USS Blandy Reunions |
Reunion number 6 for the crew of the USS Blandy was held in Frederick, MD September 16th - 19th. And like all of the reunions so far we had a great time visiting with old friends and shipmates, swapping sea stories and catching up on what we've all been doing with our lives since our time aboard the ship. There were 127 people in attendance and I think 62 of them were Blandy sailors. We toured Gettysburg, PA and had lunch at a very good restaurant called the Gettysbrew. The buffet was excellent. We also toured Harpers Ferry which is a little town where there was a significant battle fought during the Civil War. There are now many little shops there where you can pick up lots of souvenirs of their war history. We didn't have much time there but it was very interesting to see anyway. The hospitality room was busy as always and again we had many pieces of memorabilia on display. We had many new members of our association attending this time. At our Business meeting we discussed and voted on our next reunion. It was a very close vote between Branson, MO and Philadelphia, PA. Please all of you, keep searching for more of our shipmates and make plans now to attend our 7th reunion in Philadelphia, PA in 2006.
The 5th Blandy Reunion was held in San Antonio, TX October 3 - 16, 2002. This was the best reunion so far. We had approx. 120 people in attendance. We toured LBJ Ranch and The Admiral Nimitz Museum where we attended the unveiling of a memorial plaque for the USS Blandy which is now on display at the museum. The Blandy is the first post WW-II ship to be honored with a plaque at the museum. We then had a couple of hours of shopping time in Fredericksburg which was followed by attending an Oktoberfest celebration. The second day we toured the missions near San Antonio including the Alamo. Throughout the time there we had ample time to check out the famous river walk and market square. We ended the reunion on Saturday evening with a Texas Barbecue and voted for our next reunion location and new officers for the association. Also the whole time we were at the Radisson Hotel our hospitality rooms were open and busy with shipmates swapping sea stories and checking out all of the Blandy related items and photos many sailors brought with them. Everyone left the reunion feeling very happy to have been there and promising to be at the next one. We will continue to try to locate more of our shipmates. The 4th Blandy Reunion was held in Mobile, Al November 9 - 12, 2000. We had a very interesting tour of Fort Morgan and watched the Blue Angels perform at NAS Pensecola. There were many sea stories during our visit together and found more old shipmates attending this time. We also voted to form The USS Blandy Association. You may join the Association by going to our signup page and submitting your information.
The 3rd reunion was held in Newport, RI in September of 1998. It included a tour of the battleship USS Massachusetts, Destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Submarine USS Lionfish and a tour of the Fall River Marine Museum. Old shipmates got reaquainted and new friends were made.
In September of 1996 the 2nd reunion was held in Virginia Beach, Va. This allowed for the opporunity for many of us to see the Norfolk Naval Base again. Has it ever changed from the "Good Ol Days". This trip included a Tour of the Guided Missle Destroyer Ramage DDG61. Talk about being different from the Blandy. They start their ship with a key. Like starting the old Ford.
The first Blandy reunion was held in Boothbay Harbor, Me in September of 1994. Much thanks goes to Vinnie Sobral for getting us together the first time. We went to a dinner club and a short cruise along the coast and had a great time visiting and telling sea stories.