24th Infantry Division AssociaƟon
67th Annual Reunion
Omaha Marrio Hotel, Omaha, NE
September 18‐22, 2014
Omaha, NE 2014
24th IDA 2014 Reunion Page
24th Infantry Division Association
2014-15 Officers
Tom Appler, President
Don Bruner , Vice President
John Dunn, Secretary/Treasurer
George J. Vlasic, Director at Large
Don Maggio, Immediate Past President
Air & Space Museum was an-
Reunion will be held at Fort
other success. Everyone was
Benning, GA. (Columbus, GA)
impressed with planes that
This installation has the largest
have been sitting in scrap fields Infantry Museum in the U.S. It
and then brought back to life at will take place in September,
this facility. What a great effort
2015. The exact dates will be
by this private museum.
announced in the next Taro
Then, our trip to Father
Leaf.
Flanagan’s Boys Town was truly
remarkable. This was a first for
G
Best wishes,
everyone in the group. The tour Tom Appler, 2014-15 President
reetings Taro Leafers:
guide was very knowledgeable
and did not use any notes.
We had a great reunion
From the Editor:
What an amazing place to visit
Our Memorial Banquet
Thank you Tom; congrat-
were excellent and the weather went smoothly; the food was
ulations, and good luck with the
in Omaha; the accommodations
cooperated while we were en-
absolutely outstanding. The Na- Association in 2014-2015!
joying our tours. A total of 71
vy Cadet team was invited to
participants attended the Reun- stay and eat with us and were
inspiring to the reunion mem-
ion.
Our city tour and lunch-
Mike Frederick did an
outstanding job! We had free
Director Spicer asked me
John Dunn was the recip- those I did for the 2013 and
ient of The Verbeck Award. As
restaurant service and the own- Glen Carpenter pointed out,
er was very gracious.
the editor of this photo book.
to do a picture book similar to
bers.
eon at The Bohemian Café were
fulfilling events. We had great
Hello! I am Tom Thiel,
2011 Reunions.
Tom Subject of Tom Sub-
John is very deserving of this
ject Photography, 3559 Gold St,
award. He works very hard and
Omaha, NE 68105 (402) 344-
is truly dedicated to our Associ- 4658 took about 370 photographs of the reunion events.
hotel breakfast, and free airport ation.
Tom is a WWII 24th ID guy. He
shuttles, both ways. He kept
Your new officers are:
the tour costs at a minimum,
President- Tom Appler; Vice
was very friendly and enjoyed
and kept the hospitality room
President- Donald Bruner; Di-
talking to everyone.
well stocked.
rector-at-Large; George Vlasic.
The trip to the Strategic
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Next year, the Annual
Few of the photos were
of individuals or couples so I
Omaha, NE 2014
24th IDA holds 67th Annual Reunion in Omaha
could not do as I had done in the previous
books—show photos of attendees. In fact, because of so-called right-to-privacy, I was not
able to obtain a list of all attendees!
So, I decided to include as many photos
as would fit (175+). Relatively few have any
explanation. I had not attended the Reunion.
I had to crop, enhance, and resize every photo before placing in the book, which, for
the most part, follows the
To obtain a Copy of this
book, contact
B.G. Gene E. Spicer (Ret)
(812) 521-2324
[email protected]
[email protected]
officially-scheduled events
as shown at right.
I hope that each attendee is included in this
collection. Since I was not
able to read all name tags,
I chose to not identify anyone in most photos.
Thank you.
Tom J. Thiel, Webmaster
19147 Park Place Blvd,
Eustis FL 32736
352-408-6612
[email protected]
Omaha, NE 2014
24th IDA 2014 Reunion Page 3
24th IDA Board of Directors Meeting
O
ne of the first scheduled events was the Friday, September 19, Board of Directors meeting.
This is where the officers and directors and other Association officials chart the future of our fine
Association.
Those attending the Board of Directors meeting shown in the photo above, are front row from left,
John Klump *, Glen Carpenter Chaplain, Mel Frederick *, Loyal Vincent (Past Director), and
John Dunn Sec/Treas. In the back row, from left is Don Maggio (President), Bill Tricarico PastVP, Don Bruner (VP), John Burgess, Tom Appler (Vice President and now President), Gene
Spicer *, and Sal Schillaci *. See Taro Leaf or 24thida.com for Board Meeting minutes. * Past President and Director.
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John Dunn Receives 2014 Verbeck Award
port the original silver bowl, and that would provide an attractive and efficient means to carry the
names of those who were to follow, those who
demonstrate the values and excellence of William
Jordan Verbeck.
T
John Dunn, who has served effectively and quietly
as Secretary/Treasurer since September 2010, is
this year’s recipient. The photo below is of Mr.
Dunn (L) being presented the 2014 Verbeck Award
from newly elected president, Tom Appler, who
served as Chair of the Award Committee.
he Verbeck Award is the highest award given
by the 24th Association.
Congratulations John, an award most well deserved! You do the work, man!
It is symbolized by a large silver bowl, the
“Verbeck Bowl” (left) and was conceived to encourage excellence and to emulate the values of William Jordan Verbeck.
Initially, the awardee's names were engraved on
the bowl itself. But eventually the capacity for the
bowl to carry the names became limiting.
So, at its 2007 meeting in Columbia, South Carolina, the Association’s Board of Directors decided to
continue the “light” that has guided the 24th Infantry Division Association for the previous 41
years.
It approved the addition of a wooden base to sup-
Omaha, NE 2014
24th IDA 2014 Reunion Page 5
The Bohemian Cafe
T
he Bohemian Café is a Czech landmark since 1924. Luncheon group
menu includes a Czech style sauerbraten,
soup, dumplings, Sauerkraut, bread, coffee
& Tea! Presentation is about the Omaha
Czech community and the history of the Bohemian Café. After lunch, a demonstration
on Kolache making was given to the group
by one of the café cooks.
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The Bohemian Cafe
Omaha, NE 2014
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The Bohemian Cafe
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The Bohemian Cafe
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Men’s Breakfast
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Ladies’ Breakfast
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Annual Member Meeting
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Annual Member Meeting
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Strategic Air & Space Museum
Travel west to the small community of Ashland, Nebraska! See history come alive with 300,000 Square
Feet of space including WWII and Cold War aircraft and artifacts. Museum also offers interesting traveling exhibits, library and theater. Tours include areas where planes are currently being restored.
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Father Flanagan’s Boys Town Tour
Travel to west Omaha for a tour of famous Father Flanagan’s Boys Town! Tour includes visiting the Hall of History, the museum on campus; the Dowd Chapel, the Catholic Church
where Father Flanagan is entombed; and Father Flanagan’s Historic House. Boys Town is
an independent village of Omaha with its own police department, post office and mayor.
The mayor is actually one of the boys and girls in village. We would like to welcome you to
stop at the National Historic Landmark, made famous by the 1938 Oscar-winning film Boys
Town! We appreciate the opportunity to welcome visitors. The more chances we’re given to
share with the public and educate people about what we do, the more opportunities we’re
given to help our children.
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Father Flanagan’s Boys Town Tour
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Memorial Banquet
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Memorial Banquet
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Vol 64 No. 3
Summer 2010
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