US Air Force Para-Rescue PJ 1975-2004
Tribute to Bob from Pat Scannon
Bob
Holler, a member of BentProp's 2007 expedition, died in a skydiving accident
in Dublin, Georgia, on 17 March 2007.
A recently retired
Air Force Pararescueman, Bob was an extraordinary person - skillful, competent,
caring, dedicated, and fun to be around. His parents, Jerry and Betty Holler
and
others have shared with us (and we're going to share with you) some e-mail messages
they received in the days following Bob's death that give you a sense of the
effect that Bob had on many other people's lives:
Jerry and Betty have also
shared with us an amazing collection of letters (contained in a fairly large PDF
file) that Bob sent to family and friends during time that he spent in the Middle
East. This document opens a window onto the warm, irreverent, funny, deadly serious
approach that Bob took to pretty much everything. Trust me: you don't need to
have known Bob Holler to have your life changed at least a little by the articulate
words and striking pictures that Bob used here to keep close to family and friends:
Flip Colmer,
one of the BentProp team members who spent a month with Bob in Palau between mid-February
and mid-March 2007, has added a sad/joyous epilogue to his series of daily updates
on that expedition's progress. Flip has included some great photos from the 2007
trip, from which it's clear that whatever Bob did, he did it with skill and elan!
And
with interesting timing, there was a very recent CNN report that describes quite
well the profession that Bob Holler chose:
Here's a
tribute to Bob written by Pat Scannon, BentProp team leader and founder:
Bob's
closing salutation in his letters is his legacy to us: "Take care of yourselves.
Take care of each other. And above all, enjoy. But remember. Peace."
