(Photos by Roy Cottrell)
October 13 through 15, Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino
The first reunion of the 67th was the brainchild of four people, Jack Lundgard, Gil Taylor, Ken Kelly, and Pete Durnell. Gathering for an informal get together, these four decided that it would be great to see more of the folks from the 67th and that the way to do this would be to hold a reunion. Ken Kelly graciously volunteered to host this first reunion and set about looking for both a site and a hotel where it could be held. Gil Taylor took on the responsibility of trying to find the names of people assigned to the unit and, more importantly, a current address for each. Pete Durnell took on the task of writing up an invitation to be sent out to a growing list of potential attendees and handling the finances. Jack Lundgard took on the mantle of unofficial president and became our spokesperson.
As it turned out 132 people, including spouses, came to this first reunion and some of the “traditions” of our reunions were established. First was the Friday night buffet featuring an oriental, and mostly Japanese, menu which was both informal and fun. Various people took the opportunity to speak, to share their 67th and Japan experiences, and to “entertain” us with tales both tall and true. Ken Kelly, as host, presented a photographic montage of photos taken during our stay in Japan which was received with great enthusiasm.
The second tradition was our “business” meeting where, at this very first one, we decided that this shouldn’t be a one-off and that we should form ourselves into an official association. Whitt Latham was elected President, Peter Preston was elected Vice President, and Pete Durnell was elected Secretary/Treasurer. Gil Taylor and John Paulman took on the joint chair of the “contacts” committee, Roy Stanley took on the role of historian, and Ken Kelly took on the role of Photo Archiver. Peter Preston volunteered to do the work to incorporate our group as an official non-profit Association and would also host the next reunion which would be in 2 years.
The third tradition established at this first reunion was Sally Preston’s Spouses Forum whereby the wives of those of us stationed at Yokota would gather informally to share information on their families and bring each other up to date on happenings since leaving Japan.
The forth and final tradition established at this first reunion was our more formal Reunion Dinner on Saturday night. A grand sit-down affair, this became the highlight of the reunion with an invited speaker and a chance to all gather in one place to remember old times. Our invited speaker was an old 67th alumni who had gone on to great things within the Air Force, Lt General Erv Rokke.
This first reunion concluded, really, with the Saturday night dinner but most gathered again for breakfast for last goodbyes before hitting the road home. A very successful reunion, many friendships were reestablished and renewed.Rokke.
General Erv Rokke, Guest Speaker
Roy Stanley, Historian
Sue and Fred Luppino, Marth Cottrell, Marv Richman
John and Albina Paulman
Roy Stanley, Les Kinkade, Phil Scoggin
Joan and Phil Scoggin
67 RTS Lunch
Lunch from the other end of the table
Erv and Pam Rokke
Roy and Martha Cottrell
Swan and Paul Mills
Bev Kelly and Martha Cottrell
Pete Preston, Ken Kelly, Sally Preston
Pete Durnell and Bev Kelly
Mayers, Lathams, Paulmans
Martha Cottrell , Louise and John Wallace
Paul Millls, Bill and Judy Mnson
Judy and Bill Munson
Carl and Amy Wiles
Bill and Vada Hunt
Carl Wiles, Martha Cottrell, Erv Rokkies, Pam Rokkies, Amy Wiles
Phil Scoggin, Lou Monti, Whitt Latham, Pete Preston
Sally and Pete Preston
Terry Anne and Terry Reilly
Unknown, Mary Stanley, Unknown, Roy Stanley, Unknown
Dave and Fran Nohling, Unknown, Betsy and Laurel Mayer, Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
67 RTS Husbands and wives
67 RTS IDHS
67 RTS PI’s and wives
