The 1st Fighter Association held its 15th biennial reunion in Seattle Washington during the week of September 14 - 19, 2004.  The host hotel was the SeaTac Doubletree adjacent to the SeaTac International airport.  The first three days were devoted to comraderie in the all-day Hospitality Room and local sightseeing.  The Squadron dinners were held at the hotel on Thursday, Sept. 16. The Museum of Flight (MOF) at Boeing Field was the featured venue for the two final days.  The MOF opened its new Personal Courage Wing in July 2004 and became the host museum for the American Fighter Aces Association.  The new wing is the home of the former Champlin collection of WWII fighter planes on the 1st level and contains a 2nd level depicting WWI military aviation.

Shuttle bussing was provided to & from the hotel & the MOF all day Friday and Saturday.  After free lance touring of the MOF in the morning, a seated luncheon was served in the View Lounge.

Following the lunch, the Boeing Company provided talks by senior managers in their F/A-22 Raptor and Advanced Unmanned Systems programs.  Following the talks in the MOF theater, Boeing provided busing to their Raptor wing assembly area for a tour.

Saturday featured a full day at the MOF with panel presentations by 1st Fighter pilots and ground crew; book signings of John Mullins' "An Escort of P-38's" and Diana Dale's "Finding Billy"--the story of the search for and recovery of remains of her uncle, William O. Wisner (71st) who was lost north of Bolzano, Italy in October 1944;  and the Association banquet in the Skyline Room.

The Association business meeting was held on Saturday morning at the hotel and the officers for the new biennium were elected.  They are:  President - Al Eberhardt (94th); Vice President - Bob Correia (27th); and Secretary/Treasurer Diana Dale (71st).

The morning panel discussion held in the MOF theater for public attendance was led by Mac 'Prune' MacAllister (71st) and presented Gene Pillard (71st) , crewchief; Ken Fritz (71st) , radioman; Armand Charron (94th), armorer; and Charlie McCann (71st), pilot--in a discussion of the full spectrum of squadron operations.

  The afternoon panel session for the public was led by F-15 pilot Lt. Col. Pete 'Toes' Bartos (71st).  This session provided a lively discussion of WWII missions, experiences & P-38 combat tactics by five WW2 pilot members of the Association.  The 27th was robustly represented by Bob Riley, and aces Joel Owens, Darrell Welch and Tom Maloney.  Al Eberhardt (94th) related his experiences on the super secret Argonaut mission when the 1st FG escorted President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill on their transit of the Mediterranean to Yalta for conferences with Stalin.

The evening banquet got off to a great start with the open bar and hors d'oeuvres so generously financed by the Association's constant benefactor -- our own P. E. 'Mac' MacAllister.  The Skyline Room at the MOF provided an elegant atmosphere for the 'main event'.  Featured speaker for the evening was BGen. Stephen Goldfein, a previous 1st FW commander and the current Director of Operational Capability Requirements at Headquarters, USAF in the Pentagon.  The General told of the 1st FW response and involvement after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade towers and invited the Association to come to Las Vegas in 2005 where he assumed command of the Nellis AFB and USAF combat training center in October 2004 and gained his 2nd star as MGen.  The General, plus Col. Tom Tinsley, 1st FW OG/CC, and our own Lt. Col. Pete Bartos looked sharp in their USAF mess dress.

Following the reunion, several Association members and family embarked on an Alaskan cruise to top off an active week to remember.  During the reunion week, members took advantage of various sightseeing activities: Cruise to Victoria, BC (17); bus trip to Mt. Rainier (6); harbor, locks & lake cruises (36); Boeing 747/767 plant tour (17); and evening dinner train (25).  There were 142 attending the reunion and 30% attended for 5 days or more to thoroughly renew their friendships enjoy the region.

Click on the photo groupings below to sample some of the reunion action!