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The Rebel Yell&

Lee’s ShadowUSS Robert E. Lee (SSBN/SSN-601) Association Summer 2002

Next Reunion

New Orleans, September 26-27, 2003

This past April, Lynda and I visited New Orleans to check

out hotels for the 2003 reunion. As a result, we set the date for

the reunion to be September 26 & 27, 2003. The hotel we have

selected as the site for our next reunion is:

Holiday Inn Downtown-Superdome

330 Loyola Ave.

New Orleans, LA 70112

Toll-Free: 800-535-7830

Tel: 1-504-581-1600

Fax: 1-504-522-0073

holidayinndowntownsuperdome.com

We spent almost 3 months interviewing about 3 dozen

hotels. Trying to find dece nt hotels in the “B ig Easy” willing to

give us reasonable rates during this time of the year was an

adventure. The Holiday Inn offered us $109 per night. When

compared to past reunions that may sound high, b ut please keep

in mind that the typical room rate in New O rleans during this

time of the year is $1 59. Mo st hotels near the French Q uarter

quoted rates ranging from $179 to $229.

Another problem was arran ging for meals we could all

afford. Many hotels quoted over $40 per person for the banquet,

plus 9.5% ta x and 20% gratuity per person tacked on to that

(total of over $52). Once again, the Holiday In n worked with us

to develop affordable menus. W e’re still getting quotes for

bands, kegs of beer and other things that need to be budgeted

before I can set the reun ion fee. But, fro m what we c an tell so far,

we’re confident tha t the reunion fee should be about the same as

past reunion s.

We selected the Holiday Inn because it was recently

remodeled and in "like new" condition. The sleeping rooms are

large and better than most of the hotels we saw in New Orleans

that wanted over $200 a night. The bar, restaurant, public areas

and meeting facilities can best be described as "cozy" and are

filled with original artwork. The hotel is across the street from a

city park, 2 blo cks from the S uperdo me and an easy 10 min ute

walk to the French Quarters (but, a free shuttle also runs every

hour to the Quarters, Casino and River Walk attractions).

During our reunion, we'll practically "own" the entire 8th

floor, which has an outdoor pool surrounded by a large deck

made for parties. W e'll use the large me eting room with a wall

that opens on to the pool deck. We'll also have a bar set up (and

open most of the time) in the good sized lobby that also leads

to our hospitality suite. Our entire first day, business meeting,

pre-banquet reception a nd after ban quet danc e party will all be

on the 8th floor & pool deck. If more than 300 people show up,

the first floor's banquet room might be a little cramped. But, we

served on subma rines ... we can always squeeze in another

shipmate an d his lady if need be!

We feel the s taff a lone wil l make o ur re unio n sp ecia l. It's

family owned and most people have been there a long time.

They're exc ited abo ut ha ving thei r firs t sub mar ine v eter an's

reunion and prom ise to make our event something to remember

(they "all" plan to wear Robert E. Lee hats and shirts to greet

us). After contacting about 3 dozen hotels, we're convinced the

Holiday Inn will provide th e best expe rience we ca n arrange in

the "Big Easy".

We've p osted an initial sc hedule on the website

(www.ssbn601.com), but we still have lots of work left to do

to arrange a party you'll never forget. Check the Reunion

page periodically to at least check out the Cajun music,

countdown cloc k and list of shipmates planning to com e so

far. New Orleans is famous for being a "party town" and

we've done our best to arrange what we hope will be an

experience in the Big Easy that you'll never forget. You'll be

within easy walking

distance of Bourbon

Street and the River

Walk. On the River

Walk you can leave your

money in a world famous

Casino or let your wives

"shop til they drop" at

countless stores. You

can take a ride on a

paddle wheel riverboat

or visit the docks where

we'll board the ship for

the 7 night Caribbean

cruise being arranged to

depart on Sunday,

September 28th.

2 USS Robert E. Lee (SSBN/SSN-601) Association Summer 2002

Hotel Reservations

The hotel can't accept reservations until October 1,

2002. We have plenty of rooms blocked and our

special rate of $10 9 will be good for a few days

before and after our reunion. We’ll send another new sletter to

remind you when it's time to make reservations and send in the

reunion fee. The list of those planning to come to the reunion or

going on the cruise changes daily. If you're thinking about

joining us for the "Party in the Big Easy", please drop us a note.

Or, if you have acc ess to the Inte rnet, please visit the Lee ’s

website Reunion Page and click on the link to "ad d yourself to

the list". It doesn't com mit you to come, but it does he lp us to

prepare our budget. If you aren't completely sure you're coming

please select MAYBE. If you change your mind later, please let

us know. We're still working on a few surprises for the reunion,

so watch for c hanges on the Reunio n page.

Reunion Cruise

Mike & Lee Hartung finalized plans for our cruise

after the reunion. L ynda & I ar e going as the ir

co-hosts. They have booked a 7 day cruise

departing New O rleans on Su nday, September 28 to the Western

Caribbean. Ports of Call are Cozumel, Grand Cayman and

Jamaica --- among the highest rated SCUBA and snorkeling

spots in the world. The Conquest is Carnival's newest ship. It

doesn 't even go into service until next year, but many dates on

her are already sold o ut. We're usin g Harbo r City Trave l in

Melbourne, FL. Our representative, Marie Cecil, grabbed a

bunch of good cabins at a great price. But, she was only able to

get a limited num ber of cab ins and only a few in each ca tegory.

We expect the popular ca tegories to book qu ickly, so we

encourage you to make reservations quickly to be sure you get

what you want. One nice thing about Carnival ships is that most

cabins are the same size (and larger than most other cruise lines),

so your choice is really about an inside or outside cabin (with or

without a balcony) and which deck you want to be on.

Reservations require a $25 non-refundable deposit. If you're

sure you're going that's a small risk to lock in your choice of

cabin categories. If you aren't sure, you can probably wait for

awhile. But, don 't wait too long because we expect most cabins

to be completely booked within a few weeks. Our block of cabins

will be held until D ecember 15, 2002, but we doubt you'll find

one still availab le if you wait that long .

For mor e information , contact:

Mike “Squeak” & Lee H artung

STSCM(SS), Gold 67-73, 77-81

370 Bahamas D rive

Indialantic, FL 32903-3006

(321) 729-1489

e-mail: [email protected]

[email protected]

Mike suggests you consider joining him on the Submarine

Adventure in the Cayman. And, Lee is consid ering learning to

SCUBA dive so she can join Tim on several dives in Grand

Cayman a nd Coz umel.

To ma ke your rese rvations, con tact:

Marie Cecil, CTC

Harbor City Travel

1900 S. Harbor City Blvd, Suite #129

Melbourne, FL 32901-4783

(800) 397-2113

(321) 727-0946, (321) 676-3907 fax

email: [email protected]

Our special prices (about 50% below normal) are:

Cabin Category Price

Inside Stateroom 4A $685

Inside Stateroom 4B $735

Outside Stateroom 6A $855

Outside Stateroom 6B $895

Ocean Stateroomwith Balcony

8B $1,035

Ocean Stateroomwith Balcony

8C $1,065

Price per person - includes all port fees & taxes


Website (www.ssbn601.com) News

Since the last newsletter, we've found about 125 new

shipmates and listed them on the website. That brings

our total crew list up to abou t 1,430 na mes. W e don’t

have an e-mail or street address for everyone yet, but we are

working on it. So far, as of June 15, 2002, the current status of

our crew list is:

Category # Names

Total Shipmates Listed 1,433

have an e-mail address 519

have a valid street address 744

Association

members renewed or joined 173

Special Categories

Commissioning Crew 223

Decommissioning Crew 51

on Eternal Patrol 82

Crew List Stats

My thanks to Gil Shaddock for helping me comp are our list

to other websites like Classmates.com and U SSVI's rosters. We

are committed to finding and contacting as many shipmates as we

can find. Our go al is to get them to visit the Lee’s website and

add their profiles so that you’ll be able to contact more of your

old friends.

There is now a GALLERY section that displays other ships

that members of the Lee's crew served on. You'll see photos &

patches for about 300 ship s, along with the n ames of all Lee crew

members who served aboard each of those ships. If we have the

information, you'll also see details about that ship's next reunion

and a link to its we bsite.

All pages in this new section let you SEARCH to see smaller

groups. For example, enter your last name to see just the ships

you served on. Enter SU BMA RINE to se e only boats or any

"skimmer" class to see just targets. You'll find other buttons that

will list "all" ship photos or patche s, not just those that Lee crew

members served aboard. So far I have about 575 posted, but hope

to eventually display over 7,00 0. Finally, you'll be ab le to display

the NOW & THEN photos of all shipmates who have sent them

to me so far.

Special thanks to Mike Hartung for researching and entering

all the ships. He also uploaded the photos and patches. BRAVO

ZULU to Gil Shad dock for re searching an d entering all s hip's

associations & reunion information. This new section was only

possible because of the countless hours of hard work they both

put in helping me.

My thanks to Fred Williams for formatting newsletters so

that they can be viewed on the website. You'll now be able to

enjoy these newsletters on-line by clicking on the

"E-Gra ms/News " link on the left sid e of most pa ges.

Crew Roster

By now, most o f you should have of received a copy

of the Crew Roster. We mailed it in March to every

name we had a valid street address for at the time.

If you didn't get it , then we probably didn't have your correct

address.

It's been a few years since a roster has been printed, so we

expecte d it to have lots of errors in it. We hope that everyone

will lend a hand by reporting any errors or missing information

you spot. Please send a note or an e-mail to Tim VeArd

([email protected]). One common error that we've already

fixed was that we had the wrong STATE entered for a bout a

dozen shipmates, but since the ZIP CODE was correct they got

the newsletters the past few years.

We also learned that the list of COBs and XOs (on the

back page) is incomplete. My special thanks to Gil Shaddock

for helping Lynda and I stuff the roster into e nvelops an d to

Mike Hartung fo r researching the COB and XO lists. We are

posting the correctio ns as we get them on the website, so the

revised COB & XO lists are available on the CREW LIST

(click on D ivisions).

In a few months, we hope to post a new feature on the

website that lets you print a roster on your own printer. Rather

than printing all names, It will let you pick which group of

shipmates to include. If this new feature is useful to you, you

will have an option to click on a box to let us know that you

won’t need us to send you future roste rs by mail, which will

help the Association save money. Printing and mailing the

roster is extremely expensive, but we'll try to mail a new roster

every year from now. However, because of the expense, we

will only be able to send it to "current" members of the

Association (those who have paid their dues).

Special Advisor Appointed

As provided by our charter, I asked Larry Sandberg

to join Gil Shaddock on the Association's Board of

Directors as one of our Special Advisors. Larry not

only accepted, he has also provided invaluable insight about

how to evaluate hotels for next reunion. Larry was our President

from 1994 to 2000 and arranged 3 very successful reunions.

Gil and Larry’s help has been invaluable.


President's Brunch

Before Lynda and I went to New Orleans, Gil & Olga

Shaddock hosted a brunch meeting. Larry & Elsie

Sandberg drove over from Orlando to join us. I truly

apprecia te both past p residents and their wives sharin g their

experiences and insights be fore we be gan our jo urney. The ir help

makes my job a lo t easier and I c an't thank them en ough for the ir

support.

Gil & Olga Shaddock, Lynda & Tim VeArd, Elsie & Larry Sandberg

Special thanks to Audrey & Nick Louque (YN3(SS), Blue

62-64) for their hospitality and help during our visit to New

Orleans. We were pleasantly surprised when they had us picked

up at the airport in a stretch Jag Limo and later took us o ut to

dinner in it. They also a rranged fo r us to visit other hotels and

volunteered to be our local representative as we arrange for

bands, meals and m any other details.

Eternal Patrol

Since we published the last newsletter, these shipmates

have gone on E ternal Patro l. On beha lf of all of their

shipmates, "Sailor rest your oars".

John “Jack” Headden , MMC M(SS), Co mmissioning Gold

cre w's M-Division from 1960 to 1962, passed away on March

25, 200 2. Jack is surv ived by his wife L ois. Both Jack and Lois

enjoyed coming to reunions, but were unable to attend the last

one in Cocoa Beach because of Jack having an operation on a

brain tumor. Jack was remembered at the last reunion with a

moment of silence.

Julius P. “Sam” B ass passed away during April 2002. He

was an EN1(SS) in the M-Division on the Blue Commissioning

Crew and on b oard until 1961. A fter leaving the Lee, Sam was

commissioned as an officer and became an LCDR.

Denford W. Go uld passed away during March 2002 from

cancer. Denny wa s an ET 1(SS) in the RC-Div ision on the

Commissioning Gold Crew from 1960-64. He later transferred

to the US Army and was promoted to Chief W arrant Officer,

CWO2 (perhaps one of the few in the Army to wear Dolpins).

Shipmates will remember Denny at reunions dressed as General

Robert E. Lee (ph otos of him in a C onfede rate Gen era l's

uniform are posted on the photo gallery for 19 99 reunio n in

Seattle). Denny is survived by his wife, Gayle.

Carl J. Klumb, ET1(SS) Blue 61-63 RC-Division passed

away in September 2001.

Association Membership Dues for 2002

Membership dues help pay for newsletters, setup

& run reunions, send out rosters and other

projects. If you haven’t renewed your

membe rship for this year yet, or wish to join, please send a

check to R on Kimm el (at his addre ss below).

Current Association officers and contact information is:

President:

Tim VeArd, ETN2(SS) NavET, Blue 65-70

2240 Lakes of Melbourne D r.

Melbourne, FL 32904

(321) 722-9919

Email: [email protected]

Vice President:

Mike Hartung, STCM(SS), Gold 67-73, 77-81

370 Bahama D rive

Indialantic, FL 32903-3006

(321) 729-1489 (Home)


Secretary / Treasurer:

Ron Kimmel, MT1(SS)-LCDR, Gold 59-64

295 West Sunny Sands Rd.

Cathlamet, WA 98612-9707

(360) 849-3422

E-mail: [email protected]

Advisors:

Gil Shaddock, FTC(SS)-CDR, Gold 60-63

past President 1991-1994


Larry Sandberg, IC1(SS)-LT, Gold 61-64

past President 1994-2001


Newsletter Editors:

Fred & Donna Williams, FTB2(SS), Gold 65-67


Webmasters:

Tim & Lynda VeA rd


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