The AFEES reunion in 2023 will be held in conjunction with that of the 8th Air Force Historical Society in Ontario, California, October 18-22, 2023. Ontario is 37 miles east of Los Angeles and is the location of the Ontario International Airport. The reunion hotel will be the Double Tree by Hilton Ontario Airport located at Ontario, CA, and a one-minute drive from the Ontario Convention Center, 12 minutes from Toyota Arena, five miles from Ontario Mills Shopping Mall, and seven miles from Pomona College.
The following appear on the 8th AFHS website. Links are provided here for your convenience:
2023 Registration Instructions
2023 Reunion Registration Form
2023 Hotel Reservation Information
The reunion schedule will include visits to the following:
- Palm Springs Air Museum, Palm Springs, CA
- Planes of Fame Air Museum, Chino, CA
- Yanks Air Museum, Chino, CA
When completing your reunion registration form, please indicate on it that you are AFEES members. Note that we will have a separate hospitality room and that we plan to have our separate memorial service.
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NOTIFICATION FROM MANAGING DIRECTOR, 8TH AFHS – MARCH 9, 2023
Hello everyone!
Just a reminder that registration for our upcoming 49th Annual 8th AFHS Reunion is now open!!!
ALL of the information including the registration form is on our website: www.8thafhs.org
Date: October 18-22, 2023
Place: Ontario, California
We anticipate a strong turnout this year–please reserve your hotel room ASAP. The direct reservation link is on our website. In the event our block fills, we DO have a backup hotel within walking distance to the DoubleTree, our reunion hotel.
If you need help or more information, please reach out to me ASAP!
Hope to see you in California this October!
Debra Kujawa
Managing Director
912-748-8884
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Ontario is located in the Inland Empire which is described by Wikipedia as “The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the cities of western Riverside County and southwestern San Bernardino County, and is considered to include the desert communities of the Coachella and Victor Valleys, respectively on the other sides of the San Gorgonio Pass and San Bernardino Mountains from the Santa Ana River watershed that forms the bulk of the Inland Empire; a much broader definition includes all of Riverside and San Bernardino counties.[3] The combined land area of the counties of the Inland Empire is larger than ten U.S. states—West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island—and is slightly smaller than the combined area of the last five (New Hampshire through Rhode Island).[4]“
- Details about holding AFEES reunions in conjunction with the 8th AFHS reunions
- Statement about holding AFEES reunions in conjunction with the 8th AFHS reunions
If you have any hesitation about attending a future reunion, read Jerri Donohue’s “Why Reunions Matter.”
For a list of prior reunions, their locations, and activities, click here.
To order an AFEES T-shirt, go to the following page on this website: https://airforceescape.org/afees-t-shirts-for-sale/ . They look like this:
My father served in the 8th Air Force during WW2 in England, how do I get any information on his unit. One of the planes he restored was the Dangerous Lady, he and his crew rebuilt the plane after it was headed for scrap and it never missed another mission. I’ve tried to learn information on his service but have not had much luck. I have his DD-214 and his uniform with the 8th Air Force patches plus news articles sent back to the local newspaper from that time. I was is in Rapid City, South Dakota and I understood it was a 8th Air Force reunion. I talked to an individual and gave him my fathers name and my email address. He emailed me later and said there was no record of my father ever being in the 8th Air Force. I would appreciate any information you could give me. Thank You, Dennis Hansen
Dear Mr. Hansen,
You posted a request for information on your father’s 8th AF service, but did not provide me with his full name. If you could send it, I will look through the AFEES website and some others for info on him.
Best wishes,
Bruce Bolinger
Hello,
Can you please share information about the Savannah reunion in 2021? My father was a Navigator on a B17 shot down over France and aided in his escape through Operation Bonaparte.
He was 8th AF, 94th BG. The Eighth Air Force Historical Society recently posted a video on Facebook about the crew and their escape. I was planning a trip to Savannah and this would make it a once in a lifetime experience.
Thank you,
Sharon Butler
Hello Sharon,
The reunion of the 8th AF Historical Society this year is set for October 27-31 in Savannah, Georgia at the Savannah Riverfront Marriot. If you are a member of that society, there will be more information in the March issue of their magazine. We will post more information on this page as it becomes available. The 2022 reunion will be in Memphis. Thank you for asking. It prompted me to update this page of our website.
Bruce Bolinger,
Webmaster