The national reunion was recently held at Joint Base McChord Lewis (JBML) in Olympia – we knew it as Fort Lewis. It was hosted by the 2nd Battalion who for the most part rolled out the red carpet for us. The reunion attendance was low but K Company, once again had the largest turnout except for the modern day 2nd Batt veterans.
Our guys in attendance were Roger and Janice Crunk, Tom Sove, me & Fran, Bob & Cathy White, Willie & Sue Williams, Bob Gaiser, Jim Joyce & Delco & Brooklyn & Jim’s son Jim, Dave & Janice Bristol and their friends George & Christina, Ed Mateer, Rick & Carol Noble, Kevin O’Brien, Jim Burke & Rhonda Rogers, Paulette Poehlman.
2nd Batt had an open house where they showed off some of their latest and greatest toys, took us to the live fire range where we exercised our long forgotten skills on the SAW (M249) and the M4 Carbine, opened up their mess hall for breakfast 2 days and BBQ lunch one day. They were anxious to talk with us and hear our highly embellished stories, let us play with the drones, robotics, dogs and a Blackhawk. We had a really great time with these young Rangers.
Bob Whites son, Chris invited all of us to his house one evening and hosted a wonderful BBQ dinner and night of drinks. Tom Sove and Dave Bristol had the opportunity to speak at the NCO Professional Development meeting for the 2 Batt. Several of us were also in attendance to validate the war stories and discuss small team jungle warfare tactics used in Vietnam. Of course the ladies’ luncheon is always a good time for our better halves.
The banquet on the last night is always worth staying for. The 2nd Batt color guard posted colors, we had a nice meal and we had 2 really great guest speakers – Medal of Honor recipient Leroy Petry and retired BG “Smokin Joe” Stringham. It is worth your time to Google both of them.
New business to discuss with you is future reunions. It looks like our company reunion next year (2024) will be in Oklahoma City in April. Exact dates are Thursday 4/11 – Sunday 4/14. Jack Werner has graciously agreed to host and be the “boots on the ground”. We selected OKC primarily because it has been quite some time since we have had any reunions in the center of the country. We hope this will give many more the opportunity to attend. The dates were selected by Jack as being a very nice time of the year to be there. Jack has not asked for help but I’m sure that he could use it. If you are in the vicinity and can help – even a little, please contact Jack at atozinspections@yahoo.com or 405-528-1555.
The national association has decided not to go back to Ft Benning (now Ft Moore) every other year. The 2025 reunion will be in Savannah, Ga. No date has been selected yet – stay tuned!