USS LSM-18

I believe it was in 1983, when a lady I knew in the Moose Lodge asked me if my husband knew a Don Tuttle, who lived over by Banks,OR. I asked him, and he said yes, he had served in the Navy with a fellow by that name, but he wasn't sure where he lived. I told her, she told Don, and he called Art on the phone the next day. He said that Bob Strom from up in Yakima,WA had called him, and they were going to meet for a picnic at the Trojan power plant park over by the Columbia River, at Prescott,OR. Did we want to come along? Well, we should say so!! Each couple brought fried chicken and potato salad! But even with the monotony of the food, we had a wonderful time!This was the start of our reunions from our end, out here on the West Coast. We had a wonderful time, and the fellows remembered all kinds of things and people. We parted company promising to keep in touch.

In 1984, we held our second "get-together" at Cascade Locks, Oregon. There we enjoyed a 2-hr. cruise on the Sternwheeler. If memory serves me right, I believe she was called the "Columbia". She went down the Columbia River to the Bonneville Dam, and up-river to Stevenson, WA. Really a nice trip. There were just the the three couples: Bob & Ann, Don & Helen, and Art & Marge. At that time, Bob Strom said he thought he could get a few more to come, and so we decided to get a group together for the following year, and have a real reunion someplace neat!

In 1985, we got a letter from Bob, saying there would be a reunion at Crater Lake,OR. What a great time we had! We stayed at the Crater Lake Lodge, a really beautiful old building, made from huge timbers, and lots of stone. There were six crew members this time! The Stroms, the Tuttles, the McElroys, George & Eileen Gebhardt from Ione,CA; Miles & Laila Metzger from Corvallis,OR; and Lyal & Viola Christensen from Boise, ID. These men hadn't seen each other since 1946, and that's a long time! Lots of reminiscing! We were sitting in the lodge, listening to the men tell war stories. One story in particular, drew the attention of a man and his friend who had just entered the building. It concerned a time when the LSM was being strafed by a Japanese plane. One of the crew members dove under the stern-anchor winch housing on deck, and had to be cut out later, with a cutting torch. The man stepped over and asked if that was LSM-18, and was told it was! Seems he was a SeaBee who happened to be on board, taking some pontoons for landing the troops. What a small world!!! We had a grand reunion, and we parted company, promising to meet again in two years.

In 1987, there was a reunion held in Wisconsin Dells, WI. We were unable to attend, but I was able to get the details from those present.They enjoyed the boat trip to the Dells, visited the "fat man's misery" which was a snug fit cave and also had a birthday party for George Gebhardt and Doc Terrell. Those present were: the Stroms; the Gebhardts; Al Giese; Doc Terrell; the Holbrooks; the Walters; the Wilders; David and Betty Jewett from E.Brunswick, NJ; Ed and Marjorie Townsend from Parsons, TN; the Lloyd Swansons from Zimmerman, MN; and Robert and Phyllis Jones. The local arrangements were made by Al Giese.

In 1989 there was a reunion held in Nashville, TN. Again, we were not there, so I went to others for the details. It was arranged by Ed & Marjorie Townsend, I believe. There was lots to see and do. They took a riverboat ride, saw the Grand Old Opry show, and toured Andrew Jackson's home. Those present were: the Gebhardts; the Terrells; Al Giese; the Holbrooks; the Townsends; the Wilders; the Jones'; Tom and Jean Collins from Fairfield, CT; Bill Schmidt from Stone Mountain, GA; Art Gandy from Westminister, CA.

In 1991, Bob Strom arranged a reunion at Yellowstone National Park. What a glorious place to meet! Beautiful scenery, wonderful old buildings. Much time was spent sitting on the porch of the main lodge,waiting for Old Faithful to erupt. We saw lots of buffalo, and elk, and wandered out through the geyser fields. They have wooden walkways, so you can walk right out among the geysers. Just fantastic! We had seven crew members. The Tuttles; the McElroys; the Gebhardts; the Christensens; The Wilders; Al Giese; Ray & Jane Ruetz from Manhattan Beach, CA. Bob Strom became ill, and couldn't attend. He passed away soon after.

In 1992, we met once again at Lake Tahoe, at the same motel as before. The role of "setter-upper" had fallen to the McElroys. We decided to meet once a year instead of every two years because we were losing crew! We had a good group, with some new faces! They were: the Tuttles; the McElroys; the Gebhardts; Al Geise; "Doc" Terrell; the Walters; the Ruetz'; the Jewetts; and Rolf & Helen Illsley from Santa Rosa,CA. Again, we ate on the Nevada side, except that we found really good hamburgers right next door to the motel for lunch! The weather was great, and we all had a good time. Rolf Illsley had brought a model of LSM-23 that someone had made, and he also had videos about the LSMs and he gave a copy to each of us. Unfortunately, it was to be Ray Ruetz' last reunion.He passed away later that year.

Our reunion for 1993 was held at Cumberland Falls State Park,KY. This is very near Corbin, KY, the home of the Wilders. We went in October, so we could see the fall colors. Unfortunately it rained, so there were no fall colors. But there were plenty of lovely bits of scenery to enjoy, and the Falls were breath-taking. We had a large group, with several new faces! The Tuttles; the McElroys; the Gebhardts; Al Geise; "Doc" Terrell; the Jewetts; the Holbrooks; the Illsleys; the Wilders; the Townsends;Bill Schmidt; Carmen & Beverly Carbone from Watertown,NY; Ward & Norma Steiner from Largo,FL; and George Beinke from Baltimore,MD. George came with his son, (also George). We had a wonderful day at Mr. Wilder's family farm, out by Corbin. Rolf Illsley showed a film about their travels to Europe and other places looking for LSMs that were still in use. Very interesting! The Wilders were wonderful hosts, and spread a bounteous feast, complete with a beautiful cake, decorated with LSM-18, and we all ate WELL. This was a memorable reunion. I will always remember the buffet at the Cumberland lodge, and the day at the Wilders'. On our way out through Corbin, we stopped at the ORIGINAL Colonel Sanders' KFC restaurant. Got some chicken there, to picnic on later. Best KFC chicken I ever ate!

1994...This was the year we decided to share our reunion with the National and hold it at Las Vegas, NV. This was not an outstanding idea, because it was too hard to get together for quiet bull-sessions, and other get-togethers. However, we met some new crew members, and got to see Hoover Dam. Those present were: the Tuttles; the McElroys; Al Geise; the Townsends; the Illsleys; the Jewetts; the Steiners; George Beinke; Art Gandy; the Collins'; and Dick & Angie Oviatt from Buffalo,NY. We stayed at the Hacienda, which is no more. They had a fabulous all-you-can-eat buffet there, George Beinke came with his son, and his daughter-in-law Karen came. too. They had a wonderful time. We took a drive over to Hoover Dam, and marvelled at the housing which was everywhere! Someone had a radio-controlled model of an LSM which they demonstrated in the swimming pool at the hotel. It beached, and unloaded a little tank, much to the delight of the onlookers! There was a lovely banquet the last evening. I understood there were 1400+ people there. I believe it!

1995 saw us at Mt. Rushmore, Keystone,SD. We had a good group. the Tuttles; the McElroys; the Gebhardts; Al Geise; "Doc" Terrell; the Jewetts; George Beinke, with George & Karen; and Ann Strom came with her family! We took the steam train trip to Hill City, and got clinkers in our hair! We drove up to the monument, and marvelled at the sheer wonder of all those little men scrambling over the face of it to carve those huge faces! It was a time of good fellowship for all of us, but we missed the ones who didn't make it.

We didn't have a reunion in 1996. We lost our Skipper, William Wilder, and also Ward Steiner. We were glad these men made it to the reunions they did, as we miss them very much. Our TAPS list shows only those who have passed away since we started having our reunions. We salute them all.

In 1997, Art Gandy passed away. We had a reunion at the Hilander Motel, Townsend TN, just outside the Smoky Mountains National Park. It was a lovely place, and we had a good turn-out. Those present were: the Gebhardts; the McElroys; the Walters; the Holbrooks; the Jewetts; Al Giese; "Doc" Terrell; George Beinke and son George; Ann Strom and family; Alice Wilder and her cousin, Pauline. Some visited Cade's Cove, a pioneer community, others explored the shops, and other sights in the area. It was a "good time had by all". Lots of just sitting around and visiting. Those who weren't able to come were sorely missed.

In 1998, Art McElroy and George Beinke passed away. We held our reunion at The Doubletree Hotel in Kelso, WA. Those present were: the Gebhardts; the Tuttles; the Jewetts; Bill Schmidt; Ann Strom and family; Marge McElroy. Everybody got to see Mt. St. Helens, in all her ravaged glory, and other sights. We also took in the "Eruption" movie at the Cinedome theater with its 3-story high screen. Very impressive! Every one had a good time, but we really missed the ones who couldn't come, and the ones who had passed away.

In 1999, Don Tuttle passed away. We held our reunion at Eureka Springs, AR. Sept. 12-15. Those present were: the Gebhardts; the Jewetts; the Walters; the Holbrooks; Bill Schmidt; Ann Strom and family; Marge McElroy. We had a grand time, for the most part. One of our party took a bad fall, and that put a damper on the fun, but no permanent damage was done, and nothing was broken! We took a tram ride all over town, saw all the little shops and marvelous old houses. This is a Victorian town, and has a lot of fascinating history to explore.
We took a ride on the "Belle of the Ozarks", an excursion boat on Beaver Lake. It was a wonderful, relaxing trip. The guide told us what we were seeing, and told a lot of the history of the area. Some of us went to see the Passion Play, which was most inspirational. We also toured the Queen Anne mansion, and the "Wings" house. The food was good, and the weather was beautiful. It was a most enjoyable time. It's always good to get together with old friends.

In the year 2000, we found ourselves transported back in time as we trod the deck of the USS LSM-45 in Freedom Park, outside of Omaha, NE. Jim and Dorothy Walter handled our logistics, with a helping hand from Eileen Gebhardt. They chose Sept.10-13, right on the heels of the National, so that any of our crew who regularly attend National reunions could stay an extra day or two and meet with us. Those present were: the Gebhardts; the Jewetts; the Walters; the Townsends; "Doc" Terrell; Bill Schmidt; Al Giese brought his friend, Ruth Backus; Helen Tuttle; Marge McElroy; and Alice Wilder who brought her daughter and two grandsons. We were a stellar group! We also took in the Doorly Zoo,which was very interesting. I liked the tram ride. Very convenient.
Helen and I had a wonderful time navigating the construction zones in beautiful downtown Omaha, trying to get from point A to point B.(Those are the ones with no Detour signs.) But that is another tale, to be told on a dark wet night. Deliver me from "East" and "West", and let's get back to "turn left" or "turn right".I got really tired of hanging out the window trying to decide where the sun was.
All things considered, it was a wonderful trip, and to see the ship was really great. George Gebhardt gave Helen and me a "Cook's Tour" of the engine rooms. Boy, they all had to be thin! Such a tremendous amount of work to get it all cleaned up and refurbished like that. Truly a labor of love. My one big disappointment was that my individual pictures that I took in the restaurant didn't come out. The flash washed out the faces. But my table pictures came out pretty good, so I posted them on the reunion picture page. You can see we ate well.
The morning we left, we left 2 hours early to get back to the airport before the plane took off. (Just in case we got lost yet AGAIN.) It only took us 20 minutes this time. But our plane was 2 hours late, so we still had plenty of time. It is always so nice to get together every year. I hope we are able to keep doing it for a long time.

September-2001...The reunion was set right around Labor Day in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately the details are sketchy because there were only 5 there. Al Giese, "Doc" Terrell, Bill Schmidt and Dave and Betty Jewett. The rest of us didn't go because of illness and other family reasons. Let's hope next year turns out better!!

September-2002. The reunion was held at the Red Roof Inn, in Southhaven, MS, just outside of Memphis, TN. The hosts this year, were Harold and Joycie Holbrook. There was a good group. The Holbrooks, the Gebhardts, Al Giese, "Doc" Terrell, Bill Schmidt, Marge McElroy, and Eugene Cook. Harold had called Eugene and he said he would come. This was the first one of our reunions he had attended. He really had a swell time. The men mainly sat around and talked, but Joycie Holbrook, Eileen Gebhardt and me, Marge McElroy, spent a lovely Saturday afternoon looking at some of the lovely old homes in Memphis. We had lunch at the Peabody Hotel, and got to see the ducks who live on the roof in a "pentcage", come down the elevator into the lobby, waddle along a red carpetand jump into the big fountain there, and stay and swim and preen all day. Quite a sight. We had a BBQ Saturday night at the Holbrooks. It was super. So nice of them to have all of us. It was wonderful to get together again. Al Giese remarked as we were parting that it gets "harder and harder to say 'goodby'". I believe that is very true. We have become so close, and so many of us are gone already. I am looking forward to next year, but I haven't heard where yet! Wherever it is, it will be great!

September-2003. We went to Memphis again this year so that we could meet with the Holbrooks. Not very many this time, due to illness and inability to travel any more. We stayed at the Comfort Inn, I-40. Very nice. The Gebhardts, Marge McElroy, Bill Schmidt and "Doc" Terrell. Harold Holbrook was in the VA hospital there at the time, so we spent the afternoons visiting with him and Joycie. Tried some different restaurants, and found some really good food. Don't know about next year. Someone thought of going to see the "45" at her new home, but time will tell. It was good to get together again.

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~TAPS~

*Harold Spencer*

*Robert Strom*

*Ray Ruetz*

*William Wilder*

*Ward Steiner*

*Arthur Gandy*

*Arthur McElroy*

*George Beinke*

*Don Tuttle*

*David Jewett*

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