Silver Signal January 2010

Lone Star Treasure Hunters Club

Hi friends;

I have the newsletter posted online it is the first newsletter done by
Anna Matecun and she did a great job! This morning as I got to work I
learned that our dear friend, Jack Short passed away today. I don't have
anymore information yet, but as I do I will pass it on. Please remember
to pray for Betty and Jack's family at this time. Jack will be missed by
so many of us.

The club January newsletter is posted at
http://www.prostockdetectors.com/news.html

Here is our latest club newsletter for January 2010 to include our newly elected club officers :O)  Alot of great finds were brought into the meeting tonite as well...to include the super find of 2009 (found before the Christmas holidays) an 1851 Gold Coin that one of our members found :O) at our old reliable relic field site.  Other goodies included the US Calvary Military Plate along with other coins and military eagle buttons, etc. also were passed around.

Link:   January 2010 Newsletter

A diamond in the rough

By Senior Master Sgt. Robert Block
http://www.standard.net/authors/senior-master-sgt-robert-block  
(388th Maintenance Group)

They say the way to a woman's heart is with diamonds. If you count the
search for a missing memento against impossible odds as another, some 388th
Fighter Wing personnel and assorted volunteers found a way to do just that
in order to ease the ache in the heart of an Air Force spouse.

Capt. George "Ice" Houghton was killed when his F-16 Fighting Falcon went
down at a site south of Wendover in a remote area of the Utah Test and
Training Range commonly known as Baker Strong Point. The resulting wreckage
spread over the area for at least a mile. Although pilots cannot wear their
wedding rings while flying jets, they often carry them in a pocket of their
flight suit or somewhere on their person.

Maj. Robert T. Ungerman, a friend of the pilot, was asked by Josie Houghton
many times if her husband's wedding ring had been found. After repeatedly
replying, "No," Ungerman felt this response was unacceptable.

A belief in humanity and the power of giving Josie back a fond memory
propelled Ungerman in his efforts to organize a search for the ring. After
coordinating ideas for this effort with Paul Nelson, 75th Air Base Wing
Plans and Programs, Nelson told Ungerman about a metal detector club that
had assisted with a wedding ring search approximately 10 years ago at
another F-16 fatal crash site.

The Trails West Artifacts Society, a chartered group of individuals who
enjoy spending their time together rummaging through old ghost towns and
other sites throughout the state with metal detectors, responded
emphatically to Ungerman's request and volunteered to help. Club president,
Ralph Gold, and six club members, Mark Adams, Jay Atchison, Francis and
Marian Clements, Robert Lichtenberg and Tyson Gold were determined to find
and return the personal memento.

As Atchison, the vice president of the club, said of their free locating
searches, "When it is in remembrance of a lost loved one it makes finding
those (missing) items even better."

With the support of the 388th FW leadership, Ungerman's quest became a
reality as he coordinated with Maj. Sean Keene, 388th Range Squadron
Detachment 1 commander, and set a date and time for the search.

"To me, the RANS is an incredible organization," Ungerman said. "They took
care of the nearly impossible process of getting this group of civilians out
on the high security range, and they even took care of food, water and other
comforts to help the search team."

Still needing Air Force volunteers, a request was sent to the 388th FW group
and squadron commanders. Within minutes, e-mail and phone call responses
flooded in. As less than a dozen volunteers were needed, most had to be
turned away. Master Sgt. Michael Secora, Master Sgt. David Czerwinski, Tech.
Sgt. Ross Stotz, Senior Airman Ashley Sorrell, Airman 1st Class Adrian Bales
and Senior Master Sgt. Robert Block were selected to join in the search for
the precious article for Josie.

On Oct. 17, the group of volunteers met up with Maj. Keene and his team at
the Dugway Proving Grounds. Upon entry and clearance, an initial safety
briefing was presented by Marcus Teters, 388th RANS, and an explosive
ordnance disposal safety briefing was provided by Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Horton
and Staff Sgt. Jeffery Polley, 775th CES.

The ramifications of what the members were up against set in and the mood
changed as game faces started to show.

The ride took roughly an hour and fifteen minutes to the site.

The search began for the "diamond in the rough" and TWAS members sorted
through the debris hour after hour with no luck.

Determined, the group members continued to look for the missing ring which
seemed to gain a more special meaning as the search continued.

As dusk approached, still nothing had been found and it seemed time to wrap
things up but Czerwinski made the suggestion that the searchers put aside
technology and do a "FOD" walk to the left of the initial search area.

Hope was getting thin, but then unbelievably the group heard a faint cry, "I
found it."

After months of rain, wind, strafing and bombing missions "the diamond in
the rough" appeared. There was a sigh of relief as the group huddled around
Keene, who had discovered the ring and was cleaning it off. Inside was
Josie's inscription to her husband.

Ungerman presented Josie with the ring on Oct. 30 after a trip to visit
friends and the recently returned 421st FS.

"When I first opened the ring box and saw George's unscathed wedding band, I
began to weep and weep," Josie said in describing first seeing the ring. "It
was the closure that I had been seeking. It was an answer to my prayers. It
was a miracle!

"Of all the possessions that could have been recovered from the crash site,
I desired to have my husband's wedding band the most," she said. "It brings
back the best memories that I have of him and it represents our timeless
love.

"I (now) wear the ring on a chain that Major Ungerman and his wife gave to
me as a gift. It is close to my heart all the time," Josie said. Ungerman
was the 421st family liaison officer, and he and his wife, Karen, are
friends of the family.

"I am so incredibly grateful to the individuals who put so much time and
effort into finding George's ring. I have seen the best part of humanity at
work in the Air Force. I feel so blessed that so many people would devote
their time to help recover something so precious to me," Josie concluded.

Others feel they were indeed fortunate, as well, to have been a part of the
miraculous search.

"I feel blessed to have been part of this endeavor," said Keene, of the
388th RANS joint effort and of finding the ring. "Our detachment was 'all
in' to support the crash recovery, and that commitment was demonstrated
again with this search effort. Upon seeing the vast debris field for the
first time (the day of the search), it looked to me like our chances were
slim for finding the ring. I believe the only reason we were successful is
because God willed it. Other (previous) search efforts had come up empty,
and there was nothing special about the skills it took to see it that day
... just the dedication of a small group to be there at the right time and
place."

He also passed along the comments of his commander, Col. Jeffery Snell,
388th RANS, who responded to the successful search, "Finding the ring was
truly amazing and is probably the most important thing we will ever be a
part of during our leadership tenure at the range!"

Through the effort and determination of numerous volunteers to fulfill a
grieving widow's request, the miraculous happened

Attached is the November club newsletter. We are starting a brand new year and look forward to sharing stories about our favorite hobby. Bill Mathews and I are working on getting some interesting speakers lined up for the meetings. Don't have one set for January, but we will be covering the history of St. Charles, MO, so if any of you have some good information to share about this topic, come prepared to share it. Check around the house to see if you have any club library items that you may have forgotten to return and bring them to the January meeting. Hope to see all you there.

Link:   November 2009 Newsletter

rhorrom@mindspring.com