80TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION EDITION
"AUDENTIS FORTUNA JUVAT"
The 80th Fighter Squadron’s 80th Anniversary Reunion can only be described as a resounding success. Many called it EPIC!
On Thursday, January 6th, 2021, exactly 80 years after our squadron was officially organized at Mitchell Field, New York, 30-35 Headhunters gathered in our Wigwam Resort hospitality suite to celebrate with a Host Bar and Mexican Fiesta Buffet. A dozen of these Headhunters came from outside the Phoenix area, and many local Luke AFB Juvats rounded out the “early arrival” group. The bar was busy and had to be re-stocked, stories were told, songs were sung, and BS flags were thrown until the wee hours. I booted the last few out and locked up at 2 am.
The Wigwam Resort
Early Thursday in the Hospitality Suite
On Friday, Luke AFB’s 62nd Fighter Squadron hosted 40 of us for an F-16 update and capabilities briefing by Major Andy “Cash” Bolint. This isn’t your father’s A model! Jason “Scar” Pukalo followed with an unclassified but very informative and revealing F-35 capabilities briefing. No matter the sometimes bad press, I’m glad we have this jet on our side. To summarize, it’s a killing machine, and we all went out to the flight line and crawled around one for an up-close look. Following the F-35 tour, the group bussed over to the 56 Club for lunch, then back to the Wigwam for free time (naps?) in preparation for the evening Hangar Party on base.
F-35 Tour
At 6pm the “Los” Gringos band, led by former Panton Tom “Face” Abbott and featuring “Dos” Gringos original and former Juvat Lead “Trip” Raymond cranked up the volume. Party suits and flight suits were the uniform of choice in the 62AMU hangar along with a Viper on display, a 15 foot long bar, and a catered buffet, some of which was used for a food fight. Los Gringos’ extensive playlist got the girls dancing, and when the band switched to fighter pilot songs the Juvat’s joined in. Between 80-100 attended this bash, as we opened the doors to the 56th Fighter Group for a $20 entry fee. F-16 and F-35 IP’s and students, along with many Dutch and Norwegian pilots added to the fun as Trip and the Juvats ended the night with an awesome rendition of “Twin Tailed Lightning” to entertain the crowd. At 9pm the Wigwam Hospitality Suite reopened and the party headed that way, again staying until closing sometime after 2am. A big thanks to “Scar” and his casual status Lieutenants for all their help in setting up this event!
Los Gringos with Trip and a group of former JBC members tuning up!
1976 Juvats Gino, Driver (Muskrat), and Webbo
Saturday morning saw Scot “Gunny” Glass lead four foursomes out to Luke’s Falcon Dunes Golf Course, and at 3 pm a dozen or so Juvats attended our business meeting to discuss various topics, including the future of our Association, the Store, our Finances, Memberships, and the future direction and leadership of our group.
Based on the success of this reunion, it’s obvious that our Association, now over 50 years old, is strong. Although with the passing of Wogy in 2019 we lost the last of our original 8oth WWII pilots, and our few remaining Korean War-era pilots are aging, the Juvats are ready and willing to step up and lead the Headhunters. A younger, technology and social media-savvy generation can and will grow our membership while preserving our history for the long term. We decided to reopen our Store on the website to facilitate access to Juvat/Headhunter “swag.” Our current annual memberships at $10/year and/or $150 lifetime generally keep us in the black, but more on the state of our accounts later. Lastly, I announced my impending “retirement” as President of the Headhunters Association, and asked that the younger Juvats search for a volunteer replacement.
Lucky Corrigan, Zippo Fahey, Judy Collings, Bwana Johnson, Animal Naylor and Stump Carpenter
Saturday evening featured the traditional Headhunter banquet, business casual this year and featuring guest speaker Retired Major General Mike “Judy” Collings. Dinner was preceded by Happy Hour from 6-7pm, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by yours truly and a dedication to our fallen warriors. The Wigwam “Italian Expedition” buffet was as good as it gets, and Judy’s informal talk “This isn’t Your Father’s Air Force” was entertaining, inspiring, and at times sad. Several Juvats in attendance got a chance at the podium, and Gunny auctioned off two rare Juvats; “Big” Woody and “Little” Woody to help offset the cost of the reunion.
Big and Little Woody’s…
Maj Gen Judy Collings at the Banquet
Vandal Mann Celebrates!
Again a large group adjourned to the hospitality suite to imbibe, rehash the glory days, and rekindle old friendships. The last half dozen or so were forced out at 3am, but not before an important discussion was had regarding the leadership of our Association.
As mentioned above I put out a call for new leadership, and at 2:57am in the hospitality suite, as the last few men standing were going on about important matters of world events and the state of the union, Major Brian “Cage” Zumbro stepped forward and announced “I’ll do it!” We looked at him and asked “do what?” and he replied “I’ll be the new Headhunter President.”
On Sunday morning (late), as people were having breakfast, enjoying coffee and/or Bloody Mary’s and saying their goodbye’s, I contacted Cage and reminded him of the night before, just to be sure he wasn’t volunteering at a time of low consciousness. He did remember and again committed to his desire to lead, with the idea of forming a committee to divide up the duties required to run this esteemed group. Cage and I will be working together over the next few months to ensure a smooth transition, and I expect that the next Headhunter Headlines will be his first and an introduction of things to come.
With that said, it’s been my privilege and honor to serve as your President for the past 7 years, and as your Historian for several years before that. I will continue to support the Headhunters in any way that I can, and you can expect to see Marcia and I at the next reunion!
JUVATS
This email and photos from the current Juvat Snacko, Bill “Kong” Van Loon: Fellas,
The current on-pen Juvats took a photo with Woody by the flagship on his 80th Birthday. Figured maybe you could use them at the reunion. Also threw a couple of photos of Woody in the squadron as well – we got him a special birthday edition gold party suit, and he stood to watch from the ops desk all day today. Feel free to share with the gang!
CRUSH EM!!
-Kong
HEADHUNTER FINANCES
As alluded to above, our current Association bank accounts are “in the hole” following our Wigwam Resort reunion. Knowing upfront that this was going to be a high-end but expensive venue, I sold off our 440 ounces of silver coins to offset the high season cost of rooms, food, and bar, up to 50% in some cases. Even with a refund for some events, store sales, and
$500 from the 56th Fighter Group pilots attending the Hangar Party, we are left with a $2000 balance on the Headhunters Master Card account. In the short term, this is a zero-interest account, but that deal will soon be over. We decided at the Business Meeting to ask for donations to help pay this balance down. Cage is also considering a future “gofundme” type page on social media. Anyone wishing to donate can do so with a check to The Headhunters Association, C/O Bob McNeese, 20581 W. Pasadena Ave, Buckeye, AZ 85396. Or contact me at nwapilot2@msn.com for Zelle transfer information. Thanks in advance.
“TWIN TAILED LIGHTNING WAS OUR WARPLANE, AS WE ROAM’D PACIFIC SKIES… SEARCHING OUT, THE SONS OF NIPPON, SENDING THEM TO THEIR DEMISE.”