I finished up a blow out double header Saturday afternoon at St. Henry, with the home team, using many of it's younger players torched their over matched opponent in two run ruled games...scores were 24-0 and 26-4...we took about four hours to complete them both and have a meal for the teams and umpires in between.After the second game, which I did the plate, I climbed out of my gear and into the Nitro. Checking my Cell Phone, I noted a Voice Mail, and clicked the button as I pulled for the lot...it was a message from one of our VSPA and Dayton Vietnam/Thailand Sky Cop women, asking me to give her a call...I hit redial and Sheila answered the phone...giving me the sad news that one of our group, the youngest member as far as I know...Allen K. Workman had passed away that morning. Needless to say I was shocked and saddened, I had just "spoken" with Al on Friday night on Facebook...making his passing in Louisville all the more hard to believe.
Allen was just 59, and served in Thailand at NKP in 1974-75...I had first me him and wife Martha at our Frozen Mini Reunion in January 2009 at Dayton, they had attended three of those, and I saw them at the Dayton VSPA Reunion back in October 2011 as well. His funeral, which will be attended by about a dozen of our guys and wives will be Wednesday, viewing will be in Louisville tomorrow, and the burial will be some 30 minutes west of Louisville, Kentucky, at the VA Cemetery near there.
This sadly makes three members of the VSPA and more particularly our "Vietnam/Thailand Sky Cop" Dayton Group that have passed in the last couple of months...Don Howard passed just before we were to meet in Dayton this past March, John Galinac lost his long battle with cancer in April, and now our youngest member Al Workman dies suddenly from a heart attack this weekend. Our
We are looking for ways to honor those that have just passed...but for now, those able to attend will take our prayers with them to Louisville....
Garry and I head north this afternoon, and in between some light rain will try to get our NWC game in....it's an hour or so drive up I-75 to Bluffton...it will be a late night.back later>>>
Photos-Allen Workman, a larger than life man....standing some 6'6" or so...on the two photos from the Statue at the Air Force Museum...in the top outdoor photo Al is in the back row, 5th from right to left as you view it...in the bottom photo from that bitter cold day in January 2009, he is the sixth standing as you go left to right.
2 comments:
Allen will surely be missed . I remember well one of our talks at Dayton in march about how excited he was to get his new Bike and his wanting to show it to me . We decided to meet somewhere halfway this summer and take a nice ride together . We were really looking forward to that . I had also talked him into comming to Kokomo and his telling me he wanted to rough it there with us in September and his kidding about wheather he would fit in one of the tents or not . Allen will surely be missed by all of us . May he Rest in Peace until we meet again on the other side
Our ranks and the Ranks of all Vietnam Vets are dwindling in a hurry. We need to cherish every minute we all have left together. As with Al's passing we never know when we will be no more on this side .
That's why we need to do what we feel before time runs out Sam...because we are never sure when God will take us home.
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