Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re having a good Veteran’s Day.   Spent a few days in DC last week visiting a friend who was attending a convention.  Saw the WWII memorial on the mall.  It is very nicely done.  I especially liked the bas-reliefs.  Walked Arlington National Cemetery and found the grave of an airman who was in my ASOS squadron at Fort Stewart.  He always led us in PT and was the epitome of gung ho.  After becoming an enlisted terminal air controller and going through all the Army schools he could (Airborne, Air Assault, etc.), he left the AF, joined the Army and learned to fly OH-58Ds.  He was shot down by small arms fire in 2005 and now rests in Section 60.  I’ve been to Arlington many times, but never saw anyone I knew while they were alive.  It was a moving experience especially since there were several people in the same area standing over their family member’s or friend’s graves.  It made me realize that all of those graves in Arlington once had people mourning over them. 

 Went to the Air and Space Museum on the mall as well as the annex near Dulles.  If you’re reliant on public transportation to get to the Dulles annex as I was, the easy way to go is take the bus from L”Enfant Station to Dulles and then get on the VRTA bus to the Museum.  That will cost you only $7.00 round trip and saves a lot of time.  The annex was exceptional and I particularly liked the Enola Gay display.  At the Air and Space Museum on the mall, Space Ship One is hung next to the Spirit of St. Louis.  I remember watching its record setting flight into Space at the scheduling desk in the 11th with Reed. 

A few weeks ago Lynn and I met her sister and husband in Atlanta to attend the Nascar race.  What an experience!  We all had a great time and enjoyed the race.  One neat aspect of the race was that the flyover was done by a B-52 from Minot. 

I’m still anxiously awaiting confirmation that my daughter Sarah will actually graduate on 14 Dec.  I’ve heard horror stories from other parents who made expensive arrangements to attend a graduation ceremony and then find out that their child didn’t pass a class or for some other reason didn’t graduate.  I’m fairly sure graduation will happen though.

Hope everyone is doing well.

James