Sunday, September 6, 2009

Classmate Firefighters

I've been a police dispatcher for 15 years. Four years ago I became a 911/police/fire/ems dispatcher. I'm a dispatcher because I can't do what these guys do. Again, I can't say enough about Facebook. Eighty fascinating classmates, all from Holly, and now spread out all over the world. Join Facebook and find us (or we will find you if you enter that you are a 1980 Holly High School grad.)

On opposite ends of this great country we have:
Bob Lowande

Jim Laatsch

Thom Burke

I have been enjoying recent photos on a public flickr account & public website maintained by the Navy. I keep coming back to these wonderful images of our classmate, Thom Burke, Commanding Officer of the USS Blue Ridge. The ship also has it's own Facebook page (of which several classmates are fans) that is updated often with new images and video.

(April 20, 2009) PACIFIC OCEAN--Capt. Thom W. Burke USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) looks towards the horizon as Blue Ridge pulls into WHITE BEACH, Okinawa. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matthew D. Jordan /Released)
BUSAN, Republic of Korea (Aug. 14, 2009) Capt. Thom W. Burke, commanding officer of the amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), is welcomed to the Republic of Korea by Chon Yea Un, the daughter of a Republic of Korea naval officer. Blue Ridge is taking part in the 33rd annual joint military exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian 2009, where Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines participate in computer-simulated command and control training. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Bobbie G. Attaway/Released)
BUSAN, Republic of Korea (Aug. 14, 2009) -- USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) Commanding Officer Capt. Thom W. Burke reaches for the hands of Chon Yea Un, the daughter of a Republic of Korea (ROK) naval officer, after being presented with flowers on the behalf of the ROK navy. Blue Ridge arrived in Busan in support of U.S. 7th Fleet, which is taking part in the joint military exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) 2009. UFG is a combined/joint computer simulation driven exercise conducted annually. It demonstrates the Republic of Korea-U.S. interoperability, capabilities, and the U.S. commitment to defend Korea. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Cynthia Griggs /Released)