Arrival & Check in at the Ben Lomond Suites Hotel was mostly uneventful except for the circuitous route required to get the baggage cart to the main elevator, but all seemed to manage without great difficulty.

Except for a few late arrivals, most registrants had checked in by 5:00 pm and had made their way to our Hospitality Room for reunion registration and receipt of reunion packages which included name badges. It did not take long for the room to come alive with greetings, laughter, and conversation.

Gradually, small groups formed and left for dinner at various nearby restaurants. A good number returned to our Hospitality Room to close it down at 11:00 PM.

Early Thursday morning, 51 of us boarded our bus for the drive to Ogden’s Union Station which is located on the East end of Historic 25th Street, three blocks from Ben Lomond Suites. Within Union Station we visited four museums: the Utah State Railroad Museum; the John M. Browning Firearms Museum; the Browning – Kimball Classic Car Museum; and the Utah State Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Some of us also viewed art works by Utah artists at two galleries, the Gallery at the Station and the Myra Powell Gallery.

Following our tour of the museums and art galleries, we boarded the bus for a short trip to the Union Grill for our noon meal.

Following our meal, we boarded our bus again for a one hour trip to the Golden Spike Historic Site. After being welcomed by the Park Ranger, we were divided into two groups for an orientation briefing and visit to the locomotive building. Regrettably, due to one of the engineers being on medical leave, we did not see the 119 or Jupiter locomotive demonstrations and photo runs (we were told that the demonstrations were to resume the following day - bummer).

The cold, wet winds precluded some from visiting the site where the golden spike and three others were driven.

At the conclusion of our visit, we board our bus for the one hour trip back to the Ben Lomond Suites arriving around 5:00 PM. During our visit to the Golden Spike Historic Site, Ogden experienced a severe thunderstorm as evidenced by the significant amounts leaves, limbs, and hail on the ground.

Friday morning, for our trip to the Hill Aerospace Museum, we exceeded the capacity of our 55 passenger bus by 6, having to use two cars as supplemental transportation. Again we were divided into two groups for guided tours. After about 20 minutes of answering all of the Docent’s questions, they encouraged us to continue the tour on our own.

It was an enjoyable tour with our Guys reminiscing about the numerous aircraft on display that they had flown, especially 34th TFS F-105 59-1743, in front of which a group picture was taken. Dick Heyman took the title of “most aircraft at the museum flown”, the P-38 & F-51 in WWII, the A-26 in Korea, the B-47, and the Thud in SEA, plus several others – one airplane Dick had flown, the Bell P-59 Airacomet, was not on display.

Following the museum tour, we boarded our bus for a short trip to the Bangkok Garden Restaurant for some authentic Thai food and some Singha Beer.

After a great Thai dinner, we board our bus (and cars) for a trip to Hill AFB for our much anticipated visit with the 34th Fighter Squadron. We were welcomed by Squadron Commander Lt. Col. George “Banzi” Watkins who briefed us on the current status of the Squadron and the F-35. Capt. Steve “Moose” Nichols, our reunion coordinator, showed us his F-35 Gen III Helmet Mounted Display and we watched a short video on the amazing unclassified capabilities of the F-35.

Following the briefings, went to the squadron lounge which is the home of the 34th TFS Heritage Collection. Many photographs, artifacts, and memorabilia from The Thud Era are on display including the 100 Mission Scarf replica.