For those of you who are like Rick Williams and need to receive at least three rants from me before you finally get around to sending in your reunion registration and making your hotel reservation, consider this your third message.  Eastes, Kelly and Owen already have their tails covered.  If Kelly can finally break down and come to one, there isn’t any excuse for any of the rest of you not coming to Tucson.  Karn said he is planning on coming.  If Whitehead finally breaks down and comes to Tucson, a grand time of sipping tea and eating crumpets can be had by all.

    The next 3d Squadron, 4th Cavalry Chapter Reunion and Centaurs Tea and Crumpets Session is only a few months away.  The Mackenzie’s Raiders will be meeting at the Hotel Arizona in Tucson, AZ.  The activities start on Thursday,  29 April, with a golf tournament and end on Sunday, 2 May, with a departure breakfast.

    The Centaurs had a pretty good turnout at the 2008 reunion in Fort Mitchell, KY.  We had 86 Centaurs from D/F Troop plus 57 guests in attendance.  For 34 of the Centaurs, the Fort Mitchell reunion was their first time to see many of their friends from 40+ years ago. Over 40 percent of the total attendance was D/F Troop Centaurs.  The feedback from those who attended indicated that everyone had a very enjoyable time drinking tea and eating crumpets with old friends.

   Those of you who are members of the 3d Sqdn, 4^th Cav Chapter, have already received several Mackenzie’s Raiders newsletters with information about the reunion, the reunion registration form and the tour reservation form.  All of you should have received the April 2009 ALL CENTAURS letter that had information about the reunion and the reunion registration and tour reservations forms attached.  If you haven’t thrown the Sep 09 Mackenzie’s Raiders reunion form away, get it out and fill out the forms, make out your check, and send them to the point of contact on the bottom of the registration form. 

Hotel reservations are separate from the Reunion reservations. You can make your reservation at the Hotel Arizona, the Reunion Headquarters hotel, by calling 1-800-845-4596 or going to http://www.thehotelarizona.com.  The code for the 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Association reunion is SCD74.

   Those of you who threw the newsletters and the ALL CENTAURS letter into File 13 can download the required forms and information by going to the 3/4 Cav Chapter website at http://www.3-4cav.com.  If you scroll down the left column of the table, you will find cells that lead you to the reunion registration form, tour reservation form, and Tucson attractions.  The reunion host is John Moore from Troop A.  He is keeping a list of troopers who have registered or reserved a room.  You can see the list at http://home.comcast.net/~ATrp3-4Cav/reunion.html.  You can also down load the reunion forms at John’s site.

   You do not have to be a member of the Chapter to attend the reunion.  However, membership is encouraged.  If you aren’t a member, you can down load a membership form from the 3/4 Cav site.  The annual membership is $10.00 and a lifetime membership is $75.00.  Make sure you send copy of your DD214 or other proof of service with the squadron when you send the application in.  Black out the service number or social security number on the copy of your DD214 form before you send it in.  If you joined the Chapter in the past and don’t remember if your membership expired or is for life, let me know.  I have a roster of chapter members.
   
"Paratus et Fidelis"

Dale D. "Dinky" Dow
Centaur 35, 1968
Unofficial Centaur Roster Maintainer and Unit Historian

These Good Men

by Michael Norman

I now know why men who have been to war yearn to reunite. Not to tell stories or look at old pictures. Not to laugh or weep. Comrades
gather because they long to be with the men who once acted their best, men who suffered and sacrificed, who were stripped raw, right
down to their humanity. I did not pick these men. They were delivered by fate. But I know them in a way I know no other men. I have never given anyone such trust. They were willing to guard something more precious than my life. They would have carried my reputation, the memory of me. It was part of the bargain we all made, the reason we were so willing to die for one another. I cannot say where we are
headed. Ours are not perfect friendships; those are the province of legend and myth. A few of my comrades drift far from me now, sending back only occasional word. I know that one day even these could fall to silence. Some of the men will stay close, a couple, perhaps, always at hand. As long as I have memory, I will think of them all, every day. I am sure that when I leave this world, my last thought will be of my family and my comrades...such good men.