Rankin Reunion Attendees Make It a Rocky Mountain High!

                            By Geof Caldwell

The Amphibious Ship’s Reunion was held from 15-19 October 2022 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Out of the close to eighty in attendance, eighteen were shipmates and spouses from the USS Rankin (AKA-103/LKA-103). Attendees included: John Burke, Geof and Brooke Caldwell, John Davidson, Willie Dunnie, Harry Fuerstenberger, Stu Gully, Alice Spicer (Widow of Ray), Tex Spicer, and Mark Thomas. Unfortunately, our “Skip” Sander was not able to attend. Colorado Springs, despite the lack of any large bodies of water, was a great choice for a reunion.

My wife, Brooke, and I didn’t arrive until Monday afternoon, so we missed the Sunday’s Welcoming Dinner and the visits to the US Air Force Academy and the Garden of the Gods on Monday. Because Monday was Columbus Day, the academy was closed to some of its sights, which was bit of a disappointment from what we heard, but the Garden of the Gods was a geological masterpiece!

The next day we took the cog railway to the top of Pike’s Peak. Unbelievable views of the mountains with John  Denver singing Rocky Mountain High. At the top it was absolutely freezing, and we quickly retreated to the visitor center. From there we looked over the Continental Divide into Utah. Down the mountain was the charming town of New Colorado City, where we had lunch and learned a bit of history.

Did you know that the most “west” battle of the Civil War was fought just south of the city? The Confederates knew about and wanted the gold that was being mined in “them thar hills” and sent an army to get it. Lincoln heard about their plan and told his forces in Colorado to repulse them. They did in a three-day battle south of city.

The last day’s morning was spent at National Museum of WWII Aviation, a terrific small museum show placing all the airplanes that fought in the war. Terrific. My wife’s take-away there was her father was a pilot during WWII and was at Pearl Harbor. She asked our guide what plane her father most likely would have flown. He showed her the PBY IA Catalina bomber. She was delighted. It gave her closure about her father’s part in the war.

That night there were picture taking of us all and a delicious farewell dinner. In attendance we had the honor of honoring Eugene Vanness, a World War II veteran. If that didn’t send goose bumps up my spine? All I could say was INCREDIBLE!

     Garden of the Gods National Registered Landmark, CO