WINTER 97-98
Hi Redtags! Well">
WINTER 97-98
Hi Redtags! Well, it’s almost New Years Day and I’m still riding high
from the 35th Reunion. It was great seeing all of you again. And I certainly
enjoyed the special recognition you gave me as the class scribe. To say I was surprised is
putting it mildly.
Got loads of cards, newsletters and e-mail. Won’t be able to cover all mail, but here goes.
Chuck CHEESEMAN was at the reunion trying to borrow a Ximango glider from one of the pilots he sold it to in Colorado, and do a flyby at the Army-Air Force Game. He couldn’t swing it. But Dick KLASS and he are working on a project with the Class of 98 (10th Redtag class), to have a Redtag spirit activity at the Academy in the spring. Charlie and Pat HALE reported that son, Charles, is still making C-17s for Boeing and being treated for Menieres Disease which results from an inner ear imbalance. The treatment is doing well. Son, Curt, and Bridgette are still working hard, too. Pat and Charlie stayed a day extra and got caught in the snow on the way out. Hey, Caroline and I stayed three extra days and got caught, too. Fog cancelled our flight to Dallas and sent us off to Cincinnati. Nice airport. But it didn’t look better than Orlando. Randy and Lieu SCHAMBERGER sent me some pictures of the reunion. They also stayed an extra day and got delayed leaving. They stayed at the USAFA VOQ and woke up to two inches of snow. He forgot how much fun it is to drive on black ice. Their 7:30 AM flight left at 11:00 AM. They didn’t get to the Eglin area until 8:30PM. Randy still plays tennis regularly to stay fit. Randy and I and Alex HARWICK will work on putting together a class story collection. We’ll get some preliminary info together and send it out later. What prompted this was the many "war" stories that were being told at the reunion during the "open mike" session every night. The stories were hilarious and should not be lost to posterity. Thus the idea to start a collection of stories. Owen HAWKINS said that he would try to have the new Redtag home page up and running by Christmas. He has reserved the Redtag domain on the Internet for our use. Connie and he were in Melbourne earlier in the year and missed a chance to see a Space Shuttle night launch. Hey NASA, can you have a night launch at a more decent hour? They took a balloon ride in Albuquerque in October at the Kodak Balloon Fiesta. Bet it was fun. Larry and Penny GOOCH were showing pictures of their first grandchild. Another daughter announced a baby launch in May 98, while the third daughter is giving the matter serious thought. Larry is now working for another engineering company in the Cleveland area. Allen and Alfie JACKSON made it to their first reunion. And they really enjoyed it. Of course they found out from others that no one at a reunion really changes in five years. They want to hear that phrase again at the 40th. I think that they will agree with those of us who have made it to previous reunions, it’s a heck of a great time.
I know that some of you have some feelings that have prevented you from making a reunion. Maybe you feel that the Air Force or USAFA short changed you out of a promotion or a better career. Maybe you feel that you didn’t try hard enough and failed to live up to your potential. Maybe you’re embarrassed by your current state in life. Maybe you feel you don’t have anything in common with your classmates. Forget it! We don’t care. We just want to see you and reminisce about old times and renew friendships. As Redtags we went through some very tough times and established some very strong bonds as classmates. We are Redtags first and foremost. Interestingly, there were about 12-15 former classmates who didn’t graduate with us but came back to celebrate the 35th with us. They spoke eloquently about the special bond that they had formed with our class and that still made them feel like they were Redtags. That bond is strong. Don’t ignore it any more. Make a commitment to be with your classmates at the 40th. You’ll never regret it. And while you’re at it, drop me an update on yourself if you haven’t done so already.
Charlie and Mary Jo PRICE went out to Gen. Fogleman’s retirement at USAFA in late summer. They knew him at Bitburg. Awesome event from what people who were there said. But they couldn’t break away for the 35th. No ‘holes-in-one’ by Mary Jo to report this year. Willie and Nancy GRAY were at the 35th, too. Daughter, Christine, is in the final year of her doctoral program at Gainesville, FL, while Larry is a restaurant manager in Atlanta. Willie is still with Lockheed Martin on a proposal team, logging 100,00 miles last year. It’s funny, Willie and I live about a mile from each other but have to go 2,000 miles to see each other. In September, Willie was in Korea looking into some proposal activities and had a chance to visit Rip BLAISDELL. See accompanying picture. Rip is the Korean Fighter Program Manager for Lockheed Martin. Willie saw quite a bit of the country and was impressed with the friendliness of the people. Rip later e-mailed me that he would not make reunion but exhorted the team to BEAT ARMY. Chet and Eva Lee GRIFFIN needed a break after all of the house remodeling they completed this year. Chet wants to correct an item. At the reunion, he mistakenly reported Lyle WILSON’S passing away when he meant to say Chris BROWN. He didn’t want some of you to be surprised next time you see Lyle. Along the same lines, several of you reported that Charles MACNEVIN had passed away but no one has reported it to the AOG. We need details. Please provide.
Dave and Fran LEE flew in for the reunion. He’s heading for a five week teaching assignment at the University of Augsberg in June. It was good to see Gail and Peggie PECK again. We often converse on the Internet during the year. Got many newsletters from Sam DEHNE detailing his fight against political problems in Reno. Hang in there, Sam. Saw Bo and Nancy OHMAN at the reunion and got an e-mail later. He works for Raytheon in Plano, TX, to provide satellite communications and user terminals for low orbit Internet providers. Their son, Nick, has his own business in San Angelo. Their daughter, Nannette, is a doolie and accompanied them at some of the reunion events. The family just finished a Caribbean cruise: they went on the ship as passengers and came off as cargo – food was too good. George THOMPSON sent regrets at missing 35th as he departed Pskov, Russia, for holiday break heading back to the US. Carl BOLSTER made his first reunion. He really had a ball. Then he e-mailed me on Dec 14th that he was departing Hollywood, FL, for a new home in Arcade, NY, near Buffalo. Bob SCAUZILLO reported that oldest daughter moved to Pueblo to be head of a critical care unit. Oldest son is senior at Auburn, in NROTC. Youngest daughter is a senior at U of Washington, in AFROTC, hoping for OSI assignment. Youngest son is a sophomore at U of Washington. Bob LIGHTSEY wants Ed STANTON’S e-mail address to thank him for the loan of a windbreaker which "saved his life" at the Army game. Bob forgot how cold a warm day in Colorado can be. Got a real nice electronic Christmas Card from Harry and Pat PADDON. I used the same web site to send some electronic cards to my kids. Ron and Bobbie TAYLOR missed the reunion because of the death of Bobbie’s mother. We’ll look for you at the 40th. Frank and Judy URBAN really enjoyed the reunion. Do you still have that ‘57 pink Thunderbird you drove into Falcon Stadium at halftime at the 20th reunion?
There were more than 100 Redtags at the reunion. I’m going to shorten my article so that I can include more pictures. Don’t forget to give me your e-mail address so that I can add it to the list and put you on the Redtag e-mail net. That’s it for now. Go Redtags!