The St Louis  Reunion is now past and all the planning over.  David and Rhonda Dortch and Roger Lamay did a first rate job making sure we all had a memorable reunion. The trips, the memorial service, the hotel and the organization was superb.  We are very grateful for their efforts in providing a venue for us to meet once again and renew and make new friendships. There were 47 shipmates and guests present and I would like to print their names as well as guests giving them a special thank you!  I hope that those attending will meet with us in Charleston, SC in 2010.

Day 1-Thursday, September 25

We began registering shipmates in the Hospitality Room.  Beer was acquired and we began to visit with old and new shipmates.  As usual sea stories enhanced as they were, were swapped.  We met at 5pm for a wine and cheese get together and free drinks courtesy of the hotel.  We then enjoyed a great meal and visited with shipmates.  President Tom Wagner informed us as to what we would be doing on Friday and Saturday.  After the meal, it was back to the Reception Room for a few more beers and talk.

Day 2-Friday, September 26

We assembled in the hotel lobby and set off in the bus for a tour of St. Louis and a visit to the Anheuser Busch brewery.  We were met at the gate by Ben Britt, a former P Rocker and A.B. Corporate Safety and Rick Manager.  We immediately went to the stables of the famous Clydesdale Horses and a visit with "Jake".  My wife was amazed about how meticulously clean the stables were.  As we toured the other buildings (mash house, holding tanks, bottling works) many of us were amazed by all of the flowers that graced the walkways.  We eventually reached the Hospitality Room, where we were afforded the opportunity to sample the many delightful brews.  After lunch, we regrouped to visit Gateway National Park, home of the famous Gateway Arch.  Some visited the many exhibits and others took the "little" elevator to the top of the arch and the fantastic view of St. Louis and the Mississippi River below.  We then re-boarded the bus for an additional city tour of beautiful St. Louis, we then and visited The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.  In the Cathedral there are over 83,000 square feet of mosaic art.  The mosaics were created with over 11,500,000 pieces of glass tessare in more that 8,000 shades of color.  This is truly a magnificent piece of art.

Day 3-Saturday, September 27

Day 3 found us on our way to Jefferson Barracks which in 1843 was the largest US Military Post home to many former generals, including Jefferson Davis, Ulysses Grant, Robert E. Lee, William Sherman, Phillip Sheridan, Dwight Eisenhower and others.  We had a short drive through the grounds and then visited the Powder Museum Magazine which was built in 1857 for the storage of rifles, cannons and gun powder.  It is now a Museum housing artifacts of all major wars.  We then journeyed to the Base Chapel where a ceremony  was conducted for all of our fallen shipmates.  We then returned to St. Louis and visited the Soldiers' Memorial Military Museum where we were able to view their collection of military items depicting St. Louis patriotic and active military involvement from 1800 to the present.  Later in the evening we all sat down for our farewell banquet.  Our guest speaker for the evening was Mr. Armando De La Garza of the VA, where as a Readjustment Counseling Therapist he specializes in treating combat related stress reactions such as PTSD and other mental health issues that stem from combat trauma.