Proud Parents

My daughter, G.I. Jan sent this picture to me along with the posting below. I found it a little poignant and wanted to share. A little back ground first, Jan decided to enlist in the reserves last summer at the age of 37. Jan said she wanted to show my wife and I that she could make something of herself. A modern day running off to join the Foreign Legion? When she reported to her unit after Basic Training, she received deployment orders. She will be going to Iraq in mid-April. Here is what she recently sent to me along with this photo. PFC Donovan, Janet M. 652nd Engineer Co. Attached to the 401st "Engineers lead the way!" Making of an American Soldier 1/2 boy, 1/2 man - 1/2 girl/woman !!If you read this, you WILL forward it on. You just won't be able to stop yourself. The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society ashalf man, half boy.. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer,but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work andhe would rather wax his own car than wash his father's, but he has never collected unemployment either.. He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to bewaiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll orhip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a M2 50mm machine gun. He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he isworking or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has troublespelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a riflein 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to youthe nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either oneeffectively if he must. He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spiritor individual dignity. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps hiscanteens full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He cancook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry,his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battlewhen you run low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were hishands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and stillfind ironic humor in it all.. He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime.He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat andis unashamed. He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while atrigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away 'those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stoptalking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right tobe disrespectful. Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying theprice for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the AmericanFighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years. He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with hisblood. And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in thistradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so. As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot. . A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets. Prayer wheel for our military... please don't break it Please send this onafter a short prayer. Prayer Wheel'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protectus. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in ourtime of need. Amen.' When you read this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for all of our military personnel. There is nothing attached... This can be very powerful... Of all the gifts you could give a US Soldier, Sailor, Coastguardsman, Marine,or Airman, prayer is the very best one. Thanks for reading, Lou Z for my daughter Jan

Found at Last

I wanted to thank everyone for not giving up on finding me. It certainly has been a wonderful surprise to reconnect with high school classmates. I wanted to share some pictures of my family. Pictured are my husband Larry, step daughter and 2 of our 3 grandchildren. We love being grandparents and enjoy every minute with them. I also wanted to share a picture of our adopted abused elderly pups. Sadly they passed recently however we gave them the best last years of their lives. We now have two more under the same circumstances, they are usually left to die. Larry and I could not let that happen. I think of you all often, God Bless you all and thanks again.

Anne Gadzik Riggs

South Carolina

A bittersweet return to Vietnam

A picture of me in "dogpatch" in Da Nang this past summer of 2008. This was off limits when I was in Vietnam. Sex, drugs and rock and roll, not to mention death and destruction all a part of the Vietnam days. The other picture is of me and Dennis Taricani, (PHS 67), He and I were actually there at the same time, and in the same battalion. Picture taken in the Que Son valley, and the mountain area. The monument we are standing in front of, is being erected to honor the many Vietnamese Killed here during the war. This place was called LZ Ross when we were there and was very primitive, so much so that if I saw a dinosaur back then I would not have been surprised. Rich Williams, Randy's brother, also was with us. He was a Seabee over there. This is also the area I was in when I found out Richie Stolarun lost his life. How far we have come that I am able to share our now and then experiences with each other.

Chuck Searle 2-22-09

Some like it COLD

This is cabin fever relief for me. Some people think that fishing and other outdoor activities stop in the winter especially ice fishing. In 1967 along with Bob Piorkowski and Joe Karwoski with our team leader Mr.Dimugno the PHS Sportsmen's Club were certified in weapons safety and we set out to get our hunting and fishing licenses. I have been ice fishing with my nephew who is fourteen for the past four years. We fish for trout and salmon at West Hill Pond in New Hartford. CT DEP assists in stocking that pond amply with 135 surplus brood stock which means when their hatchery time as a producer is up; they are liberated to a lake to spend the rest of their days free. This brown trout was 6 3/4 lbs and was 23". Although not the biggest trout stocked in length it was the heaviest that I have seen caught for its size. It fought for about five minutes and was iced with the help of my nephew who brought it through the ice hole with me. This trout places me in a local contest in second place in the state. My nephew finished third in last year's contest. Thanks CT DEP for stocking those beautiful trout and salmon in the CT ponds.--- Phil Bruzas Sr.

40 years together and counting

I received this email and picture from Kas and Bart after sending my January newsletter. With their permission I am happy to share it. Thought you'd like to know that Kas and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary on December 28th! It was a special occasion for ourfamily as we met in Orlando at Pop Century for three nights and took the kids to The Magic Kingdom. Here's a picture of us on Main StreetUSA. In addition to my sister, Marilyn, coming in from Kauai Hawaii,my brother, Gary, came in from Connecticut with his son and my niece April came in from Connecticut with her daughter to make it a grandtotal of 20 of us around the dinner tables at the restaurants.Unforgettable for all of us. We have come such a long, long way. Just goes to show you how "Love will keep us together"!

TRAVELING SIGN MEETS BIG ELVIS

Nancy and Tom enjoying Vegas with our Pulaski Traveling sign

The famous Vegas Welcome Sign meets our Pulaski traveling sign.

Relaxing and enjoying a big burger in Vegas

Big Elvis who appears daily for free on the Vegas Strip. A must see show, close your eyes and you would think it was Elvis himself. Big Elvis, (Pete) has lost over 200 pounds in the last few years. It is a show that we always make time to see when in Vegas. He appears in Bill's Saloon (formerly Barbary Coast)across the street from Caesar's Palace next to the Flamingo. I hope you all are enjoying our traveling sign pictures. This is the last one that I have to post, that is until I am fortunate enough to take a vacation or see something interesting. Anyone that would like a sign just let me know. I would be more than happy to post pictures from other classmates with or without the sign. Trying to keep our SPIRIT ALIVE, one way is by keeping the blog as up to date as we can, I need your help in order to do that. Thanks Nancy for sending the pictures. Ro, please HELP fix this posting. THANKS

A great gift

Thanks to Lou Z, I was able to present my son with a pasta board for Christmas. Perry had wanted the one I have that belonged to my Mom. Since I was not ready to part with it I asked Lou if it was something he would attempt to make for me. Not only did it turned out to be more than we expected Lou was also able to burn Perry's name on the back of the board as a remembrance. I know my son will have this special gift for a long time. He has already used it and has been quite happy with the results. Who would think that 40 years later a classmate would be making a pasta board for another classmate. Anyone who did not attend the reunion may not be aware of the many talents that Lou has with wood. Please be sure to check out his website if you are interested, or do as I did, just ask if he can make a special order and I am sure you will be happy with the results. http://www.turnzwood2.com/ Thanks again Lou for helping me to find a gift that my son really wanted. Next up, an extra long rolling pin to go with the board.

Happy New Year Everyone.

Pat Dezi Altadonna

Notes from the land of the WEEPING BIRCHES

Within the last couple of weeks, the local TV station had the viewers vote on the worst weather event to hit the state. They selected the ice storm of 1998. A little premature? If you haven't seen the news lately, there was a small ice storm here in New Hampsha [sic]. Only about 400,000 customers without power. Considering the human population only recently exceeded the bovine population here, that is pretty wide spread. Cliff better be working hard to get them back on line. Birches grow here like weeds. And they are about a strong. A drive down the road is a slalom course. The trees on the right bend over and block the lane. You go by and the left lane is block, then the right, then the left, etc. Every thing ice covered looked beautiful, but... We were mostly lucky. We were out only about a day and a half. All those weekends as a kid up at Kemo gave me the skills to keep the fire in the fireplace going. At least I didn't have a chimney fire this time. Unfortunately I had to dip in to my wood stack for woodturning for fuel. Our only source of power was a small generator. Small to the point of only having a gas tank large enough run an hour. And I filled it, every hour until it froze up from the cold at 3 AM. About this time I thought of Bob Piorkowski and his subsistence living in Alaska. I figure he would have been walking around here in shorts, sandals, and a windbreaker saying "What's the problem?" We did have a real generator, propane powered. Unfortunately it wasn't working. My daughter, son-in-law, and 15 month old grandson made a humanitarian trip from CT to help. I helped my son-in-law for the better part of the day in the cold wind trying to get the generator running. No luck but just as we threw in the towel and my daughter came out and said the power was back on. At this writing there are still a lot of homes without power. What makes it bad for some is that your neighbor, or a block over, may have power but you are still out. Welcome to northern New England.. Lou Z

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

MERRY CHRISTMAS from my family to yours. May we all have good health in the coming years. Let us all continue staying in touch and the Spirit of our Class will stay alive. You can always count on me to do my part in keeping our class informed and up to date.

My very best to you all.

Happy New Year. Patty

12-17-08

SEEMS LIKE JUST YESTERDAY.....

ONCE A LADIES' MAN ALWAYS A LADIES' MAN

An early Christmas Gift

Lou Z recently writes, "Here is a picture of "dziadek i wnuczka". (If it is not obvious, Ursala can translate.)

Lou's 38 year old daughter recently presented him with his less than a week old granddaughter Peyton. What a full head of hair for Peyton more hair than her proud grandpa...... Congratulations to all...keep the pictures coming.

Traveling Sign shows up again

The giant red wood trees in Muir Woods near San Francisco.

Hope this winter our traveling class sign will enjoy some warm weather with some of our southern or western classmates. Our sign is available to all, just let me know and I will be happy to send one your way.

Cat Lovers Please help

Sammy, my newly adopted cat.

I wanted to post this for our class of 1968. I'm sure there are animal lovers out there and hope that some are cat lovers. I know of a mama cat named Destiny and her 2 Siamese kittens kala and kona. They were rescued from a hoarder in Canada who had 7 cats. The mom gave birth to six kittens 4 of whom found a home. However three have not. They really do not want to separate the 3 and I know that's a lot of cat to care for, but they need a home. If anyone is interested please contact me Mike Pina at bct51@msn.com or call me at(860) 223-3998. If you would like to take a look at the cats please go to slinkykatz.com. They are in a shelter in New Hartford, Ct. that only rescues Siamese. They really are a wonderful breed. I was going to adopt them but another cat by the name of Sam came through first. If I could take all three cats I would but it's too soon for Sammy, he is still getting adjusted to being with me. I hope that someone out there will find it in their heart to adopt these cars. There are so many homeless animals out there looking for a home. Help! Help! Help! Thanks Michael Pina.

DINNER TOGETHER ONCE AGAIN

Jane, Karen, Nancy and Sue met at Ruby Tuesdays for their October dinner. Our "Where are you class of 1968" sign was too tired to attend. Although you cannot see it, that is what was written on the napkin that Karen and Nancy are holding. Nancy Lamb had to leave early and was not available for the picture. We thank her for arranging our local dinners and hope more classmates will join us for the next one. Stay tuned for when and where we will next meet. These mini gatherings are not only fun but they help in keeping our class together. Was this also a birthday celebration? Happy Birthday to Nancy R. and Sue W.

Six ladies and a night out

Lisa, Jean, Judi, Sue, Pat and Marilyn enjoying each others company for dinner. We were fortunate to be able to get together with such short notice. Little gatherings keeps the CLASS OF 1968 together and the memories alive. Thanks ladies for making my trip home special.

Traveling sign heads WEST

Our Traveling Class Sign resting with friends after a few busy weeks. Next up ??? Please return often to see where it will next turn up.

Alaskan Stop N Shop!!!!!!

Beautiful Alaska

Gathering food is certainly different in Alaska.

Bob Piorkowski and friend taking their catch home to share.

Salmon drying.

Subsistence hunting and gathering opportunities remain an important part of my Alaskan lifestyle. The moose and Salmon were shared with many families. It certainly is a lot different from my life in New Britain. I hope some of my classmates will have the opportunity to visit this beautiful state. Bob Piorkowski

Another Mother and Daughter Lunch

Jane Baxer, her Mom (who will be 91 this November) and best childhood friend Sue Willet had the pleasure of having lunch together recently. Mrs. Baxer was like a 2nd Mom to Sue, yelling at her as much as she did Jane. Mrs. Baxer still drives and recently completed a special Drivers Ed course to receive an extra 5% off of her car insurance. We should all be that lucky when we reach her age. How nice for Mrs. Baxer to hold our traveling class sign. The class of 1968 is certainly getting around. We hope to see more classmates enjoying each others company.

Our Traveling Class Sign

In trying to keep our site fun and interesting I will be posting pictures of our traveling class sign. I hope you will be able to indentify the places we have traveled to. Signs are available for those that would like to contribute to the blog and share their travels or special place. Just let me know and I will be happy to mail you one. I hope you will visit our blog often to see where our class has been. Comments are welcome and appreciated. If you are having trouble posting just let us know, we are here to help. I am running out of ideas, your help is needed to keep our blog entertaining.