Friday afternoon, June 15.  Fridays are always our finale for our annual rendezvous.  The day was a repeat of the previous three days up until approximately 5:00 P.M., when attendees moved from the hospitality room to the hotel convention center for the evening banquet dinner and program.  The banquet event began with a photo take of both ladies group and men's groups in the convention center adjacent to the banquet room.  Following the photo session, attendees moved into the banquet room for a delicious buffet dinner. The Banquet Night dinner this year was the Reno Vista Buffet.  The dinner choices included:   

Following the recognition of special guests, the MC introduced the first of the guest speakers--Warrant Officer Charles "Pat" Dyer--former helicopter slick pilot "Polecat 405", who recalled his tour at LZ BETTY with the 192nd Assault Helicopter Company in support the 3-506th and the honor it was to serve alongside the Currahees.  The next guest speaker was Cpt. James Godfrey "Tiger Shark 35"  (individual on right in photo) who flew both slicks and gunships from the 192nd Assault Helicopter Company out of LZ BETTY in support of the Currahees.  Followed each guest speaker's presentation, Lt. Belanger presented him with a special screaming eagle statue mounted on an oak base with an engraved plate.  The third guest speaker for the evening was  Chaplain Otis Smith  (Bn Chaplain HHC 1967/68), who gave an inspiring recollection of the early weeks and months when the battalion was forming, as well as, during the war games exercises and training of the 3-506th prior to deployment to South Vietnam and what it was like for him to serve as battalion chaplain.  The final speaker for the evening was PSG Cliff Shaul, Platoon Sergeant, 3/C/3-8th Infantry, 4th ID, who spoke on patriotism and our duty as American Citizens to preserve the legacy of our forefathers.  He also spoke about the "Duty, Honor and Country" aspect in reference to 1Lt. Robert Phillips, commander of Charlie Company, 3-8th Infantry who was killed on LZ Fox in Cambodia.  His story is found in "Twelve Days In May" under the title "Hell On A Small LZ".   PSG Allen Keppner (D Co. 68/69) also received one of the last large Screaming eagle statues.  Dan Linn (C Co. 1969/70) was to receive an eagle statue, but an emergency medical situation prevented him at the very last minute from attending the reunion.  His eagle was shipped to him.  Dan received his eagle for his technical contributions during the completion of Twelve Days In May and My Gift To You.

The 'Stand Alone Battalion' eagle statues represent special recognition and are presented to first-time attendees--Task Force and battalion officers, medics and platoon sergeants; as well as special guests--who are considered well deserving of this special recognition, since they were oftentimes directly responsible for the lives of many during his tour of duty in Vietnam.  Over the years, there have been a number of eagle designs; and among these have been Eagle 1, Eagle 2, Eagle 3, Eagle 4.  Several earlier versions of the "Stand Alone Battalion" eagle are not shown.  Each eagle is meant to represent not only the "Screaming Eagle" of the 101st Airborne Division, but also the proud national symbol of our country.  This recognition (the eagle) is sometimes presented to groups from outside the 3-506th who supported or operated alongside the Currahees, i.e. the 192nd Assault Helicopter Company recipients at this reunion.  Each recipient was brought to the front and presented with an eagle statue mounted on an oak base containing an engraved plate with the soldier's name and rank, unit and position, tour dates and location.  Each plate was engraved with a verse from Shakespeare that reads "We Few, We Happy Few, We Band Of Brothers; For He Today That Sheds His Blood With Me Shall Be My Brother", or in some occasions, "There Is A Destiny That Makes Us Brothers; None Goes His Way Alone.   All That We Send Into The Lives Of Others Comes Back Into Our Own"  Each eagle base is specially cut from select oak by a local craftsman in Libby, MT.  The plaques are then hand-sanded, stained, and finished  by Jerry and Donna Berry.  A felt cushion glued to the bottom of each base adds the final touch to a beautiful piece of wood.  The individual engraved plates attached to the oak base are also fashioned by a local craftsman in Libby, MT.  These eagle awards are usually presented to the recipients by an officer(s) who served during the same tour of duty as the individual, or by an officer from another tour.  Three of the four special recognition awards were made, with the exception of Dan Linn's, who had to cancel attending at the very last moment due to emergency surgery. Dan's recognition was for his contribution to the "My Gift To You" and "Twelve Days In May".  We hope this tradition will continue within the "Stand Alone Battalion" Group.