Although the Yancey only had a small attendance the reunion was fun as always. As part of the larger Amphibious Ships Reunion Group, the Yancey had only 7 in attendance this year. This was far less than the 16 who attended in 2019. It was obvious that lingering COVID concerns kept numbers down a bit. Hopefully, those concerns will be gone by next year.
The Annapolis area was nice, weather was iffy, but hotel facilities were great. Once again, everyone attending from Yancey unanimously agreed it was a good reunion, and we all look forward to next year in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
As usual, some ships were represented by many shipmates and guests, while others were represented only by a few. Regardless, all were "gator" ships, including the USS Bexar (APA-237), USS Cambria (APA-36), USS Capricornus (AKA-57), USS Casa Grande (LSD-13), USS Chilton (APA-38), USS Monrovia (APA-31), USS Muliphen (AKA-61), USS Pickaway (APA-222), USS Rankin (AKA-103), USS Telfair (APA-210), and USS Yancey (AKA-93).
Here are the names of those Yancey shipmates and guests that were there:
John & Velma Birkel Duane & Betty Malme and daughters
Toby Gillespie Sonya Malme & Kimberly Rowland
The tours and other events were great. On Monday evening (Sep 20) there was a welcome buffet for the group that was well attended. A hot breakfast buffet for reunion attendees staying at the hotel also was available every morning that was included in the room rate.
On Tuesday (Sep 21) we toured the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. What a wonderful and inspiring place it is. We had excellent tour guides who led us throughout the campus grounds, seeing everything from Captain's Row (beautiful homes for commanding officers) to the tomb of John Paul Jones. A very special treat was to witness the noon meal formation of all Midshipmen who marched into Tecumseh Court and stood at perfect attention, while battalion attendance was taken. Once this is completed, the Academy band played “Anchors Aweigh,” followed by the “The Halls of Montezuma” as the Midshipmen marched into Bancroft Hall (their huge dormitory) for their noon meal. Ray Casey also arranged a pizza lunch for those attending the tour.
Wednesday (Sep 22) we were bused to Baltimore where we were able to tour the S.S. John W. Brown, one of only two remaining, fully operational Liberty ships that participated in World War II. The John W. Brown was built in Baltimore in 1942 and spent its war years in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Not quite as big as the Yancey at 440 feet long, it still was big and similar enough to bring back many memories of amphib ships like the Yancey. We were able to tour any part of the ship we wanted from berthing decks to engineering to the bridge and deck gun locations. It is "crewed" by a group of volunteer guides who are all certified for the positions and responsibilities each had. In additional to various local activities, the John W. Brown still steams out from Baltimore several times a year for display purposes. Later in the day we were given a bus tour of the City of Baltimore, plus a tour boat ride around Baltimore's harbor. Wednesday was pretty overcast, and we did experience some drizzle and light rain, but not enough to spoil the day's activities.
We weren't so lucky on Thursday (Sep 24) as a storm and heavy rains hit Annapolis. We were scheduled for an afternoon boat tour of Annapolis harbor that had to be cancelled due to the weather. We did attempt to do a bus tour of Annapolis earlier that morning, but heavy rains made it less than what was hoped for. Couldn't help the weather, but at least we were kept busy for a few hours even if only inside a bus riding around town in the rain!
The reunion closed that Thursday night with our sit-down dinner banquet held in the hotel's ballroom. Following the dinner, we were entertained by a great stand-up magician who entertained all with his "slights of hand" and comedic conversation. He was definitely a hit with many who were left scratching their heads saying "how did he do that?"
The Annapolis area was nice, weather was iffy, but hotel facilities were great. Once again, everyone attending from Yancey unanimously agreed it was a good reunion, and we all look forward to next year in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
As usual, some ships were represented by many shipmates and guests, while others were represented only by a few. Regardless, all were "gator" ships, including the USS Bexar (APA-237), USS Cambria (APA-36), USS Capricornus (AKA-57), USS Casa Grande (LSD-13), USS Chilton (APA-38), USS Monrovia (APA-31), USS Muliphen (AKA-61), USS Pickaway (APA-222), USS Rankin (AKA-103), USS Telfair (APA-210), and USS Yancey (AKA-93).
Here are the names of those Yancey shipmates and guests that were there:
John & Velma Birkel Duane & Betty Malme and daughters
Toby Gillespie Sonya Malme & Kimberly Rowland
The tours and other events were great. On Monday evening (Sep 20) there was a welcome buffet for the group that was well attended. A hot breakfast buffet for reunion attendees staying at the hotel also was available every morning that was included in the room rate.
On Tuesday (Sep 21) we toured the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. What a wonderful and inspiring place it is. We had excellent tour guides who led us throughout the campus grounds, seeing everything from Captain's Row (beautiful homes for commanding officers) to the tomb of John Paul Jones. A very special treat was to witness the noon meal formation of all Midshipmen who marched into Tecumseh Court and stood at perfect attention, while battalion attendance was taken. Once this is completed, the Academy band played “Anchors Aweigh,” followed by the “The Halls of Montezuma” as the Midshipmen marched into Bancroft Hall (their huge dormitory) for their noon meal. Ray Casey also arranged a pizza lunch for those attending the tour.
Wednesday (Sep 22) we were bused to Baltimore where we were able to tour the S.S. John W. Brown, one of only two remaining, fully operational Liberty ships that participated in World War II. The John W. Brown was built in Baltimore in 1942 and spent its war years in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Not quite as big as the Yancey at 440 feet long, it still was big and similar enough to bring back many memories of amphib ships like the Yancey. We were able to tour any part of the ship we wanted from berthing decks to engineering to the bridge and deck gun locations. It is "crewed" by a group of volunteer guides who are all certified for the positions and responsibilities each had. In additional to various local activities, the John W. Brown still steams out from Baltimore several times a year for display purposes. Later in the day we were given a bus tour of the City of Baltimore, plus a tour boat ride around Baltimore's harbor. Wednesday was pretty overcast, and we did experience some drizzle and light rain, but not enough to spoil the day's activities.
We weren't so lucky on Thursday (Sep 24) as a storm and heavy rains hit Annapolis. We were scheduled for an afternoon boat tour of Annapolis harbor that had to be cancelled due to the weather. We did attempt to do a bus tour of Annapolis earlier that morning, but heavy rains made it less than what was hoped for. Couldn't help the weather, but at least we were kept busy for a few hours even if only inside a bus riding around town in the rain!
The reunion closed that Thursday night with our sit-down dinner banquet held in the hotel's ballroom. Following the dinner, we were entertained by a great stand-up magician who entertained all with his "slights of hand" and comedic conversation. He was definitely a hit with many who were left scratching their heads saying "how did he do that?"
YANCEY DECEASED
Doyle Clark John Landwehr Jere Retallack
David DiMattia John Mesamore Jay Schwall
Walter Gillispie Lyle Nelson Dennis Snyder
Reese Halverson Milo Pippen Gerald Stein
Ben Hunter Henry Prosser James Young
Julius Kovaks Clerance Provaznik Don Youndblood
David DiMattia John Mesamore Jay Schwall
Walter Gillispie Lyle Nelson Dennis Snyder
Reese Halverson Milo Pippen Gerald Stein
Ben Hunter Henry Prosser James Young
Julius Kovaks Clerance Provaznik Don Youndblood