In honor of Veterans Day, Asia Hands Society will host its second fireside chat on the Vietnam War to hear about the experience of young officers on the ground. In response the positive feedback we received on last year’s event, this year our panel will address the subject of Regrets and Decision Making under Fire.
Asia Hand Brian Conway, who led a combat platoon with the U.S. Army’s 25th Division, will host a discussion with fellow veterans Rick Clark and Paul Scott on regrets from their deployments near Cu Chi, Vietnam, in 1966 as young officers assigned to the First Battalion of the 27th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division in the U.S. Army. Decision making authority Kathy Pearson, Ph.D., will join the conversation to reflect on these experiences in the context of decision sciences. Please join us for what promises to be a fascinating discussion of what it was like making decisions under fire as young lieutenants in the infantry, artillery, and medical service corps at the opening of the war.
The event has no cost to register. Spouses and guests welcome.
This virtual event will be held on Zoom on Thursday, November 13th at 5:00 p.m. EST / 2:00 p.m. PST.
Click to Register
We recognize that many of our members are veterans and would love to hear additional perspectives following the formal program. We will leave the Zoom connection open after the discussion and Q&A for anyone who would like to share their own experiences during the Vietnam War or other conflicts. We look forward to having you join us!
Our Panel:
Brian Conway was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation from Notre Dame and was assigned to a platoon with the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii. The Division moved to Vietnam in January, 1966, as part of the early buildup of American forces and was assigned to an Area of Operations near Cu Chi, about 30 miles northwest of Saigon. He was in combat and a staff position until October when he completed his active duty obligation and returned to the States. He worked in the private sector for 40 years before joining USAID programs in Afghanistan for 9 years. He is married with three grown children and lives in Sammamish, Washington.
Rick Clark graduated from the University of Wyoming and was commissioned as a second lieutenant through ROTC. He qualified as an airborne ranger and served on active duty for four years, departing the army as a captain. During his tour in Vietnam, he led an infantry platoon of approximately 42 men with the 25th Infantry Division until receiving his second Purple Heart. At that time, he was made the leader of the battalion’s 4.2 mortar platoon. He later oversaw all state funerals in the U.S., including responsibility for the funerals of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. After leaving the army, Rick went to law school and practiced law for 47 years in Scottsdale, AZ, where he lives with his wife.
Paul Scott was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps through ROTC upon graduation from the University of Virginia in 1965. After attending the Medical Field Service School at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, he was assigned as a medical officer in the Medical Platoon in the First Battalion of the 27th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii. The Division moved to Vietnam in January 1966, by troop ship and established its base camp near Cu Chi, northwest of Saigon. He ran the battalion Forward Aid Station of the Medical Platoon in combat until December 23, 1966, when he returned to the States. He attended law school at the University of Richmond on the GI Bill. After graduation, he practiced law in the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia for 44 years, retiring in 2014. He is married with three adult children and lives in Stafford County, Virginia.
Kathy Pearson, Ph.D., is a strategist, Systems Thinking expert, and authority in decision making. President and Founder of Enterprise Learning Solutions, Kathy is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics and has served as an adjunct Associate Professor in the Operations and Information Management Department at The Wharton School, both at the University of Pennsylvania. She has taught and advised mid- to senior level executives and students on topics including Critical Thinking, Strategic Agility, Change Management and Strategic Execution. Kathy’s industrial and consulting experience includes advising senior leadership teams in the areas of strategic formulation, leading under uncertainty, and bridging the gap between strategy and execution. She is the co-author of The Perceptive Leader: A Handbook for Leading in an Environment of Uncertainty. Kathy comes from an Army family and her husband was an infantry officer. Kathy received her B.S. degree in theoretical mathematics from Auburn University, her M.S. degree in Decision Sciences from Georgia State University, and her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering (concentration in statistics) from Northwestern University.