vintage two man hand mud pump made in china

In 1848 Seabury S. Gould purchased an interests in Downs, Mynderse & Co. and the firm became Downs & Co. Wooden pumps were produced in an old cotton factory building. In 1869, the name of the company was changed from Downs & Company to Goulds Manufacturing Company.

Seabury S. Gould, a man of unusual vision, was the founder of Goulds Manufacturing Company. He keenly watched as the first pump casting emerged from its mold of sand. An iron pump, he believed, would overcome all the disadvantages of a wooden pump. It would be strong and efficient and provide fresh flowing water for the pioneers. He ran the company until after the Civil War.

Because Goulds Manufacturing Company had a foundry, they produced all kinds of cast products such as corn shellers, bells, sad irons, sinks, tools, and a line of fire engines.

This Goulds bell, still rings loud and clear 169 years after it was manufactured. The bell sold for $8 and was used in farms, plantations, school houses and factories. It was dedicated at the opening of the new Goulds corporate headquarters on May 13, 1979.

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Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of applications such as pumping water from wells, aquarium filtering, pond filtering and aeration, in the car industry for water-cooling and fuel injection, in the energy industry for pumping oil and natural gas or for operating cooling towers and other components of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. In the medical industry, pumps are used for biochemical processes in developing and manufacturing medicine, and as artificial replacements for body parts, in particular the artificial heart and penile prosthesis.

When a pump contains two or more pump mechanisms with fluid being directed to flow through them in series, it is called a multi-stage pump. Terms such as two-stage or double-stage may be used to specifically describe the number of stages. A pump that does not fit this description is simply a single-stage pump in contrast.

In biology, many different types of chemical and biomechanical pumps have evolved; biomimicry is sometimes used in developing new types of mechanical pumps.

Pumps can be classified by their method of displacement into positive-displacement pumps, impulse pumps, velocity pumps, gravity pumps, steam pumps and valveless pumps. There are three basic types of pumps: positive-displacement, centrifugal and axial-flow pumps. In centrifugal pumps the direction of flow of the fluid changes by ninety degrees as it flows over an impeller, while in axial flow pumps the direction of flow is unchanged.

Some positive-displacement pumps use an expanding cavity on the suction side and a decreasing cavity on the discharge side. Liquid flows into the pump as the cavity on the suction side expands and the liquid flows out of the discharge as the cavity collapses. The volume is constant through each cycle of operation.

Positive-displacement pumps, unlike centrifugal, can theoretically produce the same flow at a given speed (rpm) no matter what the discharge pressure. Thus, positive-displacement pumps are constant flow machines. However, a slight increase in internal leakage as the pressure increases prevents a truly constant flow rate.

A positive-displacement pump must not operate against a closed valve on the discharge side of the pump, because it has no shutoff head like centrifugal pumps. A positive-displacement pump operating against a closed discharge valve continues to produce flow and the pressure in the discharge line increases until the line bursts, the pump is severely damaged, or both.

A relief or safety valve on the discharge side of the positive-displacement pump is therefore necessary. The relief valve can be internal or external. The pump manufacturer normally has the option to supply internal relief or safety valves. The internal valve is usually used only as a safety precaution. An external relief valve in the discharge line, with a return line back to the suction line or supply tank provides increased safety.

Rotary-type positive displacement: internal or external gear pump, screw pump, lobe pump, shuttle block, flexible vane or sliding vane, circumferential piston, flexible impeller, helical twisted roots (e.g. the Wendelkolben pump) or liquid-ring pumps

Drawbacks: The nature of the pump requires very close clearances between the rotating pump and the outer edge, making it rotate at a slow, steady speed. If rotary pumps are operated at high speeds, the fluids cause erosion, which eventually causes enlarged clearances that liquid can pass through, which reduces efficiency.

Hollow disk pumps (also known as eccentric disc pumps or Hollow rotary disc pumps), similar to scroll compressors, these have a cylindrical rotor encased in a circular housing. As the rotor orbits and rotates to some degree, it traps fluid between the rotor and the casing, drawing the fluid through the pump. It is used for highly viscous fluids like petroleum-derived products, and it can also support high pressures of up to 290 psi.

Vibratory pumps or vibration pumps are similar to linear compressors, having the same operating principle. They work by using a spring-loaded piston with an electromagnet connected to AC current through a diode. The spring-loaded piston is the only moving part, and it is placed in the center of the electromagnet. During the positive cycle of the AC current, the diode allows energy to pass through the electromagnet, generating a magnetic field that moves the piston backwards, compressing the spring, and generating suction. During the negative cycle of the AC current, the diode blocks current flow to the electromagnet, letting the spring uncompress, moving the piston forward, and pumping the fluid and generating pressure, like a reciprocating pump. Due to its low cost, it is widely used in inexpensive espresso machines. However, vibratory pumps cannot be operated for more than one minute, as they generate large amounts of heat. Linear compressors do not have this problem, as they can be cooled by the working fluid (which is often a refrigerant).

Reciprocating pumps move the fluid using one or more oscillating pistons, plungers, or membranes (diaphragms), while valves restrict fluid motion to the desired direction. In order for suction to take place, the pump must first pull the plunger in an outward motion to decrease pressure in the chamber. Once the plunger pushes back, it will increase the chamber pressure and the inward pressure of the plunger will then open the discharge valve and release the fluid into the delivery pipe at constant flow rate and increased pressure.

Pumps in this category range from simplex, with one cylinder, to in some cases quad (four) cylinders, or more. Many reciprocating-type pumps are duplex (two) or triplex (three) cylinder. They can be either single-acting with suction during one direction of piston motion and discharge on the other, or double-acting with suction and discharge in both directions. The pumps can be powered manually, by air or steam, or by a belt driven by an engine. This type of pump was used extensively in the 19th century—in the early days of steam propulsion—as boiler feed water pumps. Now reciprocating pumps typically pump highly viscous fluids like concrete and heavy oils, and serve in special applications that demand low flow rates against high resistance. Reciprocating hand pumps were widely used to pump water from wells. Common bicycle pumps and foot pumps for inflation use reciprocating action.

These positive-displacement pumps have an expanding cavity on the suction side and a decreasing cavity on the discharge side. Liquid flows into the pumps as the cavity on the suction side expands and the liquid flows out of the discharge as the cavity collapses. The volume is constant given each cycle of operation and the pump"s volumetric efficiency can be achieved through routine maintenance and inspection of its valves.

This is the simplest form of rotary positive-displacement pumps. It consists of two meshed gears that rotate in a closely fitted casing. The tooth spaces trap fluid and force it around the outer periphery. The fluid does not travel back on the meshed part, because the teeth mesh closely in the center. Gear pumps see wide use in car engine oil pumps and in various hydraulic power packs.

A screw pump is a more complicated type of rotary pump that uses two or three screws with opposing thread — e.g., one screw turns clockwise and the other counterclockwise. The screws are mounted on parallel shafts that have gears that mesh so the shafts turn together and everything stays in place. The screws turn on the shafts and drive fluid through the pump. As with other forms of rotary pumps, the clearance between moving parts and the pump"s casing is minimal.

Widely used for pumping difficult materials, such as sewage sludge contaminated with large particles, a progressing cavity pump consists of a helical rotor, about ten times as long as its width. This can be visualized as a central core of diameter x with, typically, a curved spiral wound around of thickness half x, though in reality it is manufactured in a single casting. This shaft fits inside a heavy-duty rubber sleeve, of wall thickness also typically x. As the shaft rotates, the rotor gradually forces fluid up the rubber sleeve. Such pumps can develop very high pressure at low volumes.

Named after the Roots brothers who invented it, this lobe pump displaces the fluid trapped between two long helical rotors, each fitted into the other when perpendicular at 90°, rotating inside a triangular shaped sealing line configuration, both at the point of suction and at the point of discharge. This design produces a continuous flow with equal volume and no vortex. It can work at low pulsation rates, and offers gentle performance that some applications require.

A peristaltic pump is a type of positive-displacement pump. It contains fluid within a flexible tube fitted inside a circular pump casing (though linear peristaltic pumps have been made). A number of rollers, shoes, or wipers attached to a rotor compresses the flexible tube. As the rotor turns, the part of the tube under compression closes (or occludes), forcing the fluid through the tube. Additionally, when the tube opens to its natural state after the passing of the cam it draws (restitution) fluid into the pump. This process is called peristalsis and is used in many biological systems such as the gastrointestinal tract.

Efficiency and common problems: With only one cylinder in plunger pumps, the fluid flow varies between maximum flow when the plunger moves through the middle positions, and zero flow when the plunger is at the end positions. A lot of energy is wasted when the fluid is accelerated in the piping system. Vibration and

Triplex plunger pumps use three plungers, which reduces the pulsation of single reciprocating plunger pumps. Adding a pulsation dampener on the pump outlet can further smooth the pump ripple, or ripple graph of a pump transducer. The dynamic relationship of the high-pressure fluid and plunger generally requires high-quality plunger seals. Plunger pumps with a larger number of plungers have the benefit of increased flow, or smoother flow without a pulsation damper. The increase in moving parts and crankshaft load is one drawback.

Car washes often use these triplex-style plunger pumps (perhaps without pulsation dampers). In 1968, William Bruggeman reduced the size of the triplex pump and increased the lifespan so that car washes could use equipment with smaller footprints. Durable high-pressure seals, low-pressure seals and oil seals, hardened crankshafts, hardened connecting rods, thick ceramic plungers and heavier duty ball and roller bearings improve reliability in triplex pumps. Triplex pumps now are in a myriad of markets across the world.

Triplex pumps with shorter lifetimes are commonplace to the home user. A person who uses a home pressure washer for 10 hours a year may be satisfied with a pump that lasts 100 hours between rebuilds. Industrial-grade or continuous duty triplex pumps on the other end of the quality spectrum may run for as much as 2,080 hours a year.

The oil and gas drilling industry uses massive semi trailer-transported triplex pumps called mud pumps to pump drilling mud, which cools the drill bit and carries the cuttings back to the surface.

One modern application of positive-displacement pumps is compressed-air-powered double-diaphragm pumps. Run on compressed air, these pumps are intrinsically safe by design, although all manufacturers offer ATEX certified models to comply with industry regulation. These pumps are relatively inexpensive and can perform a wide variety of duties, from pumping water out of bunds to pumping hydrochloric acid from secure storage (dependent on how the pump is manufactured – elastomers / body construction). These double-diaphragm pumps can handle viscous fluids and abrasive materials with a gentle pumping process ideal for transporting shear-sensitive media.

Devised in China as chain pumps over 1000 years ago, these pumps can be made from very simple materials: A rope, a wheel and a pipe are sufficient to make a simple rope pump. Rope pump efficiency has been studied by grassroots organizations and the techniques for making and running them have been continuously improved.

Impulse pumps use pressure created by gas (usually air). In some impulse pumps the gas trapped in the liquid (usually water), is released and accumulated somewhere in the pump, creating a pressure that can push part of the liquid upwards.

Instead of a gas accumulation and releasing cycle, the pressure can be created by burning of hydrocarbons. Such combustion driven pumps directly transmit the impulse from a combustion event through the actuation membrane to the pump fluid. In order to allow this direct transmission, the pump needs to be almost entirely made of an elastomer (e.g. silicone rubber). Hence, the combustion causes the membrane to expand and thereby pumps the fluid out of the adjacent pumping chamber. The first combustion-driven soft pump was developed by ETH Zurich.

It takes in water at relatively low pressure and high flow-rate and outputs water at a higher hydraulic-head and lower flow-rate. The device uses the water hammer effect to develop pressure that lifts a portion of the input water that powers the pump to a point higher than where the water started.

The hydraulic ram is sometimes used in remote areas, where there is both a source of low-head hydropower, and a need for pumping water to a destination higher in elevation than the source. In this situation, the ram is often useful, since it requires no outside source of power other than the kinetic energy of flowing water.

Rotodynamic pumps (or dynamic pumps) are a type of velocity pump in which kinetic energy is added to the fluid by increasing the flow velocity. This increase in energy is converted to a gain in potential energy (pressure) when the velocity is reduced prior to or as the flow exits the pump into the discharge pipe. This conversion of kinetic energy to pressure is explained by the

A practical difference between dynamic and positive-displacement pumps is how they operate under closed valve conditions. Positive-displacement pumps physically displace fluid, so closing a valve downstream of a positive-displacement pump produces a continual pressure build up that can cause mechanical failure of pipeline or pump. Dynamic pumps differ in that they can be safely operated under closed valve conditions (for short periods of time).

Such a pump is also referred to as a centrifugal pump. The fluid enters along the axis or center, is accelerated by the impeller and exits at right angles to the shaft (radially); an example is the centrifugal fan, which is commonly used to implement a vacuum cleaner. Another type of radial-flow pump is a vortex pump. The liquid in them moves in tangential direction around the working wheel. The conversion from the mechanical energy of motor into the potential energy of flow comes by means of multiple whirls, which are excited by the impeller in the working channel of the pump. Generally, a radial-flow pump operates at higher pressures and lower flow rates than an axial- or a mixed-flow pump.

These are also referred to as All fluid pumps. The fluid is pushed outward or inward to move fluid axially. They operate at much lower pressures and higher flow rates than radial-flow (centrifugal) pumps. Axial-flow pumps cannot be run up to speed without special precaution. If at a low flow rate, the total head rise and high torque associated with this pipe would mean that the starting torque would have to become a function of acceleration for the whole mass of liquid in the pipe system. If there is a large amount of fluid in the system, accelerate the pump slowly.

Mixed-flow pumps function as a compromise between radial and axial-flow pumps. The fluid experiences both radial acceleration and lift and exits the impeller somewhere between 0 and 90 degrees from the axial direction. As a consequence mixed-flow pumps operate at higher pressures than axial-flow pumps while delivering higher discharges than radial-flow pumps. The exit angle of the flow dictates the pressure head-discharge characteristic in relation to radial and mixed-flow.

Regenerative turbine pump rotor and housing, 1⁄3 horsepower (0.25 kW). 85 millimetres (3.3 in) diameter impeller rotates counter-clockwise. Left: inlet, right: outlet. .4 millimetres (0.016 in) thick vanes on 4 millimetres (0.16 in) centers

Also known as drag, friction, peripheral, traction, turbulence, or vortex pumps, regenerative turbine pumps are class of rotodynamic pump that operates at high head pressures, typically 4–20 bars (4.1–20.4 kgf/cm2; 58–290 psi).

The pump has an impeller with a number of vanes or paddles which spins in a cavity. The suction port and pressure ports are located at the perimeter of the cavity and are isolated by a barrier called a stripper, which allows only the tip channel (fluid between the blades) to recirculate, and forces any fluid in the side channel (fluid in the cavity outside of the blades) through the pressure port. In a regenerative turbine pump, as fluid spirals repeatedly from a vane into the side channel and back to the next vane, kinetic energy is imparted to the periphery,

As regenerative turbine pumps cannot become vapor locked, they are commonly applied to volatile, hot, or cryogenic fluid transport. However, as tolerances are typically tight, they are vulnerable to solids or particles causing jamming or rapid wear. Efficiency is typically low, and pressure and power consumption typically decrease with flow. Additionally, pumping direction can be reversed by reversing direction of spin.

Steam pumps have been for a long time mainly of historical interest. They include any type of pump powered by a steam engine and also pistonless pumps such as Thomas Savery"s or the Pulsometer steam pump.

Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in low power solar steam pumps for use in smallholder irrigation in developing countries. Previously small steam engines have not been viable because of escalating inefficiencies as vapour engines decrease in size. However the use of modern engineering materials coupled with alternative engine configurations has meant that these types of system are now a cost-effective opportunity.

Valveless pumping assists in fluid transport in various biomedical and engineering systems. In a valveless pumping system, no valves (or physical occlusions) are present to regulate the flow direction. The fluid pumping efficiency of a valveless system, however, is not necessarily lower than that having valves. In fact, many fluid-dynamical systems in nature and engineering more or less rely upon valveless pumping to transport the working fluids therein. For instance, blood circulation in the cardiovascular system is maintained to some extent even when the heart"s valves fail. Meanwhile, the embryonic vertebrate heart begins pumping blood long before the development of discernible chambers and valves. Similar to blood circulation in one direction, bird respiratory systems pump air in one direction in rigid lungs, but without any physiological valve. In microfluidics, valveless impedance pumps have been fabricated, and are expected to be particularly suitable for handling sensitive biofluids. Ink jet printers operating on the piezoelectric transducer principle also use valveless pumping. The pump chamber is emptied through the printing jet due to reduced flow impedance in that direction and refilled by capillary action.

Examining pump repair records and mean time between failures (MTBF) is of great importance to responsible and conscientious pump users. In view of that fact, the preface to the 2006 Pump User"s Handbook alludes to "pump failure" statistics. For the sake of convenience, these failure statistics often are translated into MTBF (in this case, installed life before failure).

In early 2005, Gordon Buck, John Crane Inc.’s chief engineer for field operations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, examined the repair records for a number of refinery and chemical plants to obtain meaningful reliability data for centrifugal pumps. A total of 15 operating plants having nearly 15,000 pumps were included in the survey. The smallest of these plants had about 100 pumps; several plants had over 2000. All facilities were located in the United States. In addition, considered as "new", others as "renewed" and still others as "established". Many of these plants—but not all—had an alliance arrangement with John Crane. In some cases, the alliance contract included having a John Crane Inc. technician or engineer on-site to coordinate various aspects of the program.

Not all plants are refineries, however, and different results occur elsewhere. In chemical plants, pumps have historically been "throw-away" items as chemical attack limits life. Things have improved in recent years, but the somewhat restricted space available in "old" DIN and ASME-standardized stuffing boxes places limits on the type of seal that fits. Unless the pump user upgrades the seal chamber, the pump only accommodates more compact and simple versions. Without this upgrading, lifetimes in chemical installations are generally around 50 to 60 percent of the refinery values.

Unscheduled maintenance is often one of the most significant costs of ownership, and failures of mechanical seals and bearings are among the major causes. Keep in mind the potential value of selecting pumps that cost more initially, but last much longer between repairs. The MTBF of a better pump may be one to four years longer than that of its non-upgraded counterpart. Consider that published average values of avoided pump failures range from US$2600 to US$12,000. This does not include lost opportunity costs. One pump fire occurs per 1000 failures. Having fewer pump failures means having fewer destructive pump fires.

As has been noted, a typical pump failure, based on actual year 2002 reports, costs US$5,000 on average. This includes costs for material, parts, labor and overhead. Extending a pump"s MTBF from 12 to 18 months would save US$1,667 per year — which might be greater than the cost to upgrade the centrifugal pump"s reliability.

Pumps are used throughout society for a variety of purposes. Early applications includes the use of the windmill or watermill to pump water. Today, the pump is used for irrigation, water supply, gasoline supply, air conditioning systems, refrigeration (usually called a compressor), chemical movement, sewage movement, flood control, marine services, etc.

Because of the wide variety of applications, pumps have a plethora of shapes and sizes: from very large to very small, from handling gas to handling liquid, from high pressure to low pressure, and from high volume to low volume.

Typically, a liquid pump can"t simply draw air. The feed line of the pump and the internal body surrounding the pumping mechanism must first be filled with the liquid that requires pumping: An operator must introduce liquid into the system to initiate the pumping. This is called priming the pump. Loss of prime is usually due to ingestion of air into the pump. The clearances and displacement ratios in pumps for liquids, whether thin or more viscous, usually cannot displace air due to its compressibility. This is the case with most velocity (rotodynamic) pumps — for example, centrifugal pumps. For such pumps, the position of the pump should always be lower than the suction point, if not the pump should be manually filled with liquid or a secondary pump should be used until all air is removed from the suction line and the pump casing.

Positive–displacement pumps, however, tend to have sufficiently tight sealing between the moving parts and the casing or housing of the pump that they can be described as self-priming. Such pumps can also serve as priming pumps, so-called when they are used to fulfill that need for other pumps in lieu of action taken by a human operator.

One sort of pump once common worldwide was a hand-powered water pump, or "pitcher pump". It was commonly installed over community water wells in the days before piped water supplies.

In parts of the British Isles, it was often called the parish pump. Though such community pumps are no longer common, people still used the expression parish pump to describe a place or forum where matters of local interest are discussed.

Because water from pitcher pumps is drawn directly from the soil, it is more prone to contamination. If such water is not filtered and purified, consumption of it might lead to gastrointestinal or other water-borne diseases. A notorious case is the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak. At the time it was not known how cholera was transmitted, but physician John Snow suspected contaminated water and had the handle of the public pump he suspected removed; the outbreak then subsided.

Modern hand-operated community pumps are considered the most sustainable low-cost option for safe water supply in resource-poor settings, often in rural areas in developing countries. A hand pump opens access to deeper groundwater that is often not polluted and also improves the safety of a well by protecting the water source from contaminated buckets. Pumps such as the Afridev pump are designed to be cheap to build and install, and easy to maintain with simple parts. However, scarcity of spare parts for these type of pumps in some regions of Africa has diminished their utility for these areas.

Multiphase pumping applications, also referred to as tri-phase, have grown due to increased oil drilling activity. In addition, the economics of multiphase production is attractive to upstream operations as it leads to simpler, smaller in-field installations, reduced equipment costs and improved production rates. In essence, the multiphase pump can accommodate all fluid stream properties with one piece of equipment, which has a smaller footprint. Often, two smaller multiphase pumps are installed in series rather than having just one massive pump.

A rotodynamic pump with one single shaft that requires two mechanical seals, this pump uses an open-type axial impeller. It is often called a Poseidon pump, and can be described as a cross between an axial compressor and a centrifugal pump.

The twin-screw pump is constructed of two inter-meshing screws that move the pumped fluid. Twin screw pumps are often used when pumping conditions contain high gas volume fractions and fluctuating inlet conditions. Four mechanical seals are required to seal the two shafts.

These pumps are basically multistage centrifugal pumps and are widely used in oil well applications as a method for artificial lift. These pumps are usually specified when the pumped fluid is mainly liquid.

A buffer tank is often installed upstream of the pump suction nozzle in case of a slug flow. The buffer tank breaks the energy of the liquid slug, smooths any fluctuations in the incoming flow and acts as a sand trap.

As the name indicates, multiphase pumps and their mechanical seals can encounter a large variation in service conditions such as changing process fluid composition, temperature variations, high and low operating pressures and exposure to abrasive/erosive media. The challenge is selecting the appropriate mechanical seal arrangement and support system to ensure maximized seal life and its overall effectiveness.

Pumps are commonly rated by horsepower, volumetric flow rate, outlet pressure in metres (or feet) of head, inlet suction in suction feet (or metres) of head.

From an initial design point of view, engineers often use a quantity termed the specific speed to identify the most suitable pump type for a particular combination of flow rate and head.

The power imparted into a fluid increases the energy of the fluid per unit volume. Thus the power relationship is between the conversion of the mechanical energy of the pump mechanism and the fluid elements within the pump. In general, this is governed by a series of simultaneous differential equations, known as the Navier–Stokes equations. However a more simple equation relating only the different energies in the fluid, known as Bernoulli"s equation can be used. Hence the power, P, required by the pump:

where Δp is the change in total pressure between the inlet and outlet (in Pa), and Q, the volume flow-rate of the fluid is given in m3/s. The total pressure may have gravitational, static pressure and kinetic energy components; i.e. energy is distributed between change in the fluid"s gravitational potential energy (going up or down hill), change in velocity, or change in static pressure. η is the pump efficiency, and may be given by the manufacturer"s information, such as in the form of a pump curve, and is typically derived from either fluid dynamics simulation (i.e. solutions to the Navier–Stokes for the particular pump geometry), or by testing. The efficiency of the pump depends upon the pump"s configuration and operating conditions (such as rotational speed, fluid density and viscosity etc.)

For a typical "pumping" configuration, the work is imparted on the fluid, and is thus positive. For the fluid imparting the work on the pump (i.e. a turbine), the work is negative. Power required to drive the pump is determined by dividing the output power by the pump efficiency. Furthermore, this definition encompasses pumps with no moving parts, such as a siphon.

Pump efficiency is defined as the ratio of the power imparted on the fluid by the pump in relation to the power supplied to drive the pump. Its value is not fixed for a given pump, efficiency is a function of the discharge and therefore also operating head. For centrifugal pumps, the efficiency tends to increase with flow rate up to a point midway through the operating range (peak efficiency or Best Efficiency Point (BEP) ) and then declines as flow rates rise further. Pump performance data such as this is usually supplied by the manufacturer before pump selection. Pump efficiencies tend to decline over time due to wear (e.g. increasing clearances as impellers reduce in size).

When a system includes a centrifugal pump, an important design issue is matching the head loss-flow characteristic with the pump so that it operates at or close to the point of its maximum efficiency.

Most large pumps have a minimum flow requirement below which the pump may be damaged by overheating, impeller wear, vibration, seal failure, drive shaft damage or poor performance.

The simplest minimum flow system is a pipe running from the pump discharge line back to the suction line. This line is fitted with an orifice plate sized to allow the pump minimum flow to pass.

A more sophisticated, but more costly, system (see diagram) comprises a flow measuring device (FE) in the pump discharge which provides a signal into a flow controller (FIC) which actuates a flow control valve (FCV) in the recycle line. If the measured flow exceeds the minimum flow then the FCV is closed. If the measured flow falls below the minimum flow the FCV opens to maintain the minimum flowrate.

As the fluids are recycled the kinetic energy of the pump increases the temperature of the fluid. For many pumps this added heat energy is dissipated through the pipework. However, for large industrial pumps, such as oil pipeline pumps, a recycle cooler is provided in the recycle line to cool the fluids to the normal suction temperature.oil refinery, oil terminal, or offshore installation.

Engineering Sciences Data Unit (2007). "Radial, mixed and axial flow pumps. Introduction" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-08. Retrieved 2017-08-18.

Tanzania water Archived 2012-03-31 at the Wayback Machine blog – example of grassroots researcher telling about his study and work with the rope pump in Africa.

C.M. Schumacher, M. Loepfe, R. Fuhrer, R.N. Grass, and W.J. Stark, "3D printed lost-wax casted soft silicone monoblocks enable heart-inspired pumping by internal combustion," RSC Advances, Vol. 4, pp. 16039–16042, 2014.

"Radial, mixed and axial flow pumps" (PDF). Institution of Diploma Marine Engineers, Bangladesh. June 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-08. Retrieved 2017-08-18.

Quail F, Scanlon T, Stickland M (2011-01-11). "Design optimisation of a regenerative pump using numerical and experimental techniques" (PDF). International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow. 21: 95–111. doi:10.1108/09615531111095094. Retrieved 2021-07-21.

Rajmane, M. Satish; Kallurkar, S.P. (May 2015). "CFD Analysis of Domestic Centrifugal Pump for Performance Enhancement". International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology. 02 / #02. Retrieved 30 April 2021.

Wasser, Goodenberger, Jim and Bob (November 1993). "Extended Life, Zero Emissions Seal for Process Pumps". John Crane Technical Report. Routledge. TRP 28017.

Australian Pump Manufacturers" Association. Australian Pump Technical Handbook, 3rd edition. Canberra: Australian Pump Manufacturers" Association, 1987. ISBN 0-7316-7043-4.

A duck boot laces tighter to your foot than a rubber boot, so it’s not as easy to slip on and off. However, it performs in both wet and muddy conditions.

A duck boot laces tighter to your foot than a rubber boot, so it’s not as easy to slip on and off. However, it performs in both wet and muddy conditions.

Who this is for: People who are less concerned about slipping a shoe on and off quickly, but more interested in a shoe that can take abuse in a variety of wet and muddy conditions. These are also the de facto “stylish boot” for men.

Outdoor professionals often say that you should never carry anything with you that can’t perform at least two different tasks (ideally three). This shoe handles three things well: comfortable walking, dealing with mud, and tolerating wet weather. Our other picks can handle all that stuff in varying degrees but typically have a single condition they perform best in. This shoe was designed to handle all three of those problems equally and simultaneously.

The laced leather around the calf is responsible for a lot of that functionality. The leather lets your ankle move freely for walking (and driving), while the laces hug it close to your leg so you can pull your foot out of sucking mud without leaving your boot behind.

There’s a lot going on underfoot—a rounded toe box that will release your foot from mud, plus a metal shank (inside the boot) that adds durability. Photo: Michael Hession

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The original Bean Boot is unlined, and we like that, since it keeps the shoe true to its nature as a multi-seasonal, versatile piece of outdoor kit. You can decide what kind of weather you want to use it in and choose the thickness of your socks accordingly. But if that’s not your thing, many other styles are available: You can get the boot flannel lined, shearling lined, or Gore-Tex lined. You can get it padded around the ankle, or stuffed with Thinsulate for cold weather.

Dick waited, ate some jelly beans, impatiently gunned the motor, sounded the horn. Was it possible that he had misjudged Perry’s character? That Perry, of all people, was suffering a sudden case of “blood bubbles”? A year ago, when they first encountered each other, he’d thought Perry “a good guy,” if a bit “stuck on himself,” “sentimental,” too much “the dreamer.” He had liked him but not considered him especially worth cultivating until, one day, Perry described a murder, telling how, simply for “the hell of it,” he had killed a colored man in Las Vegas—beaten him to death with a bicycle chain. The anecdote elevated Dick’s opinion of Little Perry; he began to see more of him, and, like Willie-Jay, though for dissimilar reasons, gradually decided that Perry possessed unusual and valuable qualities. Several murderers, or men who boasted of murder or their willingness to commit it, circulated inside Lansing, but Dick became convinced that Perry was that rarity, “a natural killer”—absolutely sane, but conscienceless, and capable of dealing, with or without motive, the coldest-blooded deathblows. It was Dick’s theory that such a gift could, under his supervision, be profitably exploited. Having reached this conclusion, he had proceeded to woo Perry, flatter him—pretend, for example, that he believed all the buried-treasure stuff and shared his beachcomber yearnings and seaport longings, none of which appealed to Dick, who wanted “a regular life,” with a business of his own, a house, a horse to ride, a new car, and “plenty of blond chicken.” It was important, however, that Perry not suspect this—not until Perry, with his gift, had helped further Dick’s ambitions. But perhaps it was Dick who had miscalculated, been duped; if so—if it developed that Perry was, after all, only an “ordinary punk”—then “the party” was over, the months of planning were wasted, there was nothing to do but turn and go. It mustn’t happen; Dick returned to the station.

Nancy’s bedroom was the smallest, most personal room in the house—girlish, and as frothy as a ballerina’s tutu. Walls, ceiling, and everything else except a bureau and a writing desk were pink or blue or white. The white-and-pink bed, piled with blue pillows, was dominated by a big pink-and-white Teddy bear—a shooting-gallery prize that Bobby had won at the county fair. A cork bulletin board, painted pink, hung above a white-skirted dressing table; dry gardenias, the remains of some ancient corsage, were attached to it, and old valentines, newspaper recipes, and snapshots of her baby nephew and of Susan Kidwell and of Bobby Rupp, Bobby caught in a dozen actions—swinging a bat, dribbling a basketball, driving a tractor, wading, in bathing trunks, at the edge of McKinney Lake (which was as far as he dared go, for he had never learned to swim). And there were photographs of the two together—Nancy and Bobby. Of these, she liked best one that showed them sitting in a leaf-dappled light amid picnic debris and looking at one another with expressions that, though unsmiling, seemed mirthful and full of delight. Other pictures, of horses, of cats deceased but unforgotten—like “poor Boobs,” who had died not long ago and most mysteriously (she suspected poison)—encumbered her desk.

Nancy was invariably the last of the family to retire; as she had once informed her friend and home-economics teacher, Mrs. Polly Stringer, the midnight hours were her “time to be selfish and vain.” It was then that she went through her beauty routine, a cleansing, creaming ritual, which on Saturday nights included washing her hair. Tonight, having dried and brushed her hair and bound it in a gauzy bandanna, she set out the clothes she intended to wear to church the next morning: nylons, black pumps, a red velvet dress—her prettiest, which she herself had made. It was the dress in which she was to be buried.

Before saying her prayers, she always recorded in a diary a few occurrences (“Summer here. Forever, I hope. Sue over and we rode Babe down to the river. Sue played her flute. Fireflies”) and an occasional outburst (“I love him, I do”). It was a five-year diary; in the four years of its existence she had never neglected to make an entry, though the splendor of several events (Eveanna’s wedding, the birth of her nephew) and the drama of others (her “first real quarrel with Bobby”—a page literally tear-stained) had caused her to usurp space allotted to the future. A different tinted ink identified each year: 1956 was green and 1957 a ribbon of red, replaced the following year by bright lavender, and now, in 1959, she had decided upon a dignified blue. But, as in every manifestation, she continued to tinker with her handwriting, slanting it to the right or to the left, shaping it roundly or steeply, loosely or stingily—as though she were asking, “Is this Nancy? Or that? Or that? Which is me?” (Once, Mrs. Riggs, her English teacher, had returned a theme with the scribbled comment “Good. But why written in three styles of script?” To which Nancy had replied, “Because I’m not grown-up enough to be one person with one kind of signature.”) Still, she had progressed in recent months, and it was in a handwriting of emerging maturity that she wrote, “Jolene K. came over and I showed her how to make a cherry pie. Practiced with Roxie. Bobby here and we watched TV. Left at 11:00.”

Holcomb is twelve miles east of the Mountain Time zone, a circumstance that causes some grumbling, for it means that at seven in the morning, and in winter at eight or after, the sky is still dark, and the stars, if any, are still shining—as they were when the two sons of Vic Irsik arrived to do their Sunday-morning chores. But by nine, when the boys finished work—during which they noticed nothing amiss—the sun had risen, delivering another day of pheasant-season perfection. As they left the property and ran along the lane, they waved at an incoming car, and a girl waved back. She was a classmate of Nancy Clutter’s, and her name was also Nancy—Nancy Ewalt. She was the only child of the man who was driving the car, Mr. Clarence Ewalt, a middle-aged sugar-beet farmer. Mr. Ewalt was not himself a churchgoer, nor was his wife, but every Sunday he dropped his daughter at River Valley Farm in order that she might accompany the Clutter family to Methodist services in Garden City. The arrangement saved him “making two back-and-forth trips to town.” It was his custom to wait until he had seen his daughter safely admitted to the house. Nancy, a clothes-conscious girl with a film-star figure, a bespectacled countenance, and a coy, tiptoe way of walking, crossed the lawn and pressed the front-door bell. The house had four entrances, and when, after repeated knockings, there was no response at this one, she moved on to the next—that of Mr. Clutter’s office. Here the door was partly open; she opened it somewhat more—enough to ascertain that the office was filled only with shadow—but she did not think the Clutters would appreciate her “barging right in.” She rang, knocked, and at last walked around to the back of the house. The garage was there, and she noted that both cars were in it: two Chevrolet sedans. Which meant they must be home. However, having applied unavailingly at a third door, which led into a “utility room,” and a fourth, the door to the kitchen, she rejoined her father, who said, “Maybe they’re asleep.”

The Teacherage, which stands opposite the Holcomb School, is an out-of-date edifice, drab and poignant. Its twenty-odd rooms are separated into grace-and-favor apartments for those members of the faculty unable to find, or afford, other quarters. Nevertheless, Susan Kidwell and her mother had managed to sugar the pill and install a cozy atmosphere in their apartment—three rooms on the ground floor. The very small parlor incredibly contained—aside from things to sit on—an organ, a piano, a garden of flowering flowerpots, and usually a darting little dog and a large, drowsy cat. Susan, on this Sunday morning, stood at the window of this room watching the street. She is a tall, languid young lady with a pallid, oval face and beautiful pale-blue-gray eyes; her hands are extraordinary—long-fingered, flexible, nervously elegant. She was dressed for church, and expected momentarily to see the Clutters’ Chevrolet, for she, too, always attended services chaperoned by the Clutter family. Instead, the Ewalts arrived to tell their peculiar tale.

“So I did,” said Susan, in a statement made at a later date. “I called the house and let the phone ring—at least, I had the impression it was ringing—oh, a minute or more. Nobody answered, so Mr. Ewalt suggested that we go to the house and try to ‘wake them up.’ But when we got there—I didn’t want to do it. Go inside the house. I was frightened, and I don’t know why, because it never occurred to me—Well, something like that just doesn’t. But the sun was so bright, everything looked too bright and quiet. And then I saw that all the cars were there, even Kenyon’s old coyote wagon. Mr. Ewalt was wearing work clothes; he had mud on his boots; he felt he wasn’t properly dressed to go calling on the Clutters. Especially since he never had. Been in the house, I mean. Finally, Nancy said she would go with me. We went around to the kitchen door, and, of course, it wasn’t locked; the only person who ever locked doors around there was Mrs. Helm—the family never did. We walked in, and I saw right away that the Clutters hadn’t eaten breakfast; there were no dishes, nothing on the stove. Then I noticed something funny: Nancy’s purse. It was lying on the floor, sort of open. We passed on through the dining room, and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Nancy’s room is just at the top. I called her name, and started up the stairs, and Nancy Ewalt followed. The sound of our footsteps frightened me more than anything, they were so loud and everything else was so silent. Nancy’s door was open. The curtains hadn’t been drawn, and the room was full of sunlight. I don’t remember screaming. Nancy Ewalt says I did—screamed and screamed. I only remember Nancy’s Teddy bear staring at me. And Nancy. And running . . . ”

Larry Hendricks, a teacher of English, aged twenty-seven, lived on the top floor of the Teacherage. He wanted to write, but his apartment was not the ideal lair for a would-be author. It was smaller than the Kidwells’, and, moreover, he shared it with a wife, three active children, and a perpetually functioning television set. (“It’s the only way we can keep the kids pacified.”) Though as yet unpublished, young Hendricks, a he-mannish ex-sailor from Oklahoma who smokes a pipe and has a mustache and a crop of untamed black hair, at least looks literary—in fact, remarkably like youthful photographs of the writer he most admires, Ernest Hemingway. To supplement his teacher’s salary, he also drove a school bus.

“Sometimes I cover sixty miles a day,” he said to an acquaintance. “Which doesn’t leave much time for writing. Except Sundays. Now, that Sunday, November 15th, I was sitting up here in the apartment going through the papers. Most of my ideas for stories, I get them out of newspapers—you know? Well, the TV was on and the kids were kind of lively, but even so I could hear voices. From downstairs. Down at Mrs. Kidwell’s. But I didn’t figure it was my concern, since I was new here—only came to Holcomb when school began. But then Shirley—she’d been out hanging up some clothes—my wife, Shirley, rushed in and said, ‘Honey, you better go downstairs. They’re all hysterical.’ The two girls—now, they really were hysterical. Susan never has got over it. Never will, ask me. And poor Mrs. Kidwell. Her health’s not too good; she’s high-strung to begin with. She kept saying—but it was only later I understood what she meant—she kept saying, ‘Oh, Bonnie, Bonnie, what happened? You were so happy, you told me it was all over, you said you’d never be sick again.’ Words to that effect. Even Mr. Ewalt, he was about as worked up as a man like that ever gets. He had the sheriff’s office on the phone—the Garden City sheriff—and he was telling him that there was something radically wrong over at the Clutter place.’ The sheriff promised to come straight out, and Mr. Ewalt said fine, he’d meet him on the highway. Shirley came downstairs to sit with the women, try and calm them—as if anybody could. And I went with Mr. Ewalt—drove with him out to the highway to wait for Sheriff Robinson. On the way, he told me what had happened. When he came to the part about finding the wires cut, right then I thought, Uh-uh, and decided I’d better keep my eyes open. Make a note of every detail. In case I was ever called on to testify in court.

“The sheriff arrived; it was nine thirty-five—I looked at my watch. Mr. Ewalt waved at him to follow our car, and we drove out to the Clutters’. I’d never been there before, only seen it from a distance. Of course, I knew the family. Kenyon was in my sophomore English class, and I’d directed Nancy in the ‘Tom Sawyer’ play. But they were such exceptional, unassuming kids you wouldn’t have known they were rich or lived in such a big house—and the trees, the lawn, everything so tended and cared for. After we got there, and the sheriff had heard Mr. Ewalt’s story, he radioed his office and told them to send reinforcements, and an ambulance. Said, ‘There’s been some kind of accident.’ Then we went in the house, the three of us. Went through the kitchen and saw a lady’s purse lying on the floor, and the phone where the wires had been cut. The sheriff was wearing a hip pistol, and when we started up the stairs, going to Nancy’s room, I noticed he kept his hand on it, ready to draw.

“Well, it was pretty bad. That wonderful girl—But you would never have known her. She’d been shot in the back of the head with a shotgun held maybe two inches away. She was lying on her side, facing the wall, and the wall was covered with blood. The bedcovers were drawn up to her shoulders. Sheriff Robinson, he pulled them back, and we saw that she was wearing a bathrobe, pajamas, socks, and slippers—like, whenever it happened, she hadn’t gone to bed yet. Her hands were tied behind her, and her ankles were roped together with the kind of cord you see on Venetian blinds. Sheriff said, ‘Is this Nancy Clutter?’—he’d never seen the child before. And I said, ‘Yes. Yes, that’s Nancy.’

I joined the Army because it would pay for two years of college and then I would serve three years of active duty. For a farm girl with three sisters it was a great way to get a college education. I have never regretted it.

I initially joined to help take care of the soldiers who were hurt since they did not ask to be there in the first place. My hope was an assignment in Vietnam but we started pulling out forces so I was sent to Germany where we received some of the wounded. Of course, the Cold war was going on, too.

I still work as a Department of the Army Civilian as a nurse in Germany and have now been involved in assisting the soldiers in three wars and several conflicts—as an Army Nurse during the Vietnam era, an elementary school counselor for the 1st Gulf war and as a community health nurse for the 2nd Gulf war. I hope this is the last.

I joined the US Marine Corps in 1969; I just graduated from Freeman high school. There were two from our 1969 graduation class who joined the Marines. Like all new recruits in boot camp, you ask yourself, Why did I do this? and How do I get out of this mess I got myself into? My parents were against me joining the Armed Forces and especially the Marines. For a while I thought they were correct. I learned to accept my situation and to make the best of it. The training was hard, but worth it. Because of this training, I was looking forward to going to South Vietnam. The Vietnam War for me was difficult but rewarding. My experience there has stayed with me for the rest of my life. I believe I have come to terms with the war and have used this in a positive manner. I am proud to have served in Vietnam. There are very few Americans and very few servicemen who have served in a combat zone and realized this experience. Thank you.

I attended Army basic training, AIT, then Officer Candidate School after graduation from SDSU. I was accepted into flight school after OCS and trained in the OV-1 Mohawk surveillance airplane, a twin-engine turbo prop built by Grumman. The Mohawk conducted day and night low-level surveillance missions with installed cameras and infrared equipment. I flew missions in the I CORP region including the DMZ, Ashau Valley, Ho Chi Minh trail, and also in Cambodia. One well-remembered mission included photo recon of the Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia which had fallen into Viet Cong hands. Due to distance from our airfield, we had to fly to the Air Force base in Ubon Thailand to refuel before returning to Vietnam. Although my aircraft was hit several times, I was never shot down during my two tours in Vietnam.

Serving in Vietnam was the greatest experience of my life. I enlisted in the Air Force at the age of 17 years, 11 months. I established many life-long relationships with other airmen as well as some short-term relationships with the Vietnamese children. Four of my friends and I spent most every weekend at the beach, weather and other circumstances permitting, taking food and beverages for these children, some of which were orphans. When one or two of the children would not show up at the beach, the other children would tell us that they had died. When I left Vietnam, I gave all of my clothing and boots to our house boy.

Then came that day I’ll never forget. Dave had gone on a trip, flying Governor Mickelson and others to Ohio. The day started out like any other, but ended in a grief I’ll never forget. We have survived his death, but we will never, ever forget him. We miss him every day; I especially feel bad about all that he has missed in these thirteen years he’s been gone—church confirmation and high school graduation for Cathy, Kris and Cathy’s college graduations, both of their weddings (and not meeting both sons-in-law, who are great) and the births of our two wonderful grandchildren, Ty David and Alyssa Kaye. What a joy they would be to him.

I Served with Commander Coastal Surveillance Forces (CTF 115) River Flotilla One. Served in Operation SEA FLOAT III. I was in-country October 1969 until September 1970. While in Vietnam, my youngest daughter was born just three weeks after my arrival. I saw her for the first time when she was nine months old.

I went into the service with Ron Jirsa from Mitchell, SD. We went to basic training together. He went to Fort Sill, OK and I went to Fort Lewis, WA and we met up again in Fort Lewis. He went to FDC and I ended up being a Medic assigned to his Battery. We left for Vietnam together on the USNS General John Pope. We landed in Vietnam together and served our tour together and came home together. He went home to Mitchell and I went home to Chamberlain. Its unusual for two men to serve their whole Vietnam experience together from the same area.

In the 1960s, many young people were called to serve their country. Many of our parents had been veterans of WWII and their patriotism was reflected in the family values and carried over in our thinking.

We don’t always agree with decisions our leaders make, but we do have an obligation, again today, to defend our country when called upon, without question. Everyone, who has served, in Vietnam, or any other war, deserves the respect of all citizens, for putting their life on the line for freedom. Let no person ever take for granted what we have here in America, and don’t forget that many have paid the ultimate price in the past and many more continue to do so today. Celebrate and appreciate your veterans, who gave what they had to give for your freedom and the United States of America.

A little bit of humor goes a long way, but when it comes to cooking, my wife still will not let me use C4 when I cook out! My platoon acted as engineers. We were told to construct a base for artillery support. We did not have axes or saws. We wrapped C4 around the trees and detonated them and scrounged for any material we could get our hands on but about an hour after we were finished we were eating C Rations and the Army artillery people were eating steaks. Go figure!!!

Horseshoe ambushes don’t look too good, especially from the inside. Once, we had one company of NVA firing on us and two more coming up the hill from each side while we were sitting on or near buried land mines. It was the Lord Jesus who spared my life that day.

I spent approximately two years with the Strategic Air Command at Fairchild AFB, Spokane, WA in non-tact scheduling. I was then transferred to Clark AFB PI where we formed the South East Asia Military Altitude Reservation Facility in 1965. We coordinated the airspace for nine countries for the mass movement of military aircraft as well as the Arc Light Missions and the Blackbird missions in SE Asia. Sixteen years after leaving the USAF, I joined the South Dakota Air National Guard where I worked as a controller in the command post and as the training NCO prior to my retirement in 1998.

I was drafted from Gregory, SD after five years of college and two years of teaching high school in 1968. My training was taken at Fort Lewis, Washington and Fort Benning, GA. I was sent to Vietnam in May 1969 and was assigned to the Big Red One (mechanized) (A-2-2). Almost two months to day after arriving in Vietnam I was injured in the battle at Nui Ba Den (Black Virgin Mountain) on July 12, 1969. After spending two weeks in Japan, I was sent home to Fitzsimmons General Hospital in Denver. After spending nine months for a fractured left femur at Fitzsimmons, I was discharged from the Army on April 17, 1970. I am a very proud 50% DAV and am a life member of the DAV, VFW, and a member the American Legion. I retired from the teaching profession in 2003 and we have made our home in Broken Bow, NE, since 1978.

I have NO STORIES But I have something to say. When I got home in a medevac bus in California, we were egged at the base front gate. To you, John Q. America and Jane Fonda—thank you for caring about my pain. 37 years ago and the pain never goes away. I see you folks are doing well. Jane was put up for "Woman of the Year". I guess there must be payback in the next life. I know I sound angry but I did find happiness before my death though God and my children. SEMPER FI

Veterans should recognize these terms: Dung Lai (halt), Dua Tay Len Dau (put your hands on your head), Xay Ben Phai (turn right), Xay Ben Trai (turn left), The ACE OF SPADES (eternal damnation), and MPC (Military Payment Certificates). P.S.. I have a copy of the Pacific Stars and Stripes Volume 24, Number 31 with the headlines “VC HIT SAIGON”. The ‘Tet Offensive’ began the day before, and all hell broke loose. Cartoons in that edition included Blondie, whose 75th anniversary was 2005. My memories include Bob Hope and Raquel Welsh (both during Christmas 1967); juicy bugs in my salad at Cam Ranh Bay; Spooky (cool gunship); lots of youngsters using drugs—they just could not handle it; one of the first bevy of Huey Cobra Gunships (totally awesome); Agent Orange; the horrible smells in-country; eating a rat-meat sandwich in downtown Bien Hoa (it tasted like a dried beef sandwich); our buds from down under (Australians were our best friends); our company barber (who tortured and killed our trusted Vietnamese helpers); and, most of all, all those who looked to us to give South Vietnam their own freedom and identity.

I remember arriving in-country late at night. When we stopped in front of the terminal, all lights on the plane and the airport were turned off. We were in total blackout so we weren’t an easy target for mortars and rockets. We stepped from the plane and I will never forget the experience. It was unbelievably hot and humid. I was never so scared in my entire life. Twenty-two months later, I was on the ‘freedom bird’ and on my way home. I lost way too many friends and comrades.

Many young men grew up fast in Vietnam. I was only one of them, and I made it back home. Many didn’t. Friends were made very fast in Vietnam, and some of those friends are now gone. To find friends from Vietnam is often difficult, but recently I had the opportunity to meet the man who save my life and never knew it. I was honored and humbled to stand, again, in front of this man and say “Thank you, Captain Hurley.” This was the first time I had seen this man in over 35 years! The event was even more saddened by the fact that it was at his father’s funeral. His father, too, was a personal hero of mine.

When I arrived in Vietnam, I was laughed at for being from Canton, SD. I knew that very few people had even heard of South Dakota, let alone Canton. I didn’t know that Jim Hurley (from Canton) had been their Commanding Officer for the past six months, and he had often talked about Canton and South Dakota. He took care of his men and it really showed in their attitude. He had been transferred to our forward fire base recently, but he was all everyone talked about. They missed him. When I was sent to our forward fire base, he met me at the chopper pad. The events that occurred after we met are not important. What was important, was the fact that I finally got to thank Captain James Hurley. It completed and laid to rest many emotions that I still carried inside. This might sound dumb, but I would like to publicly thank Captain James Hurley for being in Vietnam and saving the lives of many young men.

Another thing I remember was constantly being armed outside of the unit area. The shortage of truck and M151 Jeep parts also sticks out in my mind. The most sad part of my experience was losing two of my men to enemy related events. I might add that upon arrival in Vietnam, it was in November and very cold at night in the Central Highlands. I remember several times waking up to find that a rat had crawled up on top of my blanket and had nestled itself on my stomach for warmth. Upon my waking, the rat would scurry away and I would be wide awake all day long. I wish to thank the state of South Dakota