NOTES FROM THE BUNKER....

    Some post-reunion musings:     Despite the vocal talent of Joe FABRIZIO (phenomenal), the real star of Banquet Night may well have been Owen GILLICK, who brought down the house with his rendition of the Johnny Cash staple, "I Walk the Line"...On the other hand, the "hottest babe" in attendance was that Lady of the Desert, Audrey GILLICK (think Niel Sedaka's oldie, "Calendar Girl")....Honey HALL has more energy and pizzazz than a group of teenagers at a party...her performance was fun to watch and professional at the same time........kudos to Don BRENNAN and Dave NADEAU for solving the karaoke monitor problem.......Ted and Linda FINLEY went to see George Wallace in the Flamingo Room at the Hilton...they also went to see the Follies Bergere at the Tropicana....who says there's nothing to do in Las Vegas except gamble......Bill FEIND's daughter, Nancy, was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on 30 September in Colorado Springs.  Bill was able to fit into his dress blues and delivered the oath of office...Nancy's husband,Steve STAATS, pinned his silver oak leaves on last July 1st..both are stationed at the Space Ops Command...Al and Susan CRUZ's sons continue to make the folks proud..Nathan is seeking a Master's degree in Public Policy at Carnegie-Mellon, and Brian is on track to graduate from OCS on 9 November and enter the field of cryptology...............Ralph and Nancy RYDER tied the knot last May..Ralph had knee replacement surgery and surgery on his sciatic nerve, where pins were placed in his lower lumbar....The RYDERS will soon be relocating to Salem, Missouri..........George and Nancy CLEVELAND are alive and well in North Carolina.....George is standing for re-election as a state assemblyman while tinkering with the 1948 Jeep he purchased some 15 years ago........Paul and Alice CHRISTENSEN are well..Paul continues to be deeply involved with the VFW as Quartermaster and Senior Commandant.........Tom LOCH took his sons to see the Yankees and Red Sox at Yankee Stadium the weekend prior to the reunion.........Ron WALLER and his significant other, Jane BROADWAY, were first-time attendees at the reunion.....both had a great time, and Ron helped Joe FABRIZIO and I recall some of the oldies at the Tuesday night sing-a-long...........Also first-timers were Bob and Charlene POROSTOVSKY and the CLEVELANDS......"Cpl Ted" BAHRY would like to copy any of your photos of split trailed 155 MM howitzers and any photos of jeeps.  Please send photos to him at P.O. Box 756, Carlsbad, CA., 92018, or scan pix to him at : semperted@aol.com.....a hearty Marine Corps welcome to new members Bob and Leah ADAMS, Deb and Gerry GILLIS, Ralph and Janet RYERSON, and Jim and Carolyn SCOTT......looking forward to seeing all of you at the next reunion!.......Don (Motor T) FOSTER surprised Ted BAHRY by presenting him with an authentic 5 gallon gas can (USMC "Comm Section") for Ted's M38A1 radio jeep.....nice touch of class, Don !....Joe FABRIZIO and Joe GODDARD each outbid the crowd for the two Iwo Jima commemorative coins..........and I think George CLEVELAND bought everything else (or so it seemed)....Mike SHAVOR is well and surveying up a storm (no pun intended) in the bayou.........Joe FABRIZIO recently sold his limo business and has purchased a new Lincoln limo to become an independent contractor (one driver,one car, one hell of a lot less headaches......Debbie and Larry FRIEDRICH continue to serve as officers with the Vietnam Veterans...I think Debbie missed her calling as a stand-up comic...she had our table in stitches...... Gene TIMMONS still serves on the President's Select Liaison Team which travels to North Vietnam two or three times a year and interacts with the North Vietnamese on matters relating to MIA/KIA remains.  Gene was instrumental in obtaining a Veteran's cemetery in southeast Pennsylvania last year...he did the politicking and made several trips to the U.S. Congress to pitch his proposal, Geno, you are truly a hero to all Vietnam vets!.....Ted and Jo BAHRY are preparing to relocate to the upper peninsula in Michigan sometime in the future.....Don and Pam BRENNAN finally (!) have their beach house in South Carolina.... The POROSTOVSKYs, aside from adding to the camaraderie by showing up and intermingling with the group in fine fashion, also went to see the Celine Dion concert, which the DARMETKOs had done before.  Recent conversations indicate that the DEMPSEYs, SNOWMANs, SHORES and WILLE families are OK.  Henry and Deanie are hanging in there, Randy and Dulce are both recovering well from health problems, Earl and Margeret have a new pet, (read"dog boy) and Carol Marie is exercising by walking Wille's two boys - CHESTY and GUNNY, their two Yorkies....Ed and Lorraine DARMETKO are alive and well in NoCal, and are still the "hippest" duo in our membership...Stan Zann attended again and helped with the raffle, as usual...Stan has been a stalwart at the reunions, which he refers to as "his annual vacation"...Thanks, Stanley, for your help and your support....Ditto to the DARMETKOs, Joe GODDARD, Tom LOCH, Matt GRISSOM, Gene TIMMONS, the GILLICKs,et al.  As for me, my wife, Toni Lee, has rediscovered her interest in golf after a 12 year hiatus, so I'm off to the links !

    As the new year approaches, I hope we can welcome potential members such as Bob MARQUIS and Don BROMIEIR to our group.  I'm also hopeful that first-timers-to-be Bob and Leah ADAMS, Gerry and Deb GILLIS, Frank CHAIRMONTE, Bernie HART, Jim SCOTT, Ralph RYERSON, Bill FEIND, Forrest SPROUSE, Leroy FREMIN, Haskell CLARK, Robert PALMER, Paul BLANKENBECKLER, Ed DAUSTER, Greg MEACHAM, Stan PEKULA, Dick ROGERS, Bob STEWART, Ed VILLAROS, and Maurice ZECK will be able to attend REUNION 2K7.  Looking forward to seeing the ROURKEs, JABLONOWSKIs, WACHAs, the THORNEs, the WARTICKs, the SANCHEZes, the RYDERs, the DOWDs, the (Red Dog) FOSTERs, the (Sam) HUSTONs, the MOYAS, the McCLELLANs, the OLIVERs, the PERDUEs, the WILLEs, the SNOWMANs, the SHORES and the DEMPSEYs , along with others next year.

    I hope everyone has a grand Marine Corps Birthday, Happy Thanksgiving and a very Merry Christmas, and I wish the best to all in the new year !

Semper Fi,

LCpl Joel