The Rising Sun - Don Bronson

What happened to Don Bronson? 30+ year update
As I mentioned on the "Last Year" page, I left Hawaii to marry Leeann and take her to England. Our first son, David, was born there. We stayed there five years while I moved from the ground Crypto systems to working the Airborne Systems and eventually flying as a crewmember. I was then reassigned back to the States to Ellsworth AFB, SD. , just outside Rapid City. I was assigned to the Avionics Maintenance Squadron and had a small shop that took care of all the crypto gear and the "Looking Glass" support aircraft that flew in support of the mission at Offutt AFB. My second son, Matthew, was born there in Rapid City. I took a part time job as a bartender at the NCO Club and Leeann was working in the Club Office.	Official Military Passport Photo, Mildenhall, England 1969 before 35-10 changed mustache rules.t Note: large quantities of "Dippity-Doo"
I received a special assignment to Washington DC to fly with the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) (pronounced "knee-cap") My Orders took me to Washington, DC just six months before NEACP was to move to Offutt AFB, Omaha, Nebraska. Leeann was to stay in South Dakota until I got to Omaha, then she would join me there. Instead, not to long after I reported to Washington, she informed me that she was in love with someone else, and wanted a divorce. She got it. Unfortunately for her, her boyfriend decided not to leave his wife
Terri and I only knew each other about ten months before we were married. Nine months and one week later our first daughter, Angela, was born. During the first two years we were married I was TDY a total of thirteen months. I was working the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation of the E-4B. We delivered the modified aircraft and upgraded communications capabilities just months before I got my orders to return to Washington DC to be NCOIC of Airborne Crypto Maintenance for the 89th Avionics Maintenance Squadron. Melissa, Michael and William were all conceived between trips in support of the Vice President, the Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of State. I also regained custody of my oldest two boys while at Andrews. I retired from the Air Force in July of 1985, and went directly to work for Electrospace Systems Inc. (ESI) supporting their work in the area of Air-to-ground secure telecommunication systems. They were bought out by another corporation and our Washington office was immediately downsized. I soon had job offers from E-Systems - Melpar division here in Washington. which would have put me on the road again, or the Department of Veterans Affairs who was preparing to write an RFP for a Nation Wide Telecommunications Network. For the VA, I would stay in town, work weekdays, and only travel a couple weeks a year. -and it was only a small pay cut!!!! Well..., My wife had never had me at home for more than six weeks in a row... so she thought it was a good idea. (six months later she said, "Can't they send you SOMEWHERE!!") Nevertheless, Tiffany and Justin came along while working for the VA. So, We wrote the RFP, selected a vendor, installed the new network, and I started looking for a job again, but they asked me to stay on to work on pulling down the old network... so I stayed. I also finished up my Bachelors in Computer Science during this time. Then, there was problems with the new network management database, so I stayed. Then we moved and had to set up and maintain our own LAN, so I stayed. Then demand for internet access started to skyrocket, so I stayed, then web sites, then I picked up my Microsoft certification (MCSE), then a new RFP Then ---- Well you get the picture! The job kept changing and I stayed interested and I'm still here. I'm not getting rich, but I enjoy my work and I still get to go home every night.	Don and Terri - 1978 Terri and Angie - Omaha, 1980 Graduation - Glenn Dale, 1989
I kept changing too.... I kept getting bigger and bigger ..... and the grey around my ears quickly crept up until it covered my head.!!! I still insist that it's on its way back to being blond, but the wife and kids just scoff at that theory. They say I'm getting old. Not to old to climb "Old Rag" mountain with the church youth group, or spend days tramping through the woods to teach stream ecology to classes of 5th and 6th graders. Actually, I don't feel any older at all. God has blessed me with love, family, and health. He has allowed	At Work, Washington, DC, 2000
OK, Guess which one of the nine persons in this photo, is NOT one of Don's Children
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Here is the photo answer to Who is Who in Don's Family
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