Old Times with Old Friends

Memorial Day weekend is a reunion weekend for a group of our Air Force friends. The guys were all in the 75th MAS at Travis AFB CA in the 70s-80s and served as Loadmasters on the giant C-5A aircraft.

There is a very tight bond between servicemen. Each group thinks theirs is the best. Of course, we all KNOW that the USAF is the tops!! =-)

For many years we were friends with most of these guys. I knew them better than their wives in most cases. Of course, wives, in most cases, changed. Some way too frequently! One guy, Ron, is on wife number 3. The only way my husband can remember Ron's current wife's name is to think of Ron's dog - who shares the same name as wife number 3. His theory is Ron had 3 wives but only one dog - so the name is easy to remember that way.

We seldom see these men who are now all retired and scattered around the country. We get the obligatory Christmas card - and occasional email. Nothing more. Still it is nice to catch up on their families. Most had young children who are now married and have children themselves.

It is weird that when I think of old friends, I mentally see them as I knew them 30 years ago. I am not totally daft - I do look in the occasional mirror and I know I have aged and assume they have as well. Yet, it was shocking when we had the first get together in Little Rock several years ago. The first reaction is "Oh! My God! You are old!! Where is your hair, your teeth, and didn't you used to be 40 lbs lighter? (Okay- that was for the guys! - I would never think such things of the wives, but then I did not have the chance because they all showed up with new wives.)

It is difficult to be social when you have no past history.I vaguely recall the wives from California and have never met this group. Still, the first year was nice and Ed loves to see his old buddies.

I decided after the first year to leave the reunions to Ed. He enjoys sitting there retelling all the same stories that have been rehashed each year. This year, he says it was different. They compared medical problems and procedures. They joked about Benny having dentures that do not have a large gap between the front teeth! Benny even had the dentist remake the dentures to include the gap - but all agreed, it was not enough to look like Benny! Chip has gotten old too. He was the student when we left California. He has joined the ranks of old retired Loadmaster with less hair and more belly!

I do not know if other segments of the work force reunite like the military - do accountants or bankers come together to talk about the old days when they actually used paper journals? (Hey! I used to work in a bank and I remember that!)

This group of Viet Nam era vets may glorify their service days. They rarily, if ever, talk about combat days. It is the personal relationships that have lingered and I hope they have many more - AIM HIGH! AIR FORCE!!!