Our 25th Annual Reunion in Dallas was simply an
amazing weekend for me, and I suspect for many others who were there! Over the course September 4 thru 7th
I counted 40+ Blackhawks/Phantomhawks among the more than 280 folks who
attended! That’s the most members of the
225th Surveillance Airplane Company I have seen in one place since
George Drago flew me to Cam Ranh Bay to catch my DEROS flight home in June
1970! A highlight for me was meeting for
the first time a guy named John Britten! John’s MOS was 84G20 (Photo Lab Tech) and I was his replacement in
February ’68; he had left Phu Hiep in December, so I had never known him! What a kick!
I also met a man named Jim “Doc” Rose. Bill Page had asked me several times over the
past months if I remembered Doc Rose and I had told him that I didn’t have a
clue who that was. Well, I met Doc Rose
on Friday night after a great Texas BBQ at the Circle R Ranch (that’s where I
met John Britten too). Bill and two other guys were BS’ing over drinks in the
hotel lounge. Always interested in
meeting new guys at our reunions, I invited myself into this high level
meeting. The two other guys were Bobby
“Bear” Sieker, a former 225th pilot, and Doc Rose, Phu Hiep’s Flight
Surgeon. I had finally met Doc
Rose! He swears that he remembers me
from the Photo Lab, but I still don’t remember him. I also didn’t remember Bear Sieker. No matter, friendships have been renewed 45
years later!
On Friday morning as I was talking with Ron Gronith in the
hotel lobby, Steve and Brenda Sachs walked in the door. They had not registered for the reunion, but
decided to catch a flight from Nashville that morning. It was great to see them again; you’ll
remember that Steve took Alex Berkeley and me on separate rides in his Stearman
in 2010. That morning they invited me to
go with them to the Frontiers In Flight
museum at Love Field. Go to Flickr
to see some photos I took. This is a
museum that, in part, showcases Southwest Airlines’ history, and also the
history of flight from Kitty Hawk to the present. That evening we piled aboard
chartered buses and went to the Circle R Ranch for the Texas BBQ, more beer and
some brave souls even ventured to learn line dancing! It all was great fun!
On Saturday morning we went to the Cavanaugh Flight Museum where we wandered through several hangers of
beautifully restored WW1 and WW2 aircraft from all theatres of those wars. The highlight for all of, though, was an OV-1
Mohawk that looked very much like it just rolled out of Grumman’s factory on
Long Island. The museum was kind enough
to open the display so we could walk right up to it, touch it, and even attempt
to climb into the right or left seat!
For me it was just an attempt; I don’t fold up like I did in 2001 when
my son Tim and I were able to have our pictures taken sitting in the right
seat! Nevertheless, it was wonderful to
see one of those beautiful birds up close again. Here
are some photos...
Former Observer Glade Merkeley told me the story of him
being approached at his hotel (he was staying at another place) by a hotel
maintenance man o asked him if he flew Mohawks because he saw Glade’s
Association hat. This man said he was a
retired Russian soldier and that (I’m paraphrasing) “We were really afraid of
the Mohawks” when he was a soldier in Eastern Europe. What a wonderful story from this now US
citizen! I told Glade to see if he could
find him and sign him up as an association member.
Of course, the Reunion wrapped up with a banquet
that was very fun! All in all, it was a
very good 25th Anniversary Reunion where we renewed old friendships,
made many new ones from the 225th and other units, drank too much
beer, stayed up way too late and had way more fun than guys our age should be
allowed to have! I’d highly recommend
that you attend our next party in San Diego in October 2015.
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