Although the reunion was to start on September 10, 1998, quite a few early birds came in on the 8^th. I guess we were all excited and anxious to meet our old shipmates again. The reunion was held at the Fairview Marriott Hotel in Falls Church, VA. It was a beautiful hotel with a very accommodating staff. Registration went off without a hitch. Everyone got their reunion package, which consisted of a Reunion/Roster Book, tour tickets, 2-year calendar, cruise info, and the reunion itinerary. The tours were well organized and interesting. There were tours to Annapolis, The Holocaust Museum, Mt. Vernon, City/Arlington Cemetery, Lunch or Dinner Cruise on the Spirit of Washington, etc.

Of course our sea stories room became a beehive of activities. Reliving stories of times past but still fresh on the minds of all our members. It was as if these incidents happened yesterday. Feed back from members was that the sea stories evenings were great. There weren't any tours planned in the evening, except for the dinner cruise, so that everyone gathered together to get reacquainted and make new friends, which we all did. The entertainment was superb, we danced and sang and just made merry. A GOOD TIME was had by all. We even had some enterprising engineers that built towers and a new model of the Battleship Wisconsin. The building materials, of course, were empty beer cans.

On Saturday morning we held our usual 8AM business meeting. 8AM! Who is really awake at that time.. Despite the hour, we nominated our new officers and voted on our next reunion site. Mobile, Alabama was chosen for our year 2000 Reunion. Watch out Mobile, here comes the WISCONSIN! Of course, if the Wisconsin is moved to Nauticus, we will definitely have a welcome home party at that time.

A SPECIAL THANKS to Carl Capestrain, our Vice President and his crew for putting together a FABULOUS, if not GREAT, reunion. What else can I say, except I wish I could give them a 21-gun salute, using the 16" guns of the Wisconsin.

Our Association would like to thank Molly and Ted Dey, Armed Forces Reunions, Inc. based in Norfolk VA for their continued excellence in organizing our reunion. One of them, and at times both, were at our reunion from start to finish, making sure everything went according to plan. They handled our hotel accommodations, registrations, tour packages, etc. Molly and Ted have been with us since Norfolk, 1990. They have done an outstanding job at every reunion. They keep getting better with each reunion. Thanks Molly and Ted. You may contact them at ted@afri.com

Videos were taken throughout the reunion. If you wish to obtain a copy of this video, send $30.00 to HITS 468 S. Independence Blvd. A-109 Virginia Beach, VA 23452. Be sure to mention that you want the USS Wisconsin 1998 Washington, DC Reunion tape. Be sure to include your name, address and telephone #. Videos should be available around Thanksgiving.