REUNION 2004 - MEETING OF OLD FRIENDS

Remember that family members are welcome at the reunion.  We have had a good turnout of family members at prior reunions and would like to see this trend continue.

The Pensacola area is bubbling with all the unique ingredients needed to make a perfect site for our 2004 Reunion.  It will be another fun-filled time to meet and greet all our 613 friends.

The Air Museum is one of the biggest attractions in the country and all attendees will really enjoy seeing the various aircraft on display.  A PBJ is still under "rebuild" and hopefully we will be given the opportunity to make a walk by and take a few pictures of it.  Don't know how many will be allowed to enter the aircraft though.  There are also several interesting aviation memorabilia items on display that all would really enjoy observing.

Please keep in mind that for the Raffle we would welcome any and all gifts from members.  In prior years we received many interesting items and would like to see the trend continue.

The squadron has the Yakawich Fund whose primary purpose is to provide some assistance to members in their attendance efforts at reunions.  Any and all requests are considered confidential.

Heard from Norb and Betty Gibbs who say hello to all.  Everything is great with them, no sickness only some hectic days at the store.  The Thanksgiving and Xmas Holidays bring the shoppers out and keep him busy.  He continues to keep his part time job of 40 hours a week vs. his old schedule of 80 plus hours per week in his own business.  But he said, it is enjoyable keeping up with the customers desires for specialty foods.

Norb feels he maybe getting a little old since his first grandchild will be getting married in August which will be just a few months after his 80th birthday.

Jack Schwertfager sends his best to all.  He continues to get his golf game in and is hoping that the snow holds off around his area for a few more months.

Arky Ligon called to say hello and let us know that he has relocated.  His new address is listed at the end of this newsletter.  Arky reported that his eyes are giving him trouble and he is hopeful that the eye specialists can put their finger on the problem and correct it.  Other than that things are okay.

Tom Honan says hello to all and reports that all is well with him in Florida.

Foster Cummings sends his best to all.  He had been waiting for the weather to change to winter and it did.  They had the real McCoy weather of a lot of snow in his home town.  He made early plans to pre-flight his snow blower and was able to use it constructively several times.

Bob Polakowski says regards to all and sent along a belated Happy Birthday.  They attended a Veterans party at the local Junior High which was interesting.  The children made some presentations regarding Veterans which were well received.

He and Helen read with interest the article in the October newsletter regarding the passing of the Jesuit Priest Fr. Hacker at Kwajalein Atoll. 

During their trip to Kwajalein in February 1994 they met Fr. Hacker and had a great time chatting with him.  The spelling of his name was similar to Helen's family name except for the "T" on the end.  Fr. Hacker said that he had heard that some members of the family tree had changed the spelling some time in the past and that Helen's family was undoubtedly related to his family and that they were no doubt cousins.

George Comer says hello to all.  He was interested in the comments in the last monthly letter regarding the Marine Raiders who were killed by the Japanese at Kwajalein.  Doing a lot of Marine Corps research he recommended a book by Web Griffin which is number 2 of a series on the Corps.  The author went into a lot of detail about the problems that the Raiders had in endeavoring to land and also leaving Makin.  His write up pretty well covered the actual tide problems associated with the invasion and its effect on the boats and rafts used by the Raiders.

The Japanese command was pretty vicious in their treatment of the Marine prisoners after they were transferred to Kwaj this included their execution.   After the war the War Tribunals were able to convict the high ranking Japanese officers of their misdeeds and they were hanged. 

George also mentioned his experience with the hangar at LTA (Marine Corps Air Facility at Tustin).  The Marine Corps was able to keep all the helos from MAG 16 and MAG 31 lined up inside the hangar.  There were two rows of aircraft on each side of the hangar and this was the full aircraft complement of four squadrons.

Legend has it that the hangar was so large that they had indoor rain and the rafters were the home for hundreds if not thousands of pigeons. The timber in the hangars was red wood, laminated beams, and it took a lot of special equipment to get them installed properly.

During the Korean Armistice talks the United States built up their Korean on site troop strength and MAG 36 was one of the Corps units that was suddenly transferred there to be on site prior to any signing of documents.  George was one of Marines who made the trip.

Heard from Jim Lewis and he and Mary Jane send their regards to all.  Jim reports that Mary Jane is progressing from her knee surgery operation.  She has progressed from the walker assist and cane routine to walking unaided.  She still limps but has reduced her requirement for pain killers to evening hours only.

Mother nature still provides interesting scenes for them on their lake.  They look out the windows and see hundreds of geese and black trumpeter swans on a daily basis.  In addition their sightings of deers continues to increase annually.  So far this season there has been an increase in the number of hunters who have been getting their licenses and all residents hope that the size of the herd will be reduced thus saving their vegetation.

Bill and Ruth Jurgelevich report that all is well in Main but starting to get cold.  They send their regards to all.

Homer and Janette Anderson report that all is well with them and they say hello and regards to all.

Charlie Cosbey sends his regards to all.  In addition te bringing his memory into play regarding three of our planes that were disposed at Kwaj he also reported that he is doing well and continues to go to his son's shop every day for three or four hours a day.  It keeps him out of trouble.

Joe and Dot Waldowski send their regards to all.  They have been taking rides to scenic spots on the shore while the weather holds up.  They are still active in their senior group which gives them the opportunity to go on a lot of day trips which include shows and lunch.

Harlan Jason says hello to everyone.  He reported that he is surviving and can get about with some difficulty.  Has difficulty in walking, has to watch his diet, take pills three times a day to keep his heart performing properly plus a few other physical problems.  All in all though he sounds great.  He is convincing himself that all will turn out well in the long run.

When we get to the Pensacola Air Museum Jason said to look for some aircraft skis that can be used on a PV or Box Car.  He made them when he was working for a large aircraft equipment supplier.  I assured him that we would look for them and verify the manufacturer's name tag.

Stan and Peach Richardson send their best to all.  They went on a trip for most of te month of October which gave them a chance to see some fall colors up the coast.

They visited with relatives in New Jersey and Maryland.  They spent more time in Maryland visiting with family members and than returned home stopping to take in sights that they never had a chance to see on prior trips.  They are looking forward for the reunion and hope that many will attend.

Two members remind us that we have just five months to register ourselves or others we know as World War II Vets for the WWII Memorial.  The web address is http://www.wwiimemorial.com

I have heard from two Marines regarding a new book on the market.  It is entitled Fly Boys by James Bradley.  They recommend it for anyone who was in the Pacific during WW-II.

It gives good insight on why the Japs behaved like they did and what a rotten bunch of individuals they were.  One Marine said it's amazing the turnaround they seem to have made since the War's end.

In last month's letter I mentioned receiving an e-mail from one Bob Haney a government employee working at Kwajalein Lagoon.  He was researching the use of Marine PBJs and an interesting part of this lead him to believe that most of VMB 613's PBJs are located on the bottom of a lagoon at Kwajalein Atoll. 

Divers found at least three fairly intact PBJ1-H's with many more (up to 12) possibly there.  The photographs he saw showed the Marine radar unit on the wing tips confirming that these were PBJs.