USS BELL
ASSOCIATION (DD587)
FEBRUARY, 2010
IN THIS ISSUE:
Ø MAILBAG
Ø 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.
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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