2016 Reunion

DATES :  October 13-16, 2016

CITY : DFW metroplex

HOTEL: Wyndham Garden Dallas North Hotel
             2645 Lyndon B Johnson FWY
             Dallas, TX  75234
             972-243-3363 (Hotel's direct number)

RATE:    $89 per night plus tax and includes up to two full, hot breakfast    buffet coupons (including made-to-order omelettes) per room per day. Each additional person in a room will be charged $5.00 for breakfast each day.
            
             if you call, tell the operator you are with the:
             Bombardment Groups 2016 Reunion
             
             or you can click on the below web link:
             
             Bombardment Groups 2016 Reunion
             
Reservations need to be made no later than 5:00 PM (CST) September 22, 2016 to receive the group rate. Reservations will be accepted after that date at the group rate as long as rooms are available, but no guarantees are made after September 22nd. PLEASE MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS EARLY.  Should it become necessary, you can cancel your reservation no later than 11:59 PM CST the day before arrival WITHOUT penalty.
             
PARKING: Parking is plentiful and free.                     
             
AIRPORT SHUTTLE: Complimentary airport shuttle to BOTH Love Field and DFW airports.                     
       

The hotel website is:
Wyndham Garden Dallas North Hotel

Participating Bomb Groups

376th         451st         455th         461st         465th         484th         485th

2016 Reunion Registration Form

Schedule of Events

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13TH will be arrival and check in day. A welcome team with gift bags from the municipality of Farmers Branch will be on hand to greet you at the hotel. The registration desk and hospitality room will be open most of the day featuring hors d'oeuvres in the afternoon. An informal welcome dinner will be held at 6:00PM in the Couture I & II Room. As dinner winds down, the Mayor of Farmers Branch will address and welcome our group and then we will have an informational meeting about the weekend and answer any questions. If you choose not to have dinner with the group, feel free to come into that same room at 7:00PM for the Mayor's address and information meeting.

FRIDAY, the 14TH We will depart the hotel at 9:00AM for a tour of the Cavanaugh Flight Museum, a complex of four hangers filled with an outstanding collection of military aircraft. You'll be so close that you can actually reach out and touch the nose of the P-40 Warhawk! Their most recent acquisition is the only flying B-25H that is equipped with two .50 caliber machine guns and a 75mm canon in the nose! We will have a box lunch in one of the hangers before departing for the return trip to the hotel at 1:00PM arriving by 1:30PM.

Beginning at 2:30PM there will be presentations by our veterans and others regarding WWII as it was fought from Italy. With restroom breaks in between, the presentations will last until about 4:30PM.

The evening will feature our Individual Group Banquets in various meeting rooms. Social hour with a cash bar will begin at 5:30PM in the common area with dinner served to each group in their respective banquet room at 6:30PM. More details will follow concerning which group meets in which banquet room.

Just before the Social Hour, our esteemed veterans will be asked to gather in the common area near the banquet rooms for an all-inclusive group photo. Individual group photos can be taken as desired by each group in their own banquet room.

SATURDAY the 15TH We will begin our day by departing the hotel at beginning at 9:20AM for a tour of the historic Sixth Floor Museum, the location from where Lee Harvey Oswald fired on President John F. Kennedy. This and the entire area are remembered by all of us who were of age during that fateful day, November 22, 1963. This is a very powerful museum to visit. PLEASE NOTE: The tour buses will depart the hotel at 10 minute intervals to make things go more smoothly at the ticket counter and while entering the museum. The first bus will depart the hotel at 9:20AM, the next at 9:30AM and the last at 9:40AM. We will re-board the buses for the return trip to the hotel at 12:00PM, arriving by 12:30PM. Lunch today is on your own. The hotel restaurant will have a reasonably priced buffet featuring soup, salad, deli style sandwich fixings and a drink or you can order from the menu. You can also go someplace altogether different if you choose.

Today again beginning at 2:00PM there will be additional presentations by our veterans and others regarding WWII as it was fought from Italy. With restroom breaks in between, the presentations will last until about 4:00PM.

The evening will feature our All Groups Banquet in the Couture Ballroom with Social Hour and a cash bar beginning at 5:00PM and dinner served at 6:00PM. During desert and after, live entertainment will be supplied by the trio, Ladies Liberty whose performance will include hits from the 40's and Big Band era that were performed by the likes of Bob Hope and the Andrews sisters. The show will be reminiscent of a USO show. A dance floor will be available for those who still want to "cut a rug"! The Ladies Liberty website states that "Ladies Liberty performing troupe is dedicated to the All Around Good of our Country & World, from the land we live in, the values we hold as a nation, to the people that live among us and overseas. We humbly and gratefully recognize our heroes who so bravely serve to keep America safe and free! We are here to empower anyone we can through entertainment!"

SUNDAY the 16TH will feature the Memorial Service beginning at 9:00AM led by the duo of the amazing grandson of the fourth and final 485th BG commander, Col. Douglas Cairns, active duty Army Chaplain/Captain Chris Cairns (who is a wonderful person that we're blessed to have again this year as Group Chaplain) along with Reverend Bob Oliver, who has acted as Group Chaplain for the 376th BG for some years now. Reverend Oliver is the son of a 376th Navigator/Bombardier and is looking forward to meeting with us.

Lunch again today is on your own. The hotel restaurant again will have a reasonably priced buffet featuring soup, salad, deli style sandwich fixings and a drink or you can order from the menu. You can also go someplace altogether different if you choose.

For our tour today we will depart the hotel at 12:00PM to tour the Dallas Holocaust museum and will feature a holocaust survivor who will address our group. We will also take a leisurely Sunday afternoon driving tour of Dallas with professional guides on the buses. We will return to the hotel by 4:30PM

The evening will feature an informal "Farewell Fajita" dinner in the Couture 3 & 4 banquet room. Dinner will be served at 6:00PM. This will conclude our reunion for this year although the hospitality room will be open the remainder of the evening.

The staff at the hotel promises to be as good as any we've ever worked with. They are most anxious to host our reunion. This is the same hotel that the 485th BG used in 2014 when their group numbered 350 for their final stand-alone reunion. They gave the hotel and staff rave reviews regarding how well they were treated and taken care of. The local suburb of Farmers Branch is planning a welcome center including folks to help with logistic issues inside the hotel as well as a large welcome banner for our group.