Once again, 1/5 Vietnam Veterans had the largest turnout of any chapter of the 1 st Marine Division Association at the 2007 annual reunion in Philadelphia . I'm loosing track but I believe that's 5 or 6 years straight that the presence of our chapter exceeded all others. It was great to see everybody! Our hospitality suite was buzzing from Tuesday ‘til Sunday morning. Quite a few new faces attending their 1 st reunion help fill the room. Friendship and camaraderie was wall-to-wall. It was a family affair! During the day, most of our “family” took in the sights in Olde City Philadelphia from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell to the new Constitution Center . They did not run out of things to see. Many took the ferry across the Delaware River and toured the battleship USS New Jersey docked in Camden . Cheesesteak sandwiches at Ricks in the Reading Terminal across from our hotel was a real draw for lunch. Although it was August when it can be hot and steamy in Philly, the weather was perfect - in the 80s with low humidity. Over 100 attended our 1/5 family dinner at the Spaghetti Factory on Thursday evening and we were in no hurry to get back to the hotel. We enjoyed, as always, an excellent concert from the Marine Corps Band on Friday night. On Saturday afternoon, 1/5ers gathered at the Korean War Memorial and we marched through the Vietnam War Memorial and held our 1/5 memorial service at Philadelphia 's famed Purple Heart Memorial. Afterwards, we held our annual meeting of the 1/5 Vietnam Veterans Chapter. One of our 1/5 Battalion COs, Lt. Col Joe Griffis, USMC (Ret), encouraged all 1/5ers to get an Agent Orange screening at the VA, as a precaution, if nothing else. You know you had a good time when you're so busy and then suddenly you realize the show's over. On a personal note, I was elected to be the Secretary of the 1 st Marine Division Association. As a representative of 1/5 Vietnam Veterans, I am honored to serve in this executive position and I will do my best. As we go forward, I am asking for reunion attendees to assist us in planning and running our 1/5 reunion activities as I will be busy during the reunion in Nashville in 2008 with my duties as Association Secretary. Anyone who wants to help can contact Nick Warr, the Nashville Reunion Committee Chair, by sending an e-mail to Nicholas@stonehillproductions.com or by phone at (828) 697-6159. Charlie 1/5 Vietnam Veteran Hillous York, who lives about an hour north of Nashville in southern Kentucky , will act as our “point man” for the Nashville reunion. We are planning a site visit and planning a meeting to take place in conjunction with the FMDA Director's meeting at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville (the site of next year's reunion) which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 12 April and Sunday, 13 April 2008. We are looking for volunteers on two levels: those who can help out in the planning as members of the Nashville Reunion Committee, and those who plan to attend the reunion and can help out with the myriad of small chores required to make our reunion experience great. In past years, these small chores have been accomplished by a small group of guys; we are asking that more of you volunteer to help out, so we can spread the work. If that happens, each guy would be expected to help out for just a couple of hours. We have big fund-raising plans for the Nashville Reunion. During our Philadelphia Reunion, the 1/5 Vietnam Veterans made one of the largest donations to the FMDA – we donated $4,000.00 to the General Fund to help the Association through this difficult financial crisis. We have “pledged” to Frank Lindstrom, the new Association President, that we will do everything we can to double our donation, so our target is an $8,000.00 donation. Further, we have “challenged” every FMDA Chapter to do the same. We want to “take point” to help out. Keep your eye out for the next issue of The Old Breed News for more on this subject. Our Nashville Reunion plans include: A bigger and better 1/5 Vietnam Veterans Fund Raiser Dinner and Dance, tentatively scheduled for Thursday, 28 August, from 1800 – 2400. Our traditional 1/5 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Service, scheduled for 1400 on Saturday, 30 August 2008 at a location to be determined. We are looking for 1/5ers to volunteer to serve on the following Reunion Committees:
Anyone who has special skills or experience in these areas who can help out during the planning and during the reunion would be greatly appreciated! The bottom line is that our Nashville Reunion is shaping up to be the biggest and best ever. If you have any doubts about our location, visit Gaylord Opryland's website at www.gaylordhotels.com and take a look. This is a fabulous resort, centrally located in the heart of America, and the FMDA has negotiated a special room rate that will make this one of the most affordable reunions in recent years. We hope to see you all there next August! There are two other 2008 major events occurring before the reunion. The 67 th Anniversary Commemoration of the 1 st Marine Division will be held January 28 th thru February 1 2008 at Camp Pendleton, California. You need to register for this event by January 16th. You can contact Len Hayes in Oceanside, CA at 760-967-8561 or Oldbreed@sbcglobal.net for the details. The 2 nd event is the 40 th anniversary of the Battle of Hue City when the Captain and crew of the USS Hue City (CG66) will hosts 1/1, 1/5 and 2/5 veterans who served during Operation Hue City during a memorial weekend at the Mayport Naval Base, near Jacksonville Beach , Florida . The date for this event will be announced after the ship receives its 2008 deployment orders. We will provide more information on the scheduled activities on our 1/5 website and in this newsletter as soon as they become available. See you all in Nashville!
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