apy Cs Ball of Fire Quarterly Express Newsletter of the 93rd Bombardment Group: 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force, Hardwick, England Ball of Fire Vol. 11, No.2 ‘Summer, 2003, May 13, 2003 Several important items have come up: 1. For our 93" BG Reunion to be held September 14 — 17, 2003 we have found it necessary to change the hotel in New Orleans. Those who have already made reservations at the Pontchartrain must eall 504-524-0581 and must cancel their reservation and avoid penalty. 2. It is imperative that we get a “headcount” as soon as possible of those who are planning to attend the reunion, because the hotels require guarantees with financial penalties if we do not reach the number of rooms reserved and other commitments. All those planning on making the 93° BG New Orleans Reunion are asked to please send in advance, for planning purposes, just the names and number of people in your party and mail or email them to me or to Cal Davidson. Also, we would like to hear from those who will not make it, especially those who have attended the Reunions at Savannah and Colorado Springs. Harry Kelleher Cal Davidson 7925 SE Trenton Ave 48973 Plate Road Hobe Sound, FL. 33455 Oberlin, Ohio 44074 hkell@msn.com 772-546-1486 K8QGC@aol.com 440-775-1787 If possible, please make your reservations at the Drury Inn and Suites by July 31. The cut-off date is August 15, after which unreserved rooms will be made open to the public. ‘The hotel reservations and activity fee will be handled as usual. Attendees will make their own hotel reservations, and the activity fee will remain the same at $170 and will be handled as before by filling out the Activity Form and mailing it to Robert McKeever. The new agenda and activity fee information is included in this announcement. ‘The new hotel is Drury Inn and Suites. The room rate will be $79.99 plus Tax and $1.00 Occupancy Tax, with the same rate two days before and two days after. Included will be a full hot buffet breakfast daily, and on Monday and Tuesday evenings there will be complimentary beverages from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. (The full hot buffet breakfast and the two evenings’ complimentary beverages are an improvement over the Pontchartrain.) There will be a daily parking charge of $12 plus tax. The Drury Inn is new, built within the last five years. There are 156 rooms with standard, kingsize deluxe, and king suites, pool, spa, exercise room, 25” TV with HBO, CNN, and ESPN, and free high speed internet in all rooms. Our Reunion in September will be a very important one. We will lay the groundwork for the next generation of our sons, daughters, friends and other relatives who are willing to join us in continuing the memories and friendships of the 93" Bomb Group as our numbers are decreasing year by year. Al Asch has already made great headway in starting the process, and will be announcing the progress at our Group business meeting on Tuesday, September 16. We are hoping for a really good turnout—tet’s do it while we can still enjoy the company of our good friends from long ago. Harry Kelleher93" BG REUNION SEPT. 14 - 17, 2003 NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA. DRURY INN & SUITES 820 Polydras St New Orleans, LA 70112 504-529-7800 Historic Elegance Complimentary Full Buffet Breakfast Nightly Hotel Dinner Group rate 2 days before and 2 days after Check in: 3:00pm Check out: 12 noon $79.99 +13% tax + $1 Occupancy Tax CALL HOTEL TO MAKE YOUR OWN RESERVATION ACTIVITY FEE_$170 PER PERSON List each person in your party—Full Name: "Your address and phone and email address SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Sunday, Sept. 14 ‘Arrival and Registration Hospitality Room 7:00 pm Group Dinner at Hotel Hospitality Room Monday, Sept. 15 Full Buffet Breakfast City Bus Tour plus Paddleboat Jazz Cruise & lunch 5:30 pm Complimentary Beverages 7:00 Group Banquet at Hotel Hospitality Room Tuesday, Sept 16 Full Buffet Breakfast Group Business Meeting National DD Museum Free Aflernoon at French Quarter 5:30 pm Complimentary Beverages 7:00 Group Dinner at Hotel Hospitality Room Wednesday, Sept 17 Full Buffet Breakfast Departure ACTIVITY FEE for stay at DRURY INN Mail one check for all attendees in your party payable to: 93" Bomb Group to Mr. Robert McKeever 329 Rosewood Avenue ‘Winnetka, Ill 60093 847-446-0205 email: BridgeDove@aol.comee Air Force & World War II Memorials by Alfred Asch Air Force Memorial. The Memorial will be located on the promontory, just southwest of the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. This new and final te is approximately 100 feet above the Pentagon and is located just off Intestate 395, a major gateway to D. C. This gives a spectacular view to Washington, D. C. and the memorial will be visible to hundreds of thousands of people entering and leaving our Nation's Capital on this Interstate. Because of the new location, a completely new design was indicated. The new design, which has been approved by all approval agencies, consists of three stainless steel spires soaring skyward from the promontory, the tallest one being 270 feet tall. The forms will capture the subtle grace and boldness of a space launch and the Air Force Thunderbirds’ "Bomb Burst" maneuver. Between the bases of the spirals will be a five pointed star. Circumscribing the star and rising nine feet into the air will be an Air Force Memorial Chamber of glass, bearing inscriptions and images. Off to one side will be a 12-foot-tall Contemplation Chamber of cast glass with inscriptions. To the other side will be statues representing an honor guard. All will stand amid a memorial park and parade ground on the edge of the Arlington National Cemeter Construction is to start by September of this year with a completion date of September, 2006 to coincide with the 59th anniversary of the Air Force. Almost $33 million of the required $38 million has been contributed from aerospace industries and 140,000 individuals. A much 3 more detailed article will appear in the forthcoming Journal. Contributions can be made to: The Air Force Memorial Foundation, 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, Va 22209-1198. The Air Force Memorial Foundation held a press conference on March 5, 2003 at the Sheraton Hotel next to the planned site. Dave Thompson (pilot of the Duchess) and I were invited and immediately after the conference we presented the 93rd’s $1,000.00 check to the Foundation, Mr. Ross Perot Jr. of the Board of, Trustees accep Vr: Mr. Ross Perot Jr. Al Asch and Dave Thompson World War II Memorial. The construction work which started in September, 2001 is on schedule and the completion of our National WWII Memorial in the Spring of 2004 looks good. Senator Bob Dole said in his last report that it took too long to get to this point. More than nine years have passed since Congress authorized the memorial. We have lost close to four million WWII vets in that time. We'll lose another half million before we dedicate the memorial. Let's recall that the memorial will honor the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the United States during WWI, the more than 400,000 who died and the millions who supported the war effort from the home front More than $190 million has been raised primarily by private contributions. I was informed that the American Battle Monuments ‘Commission is no longer asking for donations and are discouraging people and organizations from sending them money. Thursday, May 27, 2004 through Sunday, May 30, 2004 are the dates for the dedication ceremonies. Many organizations within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area are sponsoring activities for the celebrations and dedication. Saturday, May 29, 2004 will be the main dedication, to be held at the memorial site, ‘The National Mall. There have been estimates that some 200,000 will attend.