1270 W 75th Street website: www.82ndFighterGroup.org Marathon, FL 33050 email: admin@82ndFighterGroup.org 352-341-0890

The 82nd Fighter Group Association is a non-profit, 501(c)(19) Organization

82nd Fighter Group Association Newsletter

PRESIDENT Marc Buonaguidi

VICE PRESIDENT Steve Powell

TREASURER John Netzer Parliman

SECRETARY Nancy Medley Manduano

PRESIDENT EMERITUS Harley C. Vaughn

PAST PRESIDENTS W.S. ‘Will’ Hattendorf

George C. Marvin John C. Hendrix

R.M. ‘Monty’ Powers, Jr. Donald T. Foley

John J. Kane Leo Fisher

UNIT REPRESENTATIVES

HEADQUARTERS William T. Mason

95TH SQUADRON Olen L. Medley

96TH SQUADRON Richard Ostronik

97TH SQUADRON R.E. ’Dick’ Gadbury (Emeritus)

G.L. ‘Jerry’ Powell

NEWSLETTER/ROSTER Open

WEBMASTER Darren Buonaguidi

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The 82nd Fighter Group Association is a non-profit, 501(c)(19) Organization

President’s Report

By Marc Buonaguidi

The Tulsa Reunion

Another successful reunion!

Thanks to those that were able

to attend, and those that could

not attend were missed. Tulsa

is a wonderful town with art-

deco buildings and good beef!

We attended an Oktoberfest

Thursday night and were

entertained by Oompah bands,

good beer, sauerkraut,

bratwurst sausages, and

pretzels. Friday’s trip to the

Oklahoma Air National Guard

included watching the taxi and

take-off of twelve F-16 fighter

jets, a nice lunch at the chow

hall, and a walk through the

local Air and Space museum.

Executive Meeting

At the executive meeting we

agreed to the proposal of

closing the memorial fund and

refunding memorial donations

back to the donors. The donors

also have the option of having

their donations rolled into the

general account.

We also discussed the idea of

having the current officers

remain in office through 2016 if

needed. This would ensure

consistency of leadership in the

event no other members are

Pilots and Crew in attendance in Tulsa

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The 82nd Fighter Group Association is a non-profit, 501(c)(19) Organization

interested in running for office

in 2016.

To share the responsibility, we

decided to allow two officers to

have access to the Association

Banking statements. This will

help with tracking income and

expenses, and also help next

year’s reunion hosts by having

multiple sources of guidance

for event budgeting and

payments.

A beautiful day in a beautiful

city

Member Meeting

The member meeting we voted

on and passed both proposals

discussed at the Executive

meeting. The memorial fund

will be closed and the donors

will have the option of having

their donation refunded or

rolling their donation into the

general fund. A letter will be

sent to each of the donors. The

current officers will remain in

office, unless challenged,

through 2016.

We also discussed the reunion

for 2015 which is being held in

Salt Lake City, Utah. My wife

Mary and I volunteered to host

the 2016 reunion in San Diego,

and that was passed by the

members as well.

Reception

The reception BBQ Friday night

was a big hit! Great food, good

cocktails, and lots of friendly

chat. We held a silent auction

with several items that had

been donated. It was a very

popular event and we raised

over $300.00 for the

Association.

Banquet

The banquet was homerun for

the Association! The food was

excellent. I had the tenderloin

and it was cooked perfectly and

delicious. Prior to dinner

service, the Oklahoma National

Guard color guard presented

the flag. After presenting the

flag, a National Guard member

gave a very moving description

of the Table of Remembrance.

The Table of Remembrance is a

table set for all four branches

of the Military, but left empty

in honor of those that are not

able to join us.

Following dinner, we had the

honor of having General

Ferguson, the Commanding

Officer of the Oklahoma

National Guard, as our guest

speaker. He gave a very sincere

thanks to the pilots in the room

who had fought a war as young

men with heart and

determination as their most

powerful weapon.

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The 82nd Fighter Group Association is a non-profit, 501(c)(19) Organization

Other

On Thursday night we had what

seemed to be an intruder enter

the Hospitality room. I spoke

with him immediately and

learned he had no connection

to our group. He had found out

about our event through the

internet and found his way to

the hotel. I made it clear that

this was a private event and

politely asked him to leave.

As a general rule to prevent this

situation from happening again,

I would ask that no

unregistered guests be allowed

access to any of our events

without my personal approval.

Closing

It was a wonderful event with

wonderful people. Tulsa was

beautiful, the people were

friendly and the skies were

clear (mostly). It is an honor to

be associated with all of you,

and I feel very lucky to have

had a father that served with

such great men.

Memorial bricks

Members relax by a campfire conserving their energy for the reunion

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The 82nd Fighter Group Association is a non-profit, 501(c)(19) Organization

82nd Fighter Group Association Annual Meeting Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 0900 by President Marc Buonaguidi. Present, in addition to approximately 30 members were the following members of the Executive Committee: Leo Fisher, Marc Buonaguidi, Dick Ostronik, Olen Medley, Nancy Medley Manduano, John Netzer Parliman, John Kane, Jerry Powell, Bill Hattendorf, Will Hattendorf, Hank Phillips and Lute Thompson. Secretary’s Report: Nancy Medley Manduano presented the minutes from the 2013 annual meeting. A motion was made by John Parliman to accept as written and motion carried unanimously. Treasurer's Report: The Treasurer’s Report was presented and reviewed by John Parliman. Corrections were made on the Financial statement from July 2012-June 2013-June 2014 Financial Report is attached. The dues are less to date and post cards asking for tuition will be mailed out to members in March. The Memorial fund checking account has been closed after all bills were paid. This fund is 3 years old and is felt this organization is small and 4 other memorial funds currently exist honoring the 82 FG: Wright Patterson Museum, March Airfield, the 82 FG has their own hangar at March Field, Riverside ,CA . The Air Force Academy as of this month completed the walkway of the New Orleans Museum by placing bricks with names of 82nd FG members on a specific walkway. John Parliman proposed to send letters to the donors of the memorial fund telling of the termination of the memorial fund. The donors will be asked if they wish to donate the money to the group or have money returned to donors since is felt enough memorials already exist. Will Hattendorf made motion to terminate funding this memorial and accept treasure's report and Olen Medley seconded the motion which was unanimously carried. Nominating Committee: No election is needed at this time as all current officers are willing to continue in office unless any objections noted. There were no objections. Next Reunion: Steve and Peggy Powell plan to host the next reunion to be held September 9-13, 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah at the DoubleTree Hotel. The 388 Fighter Squadron is located there and plan to exhibit the new Lightning II or F-35's. Steve asked for ideas for next year in Salt Lake and a city tour was requested. Some members requested organized activities to be planned. San Diego was discussed as possible location for 2016 Reunion. The motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:30 was made by President Marc Buonaguidi.

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The 82nd Fighter Group Association is a non-profit, 501(c)(19) Organization

Treasurer’s Report

82nd FIGHTER GROUP ASSOCIATION

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

JULY 1, 2013 – JUNE 30, 2014

Beginning Balance (all accounts): $11,088.95

Receipts:

Donations Regular $ 100.00

Memorial 295.00

Total 395.00

Dues Associate $ 15.00

Honorary/Heritage 60.00

Family 600.00

Sustaining 265.00

Total 940.00

Reunions Profit 2013 $ 285.45

Total 285.45

Total Receipts $ 1,620.45

Payments:

Supplies $ 417.33

Postage 158.90

Newsletter/Memo 359.71

WWII Museum Brick Program 7,751.31

Total Payments 8,687.25

Ending Balance (all accounts): $ 8,938.61

Individual Account Balances:

Memorial $ 4,916.46

Operating $ 4,022.15

Respectfully Submitted,

John Parliman, Treasurer

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The 82nd Fighter Group Association is a non-profit, 501(c)(19) Organization

Keeping in Touch

Messages from Members & Inquiries Newsletter 90

We have had numerous contacts through the reunion and commemorative brick program notes, the website, Face Book messages and phone calls that are excerpted below. Keep them coming. We love hearing from you. Katie Kroger 96th, called to say she enjoys getting the newsletter & appreciates all who are helping to keep the 82nd going. She helped her home town restore the old courthouse to a museum & also helped at the Veterans' Day observance there. Hope Swanson, 96th, called to say she attended many reunions with her husband, misses everyone, is very pleased that the 'youngsters' are keeping it going and really looks forward to the newsletter. Al Schneider, 97th, called to say he thinks of everyone and is just not able to attend the reunions at this time. Blythe Pratt, 97th family member, has shingles but is otherwise doing well and hoping to attend next year. Bob Carpenter, 95th, said he and Pat are well, unable to attend the reunion this year; but hoping to next year, Sylvia Ostronik talked with George Rivest, 97th, who conveyed that he and Grace would not be attending this year. We wish them well and hope to see them in Salt Lake City. Matt O'Toole sends hugs to all. His web design work prevented him from attending this year’s reunion. Maybe next year Matt. Jerry Powell, 97th, is doing well after a tumble. He is looking forward to the Salt Lake City reunion next year which will be in his backyard. The bigger news is that he and Nan were married this past February. Lois and Mel Roalsvig, 97th, report they visited Nona Isaacson, 96th, and enjoyed both conversation and Pinot Grigio. Fran Kane, 96th, emailed she was holding down things in NH and missed being with us. Donna Deforge Face Booked that her husband, Alvah, and mother in law Claire, 97th, were at the reunion in spirit, carrying their challenge coins and sending cheers. Tim Turner, son of Mary and Amos Turner, 82nd notified us of the death of his mother. He also mentioned with pride that his son, Clayton, graduated from the Air Force Academy and served as a Captain. The family of Charles R Thompson, Jr., 96th, writes that they are very appreciative of the job the 82nd did, cherish the many tales he conveyed including being on the Queen Mary and that they are proud of all of you who served.

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The 82nd Fighter Group Association is a non-profit, 501(c)(19) Organization

The following requests for information came through our Face Book page. Contact John Parliman if you have any information you would like to share with their family members. Rick Bergman wants to know if William “Bill” Franke was in the 82nd. Natalie Brandon wants to know more about Lt Gerald L Rounds, 97th, Cedar City, UT. Deceased 10/4/07. We can tell you, Natalie, that he was a Flying Sergeant when he left March Field in the fall of 1942 and that he went overseas on the Queen Mary. Leslie Donohue Shilling wants to know if anyone remembers her dad, Sylvan Rene 'Buster” Vidrine, 95th pilot. We can tell you, Leslie, that he was deployed after the fall of 1942 and that he was not an active member of the association since his name does not appear in either the March Field deployment list or the folded wings listing of the association membership. We are trying to find more about him. Chris Hillman, grandson of Harold 'Harry' Hillman, a crewman, posted a brochure from the 2nd 82nd Overseas Reunion. He would like any info people have about Harry. We can tell you, Chris, that he was a Sergeant with the 97th when he left March Field, Riverside, CA in the fall of 1942 and went overseas on the Queen Mary. Kensey Russell wants to know about his grandfather, crewman Victor A Walker. He posted some fantastic photos from N Africa and Italy handed down from his grandfather. Anyone with info please contact John Parliman. We can tell you, Kensey that he left March Field, Riverside, CA in the fall of 1942 as a Staff Sgt with the 97th Fighter Squadron which means he initially was a Flying Sergeant and that he went overseas on the Queen Mary. It is so gratifying to see new contacts through social media from family members. We hope they will join us in perpetuating the memory of their 82nd family members by attending reunions and becoming members. Membership is $25 annual. They can contact Nancy Medley Manduano at nancym@manduano.com, secretary. The link to the 82nd Fighter Group Facebook is www.facebook.com/Adorimini.

Folded Wings since Newsletter 89

Fred Graham, 96th July 2014

Rosalie Heller, 97th July 2014

Jake Hendrix, 95th October 2014

Charles R Thompson, Jr., 96th May 2014

Mary Turner, 82nd July 2014

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The 82nd Fighter Group Association is a non-profit, 501(c)(19) Organization