The 2000 get together of Bill Irwin, Arthur Arts, Billy Hux, Ken Nolan, Bob Ellis and Ed Wessler at the DESA Convention in Albany NY was the USS Spangler's first reunion, so to speak. Actually it wasn't a reunion, as such, but a planning session with focus on pulling together a reunion.

Bob Ellis, in his writup on "Why A Reunion" notes that the group also included Helen Nolan and Millie at the meeting so there was eight soles there to plan a ship’s reunion.

Talk was made about forgetting the whole thing, or maybe trying just once more.

Bill Irwin had a little box with several names and addresses.

Billy Hux said maybe we should try for the middle of the country, like Indiana. Bill lived in Indiana. I said I would send out mailings.

Now Bill Irwin may be older that me, but he can move fast. I had the box with names and addresses faster that you could say Spangler.

Billy Hux offered to look around Indianapolis to see what he could get in the way of facilities for a reunion. Bill lived in the upper part of Indiana and Indianapolis is about in the center, while I lived in South Eastern Tennessee at the time. Billy Hux did his duty and found a couple of motels at a fair price.

He then drove to my home in Tennessee to give me the information he had gathered.

The ball somehow was in my court.