Dear Friends, Families, and Members of the 7th Bombardment Group (H) Historical Foundation,

Long ago we identified ourselves as members of the "Greatest Generation" by defending our country on foreign soil wherever necessary. Regrettably, we have seen many of our fellow 7th Bomb Group Warriors fall by the wayside as the years passed.We are closing in on the 90th anniversary of the founding of our forerunner organization, the 1st Army Observation Group, which occurred in France on 6 September 1918. With a post-war name change, it became the 7th Bomb Group and is today the oldest active duty bomb unit in the United States Air Force. In the "Great War", the 1st Army Observation Group operated directly under the orders of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), commanded by General John J. Pershing, and his Chief of Air Service, variously Billy Mitchell, Mason Patrick, and Bennie Foulois, the bedrocks of the present day USAF.

At the last reunion, held at Dyess AFB, TX, where the 7th is presently stationed when stateside, my wife, Norma, and I, volunteered to sponsor this auspicious occasion here in Tucson where is located the next higher headquarters for the 7th Bombardment Wing, the 12th Air Force (AF South), whose commander, Lt. General Norman Seip, had indicated a desire to speak to our Foundation because of who we are.

Many of you have volunteered in previous years to sponsor a reunion and have performed admirably, keeping the Foundation together and inspiring us all to maintain our integrity. Yet each reunion we realize our ranks are thinning. No one knows when he will not be able to answer the next call. We had planned our hotel and Saturday night dinner reserved at the third largest Air Museum in the U.S., the Pima Air and Space Museum, with our celebration held under the wings of an ex-RAF B-24J which flew combat missions over China-Burma-India.

But to maintain the constant reunion tempo is beyond the two of us, and with recent physical disabilities experienced, we feel it would be best not to celebrate the 90th anniversary here in Tucson and will cancel our previous plans. This step is not taken lightly but as the result of a lot of soul searching.

We hope that on 6 September 2008, each of you will remember our departed fellow 7th Bomb Group Warriors and think of our present day 7th Bomb Group brothers who are flying the B-1B on foreign soil, doing the same thing we did many years ago. Our 7th Bomb Group warriors need today the same thoughts and prayers we needed in our day.

Charlie Niblett
Vice- President

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