Good Times With a Couple of Retired Generals

Tim, General Druen and Tom

Last week (5/29-5/31), I flew to Las Vegas to join my buddy, Tom, for the monthly “Boys Night Out” dinner. Tom is a big supporter of Nellis Air Force Base and has many contacts in the military aviation community.

Tim and General Druen

Before we went to dinner, we stopped by his house to see retired three-star General Dan Druen. General Druen is a very spry 97-year-old. Gen. Druen joined the Air Force in 1947 (the AF was founded on Sept. 18, 1947) and retired as a three-star in 1982. He was a fighter pilot from day one to day last and flew every fighter from the P-51 to the F-15. He told us the tale of his unconfirmed kill in Korea.

P-51 and F-15

While sipping pinot grigio on ice (I had beer), the General regaled us with stories from his flying days for a couple of hours.

Boys Night Out is a regular get-together at the Italian American Club in Las Vegas. Up to 19 attendees are a bunch of old (like me) fighter pilots and other friends.

I spent much of the dinner talking to three ‘89 grads from the AF Academy. They all flew A-10s and all spent time at Osan, AB, Korea, where my first Air Force assignment was flying the OV-10 Bronco. It was a fun discussion, sharing our stories.

Also, there was my F-16 squadron commander, retired General (two stars) L.D. Johnston. L.D. is a tremendous leader and fighter pilot. He is revered by every pilot who ever flew for him. If you check out his bio HERE, you will realize that he was commander to a large number of fighter pilots.

It is always good to catch up with L.D. I did get him to admit I was the best pilot that ever flew for him (not quite!!). When pictures are taken at BNO, the single-finger salute is mandatory.

Tim and L.D.

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