July 4, 1932 - October 10, 2007

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Jerri Lyn Fleishman

December 12, 1946 - June 29, 2007

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"As long as any of us is remembered
in the heart of a friend,
we are never really gone."
Coleen Cason

Missing Man Monument, Hawaii

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Col. Bob Reiss, 1939-2005

A biography of the late Robert E. Reiss, member and benefactor of our Wing.

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“…ENOUGH TO BURY THOSE THAT DID NOT RETURN”

Rarely is there a diplomatic squelch as exquisite as this. Clearly, Colin Powell has a finesse that all diplomats would do well to emulate.

When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying:

"Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return."

It became very quiet in the room.

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MSgt Jari A. Villanueva, USAF
Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force

"TAPS"

Day is done...
Gone the sun...
From the lake...
From the hills...
From the sky...
All is well...
Safely rest...
God is nigh.

Thanks and praise...
For our days...
'Neath the sun...
'Neath the stars...
'Neath the sky...
As we go...
This we know...
God is nigh.

To view a listing of our Wing's members who have passed away,
please click on Gone West

May they forever rest in peace.

An American cemetery in France

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved. And now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe!
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch! Be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep,
Though poppies grow...
In Flanders Fields.

by John McCrae, 1915

WE REMEMBER...

Col. Gilbert Brice

Col. Charles Valentine

Col. Bill Hartill

Col. Charles Miller

Col. Jerri Fleishman

Col. Sharon Wilson

Col. Frank "Buddy" Joffrion

Col. Phil Eatherton

Col. Kenneth "K.D." Johnson

Col. Phil Most

Col. Annie Valentine

Col. Robert E. Reiss

Col. Charles W. "Chuck" Lefever

Col. Merle Smith

Col. Bill Benner

Col. Vern Gibson

Col. Clint Yoakam

Col. Jack Ferdinand

Col. Malcomb Stratford

Edward James "Jim" Modes

Col. Keith Wester

Col. Bill Wachter

Col. Robert Herbert Jacobson

"And high above the fray the lonely bugler grieves"
Greenville Mellen, "Ode on the Celebration
of the Battle of Bunker Hill"

Lord, guard and guide the men and women who fly
Through the great spaces in the sky.
Be with them always in the air,
In darkening storms or sunlight fair;
Oh, hear us when we lift our prayer,
For those in peril in the air!
From "The Navy Hymn"
Adapted from a poem by Mary C.D. Hamilton (1915)/ Navy Hymn melody by Rev. John Bacchus Dykes (1861).

The Navy Hymn - sea stanzas and melody

Lord, guard and guide those who fly
Through the great spaces in the sky;
Be with them traversing the air,
In darkening storms or sunshine fair.

Aloft in solitudes of space,
Uphold them with your saving grace.
O God, protect those who fly
Through lonely ways beneath the sky.

From "The Air Force Hymn"
based on the same poem by Mary C.D. Hamilton (1915) /
melody unknown.

The Air Force Hymn

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