Well, whether anyone knew it or not, I had intended on providing the following at the beginning of April, instead of this late date in May. Hey, at least I’m only ONE month behind! My plan is to provide monthly updates on classmate locations, status, stories, etc. for the webpage instead of y’all having to wait three months to get a Checkpoints update – and then the info is often over a half-year old! This way, you get to see what others have been telling me within the past month! I trust we will all grow to like this new way. Now if I can just manage to keep up with a self-imposed publishing schedule!!

Sadly enough, I must start with bad news. Though most of you by now will know by now (if you’re reading this on the webpage) that we have lost another classmate, Ed MOODY. Ed had been diagnosed with leukemia and was sent to Bethesda for treatment (he was stationed at Dyess) but somehow during treatment ran into complications and died on April 19. There was a memorial service for his squadron right away at Dyess, and then the next week his funeral was held at the Ft Belvoir chapel in D.C. Ed has been buried in Arlington National Cemetary, but I do not have information about the exact location. Ed was engaged to be married to Danita. It’s so amazing, how we travel through life not knowing around which corner we will find sudden tragedy or surprising joy. As for me, I got to see Ed at SOS in Jan/Feb, where we exchanged stories about chasing narcos in Panama (he’d been TDY down there shortly after I left in Aug 96). He didn’t mention leukemia, as far as I remember, and I believe it was surprise to everyone. I have some excellent words from another friend of his from SOS, Eric Obergfell, regarding the funeral. Some of you may also have met Eric at SOS, seeing as how so many of us were there.

Friends,

A close friend of mine died a week after Easter. I had just spent two months with him in school in Alabama. This experience broke my heart and made me realize again, all we really have here are friends and family. Our faith in God needs to be strong so we can share the faith of eternal life with those around us.

The following is a message I wrote to some common friends my friend Ed and I shared.

Ed's funeral started with a service at Ft Belvoir Chapel at 1100, April 29, 1998. A large crowd silently gathered. About 75-100 blue suiters were present to honor our friend, as well as many Army officers and at least one Navy officer. There were at least 250 people in the chapel.

The service opened with the traditional hymn "How Great Thou Art." Following the opening song, Denita, Ed's fiancée, gave a eulogy. She said before all this started she was having a hard time with Ed living in Texas and her in Atlanta, so Ed sent her a card with the Bible verses Romans 8:36-39. Three days later he was diagnosed with leukemia.

Roman 8:36-39: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

After Danita spoke, the pastor gave a eulogy. He explained that Ed had professed faith in God, and because of that faith he is now in heaven. He went on to point out that the only things we really have in life are our loves, memories and our history. He ended by encouraging all of us to treasure each and every moment in life and celebrate every person we have the opportunity to touch, as Ed has touched us all.

The service ended with the hymn, " It is Well With My Soul."

An hour after the service a funeral procession gathered at Arlington Cemetery. From the intersection of Patton and Marshall Roads, the Air Force Band stepped off playing High Flight. The Air Force rifle team fell in behind the band. Six white horses pulled a carriage carrying the casket. The funeral attendees followed, marching slowly toward the grave.

Once at the grave, Old Glory was folded neatly and presented to Ed's family. A 21-gun salute and Taps followed.

At the grave-side the pastor read Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me besides quiet waters, He guides me in paths of righteousness for his names sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Those who came to pay their last respects were then allowed to spend a quiet moment at the casket.

A reception followed at Ft Myer. Ed's unit gave his father a case displaying Ed's rank, wings, ribbons and unit patches. Also included was a Texas flag which flew over the state capital in Austin (TX) in memory of Ed. Ed's commander from Dyess presented Ed's father and Danita Ed's meritorious service medal. Following the presentations I was able to talk to both Danita and Ed's father. I expressed our flight’s joy in knowing Ed and sorrow in his passing.

Ed's father invited us over to present our gift to the charity. He also mentioned that any further contributions will be sent to the Fisher Home (a home for needy children) on Andrews AFB.

God Speed my friends,

Eric D. Obergfell

My first real contact with the sad news about Ed actually came from Andrea (LONG) PSMITHE, who I had never really had the pleasure of knowing at USAFA. Its great to be able to meet new friends, though I would’ve preferred different circumstances. Andrea went to the funeral and got to see quite a few old acquaintances and afterward wrote to me, so I’ll include her words here:

"…it was REALLY nice to see and talk to other grads, too. It's unfortunate that it takes a tragedy for many of us to see our classmates again. I didn't see everyone (or know their names), but some of them were: Lois (BAIRD) TRUE (4.5 months pregnant!), Mark TRUE, Laura (GREY) FOGLESONG, Dave

GYURE, Leon DOCKERY, Tony PERKINS, Jen (MRAZ) COS (4.0 months pregnant!), Blair HORTON, AND OTHERS!

I'm currently a Contracting Officer working for the National Guard Bureau in Falls Church, VA (live in Alexandria), and excited to celebrate my 6th wedding anniversary with Kevin PSMITHE ('89) in June. We took the trip of a lifetime in February to Tanzania, Africa to climb Kilimanjaro and go on a safari. WAY COOL trip -- the Tanzanians are friendly and most are Christians. The climb was at times miserable (no shower for 8 days, altitude sickness, blah blah whine...) and dangerous, but surprisingly EASY to get to the top (19,340 feet) compared to any military training we've had. I'd recommend it!

May our awesome Lord bless you and keep you safe, and may we remember Ed Moody properly in that he is safe forever in Heaven -- we can all pray for each other that we, too, will accept the gift of eternal life from Jesus Christ.

Andrea (Long) Psmithe

DSN 761-0626, fax 703-681-0666

home: 703-518-8815

Amen, Andrea.

Now comes four pages of April updates:

Bret HEEREMA tells me of a few Tarantulas stationed near USAFA (Bret is teaching Physics there). Matt EAGER just got assigned to Falcon at the SWC (Space Warfare Center? I’m guessing here). Russ BALKA is coming in June to the Athletic Dept., and Rob BLOCK has been teaching Math since December.

Shari FOX is at the 52 MDOS, Spangdahlem AB, Germany.

Address: PSC 9 Box 725 APO AE 09123

dsn 452-7287

HomePhone: 011-49-6562-8732

She writes: Over the past several years, I have kept in touch with a couple of Academy grads, but not a whole lot. I lost touch with most of you folks when I dropped out of the USAF world and entered my graduate program through a triservice program sponsored by the ARMY. I survived and am now a licensed Physical Therapist at Spangdahlem AB. I have slowly been traveling the world first at Osan AB, ROK last year and now in Europe. The most recent news is that I am getting married on 24 April 1998 to a wonderful man, Capt Shawn Silverman (not USAFA grad). He is a PAVELOW helicopter pilot stationed at RAF Mildenhall so next year we will be doing the joint spouse thing. Hope to hear from some of my old pals. Shari

J.P. PORIER is in AFIT at CU (Boulder)

Address: 3353 Madison Ave. # U-114 Boulder, CO 80303

homephone: (303) 417-1685

He writes: I haven't written in to Checkpoints since we graduated, but I've been an AOG member for a couple of years now and thought I should put my two cents in. I will graduate from Univ of Colorado at Boulder Law School in May '98 (in the FLEP program) and then will be a JAG at Holloman AFB in NM. Also, I got married at the USAFA chapel in Sep '97 and several friends from '91 made it to the wedding (thankfully), including: Bill POINTER, Thad BIBB, Aric DIMEFF, and Eric SIEGRIST. It was great to see them. If anyone is at, or heading to, Holloman, look me up.

Lisa BUKATA is out of the AF, living at 129 Rhode Island St Dyess AFB, TX 79607

Work Phone: (915) 695-2868

Home Phone: (915) 695-2868

She writes: Hi! I don't know if you remember me, but I am one of your long-lost classmates. I married Tony BUKATA (class of 90) after graduation and we were stationed at McChord, then Davis-Monthan, where I got out last year just before the birth of my twins, Alec & Hannah (18 Apr 97). Our daughter Katie will be 4 in May, also. I've been in touch with fellow 91-er Cherie (KELLNER) LAVANTURE, who is also a civilian now, living in Monument CO with husband Ray, son Andrew (almost 2 yrs) and baby on the way this summer. Jeff HENTZ and his wife Heather are now at Little Rock with their beautiful daughter Samantha, who was born in Sep. Ro LEWIS is flying the C-17 at Charleston, and Tim GREMINGER is flying the C-141 at McGuire (he was married in August to Pam).That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but will be in touch with more info when I can! Lisa

James DUNN completed medical school in 1995 at LSU and is now stationed at Keesler Medical Center, doing his residency training in Obstetrics & Gynecology. He expects to graduate June 1999.

Mike BECK has a webpage he’d like us to all take a look at:

http://www.mindspring.com/~roguepilot/beckhome.html

From Todd LEVINE:

"Currently, I’m at sunny Edwards AFB, CA and made a switch from ACC C-130’s to AFMC. My wife, Kaiya, is pregnant and due in August with our first. I’m going through Test Pilot School as a navigator and love the flying, but the reports and classes are giving me flashbacks of the zoo. Vanessa (REBELLO) SIEWART is also in my TPS class as an engineer.  Her husband’s name is Ted. I also saw Jeff and Deb LAMPE. Deb got out last year and Jeff’s flying the Aria (modified KC-135).

Scott RYAN:

"[My wife, Kim, and I] have been here at Davis-Monthan for almost 3 years now.  I'm flying the EC-130E ABCCC (Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center), and my squadron has been permanently deployed to Aviano in support of the Bosnian mission for 5 years now. That means about 6 months per year deployed to Aviano.  Although this sucks for the families, the flying hours and money are excellent and it keeps us away from the Sandbox!  My wife Kim plays keyboards in the Leanne Savage band, voted Tucson's #1 band last year, so between rotations to Italy I keep myself busy being her "roadie".  This is clearly way more information than you need, huh?  Anyway, keep up the good work. Take Care, Scott Ryan

Actually, I love hearing about the little extras in life, like being a roadie! Certainly sounds like fun!

-TAV

Noel FULTON sent a great list of the '91 grads who are currently back at the Zoo teaching/working. I am looking forward to having my own name added to this list in just a little over two years from now! I will be teaching in the History department -- can’t wait! Hey, Mark! Hey, Paul! You guys gonna stay there for at least another two??

Astronautics

John CINNAMON

Athletics

Tim ADAMS

Kim DORNBURG

Suzanne HENKE

Mona WHEELER

Chemistry

Kyle GRESHAM

Computer Science

Jeff BOLENG

History

Paul BAUMAN

Mark GROTELUESCHEN

Management

Jim PARCO

Mathematics

Robert BLOCK

Philosophy

Bill CASEBEER

Political Science

Rick LESAN

50th Training Squadron

Noel FULTON

557th Training Squadron

Mike JOHNSON

Jeff NEAL

Jim SEARS

Kevin VANDEWATER

Public Affairs

Ron WATROUS

If anyone else out there has a list like that one, please send it in! That’s great to see! Thanks, Noel!

OK, ready for some reading?!? This next one is from Callie (CALHOUN) MOLLOY.

A lot has happened since graduation. My first assignment was at Randolph AFB in San Antonio as a Behavioral Scientist. I spent four years there, and kept very busy competing in road races, getting my masters's degree at St.Mary's U. at night and met my husband Joe Molloy, a West Point grad and Physical Therapist in the Army. The fall of '94, I qualified for the Olympic Trials in the Marathon with a good finishing time at the Marine Corps Marathon. Thanks to that gut-check and blister-filled performance, I was reassigned to the Air Force World Class Athlete Program to train full time for a year. That was a great year! In the final year of my Air Force commitment I was accepted to Optometry school and received an offer from the Army for a full four-year scholarship. So I separated from the Air Force and the very next day was sworn into the Army the summer of '96. That fall I started Optometry school at SUNY College of Optometry in New York City. I am now completing my second year and have only two to go until I'm an eye doctor. I spent last summer at the Pentagon Optometry clinic as an intern. I ran into a few classmates Craig ALLTON, Steve BLEIMAYER, and Nancy WEISS. Of course they were all a little surprised to see me in an Army uniform wearing 2LT rank (will be an Army Capt when I graduate in 2000). Anyway, all is going well and I plan to run the New York City marathon this fall--could be much slower than a few years ago now that the eyeball books have priority these days. I miss San Antonio and hope to be assigned to Brooke Army Medical Center when I graduate--we'll see. I still haven't forgotten my alma mater despite my transfer to the green suit. I have rubbed the Air Force victory over West Point in my husband's face many times this past year!

Take care and talk to ya again,

Callie (Calhoun) Molloy

Callie, that’s a great story. From the way things sound here in San Antonio, I imagine Brooke AMC will be closing soon after 2000. As you said, "we’ll see". I do hope we get to hear from you again in the future.

William (Bill) GLASCOE sent me an email a short while ago. Bill and I used to be doolies together in the Grim Reapers. Even back then, Bill had his eyes set on the stars, and from the looks of it, he still heading in that direction! He has been working at the Space and Missiles Systems Center, Advanced Systems Directorate and is getting an MS in Telecommunications from CU Boulder. His AFSC is Astronautical Engineer, but on the job he is a Software Acquisition Team Leader. He says he doesn’t write code (but he probably SHOULD!). He plans on leaving in July 99 to go to the International Space University Summer Session, which then will be held in Thailand (it rotates from place to place, apparently). Now doesn’t that sound like someone who likes working space issues! Good luck, Bill!

A quick data entry on Dana ALLEN:

AFRL\PRTP Don’t ask me what this office symbol means!

Wright Patterson AFB OH

Tel: (937) 255-2767

fax (937) 656-4179

allendg@wl.wpafb.af.mil

Home: lallen@brigadoon.com

Laura FOGLESONG has kept up a steady stream of communication with , but for those who might have missed word from her in the past, she’s at the Joint Military Intelligence Center at Bolling AFB, DC. Home address: 2029 Huntington Ave, Alexandria VA 22303. Work phone 202-231-4545, home phone 703-317-7008, email foglesongs@hotmail.com.

She writes: David Foglesong (husband USNA '90) and I are [now] staying in the DC area [since] his orders were cancelled. We're moving in June 98, but will be in DC another 3 years. David is going to work in J2O and I'm still looking for employment. We and Dave GYURE are anxiously awaiting PGIP graduation in Sept 98. If you're in the area--please say HI!! After graduation, Dave Gyure is Osan AB bound (he hopes--still no orders yet but AFPC promises [they] can be counted on ?!!) Kathy (GREEN) JOERS graduates 16 May from Medical school and then she and hubby Jeff JOERS ('92) are Eglin bound that same month. Jen (MRAZ) and Alex (USAFA '90) COS are expecting their baby on 20 Oct 98. I'm excited because that is my Bday and after David and I move, Jen and I will almost be neighbors in Springfield. Lois (BAIRD) and Mark TRUE are also expecting a little one and moving within the local area. They are moving onto Andrews AFB this summer and are expecting in Sep 98. Beware--there must be something in the DC water! I've stopped drinking it.

Hey, Laura, you’d be great with kids, though!

We’ve also heard quite a bit from Ryan FARMER, and he sent along an update for y’all. Ryan’s at HQ ACC/XP-SAS at Langely (Ops Research Analyst, right, Ryan?). Work phone (757) 764-5757, home phone (757) 249-3927, email mrfarmer@erols.com.

He writes: Linda (WASHBURN) HURRY's husband, Don, is in ACC Studies and Analyses Squadron with me. They recently became parents of a baby boy, Ryan Nicholas (great choice of a name :-)). My wife and I have partnered with her parents to form an internet business, of which I'm webmaster. It's http://ourgiftshop.com. We sell stuffed animals, for the most part. If you check it out, you can get to the update page I keep on my son, David. He was born Feb. '97 with a serious heart condition and has had two open heart surgeries. He's doing really well now--you can't even tell he has a problem! He will have another surgery within the next two years. Your prayers are appreciated!

Do you know or remember James SZEPESY? I wish I could see him more often than I do, which is NEVER! But fortunately, he recently made contact through the webpage. Now we know he’s still alive and doing well in the Marines. Jim is in HMLA-267 (Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron) at Camp Pendleton, California. Address: 1880 Palisades Dr, Carlsbad CA 92008. DSN 365-3020/4111, home phone 760-720-3877, email szepesyj@earthlink.net

He has quite the story for us, especially being our only Marine officer classmate!

He writes: For those of you who have been wondering about the sole USMC cross-commission classmate, let me fill you in:

I was in a training status from graduation through Sept 93 when I was winged a Naval Aviator out of Pensacola (No I have never seen the show so don't ask). Reported aboard Camp Pen Sep 93, to HMT-303 and started learning to fly AH-1W "Super Cobras". Joined HMLA-169 "Vipers" June of 94. Was part of their detachment to HMM-164 (composite squadron) and did my first West Pac with the 11th MEU(SOC) (Marine Expeditionary Unit). Visited Okinawa, Hong Kong, Singapore, Jordan, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Australia. Bumped into the wife of Capt CHEEKS, both 91 grads, in Kuwait PX. Saw Capt Andy SASSEVILLE in Hawaii. Returned from West Pac Dec 95, stuck around with the squadron to June 96. I did my "ground tour" with 1st ANGLICO (Air, Naval Gunfire Liaison Company). Great time, did a lot of terminal controls, worked with AF A-10s, F-16s, B-1s, AC-130s, as well as Navy and Marine Corps assets. Was the detachment commander to the 15th MEU(SOC) and deployed from Mar 97 thru Sep 97. Great tour, saw Capt Sasseville again and got to see Thailand and Bali with the MEU. Returned to flying Snakes February of this year and am scheduled to deploy with the 13th MEU(SOC) December 98 thru May 99. I have bumped into numerous Zoo grads in the Marine Corps, and Navy, it is actually pretty neat to see that it is a pretty small world. Any of you come to Southern Cal, drop me a line and I'll show you around, buy you a beer and catch up.

And last but not least: Tim BERGMANN has news!  Brian DOYLE (bnhdoyle@cchat.com) is at Charleston flying C-17s.  Matt EAGER (meager1@juno.com) is at Falcon AFB in the Space Warfare Center.  Gary LIVINGSTON is a space guy at Cheyenne Mtn (PCSing to one of the great white north missile bases this summer).  Scott SCHEPPERS and Heidi (CIZAN) are at Luke AFB (w) (602)856-7248.   I'll be leaving for a year at Osan in July. Will update you if I see anybody from '91 there.

OK, everybody, that’s a wrap!  I’ll have the May updates ready for reading in just a few!

Later!

TAV