ODE TO REUNIONS
 'Twas my AFEES reunion, and all through the house,
 I checked in each mirror
 and begged my poor spouse.
 To say I looked great, that my chin wasn't double,
 and she lied through her teeth,
 just to stay out of trouble.
 She said behind glasses my eyes hadn't changed,
 I had the same figure, it was just rearranged.
 My skin was stifi silky, although looser in drape,
 not so much like smooth satin,
 but more like silk crepe.
 I swallowed her words hook, sinker and line,
 and entered the reunion feeling just fine.
 Somehow I'd expected my buddies to stay
 as young as they were on long-ago days.
 But like me through the years, time added grey to their
 hair and pounds to their rears.
 But as we shared memories and retold some combat
 jokes, we were 18 in spirit,
 though we looked like our folks.
 So -- we turned up hearing aids, dimmed down
 the lights, rolled back the years
 and were young for the night.
                              - - - ANONYMOUS
 -----------------------------------------------------------
                  Early Evaders hitched a ride
     Three early evaders from the 3)6BG found friends at Gibraltar
 who helped them get back to England in the spring of 1943.
     At the time, Capt. Robert P. Riordan had taken his crew on a
 flight to North Africa to deliver a load of maps for use by Amer-
 ican troops after the invasion there.
     Picked up by the Riordan crew at Gibraltar on the retum flight
 were Capt. Richard Adams, 369 BS pilot who became MIA on Nov. 8,
 1942 and was E&E No. 26 to make it out of German-occupied territory;
 Lt. John S. Trost, 367 BS bombardier, downed Dec 20 1942, E&E No.
 28. Lt. Howard Kelly, 367 BS co-pilot, also was waiting to catch a
 ride.  E&F 30, he had been MIA since Feb.16, 1942.
 --From the 306th Bomb Group Echoes
 Page 14
 --------------------------------------------------------------------
               Book tells how many were built
     Dennis Bergstrom is the author of "Gallant Warriors, Propeller
 Driven Warbird Survivors around the World, Fighters and Bombers,
 Foreign and Domestic."
     The February 1997 issue gives the status, model, military serial
 number, current and previous N-numbers, owner, location, and
 number built.
     The U.S. built 12,731 B-17s, 18,482 B-24s, 15,686 P-51s, 11,000
 B-25s, 15,683 P-47s, just to name a few of the planes that were used
 in World War II.
     Germany built 35,000 Messerschmitt 109s and Japan built 13,000
 Mitsubishi-type fighters.
     Worldwide, 442,036 warbirds were built. Of this number, only
 2,414 survive as museum artifacts, being restored, etc.  Of this
 number, only 633 are flyable. There are 13 flyable Bl7s.
     The book may be ordered from the author at 6218 F. Montgomery,
 Spokane, WA 99207 for $20.
 (From  99 BG Hist. Soc. Newsletter)
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Kelley getting his Air Medal
     The Dept. of the Air Force has notified Ernest R. (Bob) Kelley
 of Shasta Lake City, CaliL, that he is getting the Air Medal he
 earned 54 years ago.
     According to the notice, "Then 2d Lt. Kelley was shot down,
 evaded capture, and returned to military control without receiving
 recognition for his aerial achievements." The presentation ceremony
 was scheduled to he held at Beale AEB in Marysville, CaliL
 U.S. Air Forces Escape/Evasion Society Communications March 1, 1998
 Page 17
 ===
--- DB 1.39/004487
---------------