My wife Peggy and I were
fortunate to attend to 2003 reunion onboard the cruise ship Jubilee out of Galveston,
Texas. As all of the past reunions, this one was great. Peggy and I
would like to congratulate and thank those who spent all the time preparing and
planning.
There were old faces and
new faces and others like myself that had just been through major illnesses
and/or surgery and young ones and old ones; but we were all family.
Granted we did not visit a military installation nor did we have a noted guest
speaker; but we spent time together. And we ate and ate and ate....Only 2
elected officers were present; Kareem
(Vice-President ) and myself (Secretary) and of course our Chaplain, Frank Valdez.
There were shows and games on the cruise. I spent a fortune on artworks at
an onboard auction and my brother-in-law and Peggy's sister who joined us won
$8000. at the casino. Chaplain Frank did a great job at the karaoke mike
at the lounge. Mike (my brother-in-law) also prepared a DVD depicting
Marines in many fronts from WW2 to Iraqi Freedom. He spent allot of time
working on it and many of the members enjoyed watching it. Even though he
was career Air Force; thanks brother.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the distinct effect that was evident ( to
me at least) by the apparent snub by many of the founding fathers and
"original" members of our organization. I had heard that some
were upset because of the supposed lack of communication concerning details
about the cruise. Come on guys, we are not teenagers anymore! One of
the items discussed at the general meeting was the need for better communication
between us. I realize that as we get older we are prone to get more illnesses
that will have an effect on our ability to travel and get around, but I find it
very difficult to believe that all of you were sick, lame or lazy at the same
time. I would like to quote from a Sea Horse article 4th quarter 2002 with
reference to our organization: ........We are not about Vietnam. We are
not about Desert Storm. We are not about any specific period of conflict
nor are we about any particular period of peacetime service. We are about
BROTHERHOOD, a brotherhood that can only be felt as a lump in the back of your
throat....... Let us not let petty differences divide the great thing we
have with our organization. Let us realize that this reunion meant so much
that Sandy Walton did not notify us of Logan's passing until AFTER the reunion
so as not to spoil it for those that attended. Let us remember Logan now
and plan to put next year's reunion on the calendar. NOW.
A vote taken during the general meeting has set the upcoming reunions as;
2004 - Benld, Ill hosted by the town of Benld
2005 - California hosted by Frank and Becky Valdez
2006 - Quantico area hosted by Mr. Jim Rodgers &
his Band of Brothers
2007 - Southwest (TX/NM) hosted by Jack and Peggy
Petrowsky
To all those brothers and sisters that attended the reunion, THANK YOU for
making it another great time together.
Semper Fi
Jack "Ski"
H Co 2/4 67-68
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