Greetings from your Web Orderly at Years End

What a great year we have had. I can not tell you how heartening it is to see the enthusiasm and brotherhood we share as Charlie Troopers, whether we served together or not. Reunions in Las Vegas and Fort Rucker as well as many impromptu meetings have brought us face to face again.
I experienced my first reunion in Las Vegas last summer. I am still in awe at the emotions it engendered in me. Happiness in the good fortune of being able to be together, sadness in the memory of those we lost. What amazed me the most was the feeling of still being connected after all these years. Thirty-five or forty years without seeing each other? "Don't mean nothin' ". I am not alone in this. When I mentioned it to some folks Randy Zahn told me that after his first reunion a few years back his wife Kim said "If I didn't know any better I'd figure you guys got together like this every weekend." It's true and it's worth the effort. Come to a mini-reunion, if you travel try to connect with folks where you're going or just call an old buddy.

The web site has doubled in size over the past year. Thanks to all those who dug in we were able to move from a "free" server complete with popup ads and space limitations to a dedicated server where we have room to grow. Because of the folks who sent pictures and other content we are going to need even more space soon.
I encourage all of you to make an effort to dig through your old stuff and send in anything that might be of interest. Photos, copies of old orders or war stories. Something as small as identifying people in pictures help add to the history we are preserving.

So as this year draws to a close let me say thank you to all who keep this site dynamic with your contributions, knowlege and encouragement. It's an honor now as it was then to be connected with the likes of you.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

We Can, We Will

Jack
'44'