The 2023 USS MASSEY DD 778 Reunion was held once again in our largest Fleet concentration, the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area and was hosted by the Double Tree Hilton Hotel in Norfolk and the Colonial Connection Tour Company of Williamsburg Virginia. The reunion dates were 2-6 October with 47 shipmates, First Mates, friends of MASSEY and guests in attendance.
The reunion kicked off with the crew giving the Hospitality Room a thorough workout on Monday 2 October. The spacious Hospitality Room passed with flying colors with All Hands enjoying getting reacquainted in a comfortable setting. Ticket sales for the Double Tree Norfolk sponsored Room Raffle were brisk with two winners of the 2 free nights lodging to be chosen at the banquet Thursday.
Tuesday 3 October kicked off the MASSEY tour schedule with a luncheon cruise on the Elizabeth River on the MV (motor vessel) Mount Vernon. The weather was perfect for the cruise, warm and sunny. Chow went down as scheduled though the Bosun Piper was missing in action! Chow was exceptionally good with no mess line restriction on second visits. As the noon meal was ending, the ship got underway steaming up the Elizabeth River toward Naval Base Norfolk and the Fleet. The superstructure of Mt Vernon was rapidly filled with MASSEY sailors and tons of cell cameras clicking the waterfront sites and river activity. After an hour we arrived at the naval base and looking at the destroyers & cruisers moored there brought back lots of memories and certainly better sea stories than last year. At Pier 12, we got to see the USS GERALD FORD CVN 78 just back from a Med deployment plus several other “Bird Farms” including the visiting Royal Navy’s new carrier, HMS Prince Of Wales. The river cruise and luncheon proved to be a great way to kick off the reunion and recalibrate our sea legs.
The evening in the Hospitality Room was highlighted by the arrival of our ship namesake’s family, CDR Lance Massey, USN (ret) and wife Judy after their long flight from California. The MASSEY Association is certainly blessed and unique among other naval ship associations to have had the faithful and generous support of the namesake family for these many years. Thanks once again to Lance and Judy for joining us!
On Day 2, Wednesday 4 October, we boarded the tour bus at 0830 to head for the Military Air Museum in the “Beautiful Pungo” area of Virginia Beach for a 2 hour guided tour. The Air Museum offers an extensive collection of aircraft from both WWI and WWII, including both Allied (US Army Air Corps, Great Britain, and Soviet) and German WWII fighters, bombers, and observation planes. The aircraft are all flyable and are frequently demonstrated to the visiting public. A reconstructed vintage WWII Air Operations Tower alongside the grass runway gave us a feeling that the air Battle of Britain was still ongoing. Association President Darrell Hanson got in the spirit checking the guns on a B-25 bomber and for reasons unknown, covering up the aircraft “logo”. Though we are sailors at heart, the level of aviation history interest was very high and the tour was exceptionally educational. Departing the museum, our bus driver navigated the Pungo back roads to find the infamous Margie & Ray’s Crab House for lunch. Despite being somewhat hidden in the land of the Witch of Pungo (Yes, there were witch trials in Pungo), Margie & Ray’s Crab House always lives up to its reputation for excellent seafood and the fare, especially the shrimp dinner, did not disappoint the MASSEY Gang. Lunch concluded the day’s tour event with the rest of the day spent either in the Hospitality Room or resting on a comfortable pillow.
Thanks to the ingenuity of our leader Darrell, we were treated to an unexpected showing of the Tom Hanks’ WWII naval thriller, Greyhound, in the Hospitality Room. What a way to end a great day thanks to Darrell!
On Day 3, Thursday 5 October, we returned to the Norfolk waterfront with a visit to the Nauticus Museum with its extensive naval history library and of course, moored alongside, the mighty Battleship, USS WISCONSIN BB-64. Many of us have been onboard “Whisky” (as she was known to her crew) in the past including the 2004 Reunion held in Virgina Beach. The return visit to Whisky as a feature of the 2023 Reunion was based on the City of Norfolk’s decision as the ship’s custodian to open up the ship internally to allow visitors to view what this magnificent warship was like as home to many thousands of sailors over her service life.
The bright white of the interior passageways and spaces is testimony that Whisky has always been a special lady and a work of art by those who constructed her nearly 80 years ago. Whisky was the highlight of the trip to Nauticus with a close second going to the Nauticus Ship’s Store which had booming sales for the day! The smiles of our shipmates and friends of MASSEY tell the story of a great visit!
Returning to the hotel, our annual Business Meeting was held in the Hospitality Room at 1530 with 25 shipmates in attendance including new member, Don Goodwill and his wife. Chief items of business included the decision to hold the 2024 reunion in the Newport/Providence RI area with Bob Ciosek and Hank & Diane Brueggeman designated as the reunion coordinators and the approval of Tom Hartman to serve as the new Secretary of the association replacing Don Wirt who served us with distinction.
Thursday night we enjoyed our annual banquet hosted by the Double Tree with an 1800 cocktail hour to kick off the night’s schedule. Our guest speaker for the evening, Captain Stef Walch, Aide & Chief of Staff to the Commander, Naval Surface Force, Atlantic Fleet, joined us for a cocktail and had the opportunity to meet and chat with the MASSEY gang including our senior shipmate, Bill Thieke and his three sons. At 1900 we conducted our Memorial Service, pausing to remember those MASSEY shipmates who passed since our last reunion. Following the service, we enjoyed an excellent buffet hosted by the hotel. On completion Dick Pearsall, the Reunion Coordinator, introduced Captain Walch who spoke about the GERALD FORD Strike Group’s recent Med deployment during which he served as the Surface Warfare Coordinator for the Strike Group. Captain Walch also discussed the positive state of today’s enlisted warriors and then conducted a Q&A session to address questions from the banquet attendees. To wrap-up the banquet event, the Room Raffle was conducted with Andy Kubishen and Gordon Risk as the lucky winners of 2 free nights lodging each at the Double Tree.
Lastly enclosed is a picture of those shipmates present for the Norfolk reunion. We shoved off for home anchorage on Friday morning with fond memories of good times and shipmates past and present and our best wishes for health and happiness to all until the next reunion.
