News

I just got an email from All About Challenge Coins! 
They said the new coins are on their way! 
I'm  going out of town tommorrow but I'll alert my wife to keep an eye out for them. 
Hopefully I'll be able to bring them with me next Sunday! 

 - Mike 

Treasurer

Well, I guess it's not an official chapter event, but we could plan one in future. 
It doesn't take a lot of planning. 
Rene and I spent an hour or two practicing with our 12-guage shotguns. 

The venue is easy to get to, friendly, and pretty much trouble free. 
You walk in, they give you a lanyard and say "have fun" . . . 
The lanyard is used to activate the machines that toss the clay pigeons. 
When you finish they put the lanyard in the computer and they charge you so much per throw. 
We visited 6 or 7 stations, each of which were semi-shaded, and we had a nice breeze, which was really welcome as it is just a bit warm out today. 
The venue is     Rock Ridge Sportsman's Club 

Website: shootrockridge.com  -  Phone:(815) 382-1232

Anytime you want to go out there, give me a call; if I'm not out of town on business, I might meet you there. 
Or, we could plan a chapter event. 

It's almost impossible for me to describe how it made me feel when that young soldier at the gate said "Welcome home, sir!" 

it's been 46 years (august 1979) since I earned my basic parachutist badge at Ft Benning and I've always wented to go back, just to see the 250-ft tower. 
I've seen pictures but it's just not the same. 
Monday afternoon I made it back; the big towers look just the way I remember them. 
The 34-foot towers too - they look just like I remember them. 
The covered training areas where we learned to do PLFs. . . the same except there are a couple C-130s with the wings removed - I'm pretty sure we used a wooden frame to simulate the door and it looks like they have real air frames for that now. 

I wandered around a while, and exchanged pleasantries with a few other old paratroopers that were doing the same thing. 

One guy had his wife and a couple  kids with him - they were taking a picture in front of the C 130 there. They were all cheerful, acting like they enjoyed being there and asking their dad about jumping and stuff. I was happy for him. 

Another fellow had his wife and one teenager with him. 
WHen he tried to talk to the teenager about the Army the young man acted very indifferent, even dismissive. 
The veteran was stoic but clearly wished the younger man was a bit less dismissive. 

A younger guy - apparently on active duty - was walking on the sidewalk speaking loudly to someone on a cell phone - clearly upset about something. In passing I said "how are you doing" or something. 
He sayd "Great - my wife just cleaned out my bank account". 
I said "I hope you get that sorted out, soldier". . . I didn't know what to say. 

The Airborne Walk is awesome. 
I have a lot of pictures; I promise I am going to learn how to post pictures on our website. 

Chicago Chapter June 2025 Meeting

When: 29 Jun 2025 14:00, CDT
Where: Gatsby’s Pizza and Pub, 427 E Rand Rd, Arlington Heights, IL 60004

BE SURE TO NOTICE WE ARE GOING BACK TO THE OLD PLACE IN ARLINGTON HEIGHTS.  

I sure look forward to seeing all you old paratroopers there! 

We sent out the check for the challenge coins today. 

The expected delivery they gave me yesterday looks like a few days after our June meeting; I was hoping to get them in time for that but it's an estimated date so we still might have them in time for June. 

Our new challenge coins are 1/4 inch larger than the old ones. 

We had a nice turnout for the Memorial Day Parade in Naperville. 
The weather was perfect, the crowd was enthusiastic, and the group looked great! 
Mario made the whole parade route with the chapter's T-10 parachute. 
I am sure the paradegoers have NO idea just how hard that is. 

Well, the webstore is up and running. 
Here is a shortcut to it. 

https://stores.inksoft.com/82nd_airborne_chicago/shop/home

So far, there are only 5 items. 
The only things members have purchased so far is the polo shirt. 
I think there are a total of 5 or 6 or more that members have purchased. 
I think everyone is pleased with their purchases. 

Starting today, the webstore is a fundraiser for our group; each purchase has a 15% "Chapter tax" added - that money will come back to us. 

Let me know what you think of the products currently  displayed. 
If there is something you might be interested in and it's not here, let me know. 
The vendor we are working with is a local Rockford business called Embroid This. 

They seem very accommodating and efficient. 
They can put our logo on just about anything. 

Introducing your 2024 Chicago Chapter Executive Board! 

Rene Hernandez: Chairman, Secretary
Served with 193rd Inf Bde (Abn), 1979-81, and 1/508th PIR (82nd Airborne Division), 1981-83

Mario Nunez: Vice Chairman, Sergeant at Arms
Served with Honduran 1st Artillery Bn (Abn), 1986-88

Tom Milone: Treasurer
Served with 2/504th PIR (82nd Airborne Division), 1996-99

All three of these members return to the Board following their initial Board service in 2023. Rene assumes the gavel from long-time chapter chairman Mark Mueller. These members were installed at the chapter holiday party on 03 December and officially assume office on 01 January 2024. 

Every year, businesses across the country offer discounts for Veterans Day, and some offer freebies for veterans themselves. 

Here is a link to the Military Times list of discounts, including all the restaurants offering free and discounted meals. Get yours - you earned it. 

Airborne, All The Way!

NEW MEMBER!

Please welcome our newest member, John Mroszcak of Chicago, IL.

John served with 4/68th Armor (82d Abn Div) from 1983-84 and then 3/73d Armor (82d Abn Div) from 1984-85, including deployment to Grenada and later to Southwest Asia. He served a total of 20 years and earned the rank of Major.

Welcome, John, and AATW!