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A Personal Story... George C. Crocker, ARM2C
NORMANDY
D-DAY
The invasion of Normandy was 75 years ago on June 6, 2019.
It was a fierce battle and many lives were lost but it was pivotal
towards liberating France and the rest of Europe.
Tolley Fletcher was aboard a sub-chaser escorting landing craft full of
soldiers to Utah Beach on June
6, 1944. The following is what he
had to say of his experience.
“It was still real early. It
wasn’t what you’d call dark but it wasn’t full daylight, either. As we
got in closer to the beach, there were bodies floating in the water everywhere.
Apparently it was from the engineers who’d gone in to clear out the tank
traps and all that kind of stuff. There were dozens of them where we were going
through. When I tell somebody
something like that, a lot of people want to know how you do that. I tell them
you have to kind of close your mind and just go ahead and do it.” Veterans
are people who, at one point in their lives, wrote a blank check payable to the
United States of America, for an amount up to and including their lives. Remember ALL of our Vets!
SCUTTLEBUTT Mrs.
Joan Barnes, niece-in-law
of Hiram Van Buren (102) – I
have some sad news - Uncle Hiram peacefully passed away in his sleep in his bed
in his own home on December 29, 2018. He had not been ill - his body
simply gave away at age 101 and 2 months!! I had my daily conversation
with him the evening before and his sense of humor was wonderful!! I have
attached his biography which may be of interest. He shared with me many
stories of his flying experiences around the world and his navy mates.
Cindy
Meyer,
daughter of Bernhard Meyer III (106)
- My Father Bernhard Meyer III (AKA
Benny or Ben) died on February 15, 2018. He was predeceased by
his wife Helen Meyer on February 26, 2017. He enjoyed reading the new
letters and kept the last issue in his pocket for days to take out and look
at again. I think some of his happiest memories were with his squadron
(VP-106). Doris Goins,
daughter-in-law of Ralph Goins (106)
– He is being moved into an assisted living facility and no longer living
at his old address. He still
enjoys getting the newsletter. Thanks
for all you do for our older veterans. PATRIOTIC
& SAD! The
Last Fighter Pilot of WWII who flew the last mission. Take five
minutes to watch this video
interview. It takes place on Iwo Jima. The
Last Fighter Pilot of WWII
29th Reunion Sunday, October 6– Thursday, October
10, 2019 San Diego, California This
is a great location in downtown a block away from San Diego Bay and a
trolley stop, a 5-minute walk to the USS Midway, across the street from
Seaport Village (shopping & restaurants) and The Headquarters (the old
police station converted to shopping and restaurants).
There are unlimited restaurants in the surrounding area.
The airport is about 2 miles. New
York West is the restaurant on-site as well as a Dunkin Donuts and Baskin
Robbins.
Hotel
Amenities Room
Amenities Group
Blocked Rooms
Reservations:
Group Code NSQ
| Call 1-800-EMBASSY (1-800-362-2779) OR
by web link
https://embassysuites.hilton.com/en/es/groups/personalized/S/SANDNES-NSQ-20191006/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG
** Upgrade to Bay View suite: 1st,
book std. room. 2nd,
contact Embassy
Suites Downtown SD at 619-233-9922 for upgrade.
Reservation
DEADLINE is September 6, 2019 | 72-hour
cancellation policy Pre/Post
Reunion extended stay (come
in early for Sunday at the Clark Ranch)
Reservations: 1st,
you need to reserve 10/6 - 10/10 through E.S. by phone or web link above.
Reservation
DEADLINE is
September 6, 2019 |
72
-hour cancellation policy -
If you have not made your room
reservations yet, Reunion Activities
§
Registration - Meet and greet, drinks, deli sandwiches.
Room #1108 Hosted
REGISTRATION
FORM Navy Squadrons 106/102/14 Association (
)
I am unable to attend the Reunion. Please
send in scuttlebutt or any contact changes to Lisa Kirk ***Deadline for your
registration is Friday, July 20, 2019*** If you are doing the
Naval Base N.I. tour, the Navy requires their form to be completed by each
individual. Please include your
email or mailing address below to receive this form.
Emails will have an Adobe Reader attachment. Total # of people registering for ______ Name_______________________________________________________________________________________
first
last
qemail or qUS
Mail
first
last
qemail
or qUS
Mail
Relationship
first
last
qemail or qUS
Mail
Relationship Guest’s name _________________________________________________________________________________
first
last
qemail or qUS
Mail
Relationship *Check here (
) if you have additional guests and list on a separate piece of paper
attached to this form. *Check here (
) if you have any special needs.
Indicate by circling or writing in.
Wheelchair only, wheelchair transferable, food
__________________________ , other
____________________ piece
of paper attached to this registration form.
*I plan to arrive by: (
) Air (
) Car (
) Other _____________________ *I plan to rent a car:
( ) Yes
( ) No
**Hotel parking is $15 valet per day Complete the following
for all activities you plan to participate in (descriptions are on page 5 in
this newsletter)
cost
# of persons
extended total 1) Registration
fee – required for each attendee……...……...
$20
X ________
= $_________________
(Ready Room, programs, name tags, supplies, misc.)
4) Naval
Base North Island/Coronado……....................……
$20
X ________
= $_________________ - The bus tours are private tours chartered for our
group. Lunch is included at the
Fish Market. -
Your timely registrations help us a lot!!!
The registration fees are needed for deposits due on activities and
provide the number of
attendees for us to work with. We
have more to do. Important! If
you have NOT
made your hotel reservation, PLEASE
do it now!
You can cancel within 72 hours. FLIGHT
BUNO 59563 I was contacted by Jeff O’Kane and we
have been exchanging email correspondences about the plight of this plane.
Jeff is the 3rd generation to pick up the search to locate
the missing plane. I am sharing
his emails with you as his is one of many families with an MIA veteran, but
not forgotten.
My name is Jeff O’Kane. I am the Great Nephew of Beauran
O’Kane (seaman
gunner) who was aboard LT Commander H F
Mears flight BUNO 59563 on 6/1/1945 when it went down near Singapore with all
hands aboard.
My family has been researching what happened to this flight since the
1990’s and we have made some amazing progress and uncovered declassified
documents that revealed the approximate crash location in the Pacific. We
recently hired a researcher at NARA and now have 30 incredible photos from the
recon camera of the plane that day and it’s decent to the Pacific.
All of our research has been given to Project Recover and DPAA in hopes
that this plane can someday be located.
We have also been attempting to contact the families of the 11 (crew) men
and have located five so far.
As your group still has current newsletters, I thought this information
might be of interest to your members. We have a Facebook page with our progress since June
2018. UPDATE:
If anyone reading this
has any information at all to help bring their family member home, please
contact Jeff O’Kane.
Email: btowntaz@hotmail.com
Phone: (661) 364-7552
(Bakersfield)
YOUR VOLUNTEERS
The
volunteers intend to represent the squadron members in the best way
possible.
Memoriam With sincere regrets we wish to report that since our last
newsletter we have received information that the following shipmates have
passed away. The great bond these
men had that tied them together with their squadron members can never be
broken. They served their country,
their squadron and their families in the highest tradition of the Navy.
May they rest in peace. VB/VPB/VP 106 Donald G. Speyer
1/19/19 Bernhard Meyer III
2/15/18 VPB 102/14 Hiram H. Van Buren
12/29/18 Wives Miriam Stephens – wife of
Jerrel D. Stephens (102) 1/8/19 There
may be more of our members who have passed on *******AS ALWAYS YOUR NEWS, COMMENTS, UPDATES, ETC. ARE WELCOME*******
If you do not want any
future newsletters
Mailed to you Send your name and
address
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