, Rickey Long, Jeffrey Milligan, Gary Parson, Peter Rudman, Richard Ramsey, John Smith, and Joseph Thorne.). | GGA Image ID # 16c719916a

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Featuring Scenes of Bau Bang, Page 12. | GGA Image ID # 16c79e6fa6

The Story of Bau Bang

Bau Bang is a representation of a fortified Vietnamese hamlet with a 400 meter perimeter. Construction on Bau Bang began in March I960 and was completed in September 1966. The purpose of the hamlet is to provide a realistic atmosphere and environment for the training of those personnel on orders for assignment to Vietnam.

The hamlet was built under the supervision of SFC Woodrow Weaver, a former military advisor in Vietnam who actually lived in a hamlet named Bau Bang. The actual construction was accomplished by trainee personnel who had completed their training and were awaiting assignment orders.

The dwellings represent the various types found throughout Vietnam. In the highlands, the Montagnards live in huts built on "stilts" while in the lowlands, the Vietnamese live mostly in grass huts, some with mud walls and others with grass or tin roofs. The yellow and red flag in front of the Headquarters building is a reproduction of the flag of South Vietnam.

The hamlet fortification represents two of those types most popularly employed by the Vietnamese hamlets. In front is the moat with punji stakes and in the rear is a barricade wall of pointed logs placed closely together in an upright position, while at the entrance and in each corner there is a guard tower. Inside the berm, a tunnel connects the entrance tower with a "spider hole" and an underground bunker from which a Soldier can fire but cannot be seen. Within the hamlet itself a fire arrow is employed to direct air support against night assaults.

In each hamlet, at least one haystack and one well are evident, and in many cases the Viet Cong will conceal a tunnel entrance in either or both. In Bau Bang, the haystack covers an entrance to a tunnel complex which is one meter square and approximately 75 meters in total length. The tunnel actually divides and becomes two; one tunnel leads to an exit approximately 50 meters outside the stockade immediately to the left of the haystack. A false tunnel entrance can be found in the hamlet shrine and beyond the rear gate, a trail leads to a wash area located beside a small stream.

A section of the hamlet has been utilized to familiarize trainees and visiting personnel with the various types of booby traps employed by the Viet Cong. In this area you will find a false bottom fox hole with punji stakes, the "horizontal whip," boards with sharpened spikes designed to penetrate the sides of a boot or leg, a 200-pound mace designed to eliminate up to a squad of men, a "Daisy Chain" of grenades, a deadly cross bow or homemade sawed-off shot gun, man traps and traps which fire a round through a man's foot when stepped on.

Reports received by the 3d Training Brigade from those who have completed their training here and are now serving in Vietnam assure us the lessons learned at this hamlet have helped them immeasurably.

Company B 1969 Fort Jackson Basic Training Scenes from Bau Bang, Page 13. | GGA Image ID # 16c7a1dfea

🎖️ Notable Features & Historical Context

The Bau Bang Training Hamlet

Origin: Constructed beginning in 1960, completed in 1966 under supervision of SFC Woodrow Weaver, a veteran advisor in Vietnam.

Purpose: Provide realistic combat training for recruits destined for Vietnam.

Design:

• Perimeter defenses with moats, punji stakes, barricade walls, and guard towers.
• A tunnel system hidden beneath haystacks and shrines, mimicking Viet Cong tactics.

Booby traps: Punji stake pits, horizontal whip traps, spiked boards, daisy-chain grenades, hidden crossbows, and false tunnels.

Training Value: Returning soldiers from Vietnam reported that lessons from Bau Bang had “helped them immeasurably” in avoiding traps and understanding local village fortifications.

This inclusion sets the 1969 yearbook apart from earlier ones—it was directly preparing recruits for combat in Vietnam, not just generic Army life.

📸 Noteworthy Images

Front Cover (GGA Image ID #16c4ab5a33): A formal design capturing the seriousness of 1969 training.

Leadership Portraits (Pages 1–3, Image IDs #16c4ac09fe, #16c4bab3cb, #16c4f9ec3b): Featuring company officers, NCOs, and drill sergeants.

Recruit Photos (Pages 4–11, Image IDs #16c55871da through #16c719916a): 192 soldiers documented with names and faces—an invaluable genealogical record.

Bau Bang Hamlet Feature (Pages 12–13, Image IDs #16c79e6fa6 & #16c7a1dfea): Illustrated diagrams and descriptions of the mock hamlet, rare in training yearbooks.

🎓 Relevance for Key Audiences

Teachers & Students – A powerful case study in how U.S. Army training was reshaped during the Vietnam War era, making it an educational resource for Cold War, Vietnam, and military history studies.

Genealogists – Contains 192 names and portraits, essential for tracing service history, particularly for families whose relatives may have gone on to Vietnam service.

Historians & Researchers – Offers rare visual and textual documentation of the Bau Bang training hamlet, connecting Homefront training facilities to battlefield realities in Southeast Asia.

Veterans & Families – Preserves the memory of a company that graduated during one of the most intense years of the Vietnam War.

📘 Key to Ranks

• CPT – Captain (O-3)
• 1LT / 2LT – First & Second Lieutenant (O-2 / O-1)
• 1SG – First Sergeant (E-8)
• SFC – Sergeant First Class (E-7)
• PSG – Platoon Sergeant (E-7)
• SP4 – Specialist Fourth Class (E-4)
• CSM – Command Sergeant Major (E-9)

✨ Final Thoughts

The 1969 Company B yearbook stands out as one of the most historically rich Fort Jackson volumes because of its direct Vietnam War connection. With its Bau Bang hamlet section, it not only preserved the names and faces of nearly 200 recruits but also documented the Army’s transformation of training doctrine to mirror the battlefields of Southeast Asia.

For historians, educators, and genealogists, this volume provides a rare combination of personal record and operational history. For families, it remains a testament to the service of those who trained in 1969, many of whom would soon deploy overseas.