2009 Baltimore/Annapolis, MD

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The City of Annapolis and the US Navy Academy served as perfect backdrops for this years reunion at the Settle Inn in Baltimore, MD on Sept. 14-16, 2009.

By tentative count 44 SpanglerMates, wives and guest were present. The Settle Inn proved to be well suited for our needs and only a 20-minute ride from Annapolis. Jackie and Stan Biess deserve a big applause for making arrangements and assuring that all went smoothly. The excellent food, clean rooms and fine hotel service definitely enhanced our stay. And the the hospitality and private auction room met our needs.

The welcoming breakfast on Tuesday began with an opening prayer from Gene Workman along with the Pledge of elegance, led by Ken Nolan. Gene included special prayer request for Johnnie Paul (who, sad to report, passed away on September 20th) and Ruth Langdon who is undergoing cancer treatements. Dave gave a run down of upcoming events, welcomed all first time visitors, and pointed out locations of the hospitality room, which included space set aside for the Silent Auction. Bob Hunter spoke a few moments on the Silent Auction and explained the setup and location. Planned activities included a tour of the City of Annapolis on Tuesday morning, a walking tour of the US Navy Academy Wednesday morning, and a banquet dinner Wednesday evening next door at the Comfort Inn Suites.

Following a 20-minute drive from the hotel to the Navy-Marine Memorial Stadium parking lot in Annapolis, a good many of those present took about 1-1/2 hour trolley tour of the city, driving past a dazzling array of historical homes and establishments, some dating back to the mid-1700's. Annapolis has more historical homes and businesses in a few square miles than in city in America, or so it seemed. A few of our group decided to remain down town a short while and take in some of the shops before catching a trolley back to the parking lot. Their return trolley, unfortunately, didn't come by until about an hour later than expected, causing them to miss their return ride back to Baltimore and to take a taxi back instead. The remainder of the day following the tour enabled folks to take in a tour of Baltimore and local restaurants, or simply visit together in the hospitality room, sharing laughs and past memories.

Our walking tour of the Navy Academy began at the Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center, following at an introductory film narrated by our tour guide, Captain James L. Minderlein, USN, (Ret.) Class of '65. Sites visited included the Lejuene Physical Education Center housing the Athletic Hall of Fame (displaying familiar names like Joe Bilino and Roger Stauback), the academy's Olympic-size pool and wrestling arena; a walk along Porter Road past large duplex-style, living quarters for academy instructors (both Navy and Marines); visits to the large bronze Navy Goat honoring Bill the Goat (the academy's mascot); the monument honoring the Centennial of the Submarine Force, Dedicated To Those That Serve Beneath The Seas; and the Memorial to the Battle of Midway presented to the Academy by the Class of '42 (the graduation class of LTJG Donald H. Spangler, for whome the USS Spangler was named).

Moving along our group soon reached the Academy's well known Native American figurehead, Tecumseh. It faces Bancroft Hall and Tecumseh Court and watches over the Midshipmen's lunchtime formation. Capt. Minderlein explained that the figurehead is a replica of the original figurehead salvaged from the wreck of a ship sunk at Norfolk during the Civil War, and that it is decorated in paint for special occasions, including football games.

Our tour then preceded across Tecumseh Court and into Bancroft Hall, home of the 4,500 midshipmen and said to be the largest single dormitory in the world. Near the semi-circular, crab-claw shaped inclines on either side of the main entry steps to Bancroft Hall stood the Perry Bell (from Japan in 1854( and the Enterprise Bell (from the USS Enterprise), one on each side of the entry stepsy. Both are wrung on various ceremonial occasions but most notably during morning colors and following football wins over Army. The inclines, by explanation, are the pathways (concrete ramps) used by the Midshipmen marching from their noon formation into Bancroft Hall.

Our visits to Memorial Hall and the Rotunda of Bancroft Hall were clearly major highlights of the tour, along with observance of the Brigade's lunchtime formation on the Tecumseh Court. The rotunda houses offices for the Commandant and Battalion Officers, is beautifully structured with large murals on the ceiling of the USS South Dakota and the Battle of Guadalcanal. Memorial Hall, an addition to Bancroft Hall, is a majestic, awe-inspiring hall set aside for honoring Academy graduates who died in military operations and to those who were recipients of the Medal of Honor. The passage way between the two halls, by coincidence for us, contained the displays of two ships at opposite ends of the spectrum: a battle ship, the USS South Dakota, and a destroyer escort, the USS Pillsbury DE-133. The USS Pillsbury, as you may recall, was actively involved in the capture of a German U-Boat 505 on June 4, 1944. Tom Clugston mentioned that a friend of his was in the whale boat displayed in the photograph and used in removing prisoners off the U-Boat.

The noon formation on Tecumseh Court took place shortly before lunch and involved the assembly of all Midshipmen for Brigade inspection and roll call. Observing the Midshipmen march into Bancroft Hall to the sounds of Anchors Away and the Marine Corp Hymn likely left everyone with a strong sense of pride and patriotism. Capt. Minderlein mentioned that during the lunch period meals are served family style with a squad of twelve midshipmen to a table, with a First Cassman (seniors) sitting at each end. Plebes (first year Midshipmen) sit on one side and serve dishes to upper-classmen across from them. They are required to sit on the front three-inches of their chair, respond only when spoken to, eat only one bite at a time immediately placing the utensil on the plate and returning their hand back to their the lap.

First Classman Samantha Sinnett stopped by for a brief visit with us immediately following the formation. She is the granddaughter of Jackie and Stan Biess (our reunion host this year), and is in her final year at the academy. Visiting with her was a special treat and we appreciated it immensely! Hopefully our time with her didn't cause here to miss out on her noon-day lunch, given that midshipmen have about 20 minutes in which to eat.

The Silent Auction Wednesday afternoon proved again to be successful bringing in slightly over $1000. Again, several of the folks donated from their pockets to help achieve the target in lieu of or, in addition to, bidding on an item and appreciation is extended to them for their contribution. To assure the greatest opportunity for everyone to contribute, closing of the auction, which was initially scheduled for 3:00 pm. was delayed until after the evening banquet. And a suggestion was made to remove the word “Silent” from “Silent Auction” since the auction was meant to be anything but silent.

The evening banquet on Wednesday opened with a few words from Joe Kerwin serving as Master of Ceremony, followed by a prayer from Gene Workman, a few words on the Silent Auction from Bob Hunter and an overview of the upcoming reunion in San Antonio next October 25-27 from Dave Norris. Wayne Dorough presented an Award of Appreciation to Stan and Jackie Biess for hosting this years reunion and a Life Time Achievement Award to Bob Ellis as the “Come Back Kid,” in recognition of Bob's recovery from recent hip surgery.

Bob served as the banquet speaker and gave an interesting, humorous (given Bob's style of presentation) historical overview of the ten Spangler reunions to date dating back to Indianapolis in 2001. The Albany, NY tour of the USS Slater in 2005 was included in that count.

Guest included Charles and Lila Sims (James Sims' cousin); Mickie Elmore (Lee Elmore's son); newlyweds, Chris & Megan Norris (Dave Norris' grandson); Kenneth and Donna Nolan (Ken Nolan's son), and their daughter Kelly Nolan.

Appreciation is extended to Mrs. Ronald Lee for passing along photographs taken by her husband in Hawaii in the early 1950's, and to Ken Nolan for making available the Destroyer-Escort Sailors Roll of Honor listing the names of all shipmates who did not survive the combined efforts of Allied Forces during World War II, the Korean and Vienam conflicts. Mrs Lee's photographs will soon be available for viewing on the Spangler website as will Ken's DE Sailors Roll of Honor. Appreciation is also extended to Gene and Dorthy Workman for sharing photos taken during a visit with Ann and Johnnie Paul a couple of weeks before Johnnie, sad to report, passed away on September 20th. If any of you have photos or memorabilia you would like to post on the Spangler website, please drop me a line at dorwgd@cox.net.

While handing out appreciation, a big shout of thanks is extended to all the folks that brought in the wonderful eats, cakes, cookies, and nurshiments. A special thanks is also extended to Evelyn & Joe Kerwin for several photographs displayed here.

Attendees

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