Greg MEACHEM, a 56 year old former member of M-4-12 (RVN), is serving in Iraq.  Greg, a retired peace officer from West Virginia, is training Iraqi policemen and was recently promoted to SWAT commander.  I sent Greg a U.S. flag in August, and he photographed it being flown "in country".  He intends to provide a certification of same and we will bring the flag to Reunion 2K6 for inclusion in the Raffle/Auction......Deb FRIEDRICH stayed busy while hubby Larry attended Reunion 2K5 by preparing and serving meals (58 on Friday;62 on Saturday) at the fall meeting for office holders of the Illinois chapter of the Vietnam Veterans Association, of which she was elected State Secretary of Associates in June. Larry was re-elected Vice President of the VVA(Chapter 176,Centralia,IL) and remains Constitution Chairman for the Illinois VVA State Council.......Gene TIMMONS remains active (and then some) as a member of the U.S. Vietnam KIA/MIA delegation, which journeys to Hanoi 2 or 3 times a year and links up with their Vietnam counterparts in search of previously uncovered burial sites in addition to pursuing leads relative to sporadic KIA/MIA information provided by local citizens............Donald Dean FOSTER went on a Texas safari last February.  Red Dog (and wife Lureen) normally vacation in South Texas during the winter.  This time, though, Dog went looking for a Nilgai antelope, which were introduced in South Texas in the 1930s.  He bagged one that weighed over 500 pounds.Congratulations, you Dog,you............Paul and Alice CHRISTENSEN are still working the bingo parlor weekly and Paul continues to serve as Vice Commandant of the VFW............Bill FEIND is alive and well in Mizzou, as are Randy and Dulce SNOWMAN in Fla.............Joe and Christina FABRIZIO celebrated their 40th anniversary in Italy during September.  Congratulations, you two, and wishes for another blissful 40...........Gary BOHNA (finally!) retired to the lilting refrain of "Wichita Lineman". Congratulations, Gary..you earned the time off.................Also calling it quits to ease into "Retired" status this past year were Marshall and Sandy THORNE.  Hey guys, this is when the real fun begins.............Don BRENNAN is checking on the feasibility of producing CDs from the tapes he took at the past 2 reunions.  The 2K4 tape, shown at this year's bash, was a big hit with all who viewed it.......Ted and Linda FINLEY were fortunate that their RedNeck condo wasn't damaged by the twin hurricanes...Mick and Beverly SHAVOR likewise escaped serious damage down in La., although, unfortunately, Jimmy SHAVOR lost his home in Slidell, La.  We hope he recovers soon from that disaster, and we all count our blessings.................Bob and Charlene POROSTOVSKY had their Grand Canyon/Las Vegas vacation aborted at the eleventh hour.  On the brighter side, Bob's niece, Erin recently graduated from Ohio State University and is relocating to Encinitas,CA...........

And, last but not least, I would like to extend my appreciation for those members who made significant donations to the General Fund during this past year...........kudos to Odis McCLELLEN, Al CRUZ, Ted BAHRY, Duane WACHA, Joe HARPER, Joe FABRIZIO, Ted FINLEY and Red Dog FOSTER.  Also, thanks to the Reunion Staff for their hard work and dedication.  Special thanks to Paul CHRISTENSEN for serving as my sounding board throughout the year and to Ted BAHRY for maintaining sanity along the way as well as for his outstanding performance (again !) as the Master of Ceremonies, Reunion 2K5.