Reunion 2007 Schedule

This year we will be meeting in North Haven, Connecticut at the Holiday Inn. It will be the return of the group to New England after a two year cycle in Middletown Ohio. We're hoping to see the guys who couldn't travel west and who live close to the new reunion site.

In addition to our A/2/12 veterans, we will be sharing the weekend with some members of the 2/77th Artillery who manned the big guns at Fire Support Base Gold during the Battle of Suoi Tre . We share much history with these men and in the 40th anniversary of the epic battle of March 21, 1967, we are honored to mark the occasion with them on this weekend.

We will once more be bringing the flags of all the home states of our Association Members that we acquired last year. We're not sure why the flags weren't signed last year, but we'll give it another try this time around. We're hoping to get the signature of all the men on these flags over the course of the next few years.

This year Al Peckham is providing all new designed hats and t-shirts. They were created by his daughter and they look fantastic.

Some attendees will be arriving early. There are plans for some of them to golf at the nearby Public Golf Course.

This will not be the tournament date, just a casual game to practice with the golfing gang.

On Thursday morning at 10:30 AM the Thursday golfers will golf at this Course:

Lyman Public Course
Middlefield, CT
Exit 18 off Rt 91
15 miles from reunion site

Golfers will recall the course as the site that was used the last time we had a reunion in CT.

Those who choose to join them should contact Sam Babcock at this e-mail address:

The Greater Ivy Open, with all the prestige associated with the event, will take place on Friday morning at 10:30AM. You may recall that last year's tournament was canceled due to rain. It doesn't rain in Connecticut in June, so be prepared to duke it out for the coveted Ivy Open Green Jacket of Envy!

Be sure to contact Sam Babcock if you have intentions on golfing this weekend.

While the golf match takes place the non golfers will be exploring the area and its many attractions. Remember we have two world class casinos who are itching to challenge you to beat the odds within a short drive from North Haven. I'll print up directions to both Mohegan Sun, Chris favorite place to throw fate to the wind (actually she's pretty lucky. I'm not) and Foxwood, the largest Casino in the world.

So you'd rather not leave your hard earned cash in games of chance? OK, here are other attractions in the area provided by Holiday Inn, North Haven:

Yale University (8 MI / 12.87 KM )

Historic Downtown New Haven (8 MI / 12.87 KM )

Shoreline (10 MI / 16.09 KM )

Palace Performing Arts Center (8 MI / 12.87 KM )

Shubert Performing Arts Center (8 MI / 12.87 KM )

Peabody Museum of Natural History (8 MI / 12.87 KM )

Lighthouse Park/Shoreline (10 MI / 16.09 KM )

Foxwoods Casino (60 MI / 96.56 KM )

Mohegan Sun Casino (50 MI / 80.46 KM )

Hammonasset State Park (35 MI / 56.33 KM )

Mystic Village (50 MI / 80.46 KM )

Hartford (30 MI / 48.28 KM )

New York City (75 MI / 120.7 KM )

Metro North/Amtrak (8 MI / 12.87 KM )

Two Shopping Malls (12 MI / 19.31 KM )

We will all regroup for dinner, which will be served at 6PM and will include this menu:

Green salad with house dressing
Veggie Lasagna
Baked ziti
Meatballs and garlic bread

On both evenings, Sam Babcock has arranged for the Reunion Hall to be served by a cash bar, should you care to enjoy either hard or soft refreshments.

At 7:30 pm, I'll be presenting a little video which will include movie clips from the highlights of the first six years of our reunions. I will also include clips from the movies shot by Steve Sanborn at Dau Tieng. Most of us have seen the film, but for others, it will offer a chance to see what it was like for us as we served in Vietnam during 1967 in our Company. It will all be over by 8:30, at the latest, to allow the attendees to spend the evening together in conversation.

Morning activities after breakfast, will include a trip to the local Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Wallingford CT, approximately ten miles away. All are welcomed to join us as we visit a memorial to the men who served in Vietnam during the Conflict.

A local veterans' group has agreed to play taps for us and provide a gun salute

Some of our most profound thoughts on our tours are shared in the shadow of these monuments to service to our country. This is the time to pause and consider the many losses and sacrifices that were made by the men who carried the torch when their time arrived to serve our Country in a far away land.

After our traditional moments of reflection at the Memorial we will return to the the Holiday Inn to be served lunch.

DELI BUFFET
AN ARRAY OF FRESH CUT DELI MEATS
CHEDDAR AND SWISS CHEESE
LETTUCE AND TOMATOES
ASSORTED BREADS AND BUNS
CONDIMENTS
POTATO CHIPS
COFFEE - TEAS

Saturday afternoon will be the highlight period of the weekend as the Ceremony and Testimonials will take place.

Allyn J Palmer will once more serve as our Master Of Ceremonies for the afternoon.

A Table of Honor will be set for Eugene Handrahan, A Company MIA, who never returned from the war. Bill Braniff, who was Gene's Squad Leader in Vietnam will once again set the table for our missing brother from our Unit. As the Table of Honor is set, the significance of the different adornments will be explained by Porter Harvey. Once we have brought the missing soldier's spirit into our fold we will begin the Ceremonies by the singing of the National Anthem, graciously sung by Joe Cunningham, who will serve as DJ that evening.

We will be honored by the Governor of Connecticut , the Honorable Mary Jodi Rell, who has agreed to be a guest speaker at our annual reunion. She has a special mission that we've managed to keep under wraps for the past few months.

The next segment will be the lighting of the Flames Of Remembrance Candles with the reading of the names of the forty-four combat losses of men who served in A/2/12 anytime during the year 1966-1967 by the surviving vets. Ed Smith will do the honors this year presenting the names. In conjunction with this lighting, I will be displaying all the Association photos that I have accumulated on our lost Brothers from members.

This will be followed by a short slide tribute detailing the actions of March 21, 1967 to mark the day when the Third Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division set the ceiling on enemy losses for the entire Vietnam Conflict. Finally we will light a special Candle of Remembrance for the men who gave their lives that morning at Fire Support Base Gold.

This will be followed by the reading of the names of men who we've lost to natural causes since our tour in Vietnam.

We have a surprise honor to bestow this year to one of our members and this will take place next.

Ed Smith will give a short speech detailing the specifics and acquisition of this honor.

Upon our return, a number of speakers will move to the podium to submit their thoughts on our tour in Vietnam.

Finally, Bob Livingston will be presenting a couple of Vietnam Service Commemorative medals to two worthy Association Members.

The winner of the Greater Ivy Open Golf Tournament will be announced next. The last one to win the award was Denny Foerster two years ago. Who will it be this year? We'll find out then.

At the end of the ceremony we'll take our annual reunion photo before dinner.

green salad with house dressing
warm rolls and butter
sliced roast beef with cabernet mushrooms
new England baked scrod
green beans with carmelized onions
red roasted potatoes
chocolate cake, coffee, tea, soft drinks

Saturday evening, we will be providing a new feature. We will be enjoying the music of DJ Joe Cunnigham who will be playing music for the fifties and sixties for our listening and dancing pleasure. I believe we may even have a bit of karaoke for the brave souls this evening. The fun will start at 8PM. No special time for this social to end. He'll be there as long as there are patrons. Be there or be square....err or something like that.

Sunday morning, June 3rd, 2007 will feature breakfast from 8 to 9:30 AM and the menu will be:

Orange juice, coffee, tea
Assorted muffins
Scrambled eggs
Pancakes w/ hot syrup
Bacon and sausage

This will be our last opportunity to say goodbye to our buddies and the ladies from the Association. As the years go by, we learn to appreciate the special blessings we share in being able to once more spend time with friends and brothers who played pivotal roles in our lives. We are indeed fortunate. Most veterans never have this opportunity.