REUNION Site Go-ordinator's Report from Bougie Criswell

Greetings,

This is your Site Co-ordinator's Report. The main thing is that we have an Association that is strong and vibrant, and the prospect of having a Reunion like this to attend is refreshing to say the least. It doesn't matter if you only attend one in your lifetime, you will walk away with a feeling of humble pride that can only be dulled by time. My thanks to all of you who showed.

When I crunched the numbers they came out like this: We had Old Timers, All Timers, Some Timers, Part Timers, Two Timers, First Timers.... And by the powers invested in me as Site Host, I pronounce Eric Termuhlen "Rookie of the Year"! He had no knowledge that the Boxcar Association even existed until 2004! I had to be on my best behavior because my Commanding Officer (Major Sines) and my Flight Platoon Sergeant (Sergeant Dorsey) were present - at least nine Veterans from 1969 showed up.

The weather didn't exactly co-operate, but no one really noticed. The Boxcar Vets visited The Moving Wall in Seaford, Delaware on Saturday morning, to pay their repects. This half-size replica has now been to all fifty states.

Many thanks to Association President Ken Sines for arranging the Boeing presentation. We found out that after more than forty years the CH-47 Chinook Program will most likely outlive us all. Thanks to the Boeing Reps we got facts, figures, information booklets, posters, pins, and all our questions answered - even unasked questions like, "Can I get a job working on Chinooks when I retire in March?" (Be careful what you wish for!) The slide and video shows of D and E Model Chinooks in action was impressive - Got lift, Got Speed, Got Range!

A complete success would be to have all three-hundred Boxcar Veterans on our mailing list show up for a Reunion. There is room for improvement, so I'm doing this again sometime.

Thanks again,
Bougie

Secretary's Reunion Notes