2026 Reunion - MINERAL WELLS, TEXAS
BUT WAIT - WE'RE NOT DONE YET - AT LEAST ONE MORE TIME !!
12 -- 15 APRIL, 2026 at the Crazy Water Hotel in Mineral Wells, Texas.
The troops gathered around the bottle about to toast all.
Provide me the names and I'll insert them here.
Left to Right, one row: Jim Quigley, ?, Norm Kaufman in orange, ?, Brian Paine in white, Frank Becker seated, Les White in white cap behind Jim Baker in front, Wes Schuster, Rich Houston in yellow, Jeff Murray in white with old name tag, Marshall Hawkins behind Jeff, Rich Schlerer, Lee Brewer in blue, Bain Black in the multi-color Wolfpack shirt, Tom Lundrigan with eyeglass case in the pocket of a white shirt, Brent Gourley in blue and yellow with the wrong hat in hand, John Hyatt, Butch Jones.
Missing or not yet recognized in the photos: Fred Lewis, Ron Freeman, Lance Ham, and/or others.
Almost a closeup!
Bob Mitchell had this bottle made for this ceremony; his family found it long after he passed.
"Ryan", in the message from the bottler, is Jeff's son-n-law.
The webmaster's slide show.
Hotel details in the recent December Newsletter. Unfortunately, our editor joined the DAT pages in March before this event.
OK, rooms at the Crazy Water are now open for reservation by calling (940)325-4605 and reserving under the code 281st. Arrival date is April 12th, the dinner date is April 14th, everyone can depart the 15th. I’ve stayed in this hotel before, all rooms are suites with a separate bedroom and kitchenette/living room, the hotel has a mini-mall indoors in an adjacent area with different shops and it’s right in downtown so you can walk out the front door and find small eating places, quirky shopping, you’re about a block away from the old Baker Hotel, and there is a he free parking lot adjacent to the hotel. And there is a craft brewery right in the hotel lobby. Below is what they have available for rooms, I think you’ll find this is one of the more unique places you have stayed in. A better itinerary will be sent out later but for now your only expense will be transportation to the hotel, the room itself, and anything you happen to buy as you wander around.
In the past we had a registration fee, the bulk of which was used for things such as the hospitality room, transportation to/from events, and of course the reunion dinner. The 281st is paying for all of that out of our bank account. Including Happy Hour before the dinner and stocking the hospitality room. Therefore there is no registration fee.
So start calling, we don’t have enough commits yet to fill up 40 spaces but I have confidence.
Above the Best,
Jeff
What I said last time !!
Due to the ravages of time; this is likely our last full-scale reunion; attend if you can.
Let's not forget the real reason why we have these reunions
- we see our brothers in arms that we haven't seen in decades and renew friendships we've built up over the years.
In 2023, it will have been 57 years ago that the 281st was organized; then sent to Vietnam.
Five years later the company was deactivated. In that five year plus period of time, hundreds of us spent many months doing many different jobs; each and every one of them contributing to the success of the 281st. Join us to honor our absent brothers and celebrate those accomplishments.
The troops gathered around the bottle about to toast all.
Provide me the names and I'll insert them here.
Left to Right, one row: Jim Quigley, ?, Norm Kaufman in orange, ?, Brian Paine in white, Frank Becker seated, Les White in white cap behind Jim Baker in front, Wes Schuster, Rich Houston in yellow, Jeff Murray in white with old name tag, Marshall Hawkins behind Jeff, Rich Schlerer, Lee Brewer in blue, Bain Black in the multi-color Wolfpack shirt, Tom Lundrigan with eyeglass case in the pocket of a white shirt, Brent Gourley in blue and yellow with the wrong hat in hand, John Hyatt, Butch Jones.
Missing or not yet recognized in the photos: Fred Lewis, Ron Freeman, Lance Ham, and/or others.
Almost a closeup!
Bob Mitchell had this bottle made for this ceremony; his family found it long after he passed.
"Ryan", in the message from the bottler, is Jeff's son-n-law.
The webmaster's slide show.
Hotel details in the recent December Newsletter. Unfortunately, our editor joined the DAT pages in March before this event.
OK, rooms at the Crazy Water are now open for reservation by calling (940)325-4605 and reserving under the code 281st. Arrival date is April 12th, the dinner date is April 14th, everyone can depart the 15th. I’ve stayed in this hotel before, all rooms are suites with a separate bedroom and kitchenette/living room, the hotel has a mini-mall indoors in an adjacent area with different shops and it’s right in downtown so you can walk out the front door and find small eating places, quirky shopping, you’re about a block away from the old Baker Hotel, and there is a he free parking lot adjacent to the hotel. And there is a craft brewery right in the hotel lobby. Below is what they have available for rooms, I think you’ll find this is one of the more unique places you have stayed in. A better itinerary will be sent out later but for now your only expense will be transportation to the hotel, the room itself, and anything you happen to buy as you wander around.
In the past we had a registration fee, the bulk of which was used for things such as the hospitality room, transportation to/from events, and of course the reunion dinner. The 281st is paying for all of that out of our bank account. Including Happy Hour before the dinner and stocking the hospitality room. Therefore there is no registration fee.
So start calling, we don’t have enough commits yet to fill up 40 spaces but I have confidence.
Above the Best,
Jeff
What I said last time !!
Due to the ravages of time; this is likely our last full-scale reunion; attend if you can.
Let's not forget the real reason why we have these reunions
- we see our brothers in arms that we haven't seen in decades and renew friendships we've built up over the years.
In 2023, it will have been 57 years ago that the 281st was organized; then sent to Vietnam.
Five years later the company was deactivated. In that five year plus period of time, hundreds of us spent many months doing many different jobs; each and every one of them contributing to the success of the 281st. Join us to honor our absent brothers and celebrate those accomplishments.
Bob Mitchell had this bottle made for this ceremony; his family found it long after he passed.
"Ryan", in the message from the bottler, is Jeff's son-n-law.
In the past we had a registration fee, the bulk of which was used for things such as the hospitality room, transportation to/from events, and of course the reunion dinner. The 281st is paying for all of that out of our bank account. Including Happy Hour before the dinner and stocking the hospitality room. Therefore there is no registration fee. So start calling, we don’t have enough commits yet to fill up 40 spaces but I have confidence.
Above the Best,
Jeff