Few of us understand the bonds that are formed at war. You could never understand such an experience without living through it first-hand, and military reunions offer soldiers a chance to reunite with buddies from the war in an atmosphere that honors them for their service.
The majority of veterans attending reunions served in Vietnam, Korea or World War II. The Department of Veterans Affairs has projected that there are about 2,024,000 World War I veterans still alive this year, and the number will decline by half in less than five years. But even as the number of surviving veterans dwindles, new waves of soldiers coming out of the military will seek to reconnect through reunions. “I think there will always be an emotional need for military reunions,” says John Meroski, president and CEO of the Fayetteville (N.C.) Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, a site of many military reunions. “There is no [substitute for] the support and healing military members and families get through reunions.” The current world situation suggests that the number of military reunions is likely to increase in the future.
“[Reunions] maintain the ties of soldiers you served with during your era,” says Cravist Taybron Jr., a retired Command Sergeant Major and coordinator of the 173d Airborne Brigade Heritage Days and the group’s 2011 convention in Fort Bragg, which is just outside Fayetteville.
Attracting younger generations to military reunions can be a challenge. Taybron points out that many soldiers from recent wars are still on active duty or otherwise busy with jobs and families. Veterans groups often reach out to younger generations by supporting currently deployed soldiers and their families and by sharing the lessons learned from their experience in the military with younger groups.
Mal Middlesworth, the former national president and head of the convention committee for the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, deals first-hand with the challenges of a dwindling group of survivors. “We are chartered by Congress, and you can only be a member if you were there [at Pearl Harbor] or within three and a half miles on a ship,” he explains. “Our membership criteria are very narrow.” However, relatives are invited to the convention, and a separate organization called the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors has formed to help out at events.
Middlesworth often addresses school groups and young people about his Pearl Harbor experience, and the association’s conventions serve as inspiration for attending relatives of the survivors and for young people who help out. Navy sailors from San Antonio assisted at the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association’s national convention, and “it is quite an experience for young sailors to talk to veterans of Pearl Harbor,” Middlesworth says. “It is very important that young people remember what happened at Pearl Harbor.”
The Panther Veteran Organization of the World War II Army 66th Infantry Division continues its legacy by allowing relatives of the veterans to join as non-voting members. The veterans made the initial connection, but the spouses and second and third generations keep in touch and attend reunions even after the veteran has died, says Lenore Angelo, the daughter of a Panther Veteran and reunion coordinator and business advisor for the group. “It’s more like a family at this point in their lives than an Army reunion,” Angelo says.
Communities throughout the country take pride in extending their hospitality toward servicemen and women, and some even offer discounts. For example, the Pyramid Hotel Group offers a 15-25 percent discount to military groups and their families at any of their properties across the country. “We want to say ‘thank you’ for the service to your country,” says Alan Bednowitz, vice president, sales and marketing for the group. Many destinations open their arms to the hundreds of military reunions and conventions that take place each year, including locations near a military base or a relevant museum, or places that have simply declared themselves patriotic.
Lone Star Hospitality
The National Museum of the Pacific War first attracted Mal Middlesworth to
Fredericksburg, Texas. Then a hugely successful satellite convention of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association was held there for members who couldn’t make it to the main convention in Hawaii. Afterwards, members unanimously voted to hold the next convention in Fredericksburg because they weren’t sure their aging membership could return to Hawaii.
“The most important reason [we chose Fredericksburg] is the community,” Middlesworth says. “All volunteers put [the convention] on, and they are some of the most patriotic volunteers I’ve ever seen anywhere.” Navy sailors drove members to the convention from the San Antonio airport; the National Guard furnished trucks for the survivors to ride in the Fredericksburg’s Christmas parade, including ramps to help them get in the trucks; and the Fredericksburg CVB recruited volunteers from the city to help out with the event.
More than 700 people gathered in Fredericksburg for the association’s convention in 2008, taking advantage of area venues such as the National Museum of the Pacific War, the
Hangar Hotel and Conference Center, and the
Inn on Baron’s Creek Spa and Conference Center. The National Museum of the Pacific War, the only museum in the continental United States dedicated to the Pacific Theater battles of World War II, includes a Memorial Courtyard, Japanese Garden of Peace and Pacific Combat Zone attraction that features a World War II TBM bomber on the hanger deck of an aircraft carrier.
The museum unveils a new 32,000-sq.-ft. George H.W. Bush Gallery in December that will feature an extensive exhibition on the Pacific War, detailing the tense build-up to Pearl Harbor and the many World War II battles that took place in the Pacific. The museum also has a historic ballroom with mezzanine, education center and large boardroom available to groups. The Hangar Hotel is designed to look like a World War II hangar from the 1940s and has an adjacent diner and Airport Conference Center. The Pacific/World War II-themed meeting spaces include an 8,000-sq.-ft. area, two briefing rooms and a 10,000-sq.-ft. Pacific Showroom. The Inn on Baron’s Creek offers 6,000 square feet of meeting space, including a conference center that can accommodate up to 250 people.
In his career, Middlesworth planned events for Chevrolet and General Motors ranging from executive meetings of 25 to 10,000 dealers from across the country, and has planned past conventions for the Pearl Harbor Survivors in Hawaii. He credits a great hospitality room, providing members a place to gather, as the key to any successful event. Middlesworth also suggests finding someone with experience to help you. He says the Fredericksburg CVB helped him extensively with the 2008 convention, from site selection to configuring transportation. “We are a very close-knit, family organization, and that is why Fredericksburg is such a natural for us,” he says.
Home Base
With Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base nearby,
Fayetteville, N.C., is a popular venue for military reunions, both for men and women who called the area home during their time in the service and for those new to the region. Last year, the town even declared itself a sanctuary for military soldiers and their families.
“Our way of life is the soldier and their family,” says Meroski of the Fayetteville Area CVB. “We work together, we pray together, we eat together, so we are very accustomed to the way of life. This trickles right into reunions. We want the reunions to come in and have a great experience, then return in the future. Here they can spend time with their current friends as well as honoring those before them. This community has a lot of attractions and areas to honor the American soldier.”
Taybron is currently planning the 2011 convention for the 173d Airborne Brigade at Fort Bragg. His group of more than 1,000 attendees plans to take advantage of the unique activities that Fort Bragg offers military reunions, such as the opportunity to try weapons or jump out of a plane. Other attractions during the long weekend include a golf tournament, a 4-mile run with non-runners cheering along the sidelines, shopping, a semi-formal banquet on Saturday night and a memorial service to close the weekend on Sunday.
There is an extensive range of venues and activities specifically for military groups in Fayetteville. In downtown Fayetteville, the
Airborne and Special Operations Museum is the only U.S. Army museum not located on a military base. It features exhibits on the history of the U.S. Army Airborne, special exhibits, and the Pitch, Roll, and Yaw Vista-Dome Motion Simulator, which takes visitors right to the heart of the action of an airborne and special operations soldier. Groups may also use two theaters in the museum; one seats 235 and the other seats 50 people.
History in Fayetteville reaches beyond its military bases. Fifty military heritage sites span the Revolutionary War, Civil War and modern military era. Cemeteries, monuments and museums throughout the county offer places for group or individual visits, or locations to host a special ceremony or picnic.
Fayetteville’s four convention hotels and 17 others with meeting space provide plenty of room to accommodate groups of almost any size. For large groups, the area’s Crown Coliseum boasts multiple venues that range from meetings rooms to 2,400-, 4,500- and 8,500-seat theaters and arenas. An army of volunteers — literally — is also at your disposal. The Army’s Army is an organization of 900 community residents that the CVB can call upon to help out with military activities. “We are able to tap into a database of volunteers to get people for functions,” Meroski says.
Monumental Attractions
The beauty of hosting a military reunion in
Annapolis, Md., is not only the relevant attractions right there, but easy access to a seemingly unlimited number of historically significant monuments, memorials and museums in nearby
Baltimore and
Washington, D.C. Whether choosing to stay in Annapolis or to expand the itinerary to include locations throughout the region, any reunion is sure to be filled with history and reverence for servicemen and women.
The most obvious and popular attraction in Annapolis for military reunions is the U. S. Naval Academy. A special tour designed for military reunions begins with a PowerPoint presentation about the Academy highlighting attractions that are not open to the public. Then veterans take a tour of Memorial Hall, the Main Chapel and the crypt of John Paul Jones — with less walking than normal for aging veterans. Groups can arrange for a boxed lunch or a discounted special menu at the Drydock Restaurant.
Angelo, who is planning a June reunion for about 160 people, is taking full advantage of the attractions in Baltimore, Annapolis and D.C. With an aging clientele, she is taking extra precautions with things like having a tent set up for a special ceremony at the World War II Memorial, visiting the shady FDR Memorial and organizing a driving tour of D.C. Themed dinners are also a good idea, according to Angelo. “I have found that evening meals work so much more smoothly when you do a themed event,” she says. “It helps the ladies decide what to wear, they know what to expect and it adds to the fun of the evening.”
For ceremonies or any special event or meal at any attraction, Angelo says she contacted the appropriate CVBs and
National Park Service offices to get information and necessary permits. At the World War II Memorial, she has planned for a brigadier general to do the presentation of the Freedom Salute; the Army is providing a color guard and other tributes will take place.
The Panther Veteran Organization plans to visit Fort McHenry while in Baltimore. The
National Monument and Historic Shrine is the site where soldiers held off a British attack on Baltimore during the War of 1812, inspiring the Francis Scott Key poem that became the national anthem. Groups also can tour the nearby
Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, where the actual flag that inspired the anthem was made.
High Altitude
Two destinations especially popular with Air Force groups —
Colorado Springs, Colo., and Dayton, Ohio — feature planes, history and gorgeous scenery. Colorado Springs combines high flying at the U. S. Air Force Academy and three nearby bases with the breathtaking beauty of the red rocks of the Garden of the Gods and 14,110-ft. Pike’s Peak. The Air Force Academy is known for its gorgeous chapel, which is open to visitors for tours and Sunday services. Security is tight at the academy, but visitors also can check out highlights including several overlooks that offer incredible views, as well as the Honor Court, Arnold Hall, Cadet Field House and the visitor center. The
Colorado Springs CVB provides example itineraries along with other free services available for military groups to explore the rest of the city.
The largest military aviation museum in the country — the
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force — is in Dayton, Ohio. The special events coordinators at the museum, along with the Dayton/Montgomery and
Green County CVBs, customize reunions in the area for each group, according to Jane Leach, special events coordinator for the museum. With the motto “We are
the keepers of their stories,” Leach explains that the museum is very people-oriented. “The planes are not just pieces of metal,” she says. “Most people leave thinking, ‘Why didn’t we come earlier?’”
The free museum features exhibits and galleries on the history of military aviation and has more than 400 aerospace vehicles. Special features for military groups include arranging a special ceremony in Memorial Park to dedicate a plaque or bench for your group or coordinating with
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for special events in the officer’s club or Presidential Hangar.