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DATES AND LOCATION FOR 2012 NOW OFFICIAL The 41st Annual Reunion was held at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Oklahoma City on Sept 29 through October 1, 2011. From all reports it was a huge success. If you missed this one, don't make the same mistake next year. We will be going to San Antonio, Texas in the fall - the last week in October when the Texas heat moves away.
Work has already started. The Reunion packets will be mailed out in mid May. If you have not already done so, now is the time to mark your calendar for October 25 through 27, 2012 and plan to attend for what promises to be a great Glider pilot and Troop Carrier Community reunion. It isn’t too early to make your room reservations. Our reunion will be held at the Holiday Inn Riverwalk on 217 N. St. Mary's St. in downtown San Antonio. Please call 210-224-2500 for reservations. The special rate will be honored three days before and three days after the reunion dates of October 25 through 27. If you have any problems with your reservation, please ask to speak directly with Debbie Zaeske. It is very important that you state you are attending the Glider Pilots Reunion in order to get the special room rate of $92.00 plus tax. You can see by the hotel's name, it is right on the famous Riverwalk and just three blocks from the Alamo. With so much to see and do in San Antonio, this is one time that you should plan to come early, stay late, or both if time and finances permit. We will have a fabulous hospitality suite that will top the one in Oklahoma City. We are attempting to obtain special musical entertainment for the Saturday night banquet from Lackland Air Force Base Band of the West. Also, arrangements are being made with Scott Glover, owner and pilot of the Sky King to conduct our very own air show at the Stinson Municipal Airport. For those of you not familiar with the Sky King, it is a fully restored C-47 that was flown on several paratrooper drops and one glider tow mission into Holland with the 53rd Troop Carrier Squadron, 61st Troop Carrier Group. Scott has suggested that he may be able to offer Troop Carrier veterans the opportunity of a ride in his C-47. Click here for Sky King C-47 YouTube Check the next issue of the Silent Wings Museum Newsletter for more details and plan accordingly. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by calling 719-338-6487 or send me an email to ww2gp@aol.com. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
REUNION PICTURES TAKEN OF GLIDER PILOTS
2008 Wright-Patterson Officers Club
2009 Holiday Inn New Orleans
2011 Wyndham Garden Oklahoma City (Click on the link below to see several pictures on YouTube) WORLD WAR II GLIDER PILOTS - TROOP CARRIER PILOTS - 2011 REUNION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Several attempts were made following World War II to organize a glider pilot association. The movement didn't really get started until the spring of 1965 when Earl Dust, of Champaign, Illinois, a former member of the 80th Troop Carrier Squadron of the 436th Troop Carrier Group, made a vacation trip from New York to Florida and visited many of his old buddies along the way. Earl decided to call for a reunion of those GPs he had contacted to be held in Champaign in May of 1966. Using a personal list of names, the word was put out and a total of nine GPs and wives showed up. This may not sound like a large group but at that time, it was the largest group of ex-glider pilots gathered in one place since the end of WWII. At this meeting it was decided that these few would initiate a movement calling for a reunion of all former glider pilots. Bickett Ellington and Virginia Randolph "volunteered" to help in locating as many ex-GPs as possible and do the awesome chore of letter writing and address list typing. A Steering Committee was formed headed by Earl Dust. Earl located and appointed ex-GP Lt. Col. Frank Moore as temporary "National Chairman" and indicated that Moore's primary responsibility would be to "search, seek out and locate former glider pilots. Moore was authorized to use all available news sources in this effort. The preliminary mailing lists started to grow. Finally, after months of hard work, the decision was made to call for the first national GP reunion. It would be held in Dallas, Texas on August 13,14, and 15, 1971. Since the national VFW organization was holding its annual reunion on those same dates, it was felt that this would be an ideal opportunity to attract many GPs who might also be attending that event. Sixty-five glider pilots were on hand on August 15,1971 at the Adolphus Hotel when the first annual reunion was convened in Dallas. |
