Bill Leninger's daughter, Dorene, married Marco DiNaro on August 1^st, 2008, in Albuquerque, NM. "It was a very nice affair, with the groom wearing black and white shoes and a vest that had Mickey Mouse images in black and white. His bow tie matched," wrote Bill. "My son Tony, who performed the ceremony, also had a tie which matched the groom's. Dorene was absolutely beautiful, and it was a shame my late wife Ellen wasn't there, but Dorene's friends filled the void." (R: Bill's wife Ellen died June 13, 2004).

Ted Stumm died May 25, 2008 in Jacksonville, FL, and at 1430 hours on October 3, 2008, twenty-six members of '60 joined Ted's family for Interment at the Academy Cemetery: Bruce Mosier, Andi & Carole Biancur, Les Hobgood, Jim Glaza, George and Carolyn Luck, Ron & Connie Yates, Ed & Suzanne Leonard, Jon McClure, Bill Goodyear, George Fries, Dean Bristow, Les Querry, Wayne Kendall, Denis Walsh, Earl & Pat Van Inwegen, George & Janet Collier, Dick Sexton, Jock Schwank, Jim Waddle, Vic Yoakum and friend Suzanne Katsilas, Tom Seebode, Brian Kaley, Walt & Elaine Futch, Fred Porter, Paul Sullivan and Jim & Judy Bujalski. Ted's former wife Dona, sons Randy and James, their wives and Ted's three grandchildren, heard several members of the class relate short stories about their recollections of Ted, and the ceremony concluded with a rifle volley and Taps.

Ed Leonard wrote: "Suzanne and I just got back this evening from a weekend (September 26-27, 2008) in San Diego where 'Segs4Vets' gave away 17 Segways to veterans from Iraq who lost one or both legs. Segs4Vets is a program run by Disability Rights Advocates for Technology, a 501(c) (3) charity which has been awarded the Independent Charities Seal of Approval. It was an incredible experience, although I was somewhat concerned by the way they took to the machines and raced--and, I mean raced--around our training track, until a VA therapist pointed out that only a few months earlier they had been driving Hummers through mine fields. Segs4Vets plans on presenting an additional forty Segways and carriers on Veterans Day at the Alamo and more in December ('08) in Washington D.C."

Paul Sullivan attended his FAC reunion in Colorado Springs the first weekend of October '08, and said "The convention hotel was the Crown Plaza, and 480 registered, including wives, sweethearts, kids, and Tom McGrain, '69. The association meets every two years, and the next will be Dallas-Fort Worth 2010, and Tucson 2012. The dedication on Friday was superbly done. The memorial itself is lovely to look at and steeped in memories, camaraderie and history. Colonel 'Bud' Day, Medal of Honor winner for his leadership and courage while in captivity in North Vietnam, was principal speaker and gave his usual uplifting message. He was the first commander of the Misty Fast-FAC outfit, flying F-100Fs when the mission got too hairy for the slow FACs in O-1s, O-2s and OV-10s. (Don Shepherd ('62) co-wrote Bury Us Upside Down, and it's an excellent book)."

"This picture was taken in Washington, DC when Sally and I were there for a VFW function. Just so you know, the old and very distinguished looking gentleman in a suit and tie is Tony, and I--Deke Johnson--am the young, good looking sex symbol. Sally is not doing very well with the after-effects of her chemotherapy and radiation. Her balance is poor and she uses a walker or a wheelchair. We still manage to travel a little, and went around Cape Horn in South America on a cruise last March and just got back from her high school class reunion in Waterloo, Iowa. I am headed back to the Academy for a Cotton Bowl Team reunion in November."

"I have been holed up in Paxico, Kansas since May," wrote Phil Meinhardt. "I'm writing the memoirs of my deceased wife, Elizabeth, and just passed the 750-page mark, while living on a farm near my hometown of Paxico. Her first husband was shot down and missing in Vietnam for 11 years. Elizabeth wrote lots of letters, a journal each year and collected pertinent material, and I use 'Dragon Naturally Speaking' voice-recognition software to dictate her letters and journals into my computer. Still, it takes me a week of 10-12 hour days to finish one year of data; I just finished 1983, so I have 13 journals to go, and expect to complete the remainder in California. As I see it, the story is a very interesting and sad love story of Elizabeth and her husband, Colonel Don Singer (no relation to our classmate, Donald Edward Singer). At the same time, it is a review of about 50 years of history pertinent to our lifetime and has an anti-war tone. This will be my last major effort in life and my contribution to her four children and grandchildren. We are going to publish it and, of course, expect a Pulitzer Prize book and an Academy Award winning movie." (R: In October, 2008, Phil moved with friend and realtor, Veronica Cocca, to Mill Valley, CA, close to San Quentin and Alcatraz Prisons, while Phil Roberts lives nearby in San Rafael, Charlie Liggett is in Cupertino, Greg Boyington is in Alameda and Lew Price is in Garden Valley).

Pete King, of Valparaiso, FL (north of Ft. Walton Beach), wrote that "Jon McClure stopped by and spent the night in late July. We had a great time drinking Jack Daniels and reminiscing about the old 12th squadron days, especially the antics of Brian Deem, Jim Mills and Mike Buchen. Jon's recovering well from his prostate cancer surgery--Jon went to Detroit for some specialized surgery, post-op complications developed, and he spent an extra couple of weeks in the hospital."

Bill Zersen sent this photo of our "Northwest Passage Group"--those in Washington State--having another of their frequent get-togethers. This one observes the group as they assemble lemming-like along the dock on September 10^th near the Tides Tavern restaurant in Gig Harbor, WA, where they lunched. Nels took everyone on a boat ride before departing for his condo in Tacoma, with the Lucks and Divers on board (Left to Right: Bill Zersen, Nels Delisanti, Carolyn & George Luck, Ed & Suzanne Leonard, Charlie & Edie Diver, Vic Yoakum and friend Suzanne).

"We sold our house in June and went out to Burbank, took a week at Lake Tahoe, and sat in the hospital while daughter Karen had her baby," writes Bill Carnegie. "After a stop back home in (Montville) NJ we went to Guatemala for a month to see our other granddaughter. Meanwhile, Karen brought the newest granddaughter, Cole, back to be baptized October 4th. We close on our new house in Frederick County, VA before Thanksgiving--the view rivals the vista from Falcon Stadium; there is more expanse in Colorado, but, there are mountains and trees in a 180-degree arc over 40-60 miles with a view of four states which is hard to beat."

Regarding Bill Carnegie's pitting of Virginia's views against those in Colorado, my friend and last-section E.E. cellmate George Pupich once told me: "It's pretty hard to beat Colorado, Rose."