Two members of the Air Academy Chapter shared write ups on their experience supporting TAPS Advocacy Week on Capitol Hill. Their voices shed light on the realities that surviving Families carry every day and remind us that advocacy does not end when the event concludes.

Ashley Gardner, USAF Reserve Veteran from Colorado Springs, wrote about joining survivors and fellow advocates for two full days of meetings across the House and Senate. She shared how listening to the stories of surviving spouses changed the way she views legislative work and how meaningful it was to support survivors as they spoke about the challenges they face. Ashley also highlighted Service Members who traveled with the chapter and left inspired to continue advocating for others.

MSG Johnson, Active Duty Service Member and new member of the Air Academy Chapter, wrote about the responsibility he felt walking alongside surviving spouses and speaking on behalf of Families who no longer have a voice. He shared that the experience was deeply personal and reinforced that caring for surviving Families is a responsibility that continues long after leaving the uniformed ranks.

Ashley and MSG Johnson’s accounts reflect an important truth. TAPS Advocacy Week may take place once a year, but survivors live with their loss every day. Their needs do not wait for the next event, and their stories must continue to be shared. NCOA is proud of the Air Academy Chapter for showing up, listening, and carrying this work forward with compassion and purpose.

If you are interested in volunteering with the NCOA Legislative Resolution Team and helping shape the future for enlisted Service Members, Veterans, and their Families, join the team that stands up for those who serve. Whether you are Active Duty, Retired, or a Veteran, your voice can influence real policy on pay, benefits, and accountability.

Send an email to [email protected] and add “Legislative Resolution Team Volunteer” in the subject line.

NCOA Breast Cancer Awareness Air Fresheners
Greetings NCOA members! We are smack dab in the middle of October already. Not only is October the beginning of the Holiday Season, but this month is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Many of us have experienced breast cancer and/or absolutely know and love someone who has.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, the NCOA has a fundraiser to support the “Bettsy Ross Education Fund.” Each year 8 one-time grants in the amount of $500 are awarded to Auxiliary members. Upon selection NCOA will forward a check on behalf of the applicant to the school of their choice.

The Spirit of Sacramento Auxiliary Chapter provided the seed money to create an air freshener using the pink breast cancer awareness symbol with our Auxiliary Logo imprinted. We are asking for a $5.00 donation for each freshener.  All proceeds will go to support the Bettsy Ross Education Fund. The fresheners have a nice, clean soap smell. The Spirit of Sacramento Chapter will provide these to any chapters participating and ask for the cost to ship them be included with your donation.

Please contact Tammy Sullivan, [email protected] with your order.

We are pleased to announce the 2024 Outstanding Chapters of the Year, selected from our Regional Chapters of the Year for their outstanding contributions to the NCOA mission. Their hard work and dedication have made a real difference in the Veteran community, supporting important programs, raising funds, and ensuring the voices of Enlisted Service Members continue to be heard.

The NCOA is excited to invite all members to the NCOA Member Engagement Roundtable on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at 6:00 PM CST. This virtual event, hosted via Zoom, is designed to bring together NCOA members, chapter leaders, and key representatives from across the country for an important conversation about the future of our Association and our shared mission.

As we work to strengthen our voice and increase our impact on behalf of Enlisted Service Members, Veterans, and their families, this roundtable will be a key opportunity to engage directly with NCOA leadership, learn about current initiatives, and discuss how we can all contribute to NCOA's continued growth and success.

Why Should You Attend?
This meeting is open to all members, but we strongly encourage Chapter Leaders and Representatives to participate. You’ll get a firsthand update on NCOA’s strategic goals, including membership recruitment, the Medallion Program, upcoming conferences, and more.

Agenda Highlights
- Pledge of Allegiance, Prayer, and NCOA Creed
- Welcome and Remarks from NCOA Leadership
- Headquarters Update: An overview of the latest initiatives
- Membership, Conference, and Medallion Program Updates
- Open Session: An opportunity for members to share their ideas and feedback
- Closing Remarks

This event will provide a collaborative space for members to engage with NCOA leadership, voice their thoughts, and be a part of shaping the direction of the Association. We value your insights and look forward to making real progress together.

How to Participate: Click here to join! And make sure to mark your calendars for July 10, 2025, at 6:00 PM CST!
​
Link to Zoom:  https://zoom.us/join
Meeting ID:  939 2423 0483
Passcode:  421119

​Rogue Chapter member Dave Burnette assisted by Trustee David Haines presented Vietnam Medallions to Crystal Beachler on behalf of her father, Army veteran Walter Ray Helgedalen and her uncle, Marine veteran Kent Nelson. ​

NCOA Board Member Sir Ted Pilihos, PGK, member of the NCOA Fort Sam Houston Chapter, recently presented the NCOA Vietnam Medallion to Dr. Jesse Moss, Jr.  Dr. Moss served in combat as an Army Infantry Officer in Vietnam before he began his medical career.  He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel and is, in Sir Ted's opinion, "one of the best ENT doctors in San Antonio."

The newest member of the NCOA Huntsville Chapter, 1SG (Ret) John Audaine, Auburn High School Army JROTC Instructor, recently presented the NCOA JROTC award to Cadet 1SG Blake Adams.

1SG (Ret) John Audaine, Army JROTC instructor at Auburn High School and NCOA member, presented the NCOA JROTC Award to Cadet 1SG Blake Adams during a recent awards presentation at Auburn High School.

Rogue Chapter members stayed busy presenting NCOA Medallions as attested by the presentation photos below.

Additionally, while on a vacation cruise, Rogue Chapter Chairman Terry Haines presented World War II Medallions to a family member of Navy veteran Russell James and Army veteran Charles Middleton. He also presented Korea and Vietnam Medallions to Navy veteran Lewis Fierke. Finally, he presented Vietnam Medallions to Army veterans Dewayne Rancourt and Robert Tell, Air Force veterans Vince Mee, Jan Tolson, Va Xiong, Paul Eckert, Tom Pettit, Joe Ealazzolo, and Gaylon Arisman. Pictures from the presentations on the cruise were unavailable due to the size of the crowd and the time constraints placed on our gathering by the cruise line.

With 50 people in attendance, Cpl. Robert “Bob” Jack Calvillo was honored with the Non Commissioned Officers Association (NCOA) Korean War Medallion presented by NCOA Central Valley Chapter Chairman CMSgt Jim Sullivan, USAF (Ret) at Carlton Senior Living Orangevale.
Additionally, the offices of Rep. Kevin  Kiley CA-3, Assemblyman Josh Hoover AD-7 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of California gave special certificates of recognition to Cpl. Calvillo – who belongs to Folsom VFW Post 6604 – acknowledging his heroic sacrifices serving in the Korean War and unfortunate subsequent capture as a Prisoner of War. Special guests in attendance included Senior Vice Commander of the VFW Department of California SFC David Kuta (Ret), Placerville VFW Camerado Post 10165 Commander US Army CSM Lenny McAdams (Ret) and VFW Auxiliary Post 6604 Chaplain Kelle Hernandez.
Calvillo, the second of eight children, was born Aug. 21, 1929, in Oakland. He joined the US Army in 1948 for a three-year enlistment. In August 1950, he boarded a troop ship to Korean. Once in country, he was attached to IX Corps, 2nd Infantry Division Field Artillery, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, Bravo Co., as a Private First-Class field cook. Calvillo found himself on the main battle lines in North Korea.
On an extremely humid, blustery cold Korean Peninsula Day, in the early hours of Dec. 1, 1950, performing his job as a field cook and not knowing of his future plight or US Army Forces predicament in the coming hours, Cavillo and his company band of brothers were behind enemy lines. By mid to late afternoon, they were suddenly overrun by North Korean and Chinese soldiers, with and without weapons, as he remembers, swarming down like a crashing wave from the mountains.
Calvillo found a rifle in hands during the chaos. He encountered a Chinese soldier in a foxhole and remembers vividly the moment when he stared at this “scared, young kid.” As his finger was squeezing the trigger, he released the pressure just below the 4½ pounds needed for the firing pin to hit the cartridge releasing the full metal jacket, only to let the enemy go. He could not shoot an unarmed enemy combatant. Afterward, “I hid in the bushes with another soldier close by to two lifeless bodies of North Korean soldiers. I was thinking they were going to shoot us when they caught me. Blame us for killing them,” Bob said.
The overwhelming numbers of the enemy were too much for US forces to repel and subsequently the soldiers were quickly surrounded by the North Korean and Chinese armies. Calvillo was captured in the early evening hours at the Battle of the Ch’ongch’on River, becoming one of many Prisoners of War. According to Robert, “When they surrounded us and captured me, I thought it was the end. I thought they would kill us. After the enemy came marching down and surrounded us, all I had was a field shirt, trench coat, boots and scarf. I lost my steel helmet. They took us captive, marching us north.”
They now led the demoralized American Battalion deeper into North Korea on a long, cold trek, village to village, house to house, shack to shack, finally to where they were only sleeping under a canopy of stars. En route north, Calvillo saw a mass enemy Army march in large groups past him heading south toward entrenched US forces with the captives not knowing their fate. The Chinese and North Koreans were advancing against the US Army and pushing the battle lines further back with the Americans in fast retreat. However, Robert’s predicament would only worsen the longer he stayed alive.
Calvillo remarked on his overall feeling of his time as a POW, “It was terrible. terrible. The North Koreans were mean.” He remembered while on his journey north, “I went outside this house they had us in to (urinate). I was forced by a North Korean back into the house or they’d shoot me. If you didn’t do what they say, the North Koreans will shoot you. Sheltering outside, sleeping under the frigid cold blanket of the Korean winter was terrible.”
One of Calvillo’s most horrible memories described in few words, “One guy I knew tried to escape running up a hill after (our) capture and (the North Koreans) just shot him without saying anything. He was a nice guy.”
They left the unknown soldier for his family to never truly know his fate. This memory reel still plays over and over in his mind, Bob said. He and the US Army prisoners were marched further north toward the Yal-Lu River during the coldest part of winter, without winter gear, arriving at the border between North Korea and China. The American POWs ended up in “Prison Camp 5,” where he was kept for more than two years under atrocious living conditions and severe inclement weather. The prison camp was manned by Chinese guards, where they separated the officers from the enlisted with other separate groups.
Although the Chinese captors were much better hosts than the North Koreans, Calvillo recalled, “Two guys escaped from the Chinese camp and were never seen again. The Chinese told us if you get captured by the North Koreans, we can’t be responsible for what they do.” The Chinese captors from time to time would tell them they were being set free, only to suffer under the false pretenses of hope being mentally tortured.
“We didn’t have shelter. When it snowed, me and two other prisoners would cover ourselves with a mattress to try to keep warm. That was the only warmth not to die,” he said. By this time, Robert only had his field coat during his time as a prisoner lucky to have boot wear. American POWs were not supplied anything extra since their capture. Said Calvillo, “Once a day, they fed us, (and) all they gave us (was) simple things and rice. Fed usually mid morning with a cup of rice. Most times, the meal of the day was known as ‘soupy soup.’ ”
At times, the wardens would force Robert into a 35-gallon barrel for at least 30 minutes at a time to be unusually cruel. He said he would tell his captors he couldn’t fit into the barrel. It was made clear if he did not fit himself into the barrel, he would be killed, so he made himself fit into the barrel and sealed up in the unimaginable limited space no human should endure. The physical torture, combined with constant spiritual degradation, mixed with emotional turmoil, coupled with mental abuse, his captors again and again would toy with their American prisoners, telling them they would be released soon, giving them false hope as the months and years dragged on.
There were many times he faced serious health conditions that could have cost him his life, as well as having the hardship of losing many of his friends, but Bob, as he is known by close family and friends, kept with his faith, determined to live.
In the spring of 1953, after two years in a POW prison camp, PFC Calvillo was abruptly taken on an unknown journey. Robert thinks back to his release, saying, “They had all of us load up into their trucks. They drove miles and miles through the forests. I thought they’re going to shoot us, they had guns. When they would stop for a break, (they would be) surrounding us, I thought, ‘This is the end.”
The day came for his repatriation. Operation Big and Little Switch were in full operational swing repatriating Americans and UN members. Bob was transported to Freedom Village for his complete repatriation, where he received medical treatment, food, shower and fresh uniform. He then boarded a ship back to America with other troops and prisoners. Calvillo described his release into American custody as a lackluster affair.
After returning home, Cpl. Robert Calvillo soon separated from the Army, later attending the Academy of Art College. He met his wife, Carmine, at Kay Jewelers, where he worked in the display department. He owned a couple of businesses with his two younger brothers. He is a humble, talented artist and enjoys sketching and listening to big band music. He still enjoys spending time with his wife of 62 years, with his only child, Melissa, and son-in-law Greg Deal being actively involved in his life.
Robert Calvillo is a hero, having endured more than most soldiers being a captive of the enemy. Surviving against the odds of captivity, lack of clothing, food and shelter, and the basic necessities of survival, he made it back alive but forever scarred. He showed true stoicism during the interviews, sharing with me his horrible memories from more than 70 years ago as a Prisoner of War. Robert suffers from Post Traumatic Stress, at times, staring into the distance with quiet intensity as he told his horrible experiences, unable to hide back his emotions no matter how hard he tried to be in the present moment.
In September 2018, the Pentagon finally awarded Bob his long-deserved medals. His nephew, Corporal David Penaflor, presented Bob with five military medals, including the National Defense Service, Korean Service, United Nations, Prisoner of War, and Service medals (Korea).
Excerpts of interviews with Bob Calvillo were also contributed by David to place Bob’s story into the halls of perpetuity.

Article by S. Moncalieri, Gold Country Media. (Feb 26, 2025)
​Photo Credit: Courtesy

The NCOA Rogue Chapter hit the ground running in 2025 presenting NCOA Medallions at a number of events.

Lady Vicky Hensley and SGM (Ret) Joseph Terry presented more than 70 NCOA War Medallions at the 38th Annual TET Reunion on Saturday, February 1, 2025,  in Abilene, Texas. The TET Reunion, originally established to commemorate the historic TET Offensive of the Vietnam War, has evolved into a celebration of all U.S. Veterans, regardless of branch or conflict. It’s a time for camaraderie, reflection, and appreciation, where Service Members from every generation can connect over shared experiences.

On January 31, 1968, the TET Offensive marked a significant moment in the Vietnam War. More than 70,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched a large-scale attack on over 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam. Named after the Vietnamese New Year, known as “TET”, this event changed the course of the war and remains a defining moment in military history.

Whether you served in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other era, this event reunites all fellow Veterans and honors the sacrifices they made for our country.

A special thank you to Vicky Hensley, White Line Systems, and the Abilene Grunts Association for sponsoring the 70+ War Medallions. If you would like more information on our War Medallions, or would like to present one to a Veteran you know, visit the NCOA Medallion Program at: ncoausa.org/medallion-and-challenge-coin

The NCOA Korea Chapter at Camp Humphreys recently participated in a number of events during December in support of several charities to include the Ain Orphanage, the Nazarene Hospital and a bowling event with the severely abused boys shelter. 

Rogue Chapter Chairman Terry Haines assisted by trustee David Haines presented a Korean Medallion to Air Force veteran Darrel Crain.
 
They also presented Vietnam Medallions to Army veteran Dennis Eubanks and Navy veteran Ken Earl.  All presentations took place at a veteran's breakfast in Medford, OR. 

On Monday, December 30, NCOA Board Member Sir Ted Pilihos presented 7 Vietnam Medallions to family and friends of Vietnam Veterans.  

Rogue Chapter Chairman Terry Haines assisted by Trustee & Treasurer David Haines and member, Chaplain Norman Morgan, presented NCOA Vietnam War Medallions to Air Force veteran Carolyn Whitney, Army National Guard veteran Frank Helgeson, Army veterans Ben Stoner, Damiano Cusumano, John Trusty and Larry Hanlon, Marine veteran Dan Hayes and Navy veterans Russ Beem and Skip Welles. The presentations took place at the monthly veteran's breakfast in Grants Pass, OR. As a result of these presentations, we recruited 8 new members, 5 of which had received Medallions.