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Reunion Information
Last Updated June 17, 2010
WAGONS-HO
REUNION 2005 RENO NEVADA
JUNE 2, 3, 4, 5TH
REUNION UPDATE
Reunion Registration
Reunion registration will
begin on Wednesday, June 1, 2005 at 8 a.m. in the lobby of the Silver
Legacy. If you are joining the group for the Lake Tahoe Lunch Cruise
on Thursday, June 2, please be sure to register as early as possible.
HOTEL
TRANSPORTATION FROM RENO AIRPORT
If you
are flying into Reno, go to the baggage area and look for the free phones
to the hotels for transportation. Select the Silver Legacy phone and they
will send a van for you at no charge.
INVITATION TO NEXT GENERATION HAPPY
HOUR
From: Terry & Kathy Bruner
Location: Silver Legacy Resort Casino
407 N Virgina St
Reno, NV
When: Saturday, June 4, 2:00pm to 4:00pm
For those of you who will be attending the Air America Reunion in Reno,
Nevada, on June 2 through June 5, please join us for drinks on Saturday
from 2-4 pm. The room number has not yet been determined. Check with Kathy
or Terry, in the lobby when you register, or in the hospitality room. If
you need more information about the dates, hotel, events, or golf
tournament you can get it on this page below. Hope to see you in Reno.
To learn more about the Next Generation gathering in Reno and to submit
contact information to be included in future evetns, please contact Terry
and Kathy at tkbruner@msn.com.
Reunion
Registration Forms
Adobe PDF Format
Rich Text Format
Our reunion host Gary
Edwards has sent this information for reunion 2005. We are off to the
High Sierras, Lake Tahoe and the sins and vices of Reno.
Check-Ins will start Wednesday June 1st, at 3:00 PM in
the Hospitality Suite. We
will be located in the newest and grand hotel called "The Silver
Legacy" in the heart of Reno.
Golfing all days at Wild
Creek Golf course and the tournament on Friday morning.
The banquet at the Silver
Legacy Saturday evening will have a choice of prime-rib, pasta primavera,
or chicken stuffed with prociutto ham.
There is a bar every where
friends gather. We have a
guest speaker that was picked up by Sam Jorden off the PDJ in 1965.
2005
Events
No discount for children. All tours must be
paid by May 2, 2005
LAKE TAHOE
LUNCHEON CRUISE
Today’s
tour to
Lake Tahoe
is truly one of the most beautiful destinations in the world.
The lake is situated in what is aptly called “the
Tahoe
Basin
”, surrounded by the dramatic
Sierra Nevada
Mountains
and thousands of acres of National Forests.
During this picturesque tour, you will continually be assaulted
with what many visitors, and locals alike, call “sensory overload”.
You will journey along the roads surrounding the lake
as your knowledgeable private tour guide provides you with
fascinating facts about the area’s history, culture and geology.
Once you arrive at
the marina, you will board a replica of an historic paddlewheel boat,
many of which plied the waters of the lake as public transportation,
long before paved roads were built.
Once on board and under way, much of the two-hour cruise is
narrated and you will hear some of the colorful stories about life
around the lake during past times.
You will also have the opportunity to view a video about what is
going on under the surface of the lake, where there are
shipwrecks and unusual creatures and plants.
At
a designated time and location on-board, you will be served a delightful
lunch, all the while viewing this beautiful setting.
You may even wish to visit the open top deck for a totally
unobstructed view and great photo opportunities.
Upon
completion of this restful and informative cruise, you will again board
your motorcoach and return to
Reno
via the east shore along the lake, where you will have more spectacular
views.
Cost:
$50.00 per person (based upon 40 passengers)
Offered on: Thursday,
June 2nd
Duration: 6 hours,
9:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.
Includes:
Round-trip motorcoach transportation, private tour guide, admission to
two-hour boat cruise, lunch with non-alcoholic beverage, all applicable
taxes, gratuities and service fees.
Suggestion: Bring a
jacket and camera and wear sensible shoes.
VIRGINIA CITY
TOUR
Today’s
very historic tour essentially takes you through the "beginnings"
of
Nevada
! You will head south into
Carson City
, the capitol of
Nevada
, which developed as the government seat and the cultural center for the
mining community known as
Virginia City
, located in the foothills to the east. You will continue on to
Virginia City
, climbing into the Pine Nut Range, once a favorite food source of the
Washoe Indians. During the
mining boom,
Virginia City
teamed with over 30,000 people, numerous businesses, saloons, brothels,
churches, hotels, eating establishments, and the like.
Today, it is primarily a popular tourist attraction with a steady
population of under 1,000, which swells into the thousands during any of
the numerous festivals held there throughout the year.
After
an orientation of the town by your tour guide, you will have time to
stroll along the authentic wooden sidewalks, visit any number of the
historic structures, including saloons, mansions once owned by the wealthy
mine owners, the old schoolhouse, and more.
There are various dining establishments where you may wish to have
lunch on your own. You will
also find numerous speciality and gift shops to browse, along with
several small museums. Some
of these may charge a nominal fee for admission.
You may also want to board the Virginia City Trolley, an open air
vehicle pulled by a tractor, and enjoy a narrated 20-minute tour of the
area. This is a great
addition to what you have already heard from your tour guide.
Another option is the 35-minute narrated train ride on the V &
T Rail (Virginia & Truckee). Your
tour guide will provide you with more details about these suggestions.
If you want a bite to eat, you may want to try the Delta Saloon, or
one of the other eating establishments.
Freshly-made fudge and ice cream is also available in several shops
along the main street.
Cost:
$23 per person (based upon 40 passengers)
Offered
on: Friday, June 3
Duration:
5 hours, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Includes:
Round-trip motor coach transportation & private tour guide.
Suggestion:
Wear comfortable shoes and a light jacket; bring a bottle of water.
AUTO
MUSEUM TOUR AND CATERED DINNER
http://www.automuseum.org/
AAM/VA-165
Don Boecker Rescue
Looking
forward to meeting Admiral Don Boecker at RNO in June.
Shandy
01 quotes Robert Door ("Skyraider---") saying USN had A1’s
based in Udorn in 1965. Not
true. However, VA-165,
embarked (USS)
Coral Sea
(CVA-43), occasionally supported Air
America
choppers on RESCAPS before USAF Jolly Greens and Sandy got it sorted out
and were allowed to play north of the
Mekong
.
On
15 July 65
two FIREWOOD (VA-165) divisions were sent to cover the pickup of the
crew of the first A-6 shot
down in the war. MUSTANG
(Coral Sea) was on Yankee station, the crash site was in Laos, so we
made a 0400 launch and flew direct, over Vinh; our friends on the ground
celebrated our overflight with a delightful fireworks display to greet
the new day.
We
split at the Laotian border. Division
#2, led by XO Harry Parode, went to Udorn to top off and stand by.
Division #1, led by Skipper Ken Knoizen, plus myself, J.E.B.
Stuart, and Bill Lyons, rendezvoused with the AAM choppers and started
searching. We soon picked
up a PRC-49 signal. The lead AAM chopper, Julian “Scratch” Kanach,
sighted a man on the ground, but after several low passes had to retire
due to a fuel leak caused by Pathet Lao playing with automatic weapons.
There was considerable confusion, partly caused by the fact that
the downed pilot’s transmitter was working, but not his receiver;
vice-versa for the BN. We did not figure it out at the time, and they
were a mile apart, so the communication sounded like me and my ex-wife.
After we contributed some thunder and lightning to the
festivities, Sam Jordan in another H-34 picked up both crewmembers,
pilot Don Boecker and BN Don Eaton. We destroyed the evidence and
adjourned to the Air America bar in Udorn for a debrief.
Assuming
we were staying for the evening, we happily accepted celebratory drinks
and pu-pu's offered by our new friends.
A couple hours later we were brought up short by a message from
MUSTANG telling us to get our young asses back home ASAP.
It was a colorful recovery at 2040.
A
couple notes:
1.
Unarmed AAM choppers made an incredible number of pickups under
hostile fire throughout the war. Every chopper jock that I knew would
drop everything and head for the scene if he had a chance to pick up a
downed airman. I personally saw Charlie Weitz pick up 5 downed pilots
in 5 days, 4 under fire, one (a Raven from LS 36) that had
crashed on takeoff into an unmarked minefield (Charlie had to touch down
in the minefield to effect the pickup).
Just a brief respite from routine duties.
Cojones grande!
2.
This particular rescue got several write-ups, some after the war,
possibly because both the pilot and BN, Don Boecker and Don Eaton, VA-75
embarked (USS)
Independence
(CVA 62), later made Admiral.
3.
I later visited
Sandys
in Udorn to discuss SERE and SAR tactics, and flew a BR/RT on Route 6
with them on
26 June 66
. When I was with AAM in
Udorn, then CASI in
Vientiane
,
Sandys
were kind enough to issue me a card for the Sandy Box, and gleefully
responded to my VHF calls referencing ground contacts up-country.
Then someone mentioned "Firewood Buddha" as a FAC
callsign in their debrief, some anal-retentive intelligence-type raised
an eyebrow and a few questions, and we had to cool it. No sense of
humor.
4.
Both Sam Jordan, the pilot on the pickup H-34, and I ended up
retiring from AMR, he as a simulator instructor at DFW, me as an AirBus
driver at JFK.
It
was an interesting time, and I was indeed fortunate to fly Spads.
Better to screw your way around the world than to blow your way
around! Spads
4ever!
Walt
Darran (AAM Blue Goose, CASI Porter)
Reunion
2001 - CIA Citations, Medallion, and Postal Cachet |
