7th Engineer Battalion Reunion September 17 – 20, 2009 Quantico

7th Engineer Battalion Reunion
Schedule of Events
Thursday, September 17th
• Arrival at hotel. Hotel check-in is 3 p.m.
• Reunion registration and hospitality room will be open
Friday morning, September 18th
• Board busses for trip to National Museum of the Marine Corps
at Quantico (boarding time to be determined)
• Guided tour of the National Museum of the Marine Corps
• Lunch at Museum ($$ on your own)
Friday afternoon, September 18th
• After tour of Museum, lunch and visit to gift shop, we’ll board
the busses to take us to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in
Washington, DC. Scheduled time is approximately 3:30 p.m.
• Short service lead by Pastor John Johnson, First Bridge Co.
• Reading of the names of 125 KIAs from the 7th Engineer Battalion
• Placing of the wreath ceremony (Col. Frank Harris, former
Battalion Commander)
• A list will be provided of the 125 KIAs and their location on
the Vietnam Wall
•Return to Crowne Plaza
Friday night, September 18th
• Hospitality Room will be open
• Attendees are on their own for dinner this evening. Hotel
restaurant is offering a 10% discount to all members. There are
plenty of restaurants in the Old Alexandria area. Many are
within walking distance. A list of restaurants will be provided.
Saturday morning, September 19th
• 8:00 a.m. Memorial Breakfast
• Posting of the Colors
• POW/MIA Ceremony
• Folding of the Flag Ceremony
• Business Meeting
• Free time to enjoy local sights and visit with fellow Marines
Saturday evening, September 19th
• 5:00 p.m. Happy Hour (cash bar)
• 6:00 p.m. Banquet
• Posting of the Colors
• Tribute to the Flag
• Cake Cutting Ceremony
• Raffle
Sunday, September 20th
• Time to depart. Farewell to good friends until we all meet
again in 2010!
Hotel Accommodations
Contact the Crowne Plaza Hotel
(Old Town Alexandria) direct at
866-732-4555 to make your reservations. Mention you are attending the 7th Engineer Battalion
Reunion…the group is listed as
7th Engineering Battalion. The group rate is $115 for
single/double. The group rate is offered three (3) days
pre/post on a limited number of rooms. Call for
availability. Parking is complimentary – if told there
is a fee, it will be adjusted at check-in/front desk.
Reservations should be made by August 18th for
this rate.
Questions: Call Norm Johnson at 989-635-6653
Hotel website: www.cpoldtownalexandriahotel.com
For more information visit the following web sites:
www.usmc.org/7th
www.usmcmuseum.com
Tour of Quantico
Col. Frank Harris, former Battalion Commander, has
arranged a tour of Quantico before the 7th
Engineer Battalion Reunion.
AGENDA:
Wednesday, September 16th
• If staying at the Crossroads Inn at Quantico,
arrive and check-in (Phone for the Inn: 703630-4444)
Thursday, September 17th
• 0800 – Bus will depart the Crossroads Inn to go
to auditorium for overview of Marine Corps
Base Quantico
• Followed by bus tour of the Base visiting the
Martial Arts School, The Basic School and the
Weapons Training Bn.
• Lunch at the mess hall
• Visit of the National Museum of the Marine Corps
• 1700 – Bus will return to the Crossroads Inn
• 1900 – Dinner at the Globe and Laurel
Restaurant in the Belleau Woods Room
If planning to visit Quantico, please let Col. Harris know
either by phone 703-791-3936 or by e-mail fwharris@starpower.net so that necessary shopping passes can
be prepared and reservations made. ($$ for lodging,
bus and meals are each individual’s responsibility)
2009
7th Engineer Battalion Reunion
September 17 – 20, 2009
Quantico/Washington, DC
Q
uantico / Washington, DC This is the one! This is the
reunion you cannot miss. If you have been saying to yourself: “I’ll go next time,”
stop and make plans to join us in
Washington, DC in September.
This time, we’ll be going to The Wall. You’ve wanted
to go before, but you just haven’t had the time or even
the courage to face it alone. Even if you have been
before, you’ve not been there with the Marines
you served with that understand the sacrifice you
made in Nam. Go with us in September as
we honor our fallen brethren. See the names
of the 125 KIAs from
the 7th Engineer Battalion – our Battalion.
Be there as we read their names and
honor each in a wreath laying ceremony with Col. Frank Harris, former
Battalion Commander and a short
service led by our own Pastor John
Johnson of 1st Bridge Company. It
hasn’t happened before, and it may
never happen again, so don’t miss out
on what promises to be a very moving and emotional event.
We’ll also be doing other things
during our three-day event, including a visit to the new National
Museum of the Marine Corps at
Quantico, Virginia.
The museum opened to the public
in November 2006 as a lasting tribute to U.S. Marines. The 118,000
square-foot structure features
world-class interactive exhibits
using innovative technology to
immerse visitors to the sights and
sounds of Marines in action.
T
he Museum features a gallery dedicated strictly to
the Marines in Vietnam and features wall murals
and dioramas that relate the story of combat operations.
Visitors are taken into battle through a series of immersive exhibits and are introduced to the weapons and
equipment used by the combatants from simple sharpened bamboo stakes to the highly sophisticated ONTOS
anti-tank vehicles.
The exhibit also has an A-4 Skyhawk and a UH-1
Huey helicopter representing the air war. We’ll move
with the Marines as they move block by block, house
by house wresting control of Hue City from enemy
forces while caring for innocent civilians caught up in
the battle. We’ll be airlifted into the “hot” landing
zone at Hill 881 South near Khe Sanh on a CH-46
helicopter. The exhibit has realistic rotor wash of hot
air and the sounds of combat as visitors step off the
helicopter’s rear deck. A wounded Marine makes his
way to the Chopper while another lies dead nearby. It
promises to be a moving visit.
National Museum of the
Marine Corps
The Three Servicemen
One of the highest goals of every Marine officer is to have command of a Marine Battalion during his
career and I was truly honored and blessed to have commanded the 7th Engineer Battalion under combat conditions in Vietnam. It was an outstanding group of men, always willing and able to take on any
task I requested of them, yet knowing they would be under combat conditions and what could happen
and too many times did. One of these was L/Cpl Howard Reece, a young, sharp, and smart
Marine whom the Motor Transport Officer had hand picked to be my driver and with
Colonel Frank whom I went through many critical situations. The casualty or death of any of the men was
Harris
always of deep concern to me and the death of L/Cpl Reece was particularly so because of
the close personal relationship we had developed over the many months we were together. Even after all
these years I still often relive the actions in which he was killed and try to think of what I could have done
differently yet knowing we were doing something I knew had to be done.
L/Cpl Howard
It is truly an honor to meet and be with some of the members of his family and to share his memory.
Reece
We’ve negotiated with the hotel management to extend
our group rates three days before our event and three days
after. So, it will be easy to make the most of your stay.
The Crowne Plaza of Old Town Alexandria is a first-class
facility with an in-hotel restaurant and lounge. It’s eight
blocks from the historic district on the waterfront with a
wide variety of restaurants, shopping and attractions.
The hotel also has a complementary shuttle to take guests
to and from the airport and the Metro Station (public
transportation) making all attractions easy to reach.
Of course, we’ll have a full presentation on Saturday,
including the Posting of the Colors, POW/MIA and
Folding of the Flag ceremonies, the business meeting and
a presentation of preliminary plans for our 2010 reunion
in San Francisco.
But the real reason for attending the reunion is to share
time with your fellow Marines, get reacquainted and
enjoy each other’s company. Each year, you say to yourself, you’ll go next year. Don’t let another year go by!
This year, 2009 will be like no
other – we’re going to The Wall
with this one and you’ll want to
be part of it!
The Hospitality Room
Toast to the Flag
The Folding of the Flag Ceremony
The Cake Cutting Ceremony