The 39th Annual USS Fletcher Reunion
Rapid City, South Dakota
September 13 - 16, 2009
Ramkota Hotel

Wow, what a reunion! John, Dorothy and Debbie Rust went all out and produced a fantastic reunion for all who were fortunate enough to attend. Several new faces were present this year along with a large number of old hands including Don Holmes who made this his 30th consecutive Fletcher reunion.  Shipmates from WWII, Korea, the Cold War and Vietnam were present as well as one from the DD-992.  The History and Hospitality Rooms were alive with conversation and goodwill.

Saturday and Sunday the weather wasn’t the greatest with cool temperatures and showers, but Mother Nature cooperated fully for the Monday and Tuesday tours because the skies cleared and the temperatures soared into the 80’s. It was perfect!

The tour Monday left the hotel at 1:00 PM and took us to the Journey Museum where we learned a bit about the history of the Black Hills.  Then we visited the Black Hills Gold Factory where we encountered another tour group from the USS Bremerton CA-130 reunion who were also in town.  Many of our members made purchases in the showroom while waiting for the very interesting tour of the factory. Then we visited the Stavkirke Chapel in the Hills which some said was the highlight of the day.  We returned to the hotel a little before 6:00 PM and the rest of the evening many of us congregated in the History/Hospitality room.

On Tuesday those going on the all day tour had an excellent buffet breakfast at the hotel.  The tour to the Shrine of Democracy at Mt. Rushmore was under beautiful blue skies and many took advantage and walked the six tenths of a mile walkway that goes to the base of the mountain. From there the group went to Heritage Village for an excellent buffet lunch, then to the Crazy Horse Visitor Center for an educational video and good look at the huge work in progress on the mountain.  Then it was a bus ride through portions of Custer State Park including up close views of some of the wildlife and some interesting twists and turns through some hairpin turns and tunnels. By 5:00 PM we were back at the hotel for another evening of fellowship in the Hospitality Room.

On Wednesday members attended a morning business meeting.  The highlight of the day and the reunion was the banquet that evening where everyone enjoyed yet another excellent meal and friendships were affirmed and promises made to meet again next year.  The next day most members left for home or extended their vacations to visit other areas in the region.

Thanks again to John, Dorothy and Debbie Rust for putting together a superb reunion. We hope to see all of you again in the Poconos next year!

Below is a more detailed account of our reunion by one of Fletcher’s WWII veterans.

TRIP TO RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA by John Jensen

I returned Thursday from a most enjoyable trip to be with my shipmates from days of long ago when we were on the USS Fletcher during WW II.

This year there were five of us, two more than last year. We are grateful to the men who served on the Fletcher over the years from Korea and Vietnam when the ship was recommissioned and now thanks again to them who have kept these reunions going. It was a pleasure to attend, arriving by plane

Sunday afternoon, I met my daughter Linda, and her husband Michael, along with son Tom,  who was with them at the airport.  It was Linda's turn to be with me as the other three had done on a rotating schedule. Tom had been my comrade-in-arms last year in Northern Kentucky, but joined us this year when he heard we would see Mt. Rushmore and it was my pleasure to have us all together. The other two, I know, would have been there, but are still committed to earning a living.

A bus tour on Monday, took us around Rapid City. Downtown, each street corner sidewalk has a 3/4 size brass statue of one of our Presidents facing into the street, dressed in the clothes of his time. We saw many, but understand there are more needed to finish the project.  Nice!!

The first stop was to a museum dedicated to the early immigrants who had arrived after the government changed the rules about promising,  "This Land to be Indian territory forever." We saw tools used by them. Another section showed pictures of the terrible damage done in one part of the city. A small river, named "Rapid" starting in the surrounding hills, flowed into the city and many homes were built near it, the land being level. However, in 1972 a terrible rain storm higher up, caused a flooding condition on this river and the resulting cascading water destroyed these homes along it with many dead. The city later declared this area next to the river a "Memorial" with no houses ever, to be built there. Now it's all grass.

Another stop was a jewelry making and retail store. In groups of eleven we were shown the manufacturing room where they mold gold items like rings and clips etc. Yes! there were several buyers in our group, after all, this is unique gold, found only in the Black Hills of South Dakota. By the way, the Indians themselves named this vast area "The Black Hills".

Our last stop was in an outlying area of the city where a church has several aged buildings used as museums with furniture on how life may have been before it became a State. A huge building had been the church brought over from Norway in a sailing ship in pieces and reassembled.

Tuesday morning after a buffet breakfast we were off in a different bus than the day before, (and for good reasons) though it still held all our travelers. This time we were going to see the four Presidents carved out off the cliff, about 20 miles away at Mt. Rushmore.

Arriving, the bus had a special area to park just outside the gate; cars had to park further away. It was again a beautiful day, in the high 80s. Inside, we could easily see the monument above the long walkway where many stone columns held the flags of our fifty states. There were many people present even though it was Fall with only a few school age children seen. Walking to the end of the long cement walk where there was a cement railing, the carvings are still a mile away, but with my binoculars I could zero in on the eyes of the faces plus getting good pictures with my camera as well. Their 60 foot high faces are in proportion to men standing 465 feet tall.

Beneath this open walkway area, is a huge glass fronted room where viewing was also good, especially for those caught in the rain. The rear wall of this room had retail stores for memorabilia of the site. The bus driver had the timing worked out and after leaving there, he knew where to find a restaurant with a buffet lunch. There we could eat great tasting buffalo meat soup along with a good choice of entrees and sides. There were many food items in containers which constantly had to be refilled.

Our next stop was to the visitor's center for viewing the massive rock formation where Indians are carving the huge statue of "Crazy Horse". This is only a couple of miles from Mt. Rushmore but on level land so it can be seen from many directions. Through a window at the Center, a person can align a small model of the finished statue mounted on a pedestal so both the statue and the rock formation may be seen together and know how much rock still needs to be blasted away. Today, the face and the top of the pointing arm are finished. His hand will rest on the horse's head for stability and this work is now in progress. A 30 foot square hole under where the arm will be, was completed but work has stopped there. A short video shows the blasting and removal of the tons of crushed rock. All this work is done from donations, The Government wanted to donate ten million dollars to help finish the project, but the Indians refused to accept the money, wanting no government intervention, even if it takes up to 150 years to complete it. Of course, there is very little donation in the long winter months when snow stops both work and visitors.

The return trip was through Custer State Park where we saw one buffalo eating grass less than a yard from our slow moving bus. Could only take pictures of its back, also saw other buffalos nearby. The two lane "wildlife loop road" was so narrow and the turns so sharp the bus used both lanes for these turns.  Went through many short tunnels which were so small the bus cleared the ceiling and walls by inches. These tunnels held our road above it after we had made a complete circle to gain elevation. And so ! ! A reason for using a small bus with tighter seating. Saw Big Horn Sheep.

Our bus driver was not only good at driving, but also a wonderful guide.

One of his stories concerned the ecology of the Custer State Park, home to America's largest single buffalo herd.  It seems, the buffalos and trees in the park are not compatible. As you may know, the buffalos grow an extra shaggy coat of hair in the winter which they shed as summer arrives. Their method is to rub their hide against the bark of trees and over a period of time it is removed, But ! ! ! The trees also lose some of their bark with this action and unfortunately, the trees eventually die without the bark.  The Park's executives have decided to save the trees by only having a limited amount of buffalo to stay in the park. To help this program, each year there is a "Buffalo Shoot" where a South Dakotan may purchase a chance in a lottery for $1,000. to kill a buffalo. Up to 60 chances are sometimes sold but only six are chosen, the rest have their money returned. On the day of the shoot, the hunter is given one bullet for his rifle so he needs to be a good shot, because if he misses or wounds the animal, his guide, a ranger, finishes the kill with his fully loaded rifle. Added to buying the chance are the extra expenses of staying there, and then, bringing it out of the forest. (truck or helicopter) Several hunters have spent up to $10,000. To keep the herd manageable, some of the constantly multiplying buffalo are rounded up periodically and handled like cattle for the meat packers.
 
Ah, Yes! The reason why we were here:  Our USS Fletcher Shipmate's Reunion. 

The Ramkota Inn, in Rapid City, South Dakota was very nice with pleasant rooms and a good restaurant.  Had a room for our membership meeting and the right size room for the banquet and dancing. There were also two rooms for social activities and the Fletcher bar was open. Videos were shown of the "992" returning from Pearl Harbor on its last trip. Having already told of our tours, so now, to finish with our membership's meeting and banquet.  Eli Bourgeois, our Commodore and his wife Linda, were unable to attend, but we were in good hands with John Rust, our Vice Commodore, who handled the meeting very well as we discussed going to "The Poconos" in Pennsylvania next year and the election of officers.  The coming newsletters will surely have details. 

Our banquet was also a delight; the dinner, delicious; and John Rust, was again perfect with his podium presence. A nice size framed picture of the Fletcher was won in a raffle and some 12 by 18 inch pictures of the Fletcher traveling through stormy seas also had winners,  A few CDs of music popular in the 1950s had winners too. Good dance music was played from sound tracks with a capable man handling these duties.

Hope you can make it next year.
Regards, John