MAXIMUM EFFORT TOUR

BY ALAN DAVIS,

SSince our last update in June 2021, Teresa Andreika and I have completed our Maximum Effort Tour (MET) along with help from our sister Deborah Hill. Our last trip was to the South leaving from Nashville, TN after the 26th BGA Reunion. It was the most amazing experience we could have ever imagined. We were able to visit with 31 vets! All but a handful are men we met for the first time. Many visits included wives and/or children. Some of those visited are no longer with us, making the chance to have met them even more cherished. Our archives are now brimming with a whole new collection of photos, oral stories and documents collected along the way.

Our three Maximum Effort prints now have those veteran signatures included. Our youngest was 94 and oldest still going strong at 103. We have pictures and videos of each vet signing the numbered lithograph prints and plan on creating a Documentary of the 449th BGA utilizing these to help tell the Bomb Group story. Each signature adds to the value of these prints as a group fundraiser. To be able to show our men sharing their memories into their late 90’s and beyond is precious.

The attached By The Numbers graph seemed like a fun way to share all we were able to accomplish. Thank you to everyone who supported us through donations, overnight stays, food and moral support from March through November 2021. We were never on our own, always backed up by this fantastic organization. Preserving the Legacy never meant more.