USS SPROSTON REPORT
Greetings to all of our Sproston Shipmates, family members and friends. It's time again to start making plans to attend the 2002 Sproston Reunion. September will be here before you know it. We are anticipating another good turnout. We strongly encourage you to get your reservations in early. It really helps in our planning when we receive your reservation early.
Our Reunion Chairman, Buddy Moore has put together an outstanding program of activities for the Sproston Denver reunion. Enclosed are a Registration form and a Reunion Preview which outlines all of the activities. The prices are very reasonable. Again, we will have the opportunity to visit a beautiful part of the Country. Our hotel headquarters is the DoubleTree which is a very nice facility.
Some of our shipmates who have not attended a Sproston Reunion wonder what it is like. Last year, shipmate Don Klein and his wife, Alice, attended their first reunion in Nashville. Don was Engineering Division Officer and was on board from 52 to 55. Here's what Don had to say about his first reunion:
“Attending the 2001 Sproston reunion was one of the most rewarding things Alice and I have ever done. My 3 years aboard the Sproston were a combination of some of the happiest moments and some of the most difficult times of my life. Over the years, the good times have turned into what I think are some of the best sea stories ever told. The bad times I have managed to put away on the shelf and forget. I resisted attending a reunion because I was afraid the bad times would be brought back to me and I didn't want that to happen. On the other hand I was afraid all my good sea stories would be shown to be a little overtold. My fears were unfounded. During the 2001 reunion, all the bad stuff stayed on the shelf and I found that all those sea stories were even more exaggerated by my shipmates. During those 3 years, we went through some pretty tough times. We came through those times with flying colors, often doing things way beyond the call of duty or way beyond what would normally be expected of us. Because I was party to many of those occasions I developed a feeling that I was lucky to be in the midst of a crew which was a few cuts above the average. I sense both from my days aboard the Sproston and my experiences afterward, that this was a group of people that was one of the best the Navy ever put together. The sense of teamwork and camaraderie which existed then, seems to be even stronger today. I look back and am happy to have been a member of that crew and it pleases me to think I still am. We will attend all Sproston reunions that we are able to in the future. Never have I felt so much a part of a group, instantly, as I did with the Sproston reunion group. We have been in touch with other Sproston people over the years and have begun trying to persuade them that they should attend.”
Thanks, Don, for sharing your thoughts. I think most of us have had similar feelings when we attended our first reunion. We can almost guarantee a Sproston Reunion will be a pleasant experience. There are no strangers at Sproston Reunions.
Once again, we will be posting the names of Reunion Registrants on our website. Also, we will be posting updated general information regarding the reunion. Our webmaster, Al Fitz, updates the site regularly as new pictures and other information is received. Remember to visit www.Sproston.com
TAPS
We have received word that the following shipmates have passed away
Thomas H. Webber, SO2 Fredrick C. Musiol, YM3 Howard K. Mailen, SOM3
William Jones, WT2 Edwin A. Putman, RM1 John O. Bracken, CAPT.
May they rest in peace.
Remember....Send in your Registration Early. Thank-you, We appreciate your assistance.
Jim Marlatt, President John F. Halase, Treasurer
626-351-0362 Email: john.halasejr@gte.net
Al Fitz, Secretary/Webmaster
Email: afitz10368@aol.com