My mother tells me that Albert Daniel also attended one of the reunions. Captain Daniel was commanding officer of the 93rd AAA Gun Battalion - the Army detail that LSM-87 transported from Pearl Harbor to Okinawa in 1945. (15/15)

Continuing left-to-right, from man in brown shirt with sunglasses: Eugene Spychalla, Gene Henry, Dominic Gentile, Bruce MacFadden, Steve McDaniel, Jim Spivey, Bill Frasher, Leroy Coolidge, Tony Mincileli. (14/15)

Left-to-right, from left end: Robert Phelps, Richard St. Onge, Ted Sautman, George VonSpreckelsen, Richard Shockley, Jack Mower, Bill Carnes, Ken Rinehart, Harold Gales, Bill Abrams (cont.) (13/15)

(12/15)

The group held a second reunion over the extended weekend of September 22-26, 1996 (twenty-five years ago). The photograph in the next tweet shows the shipmates in attendance. (11/15)

I have no information about Eddie Wojtaneek and Genevieve Bodin. (10/15)

Susan McDevitt was the daughter of Captain George McDevitt, and Betty Burr was the widow of Lt. Jesse Burr. Much of the source data for this project came from these two women. (9/15)

Continuing left-to-right, from lady with green shirt w/ red spots: Bonnie Spychalla, Susan McDevitt, Kenneth Rinehart, Nancy Abrams, Betty Burr, Libby Laningham. (8/15)

Continuing left-to right, from lady with blue blouse and white pants: Iris Mower, Jack Mower, Carmen DiBortolo, William Abrams, Elaine Swift, William Carnes, Eugene Spychalla, Benevieve Bodin, Charlotte Rinehard, Dale Laningham (cont.) (7/15)

Left-to-right, from left end: George VonSpreckelsen, Mary VonSpreckelsen, Richard Shockley, Jane Shockley, Harold Gales, Richard St. Onge, Robert Phelps, Anthony Mincileli, Ted Sautman, Theresa Sautman, Eddie Wojtanek, Joe Sillup (cont.) (6/15)

(5/15)

The reunion took place on the weekend of September 26-27 at Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. By all accounts, it was a joyous occasion. The photograph in the next tweet documents the attendees. (4/15)

My dad went to great lengths to try to contact each shipmate using help from the USS LSM-LSMR Association as well as the VA. He even telephoned local postmasters at last known addresses. Eventually, he found most of the men; sadly, many had already passed away. (3/15)

Quite a few reconnections followed, and the group decided to hold a reunion of shipmates in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the ending of the war. (2/15)

In 1995, my dad learned about the national phone book on CD-ROM. He used it to successfully find a few former shipmates with unique names (e.g., Lookadoo, Spychalla, VonSpreckelsen) (1/15)

MoMM3c Eugene R. Henry, S2c Brewster MacFadden, QM1c Steven D. McDaniel, MoMM3c Anthony J. Mincileli, MoMM2c John S. Mower, MoMM1c Thomas N. Pennell Jr., S1c Robert A. Phelps, SM3c Kenneth E. Rinehart, RM2c Theodore L. Sautman, (2/3)

Only one officer and fourteen enlisted men were with LSM-87 from her commissioning on October 15, 1944 through her decommissioning here at Wando Creek on this day in 1946: Lt.(jg) Jesse H. Burr, MoMM2c Victor A. Beichner, MoMM3c August L. Fox, (1/3)

The Navy sold what remained of the former USS LSM-87 to Southeastern Pipeline Co, Atlanta, GA on February 27, 1948.