The above photograph (photo not shown) of Greater Pittsburgh chapter member Dr. John Eichmiller was taken on April 1, 2006 in the Hall of Valor at Soldiers & Sailors National Military Museum and Memorial in Pittsburgh,PA. The Greater Pittsburgh annual show was held that day in the auditorium at Soldiers & Sailors Hall.

In this photograph, our chapter photographer, Fred Donofrio has worked some of his magic by enlarging the picture of John in uniform and the plague ID block and then superimposing them at the bottom of the photo. In the photo, John's citation is on the wall off his left shoulder (the one showing a transport plane flying past a column of smoke).

John EichmiIIer was inducted into the Hall of Valor on March 6, 2005. The citation refers to his service in the 27^th Troop Carrier Squadron of the 14^th Air Force for the period from 4 September 1944 to 13 July 1945 in the China Theater of Operations - WWII. John entered the service in January 1943, and was discharged with the rank of Technical Sergeant in November 1945.

The text of the citation on the plaque reads as follows:

Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flying missions. Sergeant Eichmiller distinguished himself during the periods cited while flying more than 300 hours of operational flight from bases in China in transport-type aircraft. Many of his flights extended over enemy territory or close to battle zones where attack from enemy ground installations and aircraft were probable and expected. Despite the fact that his plane was unarmed and heavy with cargo, he carried out his missions with fortitude. Additional hazards were encountered in the form of unfavorable weather and rugged terrain. The determination and courage demonstrated by Sergeant Eichmiller during these missions reflect great honor upon himself and the Army Air Force."

Incidentally, the plaque immediately below John's belongs to Brigadier General James M. Stewart. Yes, that's Jimmy Stewart, the movie actor form Indiana, PA. Jimmy was also in the Army Air Force and served in the European Theater of Operations during WWll. [Fitting that a Sergeant and barbershopper should be placed above a General and movie star.]

We Perform
By Tom Koch

During the past few months, our efforts were all centered on learning new songs for our annual show. Now that the show is behind us, we once again plan to return to our attempts at encouraging more quartet singing within the chapter. As Joe DeFilippo and myself have mentioned, we will be trying different ways of getting more members involved in quartet singing.

One approach will be to return to, and complete, the pole cat program. Most of our membership seems to know about halt of the pole cats. It may be my imagination, but I don't recall hearing "Down By The Old Mill Stream" or "You Tell Me Your Dream" for quite a while.

When we turn to tag quartetting and octetting, I hope we can get all our members to take their turn at singing. Remember, quartet used to be part of our Society name, and while we have shortened our name to just "barbershop harmony" it is still understood that this does not mean just singing in a chorus. As I have often stated, being able to sing in a quartet will make you a better chorus singer.

Also, to add some interest, fun, and enjoyment to our overall quartetting effort, we plan to reinstate the Mihmbro Contest. Some of you probably do not know what "Mihmbro" refers to. The name comes from the three Mihm brothers, Bill, Fritz and Henry. Bill donated the original trophies which were awarded to the four quartet member winners each contest. The trophies could be retained by each winner until the next contest, at which time they had to be passed on to the new winners if the previous winners were not successful in defending their title. Now where are those trophies? If you have one collecting dust somewhere about your house, let us know and be prepared to bring it in to pass it on.

Joe DeFilippo is familiar with the original contest rules and will reinstitute them. The most important rule is that quartets must be "pick-up" quartets assembled just for a given contest. Registered or regular quartets such as "Random Choice" may not compete, although the individual members may compete in a "pick-up" quartet.