The Lee Doyel Report 2005 Reunion Lee Doyel, a retired Captain, was the Engineering Officer aboard the USS Tracer AGR-15 as a green nose Ensign and LTJG. He is the heart and soul of our alumni organization and Annually makes a report after the reunion. He started attending the reunions at the second annual reunion and has been at everyone since. Here is his report for 2005 S.F. Reunion. The tenth YAGR reunion was held on 19, 20 and 21 May 05 at the San Mateo Marriott Hotel six miles from the San Francisco airport. The hotel facilities were the best to date and furnished shuttles to downtown San Mateo and to the nearby BART (rapid transit) station which was 20 minutes from downtown San Francisco.. There was a pre reunion tour on Wed 18 May to the wine country north of San Francisco. The regular Friday tour was of San Francisco proper including the Golden Gate Bridge and Chinatown with lunch onboard the Liberty Ship, SS Jeremiah O’Brien which is berthed near Fisherman’s Warf. For the first time there were two post reunion tours. One was a day cruise on the O’Brien out under the Golden Gate (memories, memories) and back around the bay by Alcatraz and Treasure Island. Treasure Island was turned over to the City of San Francisco several years ago and most of the facilities were turned into subsidized housing. The Pavilion (old HQ building) is still there along with the hangers. The old wooden piers are gone but the concrete one is still there. As this was a regularly scheduled cruise (The Seaman’s Memorial Cruise 2005) for the ship there were over 950 passengers including YAGRs onboard. During the cruise numerous dedication wreaths (20) for individuals and organizations were thrown overboard including one for YAGRS, although it was misspelled (YAGER). Most areas of the ship were open for inspection including the engine room and lunch was served to all crew and passengers. The second post reunion tour was for those that didn’t want to take the ship cruise was by ferry across the bay to Sausalito, a well known artist and seaside community At the Saturday business meeting Harry Miller gave the financial report and the association is in the black. For the first time in several years reunion costs were subsidized ($650) by the association. He reported 156 men and 127spouses/guests for a total of 283 in attendance. Tracer had the highest attendance with 21 men with 10 being first timers. They were Beck, Birr, Deardorf, Jerezewski, Kelly, Marcheschi, Martin, McCoy, Wood and Van Scotter. Harry reported that as each year goes by the total attendance figures increase between 15 and 20 persons. If this holds, the 2006 attendance should be around 300. Another statistic reported was there were 60 guys from west of the Mississippi and 91 from east of it. He reported that the association had located 1,971 former crew members. Work on the memorial space onboard USS Massachusetts (BB-59) continues with voluntary work (primarily Harry & those living in the immediate area of Fall River, MS). To date $16,700 has been spent on the exhibits and continues to be a first class exhibit. A video of the history and service of the YAGRS is being professionally produced (approximate cost, $2,500) for showing in the space. The association gave another $1,000 to the Massachusetts which brings the total over the years to $4,000. Harry also reported that he had received enough information about the ships to get started in the coming year on producing the long scheduled book on our picket ships. He also addressed a problem that comes up every year. However this year it became uncontrollable. The problem is people wanting to sign up late. In years past a commitment 30 days prior to the reunion was sufficient. This year required 45 days. There are valid reasons for establishing a cut off date. Lead times are for securing and scheduling an appropriate number of busses, hotel rooms, banquet umbers, etc. which in many cases are beyond Harry’s control. This year the busses in the area were in high demand and although he tried to get extra buses for the late sign ups, none were available. So it is incumbent on everyone to sign up as early as possible and no later than the cutoff date. This should not be a problem since the reunion location is known a year in advance. The reunion is always around second or third week of May. Therefore mark your calendar for those dates. Harry usually has firm dates in Sep/Oct which gives a 6 to 7 month lead time. Sign up. You can always cancel (even if you pay the registration fee). If your registration fees do not cost the association money Harry will refund it. Harry says he will not be amenable to accepting late requests next year. The group voted to have the 2006 reunion in St Louis. Other cities in the running were Cincinnati, OH, Washington DC and New Port Beach, VA. The fact next year’s host, Ervin Thomure, (Searcher AGR-4) promised tours of the Budweiser plant with free beer may have been the deciding factor. Beer seems to get a sailor every time. |