Reunion in July
Guys-
Our reunion’s less than two months away — it’s time to start getting ready for some serious re-connecting and remembering.
I know I’m not alone in feeling my wind knocked out by Smitty’s death last month, but as many of you have said, he would have wanted us to carry on. So I’m coming to San Antonio to share a toast with you to Smitty and our other brothers who fell in battle or have died since. But I’m also planning to party hearty with you guys. Who knows when our next chance will be?
Since my last message I’ve talked with several people. Maynard Sinclair’s doing better and really looking forward to the reunion. His daughter Samantha (soon to be a dentist) will accompany him. She’s giving up a long-planned vacation to Hawaii to come to San Antonio with her dad — she says it’s a matter of priorities and Hawaii can wait.
I also talked again with Larry Ballard, who has tracked down Johnny Traylor (who may attend the reunion.) Larry sent along this photo of a group of us at Con Thien:
I called Gary Hoopman, who has a flooring business with his son in upper Minnesota. Gary’s been married 23 years, with two kids and six grandkids. He’s going to retire in July, and then do plenty of hunting and fishing (he’s done guiding all his life.) Gary’s stayed in touch with Jim Borgh (Gary, please send me his phone number.)
I had a great conversation with Walt “Phil” Philbin. You might remember from Smitty’s e-mails that Walt retired not long ago as an ace crime reporter in New Orleans (he also covered Hurricane Katrina.) He hopes to attend the reunion, driving to San Antonio since he doesn’t like to fly.
I also heard from Bob Hommer, who has made several efforts to track down Linwood Thompson, so far without success.
As most of you know, Smitty’s sisters Christine and Ellen are coming, along with nieces Christine and Olivia. I’m looking forward to sharing pictures and stories with them.
It will be great to see all of you!
Best and Semper Fi,
-Alan
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