2007 Memorial Hunt-Thursday Nov 8

Thursday morning found us eager to go back to the desert for the annual "hunt". This year was a memorial to Bill Kerekes, the fearless leader for all these many years. Bill finally lost his battle with cancer in June and many of us feared that the hunt would not occur. Thanks to Billy and Mike Kerekes, 2 of Bill's sons, we carried on in fine form with 9 of the group--Jim Wible, Gordy Pirtle, Jay Bibler, Steve Bibler, Gary Bibler, Bucky Walters, Neil Koch, Thom Krimminger, and myself. Much missed were 2 of our regulars, Bush Hedges and Phil Brenan, who were waging their own battle with health problems.

Although we know that Bill was watching from above, we really could have used his guidance down below where the scene was reminiscent of a Chinese Fire Drill. I thought of a better description but then this is supposed to be PG rated. With all of this high priced leadership, one would have expected better results! We finally made it, however, back to Camp Saguaro for the 3rd straight year. You can understand the name when you look at the pictures.

Thursday afternoon was spent setting up camp, acquiring wood for the campfire, and preparing our C rations for the evening meal. We also had a sip of sherry prior to C rats.



Since Mike had a permit for deer, he and Billy spent Friday and Saturday hunting the elusive little devils, much to no avail. The rest of the group spent Friday in various "Seminars". We also allotted time for the youngsters in the group--led by our resident pyromaniac, Gordy--to gather more firewood. Saturday was spent in more "Seminars", gathering more firewood, and preparing for the Marine Corps Birthday Ceremony in the evening. Although everyone participates in the ceremony, most of the thanks go to Gordy, Jay and Steve for the elaborate decorations and ceremony complete with the Commandant's Message on the widescreen and the same music played at thousands of locations around the world.



The dinner was complete with multiple toasts using grape juice poured from "Jarhead Red" bottles designed to resemble wine bottles.



After chorizo tortillas on Sunday morning we broke camp in a couple of hours-- returning Camp Saguaro to its original state--hopefully awaiting our return in 2008.

We returned to Yuma and waiting members of the opposite sex who maintained a safe distance which was probably a wise move considering the fact that there are no shower facilities in the desert. Participating in the whole affair were Patty Wible, Sandy Koch, Tee Krimminger, our friend Duncan Wall, Judy Pirtle, Ginny Bibler and of course our Yuma hosts, Linda Kerekes (Billy's wife) and Cheryl Kerekes (Mike's wife).

We owe a great debt of gratitude to the Kerekes family without whom we could not possibly hold this wonderful event and whose father had a great impact on all of our lives. Bill welcomed us as members of the family and the children have continued.