WADDELL DDG-24 ASSOCIATION
The MILLENNIUM and FOUR POINTS HOTEL
Saint Louis, Missouri
DAY 1 Thursday, June 26,
2003 ARRIVAL & CHECK IN
Our registration and hotel check in began
at noon, but most of us actually started to wander into our hospitality
suite by mid afternoon. Never the less, we shared the hotel with a number
of the seven thousand plus physically fit people who were attending a huge
Athletic Trainer and Sports Medicine Convention in St. Louis. We also had
a very large contingence of emotional stable religious people, who were
attending a church sponsored youth leadership assembly.
Any way, once we rounded up the contingent
of the old, fat, gray haired fellas left in the lobby around 17:00, we
knew they had to be Waddell sailors, we all meandered over to the Palm Bar
reception. It was a small intimate affair, as a lot of the attendees had
not yet arrived in St. Louis. Anyway, between the cocktails, the local
Budweiser beer and the copious Midwestern gourmet snacks (I believe that
Velveeta and Ritz crackers do qualify as Midwestern Gourmet from Ohio all
the way west through Oklahoma) we introduced ourselves and our guests. A
good time was had by all of us.
By the way, during our exodus to dinner on
the town, none of us could figure out what type of food or food group
that St. Louis was famous for, with the exception of Budweiser. Bill Gaik
thought it was German food, but Lenny Burke said only thing St. Louis is
really know for is beer. Bill then did agree that beer was indeed a staple
as well as a food group.
DAY 2 Friday, June
26, 2003 TOUR DAY & CASUAL DINNER
We started the day with a hearty breakfast
buffet ( we had chits) at one of the hotel restaurants where we were able
to see the early risers with those clear bright eyes from years of clean
healthy living. Although, it took me a moment to realize that most of
those physically fit and rational thinking people weren’t with our group.
Anyway, after our breakfast quite a
number us gathered in the hotel lobby in anticipation of our day of
“Discover St. Louis” bus tour. Our tour guide Judy was absolutely
charming and affable as well as tolerant and told us about all things St.
Louis, making stops at the History
Museum, Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis and Union Station.
We didn’t have much time to spend at the
History Museum but did get a chance to see some of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
stuff and a replica of the Sprit of St. Louis aircraft that Charles
Lindbergh flew from Long Island to
Paris.
The visit to Cathedral Basilica of Saint
Louis was magnificent and filled with a multitude of spectacular mosaics
and icons. I did take some digital photos of the mosaics and they are
posted on our ship’s website reunion page, check them out. As you will
see, this amazingly beautiful church was filled with both the Renaissance
as well as the Italian type of mosaics.
Well, enough culture and off to Union
Station. This huge recently renovated rail road station was turned in to a
downtown shopping and eating Mecca, which was part of their urban renewal.
Tom Jones , Bill Gaik, Dave Barger and my self were the last ones off the
bus and we decided that shopping wasn’t for us so we went directly to the
Route 66 Brew Pub located near the main entrance of Union Station.
Needless to say, our priorities were in the refreshment category and took
precedence over browsing in chic shops with cheap stuff.
The bus tour returned us to the hotel by
mid-afternoon and a number of us took the short walk down across the
highway to the Gateway Arch in the Jefferson
Expansion National Park. The
Arch is our enduring symbol of our westward expansion and was erected to
commemorate the exploration of the Louisiana Purchase in 1804 by the Lewis
and Clark Expedition.
At 18:00 we began our social hour. It was
good to see that more of the attendees had arrived with their guests and
we again introduced our selves as well as our guests. To me this was a
very special event , as MMCS Richard Light stood up and introduced himself
, I was struck with shock and amazement , as I had lost track of him and
had not seen him since he retired off the Waddell in June of 1965.
Needless to say, I was simply delighted to see him again and to renew our
friendship.
Anyway, while Chief Light and I discussed
some old sea stories in minute detail, the rest of the group participated
in what was called our “St. Louis 1904 World’s Fair Theme Dinner.” This
amazing meal consisted of the usual Midwestern gourmet cheese buffet,
along with the infamous “1904 World Fair Hot Dogs” they served toasted
ravioli and catfish nuggets. As a Waddell sailor I’ve seen and consumed a
few of those infamous 100 year old eggs in PI, but I can honestly say that
I’ve never had a ninety-nine year old hot dog. I think that it must be a
Midwestern cultural thing.
Our entertainment for the evening was a
high school girls drill team from Illinois or Indiana, I can’t remember
which, that had more than a grasp on the Manual of Arms, they were very
proficient and accomplished and had garnered a number of awards in all
things drill team. We were advised that they were preparing for the VFW
National Competition later this year where they hope to regain the title.
After the dinner and entertainment we
adjourned to the open area bar upstairs for fellowship and refreshment.
Since the other patrons of the hotel went after other pursuits we
virtually took over the bar area. After a few relaxing adult beverages the
sea stories began to flow at a rapid pace and the laughter could be heard
throughout the hotel. It was great fun sharing sea and other stories all
the while laughing at our youthful lesson learned. This was indeed the
special evening of comradeship that all of us came to share with our
shipmates and make attending a reunion a memorable experience.
DAY 3 Saturday ,
June 27, 2003 AM TOUR , BUSINESS MTG & BANQUET
This day also started off with the
breakfast buffet at the hotel restaurant and I ate mine with Dave Barger.
I asked him where he went last night cause we missed him at the gala 1904
hot dog event. He told me that after our trip yesterday he went back to
his room for a quick nap and didn’t wake up till 00:30 HRS, at which time
he took off his shoes and got into bed for the duration. May be next year
we could provide Mid-Rats for people like Dave or the early bar crowd Mid
Watch.
Any way, after fueling up on Midwestern
vitals we boarded our tour bus with smiling and gregarious tour guide Judy
for a trip to Grants Farms. On the way to the Grant’s Farm we drove
through the Budweiser Beer Complex , Judy would let us get out of the bus
for fear we wouldn’t come back.
Any way, we did get to Grant’s Farm, which
was the summer estate of the Bush Family and is filled with exotic and
domestic wildlife. There is also a Beer Garden where one can have a
couple of complimentary brews on Mr. A. Bush , III. He doesn’t actually
pour them there is an old duffer there for that. Anyway, this complex
comprises some 280 plus acres and also has the original log cabin that was
built by President US Grant for his bride Julia, hence the name of Grant’s
Farm.
Any way, the young married couple only
lived in the primitive cabin for a short time, as she missed the comforts
of her father’s house across the road, so they abandoned the “Hard
Scrabble Farm” for more a more civilized life style in the big house.
Grant’s Farm is also the stable for the
famous Budweiser Clydesdale Draft Horses. They are indeed majestic animals
up-close and personal. We have Miniature Horses (Mini’s) at home so
these animals looked even bigger to me. Actually, if you stand far enough
away from the Minis they look like a normal sized horse, but then the barn
looks really bigger than it really is.
We then went to the Missouri Botanical
Gardens where we had lunch and looked for extensive collection of
Miniature Conifers. Being an old hand that the miniature stuff I knew
right off that we were looking for little Christmas trees. Bill Gaik told
me that there was more to conifers than just Christmas trees. All I could
say was , “Oh!”.
Any way, we were all back at the hotel
around three, just in time to freshen up or take a little power nap before
our Annual Association Business Meeting at 16:00.
By this writing, Allen Jones, our newly
elected Secretary, should have the official meeting minutes submitted to
Rick Bennett, our webmaster, to post on the website.
By the way, Rick was selected to be our
association representative to the Hellenic Navy’s Decommissioning Ceremony
of the HS Nearchos D-219 (DDG-24) in Suda Bay, Crete this July 18, 2003.
Check out our website for more details.
We started off the evening with a social
hour at 18:00 and also took pictures of all the attendees in their Sunday
best.
Our banquet commenced at 19:00 with introductions by me and a Color Guard presentation from the
Junior-Naval ROTC students of
Cleveland High School in downtown St. Louis, MO. These
young people presented the colors while we recited the Pledge of
Allegiance and sang our National Anthem.
Allen Jones acted as our Chaplain and gave
the invocation and I welcomed every one to our third annual reunion. We
then sat down for our rubber chicken and conversation. Anyway, I keep
telling myself that we are there for the fellowship and not the food.
Our first speaker was Grant Walker, who
was our second CO who served from Jan 1966 – June 1967, and he gave us
some humorous incidents and recollections of his command.
Capt. Walker then turned over the floor to
our association president Rick Bennett and Rick gave us an update of the
Waddell in it’s present form as the Hellenic Navy’s HS Nearchos D-219 and
its planed decommissioning in Suda Bay, Crete on July 18, 2003.
Rick also played for us a video of the
Hellenic Navy’s Commissioning Ceremony that was sent to us from a former
HS Nearchos D-219 CO.
I reintroduced Acting Chaplin Allen Jones
who gave us the significance of the Remembrance Table.
We concluded our banquet with playing of
Taps. Immediately following we asked that we return to the hospitality
suite for group photo sessions.
DAY 4 Sunday ,
June 28, 2003 MEMORIAL SERVICE & RETURN HOME
We started the day with a group breakfast
at 07:30 with the Memorial Service starting at
08:00 to remember those who have passed on
since our last meeting.
Saying our good bye is always difficult,
but we will meet again next year in Norfolk, VA .
Submitted by,
Guy M. Ward, MM3 ’64-‘67
Reunion Coordinator and Master of Ceremonies
USS WADDELL DDG-24 ASSOCIATION
gward@rochester.rr.com
