I heard from several APhA Trustees that they were very impressed with and so pleased to be a part of this year’s Veterans Day tribute at APhA. I am happy that they were able to share in this special event with staff.

Many were happy to see George Griffenhagen at the event since age has impeded his travel to Annual Meetings in the past several years. Linda Gainey, a longtime staff member, reminded me of his keynote address at the Veterans Day ceremony in 2009, so I thought I would share that with you. It’s a remarkable story. George, who continues to work part-time as our historian, has truly led a remarkable life.

Some years ago George decided to donate much of his World War II memorabilia to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. Before shipping it to the museum, he brought some of it in and shared it with Linda and my predecessor John Gans.

After this year’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Linda spent a day at the museum, hoping to see some of Griff’s things on display. She managed to connect with one of the curators there, who took her up to the administrative offices and brought out the boxes of his memorabilia for her to see—again.

When she asked if any of his items were on display, the curator searched the database and learned that none were. But the database also indicated that when the last of the museum’s buildings is completed in 2014, several of Griff’s items are earmarked for display in the permanent collection.

When Linda shared this information with Griff after the Annual Meeting, he was very pleased to learn this. As I suggested—a truly remarkable life.