A Trip to Houston

Getting ready to get on a plane to Houston to see my old neighbor Army buddy Reggie Dixon with Titan and Texan football tickets in hand.  This trip brings back a lot of memories.  The last time I went to Houston in the early 80's the plane didn't land.   I was selected to attend the 82nd Airborne Convention as part of an active duty contingent that parachuted into a field near Houston for a convention demonstration.

I remember during the pre-jump briefing we were told there was a picket fence running through the middle of the drop zone.  We were jumping steerable parachutes so we were advised to slip away from the fence.  During the jump I landed into a big patch of mud. After a short walk to the buses we were off to the convention.

While attending the Convention there were a lot  WWII vets there who were still relatively young in the 80's.  I got to meet the trooper that was hung on the clock tower in town of St Mere-Eglise and many others that parachuted into D-Day.  I wish I would have had the foresight to take a camera and take notes.  Although I do remember I was getting to meet history, but I have forgotten most that I met and their  stories.

 It was a fabulous time those old vets treated us like we were there with them on that day and we felt like we were in a sense.  Each regiment had there own hospitality suit.  It was fun going from suite to suite meeting those old troopers who treated us with such great camaraderie.  For that week I never had to purchase a meal or a drink.  Although us active duty troopers were housed in a national guard armory we were bused everyday to the convention hotel which I can remember being near the Astrodome.  Each old timer had their own unique story for that day and now much of it is lost to history.