Dean Bristow of Payton, UT, has been putting much of his unplanned down-time into locating and engaging classmates to renew old acquaintances and help generate enthusiasm for our forthcoming 60th class reunion (whenever that may occur). As of this writing (15 July), he has spoken to some 100+ classmates who stood with us for our first group picture at Lowry AFB in 1956.

Phil Roberts is one of Dean’s finds. Phil graduated with us and went on to be an RC-121D navigator at Otis AFB. He then transitioned to the Air Force JAG Corps and eventually went on to perform the same service for the Navy. He retired as a captain and then went on to establish his own law practice in San Rafael, CA, where he now resides.

Hank Sredl, PhD, industrial psychology, left USAFA in 1958 to get married. He has fond memories of his 3rd Squadron escapades with roommate Paul Sones, Tom Burke and Ralph Lalime. He was one of a few of our classmates who joined our ranks with a BS (NYU) in his pocket. He is now retired from teaching and lives in New Hampshire with his wife, Regina.

Having amassed 30½ years with American Airlines, Ed Nogar is one of our cohort of post- Vietnam airline pilots. The former ADC fighter pilot and one-time O-1 FAC, Ed now lives in McKinney, TX, close to his two children. His long-time pastime has been building and flying model airplanes, and his proudest accomplishment was building a10-foot wingspan radio-controlled, tailless flying wing. His long-range goal is to be the oldest surviving member of our class, (which means that at some point he will become our designated class president, web master and scribe).

Ron and Connie Yates had planned a lively celebration of their 60th wedding anniversary this July, but they have decided to hold off until next July, when they will finally celebrate their 60 great years of married life. Ron, at the behest of Dale Thompson, was the major force behind having the F-105 plaques installed on the Unit/Mission Wall of the SEA Pavilion even though he had never flown the aircraft.

Following his retirement from active duty in the F-16 SPO, Dean Vikan worked on the F-22 program for Lockheed Martin. For his second retirement, he returned to his hometown of Fosston, MN, to take over his father’s local Thirteen Towns newspaper, which he subsequently sold. With time on his hands, he volunteered for everything. He is currently leading a local blood drive jointly sponsored by the Rotary and the American Legion, where he is the com- mander. He is president of the Fosston Hospital Foundation Board. He also leads a consortium of the 13 small-town museums. Plus, he is vice president of his local car club, where he occasionally displays his specially modified 1992 GM Typhoon Jimmy. For several years now, Dean has been battling the ravages of Lyme Disease, but has recently discovered a combination of three antibiotics that appear to be holding the disease at bay.

Dean and his Jimmy

Sid Newcomb lives in Austin, TX. He is heavily engaged in the work of the Austin Disaster Relief Network, which is a prayer network of some 190-195 churches in central Texas devoted to helping the homeless and needy in the region. The organization consists of some 1,000+ volunteers and is supported by a permanent staff of 30 employees. Their recent focus is on responding to the COVID-19 crisis by providing residents with money and guidance as to where they can go to seek help from other local established relief agencies. As one of the few bilingual counselor/advocates in the organization, he is in high demand in these trying times. Also, he and his son-in-law own a local wrecking and towing service–which might come in handy when San Antonio’s Les Hobgood and his daughter take his C-7 Corvette to their next Texas timed road race.

When the COVID-19 virus hit the United States in early March, Darlene and Ralph Lalime had just driven their well-travelled motor home to the beaches of Sanibel Island, FL. The chariot they acquired in 2001 has been a family workhorse, logging some 40-50 trips more than 80,000 miles including ferrying classmates to Navy games in Annapolis MD, local skiing trips with Jerry de la Cruz and various family vacations to New England, Virginia Beach and Sanibel Island. On this trip, every-thing on the island was open when they got there; then, by the second week, only take-out and public beaches were accessible. Soon their RV park neighbors started leaving and the island’s campgrounds were closed to newcomers—but the weather and ocean beaches were still great, and Sanibel Island was still clear of recorded COVID cases. Soon, wildlife began retaking the campground. By early May, the Lalimes, last to leave, pulled chock and began their drive home to Northern Virginia.

Ralph and Darlene and their home on wheels

Just as Ralph Lalime was settling in at Sanibel Island, BG Kaley and Carol were heading northward from their condo in Naples, FL, to the comfort of their home in Brookfield, CT. BG is another of our early commercial airline drivers, flying some 22,000 hours for the USAF, National Guard and American Airlines–which helped him endure his 2 ½ day, 1,400-mile trek up beautiful I-95 North.

Miles Kasper and his wife, Charlotte, are happily ensconced in Fullerton, CA. After a tour in Vietnam in the early ’60s, flying L-19s out of Bien Hoa, he returned to McGuire to fly C-135s before embarking on a career as a commercial pilot for both Pan Am and United. He also flew the C-121 Connie, C-7 Caribou and KC-135 for the National Guard. His most favorite air machine was the Boeing 757 in which he has about 2,500 hours in the left seat. He and Charlotte enjoy traveling between the East and West coasts, visiting his three children, 15 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Your scribe and Miles also shared the unique opportunity to have Ace Holman as our roommate.

Jim Bujalski has kept some of his Native American Indian jewelry collection, but he is not currently active in selling his pieces. As a pastime, in addition to travel (cut short by the current cruise line restrictions), he has taken up woodworking. With a miniature lathe, he has turned out some marvelous pieces such as wooden fountain pens, a fishing rod and bowls. He is looking forward to a C-123 get-together next April in Charleston and he wants to make sure that everyone who had anything to do with the bird in Vietnam is aware of this reunion. Also, he hopes anyone coming through Littleton/Denver will give him a call.

Two of our stalwart fighter pilots, Reb Guillot and Pete King, flew West during this reporting period. Reb was a member of the Super Sabre Society, had two tours in Vietnam and flew and led fighters throughout his 23-year USAF career. Pete flew F-4s in Vietnam and then went on to provide crew support to the Apollo program. Upon retirement, both men worked in the aviation and engineering fields and were deeply invested in church and community support.

Nulli Secundus