GBNF: Joe O’Brien, CS-22, passed away on 22 April at his home in Waco, TX.
The Class that Keeps on Giving: The Class of ’75 is serving as the Legacy Class for the Class of 2025, which will be starting BCT this summer! As the Legacy Class, we financed the publication of Contrails for the Class of 2025 and provided some insights to its members in a dedication at the beginning of the book, including the following. “Our class has the unique distinction of having the highest attrition of any class in USAFA’s history – only 54% of us who went through that first day of in-processing walked across the stage at graduation four years later! While there were several reasons for that, it has left those of us who made it through those challenging cadet years with strong affections for our classmates. While we anticipate that many more of you will make it to graduation than did our class, we hope that you form the same deep friendships and life-long bonds that we, the Class of 1975, have with each other. That is our sincere, profound wish for you.” Hear! Hear!
The 45th Reunion Class Gift Projects include Restoration of the Air Gardens and the Endowment of Contrails. The success of these projects is proof that contributions at all levels make a difference. The level of participation exemplifies our class’ recognition of the fact that part of our legacy is in preserving the traditions and character of the institution that brought us together and played a major role in shaping our adult lives. Well done, ’75! Lists of individual donors and each squadron’s participation can be found HERE.
Doing Retirement Right: Anyone seen Will Cosby lately? If you happen to be in Loreto, Baja California Sur in Mexico, drop into the local wine cellar and look him up. He has been an ex-pat down there for the last 10 years and owns the wine cellar/restaurant.
CS-31 Grim Reapers Larry Colletti, Jim Foster, Dave Ferguson, and Mike DeHart held their sixth annual ski trip at Winter Park, CO in March. COVID kept more from attending, but this foursome had their shots and kept the annual ritual alive. They held the first Hawaiian themed dinner with appropriate attire and held a Zoom call with those that couldn’t make it. All survived the skiing without injury, but the day set aside for snowmobiling did not bode well for Larry when he gunned his machine onto the clam-shelled trailer and ran head on into the cover, ending up with a bloody five-inch gash on his forehead and several stitches! Thankfully, flight surgeon Jim Foster was there to perform triage. In only two more trips the Grim Reapers skiers plan on celebrating their 70th birth year on the slopes, and they have all vowed to keep going beyond that.
The CS-20 old Trolls are planning a reunion in the fall of 2022. Squadronmate Brad Lindsey offered his ranch in Dubois, WY, and being sage old Trolls, the squadron members jumped at the opportunity.
It appears several squadrons are planning mini-reunions before the 50th comes around, so Bill Estelle created a page for the squadrons to post information about their get-togethers.
CS-19 Playboys Rick Sarver, Carl Van Pelt, Lucky Corrigan, and Buck Rogers got together for their 3rd Annual Playboy Cup Golf Competition at the Clubs of Cordillera Ranch in Boerne, TX, April 6-8. According to Buck, “The Good Guys played well but were edged out by those other guys.” One would assume that Buck considers himself one of the Good Guys, but he doesn’t offer any viable proof to confirm that. And if the Good Guys lost, does that make the other team the Better Guys? Buck also levied accusations of sandbagging, and it’s surprising he didn’t offer other excuses, such as, “My wife washed my lucky pair of underwear.” The course undoubtedly saw a lot of quality shots during their rounds, and equally impressive was the food the foursome tucked away. The final homemade dinner consisted of smoked Texas Brisket with Buck’s famous Chipotle Brown Sugar rub, cream corn, roadrunner jalapeños, Texas Whiskey, Texas Wine, and of course, brownies and ice cream. No matter who was Good and who was Better, it sounds like they all came out of it a little bit heavier.
Chris Glaeser brought up an interesting point. Anyone who completed AM 490 in between 1969 and 1977 jumped out of an aircraft that often carried the Air Force One call sign during President Eisenhower’s term in office. President Eisenhower would fly in the U-4B between Washington, D.C. and his farm in Pennsylvania, and being a licensed pilot, he would often take the controls himself. “So Johnnie, did you know that Grandpa jumped out of an aircraft that used to be flown by a President of the United States?” “Gee Grandpa, you jumped out of a perfectly good airplane? You’re even more loony than I thought!”
A question recently arose about how to contact the AOG when a graduate passes away. It’s a fact of life, and preparing for it helps those that are left behind. To notify the AOG of a passing, go HERE.
Larry Colletti, Jim Foster, Dave Ferguson, & Mike DeHart sporting luau shirts in Winter Park, Colorado
