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1st 50th Infantry Association

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50th Infantry Regimental Colors

Reunions, 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry Association

WELCOME HOME

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The Association schedules formal reunions every two years. On occasion, informal reunions are also held.
Check this page for details!

The Next Reunion is scheduled for August 4th through 7th, 2009 at Fort Benning, Georgia. Along with the usual events, the New Infantry Museum Tour will be one of the highlights of this Reunion! We will also be moving to a new Host Hotel in Phenix City, AL....check below for more details!

50th Infantry Regimental Colors

2009 Reunion - August 4 - 7, 2009

It's that time again! The dates are set, the Reunion events calender is taking shape and we have Selected the Quality Inn of Phenix City to be our Host Hotel. Hotel Reservations are now available and can be made now by calling 334-298-9321. INSIST on speaking with the Phenix City Property only...as the National Reservations center seems not to have our rate information.

Be sure to ask for the 50th Infantry Reunion Special Rate of $79.00 per night (Includes Breakfast each day!). The "cutoff" date for this special rate is July 13th...so don't delay!

ALSO...you must register with the Association for the Convention. (Download the Registration Form below).

*Registration Form for our 2009 Reunion:

Association Registration fee for the reunion has been set at $200.00 per person for registrations received BEFORE July 13th, 2009 and at $225.00 per person for Registrations AFTER July 13th, 2009. Association Registration includes: Tuesday: Evening Reception; Wednesday: Association Business Meeting, Buses, Lunch, BBQ Dinner; Thursday: Buses, Lunch with the troops, Dinner (Banquet); Friday: Graduation Ceremony. For the length of our stay, you will also have access to our "Hospitality Room" for socializing.

Click HERE to see who has registered so far!!

2008 Change of Command and Honorary Colonel & Command Sergeant Major Investiture

To view photos of the events, CLICK HERE

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Welcoming the New 198th Infantry Brigade

2007 Reunion, Fort Benning Georgia, May 15th to 19th

See Photo Album

Read Dick Guthrie's stuccato account of the experiences of being reunited with old combat friends! CLICK HERE

To download and/or view the Executive Committee Meeting and General Membership meeting Minutes as well as the financial report for the reunion: CLICK HERE

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Our Memorial in place

2005 Reunion, Fort Benning Georgia, May 3rd to 7th

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The 2005 Reunion was once again held at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia with the current-day 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry as hosts. The Reunion 2005 committee (John Topper, Bob Gold, Randy Smith, Otis Ponds and Linda Payne) did a fantastic job in arranging another great reunion.

Above is a photo of the Monument Donated by our Association and dedicated to our fallen brothers. It has been given a place of honor in front of the 1/50th Battalion Headquarters. Words cannot describe the emotions that flowed from us all as we witnessed a dedication ceremony...highlighted by the arrival of a 1/50th Training Company! Those men marched in calling cadence and brought tears... and remembrances of Basic Training to the men of the Association fortunate enough to be witness to the moving event. For most of us...it was the highlight of this reunion.

See Who All Attended

Catch All the Action Here

	Reunion 2003 was held from Thursday April 24 to Sunday April 27, 2003 at the Courtyard Marriott in Columbus, Georgia and at Fort Benning. Over a hundred guests attended the reunion at the Home of the Infantry which was hosted by the 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry, a top-line training battalion in the Infantry Training Brigade at Fort Benning. Formal activities include a Fort Benning Command Briefing, tour of the Infantry Museum and Gift Shop, trips to Callaway Gardens and the Andersonville Civil War Prison and P.O.W. Museum, as well as luncheons, BBQs, dinners and the General Meeting.	Our Friendly Hosts
Many activities were shared with the Benning battalion, who invited us to observe training, attend a graduation and even fire M16s to set a high standard for the new trainees. We also were VIP guests at range firing of the lethal M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles which replaced our M113A1s and awed us with the accuracy of the M242 25mm Bushmaster chain gun fired on the move cross-country at 30 mph. For details, photographs and feedback on the 2003 reunion, as well as Minutes of the General Meeting, click on the reunion logo or Bob Gold's picture, or PRESS HERE. More photographs will be added during the coming months as people send them in to the Website Committee for posting.

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WELCOME HOME

The Not-a-reunion Get Together 2002

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The Guest of Honor.

Duty, honor, achievement brought fame to one poor pig
Lost in Uniontown, Ohio, the day the battalion had a gig,
Who knew then that he was picked from all the pigs in town,
This friendly little porker, the one chosen to wolf down?

Bob and Harry stoked the fire, the charcoal piled high
And when the fire was ready, the time came for him to die.
Rumbling stomachs beat a cadence, the chatter turned upbeat,
Over forty awe struck faces watched waiting soon to eat.

Duty, honor, achievement - the pomp a well-bred piglet prizes,
The long waving line forming up, with plates and forks and knives,
For pig his time of glory came, though he was not around to see,
We miss him and we wish him well, for he well-served you and me!

Who said 2002 would be dull without a reunion? On July 5th and 6th, 2002, a gala two-day bash for 1/50 Vietnam Veterans and their significant others was held at Bob Gold's property in Uniontown, Ohio. While not an official reunion, the Association came to the party!!! Although it's always difficult to single out highlights, they'd have to include Friday evening's cookout, Saturday's pig roast, sharing with old friends and making new ones. Bob put on his chef's hat and demonstrated his culinary talents, while others demonstrated their varying tolerances for the amber fluid and war stories. A good time was had by all: however, some pigs, not totally rapt with the proceedings, put up a delicious struggle!

The winning number in the Association's Ohio Lottery Drawing was 120, drawn at the get-together at 1930 hours on 5 July 2002. Gladys Walulek of New Jersey, won a check for $1,500. Holders of numbers on either side each won $150; they were John Thelen from Michigan (119) and Cheney Bertholf from Florida (121). Congratulations to all winners, and thanks to all participants.

Many thanks to Bob Gold, Jim Edwards and Randy Smith for putting this non-reunion together. Photographs, names of attendees, "war stories" and gossip will be published as they come to light.

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WELCOME HOME

Reunion 2001, Las Vegas

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Fifty-seven people attended the successful 2001 Reunion held at Harrah's in Las Vegas from Sunday 11 March to Friday 16. The official program opened with a formal supper on Sunday night, complete with a color guard to post the flag; a highlight of the event was the tribute to Association Founder, Ken Riley. The Association elected a new slate of officers for two year terms, headed by John Topper as President. Randolph Smith was elected Vice President, Gary Quint as Secretary, Ken Riley as Treasurer, Toby Jordan as Chaplain and Jim Sheppard as Historian.

Monday night's dinner at the VFW was more informal, and gave us a terrific opportunity to circulate, renew old ties and make new ones.

On Tuesday, Ken Riley arranged a visit to Nellis Air Force Base and to the home of the Thunderbirds.

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WELCOME BACK

Reunion 1999, Kansas City

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The second reunion was held in Kansas City. At the reunion, the Association elected a slate of officers headed by Dick Guthrie as President. The photo at the right shows the officers, starting at the top left with Toby Jordan and working around clockwise to Jim Sheppard, Ken Riley, Dick Guthrie and Norm Poage.

Dick was the keynote speaker at the formal dinner speaking on his return to Binh Dinh Province, and his powerful PowerPoint presentation from the 1999 Reunion is available in a Real Audio format, courtesy of David Baker.

The PowerPoint presentation is now available for downloading. Please note that it is a large file (over 6 MB).

Download Power Point Presentation

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WELCOME HOME

Reunion 1997, Washington, D.C.

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The first reunion was held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Washington, D.C. At the formal meeting, the Association organized and the first officers for the Association were voted in. A highlight was a trip to the Vietnam Memorial, known as "The Wall" and the Korean War Memorial. This was the first trip for most of the attendees, and just about everything in the area was visited, including an evening in Old Town. A visit to America's most hallowed ground, the National Military Cemetery at Arlington ("Where Valor Proudly Sleeps"), completed our first reunion.

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