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2010 Reunion Review
Mobile AL
On September 30 to October
3, 2010, 59 Newport Dealeys shipmates and guests traveled to Mobile for our12th annual reunion. The setting was the Marriott Airport Hotel.
Due to a variety of reasons, it was one of our smaller gatherings, however, the lower attendance did not diminish the enthusiasm
of the attendees. The weather was refreshing as a cool front cleared out the high humidity that hung over the area the day
before. Our reunion coordinators, Military Locators, had planned a full itinerary for the weekend. Several early arrivals
gathered Thursday morning for a tour of the AUSTAL shipyard in Mobile to witness the construction of a new US Navy LCS ship USS Coronado (the Pirate Catcher). The official
check-in began at noon Thursday, with the
hospitality room now open, it soon became a warm and friendly re-acquaintance of former shipmates. Ron Bauer (USS Cromwell),
our 2010 reunion chairman, welcomed the attendees with several humorous short stories and facts on the history of Mobile Bay and the State of Alabama
The Friday tour took the group to Mobile Military Park and the Battleship Alabama with a lunch on board,
followed with a short bus tour of the city of Mobile. The business meeting followed
the return. Earlier, the Newport Dealeys reunion committee had voted to change the manner in which future reunion locations
were to be selected. The committee decided to provide three known acceptable cities to the business meeting to vote on. These
locations will have been researched and discussed prior to the meeting to insure the best chances for successful future reunions.The following cities were presented for the 2012 reunion consideration. Warwick RI, Harrisburg PA and Portland MEPortland ME was the preference with the thoughts of clambakes and lobster fests. After evening dinner Marc Arsenault provided a visual presentation of last years reunion, including
Newport Dealeys historical artifacts update, offshore built Dealey class ships and a review of the USS Hartley collision,
in anticipation of a short related experience address on Saturday evening by a former USS Hartley shipmate, Wilbert McCartney
who was below decks when the collision occurred. Charlie Hammock (USS John Willis) provided us with an update on Mrs. Willis’s
health which he described as weak but stable. Following the presentation, Richard Legg (USS Hartley / USS Joseph K Taussig)
organized and provided us with lots of fun and laughter for the remainder of the evening with his version of the Oldies Newly
Wed game. Ron Bauer provided Mobile (Go Coastal)
yellow tee shirts as prizes to the winners Bob and Edith Kitchen.
Saturday morning we were off to Bellingraph Gardens, the former home of Walter Bellingraph who was the president of Mobile’s Coca Cola bottling plant and his wife Bessie Mae. The 65 acre
estate is located on the shores of the Fowl
River and graced with exotic plants, flowers,
walkways and ponds on the property. Following lunch we once again boarded the bus for a tour of the Northrup-Grumann (formally
Ingalls) shipyard in Pascagoula MS. The guided bus tour took us along the docks and through
the sub assembly fabrication areas. There were several US Navy ships under construction along with a US Coast Guard cutter.
Unfortunately, due to security reasons we could not take photos to document the visit. Following the Saturday evening banquet, Wilbert McCartney shared his
USS Hartley collision below decks experience with us. Marc Arsenault and Ron Bauer then proceeded to conduct our traditional
Newport Dealeys door prize raffle. Ray Blazak ( USS Van Voorhis) and Bruce Whitney (USS Joseph K. Taussig) won the Newport
Dealeys laser cut wooden insignia plaques. Marc Arsenault announced that if anyone was interested in purchasing one of these
plaques we could put in an additional order for $60 each. Beverly Upchurch (wife of Michael Upchurch USS Van Voorhis) won
the porthole clock.Several hours of socializing and dancing to the DJ took us to lights
out.
The Sunday morning memorial service reflected the lost of more of our shipmates
including Robert Uhl (USS Hartley plank owner) who passed away two days before the reunion. Robert last attended our 2007
reunion, at our 2005 reunion in Jacksonville
FL and he met Capt. Bejarano from the Colombian
Navy who previously served the ARC Boyaca DE 16 (formally USS Hartley). Capt. Bejarano was on the ARC Boyaca decommissioning
crew. Photos were taken of the first and the last sailors to man the USS Hartley / ARC Boyaca. Chairman Ron Bauer then dismissed the crew and ordered them to reassemble
in Buffalo NY in the fall
of 2011.
Marc Arsenault
Web Master
www.newportdealeys.org
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Admiral Roy Hoffmann with the girls
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