First Composite Radio Company
Fleet Marine Force Pacific
2011 REUNION
VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA
May 11 to May 15
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Before getting into the body of this recap of this year’s reunion in
Virginia Beach, it is important to
highlight that we had some very
special people give some very special gifts at this year’s reunion at
Virginia Beach. These gifts and from whence they came were the body and
soul of the 2011 version of First Composite Radio’s reunions that got
its start in Memphis in 2005 through the work of Cpl Darrel Haines and
Cpl Dennis Fouts.
This page contains a photo of one of the gifts. It
doesn’t signify its importance or quality of the gift. It simply was the
easiest to attach to this document. There is photo documentation of the
other gifts and from the special person/s who gave them.
The gift pictured above was provided in part by Jack Williams who performed the wood craftsmanship along with the leadership that brought us the limited addition commemorative coin (pictured on the right) which marks First Composite Radio Company’s 50th Anniversary of that organization’s deployment to the Republic of Vietnam in January 1962.
Not to be outdone even in passing, Cpl Fouts had a First
Composite
Radio Company flag made. It was presented at the opening of this year’s
reunion and will fly every year at subsequent reunions. Cpl Fouts’
cousin, and our adopted sister, Nickie Campbell
delivered the flag and
also delivered some Pleiku and Phu Bai pins Dennis ordered and some
misprinted 1st Radio Patches. Even in his passing Dennis
delivers.
As mentioned, the 2011 First Composite Radio Company reunion was held in
Virginia Beach during the
second week of May. Our home away from homes
was the Sand Castle Hotel. A beach-front hotel having everyone’s
accommodations front and center to the beach on the Atlantic Ocean and
the board walk. The hospitality suite also fronted the ocean and came
complete with a bar and stools and other bar related conveniences. The
hotel was centrally located to restaurants, clubs, major stores and
restaurants as well as being in easy reach of attractions that would
satisfy most visitors. There were no pre-paid packaged tours. If you
wanted someone to arrange one all you need do is step out of the hotel
and be pressured by time-share sales personnel who would give you half
of Virginia Beach and gas to get around if you would listen to their
spiel on purchasing a time share. Did I mention the great beach? Tom and
Brenda…GREAT JOB!
It goes without saying; even with all that was before the Marines and their families who came together in Virginia, there was a sense of loss. Dennis couldn’t make this muster. There was a mix of new faces and some old faces that made a timely appearance to balance the bitter with the sweet. We welcomed Bob Merle and his wife Marie along with a brother who served with many of us at Kaneohe, Pleiku, Taiwan and aboard ship in the East China Sea, Molokai, and lastly with the author of this epistle at Fort Meade, MD. That would be Vernon “Swamp Jockey” McMakin. Gary, please note missing from the string of bases of operation is Okinawa.
For information about this site, contact: webadmin@1st-radio-company-usmc.org