45th Reunion 2013

The 45th Reunion of the 172nd Transportation company was held on Friday and Saturday, August 16-17, 2013 at VFW Post 2503 and was attended by more than one hundred sixty 172nd Veterans, family members and friends. On Saturday night a dinner and program agenda was presented and It was an evening for all to remember. Highlights included an address by Doug Whitaker, Commander of Post 2503, the introduction of a surprise guest and speaker, John Hlavacek, well known author and long-time war correspondent and the presentation of "The Line Haul Certificate" to each 172nd Veteran by Tom Bruner, retired Brigadier General USAR, who was the Commanding Officer of the 172nd when the unit returned home from Vietnam in 1969.

Garry Knittel was Master of Ceremonies and primarily responsible for the great turnout, calling many of the attendees personally and apparently making them offers they couldn't refuse. We appreciate all those who traveled from all over the country to be part of our celebration. The unexpected highlight of the evening came when John Hlavacek surprised everybody by returning letters he had kept all these years written by 172nd family members to thank him for his interviews and news coverage while we were in Vietnam. We were honored to have Mr. Hlavacek as our guest and hope to have him at our 50th Reunion in 2018. It could happen.

We owe a special thanks to Post 2503 for providing their facilities and personnel, especially Kathy ‘Tiger’ Thielen and the Crew who served the great dinner, Ryan Sudbeck and the bar crew for for keeping us hydrated. Many thanks to Geri Brown, Sharon Baker and Sharon Evon for the beautiful table center pieces which were given to all the wives and family members. We thank Linda Buffington for all the great photos of our event and the VA memorabilia and useful health information she made available. Thanks to Mickie Lee for applying her talent for calligraphy to all of the Line Haul certificates. We thank Armand Gibbons, our talented artist, who produced a large 3-D placard of The Crow for the event and the great-looking name tags. Thanks to Michelle Carlson and Tim Malloy for taking care of memorabilia sales. Last, but not least, thanks to the Reunion Committee, Garry Knittel, Warren Malloy, Tom Horeis, Charlie Lee, Lee Gardner, Roger Abel and Jim Rose for their time in planning this memorable event. Don't let anyone tell you the 172nd Transportation Company has been "deactivated" or no longer exists.