Dear colleagues,
I hope this finds you all safe and managing to keep cool. As hot as the weather now is in the northern hemisphere, many of us have experienced Mid-Winter while stationed in Antarctica. The darkness, cold and the camaraderie of my three South Pole winter crews were experiences I will never forget. Many of you have had similar experiences and the OAEA and interactions with our members helps to keep them alive.
To bring you up to date, we recently lost a legend from our membership. Conrad “Gus” Shinn, the first pilot to land at the South Pole passed away May 15, 2025 at the age of 102. Gus and his R4D “Que Sera Sera” crew accompanied by Navy Rear Admiral George Dufek landed at the geographic South Pole in October 1956, as part of the Navy’s Operation Deep Freeze effort blazing the trail for further flights bringing in the men and materials for the building and manning of the original South Pole Station. Gus’ crew were the first Americans to set foot at the Pole, and the first people to reach the Pole since the ill-fated Scott expedition 44 years earlier.
This past quarter, we added 5 new members and one expired annual member. Welcome aboard Sandra Hartman, Robert McCormick, Brooks Cima, Grace Cordsen, and Captain Joe Wubbold, III. Also, welcome back to member Roger Stevens. We also received over $2,000.00 in donations, thanks to the generosity of Bruce DeWald, Edward Hames, Michelle Cooke, OAEA New England Chapter, Robert McCormick, and the Tidewater Social Group.
Even as you are reading this, deliberations are underway for annual scholarship awards. Several thousand dollars will be awarded to deserving young people, sponsored by our membership. Put spring 2026 on your calendar to start thinking about scholarships for the 2026-2027 school year.
If you are looking for something new to take on or would like to help out the OAEA, we have positions that could use backup/or someone in the standby mode, including treasurer and secretary.
Keeping track of addresses and emails is an administrative chore. Remember if you change any contact information, please keep us informed. A quick line to us via the site contact form at https://oaea.net/contact/ with the new information will suffice.
Don’t forget to check the online newsletter blog here. There are some regular updates including members who are no longer with us and a new Antarctic humor page, submitted by our members.
And plans are underway for our next reunion, place and date TBA.
Wayne
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