The 56th consecutive 11th Bombardment Group "H" Association reunion was held in Colorado Springs, CO on July 6-10. We stayed at the Radisson Airport Hotel in the Springs. Just across the parking lot was the Airplane Restaurant, a converted KC 97 tanker, were we ate many meals. The numbers this year, 22, were below our minimum number needed and we only had 3 WWII veterans. Neal and Joyce Siebenbruner, Doyle and Pattye Ebel, and Bud Jung and Lois Welman. Because of the low turnout it was decided at the business meeting that this would be our last reunion. This was a very hard and sad decision to make. We had a fire sale on the remaining merchandize.
On Thursday we had a very nice visit to Schriever Air Force base, home of the 26th Space Aggressor Squadron ( SAS) which is our old 26th squadron. There we visited Roger XIII, the mascot of Neal’s B-24 (Meyer’s crew) “Sky’s Delight”. We did visit Roger in his new home, but because it is in a secured area, they had to bring him out so we could get some pictures. Roger is now the mascot of the 26th SAS and is being very well look after. All the men and women of the 26th were very cordial and very interested in talking to our veterans. We held our forum there, but because of security, were not able to take pictures or make a video. Just before the forum they had a very nice snack (lunch) table set up for us. They also took us to an unsecure area and showed some of the equipment they use to complete their missions. I’m not sure how many of us really understood how the equipment worked but I think we understood what their mission was.
On Friday we had a sightseeing tour of Colorado Springs and the area. This included stops at the Olympic Training Center, Garden of the Gods where we had lunch at the Trading Post, Manitou Springs and Old Colorado City.
On Saturday some elected to ride the Pike’s Peak Cog Railway to the top and some visited The National Museum of World War II Aviation. That evening we visited the Peterson Air Force Base Officers Club for a very nice banquet. Our guest speaker was Lt. Col. Frank Kincaid and he talked about the legacy of the Grey Geese (11th Bombardment Group (H)).
Though our group was small this year I think we all enjoyed the camaraderie of the reunion, the friendliness of the staff at the Radisson and the great reception by the men and woman of the USAF.
|
|