AFEES Summer 2005 Reunion,New Orleans
Another great show

The New Orleans reunion in May was another unqualified success. Attendance at the annual banquet was more than 170; many first-timers were included.

The AFEES Angels, Yvonne Daley and Francene Weyland, put together a great agenda. As has become usual, Yvonne persuaded a cadre of her Tampa friends to help out.

Don and Helen Spearel, Cappy and Cindy Bie were always willing to help out with the grunt work. And Zig Zigler and Steve Mac Isaac did a super job of furnishing libations in the hospitality suite. Zig provided a little late-night entertainment with his fake skunk skin to tickle the ladies.

Well-known member Gil Shawn had the misfortune to have his trip to the D-Day Museum interrupted. He wound up in the hospital with a fractured hip. Steve Borel and some other members went to his aid until the ambulance crew arrived. At last report, Gil is resting comfortably after surgery on his hip, but will be inactive for a while. He should be home before long. His postal address: 540 Village Place, Apt. 214, Longwood FL 32779. Send him a card!

Lt. Gen. Duncan McNabb, stationed at the Pentagon, was with us again and spoke at the annual banquet. His subject was the legacy that WWII veterans have passed down to today's military in the Mideast. This time, Duncan brought along his charming wife Linda, who seemed to get right into the action. Come back again, Linda.

The day trip to the D-Day museum is a tremendous experience. A 55-min. film covers the 1944 invasion of Normandy and many other exhibits explain the European war, It was good to see so many young folks at the museum; perhaps they can gain a better undertanding of what that war 60+ years ago was all about.

At the Saturday night banquet, the audience was polled on choosing a site for next year's reunion. Albuquerque was the '06 favorite; we will be in Kansas City in '07.

Of course, there was some free time. Enough for a nephew to act as our family tour guide on a visit to Bourbon Street.

New Roster
A new AFEES roster is being prepared for publication to members in 2005. To have the latest information, members who had not responded to Clayton David's contact were reminded that time was running out.

Collection scanned for preservation
For many years people attending AFEES reunions have enjoyed the stories, military records, pictures
and other memorabilia that Scotty David has mounted in newspaper-sized scrapbooks.

Anyone looking at them must realize that they are a labor of love. Why else would anyone be willing to spend the many hours required to collect and assemble so much military history. They represent a unique collection of AFEES history.

In May 2004, personnel from the Defense Department who are "Keeping the Promise" to locate information on MIAs back to World War II, recognized the research value of Scotty's books. They realized that there should be a way to preserve such material. At that time Scotty had compiled 18 books and had enough material for two more.

During the past year she put the last two books together while Lt. Col. Joseph Sanchez and Chief Petty Officer Michael Allen worked with their department to arrange to have the books scanned into a digital fonnat without damaging them. The process, timing and approval all came to fruition when the two men attended the New Orleans reunion. It was time for action!

Clayton and Scotty David loaded the 20 scrapbooks into their car and drove to Frederick, Md., for the project to begin on Monday, May 23. Colonel Sanchez met them and the books were delivered to the Crowley Company.

The job involved some 1,300 pages and took several days to complete. When Clayton and Scotty saw the size of the scanners used and learned that they cost some $100,000 each, they could appreciate the size of the operation.

Scotty and Clayton were presented with DOD Commendation Medals, which are in the form of a military ID or dog tag.
The books have gone back to the David home in Hannibal, Mo., but now they are scanned digital onto hard drives for maximum quality color

The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office will have the material for a website and put it onto DVDs for Scotty. Further information concerning the website will be announced in a future newsletter.

Lt. Col. Joseph Sanchez, U.S. Army and Chief Petty Officer Michael E. Allen, U. S. Navy, from the Defense POW/MIA office at Arlington, Va., have learned they have a common interest with AFEES members and their Helpers. Both attended the New Orleans reunion.