China, Burma, India theater vets visit Gardnerville

Veterans of the China, Burma and India theater of World War II will be stopping in Gardnerville on Tuesday as part of what may be their last reunion.

Gardnerville resident Paula Blaver, whose father Donald Butler served as a ground crew member in the U.S. Army Air Corps during the war, said the veterans will stop at the Corley Ranch and Sharkey's during a tour.

Down to about 200 members, the veterans are holding their banquet in Reno on Thursday. When they arrive this week, they'll be splitting up into two groups to tour Northern Nevada.

Blaver said the Chorus of the Comstock will be performing for the veterans on Tuesday during lunch at the ranch.

"My dad just had his 87th birthday," Blaver said. "This is their last reunion. They are just getting too old. When they first started the reunions, there were a lot more of them, but now there are only a couple of hundred left."

The veterans will also stop at Sharkey's, where the marquee will recognize their group.

"They'll each get a brand new deck of Sharkey's cards."

In addition to fighting the Japanese, the veterans helped build and defend roads to supply forces fighting in Burma and China.

Their membership includes members of most branches of the military.

"I'm so glad that my dad's still around, and I've been able to learn about it," Blaver said. "It's an honor just to be around them."

The banquet at Circus Circus in Reno will feature a USO show with entertainment by Carson City's Mile High Jazz Band and a Bob Hope impersonator.

Blaver's father has lived in Pollock Pines for 35 years. After the war he worked for Folsom prison. Then he went to work for the railroad in Alturas. Blaver has lived in Carson Valley for about five years, having moved here from Dayton.