USS BELL
ASSOCIATION (DD587)
FEBRUARY, 2010
IN THIS ISSUE:
SAVANNAH REUNION REGISTRATION FORM
Oh, how I am looking forward to spring!
When the weather is cold, damp and windy, I become a House Hermit!
I do love the outdoors and look forward to spring planting. I hope your holidays were good and 2010
will be a blessed year for each and everyone.
WELCOME ABOARD
Another U.S.S.
BELL shipmate has been located. He
is Robert Richard House. Robert and
Billie House live in Georgetown, Kentucky.
We would love to see them in Savannah and welcome them into the BELL family.
IN MEMORY
Shipmate Kenneth Palmer Lamb passed away
January 4, 2010. A memorial service
was held February 20th, 2010 at the Grace Lutheran Church in Rancho Cordova, CA.
More information will follow in the next newsletter.
MAILBAG
…..I am writing
to the U.S.S. BELL Association Newsletter to let you know that my father, Clyde
O. Hatch passed away on May 28, 2009.
My father so enjoyed the Newsletters and had saved everyone that he had
received. I’m so sorry it’s taken so
long to send this letter but it has been a difficult task for us to do so. Clyde was sworn into the U.S. Navy and
began training at Great Lakes Training Center on March 14, 1944. He finished training in mid April 1944
and in late April 1944 headed on a troop train for the West Coast. In May 1944, he was at Camp Shoemaker
waiting for transportation to the South Pacific.
In June 1944, he was on a large troop ship. He arrived in the Marianas Islands Fleet
Base Operations in late June 1944.
About 50 or so were assigned to the U.S.S. Bell DD587 Destroyer as replacements
for others who returned to the States for some time at home before being
reassigned. This was his home for
the next 18 months. He was a
Fireman, 1st Class and was honorably discharged from the Navy on January 24,
1946. Our father had told us many stories from
his “Navy Days”. I so enjoyed
hearing them and he enjoyed telling them to us.
There may have been a war going on but he somehow found some time to have fun,
too! Although he did not attend a reunion, I
am sure he would have dearly enjoyed attending one.
.….Thank you, Nancy M. (Hatch) Gray, Daughter (hatchnan@yahoo.com)
…..Thank you very much for your courtesy
all of these years in sending me the newsletters. I appreciate the information in the
newsletter. Perhaps if one of the
reunions is closer to me, I’ll be able to attend. I will not fly these days. Restrictions are too much! Never liked
flying anyway. Hope your Christmas
was Happy. Have a great New Year!
…..Best Wishes, Mary Ellen Meehan, widow of Thomas E. Meehan RM2
(Note: Shipmate Meehan was also a Plank Owner)
REUNION NEWS
Reunion plans have been
finalized and I am looking forward to seeing many of you in the beautiful city
of Savannah, GA, May 26th through May 29th.
If you can come earlier or stay later, there is much to see and do. The host hotel is The Inn at Ellis
Square located on West Bay Street, directly across the street from the river and
just a block away from Market Square.
The hotel does not have a restaurant but offers a complimentary deluxe
continental breakfast. Market
Square, located directly behind the hotel is alive with restaurants, shopping
and has benches for just relaxing.
Savannah is an elegant
Southern Belle, waiting to captivate you with her tree-filled squares and
perfectly preserved historic buildings.
She will mesmerize you by her natural beauty and embrace you with her
warm Southern hospitality. Savannah
was established in 1733, shaped from a wilderness by founder James Edward
Oglethorpe and a group of English settlers.
Oglethorpe favored Savannah with what has become her world-renowned claim
to fame – the park-like squares that today are surrounded by genteel homes,
stately churches and intriguing shops and galleries. Savannah grew up to be a bustling port
famed for exporting cotton, and a city of culture whose architecture blended a
variety of styles still in evidence – Federal, English Regency, Greek Revival,
Gothic Revival, Italianate, Romanesque Revival and Queen Anne.
During the Civil War,
Savannah was in December 1864, the prize at the end of the Union army’s
devastating “March to the Sea”, but was spared by General William Tecumseh
Sherman, who made her a “Christmas gift” to President Abraham Lincoln. On December 22, 1864, General Sherman
sent President Lincoln a message stating: “I beg to present you, as a Christmas
gift, the City of Savannah.”
Savannah is waiting with
nearly 300 years of history – showcased on the streets and squares of the
largest historic landmark district in the United States; with an array of
impeccably maintained house museums, and with a variety of venues including the
oldest standing brick fort in Georgia, the oldest antebellum railroad repair
facility in the country and one of the newest and best aviation museums in the
world “The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum” and in 2009 acquired a historic World
War II B-17 Flying Fortress.
I am only scheduling one
group tour and that will be a Trolley Tour Overview of the City of Savannah.
From the Overview Tour you will see how easy it is to get around in Savannah. Walking and enjoying all the parks is a
favorite pastime for those that live there and those that are visiting. There are many tours available and
because everyone has favorite things they like to see and do, all tours can be
arranged by the hotel concierge.
Among the choices are the Historic Savannah Carriage Tours, The Paula
Deen
Tour, Ghosts and Gravestones Tour, numerous walking tours, Davenport House
Museum (where Savannah’s Preservation Began”, the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace
and Childhood Home of the Girl Scouts Founder, and Savannah Riverboat Cruises.
Wednesday, May 26th, is
registration day. We will have a
Welcome Reception in the Hospitality Room in the afternoon to meet and greet and
get a little caught up on what’s been going on since we last saw each other.
On Thursday, May 27th, a
Trolley will pick us up at the hotel and we will tour the city in the morning
and the afternoon will be doing what you want to do. The Market Square is a block behind the
hotel with restaurants, shops and benches to rest when needed. For those of you that have asked, Paula Deen’s restaurant is behind the hotel with easy walking
distance. Across the street in front
of the hotel, you can walk to the riverfront where there are also many
restaurants to choose from. When you
walk across the street from the hotel, you will walk just a short way to the
right to the Hyatt Hotel. On the
right side of the hotel outside the lobby entry there is an elevator that will
take you down to the river. Along
the riverfront there is benches for sitting and enjoying the ships coming in and
going out of the port. Savannah is a
very busy port city and many tankers and freighters make their way in and out of
Savannah. Also, on the waterfront you will find
open air markets for browsing and don’t forget to stop in at the River Street
Candy Store for one of their wonderful “Pralines”.
Yum, Yum.
Friday, May 28th is your day
to do as you wish or just relax in the Hospitality Room to catch up on all the
news since the last reunion.
Saturday, May 29th we will
gather for our memorial service and brief meeting after which we will have some
fun and entertainment with our annual auction.
The auction is not only fun but it helps the treasury quite a bit. Saturday evening our Farewell Dinner will
be held on the Savannah River on The Savannah River Queen Riverboat. The boat is handicap accessible and the
dining room is located on the entry level so no stairs will have to be taken.
The Riverboats have been serving the Savannah area for thirty two years.
You will see some of the beauty that thrives along the river from the
glass enclosed decks or you can view it from outside the enclosed dining area.
The food is prepared by the personal chef who works full time for the company. The food is fantastic and you will want
to be hungry because the menu of five entrees including boneless pork loin, beef top sirloin,
peel & eat shrimp, roasted chicken, and seafood au gratin plus salads,
vegetables, bread, assorted desserts, coffee, lemonade and tea will be
bountiful.
HOTEL INFORMATION –
The Inn at Ellis Square will require your reservations no later than April 26th.
After that date, any rooms left unused will be returned to the hotel.
It is better to make reservations early and if necessary to cancel for some
reason would be less difficult than trying to make them after the deadline for
the reunion rates. The rates are
$97.00 per day plus tax. If you are
driving to Savannah, the hotel garage is just outside the entrance to the hotel. Parking rate is $9.00 per day. A wheelchair is available if anyone might
need it. The phone number for
reservations is 1-877-542-7666 Ext. 147 or you can ask for Jean Soloman or tell them you want to reserve your room for the
USS BELL reunion.
Attached is the registration
form. All tours and reservations
have a deadline of April 26th.
For those of you flying into
Savannah, transportation to and from the hotel is available
through K Shuttle. You will need to
reserve a pickup by calling 877-243-2050 and giving them your name, date of
arrival, airline, and flight number.
Their fee is $24.00 per person one way or $34.00 roundtrip. Upon arrival, you will go out to the
Ground Transportation and their bus will be a bright green and white with a
large “K” on the side.
Happy Trails everyone and I
look forward to seeing one and all in May.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
REGISTRATION FORM
SAVANNAH REUNION 2010
SAVANNAH TROLLEY CITY TOUR
- $20.00 PER PERSON
NO. OF
PERSONS_____________________
TOTAL AMOUNT____________
NAMES -
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NEW SAVANNAH RIVER QUEEN
TOUR AND DINNER - $45.00 PER PERSON
NO. OF
PERSONS___________________
TOTAL AMOUNT_____________
NAMES -
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