NOT TO LEAVE THE SHIP - 1st Quarter 2014
SDIEGO HERE WE COME!
2014 A HOME PORT REUNION
The sixth Bi-Annual Reunion of the USS HULL Association returns to the ship’s home port of San Diego. The dates will be 21 through the morning of 24 October. The location is a familiar berth, The Handlery Hotel & Resort conveniently located along Hotel Circle off Interstate 8. Besides outstanding service, The Handlery offers easy access to beaches, bases, mountains and all of the exciting and nostalgia in between those memories from the past.
USS Germantown (LSD-47) returns
Navy ships move in and out of San Diego daily, just as they have for decades. The ships and skyline are different today, but San Diego remains a town that is very “Navy-friendly.” The same goes for the Handlery, where quality of service especially for the price remains top of the line. Scroll down to page bottom for Registration forms. Our package includes group rates three days before and after the Reunion. So, if you have the time…………
WHY NOT ADD A VACATION, TOO!
Visit La Jolla Cove, Mission Bay Park, Old Town, Mount Laguna, Julian gold mining town, San Diego Chargers if they’re in town and the Padres if they’re in the MLB playoffs, Torre Pines Beach, Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument, Little Italy, Sea World, Coronado Beach, Wild Animal Park, Legoland, USS Midway, Maritime Museum, the world famous San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, the San Diego Bay Cruise, many excellent restaurants and other sites.
HANDLERY HAS MANY PLUSES
The Handlery is an ideal facility to host our Reunion. The hospitality suite, a centerpiece for the gathering, is adjacent to the pool deck with tables inside and outside our venue, and we’ll enjoy a large banquet room for our meetings and meals.
The guest rooms were recently refurbished, Each contains flat screen TV’s and refrigerators. There is a lounge with live entertainment, a heated swimming pool with a poolside fitness center. The Handlery also offers complimentary shuttle service to a number of local attractions.
FROM THE HULL PRESIDENT:
It’s official – San Diego, USA will be the home for the 2014 Bi-Annual USS HULL Association Reunion. For most of us, the memories of our homeport are positive - or carry both ups and downs. Regardless it’s good, actually important I believe, to return and remember. That’s what a Reunion is all about anyway. The military has changed and so has San Diego. Both DD-350 and DD-945 have played important roles in world history. We’ve had experiences fewer and fewer can relate to, so come and join us and share. We’ll have a great time.
Master Chief M.A. Gallegos USN RET.
President, USS HULL Association
AND, OUR DD-350 SHIPMATES
The shadows of the USS HULL (DD-350) hold memories of a great Navy town called “San Diego,” home to many, many ships and submarines – visited literally by countless others.
NTC, the Navy Training Center, was where many of us got our first taste of Navy life – in boot camp. It’s where my Dad had his, too in WW I – plus some ‘boat’ time. Too bad they closed it down. Now they have boot camp and the ice boats in Great Lakes. When World War II broke out and they finally built some ships, NTC was really humming and many of us went through boot camp in 21 days - long enough to get a haircut, march on the grinder, learn about Navy lingo and get our shots – boy that one with the square needle in the left testicle really hurt - a joke at the time - and it was out to the Fleet.
Four or 5 of us from each company got orders to a school. I went to “Sound School” and they call it “Sonar School” now. By the way, the USS Recruit is still in place – facing Harbor Drive – where it’s been since commissioning as a trainer in 1949 – and still ‘ship shape.’
There was always a lot to do in San Diego because the watering holes were plentiful, the girls were pretty and you could always find a great place to find one and dance. But, some of those places kept a record – I mean really kept a record. A reunion coordinator from another San Diego ‘tin can’ told me a few years ago he called a hotel to make arrangements. When he gave the DD’s name, the hotel quickly got back saying nobody from that ship is ever allowed back there again. He said “lady, that was 60 years ago – we’re a little ‘mellower’ now!”
What used to be the destroyer base is now Naval Station San Diego. I visited the DD 945 when it was down there and my son was graduating from boot camp then joined the See Bees. As the first DD-350 shipmate to visit the D-945 I was given the royal treatment – by all hands! San Diego does have a lot of offer when visiting the area, plenty to see and good places to eat. I like the fish market. It’s good food and you see the Midway from there moored as a museum. Nearby is a statue depicting the famous photo of the sailor kissing a Navy nurse on V-J Day.
Yes, there are restaurants and sites aplenty. If you went through boot camp here, but never returned even if you live on the West Coast, I hope you return for the 2014 Reunion and see for yourselves. I look forward to meeting and visiting with each of you and sharing memories. We’re from different times, but we’re all sailors who went to sea on a ship by the same name – HULL.
For Your DD-350 Shipmates,
Pat Douhan
BACK TO SUBIC IN THE WORKS?
Could the US military return to Subic Bay because of tensions with the Chinese? Maybe a good discussion topic in the Reunion Hospitality Suite! Here’s a link to the story that appeared in the “Honolulu Advertiser” newspaper in July -
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20130728_Subic_Bay_decision_could_mean_more_US_troops_in_Philippines.html.
Treasurer’s NEW mailing address:
USS HULL ASSOC.
1651 Glorietta Blvd.
Coronado, CA 92118
USS Hull Association (DD350, DD945)
http://www.usshullassociation.org/_vti_bin/shtml.exe/index.htm
3 nights - October 21, 22, 23, 2014 –Handlery Hotel, San Diego, California
Where: Handlery Hotel San Diego, 950 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, CA 92108: Phone 800-676-6567
Website: http://sd.handlery.com/default.aspx?pg=specialspage&mcid=gc189a1
Room Rates: per night- $99.00 plus tax. This group rate is available 3 days before and 3 days after the reunion (based upon hotel availability). Check-in time is 3PM and checkout time is 12 noon. Cancellation policy is telephone notification of the hotel at least 72 hours prior to reservation date. Be sure to obtain a cancellation code reference number.
Reservations:
The Handlery reservation department is in a position to take reservations at this time. Given the flexible cancellation policy for unforeseen events, we suggest that you make a room reservation at this time. Please notify me when you make a room reservation so that we can balance our records against the hotel reports. Additionally, whether or not you send in the Registration Form at this time, it would be helpful for our planning purposes to notify me early on via email (preferred) or phone message if you plan to attend and if you are bringing a spouse or guest. Contact me at reunion2014@usshullassociation.org or at (818) 701-0882.
It is important to reserve your room under our room block so we can achieve our negotiated benefits and for the appropriate rate. All reservations should be guaranteed with a credit card for the first night plus tax. “No-show” reservations, or a reservation cancelled within 72 hours of scheduled arrival will be charged one first night room rate plus tax. Be sure to say USS Hull or DD945 when making your reservation.
Parking: Parking on an "in and out" basis is at no charge for overnight guests attending the reunion. Parking for non-overnight reunion visitors will be "comped" by the Association.
Air travel: San Diego International Airport is located near the hotel and serves most major airlines. Taxi and shuttle service is available at reasonable rates and we will inform you of current rates in the future.
Going forward, your reunion chairman and other members will be working on various venues available in San Diego to enhance your trip. For these optional activities, it will be necessary for us to approach our reunion date to finalize costs and availability.
In addition to the reunion, San Diego is also a great city for vacationing, both from the standpoint of weather all-year long and its many varied activities. For those who haven’t been here for a number of years, you will be very impressed with the city’s continued improvements. We’re looking forward to an excellent reunion and a great turnout of our fellow shipmates.
See you in San Diego in October 2014.
Bob Modell
USS Hull Association Reunion 2014 Chairman
reunion2014@usshullassociation.org
REUNION REGISTRATION FORM AND NAME BADGE INFO
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