Web page www.ussfrancismarion.com

News Letter # 1 December 2003

(Next reunion will be in NEW ORLEANS, LA. October 20 – 23 2005)

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President: Vice President: Committee:

Bob Martin Dick Gagnon Wayne Rogers

16 Staples St. 3 Pinedale St. Curtis Stone

Melrose, MA 02176 Hudson, NH 03051 Tom Clossey

(781) 665-9222 (603) 883-1738 Steven Forgeron

bob@ussfrancismarion.com gagnonpop@yahoo.com Lin Warren

Robert Wright

“The Reunion”

I can’t believe our 4^th reunion in Norfolk, VA is all over! There were 85 crewmembers and their spouses attending. We had 151 total attendees.

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18 of us arrived a day early on the 15^th. Dick Gagnon and I had to get things set up in the hospitality room before everyone showed up. The reunion wasn’t scheduled to start until noon on the 16^th but our wives and some newcomers decided they would do an extra tour on Thursday. So, they all pilled into my Van Thursday morning with Bill Schulte at the wheel and spent the day at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. They must have had a fun time because I didn’t see them again till late in the afternoon! (At the next reunion we will be offering an Early Bird Special for Thursday.) Those who went to the Botanical Gardens were: Linda Martin, Claire Gagnon, Cindy & Marty Mach, and Bill & Chris Schulte. (Thanks Bill!!)

On Thursday evening we held a Welcome Reception in our hospitality room with 134 attending. The menu was Chicken Fajitas with all the trimmings. The Radisson’s Executive Chef, Dan Diebel, cooked the food right on the spot. Everyone praised the Chef for a job well done! There was more than enough food for everyone. It was s-o-o- good!

The hospitality room was filling up fast. We had 42 crewmembers attending for the first time! There were all kinds of stories going around that night. The ship was in commission from 1961 to 1979 and every year was represented. The Memorabilia Table was just covered from one end to the other. Everyone brought pictures from their time on board. You had to be there to believe it!!

(Friday October 17^th.)

We had a Continental Breakfast provided by the hotel each morning in our hospitality room. They gave us fresh chilled orange juice, coffees, fresh Danish and Blueberry Muffins with all the trimmings. That provided us with a jump-start for the day.

We left the hotel by bus at 8:45 AM and proceeded to the Nautilus Museum. We saw a movie at the Museum, toured the Museum and the main deck of the USS Wisconsin. At 11:30 AM we boarded the Sprit of Norfolk for a buffet luncheon while we toured the Norfolk Area and cruised by the piers at the Naval base for two hours. After the boat cruise was over we boarded the buses for a drive through tour of the Norfolk Naval Base. We were not aloud to get off of the buses while we were on the base due to tight security. We even had to get scanned before we could go onto the base. We arrived back at the hotel at 4:00 PM. Friday evening was for free time so some of us walked to downtown Norfolk to see the sites and have dinner, then the rest of the evening was spent getting together in the hospitality room talking about our time on board the “Swamp Fox”.

(Saturday October 18^th.)

After we had breakfast we boarded the buses for our tour of Williamsburg and Yorktown, VA. We did a one-mile walking tour of Williamsburg with lunch on our own. It was a beautiful day for the walk, not hot and not too cool, just right. Some of us even met an old crewmember on the street. He was the first XO, Plank Owner! We invited him and his wife to come to our farewell banquet that evening at the hotel. After Williamsburg we rode to Yorktown for a tour of the battlefield and a movie. It was very interesting. We even got to see them fire one of the canons. A loud bang with plenty of smoke! We returned to the hotel at 3:30 PM, everyone had a fun filled day.

From 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM we held a crew business meeting in the hospitality room.

(Minutes of crew meeting 10/18/2003)

Meeting called to order at 4:05 PM by President Bob Martin.

Committee Members present: Dick Gagnon, Curtis Stone, Robert Wright, and Tom Clossey.

Bob Martin was selected as President for another term by unanimous vote.

Election for Vice President was chosen from two candidates; Wayne Rogers, present Vice President and Dick Gagnon who was nominated by several members.

Dick Gagnon was elected by unanimous vote. A motion to hold next reunion in 2005 on the third weekend in October from the following locations: Nashville received 7 votes: San Diego received 9 votes: New Orleans received 39 votes:

It was agreed to guarantee 50 rooms for the hotel selection for the next reunion.

Dues were collected and the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 PM. (Minutes taken by Dick Gagnon)

(“Farewell Banquet”)

A group picture was taken in the hotel lobby prior to the start of the banquet.

The Banquet was held in the Mac Arthur Ballroom. There were 151 attending the banquet that evening. All the Plank Owners attending the reunion received framed Plank Owner certificates. The food was plentiful and very good! During dessert we had a surprise entertainer who put on a magic show for us. Everyone was surprised! We hope that everyone who attended the reunion had a good time. I know I sure did and I am looking forward to our next reunion in New Orleans!

(“A Message from Bob”)

We now have two years to wait for our next reunion. Most of you who attended the reunion have paid dues to cover you till we meet again in New Orleans. We have a lot more expenses to be paid out during the next 23 months. As you know, those who are up to date with their dues will receive four newsletters per year. For those who choose not to pay any dues, you will only receive one newsletter per year. To send out a newsletter to the full crew list of 450 members is too costly.

We now have our own web site and we have to pay a monthly fee of $10.00. To become an active member the dues are just $10.00 per year. Just make out your check to: Robert Martin and mail it to this address: 16 Staples St. Melrose, MA. 02176. (Do not make any checks out to USS Francis Marion, they can’t be cashed.) If you have any questions please contact me.

Thanks again for all your support during our reunion and for purchasing from the ship’s store. I have restocked the store and a new order form is included in this letter. We are now offering Navy Blue Tee Shirts with the ship’s logo along with a special order form for Ship’s Jackets.

On behalf of the committee and myself, we would like to wish everyone a

“HAPPY THANKSGIVING, MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR”!!