Former members of the 87th Fighter Interceptor Squadron and members of the 87th Flying Training Squadron from Texas gather around an F-106 Interceptor Aircraft display during the 87th Fighter Interceptor Squadron Reunion at the former K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, which took place Thursday through Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Russ St. Onge)

MARQUETTE — Members of the United States Air Force 87th Fighter Interceptor Squadron returned to the former K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base this weekend for a reunion and to celebrate the squadron’s 101st year.

The members traveled from as far as Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona, to reconnect with their old comrades for a meet-and-greet event held Friday evening.

On Saturday, the members awaited the landing of four T-38 jets and their pilots, part of the 87th Flying Training Squadron from Texas.

The groups then joined at the K.I. Sawyer Heritage Air Museum to share memories of past and present over dinner as well as a presentation on the last 100 years of the squadron from Lt. Col. Thomas Allen of the 87th Flying Training Squadron.

“It was wonderful,” said Elmer Klein, member of the 87th FIS from 1971 to 1985. “Seeing the people who have been here for all this time — and it’s not just while I was here, there were people that came before me, people that left after me — and it was fun to see that and hear the stories, and also the continuation of stories from the pilot training squad that came in from Texas.”

The 87th FIS first began in August 1917 and is one of the oldest Air Force squadrons, though it has been deactivated and reactivated multiple times. During the Cold War, the squadron was reactivated and stationed at Sawyer from 1971 to 1985.

“When we were stationed here in Sawyer our main objective was a fighter interceptor squad,” Klein said. “Anything that would trigger an alert through the North American Air Defense Command, they would scramble jets depending on where you were. Then those jets would go up and intercept the targets they were designated for.”

Around 130 people attended the reunion and got to experience Sawyer again, some of whom hadn’t seen it since their time in the service. The base hasn’t changed too much, Klein said. He still recognizes the old housing units and the hangars he worked in.

“It’s given me a stable platform on how my life has continued. It’s given me the basis of what I am today, it really has,” Klein said.

Event organizer Byron Sherman stated the importance of the K.I. Sawyer Heritage Air Museum, not only for the reunion, but for its preservation of the squadron and all other units that were stationed at Sawyer throughout the years.

“The air museum is a wonderful thing to have at Sawyer, but they need help. They need members, donations from public, from people who used to live here, to keep their doors open,” Sherman said. “It’s important not only for the Air Force, but for the heritage of the area. There’s a whole set of people who don’t know what it was like.”

As for the next 87th FIS reunion, Sherman is unsure as to when it will take place, but knows the squadron will be returning to Sawyer once again.