Year One

The first reunion was held July 20-22, 1990, at the Best Western Hotel in Des Moines, IA.  Approximately 45 members were in attendance for this momentous occasion.  They held a business meeting on Saturday and the day climaxed with a banquet.

Most of the free time was spent talking over old times and looking over memorabilia brought by some of the members.

During the business meeting the following officers were elected to the Board of Directors:

President:    Earl Cheney
Vice. Pres:  Allie Craycraft
Treasurer:    Don Porter
Secy:           Jan Crowel
Trustee:       Herb Goldstein
Trustee:       Bill Rogers
Trustee:       Harry Brown

It was decided at this meeting that this would be a social group and that they would meet once a year in various cities.  It was further decided that the next reunion would be held in Dayton, OH, with Don Porter and Allie Craycraft being the hosts.

The Reunion was held in Dayton, OH, on July 25-28, 1991. The hosts were Earl Cheney, Don Porter and Allie Craycraft.

There isn’t a record of the number attending except that it was more than the 45 that attended in 1990. There was a tour of The Air Force Museum and the usual Saturday night banquet.

The Holiday Inn Dayton North was the headquarters for the Reunion. During the business meeting, the original Board of Directors were re-elected. Dues were set at $10.00 per year to help defray the costs of mailings, telephone calls, etc. It was decided that the 1992 Reunion would be held in July in Colorado Springs, CO and Herb Goldstein would be the host.

The Reunion was held in Colorado Springs, CO, on July 16-18, 1992.. The hosts were Herb Goldstein and Earl Cheney.

The big attraction at this Reunion was the tour of the United States Air Force Academy. Some of the group took a tour of the Chyan Mountain Zoo.

It was decided that the 1993 Reunion would be held in Cocoa Beach, FL, and Joe Caswell would be the host.

The Reunion was held in Cocoa Beach, FL, on September 16-19, 1993. The host was Joe Caswell.

There were 59 members and 38 women attending. The tour of Cape Canaveral (John F. Kennedy Space Center) was the highlight of the Reunion. The usual Saturday night banquet was held on the beautiful deck of the Hilton Inn Cocoa Beach. Carrie and Arnit Beske took the group photos.

It was decided that the 1994 Reunion would be held in Harrisburg, PA, October 13-15, 1994. The 1995 Reunion will be in Eugene, OR in September hosted by Bill Rogers.

The Reunion was held in Harrisburg, PA, on October 13-16, 1994. The hosts were Earl Hetrick, James Rigel, Don Sweitzer, David Myers and their wives.

There were 94 members in attendance. The Reunion was held at the Harrisburg Marriot Inn in Harrisburg. The highlights were a trip to Gettysburg on Friday and a tour of Hershey Chocolate factory on Saturday. The banquet was on Saturday night.

The roster now has over 410 names on it. Bob Cornue and his son Mike have taken on the job of keeping the roster up to date.

Bill Rogers will host the 1995 Reunion in Cottage Grove, OR, September 14-17, 1995. Cottage Grove is 20 miles south of Eugene. The hotel will be The Village Green. There is a RV park and golf course connected to the facilities.

The 1996 Reunion will be hosted by Charles and Bonnie Strickland in Nashville, TN.

The Reunion was held in Eugene (Cottage Grove), OR, on September 14-17, 1995. The hosts were Bill Rogers and his wife Mary.

There were a total of 87 in attendance. The hospitality room was great. On Thursday night Mary outdid herself with a never ending supply of good food. On Friday there was a 10 hour bus trip to Crater Lake. Saturday was cloudy and misty, but an 8 hour bus trip up the Oregon coast made for a very nice day. The business meeting was held on Saturday morning and the banquet on Saturday night. The special guest speaker was The Honorable Ken Jernstedt. The reunion ended on Sunday with a great buffet breakfast.

At this time we have 517 members on the roster.

It was announced the Charles and Bonnie Strickland and Luster and Ann Harris will host the next reunion in Nashville, TN, on August 29-September 1, 1996. Rooms should be about $63.00. The 1997 reunion will be held in Indianapolis, IN, hosted by Allie and Juanita Craycraft.

The Reunion was held in Nashville, TN, on August 29-31 and September 1, 1996. The hosts were Charles and Bonnie Strickland and Luster and Ann Harris. Mary Kern arrived early and pitched in to help them.

Approximately 150 members and guests attended. Registration was set for August 29^th, but quite a few arrived early. The hotel accommodations were great with a full breakfast each morning. The hospitality room was open most of the time and well stocked with snacks and drinks. With the addition of the patio area it made for a really great place to meet and socialize.

On Friday a lot of the guests made their way to the many highlights of the city and Friday night found almost everyone going to The Grand Old Opry. What a great show!!!

The business meeting was held on Saturday afternoon and pictures were taken in the evening just before the banquet. The guest speaker was John Sullivan the USAF Historian for the 51^st FIW who did a slide show of Korea then and now. As a bonus he brought copies for everyone of "The 51^st–A Combat Unit In Two Wars" that he had written for the USAF. What a great reference book for us.

It was decided at this Reunion that 1997 would be Indianapolis, 1998 in San Diego, 1999 Branson, MO and 2000 ??? on the East Coast.

After breakfast on Sunday morning most of the people left with a few staying to extend their vacations.

The Reunion this year was in Indianapolis, IN, hosted by Past President Allie Craycraft and his wife Juanita with help from Dick and Alice Bouilon, Rich and Bev Ehrich, Dale and Virginia Smiley, Kenneth and Rose McMahon and Dick and Sue Williamson.

The dates were September 4-7, 1997. The location was the Hotel Marriott. The reception night found the hospitality room well stocked with food and drink. We couldn’t have asked for nicer weather.

On Friday we had a great tour of the many service related memorials around Indianapolis and on to the "Brickyard". We had a great luncheon at their golf club house and a tour of the Indy museum. Most of us had never had the chance to really get a close look at the Indy race cars before. From their we went to the airport to view an old restored F-86 and a fighter from the local ANG.

The Saturday night banquet was really great and the surprise guest speaker was none other than our own Captain Dolph Overton of North Carolina. His tales of how he became a pilot kept all of us in stitches.

After the Sunday breakfast most of us had to leave for home. Next year will be in San Diego.

The Reunion was held in San Diego, CA, September 25-27, 1998, hosted by Cliofas and Emma Moralez and daughter Lisa Reho and Robert and Carolyn Robinson.

About 105 attended this Reunion.

On Friday some of the people took a bus tour of Carillo Monument and a waterfront luncheon. Friday night found us on a San Diego Harbor Dinner Cruise where the food was awesome and the lights fantastic.

The Saturday banquet was very nice and the guest speaker was Col. Cecil G. Foster, retired. The evening program will pay special tribute to Major Edwin L. Heller, retired, being represented by his son Edwin L. Heller, Jr.

The Reunion next year will be in Frankenmuth, MI. 2001 will be in New Orleans and 2002 in Myrtle Beach, SC.

This tenth anniversary Reunion was held in Branson, MO, September 9-12, 1999.

Our hosts this year were Robert and Alice McNaire. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that they live 225 miles from the hotel and had to make many trips to get everything setup.

It was reported that this was our largest reunion ever. A total of 177 attendees. This consisted of 28 first time attendees; 98 members, 75 spouses and 4 guests. In addition there were three couples that served with the 51^st that just stopped in to say hello, but couldn’t stay due to other plans. A total of 34 states were represented including Alaska.

The hospitality room was filled constantly with people getting acquainted and partaking of the copious quantity of food and drink. Bob and Alice were at work all the time. Oh yes, Alice had a huge 10^th Anniversary cake made up to help celebrate the occasion.

Friday night found almost everyone attending the Shoji Tabuchi Show. Very entertaining. The Saturday night banquet was very nice with Col. Francis Gabreski as the guest speaker. During the Sunday morning breakfast I believe that he told me that he was 85 years old.

It was announced that the 2000 Reunion would be in Frankenmuth, MI.

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