The 1999 reunion (21st) was held in September in Helena, Montana.
Recently the reunion was expanded to include the ships in Des Ron Squadron 4 which was
stationed in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. It has
also included members of the Australian Navy. An Australian World War II veteran
talked about his experiences in the war.
The following ships were represented at the reunion, U.S.S. Astoria,
U.S.S. Bagley, U.S.S. Blue, U.S.S. Helm, U.S.S. Patterson, U.S.S. Ralph Talbot, and the
Australian ships H.M.A.S. Australia, H.M.A.S. Canberra, H.M.A.S. Hobart. The
year 2000 reunion will be held September 19th to the 24th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The yearly dues are $20.00 to cover the cost of mailing newsletters. The
reunion will include mementos from several of the ships. Making it to the last
reunion was a bell that was on the U.S.S. Blue (sunk in the battle of Guadacanal) and a
piece of metal from the side of the U.S.S. Patterson with a shell hole through it.
