John Page had performed a small miracle getting all these people and the hotel and the itinerary and the restaurants and all the details together.

That evening we took over the “Bakery Café” restaurant to the clink of glasses toasted, and the munching of a great dinner. Mark and Melissa Sirok talked enticingly about their lives in South Bend and their fabulous printing business.

John Page had the Hotel set up a “Hospitality Suite” with rocking chairs on the porch overlooking the garden….lots of drinks, including Lee Tolentino’s forty (that’s a big “40” shipmate) bottle of Crown Royal….seripticiously kum-shawed from a certain shipment in a certain tank deck….boy, did that burn going down! Thanks Lee for sharing!

Friday morning saw many of us walk across the square to the “Spot o Tea” restaurant for some really good Mobile breakfast cook’n ….never saw Jim Whitten eat so much before! Did I see Anita Tolentino tell Lee to lay off the salt? Al Keiderling got the cashier’s phone number…..some things never change.

Then it was off to Battleship Park and the USS Alabama BB-60. We stopped first at the Alabama Vietnam Memorial Wall….the conversations were hushed, the reactions muted. I know my throat fought down a lump. Every state lost good people, including a lot from Alabama. We all were there to show our respects.

Then it was on to the battleship. Now, I’m tell’n you folks, if you’ve never wandered around on this big battlewagon before, you just gott’a do it someday. “Awesome” is too understated a word. Rex DePriest had Bob Keller down in the engine room showing him the finer points about boilers and “live steam”…(Keller had a glazed look on his face.) Mike Cordes got lost in the ammunition handling room of turret #2….fortunately we had his address so we could forward his mail. Gilbert Burruel was seen serrepticiously removing light bulbs, and Lee Harris and Tom and Mercy Clayton enjoyed the views from the “signal bridge” ….remember, Lee, it’s dit-DA-dit-dit-dit. Tom Hill was sighted hugging a radar scope, and Al Cox was looking for misplaced officer’s caps to take home as souvenirs. It was a warm day, and all those decks and ladders did a number on some of our more senior knees, but the visit was well worth it….the next morning we weren’t quit so nimble.

After arriving back at the Malaga Inn, the First Lieutenant (alias Frank McDonald) arrived to hoots and hollers, driving up in his truck with custom sports fisherman yacht towed behind. (I had a chance to discuss “art” with LT Frank, much to my delight).

That evening, John P. had us all sequestered in “Ed’s Seafood Shed” for some fabulous…what else…..SEAfood….John Singleton broke the record for the most seafood consumed at the reunion (the exact number of pounds is being kept “Confidential”). John’s wife, Terry, said she would speak to him later! Chuck Horton kept eyeing the Florida lobster….but being from Maine, he didn’t “bite”.

Then it was back to the Malaga Inn and the hospitality Suite for more stories, laughter, and more laughter, followed by the “Award Presentation” in the dining room: We had some mighty fine door prizes (why do they call it “door” prizes”?) and some mighty funny “gag gifts” for everyone. John Page made the presentations, while yours truly acted as M.C.

• William Bramblett got the “Bubble Gum and Bailing Wire” award for holding the engines together;
• Gilbert Burruel received a high powered “25 Watt Light bulb” for his beyond the call to duty Electrician’s Mate duties;
• Paul Chardoul, our SOPA, was awarded the “Golden Mop” to wear on his right, or was it left, shoulder….we never did hear the rest of the explanation;
• Tom Clayton received the “Sharpest Pencil Point” for his sharp navigation skills;
• Mike Cordes was handed “500 Yen” to use as his favorite Sasebo bath house
• Alan Cox, who drove his eighteen wheeler all the way from Luther MI (who would ever live in Luther MI?) was given a donation of a $2.00 Bill to help get him back home to Luther MI;
• Rex DePriest was awarded two “nuts” for reasons that no body can quite remember;
• Tom Hill received the “RadarScope” award for being able to see blips on the screen through closed eyelids;
• Chuck Horton was honored with a PVC sink trap assembly for his past attempts at being a ShipFitterPIPE person;
• Al Keiderling was voted the best person to cover your back while on Liberty;
• Bob Keller got the “GRIEF” award for being the person who expounded the word most often;
• Frank McDonald, as the First Lieutenant, received extra grey paint and brush to keep the topsides looking sharp;
• Bill Paindexter (excuse me, Poindexter) received every Hospital Corpsman’s dream emergency kit composed of two packs of sterile petroleum jelly and a tongue depressor;
• John Singleton was awarded a custom, adjustable, battery operated, universal antenna, guaranteed to pick up most Country & Western stations in the Northern Hemisphere;
• Mark Sirok received two Zebra Cakes for his culinary serving abilities;
• Lee Tolentino, also of the Culinary Division, received Zebra Cakes for his greetings to customers in the chow line;
• Jim Whitten got the “Threaded Rod” award for Engineering Expertise.


…and last but not least…


• John Page received a very heartfelt THANK YOU and BRAVO ZULU for a fabulous job well done with Reunion 2006.

Then “Doc” Bill and Kay Poindexter acted as trailblazers for the drive to Pensacola and the Naval Air Museum….with a shortcut through a shopping mall, and then down “old Main Street”, and to the Main Gate of the base. When the “B.A.M” (Broad Ass Marine) asked me for my I.D., I thought she wanted my number so she could call me later, but Paul Chardoul said she just wanted to show how a Marine did her job…..oh well, so much for inflated egos.

The Naval Air Museum, for those of you who have never been there, is probably the most interesting of its kind anywhere. Clean as a whistle, beautiful displays, extraordinary aircraft of all vintage, great cinemax theater, and a really nice café with bar….could have spent the whole day, but folks wanted to get back to the Malaga for happy hour and more sea stories. So off we went, making a short detour for Bob Keller to get a new battery for his GPS-AntiMatter-Picture-Taking-Machine….those shots sure better turn out good, Bob!

Now, after two fantastic restaurants, you’d think we’d pretty much seen everything….but now, John P. had another surprise up his sleeve….this time it was “Wintzell’s Oyster House”. Now, I ain’t never been much for oyster, and after watching Rex DePriest drink Martini’s right next to Jim Whitten eat’n oysters, I KNOW I don’t much care for oysters. The group talked, and the louder we talked, the louder we had to talk to be heard from the next guy talk’n loud, and soon, we noticed this other group of people, about 6 of them, get up from their table, and go to another part of the restaurant….I yelled across the table; “Are we being too loud” and William Bramblett said; “No, it sounds good to me”. At that point Jim Whitten got up and went to the manager to get some service, and before you knew it we had every server in the house waiting on us. Just goes to show you what caliber of leaders we had on the old Chesterfield….sure ‘nuff. And then, the prize desert of the evening showed up in the person of “Ms Pinky”. For those who may not know who or what “Ms Pinky” was, just let me say that I ain’t never seen such a face or teeth before. Mike Cordes tried the “cherry trick” but “Ms Pinky” was too quick for him.

Then it was back to the Hospitality Suite for more stories, most especially the CO in the Shower Curtain, told by none other than master story teller Frank McDonald. I swear to God, that has to rank right up there with something out of “Mr Roberts”, “Catch 22”, or “The Left Handed Monkey Wrench”. Thanks, Frank, for making our jaws ache with laughter. And then of course, we all bestowed the Order Of The Shower Curtain on Frank for a job well done.

Sunday morning saw many faces retreat to rental cars and airport. Some stayed the day for a trip to Bellingrath Gardens and another visit to “Wintzell’s Oyster House” and finally, we all saluted the quarter deck, asked for permission to leave the ship, and walked down the brow, with courses set for home.

This was a most fantastic time. Filled with stories, memories, laughter, silly situations, and more memories. If it’s possible to build new memories on top of old memories, we sure did it over those 4+ days.

A big Bravo Zulu to John Page for a great reunion. Rex DePriest and Tom Hill have bellied up to the bar and have volunteered to shepherd the next reunion in Evanstown, Indiana in June of 2008. See you there!

Signed,
Dick Wall

Chesterfield County and The Ninety and Nine
By Richard D. Wall

It was 50 white hats and 5 khaki, That were chained to the pier on that old “T”; Sweepers were piped and the routine old, Nothing to do but to dream of the bold; And then orders came down from high above, To prepare the old ship for another big shove.

The new hands came aboard, green in the gills, Their seabags bulging their pockets full of bills; The old salts eyed them with distinct disrespect, While the chiefs eagerly found uniforms to inspect; And the bosun barked orders like a deranged canine, The ship began to fill with the Ninety and Nine.

Weeks of frenzied labor filled the many decks, Officers read lists and penciled red checks; The cooks packed their freezers full to the brim, The gunner oiled and greased till his 40s were trim; And the signalmen hoisted flags to the high skyline, The complement finally boasted Ninety and Nine.

It was on a grey, cold and windy February Day, That the ship left the pier and moved into the bay; The wind howled from the north, the seas were rough, The ship labored under one engine but the crew was tough; She steamed out the bay with a receding shoreline, And she rolled and she rolled with the Ninety and Nine.

From Norfolk she headed south into a balmy Gulf Stream Her progress was slow ‘till Hatteras was abeam; Then she found new strength with pleasant weather ahead, And the log showed 8 knots over the seabed; She picked up the loom of the Bahamas coastline, And her southing increased with the Ninety and Nine.

It was at Gitmo she paused for the mail to be delivered, A warm inviting bay better than Little Creek’s blizzard; Then she headed back out, set course for the Canal, The crew dreamt of liberty and up went the morale; The day she locked through was filled with sunshine; It was a day of wonderment for the Ninety and Nine.

She set a course to Hawaii, on a long stretch of ocean, It wasn’t very fast, but better than one hundred oarsmen; And on a breezy morning with a warm sun rising Diamond Head appeared to all of those sighting; On the pier the band played to those at the lifelines, Pearl Harbor saw the arrival of the Ninety and Nine.

After many days of Honolulu, ladies and MaiTais It was time to cast off for the rest of the enterprise; And for the Philippines they headed at their best speed, Thinking the bars in Olongapo better take heed; For they were soon ready for more short hemlines, Look out Subic, here come the Ninety and Nine.

A too short time later the liberty was over, Some of them appeared to be quite a bit older; And so they bid farewell to their many Subic ladies, No one could compete with the best of the navies; And at the end of the crossing they beached at Chu-Lai, Half-way ‘round the world had come the Ninety and Nine.

A Note About the Title:
In the Bible, Matthew 18:12 illustrates the anxiety Of the Good Shepherd over the loss of one of His flock. “If any man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go unto the mountains, and seek that which is lost” Three other uses of the title may also be found: One in an 1874 Scottish hymn , another in a 1922 melodramatic film, and more recently a 1966 novel of a WW II LST in the Mediterranean by William Brinkley, who also wrote “Don’t Go Near The Water”. My apologies to anyone who may feel I have misused the title.
RDW