Colonel Shaw represents base at Grissom Appreciation Day event

  • Published
  • By Douglas Hays
  • 434th ARW Public Affairs
GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. --  Col. Larry Shaw felt that appreciation as he stood before a packed room at the Inventrek Auditorium in Kokomo, Indiana, Oct. 16, 2018 and accepted proclamations of support from local, state and civic organizations.

“The best part of my job is representing the men and woman at Grissom,” Shaw said. “To have the opportunity to do that, and see the appreciation that the community has in us, was tremendous.”

The event was held as part of the Military Foundation Inc., monthly meeting and was open to the public.

“This is a big deal,” said Gary Loveless of the Military Foundation and the person who spearheaded the appreciation day event. “We encouraged the community, and especially those who have served at Grissom to join us.”

With the room at full capacity, civic leaders including Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight, local county councilmen Grover Bishop, Paul Wyman, as well as representatives from Senators Joe Donnelly and Todd Young joined other civic leaders on stage in a showing of support for the base.

Grissom opened as Bunker Hill Naval Air Station on July 1, 1942 and has been a presence in the area for 76 years as both a naval installation, Air Force installation, and now an Air Force Reserve base.
Grissom is home to Air Force, Army and Marine Corps Reserve units and has an economic impact of more than $120.6 million.

The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. The Citizen Airmen from the Hoosier Wing routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission.

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