Jan Feb '09 Saber.indd - First Cavalry Division Association

JANUARY/FEBRUARY, 2009THE 62nd ANNUAL REUNION, 3-7 JUNE, 2009KILLEEN, TEXASReunions are a time for all of us to gather together and say “Welcome Home”and we want each of you to be a part of this great event. The Troopers of the1st Cavalry Division Association will be meeting once more in Killeen, Texasto celebrate our 62nd Annual Reunion. We normally are here every other yearbut missed 2006 due to the first deployment of the Division to Iraq. Most of the1st Cavalry Division will be in Iraq again for this reunion but we have a planthat will be fun and there will be some of our great active duty Troopers presentfor the reunion. The Horse Cavalry Detachment will be here. Come and joinus for a fun time meeting old friends and making new ones. We have numerousevents planned and there will be opportunities for you to go off on your own andsee the surrounding area.The Shilo Inn Suites Hotel, located at 3701 South W.S. Young Drive, will beour Reunion Headquarters. The Shilo is located next to the Killeen Conventionand Conference Center (KCCC) which will be the main location for most of ourevents. Come by the Shilo to pick up your tickets, reunion pin and schedule orto register if you chose not to pre-register. The Shilo will also be the location forour Reunion Room (hospitality suite) and the Crossed Sabers Souvenir Shop.LODGINGDon’t wait; reserve your hotel room now and make sure that you identifyyourself as a part of the 1st Cavalry Division Association Reunion. We do notreserve rooms for you and making reservations and cancelling them are yourresponsibility. As many of you know, Killeen has no hotels large enough to holdour reunion so we will be staying in several different hotels. While the Shilo islocated next to the KCCC, the rest of the hotels are not within walking distancebut are located close to each other. The Association will provide a shuttle busto move you from one of our many hotels to the Shilo, the KCCC or to the postfor any events being held there. We have blocked rooms and reserved a specialrate with the following hotels:Hotel Rate ReservationsShilo Inn Suites FULL (800) 222-2244 or (254) 699-0999Residence Inn $99 + Tax (888) 236-2427 or (254) 634-1020Fairfield Inn $89 + Tax (888) 236-2427 or (254) 526-3333TownePlace Suites $89 + Tax (888) 236-2427 or (254) 554-8899Holiday Inn $89 + Tax (800) 465-4329 or (254) 690-5511Candlewood Suites $85 + Tax (888) 226-3539 or (254) 501-3980We have several other hotels that we are working with to get a special rate andwill list them in future issues of SABER or on our web page. Please contact usfor a listing of alternate hotels if these are all full. There are many other motelsat different rates in Killeen but if you stay at a different hotel than what we havelisted we will not be able to provide a shuttle service for you.All of the hotels that we have selected are newly constructed and provide awide variety of services. Each hotel provides internet service that is either wirelessor wired included in the price. All have a small refrigerator and microwaveand several have full kitchens. All offer a breakfast with the price of the roomwith the exception of the Holiday Inn and Candlewood Suites. The ResidenceInn provides a hot breakfast while the others serve Continental breakfasts. TheHoliday Inn and Shilo have full service restaurants on site.REUNION EVENT OVERVIEWThe Crossed Sabers Chapter welcomes each of you to Killeen and Fort Hoodfor the 62nd Annual Reunion of the 1st Cavalry Division Association. We arestill refining the plan and will do our best to make this event special for everyonethat comes to the reunon. As the plan gets fully developed we will announcechanges in SABER and also on our web page at . Please makesure to bring photo identification to ensure that you have no issues getting onpost for any events scheduled there.As usual, we are planning for a Welcoming Mixer, War Era Lunches, UnitLunches, Sweetheart Dance, Annual Association Banquet, a Ladies Tea, GroupBreakfast, and Memorial Service. Additionally, this year we will be having aGold Star Family Member Breakfast and want everyone that is in contact with thefamilies of our fallen Troopers to invite them to attend. There is never a registrationfee for our Gold Star families and the Association will pay for their breakfastat this event. Julie Kink, the sister of WO Kink who was killed in Vietnam whileserving with 1-9th Cavalry, will be our guest speaker and this special event willbe a standard item in future reunions. If Gold Star families wish to attend anyother function they will need to pay for those events. The Sweetheart Dance isa fund raising event that supports the Foundation of the 1st Cavalry Division Association.All money raised from this event supports scholarships for the childrenof Troopers that were killed in action or were totally and permanently disabled.The Ladies Tea will have an additional activity for the ladies to enjoy. Eachyear during our reunions in Killeen we have had a Historic Tableau on Fridayevening that shows the history of the Cavalry in a demonstration set to music. Asyou may know, the 1st Cavalry Division will be in Iraq during our reunion andwe are still working to see if we can host this special event. If the task provestoo much to handle or can not be done in a quality way, we will have plans forsomething else on Friday evening.We will have meetings of the Chapter Presidents, Foundation and MuseumFoundation Trustees, the Board of Governors and our General Membershipmeeting. During our General Membership meeting on Saturday morning we willhold elections for the Association and both Foundations and select the locationfor our 2012 reunion. Please put this important meeting on your list of thingsto do at the reunion.Seating for all events is open with the exception of the Reunion Banquet onSaturday night. If you are attending the banquet, you must get your tickets markedwith a table number at the Banquet Seating table when picking up your registrationpacket. If you want to sit with specific people we recommend that you allgo to the Banquet Seating table together with your tickets available. Don’t waituntil the last minute or we may not be able to accommodate your needs.Cavalry casual attire is appropriate for all reunion events. We are always questionedabout attire for the banquet. Wear what you feel comfortable wearing;a coat and tie, your uniform (if it still fits), casual clothing with open collar, orjeans or shorts. We want you to attend and aren’t overly concerned with whatPage 12you wear, as long as it isn’t indecent!The Association will provide a Reunion Room in the Shilo during the reunionfor you to gather together and enjoy yourself. Drinks in the Reunion Room arefree but we ask that you generously donate to help us pay for this room.The Crossed Sabers Souvenir Shop will set up a gift shop in the Shilo to sellall kinds of First Team merchandise including shirts, hats, Stetsons, pins, decalsand other items to numerous to mention and it’s home location will also be openin the 1st Cavalry Division Museum on post.TRANSPORTATIONWe encourage you to coordinate your travel arrangements by using our on-lineCav Travel program. Visit and give it a try. Wehave received a couple of complaints and several compliments on this site. OurTravel Program offers you discounted rates and also provides the Associationwith some income. If you don’t like making your own travel arrangements anddo not have a travel agent that you regularly use, we recommend either of thetwo following travel agents in our area that we know are reputable.Casa Blanca Travel – Toll free (866) 833-0327, local (254) 526-5555, website All Country Travel – Toll free (800) 226-1990, local (254) 547-9090, website If you send a message to either of these travel agencies please remember toprovide them with your telephone number and e-mail address so they can contactyou!Air Travel – You can fly directly into the Killeen/Fort Hood Regional Aiportthrough Dallas, Houston or Atlanta on American Eagle, Continental Connectionor Delta Connection. While some of the flights into and out of Killeen are still onsmall prop airplanes most of the service is by commuter jet. Lines in the airportare small by comparison to the major airports and we highly recommend that youchoose to fly into and out of the Killeen/Fort Hood airport. The airport is co-locatedwith Robert Gray Army Airfield and the runway can handle all commercialaircraft. Austin’s Bergstrom Airport is located on the other side of Austin, about1½ hour drive to Killeen, and the Dallas Fort Worth Airport is 3 hours north ofKilleen. All airports offer numerous rental car companies. The Killeen airporthas Advantage, Avis, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty rental car agencieson site. Taxi and shuttle service are also available in Killeen. Check with yourhotel to see if they provide a free shuttle from the Killeen airport.Train/Bus Travel – AMTRAK serves Temple, Texas which is located about20 miles east of Killeen. You can make reservation with AMTRAK by calling(800) 872-7245 or visiting their web page at . The TrailwaysBus Station is located at the corner of 4th Street and Avenue C in Killeen and inAustin at 916 E. Koening.Automobile Travel – Those traveling to the reunion by automobile can expectto find construction on the Interstate highways leading to the central Texas area.There has been and will continue to be construction and some delays on IH-35.You may wish to check for possible problems on your planned route by callingthe Texas Department of Transportation at (800) 452-9292 or visiting their webpage at prior to leaving homefor the reunion. The Association will have a site set up at the Reunion Registrationarea in the Shilo to issue temporary passes for Fort Hood. Make sure thatyou have your Drivers License, automobile registration and proof of insuranceand a photo ID to preclude any problems. Those with rental car must have theirDrivers License and the rental contract.TOURSTours are still being set and will be announced in the next issue of SABER andon our web page at .The Killeen Rodeo will be going on during our reunion and you may wish toplan on attending the rodeo to see how its done in Texas.GOLD STAR FAMILY BREAKFAST - A New Reunion EventGold Star Families are among the bravest people I know. I was honored to beasked by Pete Booth, President of the 1st Cavalry Division Association, to workwith Association Executive Director, Dennis Webster, to organize and publicizethe first-ever Gold Star Family Breakfast to take place at the 1st Cavalry DivisionAssociation Reunion in June, 2009 at Fort Hood.The breakfast - for both families and veterans who support them - will be onthe reunion registration form and is scheduled for Friday morning. It’s a wayfor families to feel welcomed, knowing that there’s a special place for themamong the comrades who served with their loved ones. Today, we have GoldStar Mothers and Fathers who are in their forties on into their nineties . . . GoldStar Sisters and Brothers who are in their teens to their sixties . . . Gold StarChildren of all ages. All share a common desire to know that their loved oneswill never be forgotten.If you have been in touch with a family of a buddy who was KIA or MIA andare thinking about going to the reunion, consider inviting them as well, and mentionthat there is a breakfast on Friday which you and they can attend together.If you need any encouragement, let me know.There are many ways to get in touch with the family of a fallen trooper whomeant something to you. Sending a note to the SABER columnist for your unit,or Silver Wings columnist Hank Llewellyn, is a place to start. Check the internetfor locator bulletin boards. For Vietnam casualties you knew well, post a tributeon The Virtual Wall, . If it’s a Vietnam helicopter loss,our Family Contacts Committee of the Vietnam Helicopter Flight Crew Networkcan help: . There may be a family out therelooking for some memories you can share.Years ago when I started my journey to learn more about my brother David, Ifeared that my presence among veterans would be unwelcome because I representeda tragic loss. Of course, I found just the opposite - I now have many “newbig brothers” who are very dear to me. I’m grateful for this opportunity to helpother family members realize that we are welcomed in the extended Cav family.What better place to share memories of your buddy with his or her family thanat a reunion of his comrades?Please consider coming to the Gold Star Family Breakfast to honor our fallen,and bringing someone you know who wears the Gold Star.Julie KinkSister of WO David Kink, C Troop 1-9th CAV, KIA 8-3-1969, Honorary Member9th Cavalry Regiment, .