A good time was had by all in Washington, DC at the 27th annual OV-1 Mohawk Association Reunion in September! There were 29 former members of the 225th Surveillance Airplane Company there (see the end of this article for a list), not to mention all the other guys and their families who served in our sister units in Vietnam, Korea and Germany so many years ago. It was fun to meet some who were at Phu Hiep and Tuy Hoa after I left the unit in June 1970. And it was especially fun to see friends face to face who I hadn’t seen in more than 46 years! I was having breakfast with someone (I don’t remember who!) when these two guys walked up and asked me if I knew who they were...I didn’t have a clue. But they were Miguel Anza and Luis Pontón from Puerto Rico! We had a great time sight-seeing and talking and just getting to know each other again over those few days!
I arrived in DC a day early so I could do some sight seeing
on my own. I visited downtown and took
pictures of Ford's Theater, Freedom Plaza, Pennsylvania Avenue, statues of
Revolutionary War hero General
Casimir Pulaski and General
John “Black Jack” Pershing, Treasury Building, White House, Washington
Monument, 1st Division Memorial, Supreme Court, Capitol Building,
and the House and Senate. I had never
seen these in person since I this was my first time to visit DC. Our hotel was at Pentagon City, VA, and I had
a great view of the Pentagon from my room.
That evening I had a wonderful dinner with the Frank Griswolds,
Steve Easley and the Ed Bryans and then visited the Capital Grille on
Pennsylvania Avenue so Steve could tell friends that he had a drink there.
One afternoon George Drago, Miguel (Mike) Anza, Luis Pontón and
I visited Arlington Cemetery and watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier. If you have
never seen this in person, it is a “must see” if you are in DC.; it is an
amazing ceremony. I also went on a tour
to see World War II and Korean War memorials, the Lincoln Memorial and, of
course, the Wall.
Friday evening several of us (Bill Page, Tony Chapa, Ernie
Serna, Kevin Phillips, Joe Floyd, Miguel Anza, Luis Pontón and me (I hope I
didn’t leave anyone out!)) got together for a couple of hours to share stories
and lies. Several others from other
units also joined us as they were able to wander in and out. We hope that this will be a new tradition
beginning this year and continuing next year in Colorado Springs at our 28th
Reunion.
On Saturday afternoon we visited the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy
Center at Dulles Airport which is the newest part of the Smithsonian Air
and Space Museum. This is where the Space Shuttle Discovery is
now housed plus a great many other famous aircraft like the Enola Gay and the Boeing 367-80 (also
known as the Dash 80) which was the prototype of the 707. As I was going up a staircase I met a WW2 F4U Corsair pilot and
his son standing on the landing next to a Corsair that was hanging from the
ceiling. It was an honor to talk with
this gentleman!
Of course, the Reunion’s finale was the banquet with our
main speaker Colonel Bill Reeder. He
shared his inspiring account of his capture by the North Vietnamese after being
shot down in his AH-1
Cobra in his second tour in Vietnam.
Bill had been a Mohawk driver during his first tour, during which he was
also shot down but evaded capture. He
recounts his experience in his book Through
the Valley: My Capture in Vietnam which I reviewed in September in the 225th
Observer.
I am glad I took the time to go to the “other Washington”
to see the sights and to reunite with brothers and friends from many years ago
(notice I didn’t say “old friends)!
225th Washington Roster.... Miguel Anza, Joe Beckham, Don Bernstein, John
Britten, Tony Chapa, Tom Cote, Gordy Darragh, George Drago, Joe Floyd, Ron
Gronitz, Steve Hammons, Felipe Hilburn, George Katalenas, Dave Kimmel, Arlan
Lando, Bobbie Luthi, Gilberto Mendoza, Dave Nelson, Kendall Norman, Bill Page,
Kevin Phillips, Ron Pitcock, Luis Pontón, Bob Riha, Steve Sachs, Ernie Serna,
Alan Summers, Gary Todd and Art Winslow.
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