They were just 5 guys, 5 Vietnam vets who decided to meet at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC, 5 guys who served in the 6^th Battalion, 4^th Psychological Operations Group, headquartered in Saigon but also out in the boonies trying to get people to stop shooting by asking their opponents to stand down. 5 men who came home to, at best, indifference.  5 men who missed the type of bonding that occur when it’s only you and your buddies against them, whoever them may be. 

Dick Winner, Ron Copeland, Chad Spawr, Jack O’Neil and Duane Yaeger came together and decided this was good and agreed to start looking for other psyoppers and dubbed themselves the Mindbenders.  Duane Yaeger was the founding President and Reunions started, later in 1988 in Denver and then in 1990 at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville and then back in DC for 1992, Saint Louis for 1994, Nashville in 1996. On the way they found a new guy, Rick Hofmann, who became the Locator and built a website, and Al Forgacz who edited a mean newsletter and Frank Coburn who kept the books.

The Mindbenders started building relationships with modern day Psyoppers especially at Fort Bragg and by 1998 it was clear that we needed to extend our membership beyond Vietnam and the US Army and while the name Mindbenders may have been groovy for the 60’s and ‘70s but not approaching a new century and so the organization became the Psychological Operations Veterans Association open all who served in PSYOPs over the years, at the 1998 Reunion in Buena Vista, California.  By then Duane Yaeger had moved on and the office of President rotated between founders Chad Spawr and Jack O’Neil and Rick Hofmann through the 2000 in Estes Park, Colorado, 2002 in Baltimore Maryland and 2004 in Fayetteville, NC.

By the Fayetteville reunion, the first generation of Mindbenders were gone from office and virtually a new slate of officers carry on in their tradition.  POVA exists to have reunions, see old and new friends and look at memorabilia.  We help each other with problems common to veterans. We support the PSYOP Cadre world wide especially at Fort Bragg and honor and assist the families of those who have fallen.  While we remain non-partisan, we support our troops and what good PSYOPs can do.  In September of 2006 we will meet again, this time in Branson, Missouri with our friends and families. We’ll play a little poker, listen to some music, talk about our experiences with a little expansion of the truth, conduct a little business and just be, reveling our silent bonds.