2009 Graduation Ceremony
Hello! Don't know what you've heard from other '09 parents, but graduation week was awesome! Jill Staab took an amazing picture of the hat toss where you can also see the shadows of the Thunderbirds as they made their initial flyover. If she hasn't submitted it for the website, you might want to ask her about it. She has shared it with several of us and it would make a great addition to the site. The photo says it all! For our part, here is a shot of Matthew with his pals after Commissioning, and Matthew with us after graduation.
For all of our prayers about the weather, the Good Lord must have wanted to see the Thunderbirds more than Matthew's grandparents wanted to see the Wings of Blue, because the jump demo on Tuesday was cancelled due to rotten weather, but Wednesday's sky was crystal clear and we saw a great jet performance. The Class of 2009 parents' spirit mission on Tuesday was also a success and our cadets were treated to a flyover of 5 P-51s in honor of their class exemplar, Hub Zemke. Mr. and Mrs. Hub Zemke, Jr. were also present and very touched to be a part of the celebration. It was a great week.
Don't know if you have room for the following - no big deal, but if you're looking for stuff to post, this message refers to the '09 parents spirit mission. (might give other parents some ideas) On 100s night we gave all the Firsties a class coin specially designed for them (I can get you photos if you want) and we provided the P-51 flyover at the Graduation parade. It was pretty cool.
After the flyover, one of the pilots patted his chest pocket and told me that to further honor the cadets of 2009 he had flown with a 2009/Zemke coin in his flight suit. This same pilot said he'd been the formation leader and wanted to know if he'd done a good enough job for everyone on the ground? I assured him they were brilliant, especially flying in that weather! Imagine that. Those pilots (and Maj Huguley from USAFA) were so excited and so into doing this event for the cadets that their energy was palpable.
The night before the flyover when we talked to our pilots, one of them was so emotional that he teared up, saying he felt utterly privileged to be asked to make this once-in-a-lifetime flight for our kids. They made it clear it would take a tornado or some similar drastic weather event for them to not make that flyover the next day!
It has been an honor to be able to serve our cadets' class and parents in some small way during the years of 2009's tenure at USAFA. You parents are the best of the best ... it is easy to see why this class was so very well regarded by the officers at USAFA.
hugs and high-fives all around~
Carol Bauer
2ndLt James Bowron
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| 100_2459.jpg | 485.99 KB |
| 100_2471.jpg | 476.42 KB |
