We had another wild fire event here in Colorado, in early June. This was the worst fire, in terms of property loss, in Colorado history, and it took place in the Black Forest area, right where many of our fellow class of 60 members live. There were over 500 homes destroyed, and two lives were lost. It seems that this is becoming an annual event. Several classmates were affected; however, no total losses occurred and the evacuations were the main problem for our folks, according to reports provided by Andi Biancur. Initially, Pupich had to evacuate, but the fire missed his home. Next day, the burn reversed and burned north and northwest putting Biancur, Sexton, Glaza, Yates, McCullough and Kendall in the pre-evacuation areas. McCullough and Glaza were away but returned in time to react. Although Sextons and Biancurs were the closest to most of the action, they were only put into a pre-evacuation status. In the end, all our classmates were safe with no losses.

This from Wayne F. Kendall: "Our monthly luncheon on June 19th, had 15 classmates (Biancur, Bilello, Bujalski, Glaza, Hodson, Kendall, Pupich, Porter, Roe, Savage, Schehr, Schwank, Sexton, Waddle, and Yates) present. We had a few war stories including Jim Glaza's description of being with John McCullough in McCullough's South Dakota farm house when the roof blew off. The next day. The main speaker was Andi Biancur who, gave a very interesting presentation regarding the Antarctic resupply effort when Andi was there in the 60's as the MAC representative. For our July meeting, we decided to have a general discussion about VA benefits and share our individual experiences with the system."

Latest stamp news from Bob Odenweller: "On Thursday, 9 May, the A.I.E.P. (International Association of Philatelic Experts) had its annual meeting in Verona, Italy. I'm now one of the longest term members (since 1980) and served on the board for about 22 years and as vice president. For that, along with the work on my two books and on behalf of expertizing worldwide, they awarded me the Hunziker Medal, their highest honor. The medal itself is quite something, created by world-renowned Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, and is heavy enough to be considered a lethal weapon. Of the 15 ever awarded, this was a first for an American." Best, Bob

This from Dave Reed of Boulder and NZ: "I'm back early from New Zealand fighting a humongous kidney stone. Sold the house in NZ recently--Pat and I will be moving back aboard the boat on return in November. Loved the house, but just too much work and expense with both the house and the boat. Year or two left in NZ then probably pull the plug. Soaring here in Boulder. Dave "

Jim Thomasson reports the following after attending the memorial service for Kirk Canterbury: "His memorial service was held in Matthews, North Carolina on Saturday, 27 April 2013. The following classmates and spouses were present: Tom and Carole Seebode, Dale and Idee Mayo, Russ Currey, and Jim and Carolyn Thomasson. The Memorial Service was wonderful. A Scottish bagpiper led the family into the Chapel. Kirk played the bagpipe for some years. Kirk's oldest son, Mark, spoke on his days of growing up in the Canterbury household. Thomasson spoke about rooming with Kirk for 3 years at the Academy. A family friend and fellow swimmer, Patty Huey, told about her swimming days with Kirk here in Charlotte. "The Chapel was packed, and Kirk's wife, Millie, spoke to every person after the service. Although it was a sad day for classmates, Kirk's family, and his many friends, it was great to hear those stories and celebrate Kirk's legacy. Shown are: Mark Canterbury, Millie Canterbury, Laura and John David (J.D.) Canterbury

"(Aside): Dale Mayo and Russ Currey arrived in Charlotte on Friday, April 26. On Friday and Saturday evening we had time to visit--catching up on gossip, retelling some of the great stories of the past, and enjoying some good food and drink. "It was great to be with my old 8th Squadron buddies!"

On 10 May, JT and Diane Smith visited son Andy Hooper and his family in Brandon, FL. A day at Fort De Soto Park just south of St. Petersburg included some fun time bounding about in Tampa Bay and the Gulf on their Sea-Doo watercraft. Also enjoying the fun were Andy and his two children, Nicole and Cody (Andy's wife, Shawn, was unable to join in). Everyone got appropriately wet and had a great time. Shown are J. T. And Diane Smith

Gordy Flygare's adventures. Flygare has been at it again on his motorcycle(s). He also reports the tornadoes continue to miss his domicile. Lots of good pictures on the Class web site. As we go to press, he is off on another grand tour. I quote: "Ann and I are off to Ireland for the month of July to beat the heat and quaff a few 'nut brown ales' to ward off the morning chill. Cameras at the ready, chargers in our carry-ons, we will be able to leaven the flood of Maya pictures that I normally send, with a lot of the Emerald Isle. We'll be back Friday, 26 July."

On May 21st, Nels Delisanti, George Luck, Jim O'Rourke, Chuck Diver and Dennis O'Keefe gathered at Ivar's Mukilteo Landing in Mukilteo, WA for a great luncheon. Vic Yoakum was at his time share in Hawaii. Afterwards, George and Dennis toured Paul Allen's outstanding war bird museum at Paine Field. On June 12th, the same crew gathered in Kirkland, WA for a luncheon at Hector's. This time, Vic was vacationing at Sun Mountain Resort in eastern Washington. Oh well, perhaps in July we'll get all of the crew together. Shown below is George Luck posing during the museum visit

Obits: Somber Subject. Andi, our president sent out an email to all who are on record, with some very helpful hints to make it possible to continue providing quality obits in Checkpoints for our classmates as they are sent on their journey west. I implore all of you to read it in its entirety. He strongly suggest that each of us write a draft of our own obit and send a copy to him. Alternatively you might designate a classmate whom you prefer to do it. Finally, please be forthcoming and volunteer to assist in writing one of these "Gone but not forgotten" tributes when the deceased is a close personal friend or whose life is well known to you. There is help available from Checkpoints staff and from Andi, who is totally committed to getting these jobs done right.

Final Roll Call. David Lewis Wiest died 25 May 2013 in Silver City, NM. Funeral services were held 31 May 2013 at Ft. Bayard National Cemetery . Karl McMaster Jones, Jr. died June 27, 2013. Funeral services were held July 3rd at St. Simons on the Sound Episcopal Church in Ft. Walton Beach, FL (there are 56 deceased classmates, 171 living).