An incredible week wrapped-up for the vets with the most amazing dinner with Australia's version of Martha Stuart.  Maureen and Peter McKeon and their son James hosted our group, after meeting us on the flight down to Melbourne.

They have a wonderful, historic home that hosted us for a meal we'll never forget.  Maureen recently published "Crave" - a chocolate-lover's cookbook available at Barnes and Noble.  Phenomenal desserts to say the least.

Before our last night, a few of us wandered the streets of Melbourne, taking in the scenery, street shows, graffiti alleyways (a huge draw for art lovers) and the afternoon wrapped outside Flinder's Street station, where GI's would come into Melbourne 65 years ago with pockets full of money while on leave.  They'd immediately head to the first pub they'd see, Young & Jackson's, across the street.  We raised a few pints of Crown Lager, Mtn. Goat and Victoria Bitters to our boys and the boys of the past.

I can't say enough about the treatment this group has received, most notably from Qantas Airlines (my new favorite hands-down) and the Grand Hyatt, Melbourne.  Know that these companies are committed to helping The Greatest Generations Foundation and should be commended.

As we await our connecting flight back to Denver, it's always a great feeling when you go through U.S. Customs and are welcomed back home with a smile.  A few of the boys are pooped out (see accompanying pics!) but as one of our vets said to me a few days ago: "It's about the best time of my life, I reckon."

I think a lot of them would say the same thing.

Thanks for following us on our journey via 850KOA and 850KOA.com -- and let's not forget our vets.  Much more info and donation information is available right now at www.tggf.us

Best,

Steffan 

ANZAC Day in Australia has been an amazing one for our Colorado vets.  The patriotism, honor and tributes here for this country's equivalent to our July 4th and Memorial Day/Veteran's Day has been stunning to witness.

The day started with a sunrise memorial service at the Shrine near downtown Melbourne.  There, an eternal flame much like President Kennedy's at Arlington, burns consistently.  It was moving and attended by at least 25,000 people.

Several hours later, in beautiful sunny Autumn skies, the annual ANZAC Day parade stepped-off... with 15,000 people in the parade alone.  Tens of thousands of others lined about a three mile route, waving flags, clapping and cheering the bands and most importantly, the vets.  We marched behind signs which read 'ALLIES' and 'USA' and the response gave me goose bumps.  The applause, the 'Go Yanks!' and 'Thanks!" were consistent along the route.  Our vets, most in their mid to late 80s, marched under the direction of Capt. Dale Dye, USMC. You know him from Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan and Platoon.  He is Hollywood's number one military consultant and is currently advising on The Pacific, a new HBO series by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.  It should come out next year or 2010.

The parade ended, and we were whisked in Aussie military vehicles to the MCG, their cricket and AFL stadium nearby which seats about 110,000 people.  A huge stadium, to say the least.  Amazing in size and on ANZAC Day the patriotism and appreciation for veterans was truly awe-inspiring.  We were guests of the Essendon Football Club, and one of our vets, Clayton Nattier, had the chance to present a game ball before the start of the game.

In the end, 89,000 watched Collingwood's Magpies beat our Essendon Bombers by a whopping 73 points!  It was an amazing experience, even though Aussie rules football takes some getting used to.  The big deal in the stands is to drink a lot of beer and to eat meatpies... which are basically pot pies with scalding-hot meat and gravy inside.  They've got to be artery-clogging, but they're great!  And most here wash 'em down with Carlton draught... several at a time.  Unlike at Coors Field or Invesco, each person can buy up to FOUR beers each at one time!

Hope you get to see the great pictures so far from the trip.  And I surely hope you can visit www.tggf.us to see and learn more about this amazing group and how we can all pay tribute to the Greatest Generation by donating even a few dollars to get these veterans on all-expense-paid trips like these.

Best,

Steffan

Quite an eventful day for our Colorado World War II vets in Australia... beginning with a stop to the headquarters of the Essendon Bombers of the AFL.  The vets were able to meet a few players and take pictures with members of the football club ahead of their ANZAC game against the Collingwood Magpies on Friday.  As many as 100,000 people expected to attend.  This is game is apparently the equivalent of the Broncos taking on the Chiefs in Kansas City, or the Raiders coming to Invesco Field.

After getting to hold a real Aussie football, the group moved on to a wonderful stop at St. Bernard's College, a junior and senior high school all-boy's campus.  The kids were dressed in uniforms (standard even in most Australian public schools) and were silent as the vets told their stories of survival and friendship during their years in the service.  Questions ranged from what sorts of weapons were used, to how long two of the vets were in POW camps.  These boys and their teachers were engaged and fascinated by the WWII stories.

During recess, the vets had the chance to break with the teachers over cookies, cakes and meat pies.  Coffee here is very big, so is tea -- and if you've traveled in Europe you're probably aware of the ever-popular (and easy-to-make) Nescafe coffee.  Actually, the instant stuff isn't all that bad. 

Following stops in three different classrooms, the vets headed to visit the Royal Melbourne Hospital, celebrating it's 160th anniversary this year.  The hospital administration put on quite the event, with old photos showing how the US Army took over the place in 1942 as the Army hospital of the South Pacific.  Even today, there seems to be a rich and storied tradition in how the "Yanks" came into Melbourne and were so well-respected and liked.  At times during the war, as many as 700 patients were being admitted daily (not just war wounded, but soldiers and marines suffering from malaria and other tropical diseases.) 

Eleanor Roosevelt actually made a stop here to the Royal Melbourne Hospital during the war (see the photo in the photo gallery.)

The dignitaries at the hospital included the US Consul General and the Victoria Deputy Prime Minister for Health and Human Services.  TV and print covered the event.

Tomorrow here in Australia is ANZAC Day... one person described it as the country's biggest day -- much like the 4th of July, without the fun and fanfare. 

It is a day to reflect, and to remember.  It should be a spiritual and emotional day for our six Coloradans who continue to be treated like the heroes they are.

Best,

Steffan

Everyone is slowly getting used to the time change here (+14 hours from Denver) and the vets are holding up well.  These six Coloradans are being treated like rock stars here, with people coming up on the street and asking to have their pictures taken with them, etc.  Autographs are common, as well.  Most vets walk around with at least a baseball cap on their head, with some sort of reference to their service.  It is so wonderful to see the recognition pour in.

Today has been eventful -- the veterans were the guests of honor at the Essendon Bombers AFL luncheon, through the Dick Reynolds football club.  This Friday for ANZAC day the big Australian-rules football match will take place -- word is they've sold 100,000 tickets for the game.  The luncheon was hosted by Australia's version of Johnny Carson/Edward R. Murrow/Waler Cronkite and he was masterful at making these veterans from so far away feel like a part of the hundreds of people in the ballroom.

The weather continues to be fantastic, but strange to see drifts of hazy, copper smoke in the distance from far-off brushfires.

In just a few hours, we'll broadcast back to Denver thanks to Australian National Radio.  And I must say it has been amazing at how friendly everyone here is to us.  Just fantastic people. (Even when the valet at the hotel heavily damaged the side of our Avis rental van!)

It is interesting to see them driving on the "other side" of the road.  How they do it, I'm not sure.  It is crazy trying to get around when you can't make easily-navigable right hand turns!

Our photographer on the trip is having a great time capturing the moments.  John Reidy is one of the most talented young photographers out there and has donated his time to make sure we will always remember the trip.  So far in two days he's snapped more than 1,300 digital pictures!  Check him out at www.johnriedy.com/blog for more info on what's going on Down Under!

(By the way, John is a cousin to a certain Broncos' safety #47!  Yep, John Lynch!)

Stay tuned - live from Melbourne commences shortly!

Greetings everyone, from the Land Down Under, where there is a +14-hour time difference between here and Denver.  As I write, it is Tuesday night about to go into Wednesday -- while early Tuesday back home.  The flight was incredibly quick considering the 15 hours it took from gate to gate.  We departed on a Qantas 747 from Los Angeles with six Colorado WWII veterans on board, all headed to Melbourne, Australia to march and be honored in Friday's ANZAC (Australian New Zealand Air Corps) Day.

Clayton Nattier, Ed Tipper, Bill Brunger, 'Lucky' McGinty, Mitch Mischler and Bob Ball are all here from Colorado, representing their generation and their state.

Qantas took superb care of our vets, giving them business-class seats at a retail value of around $18,000 PER SEAT!  It was also a treat for the captain to personally thank them over the loudspeaker from the cockpit twice during the flight.

As we approached Australia, fog prevented us from landing in Melbourne, so we were diverted to Sydney for refueling.  Clouds and rain there prevented us from seeing the Harbour Bridge or the famous Sydney Opera House, but it was nice nonetheless as they refueled our flight.  An hour later, we flew south for about 70 minutes to Melbourne in Victoria.  We flew over drought-ravaged areas, and some places had wildfires burning with no attempt to put them out.  This is the Australian fall, and it's thought rains must be coming soon.

After checking into our hotel, the vets addressed kids at a nearby elementary school.  I was amazed at the intelligent, thoughtful, insightful comments and questions made by these seven and eight year-old kids.  The teachers were happy to have the vets present their stories. 

The weather is perfect, nice and cool and in the upper 60s.

Also along on this trip sponsored by The Greatest Generations Foundation (www.tggf.us) is a member of the Nuggets community relations team, Doug Fulton.  No one had heard of the Nuggets here, but the kids received a nice basketball clinic from Doug, and the school even received new basketball nets, courtesy of Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke.  Tim Davis, TGGF founder, has done another remarkable job at getting these Coloradans to another part of the world where they can be "shown-off" and appreciated for their efforts and dedication to our country more than six decades ago.

I'll have more on the veterans and sound from the trip coming up throughout the rest of the week.

Join us LIVE tomorrow (Wednesday beginning at 5am) live from Denver and Melbourne.

Best,

Steffan