SOAR

 

Special Operations Association Reunion 2023

Every October the Special Operations Association holds its annual reunion (SOAR). It’s always in Las Vegas, always at the Orleans Hotel/Casino complex. The SOA has never been a large organization, never having more than a few thousand members. 

Cocktail hour before the banquet

You see it’s not an easy group to join; you have to be invited in by a current member and be able to prove that you operated behind enemy lines in a conflict somewhere in the world. Because the organization was formed shortly after the Vietnam War it is mostly made up of veterans of that conflict. Therein lies a problem, we are dying off. 

Banquet

Anyone who has been a long standing member can see the decline in attendance. Gone are the loud booze swilling gatherings in the hospitality room. You mostly see small groups in quiet conversations now, more than likely talking about comrades who died in the past year. 

LarryM and Bill Norden

We’re not the only fraternal organization with this problem; the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association is looking to affiliate with military institutions that will preserve their legacy after they all fly west into the sunset. Our group has been trying to attract younger players from recent conflicts. I don’t think this has been too successful; most people want to be with their own kind. That’s just human nature.

LarryM, Duffy Jensen, Bob Bost, Saunders

One of my friends says he will never miss another reunion because too many of his friends are gone as each year passes. I don’t know if I can do that, but Millie and I travel to SOAR as often as we can. 

At the casino entrance

Some of our Air Force brethren who also flew for MACVSOG CCS [Cambodian mission]
The 20th Special Operations Squadron

Aviators of the 195th Assault Helicopter Company who's daily excursions into the gates of hell itself seemed exciting but strangely normal. (Southern Brotherhood Breakfast)