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San Diego Mini-Reunion 2006 WOW!!! WHAT A DAY WE HAD…….THE BIGGEST MINI REUNION WE HAVE HAD SO FAR…….THERE WERE 51 PEOPLE ATTENDING AND THAT INCLUDED 27 SHIPMATES. THEY CAME FROM ALASKA, GEORGIA, ARIZONA AND NO. CALIF. IT WAS A WONDERFUL DAY. WE HAD 2 PARKS CAPTAINS ATTENDING….CAPTAIN JACK O'NEILL (PARKS '60-'62) AND CAPTAIN GENE ERNER (PARKS '72-'73). ALSO ATTENDING WAS RADM RAY SMITH AND MANY OF YOU MIGHT REMEMBER HIM FROM OUR SAN DIEGO REUNION IN 1995 WHEN HE CAME AND TALKED TO US ABOUT THE NAVY SEALS AND PRESENTED A SLIDE SHOW. IT WAS GREAT TO SEE HIM ONCE AGAIN AND HE ASSURES US HE WILL BE AT MORE OF THE PARKS REUNIONS. ONE OF THE GREATEST HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY WAS THE REUNITING OF SHIPMATE JUAN SANCHEZ AND SHIPMATE CHRIS HILGINBERG…….GREAT BUDDIES WHO HADNT SEEN EACH OTHER IN OVER 50 YEARS. THEY BOTH SERVED ABOARD THE PARK '50-'52. TIME OF COURSE HAS CHANGED MANY THINGS BUT NOT THEIR FRIENDSHIP AND FOR MANY OF US JUST WATCHING THE TWO OF THEM TOGETHER WAS A HUGE TREAT. ONCE AGAIN WE HAD OUR YEARLY "CANDY COUNT" AND THE CANDY JAR WAS WON BY JUAN SANCHEZ' GRANDSON. WE OWE A BIG THANK YOU TO SANDRA JONES (FRIEND TO DECEASED SHIPMATE FRITZ LARGE ..PARKS '48-'50) WHO GOT HER BOSS TO DONATE GIFTS FOR OUR DOOR PRIZE DRAWING……HE DONATED HONEYBAKED HAM GIFT CERT., BLACK ANGUS GIFT CERT., AND 4 TICKETS TO A PADRES BASEBALL GAME. ALSO GIVEN AWAY WAS A NUT AND CANDY BASKET AND TWO BOXES OF SEES CHOCOLATES. EVERYONE HAD A GREAT LUNCHEON, "SEA STORIES" WERE ONCE AGAIN INFLATED AND RETOLD, FRIENDSHIPS WERE REKINDLED AND THE DAY WAS ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. IF YOU WERENT THERE……SEE WHAT YOU MISSED? WE ARE OUTGROWING THE SIZZLER RESTAURANT AND SO WILL SPEND THE NEXT YEAR ON THE HUNT FOR A LARGER PLACE. OUR PARKS NEWLYWED (SPRINGFIELD REUNION 2005), HAROLD GOLDEN, WAS HERE FOR THE MINI REUNION BUT HIS BRIDE WASN'T ABLE TO JOIN HIM. ATTENDING THE MINI REUNION WERE..ROBBY ROBBINS, BOB BAHLER, BILL AND SUE BIRDSONG, HAROLD GOLDEN, BOBBY GOLDEN, WALTER SOBOLEFF (FROM ALASKA), RANDY SCURIA, RON AND BETTY JOHNSON, CAPT. JACK AND BERTHA O'NEILL, BOB AND JERI CANFIELD, SOLOMON HONEYCUTT, SAM VILLA, VERNON MARION, DONALD BYRD, CAPT. GENE ERNER, JIM NAUGLE, NORMA MARTIN, SANDRA JONES, ALEX JONES, RILEY AND CLARA AKERS, BOB WILSON, CAROL MITCHELL, CHRIS AND LA DENA HILGINBERG, DEBRA HANNINK, JUAN SANCHEZ, KEN SANCHEZ, ERIC DANILEWICZ, VICTOR DANILEWICZ, JOE KEELEY, LARRY, LINDA, AND CAITLYN LARSON, LORENE BUWALDA, WELDON TIPPS, MARGARET HALE, SAM WILCOT, JOHN SCHERCK, DON GILLILAND, CRAIG AND PEGGY HOLOBOSKI, DANY AND SUSAN MARTINEZ, RICHARD AND ROSE KONG, AND RADM RAY SMITH. |
