December 1, 2015
Attention All Hotel Company Marines and Corpsmen:
The reunion in Nashville was a great success. My wife and I arrived ahead of the start of the reunion and made a recon of the surrounding area to forage for supplies. We located and toured the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg and did the tasting tour. An elevated level of touring that included a tasting of the various supplies available for consumption. We determined that the “Gentleman Jack”, “Honey” and “Fire” were suitable for consumption at the reunion and requisitioned sufficient for the troops. We also scouted the Carter House and the Lotz Mansion at the Franklin Battlefield.
A Group of early arrivers, guided by host Jim Hayden, formed up for breakfast at a local iHop and a trip to the Hermitage, General Jackson’s home, just outside of Nashville. Language lessons were provided by the waitress which enabled the group to converse with the local inhabitants.
Company Coins were presented to first-time attendees, Dennis Casey, Luther Hamilton, Don Allen, and Doc Ray Shockley.
A meeting was held to determine next year’s location for the reunion and a spirited debate ensued. That was of course a pun intended. My wife, Carolin, and Hilda Alin, Doc Dale Alin’s wife, suggested seriously that the next reunion be held in Hawaii. It was ultimately determined that next year’s will be held in Pensacola, east coast, followed by Albuquerque/Santa Fe, New Mexico, west coast, to follow. Joe Sonderman and Sonny Heinonen are heading the plans for Pensacola and Dave Harbin is working on plans for New Mexico in 2017. As luck would have it, while on a Platoon size operation in the downtown area of Nashville, contact was made with the King of Pensacola. Well maybe not the King, but he was someone who has a position in Pensacola that will help to facilitate our reunion. Sonny has a contact living in the area he intends to lean on for help as well as contacts with the “Blue Angels” who will be performing about the same time as our reunion. I have advised Sonny that I want a ride along and his reply was that they don’t make a barf bag large enough to handle an attorney. Plans are already forming up nicely.
Group trips to downtown Nashville, tours of the Ryman Auditorium and lunch at BB Kings went with a single hitch. Well, maybe a couple of hitches. But nothing that we weren’t able to overcome. There were plenty of sites to see. A good time was had be all. Pictures have been forwarded to Larry for posting on the web site.
Don Allen was unable to overcome logistical problems to get Elton Armstrong to the
reunion, however, he did present a challenge coin in Elton’s honor to the Hotel Marines and Corpsmen in attendance.
As always, we are looking for your comments, criticism and suggestions for improvement.
Semper Fi and start planning for next year.
Jay