Reunion Update
The Reunion survey told us a lot about what you’d like in the reunion coming up in March. Thank you to every one how participated. The numbers show that we’ll have a good turnout for this reunion! I will make this data available to MLRS and together we’ll try to get at much of it as you requested as possible into our event. Clear majorities favored a farewell breakfast over breakfast for all three days, a DJ for Saturday night and preferences for Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, USS New Jersey and Valley Forge. A formal event for Saturday was favored by 56% of the respondents who indicated a desire to attend. Only 19% indicated they cannot attend or are not likely to attend. That means 81% want to be in Philadelphia in June!

MLRS and I will work to try to cover the reunion as you have requested. Though making it all happen cannot be guarantees, we now have a clear view of what to do!

There were a few questions asked as we can clear up the major ones.

Can kids come? Yes, kids can come to the events and we've had children at all aspects of the reunions in the past. That said, sometimes kids get a little bored listening to sea stories, so please plan some things for them as well.

What will the reunion cost? The costs should be comparable to past reunions, though every year inflation does impact things. Just as in the past, you'll be able to customize your reunion participation to control the experience and costs. In a few months when the reunion packets are ready, we'll know more. You will use those packets to reserve your room and decide what events you'd like to attend.  I can tell you the number one complaint I hear after reunions is from people who wish they'd participated more, so I encourage you to join all the fun!

Can other events be scheduled for Thursday? If you are arriving early and would like to tour the Philadelphia area, you are encouraged to do so but you'll need to make those arrangements on your own. MLRS will be able to add on extra days for the hotel reservations for you.

Can the reunion go to Gettysburg? Gettysburg is quite far from Philadelphia and will not be part of the reunion. However, you are encouraged to visit the site of the Army of the Potomac's victory under General George Gordon Mead over The Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee. The history of this place in our Civil War is important and very interesting.

Now comes the part where we need you, every one of you, to help with this reunion. How? By getting out there and finding your shipmates, getting them into the one line crew, letting us get a reservation packet to them and finally by getting them to attend!!! Please, if each of you found just one shipmate and 80% of them showed up, we would have the most successful reunion of which I am aware for our DLG/CGs. Please, start finding them today!

Reunion Speakers and Help
This is an early call for officers and crew who’d like to speak at the reunion to let that desire be known. You can help by having a full speech prepared or by doing something shorter such as leading us in reciting the pledge of allegiance. We can use help in all areas! Maybe you can help by brining flags from you Legion Post, items for display, pictures or something else. It will be great to see everyone again but it will be even better to have more folks have a roll in making this the best event to date! Contact Dennis [(714)-961-6840] if you can help.

USS England Web Site
We are retiring the old server on which USS England and a number of other sites resided until this month. USS England, both the DLG/CG and DE635 has moved to a new home! There may be some restructuring to make later upgrades easier to accomplish but the base portal URL will be the same (http://www.ussengland.net) and will redirect users to http://www.ussengland.org. I am still working on the structure but it will likely result in the retiring of the old forum (already done) and the Deck Log (we’ll keep the Deck Log data someplace). These will be merged into a more up to date system that will help you find your shipmates and communicate more easily. Look for changes to start occurring over the next few months. The DLG/CG-22 site will be getting a new look and hopefully bring in more people to learn of the history and to reunite with shipmates! There is a possibility of some down time or features shut down temporarily but we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.

USS Slater DE766
As you have read here before, there is a WWII era Destroyer Escort in Albany New York. It is maintained by a group of volunteers and offers tours, a reunion site and more! Maintaining the ship is an all year task and finding parts has taken a lot of work! However, they have done it and continue to do so. On behalf off USS ENGLAND DE-635 and DLG/CG-22 two WWII battle lanterns are going to be sent to the USS Slater this month. This is a small contribution compared to what they need but we have these and they need a home. A current list of items wanted can be found here http://www.ussslater.org/parts/ and full details about the ship can be found here http://www.ussslater.org/. If you can help with a donation, information, a little time chipping paint or anything, please step up.