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 .: Reunions
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REUNION 2006
April 26-30
"Wrap Up Summary"
The 2006 VP-5 Reunion was held April 26 through 30 once again at the Baymeadows Holiday Inn, Jacksonville, FL.
On Friday we visited the VP-5 squadron HQS. at NAS Jacksonville, Florida. The squadron CO, CDR William Johns, graciously gave us a slide presentation and talked about the recent activities of the squadron in support of the war on terror and drug interdiction, the current status of the squadron and it's future deployment. We then were given a tour of a squadron plane and an exhibit of current aircraft ordnance. We also enjoyed lunch at the NAS chow hall.
On Saturday evening the banquet arranged by Nick Mulich was again superb; the food and service were outstanding. Nick and Jim kept the hospitality room fully supplied with refreshments for the four day conference. The hats and tee shirts given to attendees were unique and are treasured memorabilia of the event. Nick and Jim were recognized during the banquet program for their hard work which made the Reunion so enjoyable for all.
My wife, Gaila Pettway, led off the program by reciting the poem by Rachel Firth, "The Reunion". This is becoming a tradition, I think, and there wasn't a dry eye in the room after her address.
I gave the Reunion an update on the status of the recovered LA-9 Crew remains, as reported to me by Ken Terry of Navy Casualty. The lab process is complete for the remains recovered in August, 2004. The unidentified remains which were interred in Arlington cemetery in the "common" grave site in 1966 are now undergoing lab DNA analysis for identification. Once those tests are complete, a full report will be made to the surviving families of the 12 crewmen, and the remains interred per the family's wishes. The Navy Casualty and CILHI officials are hopeful that remains of all 5 crewmen who were previously not identified, will be this time. The LA-9 case is a priority case for CILHI, and is being expedited.
The banquet guest speaker was former navy combat photographer/diver, PO2, Jeffrey Lehrberg. Jeff served over four years active duty, and is now attending college in pursuit of a degree in marine biology. Jeff was on the navy's Greenland LA-9 Recovery Mission of August, 2004. He delivered a wonderful presentation of the recovery mission which included planning, team members, his job on the mission, the problems they encountered and the success they had. Following a question and answer session, Jeff played the navy video of the mission and showed photos, all of which he made of the recovery mission. They were both fascinating and moving.
Special guests attending this year's Reunion were USMC Maj. (retired) J.P. Cole and his wife, Jeanie. J.P. was the leader of the 1966 Greenland LA-9 Recovery Mission. Also attending were the LA-9 PPC CDR. Kozak's widow, Mrs. Ruth Jacob, and their daughter, Patty Masciantoni. We were honored this year to have two of the daughters of LA-9 crew-member AO3 Grover Wells in attendance, Mrs.Wanda (Wells) Radosti and Mrs. Margie (Wells) Castro, and their husbands and children. There were over 160 people who attended the Reunion, some who came from as far away as California, Washington, and New England. It was a gratifying Reunion this year, as we near closure for the crew of LA-9.
Regards,
Bob Pettway
rpettway@centurytel.net
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"VP-5 2006 Reunion Summary Page"
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Last Updated 06MAY2006
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