Colorado Springs Reunion

The 2017 annual OV-1 Mohawk Association Reunion was a wonderful event this year.  John Bosch (our Association’s “Party” Director) as usual put a lot of thought and effort into making the party well worth the investment in being there!

I changed planes in Salt Lake and ended up a row ahead of Greg Billigen of the 244th.  We arrived in Colorado Springs late Wednesday afternoon and I immediately met a shuttle driver at the airport who, when he saw my red t-shirt with a large Mohawk on it, said that he had seen (or ridden in, I don’t remember which) a Mohawk somewhere in the 1990’s and really loved it.  He had to leave with a passenger but I gave him my card and told him about the Association.

The hotel in Colorado Springs was a former Red Lion, which was very nice, with four floors and about 800 miles of hallways!  My room number was 468 which involved walking many, many steps to and from the lobby area, off of which the Association’s hospitality room was set up.  Due to agent orange, I am a type 2 diabetic, so doing a lot of walking was really good for me, so I didn’t grouse about it very much.  Walking is one of the best things you can do to help keep your blood sugar under control, too.

By my count 23 Blackhawks/Phantomhawks were there, plus folks from the other usual units.  Here’s the list of those who were there:  Joe Beckham, Don Bernstein, John Britten, Gordy Darragh, Gilberto Mendoza, Dave Nelson, Bill Page, Ben Perez, Ron Pitcock, Bob Riha, Steve Sachs, Ernie Serna, Loren Schrock, Steve Simula, Alan Summers and Gary Todd.

I went on two of the excursions that were offered this year, the Royal Gorge train ride and a tour of the US Air Force Academy.  Both were really fun and were well attended.  Click on this link to see some of the photos I took.

We are all looking forward to meeting again next year in Reno, Nevada, October 25-27 at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino.  Check the OV-1 Association website for periodic updates.

Patriot Day Tribute

My friend Major Barb Michieli, US Army (Ret.), thought you all would like to see this Patriot Day tribute that was posted on Military.com (this may take a few seconds to load).

I met Barb for the first time well over a decade ago when I began working at Seattle Children’s Hospital.  We both served on the Children’s Emergency Response Team (CERT) that was formed after the 9/11 attacks.  I believe she served in the Army’s Chemical Corps, so she worked with CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiation and training for our CERT Team at the hospital.

My "Cousin" Jim Darroch

I got some sad news last night from Janie Darroch that I wanted to pass on to you all.  Her husband and our friend Jim “Digger” Darroch passed away on 28 August.  When I saw Janie in San Diego in 2015 she told me that the reason Jim had not attended that reunion was that he had been suffering from dementia and that it would have been too hard for him to be in an airplane or be around crowds.  It turns out that he was ultimately suffering from a major neurological disorder equivalent to Stage II Alzheimer's.

I had known Jim for many years since I joined the Association.  He served on the flight line of the 73rd Aviation Company, so we didn’t know each other in RVN.  We did, however, strike up our friendship because of our last names; they are both variations of the same Irish name which means “oak”.  So we would greet each other with “Hey Cousin” even though neither of us really knew if we were actually related.  I will miss seeing my “cousin” at future reunions, although I believe he is finally at rest now.  Please pray for Janie as she works through the really tough time in her life.