Happenings

One last time….

5 Comments

Bill is retiring.  It’s official in September.  On May 17th, he had his final flight (fini flight) in a military aircraft.  He was able to fly to Monticello, Utah. It’s his hometown where he was born and raised.  It seemed fitting that he was able to go to a place that holds a special place in his heart.  When he landed, he was surprised to not only see his mom and grandpa, but his brother, sisters, brother-in-law, nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles plus friends.  He didn’t have much time, but he did get to eat lunch with all of them and visit.  On his return flight, me, Billy, Baden and members of the squadron were on the flight line to greet him.  Baden manned the water hose and Billy was in charge of the Diet Coke spray.  Plus there was a cooler of water and ice.  After he landed, the fun began. Baden loved spraying Bill down and Billy had a blast getting Diet Coke all over Bill.  It was a special day capping off a 24 year career for a man who always dreamed of flying.

Some of Bill's family waiting for him to land
Coming into the airport
Landing at the Monticello Airport
Greeting the well wishers
Chandler (nephew) made this poster for Bill. He was up really late making it and did a great job! Bill gave him a squadron patch.
Grandpa Hurst in his Army Air Corps uniform from World War II.
The kids let 24 balloons go - one for each of the years Bill has served in the military
Bill with his brother, sisters, mom and nephews and nieces
Taxiing in
Getting to their "parking" space
Landing
Preparing for the barrage
Learning the ins and outs of the water canister
Here it comes....
Billy with some help from MSgt. Burt drenching Bill with Diet Coke
Water and Ice -- it was cold!
Baden and Billy getting Bill from both sides.
Baden had so much fun spraying the water!
After the drenching, but Baden was still trying to get more water out of that canister
One last picture in front of the beloved UH-N1, the "Huey".

**Thank you to Etta Dunow, Nancy Dunow and Kim Henderson for all of the pictures that were taken in Monticello.

5 thoughts on “One last time….”

  3. What a great day for Bill to be able to fly to Monticello and have a good turn out like he had.
    The boys looked like they were having a blast spraying “Dad” down :). Wish we could have been
    there but we soon will be for the Retirement Ceremony.
    Happy Retirement Bill! We are proud of you and love you.

  5. Congratulations Bill and family!!!! Welcome to civilian life. It was really great to see your family in the pictures. We miss you guys. We even miss New Mexico a bit but not enough to move back LOL. What we miss; pretty much the food(chiles), FRIENDS and mountains. We got the postcard for your new address. We like the name of the street, beautiful name. We would love to see some pix!!! Take care and we hope all is well.

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