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Military
Reunion News
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These are items of interest to military reunions. If you have
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Links to PUBLICATIONS and RESOURCES FOR VETERANS
Take two, the next generation carries on
by Adam Rose
Time moves quickly and with WWII veterans passing on at 1,100 a day there is a question of how to remember these heroes. Many military reunions turn to younger generations to maintain their legacy. Everyone involved agrees the benefits are mutual.
The USS Minneapolis Association has families with two and three generations attending. Attendee Glenn Stephens said they recently reprinted their "Minnie" photo-history a second time. "Many of the next generation are interested in seeing what Vets did and how they lived. This book tells it in photographs," Stephens said. He urges groups to include younger generations in their reunions. "We are going much too fast, especially the WWII bunch," he added.
PT Boats, Inc., a WWII veterans organization for those who served with Patrol Torpedo boats, their shore bases and their mother ships, "tenders." There isnt a separate family member group, but anyone who wants to join is welcome and receives equal voting rights. Membership is open to anyone interested in PTs.
When reunions began in 1965, the founder wanted wives to participate and children were soon encouraged to come. Theyve never been a last-man outfit. Today fourth generations attend because of founder J.M. "Boats" Newberrys foresight. In the late sixties he was determined to gather artifacts and memorabilia to build a museum. He realized to perpetuate the PT story, veterans children are needed. The museum became a reality in 1976 and has expanded thanks to the generosity of PT sailors, their wives, offspring, other relatives known as CrewKin, historians and PT buffs.
Children and grandchildren are called Splinters. They follow their fathers' footprints by putting on regional gatherings known as bull sessions. This year about 80 will attend the national reunion. Splinters spend much of their time at the reunion with their parents, but have a get-acquainted meeting where their sixteen year tradition is explained to newcomers. In 1985 the Splinters decided to buy a nice bottle of champagne to auction during Sunday evenings event to raise money for the museum. The next year a Splinter made a wooden case to hold two champagne glasses engraved with the city and reunion year from a PT boat they were restoring. The high bidder enjoyed the champagne, kept the glasses as mementos, but returned the box to be auctioned with new bottles and glasses. The Splinter Champagne Case and bottle have raised thousands of dollars over 16 years.
To help the PT story along, PT Boats Inc. has published three books and reprinted another. A 10,000photo archive along with a library of books about PTs and related WWII subjects is also maintained, along with a semi-annual magazine. All the PT men believe these collections are vital because little-to-nothing is taught in schools about WWII. Because WWII still affects us 60 years later, they believe its important to keep the "little wooden boats" story alive.
Alyce Guthrie answered our question about childrens involvement being crucial to PT reunions thriving with a "loud yes." "How else will we understand why these men went to war?" she asked, and added that it's important to pass PT traditions to children and build our American heritage for future generations. "If WWII veterans don't tend to this now, their sacrifices will be gone forever because the men who fought for freedom in the 1940's are dying. If they die without informing their children, the next generations won't even get a glimpse of what a world war is about," she told us.
Some reunions are trying different ideas to encourage younger generations to carry on their traditions. Larry Wilson, USAF Pinetree Line, recently had the first reunion for this distinct group. From the early 1950s to the late 1980s the Pinetree Line was a series of 44 radar stations stretching across Canada from Vancouver Island east to Newfoundland and up the east coast to Baffin Island. Many sites were manned by USAF personnel before being turned over to Canadas maintenance. All are gone except for three sites on the east coast and one on the west coast, forming the Canadian Coastal Radar System. Technology changed them to unmanned, operated remotely. The reunion plants a tree at each location a post was. The hope is their families will become part of the tradition and continue to plant trees after they are gone.
Many reunions that have not included second generations told us they plan to. If you have advice or stories about integrating younger generations, please share them with us. Youll help other reunions include their families and pass stories and traditions on to future generations.
French say,Thank
you, America
Starting on D-Days 50th anniversary in June
1994, the French government started the Thank You, America
certificate program. The certificates are a symbol of the French
peoples gratitude to the soldiers who landed on Normandy
and participated in their liberation between June 6, 1944 and
May 8, 1945.
Veterans had to apply to receive the awards and none
are issued posthumously. Visit the Embassy of France in the US
website for complete details on qualifications and the applications
process. Theres also a list of French Consulates in the
country to send the application to. Contact: www.info-france-usa.org/news/statmnts/2000/ww2/index.asp.
From: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Warletters.com
Extraordinary correspondence from American wars
The Legacy Project seeks and saves the letters
of those who served in wartime to honor and remember them. They
are an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization not affiliated
but collaborative with museums, archives, historical societies,
government agencies and universities to preserve wartime correspondence.
They do not buy or sell war letters. Their mission is to encourage
Americans to safeguard letters themselves or donate them so future
generations will have access to learn from these irreplaceable
documents.
How long will you go?
The USS Callaway Newsletter noted that WWI reunions continued to be held for about 75 years after the war. The newsletter then questioned how long WWII reunions will continue. The original estimate was until 2016, but it has been changed to 2006 or 2007. We're collecting information about how long you plan to continue holding/attending WWII reunions. We also seek information from children and grandchildren who plan to continue the reunions. And if anyone is in the midst of planning a "final" reunion, we'd be interested in featuring it in Reunions Magazine. Email reunions@execpc.com with your stories!
Find the
missing pieces
Wondering what happened to the war buddy you
served with years ago? Tom Wagner may be the man to help you re-connect
with long-lost friends.
Wagners website, www.veteransalumni.com,
enables veterans to search for friends, and create a profile so
your friends can locate you. Registering your information is free.
Membership fees ($9.95 to $59.95) apply if you wish to search
the registered veterans database. The more expensive plans receive
services longer and get extra perks.
Privacy is a priority within the site. If you
wish to contact another person, a request is sent to the sought-after
person. That individual then has to contact you.
Other features include a photo gallery, memorials
and message boards. Although theyre not too full right now,
your contributions can boost the sites material. To find
someone who has been missing, contact Wagner at www.veteransalumni.com;
530-367-3818; info@veteransalumni.com.
Party
like its 1913
What do you get when you combine 50,000 people,
2,000 cooks and 280 acres of land? The largest combined reunion
of Civil War veterans. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, hosted the event
in 1913.
Every surviving, honorably discharged union and confederate veteran
was invited. Two battalions of the Fifth United States Infantry
and a detachment of the Pennsylvania State Police ensured security.
The veterans visited battlefields and President Wilson spoke to
the group on July 4th. Hot weather caused 9,980 veterans to be
treated by the medical staff; nine died.
This landmark reunion was a huge success, and
veterans of all ages attended. The youngest was 61 and the oldest
112. Reunions of these proportions are rare, yet rewarding. Wed
love to hear about your large reunions.
From the USS Callaway Newsletter
Airborne
and Special Operations Museum exceeds expectations
After only 11 months of operation, the Airborne
and Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, North Carolina,
passed its initial attendance goals. Part of the US Army Museum
System, this is the only place that presents the comprehensive
history of Army airborne and special operations units from 1940
to the present. The Museum contains artifact displays, life-size
and walk-through dioramas, and audio-visual productions. Visitors
can "face reality" with the aid of the motion simulator
and large-screen theater or learn how the Parachute Test Platoon
developed training methods and tactical concepts in 1940. Admission
is free, donations happily accepted. Groups are welcome and encouraged
to call in advance. Contact the Museum at 100 Bragg Boulevard,
Fayetteville NC 28301; 910-483-3003; www.asomf.org;
info@asomf.org.
Remembering
Naval Aviation
The collection at the National Museum of Naval
Aviation transcends time and space, from wood and fabric biplanes
to the frontiers of space. Share the excitement of Naval Aviation's
rich history. Over 140 beautifully restored historic and one-of-a-kind
aircraft represent Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard aviation.
Soar with the Blue Angels, retrace the first
flight across the Atlantic and stand on the flight deck of the
USS Cabot. Fly an F/A-18 mission in a motion-based flight
simulator, see an IMAX® film that feels like a bona fide ride
with the Blue Angels. Take the flight line bus tour to see 40
more aircraft.
One wing is devoted to World War II carrier aviation and a full-size
replica of USS Cabot's aircraft carrier island and flight
deck. World War II Corsair, Dauntless and Hellcats stand ready
for take-off on the wooden flight deck, while the Wildcat, Avenger
and Kingfisher fly overhead. Strap yourself into a cockpit trainer
to pretend test flights or defending a ship from Cabot's
anti-aircraft gun battery.
Admission is free. Contact 1750 Radford Blvd,
Pensacola FL 32508; 850-453-2025; www.naval-air.org.
How do
you use the web?
Dick Hawkins, Plymouth, Minnesota, says he got a late start on
his USS Kennebec (AO-36) reunion. He visited www.reunionsmag.com
for ideas and found, among other things, reunions listed in the
Reveille section with web addresses included. He visited other
ship websites to find out what they were doing and to borrow their
ideas. Easy way to get lots of new ideas!
Air Commandos
celebrate reunion
The Air Commando Association (ACA) and Hurlburt
Fields host wing, the 16th Special Operations Wing, designated
Jungle Jim as the honored group for the 40th anniversary ACA/Hurlburt
Reunion. Member Don Maxwell wrote, "Most of us have to struggle
over a psychological barrier before filling out the reservation
form for any reunion. Do I really want to open that door?
Will I still fit in and a dozen other hang-ups. Thats
normal. But did you ever talk to anyone who sucked it up, went
back and wasnt glad they did?!
"Lets be clear on two points: Whatever
ones retrospective view of the war, and whatever one has
or hasnt done since his Air Commando daysthese are
irrelevant to your BF-hat buddies, some of the best you ever had.
Like you, they volunteered for combat in unmarked aircraft and
for tip-of-the-spear ground jobs, in mufti, in unnamed countries
of their imagination where the USAF didnt go.
"Reunion Weekend is a golden trip just
for the laughs and the priceless opportunity to tour current special
ops aircraft and talk with todays Air Commandos, the USAFs
busiest people (and loving deployments just like you did!!). But
Sunday morning, after youve attended the chaplain-led Memorial
Service and taken a pensive walk through it, youll know
why you came back, and why youll do it again. Honoring colleagues
who, beneath the bravado, shared your 1960s idealism is affirmative
male bonding which begs no apology." Contact 850-581-0099;
aircommando1@earthlink.net.
Preserve
wartime history
The Library of Congress is initiating the Veterans History Project through its American Folklife Center. The American Folklife Center collects and preserves audio and videotaped interviews of veterans from WWI, WWII and the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars for the project.
A reunion may be the perfect time and place
to encourage everyone to "preserve" wartime experiences,
on or off the battlefield. The Veterans History Project of the
American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress has launched
a huge effort to collect and preserve as many personal experiences
as possible in light of the large number of WWI and WWII veterans
who are dying each day. Preservation can be on audio and video
tapes, photographs, slides, commendations or personal wartime
letters.
The project suggests that you prepare questions
before recording. These are some of the subjects that should be
covered. Were you drafted or did you enlist? What are your most
vivid memories of wartime experience? How did the experience effect
your life? What are your military life and culture memories? What
are your homefront memories?
Photographs, diaries and letters are also being collected.
The project isnt exclusive to veterans. Congress wants the public to participate children interviewing grandparents, students talking with veterans, veterans interviewing each other and other groups (libraries, museums, schools, organizations) starting independent projects to complement other research.
A National Registry of Service will list names
of persons whose wartime histories are in the collection. This is the perfect project to involve children and grandchildren
in interviewing and learning more about parents or grandparents wartime experiences. Many veteran, history and community organizations,
libraries, museums and civic groups are involved in collecting
and interviewing. For a source in your area, visit www.loc.gov/folklife/vets or call 202-707-4919.
New York
City honors men and women who died in Vietnam
There were 1,741 service men and women from
New York Citys five boroughs who paid the supreme sacrifice
in the Vietnam War. They were honored at the recent rededication
ceremony and re-opening of the Vietnam Veterans Plaza, a tribute
to all 250,000 New York City Vietnam veterans.
The 1,741 names, along with ages, are etched
in a series of granite panels that make up the Walk of Honor,
the highlight of the newly designed Vietnam Veterans Plaza.
The hope is that the city and members of the
community will utilize the new plaza to educate youth about the
Vietnam War and the courage of the men and women who sacrificed
their lives. The Vietnam Veterans Plaza is at 55 Water Street,
New York City.
Two "Well
Dones"
"I would like to bring to your attention
the excellent hospitality and courtesy shown us at our reunion
at the Radission Hotel Market Square, San Antonio, Texas, in September.
We highly recommend this hotel to everyone. We especially commend
Jacqui Bosworth, the sales rep. She helped us in every way possible.
She gets a "Well Done" from the original USS Randall
APA-224 Association.
We also thank the USS McGowan DD 678, Tin Can Sailors Association.
When we had to cancel our banquet they immediately invited us
to join theirs. We did and had a great time thanks to Dick Mackey
of the Mcgowan. "Well Done" McGowan.
John J. Walsh, president of the Original USS Randall APA-224
Association, wrote so enthusiastically, we just had to share.
Discovery generates a reunion
An American WWII bomber crashed on a snowy, cold January day in
1944 deep in the pine forests and hills of the Ardennes of Belgium
near the village of Wibrin. The crash touched off 56 years of
searching.
Parts of the bomber were found in the summer of 2000. The discovery
generated the idea of a reunion for the 44th Bomb Group, US 8th
Air Force, to which that lost bomber belonged. I am a member of
the group and my best friend was on that fateful bomber. We were
both radio operators. We both could have volunteered but he chose
to go in my place.
I want to have a reunion with the people of Wibrin and those who
are still alive who were there 56 years ago. I am also looking
for survivors of the lost crew to join in a reunion in Belgium
and a return trip to the group airbase in England.
Forrest S. Clark, 703 Duffer Lane, Kissimmee FL 34759; b24vet@aol.com.
How important
is December 7, 2001?
Gathering of Eagles
New Orleans, Louisiana
The dedication of the "D-Day Invasions of the Pacific"
60th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor was held at
the National D-Day Museums expansion.
There was a Pacific Victory Parade and Aerial Review.
The
three-day event honored World War II veterans who valiantly served
in the Pacific Theater and home front workers. Other
activities included a reenactment on the Lakefront, a USO dance
and Memorial Services honoring our fallen heroes and port
visits from the USS Iwo Jima and MV Cape Kennedy.
The
Pacific Exhibit describes the many amphibious invasions during
World War II. The gallery follows the war as it was fought
across the ocean. It included photos, videos, artifacts, maps,
quotes, newspaper headlines, interactive touch-screens and oral
histories. Contact The National D-Day Museum 945 Magazine Street,
New Orleans LA 70130; (504) 527-6012; Info@DDaymuseum.org; www.ddaymuseum.org.
Contribute to history
The National D-Day Museum is seeking artifacts from Pacific invasions. Paula Ussery, Museum Curator, says the museum is looking for artifacts with interpretative stories and things that spotlight the human experience of the millions of men, women and children who participated in the Pacific and on the home front.
Of particular interest are American uniforms and personal equipment worn or used in combat and Japanese items such as swords picked up on beaches. The museum has many wonderful items, but needs more especially from areas like Tarawa, Peleiu and Guadalcanal. Contact Tom at 504-527-6012.
From The National D-Day Museum Newsletter
Oral Histories
The National Museum of the Pacific War and the
Pearl Harbor Survivors Association are gathering as many oral
histories from survivors and their families as possible. Oral
histories are accepted in written or tape form.
In addition to histories from military personnel,
the museum also seeks histories from Red Cross workers, USO performers,
Rosie-the-Riveter working women, civil defense workers and others
willing to share their wartime memories.
Registration information includes details on interview
scheduling.
Contact toll-free, 830-997-4379; www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/nimitz.
Uncle
Sam wants you!
The US Army's Repatriation and Family Affairs
Division wants your help locating families of unaccounted soldiers
from the Korean War, over 50 years ago. Of more than 8,100 missing
servicemen, 6,318 were in the Army which is trying to locate all
of these soldiers families. To date, about a third of the
families have been found, but they still need to find more than
4,000. As a result of recently improved North Korea relations,
several hundred sets of remains have been repatriated.
The Repatriation and Family Affairs Divisions
goal is to find families to identify soldiers to be buried. Theyve
contacted families to build a database of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
samples facilitating identification. In this way, when new remains
are received they can be quickly compared to database samples.
Unfortunately, after 50 years, it is difficult to
locate next of kin. Limited family information in soldiers' files
is over 50 century old. Relatives have moved, died and changed
names.
Many of us know someone who didn't return from the
Korean War. If not personally, perhaps we knew of them
say, a friend from schools brother. Maybe we grew up hearing
occasional remarks about a great-uncle dying in Korea or listened
to Dad discuss his service recollections. All this information
helps the Army locate family members. The tiniest data shred
soldier's sisters name, his company before enlisting, a
child's name can bring a case to resolution.
If
you think that you might have a few tidbits visit www.koreanwar.org.
Use the search facility to find the soldier's name. Once you locate
him, you can leave a remembrance and contact information. If there
is a "DNA" tag near the soldier's name, his family is
being sought, so your assistance is critical. In these cases,
leave a remembrance, but consider taking the step of calling the
Army at 800-892-2490.
If
you know someone who served, help him access this web site or
800 number. Soldiers often talked at length in the field about
their home lives so veterans are likely to have information they
may not realize is useful. Please give Uncle Sam a helping hand!
From
an article by Megan Smolenyak (Megan_Smolenyak@compuserve.com)
in Eastmans Online Genealogy Newsletter.
POW Power
Visit the American Ex Prisoners of War (AXPOW) web site, www.axpow.org,
if you were a Prisoner of War (POW) in any conflict. Among the
great features, the site has a POW biography section to register
and share stories. Complete a survey and add a 1,000-word description
to share your experiences. Membership fees vary from length of
time to age, but annual memberships start at $30. Visit www.axpow.org
for more information.
Get tagged
A new web site makes an effort to return dog tags to the respective
familes of the men who once wore them. The site, www.founddogtags.com,
is organized by the last names on dog tags. If you find a relative,
there is contact information on how to obtain the dog tags.
Lynchburg
preparing National D-Day Memorial
Lynchburg, Virginia opened
the National D-Day Memorial in 2001. Located in nearby
Bedford, the memorial honors the valor, fidelity and sacrifices of
the Allied Forces on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
The
first wave of battle at Normandy with the most casualties
was led by the Army's 29th Division, made up mostly of
Virginians. Virginia and Bedford are forever linked with D-Day
as a symbol of America's sacrifice. The Virginia National Guard,
the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Division, was one of the
two first assault regiments on Omaha Beach, scene of the bloodiest
fighting on D-Day.
In
1996, the City of Bedford was selected by Congress as the official
site of the nations memorial to the Allied Forces involved
in the D-Day invasion. One of the reasons was because the city
(with a 1944 population of 3,200) had the highest per capita losses
of any community in America during the landings on the Normandy
coastline.
The
Memorials 88-acre site, with the Blue Ridge Mountains as
a backdrop, will feature sculptural tributes to all service branches,
Victory Plaza and the massive overlord arch, ringed by the flags
of the Allied Expeditionary Forces.
The
Lynchburg Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau offers military
reunion planners a "War & Peace" package that includes
admission to the National D-Day Memorial, a visit to Appomattox
Court House National Historical Park (where the nation reunited
following the War Between the States) and a tour of one of Lynchburg's
five historic districts.
For
information contact Lynchburg Regional
CVB at 800-732-5821; or the chamber of commerce: lmeriwether@lynchburgchamber.org.
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