Our final project of the year, placing wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery, provides an additional observance for the 17 internments that we visited for 2017. Our visit occurs the day after Wreaths Across America (WAA) lays wreaths at the 300,000 gravesites in Arlington. On Saturday, December 16 WAA along with 75,000 volunteers (a record) placed a wreath on every single gravesite.  Unlike earlier years when not all graves were covered, recent visits by Wreaths Across America have been very well funded to make sure that all graves at Arlington have a wreath.  

So our visit is both an annual visit to every grave on behalf of the family members. We know you can't be here. So, we hope that our visit provides some comfort.  We add an extra wreath to the headstone if the grave has multiple resting places as in the case of the group burial of Security Forces Killed in Action (SFKIA) members, Tech Sergeant Jason Norton and Staff Sergeant Brian McElroy or multiple family members, such as Lt General Howard W. Leaf and his son, Patrick. At the SFKIA group burial grave, we place an additional wreath on the front and for family members, we place a wreath on the rear of the grave beneath the family member's name where it appears on the tombstone.

Outnumbered 5 to 1 USAF Defends - Philadelphia Inquirer

January 31, 2018, marks the 50th anniversary of the Tet Offensive where 50 years earlier, in 1968 Air Force Defenders repelled an overwhelming force of North Vietnam Regular Army and Viet Cong that attempted to over-run air bases in the South of Vietnam.  To commemorate this anniversary, Eagle Chapter will join SF defenders at Joint Base San Antonio Texas in recognizing this important observance. The SF at Joint Base San Antonio TX have events on January 30 and 31.  Eagle Chapter has delayed our usual Jan 31 wreath laying event to February 1 and added a powerful luncheon at the Pentagon to extend the recognition of our USAF Security Police, now Security Forces, in these great battles. Please RSVP below:

-  0800 - Wreath Laying - Maisey Building JBAB Washington DC. Starting at 8AM/0800 at the Maisey Building, an as yet to be named AFDW command staff representative, Mr. Tim Gerald, the AFDW Director of Security Forces, and Mr. Jim Saulnier, Vice President AFSFA, will lay a wreath in honor of Captain Reginald V. Maisey JR. Major General Jacobson, AFDW Commander, has an unavoidable conflict and could not attend. The event will include remarks. We have an additional position for Col (Ret) Strones/or a Maisey family member to participate in the wreath laying. Colonel Strones was Captain Maisey's best friend. He also participated in defending Bien Hoa Air Base as an SF Captain. Click here to see the article - Philadelphia Inquirer "From the top of a water tower to the middle of the battlefield, Bob Connor and Martin Strones had front-row seats at Bien Hoa Air Base to one of the major turning points of the Vietnam War." Col Strones was awarded the Silver Star.  We are honored to have him (tentatively) here and at the luncheon below (confirmed).  We have extended a BOLO through the Vietnam Security Police Association to aid in contacting Reginald V. Maisey, III, Captain Maisey's son, and other Maisey family members to participate in the wreath laying. Eagle Chapter will provide the wreath and refreshments.    If you have a way to contact them, please contact our chairman by clicking here. 

Please RSVP here if planning to attend the Bolling Wreath Laying

-  1300 - Eagle Chapter will host a luncheon at the Pentagon Conference Center Room B10 where Colonel (Retired) Marty Strones will present a two-part  presentation - one showing the NVA/Viet Cong plans to capture Bien Hoa Air Base. Earlier this year when he helped the government of Vietnam locate the spot where the mass grave was located, their military were so appreciative that they shared their plans to capture Bien Hoa.  He will present his ordeal that aided in the recovery of their casualties.  Colonel Strones presented a similar presentation on behalf of Brigadier General Tullos, Air Force Top Cop, at the USAF SF Symposium. Since then he's updated his presentation to provide even more details to our luncheon attendees.  We would also host members of the Maisey family - if we can find them.  Please click below if you will attend the 50th Anniversary Commemorative Luncheon at the Pentagon.  

Note: Colonel Strones' presentation is a technical, combat discussion that provides an unvarnished presentation about a combat environment.  It may not be suitable for all attendees.

Please RSVP here if planning to attend the Pentagon Luncheon

Defenders of Tet - Security Forces of Joint Base San Antonio Texas are holding several events on January 30 and 31 to honor Security Police Vietnam Veterans. Please see their invitation below and click here to contact them directly for any questions.

Joint Base San Antonio SF Invitation - Eagle Chapter Image

First a shameless plug - as some of you know, I'm a real estate agent/investor.  Last year, when I helped Mike and Karen into their new home in Woodbridge VA, I promised Karen that I wouldn't bother him about the association for a  year.  They had just moved from FL and I knew that his focus must be on his new job - plus making sure that Karen is acclimated to VA. 

That year is now up and wow - Michael has come on board like gangbusters!  His singular role right now on our board is to create and submit articles to the AF Security Forces Magazine (old Tiger Flight) so that the rest of the word will know that there is an Eagle Chapter.  He already has submitted his first article and it has been accepted for the March-April edition of the Air Force Security Forces Association Magazine.  Plus, he just submitted his second article to me today! Again - Wow!  Thank-you Mike (and Karen).

If Mike looks familiar, you'll see his image on a photo that we took last year when he and his wife attended an Eagle Chapter luncheon where we bid farewell to Brig General Jamerson. Thanks to Karl Blinkinsop, Vice Chair Eagle's AFDW Wing,  for introducing Mike to Eagle Chapter.

In the photo above, we hosted the Maisey family to a dinner the night that we co-hosted the rededication of the Maisey Building at Bolling Air Force Base in 2008.  This photo shows Reginald V. Maisey, III, - Captain Maisey's son, (second from left), his wife and two children (Reggie's grandkids).  We would like to contact Reg III and his family to invite them  to participate in the activities that we are holding on Feb 1 in honor of his dad and showing them that our Air Force still has them in our thoughts.

Please contact me or Karl if you know anyone that might know where they may be.  We would like to extend them an invitation.

World War II Figher Pilot, Captain Jerry Yellin, recently died at the age of 93 from lung cancer.  Jerry Yellin was the national spokesman for "Keep The Spirit of '45 Alive". He would dress in period uniform and was very active in helping a much younger generation understand the lessons of World War II. Prior to his death, he wrote an article that the organization calls his Last Message.

You can find Capt Yellin's "Last Message" - his message to America by clicking here.

Our next chapter board meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at 8:00PM. Eagle Chapter Board Meetings are open to members and significant others who would like to participate.

We generally hold our chapter board meetings on the first Wednesday of the month; but, this January, we are holding our first meeting of the year on the second Wednesday (only) at 8PM via conference call.

Contact the Eagle Chapter Secretary, Chris Walker, for more information.

Constant Contact's enacted new rules that prohibit me from providing PDF copies of our newsletter from being reproduced on our website. It has a nice and even better benefit. They now provide an active link that enable me to provide these newsletters just as they can be read by you here.

So now, if you want catch up on your reading, you can go to our Resources page (click here), then scroll down to see any newsletter that we've published in 2017.  We can even go back farther.

For example, if you want to see our first edition for 2017 - the January 23d edition, the April 27th edition, or the Oct 4 edition, just click here.   You can go to our Resources page to catch up on all for 2017.