May 7th - Graduation Ceremonies

Well, the graduation ceremonies were finally happening. The graduation was held at the Hilton Hotel near the Air Base and the room filled quickly. One of Matt's guests was his Grandfather Lt. Col (ret.) Vic Morris, who wouldn't have missed this event for anything in the world. I believe he is 88 years old and is sharp as a tack.

Matt's grandfather was recognized several times during the ceremonies by the speakers and presenters. Vic had been shot down over Japan during WWII and was a Japanese prisoner of war until the end of the war. I think all of the officers who were present came over to honor and to speak with Vic. He never stopped smiling at any time during the ceremonies.

I had spoken with one of the Intel instructors, and mentioned how proud we were of Matt and his accomplishments and of the three awards he had received that afternoon for his bombing proficiencies. The Captain told me not to say anything, but those awards might not be the last award he would receive.

Sure enough, when the Captain got up to deliver his speech and make a presentation, he told everyone that there was a very special award that was to be presented to one of the students. This award was voted on by all of the instructors and the students and was to be presented to the student that they would most want to go into combat with. He then presented the trophy to Matt. Talk about tears of joy!

Here is a photo of some of Matt's friends from college. One couple is missing from this photo, but all the students agreed that Matt's guest tables had the best looking girls. These kids had all flown in on Friday morning for the event and were flying back the following morning. Quite a tribute to Matt.

Notice the shirt Matt is wearing. All of the students had their tux shirts modified with red and blue sleeves and the F-16 logo on the backs of the shirts. After they had graduated, they were allowed to remove their dress uniform jackets to "present the colors".

Quite a day for everyone and Sheila and I were so glad we were able to attend these ceremonies. K