|
TBS B Co. 50th Anniversary Reunion Update November 12, 2016 Contents: Classmates Attending, Spouses and Guests TBS Logo Merchandise and Lands' End Discount Reunion Report It was a grand success! More photos and stories coming soon!
Classmates Attending, Spouses and Guests
Regrets from Marschall Smith & Debra, Phil Norton & Carol, Skip Curtis & Clista, Tom Nequette, John Fischer, Nick Hoskot, Bob White, Pat Woodworth, Jim Hulsey, Woody Goble, Chuck Miller, John Pope, John Holmgreen, Jack Kettler, Clark Reifsnider, Billy Peters, Jim Turse, Mike Kelly and others. * Unable to attend, bicycle accident TBS Class 1-67 B Co. 50th Anniversary Reunion Schedule (rev 8/1/2016) Thursday, 20 Oct 2016:
Friday, 21 Oct 2016:
Saturday, 22 Oct 2016:
Sunday, 23 Oct 2016
Andy Vaart (avaart@umich.edu) and Phil Norton (pnorton8@cox.net) are the focal points for collating member bios; Send your drafts to Andy and Phil; they produced a draft for the Reunion. You can review the latest draft, dated November 1 on this link.We also need bios/profiles of all TBS 1-67 class members, including our KIA, other deceased class members, and the remaining "unlocated guys". Please also your memories on these guys to Andy and Phil!! Suggested outline:
If you are providing information on deceased B Company mates, please include your knowledge of the time and causes of death. Hon Lee (tcmdoclee@gmail.com) wrote:
You can fly into any
one of four airports serving the Washington D.C. area, pick-up a rental car, and
then drive to Fredericksburg. Washington-Dulles and Reagan-National are the
closest airports with BWI and Richmond further away. Southwest Airlines (SWA)
flies into all four airports; however, SWA flights into BWI might be the least
expensive because BWI is a hub. Jet Blue might also be worth checking as they
fly into several Wash area airports. USAir flies into Reagan-National and
sometimes they too have cheap flights. Washington-Dulles is no doubt going to be
most expensive airport no matter what airline you fly. Road traffic is a real
pain in the entire Wash D.C. area. If you plan on flying into BWI, then get
there in the AM so that you will have driven south past the Wash D.C. area by
NLT about 1500 – get south of the I-495 Beltway pronto. Similarly, if flying
into Dulles or Reagan-National you'll want to arrive so as to be in your car
driving south of Wash D.C. on I-95 by around 1500. Flying into Dulles,
you'll want to drive south on Hwy 28, connect with the 234 Bypass, and then join
I-95 going south around the Woodbridge area. You do NOT want to drive toward
Wash D.C. on the Dulles Airport Access Road, get on I-495 Beltway, go east on
the Beltway, and then go south on I-95: big, big mistake. From Richmond, you'd
be driving north on I-95 and wouldn't be in much traffic, hopefully. But with
I-95, strange things happen at most any time that defy explanation. Week-ends
are a bit different, there's still plenty of traffic, but usually you won't
spend a whole lot of time crawling along at walking speed like on week-days. Driving south on I-95, you need to take Exit 130B. This off ramp feeds into Plank Road (Hwy 3) going west where The Hospitality House is located. Driving north from the Richmond area on I-95, you’ll also take Exit 130 to get on Plank Road (Hwy 3) going west. This did not work out well! The plan was to host Skype "group video calls" from the Palm Room and other locations during the Reunion. Outgoing video did not work for the Saturday Palm Room “Afternoon of Reminiscing” and the call quit after an hour. The transmitting laptop was very closer to Bob Lange, doing the presentation and I had reluctance to check on it and be a distraction. That same laptop, running Windows 10, did a lengthy update when turned on for the Saturday banquet. When it finally was ready, the program had started and I decide to make a webcam video rather than risk Skype again. Good idea, poor execution! Nothing got recorded! Get the Skype app (application/software) on your PC, Mac, smartphone or tablet and send a contact request to Skype user name "tbs167@gmail.com". Yes, this the same as our gmail address. If you have a built in video camera or webcam, we'll see you. If not, you can still see our activities and talk with us. Send a call request before the Reunion, just as a test. It's all "no cost"! Early Meet-Ups? There
are more than a few "out of towners" coming to the reunion.
Perhaps a few, like us, will go for a few extra days to see the great
D.C./VA sights.
For the last DC reunion, we stayed near a Metro station and did
everything "car free".
If you are a "non-local" coming to the Reunion, let's exchange
emails on hotel/motel locations and your travel plans. rgschmitt@gmail.com.
Shannon and I arrive at Washington National on October 15. Greetings B Co Members, Spouses, and Friends: Now that you have registered for the reunion, the reunion organizing committee would like to advise you of the opportunity to take a guided tour of historic Fredericksburg on Saturday morning, 22 Oct 2016. This tour is optional and the cost is $18/person. It would start at 1000 and conclude 75 minutes later. Pick-up and drop-off will be at The Hospitality House hotel where the reunion is being held. This tour is highly recommended by the Fredericksburg Tourism Bureau and includes such notable sites as George Washington's birth place and the Battle of Fredericksburg battle field. The tour is provided by the Fredericksburg Trolley company: This is their web site: http://www. fredericksburgtrolley.com. We need at least 20 passengers to charter a "trolley" bus. The maximum capacity of a trolley is 32 passengers. Mike Wholley has generously taken the lead by reserving a "trolley" bus for 22 Oct at 1000. If you would like to reserve a seat or seats on this charter bus, then you should send a personal check to Mike in the amount of $18 for each seat. Make your check payable to Mike Wholley and send to Mike at: 1416 Kingston Ave, Alexandria, VA 22302. Assuming we get at least 20 persons for the charter, Mike will then cash your checks and provide you with seat tickets upon your arrival at the Hospitality House. (We intend to have a reunion registration table set up in the Palm Room of the HH starting at 1400 on Thursday, 20 Oct 20, 2016.) If we do not get at least 20 persons to sign up, then your checks will be returned to you. If we get more than 32 persons signing up for the tour, then it will be "first come, first serve" in allotting seats. If we get more than 40 persons signing up, then we MAY try to schedule two tours. However, this can be problematic as October is a very popular month for the Fredericksburg Trolley with many wedding parties et al. Thus it is not certain that we can actually reserve a second "trolley" bus even if we want to do so. It likely depends on when. If we need to and can, then the second tour would probably start at a different time on 22 Oct. So, if this tour of historic Fredericksburg interests you, please get you checks in the mail to Mike Wholley. We'll keep you informed as to the progress of this effort. Semper Fi and see you at the reunion! Larry Karch Update August 2 Thank you for registering for the upcoming TBS Class 1-67 B Co
50th Anniversary Reunion. (And if you haven't yet, please do.) Thank you for registering for the reunion. We look forward to seeing everyone in October. SF, Larry Karch Planning Meeting Results Larry Karch scheduled a planning meeting for the Reunion Committee at the Hospitality House on July 27 and will also arrange a meeting at the Globe & Laurel on the same day, so that the Committee can knock out both planning meetings on this single planning trip.Reunion Website Larry
Karch
reported in February that the reunion website is up and
running and it will stay up until October 2. Larry
and his wife have registered. After October 2, any registration will be handled
directly with Larry and cannot be accomplished through the AFRI web site because
it will be closed! The
AFRI web site is: http://www.afr-reg.com/tbsclass2016 Now
is the right time to register! Do not put it off too long! The per person
registration fee is $125. There's also an $8.75 convenience fee. NOTE: The first 25 B Company classmates to register will get one free Land's End cap with TBS anniversary logo! By April 8, 22 classmates have registered! ALSO NOTE: The registration site has a link to Lands' End store and the password where TBS 1-67 logo shirts, caps and other merchandise may be ordered . If you have trouble navigating this site, contact Andy Vaart (avaart@verizon.net). Hon Lee gave us a "heads up" that Stars and Stripes reporter Dianna Cahn will be attending our reunion and hopes to do a story about us. Send Larry any comments or feed back. The reunion committee met on January 10 to discuss the adequacy of this web site plus other reunion matters such as bus transportation, wine at the banquet dinner, and reunion fee. Lands' End Logo Andy with two examples of clothing that can be ordered directly from Lands' End with our 50th anniversary logo:
At the Army-Navy game, November 12, 2015 Planning Meeting @ the Lyon Hall Restaurant - August 9, 2015 Attendees: Hays Parks, Andy Vaart, Hon Lee, Bernie Halloran, Larry Karch (report author) 1. Reunion Dates: 20-23 Oct 2016, Thursday-Sunday (three nights) 2. Reunion Hotel: Hospitality House (HH), Fredericksburg, VA
3. Reunion Fee
4. Reunion Agent: Armed Forces Reunion Incorporated (AFRI)
5. Reunion Schedule
6. Remarks/Comments/Future Planning/Other Thoughts
Other Reunion Items
May - June 2015 Reunion News Planning continues by our Reunion Committee (members at bottom of page) with a meeting scheduled during June. Some topics from email: Guest Speaker "The question of having a guest speaker (or not) pertains to the banquet dinner that evening. Personally, I don't consider it imperative that we have a guest speaker. However, if we find a person that we all like, and if that person is willing and if the costs are not too high, then maybe inviting this person to speak can work. But if not, then not. I'm sure Bernie could fill in with some well chosen stories. LOL!" "My take on a guest speaker is: let us speak to each other. I thought the moments we had of speaking to each other at previous gatherings were precious. It has been a long time since we have heard each other reflect on the meaning of us. A guest speaker would be clueless, abstract, and possibly even self-serving. My two cents." Commemorative Reunion Coin "The design is fine. I recommend distributing the coin to attendees and others... When you decide to commit funds to Signature Coins, let me know the amount and specifics. I'm maintaining a record of advanced payments by reunion planning committee members. For now, I recommend buying 100 coins and including the total cost within the reunion fee. If we need more than 100 coins, then we can buy more." Hays Parks: "I called today to request a handful of prototypes produced for you to see in real life, size, color, etc. I suggest you go to the website http://www.signaturecoins.com) to review these, our design, and other merchandise, including small display stand. I asked about lapel pins. The problem there is minimum purchase is 100.
Our Deceased Classmates Spouses & Relatives "As for finding the NOK of the decreased, the reason is a commemorative B Company 50th reunion coin that we have struck. The thought is to provide one of these coins to the NOK." Shirts
No Reunion would be "complete" with a shirt! Andy Vaart has
suggested that Land's End has a service that will put a business logo on
many clothing items on a "on demand" (individual order)
basis. This service is being pursued.
Perspective "
Thinking way ahead to the year 2066 when we'll no longer be around, one can only wonder what events lieutenants entering TBS in 2016 will look back on when their 50th anniversary rolls around. I can hardly believe that the world will be a more peaceful place in decades to come. The only sure thing is that the USMC will be busy."
February 2015 Reunion News
This
is the current planning from our esteemed committee with Larry Karch
taking the
lead: Dates:
October 20-23, 2016 - three nights Reunion
Hotel: The Hospitality House (HH) in Fredericksburg, VA; room cost per
night - about $110 (tax included), either single or double occupancy; a
voucher for a full breakfast for each person is included in the room cost;
hotel check-in will be during the afternoon/evening of Thursday, 20 Oct Activities
Planned:
Friday, 21 Oct: 0830 - take buses to TBS for a morning program
ending with lunch at the TBS Officers' Mess; 1330 (approx.) - take
buses to Marine Corps Museum for individual viewing; 1700 (approx.) -
take buses to the nearby Globe and Laurel Restaurant for cocktails and
dinner; 2000 (approx.) - take buses back to HH
Saturday, 22 Oct 22: 1300 (approx.) - informal gathering of all
in HH's hospitality suite for reminiscing and catching up with friends
- snacks and drinks provided; 1800 (approx.) - cocktails and dinner
banquet in HH's Palm Room
Sunday, 23 Oct 23 : HH check-out prior to 1200. Reunion
Fee: still TBD - perhaps in the $125 to $150 per person depending on several
items still
to be
priced; fee
will include two dinners
(Friday and Saturday nights),
one lunch
at TBS,
snacks and
drinks (Saturday
afternoon); rent
of buses;
purchase of memorabilia items
(TBD); and also a possible
guest speaker for the Saturday dinner banquet (TBD). Now
that we have an approximation of costs, our planning committee needs a
better idea of how many rooms and meals to book.
Hon Lee has created a survey. which generally includes the
following questions: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CLBB5KF. How
many are 99% certain they will attend? How many of these persons will
bring a spouse, friend, child, nurse, etc How
many are 75% sure they will attend? How many of these persons will
bring a spouse, friend, child, nurse, etc How
many are only 50% sure they will attend? How many of these persons
will bring a spouse, friend, child, nurse, etc How
many persons have some disability and will require assistance,
particularly persons in wheel chairs? Will any person have service dog
with them? Do
attendees value receiving a special reunion shirt as in past reunions? Do
attendees value receiving a special reunion coin? POVs
- How many will have a POV at the reunion HQ hotel? POV
use - How many desire to drive their POV to TBS and to the MC Museum
on Fri, 22 Oct instead of riding a reunion-provided bus?
December 2014 Reunion News
A few days later, Larry Karch
reported: I'm now in communication with the A Co POC for reunion planning: a Kevin Brooks. I posed to him the proposition for a joint reunion of 1-67. He said that he would ask around A Co and see what the sentiment is for joining us. He said that A Co's preliminary plans are for a 50th anniversary reunion in May 2016 but also in Fredericksburg..
I told him about what planning we've done so far and about how the HH is a primo place for a reunion. Kevin said that he'll get back to me. No date specified.
The way I see things is that we have to get a firm "Yes" or "No" from A Co within say the next six months before we can sign a contract with the HH for a certain number of rooms. I would appreciate you all doing some thinking about how many HH rooms we might need to reserve for B Co only. Then, if A Co decides to come with us, we would just double that number in a HH contract unless A Co were to give us a better estimate for them. and for all of us: I would appreciate from each of you (and any others) an estimate as to how many rooms at the Hospitality House we should reserve NOW for B Co. ONLY. Also give me an estimate as to the number for a dinner banquet on Saturday, 22 Oct.
I am being pressed by the Hospitality House and ARFI to get some minimum number of rooms plus a banquet room on contract. If A Co. does decide to come onboard with us, then we can increase the number of rooms and enlarge the banquet room ( with movable walls).
Since there will be "zero attrition" clause in this contract, there will be no financial penalty to us for either increasing or decreasing the number of rooms. However, if we don't lock in a banquet room now, then we could be displaced by a wedding or other group wanting the main banquet room on Saturday 22 Oct.
My estimate for B Co. rooms is 40. I estimate 80 for B Co. members attending a dinner banquet. I will adjust this estimate based on your inputs and insert them into a contract to be drawn up with the Hospitality House.
Our
DC-area committee made hotel visits on December 11. Larry
Karch reported:
Mike, Hon, and I paid a visit to the Hospitality House & Conference Center in Fredericksburg. http://www.fredericksburghospitalityhouse.com/
We spent a couple hours discussing reunion specifics with Bonnie Martin who is the marketing person for the hotel. She gave us a tour of the property and showed us where specific reunion events could be held.
The bottom line is that we three agree that the Hospitality House is the complete package for supporting military reunions based on their past history. We also believe that this hotel would be the most affordable place for holding the reunion by a good measure. It is notable that the Hospitality House will include many extras free of charge that would normally cost attendees at other hotels. For example, each room will receive two breakfast vouchers each day for use in the hotel's restaurant. Ted Dey, the owner of Armed Forces
Reunions Inc, also recommends using the Hospitality House as it has a good reputation for hosting military reunions (and Marine reunions in particular). He also says that this is our most affordable choice for a reunion.
So, we are recommending the Hospitality House for our reunion hotel. Another important feature of a contract that we would sign with the Hospitality House is "Zero Attrition". This means that we wouldn't be held contractually responsible to fill any specific number of rooms or persons attending a banquet. This is really important to us because right now we are assuming that A Company will pitch in with us. However, if A Company does not come with us, we will need to scale back plans for both rooms and persons and we don't want to be paying for things that we could not use. Most hotels in the Washington D.C. would require some level of "attrition" in any contract.
On the way back, we stopped at the Globe and Laurel restaurant on Hwy 1 a few miles south of the MC Museum. We feel that on Friday, 21 Oct 2016 after going to the MC Museum we should go right down the road to the Globe and Laurel for drinks and dinner. The Globe and Laurel has a unique Marine Corps atmosphere that will go over well with our group.
We also have a good lead on getting buses on the cheap to transport us around. This would be done through MCB Quantico. This will save us a good deal of money.
If anyone has additional thoughts or questions, please chime in.
S/F,
Larry Later from Larry: There will more things
to communicate to all the guys in the next few months. From Hon
Lee:
S/F, Hon
November
2014 Reunion News
Our
DC-area committee has had two meetings and a visit to TBS on November 5. Larry
Karch reported: We
(Hays, Hon and I) had an excellent discussion with the TBS Protocol
Officer and we briefly met the TBS CO too. We're pretty well set for a
program at TBS on Friday, 21 Oct 2016. Now
we need to move on in the planning process and select a HQ hotel for the
reunion. We would really like for you (editor: Mike Wholley) to come with
us to review potential hotels in both Fredericksburg and Woodbridge and
contribute your opinion...."
There has not
been
contact or comments on our Reunion planning from anyone at
"A" Company. From
Bulletin #61, published September 11: "Dear
B Company Mate - As
we approach the 50th Anniversary of our time together in Quantico in 1966,
B Company members in Washington, DC, have begun to consider the
possibilities for a reunion marking that anniversary. We have now had four
such quinquennial reunions. Each of those has involved only B Company of
TBS 1-67. Considering
the significance of 50 years since our commissioning and considering that
the Department of Defense is making a special effort to mark the 50 years
that have passed since the conflict (obviously a multi-year event), our DC
planning team has been discussing the idea of working with all TBS classes
of FY 1967 to create a reunion event in the Quantico area that will
include all such classes. The
maximum we could handle for a dinner on a Saturday night with VIP guest
speaker (maybe CMC?) and color guard would be 480, including spouses. Even
signing up 480 persons remains is optimistic. The total could be a
hundred, more or less. We won't get an estimate of possible numbers until
we open up registration perhaps a year from now. A
reunion on such a scale would permit its participants to gather in the US
Marine Corps Heritage Museum for a special night and provide the
possibility of having a high- level guest speaker. On the other hand, a
reunion of that scale might reduce the intimacy of previous gatherings--
although reunion planning would involve reserving blocks of time for
individual company time. The
time period the planning team is considering is late October 2016. Larry Karch
has done a great
deal of spade work and now has personnel rosters of 11 companies that
could be considered as being 50 years removed from TBS. They include: 3-66
Companies D & E - finished May/Jun 66 (?) 1-67
Companies A & B - finished Nov 66 2-67
Company C finished ? 3-37
Companies D, E, & F finished March 67 4-67
Companies G, H, & I - finished May 67 The
rosters include last name, first and middle initial, and MC serial number.
(For companies D & E only, the rosters also include GCT! Nice touch,
eh?)" Larry
has also spoken several times with Bob Lukeman. Bob is a Col (ret) Marine
reservist who represents a small group of older Marines who went through
TBS in the mid-50's. They have held multiple reunions over the years and
are now interested in joining up with another TBS reunion group in 2016
for a reunion at Quantico. They are interested in joining with our 50th
Anniversary Reunion even though they are well past 50 years removed from
TBS. I think they are seeking one last hurrah at Quantico as TBS grads
without having to do a lot of reunion planning. They also like the idea of
attending a dinner with a VIP guest speaker such as the CMC as they have
in the past. Larry
said that we would keep them in mind should we decide to go with a large
reunion, and guesses that they might bring 30-40 persons to a reunion.
This is just a rough estimate. They are also well financed they have ... "seed money" for future reunions and have even
established a 501(c)(19) tax deduction for voluntary contributions over
and above reunion registration fees." Please
respond to the following questions to indicate your preference: 1
=
I prefer an All TBS FY 1967 reunion and plan to attend 2
=
I prefer just a TBS 1-67 reunion (w/A & B companies) and plan to
attend 3
=
I have no preference, and plan to attend either a combined reunion or just
one with Alpha. 4
=
I may attend if schedule allows 5
= I don’t plan to attend Please
provide your thinking on such an event and what would be most important
factors that would cause you to attend." A
survey is online at the link listed in Bulletin 61.
Larry Karch sent a report on
August 7:
"We had a good meeting last night and came to agreement on several points.
Now we turn to you to poll B Co. members for their sentiment as to the
following proposals:
2. WHO IS INVITED: All TBS grads in Classes xx-67 plus TBS grads from
prior years. (We speculate that this invitation could bring as many as
400-600 attendees to the reunion. Around 600 guests is the max the Marine
Corps Museum can handle for a buffet dinner.)
3. SCHEDULE (tentative): Friday, 21 Oct - register in the afternoon at MC Museum, reception at
the Museum, 1830-2000, individual tours of Museum Saturday, 22 Oct AM/PM - take bus from MC Museum to TBS for a TBA
program Saturday, 22 Oct Evening - Buffet dinner at MC Museum with a VIP guest
speaker, 1830-2100 Sunday, 23 Oct AM: Remembrance Ceremony, either at the MC Museum
out-door chapel or in the MCB Quantico Chapel depending on numbers Sunday, 23 Oct PM (possible depending on demand): take bus to Vietnam
Memorial in Wash D.C. following Remembrance Ceremony REUNION SHIRT: Each attend to receive a (nice) knit shirt (e.g., Lands
End) with embroidered MC Emblem and 50th Anniversary Reunion lettering 4.
While we don't need people now to commit to attend or not, we do need to
poll B Co to get some sense of the potential turnout. Suggest use a 1-5
numerical intention score as follows:
1. Definitely will attend. Will pay registration fee as soon as requested.
2. Probably attend. Will pay registration fee by six months prior to
reunion
3. May attend. Too many factors prevent making a firm commitment now; may decide late and pay registration fee at the reunion
4. Probably won't attend
5. Won't attend.
For those who definitely or probably will attend, we'd like to know
whether the attendee will bring a companion: e.g., spouse, girl friend,
children July 7, 2014
"All,
Looking ahead to 2016 and a desired 50th anniversary reunion, I propose that we form a TBS X-67 50th Anniversary Reunion Organizing Committee (OC) to start making preparations. I further propose that this reunion be held in the Quantico area on a week-end (Fri-Sun) after the 4th July and before Labor Day in 2016 and that it would include ALL companies at TBS during FY 67 (which A and B companies were the first on schedule).
I volunteer to take down names of those interested in being on this OC and perhaps setting up a first meeting here in the Wash D.C. area. I am not proposing myself as the chairman of this OC. I feel that the OC, once formed, should elect officers starting with the chairman. There is of course plenty of work to do for this reunion given that this could be a really large group considering that it would also include many spouses/girlfriends/significant others.
Given that we're all in our 70's, we need a large group to make this a financial success hence the choice of all X-67 members for the reunion.
We can use people on the OC both in the Wash D.C. area and in the hinterland since tracking down comrades can be done so much more effectively these days using the Internet. We also need members from other companies to be on the
OC.
So pass this message along to those in other companies if you have such contacts.
Let me know how you feel about this proposed 50th reunion and about being on the OC. This may be our last hurrah, Let's do it up big!
Warm regards and
Semper Fi! Larry Karch" Follow-on Suggestions: Disadvantage: The reunion will not be able to schedule the Friday night
parade/ceremony at 8th & I. 2. Invite family members of our deceased class members. 3. Find the 27 un-located class members! See list: TBS
1-67 Classmates Not Yet Located FYI, the breakdown: Deceased: 33 Total: 185 4. Use a professional reunion planning service. 5. Arrange for professional photographs. 6. Collect bios for all members of TBS-167. Goal is one
paragraph on Vietnam/active duty period, one paragraph for time since then,
with photos. 7. Use Google+
Hangout, TeamViewer
or a similar Internet meeting function for the OC meetings. 8. Coordinate with the "reunions contact" at TBS. 9. Coordinate with DOD/USMC on Vietnam history project. 10. Coordinate with "TBS X-67" reunion leadership. Reunion Committee Volunteers: Larry Aker Glenn Hill Larry Karch Dick Larson Hon Lee Hays Parks Bob Rivers John Sullivan Andy Vaart Mike Wholley |
||||||||
|
|
