Yes, it's kinda become a tradition
to hold the reunion over the Labor Day weekend. An extra travel day for some,
a day some don't have to miss work in order to attend, and everyone can plan
around it 'cause we all know when it's going to be. Kinda like the VHPA and
the 4th of July. Not much to do in Tulsa when compared with St Louis or
Baltimore, but we're going to do our best to show everyone a great time.
Actually the best of times for me is sitting around with all my brothers and
just being together. And it doesn't matter if you drove slicks or guns, was an
A/C or a gunner, or was there in '67 or '72....we're all brothers. Just being
together again in this time and space is what it's all about for me.
I met my friends the other day
The old ones that I knew
And in their midst I stood again,
And memories were renewed.
In Vietnam a bond was forged
That’s lasted all these years
The Brothers meet remembering well
The lost, the found, the tears.
Sadly we remember
The ones lost long ago
And sad again we say goodbye
To Friends we all mourn so.
But, there is more to tell you
At that meeting in September
It’s all about the lives we’ve led,
And the reasons we remember.
For that is what Reunion is
For those that served and know,
That friends do still remember
The times spent long ago.
© Bill Janes, 2003
=====================
Come and join us at the Next Reunion in Tulsa. You'll be glad you did.
News from our Reunion Chairman, Larry Miller
The site for the Reunion will be the Holiday Inn Select in
Tulsa, Oklahoma
5000 East Skelly Drive
Tulsa, OK 74135
Room Rates are $57.00 plus taxes for a room with a king size bed, or two doubles.
Reservations can be made by calling:
800-836-9635
918-622-7000
Give the reservation person the dates, and mention Assault Helicopter Reunion to help them find us in the computer.
The hotel is 10 miles from the Tulsa International Airport, and the hotel provides a 24 hour shuttle to and from the airport. The hotel has 313 guest rooms, with 9 luxury suites. It provides a hair dryer, coffeemaker, iron, and ironing board in every room. The hotel has a full service restaurant and lounge, a fitness center, and a gift shop.
Here are some pictures from the hotel brochure:
And, Here's the Map to get there:
We all look forward to getting together again. If you haven't been to one of these, you need to consider coming. If you have been to one of these, I know you will be there -- Bill
3/12/04 -- We are looking at the expenses of the reunion, and will be posting a sign-up form shortly.
Please bear with us, as our host has had family issues to deal with. Keep watching this page, and plan to attend the reunion. This Reunion is for the 191st AHC, but it is more than that. It is about America, and the Family that cares about it. It is about us too, the Family of Brothers that care about each other.
In the past, reunions have been attended by thirty unit members.
My personal Goal is to have a hundred.
I've been pounding away on this website for six years now, so I know that you will read this, and a hundred of you will plan , I hope, to attend this reunion. If we get two hundred from the 191st, so much the better.
The Marines always say "Semper Fi", which is Latin for Always Faithful.
We of the 191st are Faithful too. Come to the reunion and visit with Friends you knew, and maybe some of the Boomerangs you didn't.
The Brotherhood and the Family meets again this September.
A part of you is this, and you are a part of us. Don't be the missing part at this reunion.
Bill
===========================================================
The 2004 Reunion Agenda
This meeting of the 191st will allow a lot of time for old Friends to meet, and remember.
Thursday, September 2, 2004
Arrivals, and remembrances
Friday, September 3, 2004
Time to remember during the day, with a Family Get Together that evening.
Saturday, September 4, 2004
Memorial Service at the Gravesite of one of our lost
Business meeting
Banquet
Sunday, September 5, 2004
Farewells
This reunion in Oklahoma offers one thing you can't get anyplace else..
A time to be with old Friends again.
Sign Up here
An Update from our Reunion Host, Larry Miller - 6/11/04
GREETINGS!
Uncle Sam may not want you any longer, but if you served with the 191st Assault
Helicopter Company at any time, then we sure do.
"In country" or in "the States", gunner on a chopper or grease monkey in the
motor pool, Crew Chief or a Cook, Aircraft Commander or Company Clerk, Officer
or Enlisted, Slicks or Guns, Mess Hall or Maintenance, it doesn't matter.
We need you!
Proud past members of the Boomerangs and Bounty Hunters would like to extend to
you a personal invitation to join us in Tulsa Oklahoma over the Labor Day
Weekend, September 2nd thru the 5th. The accommodations are four star at a
special two star rate and the 191st hospitality room will be in operation 24/7
so once you check in at the main desk it should be your next stop. There you can
pick up maps of the local area, a strip map to Memorial Gardens where our
memorial service will be held on Saturday, grab a bite to eat, or just relax and
enjoy a drink by the pool. If you fly in just call the Holiday Inn and they
will dispatch transportation to pick you up, no charge. We want to make
everything as easy and pleasant as possible.
Our goal is to provide our Brothers and their families with a very special,
unique experience. Believe me when I say that something magical happens
when you walk into a room and lay eyes on someone you were close to over 30
years ago and haven't seen or heard from since. In an instant the years
vanish and all your unanswered questions that have haunted you for so many years
come spilling out. Emotions run deep, some sad sure, but for the most
part....joy and elation soar as your are transposed back to that time and place
again. Finally being able to shake the hand of a friend you always thought
you'd never see again, or at last being introduced to his "girl back home" that
he went on and on about who has been his wife for 30 some odd years now, or
giving a guy you shared your hooch with a big hug and saying, "Welcome home,
Brother".
One thing most of us who served in Vietnam never got was a "sense of closure"
about our time spent there. Seemed like one day you're tearing around the
AO keeping Charlie on the run and then all of a sudden "poof", you're back in
"the world" and everything back in 'Nam becomes distant and unreal. As
unreal and as distant as it may seem, faded memories never really completely
fade away.
It was right after 9/11 when one of the best things I have done for myself in
the last 30+ years took place. I gathered up all my nerve, my wife Susie and I
drove up to St Louis, and we walked into the 191st hospitality room where the
reunion had just kicked off. Three days later I left a different man,
almost whole again. I had found and experienced the "brotherhood" and
family that I had been missing and searching for all those years since I left
Bearcat in June of '68.
I left St Louis with genuine feelings of finally being at peace and with a sense
of closure. My healing had begun, and that's why I'll never miss another
reunion.
Please join us in Tulsa for what could be a remarkable experience. And
even if joining us doesn't "rock your world" like it did me, I can promise you
one hell of a great time. Check out our web site and sign up
today, and we'll see you there.
Out here,
Larry Miller
Bounty Hunter 27
'67-'68
"Red smoke! Roll hot, boss, I got your wing"
A Request for Pictures
Terri Beckham, niece of Tommy Sandefur, has volunteered to produce a slide show to be presented at the Reunion banquet. After that, it will appear here on the 191st Website. Terri is requesting photographs shot by unit members to use in that effort. If you can email pictures, send them to traebeck@comcast.net or email them to me, billj@191ahc.org. If you wish to send slides or photos, send them to Bill Janes, PMB 213, 2604 Towne Centre, Mesquite, TX 75150. We can scan slides or photos and they will be returned to the contributor.
