"COME FLY WITH ME" . . . .

"Retirement has provided the opportunity to satisfy our wanderlust--these past 12 months, we have vacationed in South Africa (Cape Town region), Germany (Black Forest), Vancouver, BC (apartment for a month downtown--3rd year)," writes Jerry Stack. "Hildburg and I also took several three-week cruises--Cape Town to FLL, last month Rio to FLL, including a week on the Amazon. This brought back memories of my days with Braniff flying DC-8s to major cities in South America. These photos show us at Formal Night on two cruises, hiking outside Vancouver, drinking local beer, Wineland Estate near Cape Town, spa at Bad Lieenzeil near Black Forest, wife's family in Karlsruhe, and Barbados cruise." Stacks are now in Germany for May "10. Jerry and Hildburg live in Sanford, FL (north Orlando).

Click Here for more of Jerry's photos.

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Ken Alnwick related that "Pete (King) told me ours was the only class not to have a single falconer. I thought about doing that, but shoveling bird s--- for the '59ers did not sit well." The Academy has been fortunate to have had white morph gyrfalcons represent the cadet wing. Previous gyrfalcon mascots were Atholl and Pegasus, who was later renamed Baffin. Baffin got her name from the island in the Arctic Ocean where she was captured with the permission of the government of Canada. Capt. Richard Graham presented her to the Academy Nov. 20, l965, as a gift from the 17th Air Force. Baffin died April 7, l978, at the age of 13. During her years as queen of the mews, Baffin appeared at all home football games and countless other Academy events.("November 2009 Web Column" has a photo of Pete King's wife Linda's marvelous two-foot statue of an AFA Falconer and Gyrfalcon).

In a "P.S.," Ken said: "I'm really sweating out the oil spill. Our place on the Gulf Shore in Ft. Walton Beach has been in our family 40 years, dating from my Air Commando sojourns. This has the potential to devastate the local economy--not to mention ecology that sustains it." (R: I'll bet Bill Gillis is also sweating in Panama City, as is Aaron Thrush in Ft. Walton Beach).

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"Kay & I took our 10-year old grand daughter, Julianna, to Disney World in Orlando for Spring Break," wrote Paul Vallerie, Boise, ID. "There's a military facility near Disney World called Shades of Green. We just had to go to Blizzard Beach, which was a ski resort modified for water slides; trying to keep up with a 10-year old for six days was lots of work. We left March 21^st and returned March 27th."

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Our "What I am Famous for Award" goes to Lew Price: "Sometime after the school year began in the fall of 1948, my grandmother in Silver Spring, Maryland, suffered her third stroke. She was not expected to live, so Mother and I reserved seats on a Capital Airlines DC-3 which would pick us up at a little airport in Freeland, Michigan. When we went inside the terminal, a handsome black man opened the door for us. He and a little man with a strange accent followed us on to the airplane. The same two men sat on the right side slightly across the aisle, as we climbed to our seats on the slanted floor of the old tail dragger. The little man spoke when I turned: 'Be sure you don't take a poke at him,' motioning to the black man. Then, 'He's Joe Lewis' (the man talking to us was Mr. Lewis' manager). Freeland had a grass field and the power of the engines blowing the high grass blades impressed me deeply. We spent the flight conversing with Joe Lewis and his manager, and Joe was the heavyweight champion of the world that year. Joe didn't say much. This was my first ride in an airplane, and on the in-flight progress form with the altitude, airspeed, location, etc., I received Joe Lewis' autograph." Shown is a copy of an undated in-flight report for passengers, and around the lower, left, and top margins are a Wright Flyer, Jenny, Ford Trimotor, Savoia Marchetti S.73, Boeing 247, Douglas DC-4, and Douglas DC-3; our position at 3:57 pm is Midlake Erie at 4,000 feet with a speed of 210 miles per hour. The tailwind was 10 miles per hour and the temperature outside is 53 degrees Fahrenheit. On the back is Joe Lewis' signature.

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Lake Okeechobee is in lower Florida between Fort Myers and Palm Beach. At the north end of that large lake sits Okeechobee; 29 miles north at 32801 Highway 441N is Indian Hammock, a heavily-wooded, resort-styled series of living spaces with 250-2.8 to 3.2 acre lots on which rest 150 lovely homes, a lodge, swimming pool, fitness center, and 3,000 foot grass runway. On May 8, 2010, 11AM-2PM, this was the site of the "Indian Hammock Hunt & Riding Club Fly-In."

Dotty and Jerry Farquhar live at Indian Hammock in their 2,900 square foot home, fully surrounded by nature, and the nearby runway has hangars for Dotty's 1946 Piper Cub and Jerry's Piper Aztec six-passenger twin. Jerry flew Delta 33+ years, Dotty's a former B727 captain with Miami Air International, and both retired in 1996. Three times a year, Dotty and Jerry invite Central Florida fliers to "FL75 N 27° 32.29' W 80° 58.62'," Runway 11 or 29. Jerry handles traffic, issuing welcomes to "Indian Hammock Inter-Galactic Airport," while Dotty assembles an exceptional lunch at the nearby Gun Club. Last Saturday, May 8^th, two dozen intrepid fliers landed"ever see a 'sonex?"--and here are some photos: Click "Here."

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"I know all fighter pilots will appreciate this story (click) about the DC-3," wrote Tony Burshnick. "Bob Spear, our basketball coach when we were cadets, flew us to away games in a DC-3 assigned to Lowry AFB; that included me, Don Wolfswinkel, Ron Deep and Tony Long. That was the last time I flew in the Dakota."

Ken Alnwick added: "In the "Can you top this?" category, I have the dubious honor of flying both the C-47 and C-46, the box the C-47 came in. I flew the last C-46s in the US to the Bone Yard in 1964, also flew the Embassy goons for AMEMB Laos (1965) and Thailand (1973). And, I retired the last 12 EC-47s in theater in NKP, with final flights to Udorn in 1974 before moving to T-39s with ScatBack." Tom Burke said: "This is a great story. I had the privilege to check out in and fly the DC-3 while I was doing my graduate studies at Texas A&M. I had to drive to Bergstrom AFB for the proficiency flying time and logged about 150 hours in the DC-3. It was fun flying and I can believe all of the tales in the report." Not to be outgunned, Al Johnson said that "When "Puff" had all three 7.62 Gatling cannons firing, it was very much like having a "bow thruster" on an ocean liner."

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Bob and Lutzi Fischer came through Sarasota March 27th, got our "day tour" during a rain storm (literally rained "cats and dogs") and spent the night, this after their two-week stay at Marco on Florida's southwest corner, where they"ve vacationed for ten years (photo: Rosie and Bob, Lutzi and Karen)".

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It seems more than one lifetime ago, but Dale Thompson mentioned (when asked) that: "Yes, I was an escort for the Miss American Pageant in 1959, but it was with the competing Oklahoma girl, not Anita Bryant. I did spend time with Anita that evening, but two letters I later sent were answered by her Secretary--such is life." Tony Burshnick was also an escort, and Bob Fischer escorted one lucky lady in the Miss America contest, and Tony Long was also assigned this glamorous duty. Tony B said: "since Miss America 1959 would also be there, we selected 51 cadet escorts. I set up the plan, so I decided that whoever won the Miss America title would be my partner for the dance. Years later, flying out of McGuire AFB, I had the privilege of flying Bob Hope and his USO group to Europe and back, and Anita Bryant was in his group. On the way back to California we stopped at JFK to clear customs and refuel. Anita and her husband and I had breakfast at the airport restaurant. That was a memorable meal, to say the least. I don't remember who it was, but one of our classmates continued to date his dance partner and eventually married her. They were from one of the New England states."

MY QUESTION--Who else from '60 was Cadet Escort for the Miss America Contest in 1959? Reply to this column"(51 total, according to Tony B--I need 47 more!).

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Friendly Fire. In the last issue, Mr. Answer Guy-Person asked: "How do chickens mate?"(Q by Phil Meinhardt). Answer: The rooster says to the hen: "Let's have some baby chicks." The hen then says: "Kiss my cloaca" (that's it, says Phil, who grew up on a farm outside Paxico, KS) ..""You may appreciate these old Davis-Monthan photos," wrote Charlie Hart. "For some beautiful photographs of the planes of yesteryear, click: http://www.dhc-2.com/Monthan_Memories.html. "Real airplanes, awesome pictures not seen before," says Charlie. "What a great time for aircraft enthusiasts." Johnnie Kuenzel got the nickname "Herb" based on Herb Score, the Cleveland Indians' player who was struck by a line drive hit by Gil McDougald in 1957. "Rosie, the name was given to me by the Dolphin, Jim Kerr; our baseball team was in Tucson playing the University of Arizona, and the Cleveland Indians were there holding Spring Training. Several of us were invited to the Indians' facility, where we met several players, including the young phenom Herb Score," wrote Johnnie. "As to why Jim chose that name, you'll have to ask him! Incidentally, on that same trip, Norm Haller became "Walt" after Walt Dropo, an Indian slugger of that era."

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In Checkpoints, March 2010 issue on pages 44-46, there is an interesting article: "What do motorcycle gangs, prison inmates, and cadets all have in common?" Answer: Nicknames. The article discusses why our school has never really had a lasting nickname, and also mentions names like Doc, Cueball, Peanut, Postman, Stormin' Norman, Fast Eddie, Fall Down Brown, Alley Dog, Ding, and Crash Test Dummy; and, "outlaw bikers" like Mouldy Marvin, Crazy Cross, Terry the Tramp, Tiny Boyle, Charlie the Child Molester, Zorro, Buzzard, Dirty Ed, Magoo, and Skip.

In our Class, some nicknames enjoyed (?) by fortunate classmates included Gnome, Roach, Rat, Whale, Dolphin, Duck, Hawk, Bear, Pig, Seal, Flea, Gnat, Wedge, Mole, Panda, Snake, Fish, Goose, Shep, Chik, Itch, Wick, Slik, Bojo, Rebel, Sabo, Pug, Krash, Salty Able, Korny, Oogie, Stud Horse, Chum, Cask, Buck, Nebs, Gar, GJC, Tadashi-San, Good Will, Shiv, Charlie Brown, Slats, and Expletive Deleted. Always the arbiter of good taste, Santa Barbarian Gary Gunnar "Goose" Gulbransen sent a list compiled by the Dodo staff--back in "19 hundred-something" to view this previously classified document, Click Here."

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Dick Sexton has been representative to the Class Advisory Senate, and reigning President of the Senate, these past three years. The Senate serves as a two-way channel of communications between the AOG leadership and the broader graduate community. The AOG Board consults with the Senate, which provides advice to the Board based on member input. This Senate has grown from 15 to 41 members, provided the Board with two 'moving Forward" policy papers, and was instrumental in formulating the agreement between the AOG and USAFA Endowment. Dick has done an excellent job keeping the Class informed about what is going on at the Academy, and also in bringing our view(s) to the AOG Board. (Several photos show the Senate in session, and Dick presiding over the full Senate at a Board Meeting.

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Al Johnson, who occasionally dabbles in obscure historical matters, maintains that there is an "Interesting story about our house in Alexandria, VA. When talking to Don Stevens, we discovered that our house is located on property his ancestors once owned. Seems like the Triplett family sold a big parcel of land to George Washington so that Washington could build a grain mill (which is still operational and is a designated historic visitor site). The land where our house is located is on that farm. Don's ancestors are also associated with a number of other historic sites in the area, including a cemetery plot located on the Fort Belvoir military post. Don says that when we sell the Virginia house we will have to share any profits (but not any losses) with him."

With regards to Al Johnson selling his Alexandria, VA home, Don Stevens stated that "I too look forward to Al's selling my grandparents' place on Dogues Creek and getting my cut of what my ancestors once sold to George Washington," says Don. "When William Triplett passed away in October, 1785, George Washington bought the property from the surviving Triplett family members. The Triplett families were all "good buddies" with George Washington's family, and the Triplett family is historically significant in Northern Virginia (Historical Note: There are no known photos taken by George of this property.

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The Scene: The year is 2085 C.E. Our great-great-granddaughter's (G-G-G) looking at a box in which Karen stored our marriage certificate, Captain Marvel comic books, Debs C. Garms' baseball card, and assorted papers. Our G-G-G picks an item, 4" x 6", and reads: "As promised! This is one neat town--to walk, to sightsee, just to be in."/S/ George. The opposite side depicts Mercer House in Savannah, GA.

She picks up another: "Quite a few guys out here, but, I'm sure you'll get a report from Andi/Al. Ex-beautiful, but cold" (I'm) doing lots of sightseeing with Dean Bristow."/S/ Opposing side pictures 'scenic Utah".

Now, our G-G-G picks one last object: "And the travels continue. But, so little time (and $). See you in Sept/Oct." /S/GJC. Turning it over, there's a photo of Monterey Bay, CA.

"What are these things," she asks her grandmother.

"Those were called POSTCARDS, young lady," replies her grandmother.

"Why didn"t they just send a "brain wave?" (BWs are telepathic communications where an individual holds his index finger on his forehead, thinks his message and projects it to a recipient--travels thru the galaxy at warp speed).

Nice gentleman in all this, George Joseph Charles Fries, had promised to send postcards from places where he and Becky stopped on their Spring vacation, and they did.

"Thanks for the Memories, George."

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"Derry is failing rapidly and will not be able to attend the reunion," wrote Faith Adamson. "His Alzheimer's is progressing faster than I had anticipated. He has lost much physical function and can no longer stand up from a chair or dress himself or carry on a conversation that is intelligible. Please tell every one at the reunion how much he has enjoyed hearing about everyone. I have sold our house and will be moving soon into a Stepless ranch house, because Derry can no longer manage the stairs. Our new address will be 1109 Cockrell Drive, Kennesaw, GA 30152--same phone and e-mail. This will be a little closer to two of our daughters, which is good for me. The new address will be effective May 1, 2010. I hope the reunion is a huge success. We will be having our 50th anniversary this summer also." Regards, Faith"

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50^th Reunion: Go to www.usafa.org to view the Events Schedule and make reservations for your room at Embassy Suites; or, contact the AOG at 719-472-0300 for a copy of the schedule--Jennifer Ganzler ext. 138, or Tiffani Lusson ext. 136. You may reserve your room by calling the Embassy Suites at 719-599-9100. See you 29 September! NULLI SECUNDUS!

For a preview of the entertainment to be provided at the Saturday night's dinner at our Reunion, turn on your sound and click the play arrow.