82nd Finance Company/Battalion Reunion, 21-23 May, 2014

Background: Sometime in July, 2013, COL (R) Kurt Saulsbury and CSM (R) Larry Elsom started talking about a possible reunion of former 82nd Finance Paratroopers. Sitting around the bar at Sports USA on Fort Bragg we decided it was time. There had been reunions before, mostly small get togethers of a few guys, usually piggybacked on the annual Finance Corps Ball at Fort Jackson. The last reunion of any size at Fort Bragg was in 2008, I think. I was out of town and did not attend, but heard it was a one night, pay as you go affair at an off post sports bar attended by about 20-25 people, mostly locals.  I wanted to do more than that and told Kurt that if I was going to be involved in planning a reunion, it would have to be a 2-3 day affair with multiple events, one of which would be a sit-down dinner with some military formalities. I was especially interested in honoring our known departed comrades with a simple, but dignified ceremony at the dinner. I also wanted to conduct the reunion in concert with the annual 82nd Airborne Division “All American Week.” 

Kurt agreed with my concept and we decided we would need more help so we solicited, from the local area, some other retired former 82nd Finance guys. In early August, 2013, we formed the “82nd Finance Reunion Planning Committee” consisting of: COL (R) Kurt Saulsbury (co-chair); CSM (R) Larry Elsom (co-chair); SGM (R) John Henry; MSG (R) John Callahan; MSG (R) Louis Corner; MSG (R) Elvis Edwards, and COL (R) Jim Bliss (at large member). We held our first official meeting on August 3rd.  At this initial meeting I passed out a mission statement and an initial list of tasks that I thought would be necessary for the planning and execution of the reunion. First among them was to determine if the 82nd Airborne Division would even hold the traditional “All American Week” activities in 2014. This is an annual event that takes place each year during the week prior to Memorial Day.  Our concern was that “All American Week” would be canceled in 2014 because of the constant deployments of Division units supporting real world activities. Our next concern was how to reach out to former members; we decided we would use a combination of social media and email, and our next concern was that in order to conduct a successful reunion, we would need at least 45-50 attendees.

Planning: The planning process began in August, 2013, and went to early May, 2014.  Some of the more important issues were:
• Build an accurate, workable email contact list. We started with about 20 addresses and ended with 122.
• Identify as many departed former members as we could. We identified and honored 17.
• Secure from the U.S. Army Finance School the 82nd Finance Battalion Colors for the Division Review. COL (R) Jim Bliss and CSM (R) Billy Pantoja accomplished this task.
• Request from former members pictures/mementos for a static display and slide show.
• Select venues for the meet/greet and dinner. We chose to use the Ft. Bragg Club System for both.
• Select and invite a distinguished guest speaker. We chose BG (R) Hugh B. Tant, a former 82nd FO and Comptroller.
• Design and set up an online order process for a reunion T-shirt.
• Secure a Color Guard from an active unit. The 1SG, 82nd FMSU volunteered to support us.

Execution: The reunion started on 21 May, 2014, with a registration, complete with the issuance of “swag bags” containing lots of trinkets and local area information, and a meet/greet at Sports USA, a large no rank sports bar on Ft. Bragg.  At this event we had lots of pizza, wings, and other pub food and provided a $300.00 bar tab. We also had a static display of items brought in by individual former members and a slide show of pictures sent in and gleaned from Face Book. The slide show was on a continuous loop and was accompanied by an airborne music track.  We also played a 45 minute video of a combat equipment parachute jump conducted by 82nd Finance Battalion in October, 1991. The meet/greet provided our attendees with their first opportunity to re-connect with former comrades that they had not seen, in some cases, for over 30 years. It was a huge success and a good time was had by all.

The next day, 22 May started at 0915 on Pike Field where we fielded a 35 person formation proudly wearing our reunion T-shirts and berets and marched along with other Division Veterans in the 82nd Airborne Division Review. This for many of our attendees was the high point of the reunion.

After the Review some 25 of us went over to the 34’ Parachute Jump Training Tower at the U.S. Army Advanced Airborne School. After some quick remedial training and the signing of liability waivers we rigged up and jumped out of the tower. For most, it was the first time they had done that in over 25 years. Except for a few riser burns caused by poor exits, this event went well (ed: Ray Allred and John Medley later commented: "I was telling everyone that my burn was a "hickey"  and that at my age I was very proud of it......").   One or two guys even went out a second time.

Next we all gathered in one of the airplane mock ups for some more pre-jump training. The 34’ Tower Event was added to the schedule late in the planning process, but proved to be one, if not the most popular event.  After the Tower Event, the 82nd Airborne Division G-8 (Comptroller) gave an unclassified mission briefing and VIP tour of the new Division Headquarters Building to: BG Tant, COL Allred, and SGM Medley, all former Division Comptroller Alumni. 

The last organized event on 22 May was our sit down buffet dinner held at McKeller’s Lodge on Ft. Bragg.  At this event the National and Battalion Colors were posted by an excellent Color Guard provided by the 82nd Financial Management Support Unit and the invocation was given by our own MSG (R), Reverend Mark Powell. We also had a formal cake cutting ceremony and acknowledged some very distinguished guests: COL (R) Bob Speer, our first Battalion Commander and current ASA, FMC; COL (R) Ray Allred, FO during the Division’s critical JUMPS-Army Conversion and the very first 82nd Airborne Division Comptroller, and SGM (R) John Medley, a former USAFAC CSM, and Honorary Sergeant Major of the Regiment. 

Later, as part of the official toasts, we conducted a formal ceremony honoring 17 of our departed comrades. As each departed comrade’s name, and picture for those we had, appeared on a large screen, a pre-selected former member (sponsor) moved to the Honor Table and lit a candle and placed it in a crystal holder atop a large glass mirror Finance Diamond. Also, a plaque with the inscribed name and rank of each of the 17 departed comrades was part of the display.  After the last candle was lit, I offered the final toast of the evening to our departed comrades and Taps was sounded. This was a very moving experience, and for me the high point of the reunion. After dinner, BG (R) Hugh Tant gave a very interesting presentation on the Iraqi Currency Exchange that he headed up in 2003-2004. The evening’s events concluded with the presentation of a Guest Speaker Memento to BG Tant, retirement of the Colors, and the 82nd Airborne Division Song.

The final day of the reunion, 23 May, was less structured than the previous two days. It started with an informal, pay as you go lunch at the Sports USA. It was one more chance for the members to bond and meet with their old buddies to tell and re-tell some pretty good stories about jumps and other things of long ago.  At this event, COL Allred, and SGM Medley presented the coveted “Allred PLF Award” to all of the members, including two children of a member that jumped from the 34’ tower the previous day.  After lunch, we loaded the van provided to us by the Ft. Bragg DMPO and headed to downtown Fayetteville to visit the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. The museum is dedicated to all who have served in Airborne/Special Operations and has exhibits ranging from WWII to current day operations. That night, BG Tant hosted a post-reunion dinner at a local German Restaurant for some former members that he had served with in the Division. We enjoyed authentic German food, participated in karaoke, and danced to “old school” shag music.  The video of the Karaoke, below, is ample testimony to the need for all involved to keep their day jobs:
 

Acknowledgements: First, my wife Karen. This reunion would not have been the success it was without her assistance.  She worked tirelessly for eight months helping me with the organization and the many details of planning. Specifically, she was responsible for:  the design of our T-shirt and set up of the online order link; designing and stuffing the “swag” bags; designing the reunion cake; designing the reunion posters; selecting the guest speaker gift, including the wording; designing the departed comrade ceremony table; designing and preparing the individual name tags, and selecting the menu items for the meet/greet and dinner. MSG (R) Elvis Edwards was our IT guy and put together the meet/greet slide show presentation, the departed slide show, and the dinner program. MSG (R) Lou Corner was our official photographer/videographer and fully documented the reunion events. SGM (R) John Henry coordinated the color guard and the use of the 34’ Jump Tower. He also secured and drove the 15 pax van provided by the Ft. Bragg DMPO. Fran Saulsbury hand made the centerpieces for the reunion dinner tables and she and Kurt provided lodging for the Tant’s in their home. Although not a formal committee member, MSG (R) Jim Paradise coordinated the G-8 VIP briefing and helped us secure VIP parking/seating passes for the Division Review. The organization, planning, and execution of this reunion were a team effort and I greatly appreciate all who had a hand in it.
Financials/Attendance: A total of 82 people attended the reunion (including former members and their guests). We collected $5,536.00 from our members, and our total expenses were $5,182.00. We will donate the $354.00 balance to an appropriate military charitable/service organization.

S/S CSM(R) Larry Elsom

Photo Gallery:

Click here to review photos from the reunion (caution - there are quite a few photos and the page may take a bit of time to download)

Attendees:

• Abdil Gutierrez
• Bennie Wells
• Billy Pantoja
• Bo Scott
• Bob Speer
• Chris Heughan
• Clayton Heath
• Dale Phillips
• Dan Haddock
• Darren Gonsalves
• David Clay
• Derrick Carr
• Dusty Grice
• Edwin Gonzalez-Rivera
• Elvis Edwards
• Hugh Tant
• Ingram King
• Jim Bliss
• John "Killer" Callahan
• John Graham
• John Hall
• John Henry
• John Hill
• John Medley
• Juan Santiago
• Julie Kelly
• Kathy Hockenberry
• Keith Gudehus
• Kurt Saulsbury
• Larry Elsom
• Les Baye
• Lin Bailey
• Lou Corner
• Louis McBride
• Mark Powell
• Maurice Ratliff
• Michael Riley
• Michael Thomas
• Pat Dailey
• Pat Riley
• Pedro dela Mar
• Ray Allred
• Richard Abdill
• Richard Bowman
• Rick Perry
• Seth Knox
• Steve Buckley
• Steve Carder
• Timothy Selby
• Todd Shorts
• Tom Biddle
• SGM Taylor