Stan Christian
1945-08-17 2020-12-02
As we approach our 2021 68th Assault Helicopter Reunion I want to honor one of our fellow Army Aviators giving him the recognition he so soundly deserves. Most of us remember him as Captain Christian, Capt Stan Christian. Stan was Mustang 6 in 1969, following Cpt Lee Daniels command and preceding Cpt Sid King’s command.
Of course he deserves all the honor and respect for his service to his Country and our Company as any value t soldier is due. but he deserves so much more a special recognition for what he contributed to in perpetuating the history and legacy of 68th AHC. Few 68th AHC veterans know that Stan was in fact the original Founder of our Top Tiger and Mustang reunions. He personally organized, managed, and hosted the very first Reunion at his Oklahoma private lakeside residence. It was held in the hot summer of 1998. And believe you me it was a hot one. Just ask those few brave Top Tigers and one Mustang that thought it would be fun to camp out and pitch a tent!
We all sat around outside in lawn chairs under the few shade trees his yard had to offer. And as hot as it still was when the sun went down, the 12 in attendance formed a circle of chairs around around a camp fire and exchanged war stories until the early hours of the morning. The big highlight of the evening was when some of the guys put on a slide show filled with action photos. There laughs too. Some of crew antics were there in their R rated glory. You guessed it. The usual suspects were Mustangs!
As the war story telling heated up, I was amazed at how some could argue with intense passion over what the LZ coordinates were where an assault or combat action occurred. But all disputes were settled peacefully. The resident authority for executing final judgement when disputes arose over places, dates, names and, yes, coordinates was retired LTC George Manly. I swear George had a terabyte of 68th AHC hard memory stored in his brain. How he remembered all that data for all those years astounds me to this day. We miss you George!
We even got some local press. Stan made sure that his townspeople knew that about a dozen of America’s finest were guests’ in his town . The locals were excited to meet some real live U.S. Army Vietnam combat aviators. They humbled us with their admiration and respect for those who served and solemn honor for those who gave it all.
Stan May have left our presence on this Earth but he is certainly going to be us this week in spirit. Stan was one of God’s personalities that seemed bigger than life itself. Big smile. Big enthusiasm. Big laugh. Big compassion. Big in all ways good! Indeed. We will miss you Captain Christian! May God comfort you in your eternal life and bless your loved ones with peace.
Of course he deserves all the honor and respect for his service to his Country and our Company as any value t soldier is due. but he deserves so much more a special recognition for what he contributed to in perpetuating the history and legacy of 68th AHC. Few 68th AHC veterans know that Stan was in fact the original Founder of our Top Tiger and Mustang reunions. He personally organized, managed, and hosted the very first Reunion at his Oklahoma private lakeside residence. It was held in the hot summer of 1998. And believe you me it was a hot one. Just ask those few brave Top Tigers and one Mustang that thought it would be fun to camp out and pitch a tent!
We all sat around outside in lawn chairs under the few shade trees his yard had to offer. And as hot as it still was when the sun went down, the 12 in attendance formed a circle of chairs around around a camp fire and exchanged war stories until the early hours of the morning. The big highlight of the evening was when some of the guys put on a slide show filled with action photos. There laughs too. Some of crew antics were there in their R rated glory. You guessed it. The usual suspects were Mustangs!
As the war story telling heated up, I was amazed at how some could argue with intense passion over what the LZ coordinates were where an assault or combat action occurred. But all disputes were settled peacefully. The resident authority for executing final judgement when disputes arose over places, dates, names and, yes, coordinates was retired LTC George Manly. I swear George had a terabyte of 68th AHC hard memory stored in his brain. How he remembered all that data for all those years astounds me to this day. We miss you George!
We even got some local press. Stan made sure that his townspeople knew that about a dozen of America’s finest were guests’ in his town . The locals were excited to meet some real live U.S. Army Vietnam combat aviators. They humbled us with their admiration and respect for those who served and solemn honor for those who gave it all.
Stan May have left our presence on this Earth but he is certainly going to be us this week in spirit. Stan was one of God’s personalities that seemed bigger than life itself. Big smile. Big enthusiasm. Big laugh. Big compassion. Big in all ways good! Indeed. We will miss you Captain Christian! May God comfort you in your eternal life and bless your loved ones with peace.