Dear Farragut Shipmates,
My name is Tom Randall. I was an MM on Farragut from 1976-1980. I am E-mailing you as a proud, active member of The USS Farragut (DLG 6/DDG 37) Association. (See: http://www.farragutassociation.org online) with a copy of the first FARRAGUT FLASH. I was asked to be president at the October 2004 Bi-Annual Reunion in Charleston, I declined in favor of Secretary, Historian, and Reunion Committee Chairman because I wanted us to be involved in the new USS Farragut and I wanted to coordinate the next Reunion with the new USS FARRAGUT (DDG 99).
That is now the plan approved by the paid membership, to hold the Third Bi-Annual Reunion of the USS Farragut (DLG 6/DDG 37) Association) at the same time and in the same place of the commissioning of DDG-99 the fifth ship to bear the name of Farragut. We tentatively approved Norfolk – it is an educated guess - Norfolk is where the Pre-Commissioning Detachment is stationed waiting for the ship and Mayport is the ship’s assigned homeport. My last information from the Pre-Commissioning Detachment is that Farragut will leave Bath, ME in MAY 2006. Shipmate Russ Kauffman (DLG 6, 61-64) and I will go meet the Detachment here in Norfolk next month.
The PCO of the ship, CDR Deidre McLay, has invited our Association to join the Pre-Commissioning Detachment at the Christening of Farragut on 23 July 2005 at Bath Iron Works, in Bath, Maine. I contracted for a block of 30 rooms at the Holiday Inn at Bath for $129 + 7% tax per night. It is easy -You call in your reservation; you pay for your own room. I already reserved one, when you RSVP I will give you the special phone number for the reservation desk. That might sound like I am holding out on you, you would be right. I have a deadline of 1 May to submit a list to the PCD and Bath Iron Works of the names and addresses of shipmates attending the Christening. Security is tight. We must be on the access list well in advance of the event. It’s a post 9-11 world.
Just call or E-mail me with your RSVP for this Christening Event in July. Please include your current address, telephone number, E-mail, and the years you were aboard DLG-6 or DDG-37. Ratings or ranks are nice to know, too. If you are already a member, please verify for me what I already have on record in my database. If you have addresses of shipmates without E-mail send them to me, please - I am going to be mailing these via snail mail on Saturday. Right now if you can please forward this to any other shipmates I missed we can save our Association money for future events.
I will be at Bath July 23rd. I hope to have the next FARRAGUT FLASH out to you by October with more information on next year’s coordinated, pre-planned, well-executed, and successful Main Event: The Commissioning Ceremony of USS Farragut (DDG 99)/the Third Bi-Annual USS Farragut Association Reunion. I have, FYI, one DD348 WW2 Veteran standing by to come alongside for that event.
- S. Check out the sound byte I embedded in FARRAGUT FLASH, Volume 1 Issue 1 attached.
Very Respectfully Submitted by your shipmate
Tom
Thomas E. Randall, CWO (ret.) US Army
Ex MM1(SW), M/A DIV. 76-80
Reunion Committee Chairman
Shipmate Secretary and Ship's Historian
USS Farragut (DLG-6/DDG-37) Association
34 Earl Drive
Williamsburg, VA 23185-6210
757-570-3181 (24/7)
tr1957@worldnet.att.net
or trand004@odu.edu
or farragut_76to80@yahoo.com
or CWO_Thomas_Randall@military.com
or thomas.e.randall@hampton.amsec.com
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