2015 REUNION HOTEL SELECTED

SHIPMATES:

 

Planning for the 2015 has been proceeding smoothly. It was decided at the Newport reunion to have the 2015 reunion in Norfolk, VA. Carol and I stopped by in August to evaluate the 4 finalist hotels and we found all them to be reasonably acceptable. However, one stood out above the group.

 

We selected the Holiday Inn Norfolk Airport hotel. The Holiday Inn Norfolk Airport is not your typical Holiday Inn. It is a more upscale version of the Holiday Inns that most clients are familiar with and those who tour it are surprised how nice it is.  All rooms are charming and very spacious, plus all rooms have a microwave, fridge, and coffeemaker on a complimentary basis.They hotel has an indoor pool and hot tub, fitness center, a great little restaurant serving breakfast and dinner, a lobby bar, business center, a sundry shop, meeting and banquet facilities. Complimentary internet is provided to all guests.

 

Each morning there will be a complimentary full breakfast buffet for up to 2 guests per guest room for our reunion attendees. The hotel will provide a spacious complimentary hospitality room during our stay. We will be able to bring in our own beverages and snacks to the hospitality room. If you decide to have dinner in the restaurant they have offered a 10% discount.

 

The military reunion banquet menu is only $35.00 per person which includes tax and service charge.

 

There is complimentary airport shuttle 24 hours – 7 days a week to and from Norfolk International PLUS a courtesy shuttle for guests to local shopping and dining within a 5 mile radius of the hotel. There is also free self-parking.

 

All of this is available for only $95.00 net rate plus taxes (14% –$2.00 flat city tax) per room per night. This rate will be available for three days pre and & post the reunion dates which are April 26 – 29, 2015.

 

Now that the hotel has been selected, I will be working on the tours. There are some very fine tours and as soon as I have completed the tour schedule, I will send an email to all those with email service. When ALL plans are complete I will make a mailing via USPS to all shipmates without email service.

 

So mark your calendars for the reunion and I hope to see many of you there.

 

Smooth Sailing, Jim Julian

Stanley Edward Znoj pictures

I received the following email this morning and thought that there some of the  40's shipmates may remember Stanley. Stanley passed away in 1964 and his son has been in contact with me.
Jim Julian

Meant to get these pictures of my dad to you prior to the reunion but end of 12 and beginning of 13 in hospital/rehab.  oh well.

Anyway these two pictures of my dad, Stanley Edward Znoj were taken in 1943 and 1944.

this is 1943 prior to the Hazelwood shipping out. Pop was a SF1.

This was taken in 1944 after he had transferred off the Hazelwood. He's now a CSF.

maybe these will trigger some of Pop's shipmates memories.

regards,

Al Znoj

TAPS

I just received information that Bill Means passed away in January of this year. Here is his obituary:

William E. "Billy" Means

January 15, 2013

William E. “Billy” Means, 70, of Whitman, passed away on Tuesday January 15th at his home surrounded by his loving family. He was the beloved husband of Veronica (Ware) Means. Born in Brockton, son of the late Edward Means and Alice (O’Connell) (Means) Fowler. Billy was a lifelong resident of Whitman, graduate of Whitman-Hanson High School, class of 1962. He was a proud veteran of the United States Navy, serving his country for 1962-1966 and was a member of the American Legion Post 22 and the VFW Post 697 in Whitman. Billy was a retired union carpenter from the Local Union # 424. He enjoyed fishing and working in his own woodshop and he especially enjoyed being with his grandkids. In addition to his wife Veronica, he is survived by his 3 daughters, Michelle Means-Drass and her fiancé John Andres of West Bridgewater, Maureen Higgins and her husband Steve of Abington, and Melissa Miller and her husband Brian of East Bridgewater, his brothers, Mark Means and his wife Tracy of Virginia and Steve Fowler and his wife Lynn of Vermont, his sisters, Patricia Reade and her husband Bud of Florida, Donna Mullen and her husband Michael of New Hampshire and Judy Smith and her husband Fred of Vermont; also six grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. His services will be held on Monday January 21st at 8:00PM in the Blanchard Funeral Chapel, Plymouth St. (Rte 58 at the rotary circle) Whitman. His visitation will be held prior to the service from 4:00-8:00PM.Burial will be in the MA V.A. National Cemetery on Tuesday January 22nd at 10:30AM.Family and friends are invited to attend a gathering after his burial on Tuesday at 1:00PM in the American Legion Hall, Legion Parkway, Whitman. Donations may be made in his name to the Charity of One’s Choice.

TAPS

Last month I got a call from Paul Jennings, the son of Ross R. Jennings.  Ross passed away on March 4, 2003 at age 77. I know this is 10 years ago but Paul just found our Blog Site and called me to let me know. I did some digging and found Ross's obituary in the Tulsa World

JENNINGS -- Ross R., 77. Born January 13, 1926 in Sioux City, IA, passed away March 4, 2003. Worked for Aetna Casualty and Surety Co., for 25 years, member of US Navy in WWII. Preceded in death by wife, Janis and parents. He is survived by sons, John Mark and wife, Beth, Paul and wife, Barbara; daughter, Carol Ann Higgins and husband, Michael; grandchildren, Jacob, Charles, Daniel, Jonathan, Jennifer; brothers, Jay and Claude. Service will be held 10 a.m., Friday, March 7, 2003 at Southeast Baptist Church with interment to follow at Floral Haven Cemetery. Under the direction of Moore's Eastlawn Chapel, 622-1155.

Smooth Sailing, Jim Julian

READY FOR INSPECTION

Prior to the banquet, we had several photographs taken. One was of the crew "ready for inspection". Here is that picture with the names. If I got the wrong name on a person, let me know and I will correct it.

Smooth Sailing, Jim Julian

HAZELWOOD CAKE ??? !!!

At the banquet on April 29, Rich Ernst arranged for a surprise dessert that really surprised everyone. We were all treated to a cake made into the Hazelwood as it was configured after the DASH conversion. There was a helicopter hanger and platform and all the trimmings.

And even though it looked like the ship, it was delicious also. The forward part of the ship was chocolate and the after part was yellow cake. The superstructure was built up using rice crispies. Here is a view from the front. The cake was made by a local gal who has a full time job but does specialty cakes on the side. Her name is Irene Buonaccorsi and we thank her so much for the wonderful cake.

You may be wondering what was in all of the gift bags on the table. They contained a set of four glass coffee mugs inscribed with same pattern that is used on our caps and shirts. Since the glass is clear it was difficult to get a good picture, but here is the best I could do! 

The red tissue is in the glass so you could see the pattern which is on both sides of the cup.

 

This reunion has been so great that it will be a tough act to follow!!

 

Smooth sailing, Jim julian

 

 

 

HAZELWOOD MODEL DONATED

During our recent reunion the model of the Hazelwood was donated to the Battleship cove Museum in Fall River, MA. The model was built by John Hankins, Jr. for his father John, Sr. who served during the Kamikaze attack and survived. John Sr. has since passed away.
The model was always a welcome feature at the reunions but it was a major chore to have hauled from one reunion to the next. At the Jacksonville (2011) reunion the group agreed to have it donated to an appropriate museum. Battleship Cove seemed appropriate because if it's proximity to Newport where DD531 was home-ported a number of years.
Battleship Cove said they could guarantee that the model would be safely stored when not on display. They have a number of models and display them on a rotating basis. They also informed us that if we have a reunion nearby, they would allow us to borrow the model.

The donation was of enough interest to local TV stations that we got coverage. I do not know how long this link will be good, but if you go to this site you can see the TV coverage.

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/wwii-destroyer-returns-to-new-england

 

Smooth sailing, Jim julian