From: Cliff Jensen Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:52:57 -0700 (PDT) To: Larry Westin CC: Don Bokovoy , Dave Boyd , Nick Brayer , Chuck Butt , Rudy Scheithauer Iggy , Bob MacFarland , Vinnie Mikos , daniel orosz , Bob Parmenter , Dennis Phillips , Al Pudims , Bernard Rattay , Jim Satterwhite , Jim Satterwhite , Jack Sikora , Herbert Townsend , Richard Upton , Raymond Wlcox Larry Here is the article about our reunion. If you need anything else let me know. Also including an e-mail my wife sent the Vegas 5. Thought it described the event very well. Thanks Cliff myspace.com/batcat121 On Thursday, August 20th, 2009, 1st wave Batcats Rick Weiner, Cliff Jensen, Al Pudims, Bob Parmenter and Don(LD) Bokovoy, gathered at the Rio Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada. In room #1253, armed with a laptop and a speaker phone, they set out to contact as many of the old Batcats as they could find. A quest that had waited 40+ years. Some of them knew about the phone-in portion of our little reunion, called in and their information is listed below: 1. Ed Richey 723 S. Beech St. Lakewood, Co. 80228 EID9R45@Hotmail.com (303) 359-4263 1st Wave Crew 14, CIM 2. Herbert (Charlie) Townsend 83 Sentry Way Merrimac, N.H. 03054 (603) 424-8219 Home (978) 461-5544 Work (FEMA) herbert.towsend@DHS,gov 3. Larry Westin Westin@tdstelme.net Batcat web page: http://personalpages.tdstelme.net/estin/batcat0.htm 4. Bernard Rattay 3542 Ridgeway St. Pittsburgh, PA 15213 janet1946@comcast.net 2nd wave Personnel Survival 5. Dan Orosz orsz3@msn.com 6. Nick Brayer nickbrayer@hotmail.com 7. Willy Wilcox (850) 609-4829 ray.wilcox@cox.net The following Batcats had no clue about the phone-in reunion or the fact there was even a Batcat website. Their excitement about being found by us was a joy to all. Thanks to Sgt. Al Pudims (Chip) and his laptop, we were able to contact the following people: 1. Bob MacFarland P.O. 127 East Dixfield, ME 04227 (207) 645-4078 bmacf1120@aol.com 2. Brent Fowler (Jack) 9911 So. 610 East Sandy, UT 84070 (801) 571-1953 No e-mail (Pony Express Only) 3. Bob Harper Alma, Ark. (503) 807-3936 Cell (479) 632-0380 Home robertharper@cox.net 4. Rudy (Iggy) Scheithauer 6630 Oberlin Rd. Amherst, Oh. 44001 (440) 213-6173 rudydc@oh.rr.com 5. Dennis (Denny) Phillips 891 Rowland Ave. Camarillo, Ca. 93010 (805) 857-0108 dennisp@nadel.com 6. Dick Upton (316) 305-3313 This information is being forwarded to Larry Westin's Batcat Web Site. If you haven't been there, please take time to visit this site. I know that you will put it on your favorites. Send Larry a note of thanks for all his hard work, if it wasn't for him, we might have stayed lost and forgotten forever. We are working on another reunion for next year and hope to see you all there. Watch for further information. Cliff Jensen (CIM) 1st Wave 554th Sq. Crew 39 Hi Guys, Just wanted to thank you all for letting me be a part of your special day. It was a great day for all. I personally, watched 5 men who came from all over the country 40-+ years ago and were thrown together under extraordinary circumstances. You came from different backgrounds, religions and races yet you became "family." I watched 5 men in a room in Las Vegas go from "old men" to young guys. The looks on your faces as you talked to your family on the phone was like watching my boys when they were young open Xmas presents...the joy and excitement were evident on your faces and in the voices of those on the phone. I know what a special day it was for all of you but it was also special for me to be able to see first hand the bonding that took place between all of you over 40 years ago..It goes to show that family is not blood alone but love and devotion that can span a life time even if you don't see or hear from each other in a long time... I wish you continued success in your quest for a bigger reunion next year and will help any way that I can. Special thanks to Bob for letting me use his van... Take care and hope to see you all and more next year... Love Ya Chris Jensen