USAF HELICOPTER PILOT ASSOCIATION P.O. BOX 966 MEDICAL LAKE, WA 99022-0966 www.usafhpa.org

The Alamo courtesy Wikipedia

Newsletter #2

September 21, 2007

www.holiday-inn.com/sat-riverwalk

Chairman - John Elliff
1st Vice - Pepper Marcum 2nd Vice - Joe Green
Secretary - Larry Burke Treasurer - Bob Strout
Webmaster - Don Damoth Historian - K V Hall
Special Communications - Bill Waters

CHAIRMAN'S CORNER – JOHN ELLIFF Fiesta San Antonio is now only eight months away. Your faithful crew here in the Alamo City continues to press on with preparations. We have just negotiated a fantastic menu for our Banquet. We believe there is something there for all tastes. The hotel was most accommodating in helping us plan and arrange this feast. During our last visit to the hotel we were privileged to observe another military group, the Air Force Caribou Association, enjoying the same hospitality site we will use. Since that activity seems to be the “heart” of the reunion, we will ensure it is the best. I encourage all members to contact others urging them to attend this reunion. With the number who have “Gone West” since our Orlando fling, it seems more important now to make sure we see each other with increasing regularity. We are blessed to have a special bond that most civilians and many military cannot know and do not understand. Nothing cements that bond more than a warm handshake, a hug, sharing a drink, and perhaps another war story, at our reunions. Take good care of yourselves! Let me put in a plug for our Historian, K.V. Hall. He is doing a tremendous job trying to catalog the history of this organization and the people therein. HE NEEDS YOUR HELP! In addition to his request for information on USAF helicopter units in South East Asia, I ask you to submit to him your biographical data if you have not already done so. This is IMPORTANT! Too much history disappears with each loss we sustain. Let us make sure we leave a legacy for those who follow. Sample form is located at end of newsletter. FROM THE SECRETARY - LARRY BURKE Let’s review accommodations. We have blocked 75 rooms for May 11th , and 150 rooms for May 12th - 14th . Room rate is $103 plus tax. Rate is available three days prior and post event based on availability of hotel. To make reservations, call 1-888-615-0726 or 210-224-2500. Request the USAF Helicopter Pilot Association rate. Click Here for access to the USAFHPA reservation site at Holiday-Inn. Reservations after April 22, 2008, will be provided on a space available basis. Following folks have already made hotel reservations: Bridgewater, Burke, De Vries, Duchene, Elliff, Flournoy, Frank Harris, Byron King, Lybarger, Lyell, Marcum, Dale McDonald, Gerald Moore, Theresa Patterson, Peel, Purvine, Schildgen, Spaur, Waters, and Joan Wicker. We are asking that you make your reservations early so we avoid any possibility of having to review/adjust the number of rooms blocked down the road. Why not make those reservations right now? Parking charge at the hotel for this event is $10/day flat rate and is good for both those registered and locals who just need a parking spot. Following new members have signed on in 2008: Larry Lybarger, Cibolo, TX; Rod Lisec, Riverhead, NY; Dave Delisio, Walkersville, MD; Paul Maye, Penrose, CA; and Robert Sullivan, South Hadley, MA. Welcome to the Association! “Gone West” - The Memorial Roster on the web site is updated at the end of each quarter by Bob Strout. The following changes since the last newsletter have been or will be included at the end of this month: Ken Kittleson (Dec 05), Dave Sparks (Jan 07), Ralph Bush (Aug 07), and Syd Pool (Sep 07). Each time we lose a member, a little bit of history goes with them - see request from K.V.Hall and Don Damoth This newsletter is being sent to 566 of the 572 members currently on the Association Roster. The 436 members with an e-mail address are notified when the newsletter is posted to the web site. The other 130 receive a hard copy via regular USPS mail. If an e-mail address fails, we try a second time. If it fails again, we mail a hard copy. Please keep your data current with us. We feel we are reaching most everyone. If you are aware of a member who is not getting the word, let me know. We do not have working addresses on the following: Mrs Joseph (Jean) Agro; Mrs Robert (Lois) Burns; Ellsworth Campbell; Mrs Joseph (Claudia) Cosgrove; Mrs Dick (Joan) Ground; or Jodie Reeves. Does anyone have current information on them? FROM THE HISTORIAN - K.V. Hall O.K. Guys, I need your help. I would like to make a list of ALL USAF helicopter units in Southeast Asia, 196? To 197? There are a bunch of them and I know most if not all of you were there at one time or another. Most units are probably ARRS, Pedros, Jollies, but there are others like the 20th, 21st and I think even a Drone recovery outfit. I want them all. I have received several notebooks, squadron stories, and pieces of information from members and surviving widows that you may have seen excerpts from on the website. I just received a scrapbook of Dick Burdett’s, courtesy of Judy Burdett (via Dick Van Allen) that holds a wealth of information on some units 1971-72. The names of your buddies would be nice, too. This is to be used as historical information by the USAFHPA and would give me a larger database to draw from. Please, Please, send me an email or snail note of what units you were assigned to, where, and date (year is fine) and type helicopter. I cannot do it without your help. I have set up a hotmail address especially for this purpose (or send to my regular email if you prefer). Send to helifuzz46@hotmail.com

FROM THE WEB MASTER - DON DAMOTH The web site has undergone many changes since the last reunion, mostly due to the hard work of KV Hall, our Historian. KV has added a page called “What's new?” to list the changes as they are made so you don't have to look all the way through the site to see the latest changes. I have recently added a web page for Thule, Greenland. It needs a lot more history from the earlier days, as well as the later days. How about it you H-19, H-21, H-43 and H-3 guys, we need your stories. I also added some more info and photos to the MARS page compliments of John Dorgan and Jim Moore. KV has been very busy, I recently reviewed the web site and found that he has made extensive additions and changes to the following pages: Claims to Fame, Outstanding Persons, 5040th Helicopter Squadron, and the 22nd Helicopter Squadron. If you haven't viewed the web site recently, check it out. Now that I am healthy again, I will be working on the web site a little more in the next few months. See you in San Antonio. TREASURER’S CORNER - BOB STROUT Membership is slowly falling. Auxiliary and Associate memberships have increased. We are still losing more old members for every new member we can recruit, so go out and recruit some new members, and try to stay above the ground a little longer. As of the end of June, 57.6% of our memberships were current with their dues. If you have not sent in any membership payments recently, check the roster you received after the last reunion, or check the date on this newsletter’s mailing label. If it doesn’t read 2007 or later, you are not current. If you are still unsure if you are current or not, E-Mail or phone me. Rosters are available electronically in Excel Format (Quattro folks can read Excel, and I can send in MSWord or CSV formats if requested.) Rosters will be current as of 15 September. Folks without computers can get a new roster by giving me a quick phone call at the telephone number listed in any USAFHPA Roster. Along with the information above, I’d like to remind everyone that Life Memberships are available. We currently have nine Life Members. If you are 85 years of age or older, let the Chairman or the Treasurer know that you are interested in becoming a Life Member. If you are younger that 85, you can become a Life Member by pre-paying your dues up to the year you would turn 85. (E.g. currently 75 years old, send $100 for ten years dues and ask for Life Membership. Include your birth date.) Association Decals are still available! Dress up the window of your car, RV, or front door by displaying an USAFHPA decal. Send $5.00 to the Treasurer, and I’ll send you five decals. Also available are the last five Memory books from the Shades of Green Reunion - $22.00 each Any question about dues, or to correct and/or change roster information, contact us at the numbers below.

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Change of Information

                    ____________________________________________________________________

NAME

                    ______________________________________________________________

ADDRESS

                    ____________________________________________________________________

CITY                                                       STATE                                                     ZIP CODE

Phone Number :(_____)_____________________               E-MAIL: ___________________________________

Enclosed is $___________ for my dues for years _____________,___________,_________,________________

Mail to:

TREASURER, USAF Helicopter Pilot Association

P.O. Box  966

Medical Lake, WA 99022-0966

 Address, phone number, or E-mail changes can be sent by E-Mail or phone

to Bob Strout or Larry Burke (210-656-4599) See roster for email addresses.

USAF HELICOPTER PILOT ASSOCIATION

Member Biographical Sketch

Members Name: Spouse’s Name:

Birth Date:

Address: E-Mail:

Flying Training assignments and dates:

Military Career (List by date, type aircraft, Unit, and location)

Additional Training / Education:

Awards and Decorations / Claims to Fame:

Post Military Career:

Family History (wife, children, etc,):

Retirement Pastimes and Activities:

Remarks:

* Please submit a photo, past and / or present (It will be returned if you desire)

Mail this form to: or e-mail info to kykat46@sofast.net
Kyron V. Hall

46 Eden Acres Lane

Great Falls, MT 59405

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