Hello Everyone and Welk-um to Clete’s Corner.

Did you pick up on that one little word that I threw in?
I guess that I am still thinking about the Reunion that we had last August 21 - 25
at the Welk Resort in Branson, Missouri. Donna and I had a great time and judging
from some of the emails and cards that I have received, you did too.

When we all got together and I started looking around, I saw a lot of new faces
that had never been to one of our Reunion’s. We had twenty first timer’s
that joined us and I hope that they saw something that will make them want
to come back again. I have received a lot of comment’s thanking the Committee
for the job that they did in putting all of the Reunion together. I too want
to thank the committee that consisted of Marion and Jan Duncan, Dave and Sandy Rouzer,
Don and Char Dickte and my better half, Donna Hall for making us all look good.
These people were great to work with on this project and a lot of idea’s were tossed
around when we all got together.

I would also like to mention the donations that
were contributed by this group for the Hospitality Room. If you sampled the Dinkelacker
beer that was kept on Ice for your enjoyment, Marion and Jan donated several cases
of this brew and it went over very well. Something else that went over well was
several bottle’s of wine that were donated by Dave and Sandy. Donna and I donated
several cases of soft drinks, nuts and cookies that gave everyone something to
munch on while they visited. Then there was the donations by Don and Char.
This couple volunteered to donate Potato chips and pretzels. You should have
seen the back seat of their car. They must have stopped at every Quik-Stop between
Chicago and Branson and bought every package that they could find. But, that is
not all that they donated. Those little yellow raffle tickets that we sent out to
everyone for the raffle of the Cuckoo Clock and four nights free lodging,
they donated that also. This was a great bunch of people to work with and I
send out a huge Thank you for all that they did for us.

Speaking of the Cuckoo Clock,
Jerry you can bring it back now, it was only a loaner. Jerry Cravens from Butler,
Missouri was the winner of the Cuckoo Clock and is one of the new faces that
I talked about. Jerry, I hope that you had a great time and that you will bring
Kathy with you next time.

Two other new faces in the crowd were Dick and Alice Motlong
and they came all the way from Canada to be with us. Dick and Alice won the four nights
free lodging during their stay in Branson, but even though this was their first reunion,
they are not new to us. Dick and Alice has helped support our efforts for many years
and it was a pleasure to finally meet them. I hope that they will be back again
at the next reunion.

Another very good prize that was donated by The Welk Resort
was two nights lodging, a couple of shows and a couple of meals and this prize was
won by Ollie and Carolyne Sharpe. Ollie and Carolyne are Charter members in our group
and have been there since the beginning with their support and willingness to help.
I’ll be glad when they use this prize because it will give Donna and I an excuse
to go to Branson again and visit two very good friends.

Prior to the reunion
we asked if all of you could help the Committee out by bringing items for the Auction
and door prizes. We were once more overwhelmed by the response that we received
from all of you. We set up two large tables to handle all of the donations that
you all brought and we had a great time Auctioning and raffling these gifts off.

Just this alone took up a great deal of the evening and it was a lot of fun doing it.
With my memory, it’s impossible for me to mention everything that was donated,
but there was one particular item that I do want to mention and I brought it home with me.
This item is a German Beer Stein that is signed and numbered and was donated by a
person that is not even a member of our group. Irene Lane that is Ollie and Carolyne’s
neighbor donated this Stein to our group as a fund raiser and we want to tell her
that we do appreciate this gesture and to thank her very much for her support.

Irene joined us at our reunion in Mystic and we hope to see her at another
reunion down the road. To all of the others that brought items,

Thank You very much for your response.

We had Beautiful hand made items donated such as
Wall Hangings, Afgans, Hand made Bowls, and numerous other items. You could tell
that a lot of Love went into the production of these gifts. We had tools,
Nutcracker Soldiers (that are now on guard duty in Virginia) Caps, Shirts and don’t
forget the Steak Knives and many other items that just simply overwhelmed us
What do you do with six sets of Steak Knives and you are flying home???
Jim Tyus graciously surrendered his Knives to someone else so do not be
surprised if they show up at future reunions. But, don’t let this keep you from coming.

Jim did not attend this Reunion alone. We had the honor of meeting Hayley Tyus
at this reunion and I do think that she had a great time. Hayley is the young daughter
of Jim and she gave us a big hand with the Auction and Raffle. Thank you Hayley
for your assistance and I do believe that she is going to be as good a buyer as her Father.
There was one item that went up for Auction that she was determined was going home
with her and she won the bid. The only problem that we ran into is that she wanted
to send us the money. Ole Dad came to her rescue and loaned her enough to settle up
right then. Hayley it was a pleasure in meeting you and please ask Jim to bring you
to the next reunion.

We had a Great time folks and the Committee Thanks all of you for your support!

We are now looking forward to 2004 and the next reunion in
Frankenmuth, Michigan.
When we went to Branson, we were wondering where the next
reunion would be held. The Committee had talked it over some and we had people
that had hosted previous reunions tell us that they would gladly host another one
if it was needed. I was having breakfast one morning when Barb Sosnowski approached me
and asked if anyone had volunteered to host the 2004 reunion. I told her that nothing
had been decided yet and inquired if she was volunteering. Barb said that she and Ed
along with Mick and JoAnne Yule would like to have the next one in their area.

It’s great to have people step forward and want to do their part in helping keep
this thing going. It’s sometimes difficult to convince people that we have a great time
at these reunions. Perhaps their reasoning is that it has been so long since they
have seen anyone and we tend to forget or maybe they served at a different time
and think that we do not have anything in common. The thing that binds us all together
regardless of when we served is that we were once members of the 3/71st.
We were there when the Cold War was at it’s Coldest and we made a difference.
That’s pride in a job well done that no one can take from us.

I had several of the people that joined us at this reunion for their first time
speak about the apprehension they had about coming to Branson and how quickly
it disappeared after they met us. Regardless if you know anyone when you come,
I bet you have some new friends when you leave. It was great seeing all of you again
and it’s now time to turn our attention to 2004 when we can all get together
once again and enjoy what life has to offer and that is Friend’s and good times.
Please give Ed, Barb, Mick and JoAnne all of your support as they plan another
fun time for all of us in Frankenmuth, Michigan.
Donna and I hope to see you in Frankenmuth.

Clete

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