HOLIDAY PARTY

The traditional Holiday Party ended the year on a very happy and sharing note. Lew and Marj Watson, our hosts, opened their home and unlimited seasonal hospitality to members and spouses on December 11th. The covered dish menu satisfied everyone 's palate from original Korean dishes to traditional American fare.

Charlie Klein delivered the carload of children's gifts and winter clothing to the Arlington -Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless. Our donations serve as an emergency toy supply for last minute appeals. This year's donation is one of the chapter's original community outreach efforts.

The highlight of the party was the singing of traditional Korean songs by Won Ho Kim and the chanting of Vietnamese songs by Len Funk. Their singing had an unexpected accomplice when the Watson's dog decided to add his howling to the two soloists. Hats off to these two grateful singers for sharing the stage. Special kudos to Bruce and Sara Waxman for dashing from the airport with an armful of presents to attend the party. The chapter is fortunate to have such a diverse wealth of talent and giving hearts.


WEBSITE + NEWSLETTER = REUNION

Dick Lavender's internet search for his Vietnam Army unit resulted in visiting the chapter's webpage by hitting on the "544th Engineer Company". He read the newsletter article about Bill Musgrave's veteran assistance activities and serving in Len Ignatowski's platoon. Dick dispatched an email to Len, but it was almost deleted when Len didn't recognize the sender's address.

The email united Len with his company commander from the 544th Engineer Company. Len had been searching for Dick for several years to fill in some information gaps in the writing of the 169th Engineer Bn. service in Vietnam. What is more astonishing is that Dick lives just south of Radford, Va., where Len was planning to visit his son, Daniel, at Radford University. The two veterans and their wives met on October 23rd at Radford over lunch. Dick agreed to read his letters home to get the information that Len requested.

Len linked Dick with Bill Musgrave and Bill Long, another 544th officer too. The two veterans plan to meet again. Hats off to Kevin Flatley, the chapter's webmaster, who made this reunion possible.

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