September 4 - Destination Cape Cod

Being the fidgety one that I am, I left New Jersey "early" on a very cloudy, drizzly, rainy day. I was at the Tapanzee Bridge in New York in time for the MAD-MAD people!!! Seven hours and 350 miles later I arrived at the Sheraton Resort in Hyannis, Cape Cod. I was a bit EARLY to say the least for my room to be ready. Thank God there is always a place to get a little….I don't know the right word..... DRINK!

The shipmates dwindled in a couple at a time, still looking like Uncle Sam could count on them in an emergency. I love you guys, God forbid we were that bad off to need our help. Haha The numbers grew to about 34; there were a few cancellations. Bill Dennis brought his family, which picked up the slack. Thanks Bill! Your daughter is a lovely lady and the guys were okay too (whew, that was close!).

Our host and hostess were Jean and Norm Hatt. There are two ways of doing things, the right way and the Navy way. Thank God Norm forgot his Navy training! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

We dinned and talked over old happenings and Hank Davis stressed the importance of getting these stories on the web page for Don Pond. Don, no matter if you are here or not, you are ALWAYS commended for your great endeavor, THE BANGUST PAGES!

We took the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. It's just a nice place to spend money. The women loved it!! God Bless them, for without them we would look chincy. We roamed through Hyannis and yes, some never forgot their Sunday duties. There were more trips to take, each on their own and we joined back at the Sheraton hospitality room.

Saturday night we gathered in the Hyannis Room West (before I go on..there were no elevators in this hotel, all rooms were ground level). There were nice long walks to your room. One of my buddies was having leg problems and there is a handicap lift, so I, being the refined (oops)! gentleman that I am, took over the running of the power. I thought I did something wrong when the lift arrived at the banquet room level and the most loud alarm went off. I wondered what I did wrong since everyone knows I can do no wrong??!!! That's a crock.

We had a very nice goodbye/so long Buddy dinner with a few speeches and then the hard part, saying goodbye until next year. Nothing was definite as to what we will do next year. There were a few more drinks to wet our whistle. I can't end here…. In the next ballroom they were having a wedding party. Nobody even noticed the bride. They had a slim chick belly dancer….what a belly haha. A few of the guys in our group had to take pictures for their wives.

All in all we did enjoy ourselves very much, thanks to Jean and Norm.

Roll call, with or without butter….okay, not funny!

John & Barbara Bye
Edward "Cappy" Capraun
Pat & Harriette Curtis and that nice guy they call their son, Mel!
Hank & Elizabeth, everybody's favorite
Bill Dennis, what a nice family! God Bless them all.
The ever-lovin Dan Fuchs and Dan Jr. a real nice guy too.
Jack & Barbara Hansen
Betty Keasling
Larry & Marion Kovacik
John & Barbara Roulet, not enough room to say thanks here.
And good to the last drop, Marion Maloney, God bless her.

You who were there and have always been there, we turn to one another and say THANKS MATE, WE DID A GOOD JOB. Return home safely, until we meet again.

Thank you one and all for a wonderful Bangust reunion. Cappy

Now for Norm's report

October 09, 2002

The 21st reunion of the U.S.S.Bangust was held September 4-8th, on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. We had an unusual number of attendees, thanks to Bill Dennis. He had a little mini reunion within the Bangust reunion, bringing his daughter and three sons and his beautiful grandaughter, Kelly, age 8. Also had Mel, son of Pat and Harriette Curtis, attend. Mel is responsible for the group pictures on this page. Not to be outdone, Dan Fuchs brought his son Dan, Jr. from Florida.(Dan, Jr. is getting to be a regular attendee at our reunions).

Was great to see Marion Maloney and Bette Keasling. Should we have another reunion, I would encourage other widows of deceased crew members to attend. I believe they had a good time and enjoyed visiting with wives and guys who sailed with their husbands. Those in attendance included Bill and Gailey Fairlee, from Oregon, Hank and Elizabeth Davis and Jack and Barbara Hansen, both from California. Bob and Mary Kline from Pennsylvania and Larry and Marion Kovacik from Illinois. From New Jersey we had Ed Capraun, New York, Dan Fuchs and from Virginia, John and Barbara Roulet. Not to forget our two torpedomen from Florida, John Bye and wife Barbara, and Jack and Mary Vince.

The highlight of the weekend was our trip to Martha's Vineyard. The ferry ride of an hour and a half, I am sure, brought back memories as we looked out to sea and saw nothing but blue water. Luckily it was calm as none of us got seasick. The tour of the island was interesting for those who had never been to this part of the country. A brief stop in Edgartown for lunch and a view of the town was enjoyed by all. We had a lot of free time to tour the Cape. Some took a drive over to Woods Hole to the Oceanographic Museum, while others went to Sandwich, which is the oldest town on the Cape and visited the Heritage Plantation and the Sandwich Glass Museum. Others went out to the tip of Cape Cod to Provincetown to view the sites. All in all I believe everyone had a good visit.

On Thursday, Jean put on a nice buffet. From comments received it was enjoyed by everyone. Our banquet went well except for the fire alarm going off just as we arrived for dinner. Evidently the kitchen set off the alarm and we had to wait for the fire department to come to shut the alarm system off. OH well.

Jean and I had a few door prizes for our guests. Hope they all enjoyed them.

Had a brief meeting, however, did not receive any response for our next reunion in 2003. Unless we have someone step forward this will be it. I hope that isn't the case. I know that it is getting more difficult to travel, however, we should try to keep our reunions going as long as we can.

Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of the commissioning of the U. S. S. Bangust. We can't let this milestone go by without celebratiing with our 22nd reunion. How about someone stepping forward?

Jean and I want to thank all that came and helped make our 21st re- union a success.

Well that's our report on the 21st U. S. S. Bangust reunion. God bless you all and God willing we will meet again.

Norm & Jean

The pictures courtesy of Pat Curtis

February, 2002

Dear U.S.S. Bangust Shipmate:

It is the time of the year to give serious thought to attending the U S.S. Bangust Reunion for 2002.

It has been a short 56 years since the Bangust was mothballed. Some of' you were there until the end Most of you were gone and enjoying civilian life once again. Thanks to the efforts of Charles Vonderau our first reunion was held in 1981 in Norfolk, Virginia. Since then we have had 19 others and visited many states within these United States. This year we will be celebrating our 21st reunion. As many of you know we have visited Virginia, Tennessee, California (3), Massachusetts (3), South Carolina, Florida (3), Illinois, Maryland, Colorado, Maine, Texas, Nevada, Washington D. C., Missouri, New York and now back to Massachusetts and Cape Cod.

We have lost many of our shipmates over the years and the relatively few that have attended our reunions are grateful for the opportunity to renew old friendships and reminisce of times gone by.

We have made arrangements at the Sheraton Hyannis Resort in Hvannis on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Rooms have been reserved for the dates of September 4th thru the 8th. It is planned to visit the Island of Martha's Vineyard, by ferry, to tour the Island and enjoy the sights. Also planned are visits to the Sandwich Glass Museum, the Heritage Plantation and other interesting attractions on the Cape. Substantial free time will be available as you may be more inclined to go out on your own. Visit the National Seashore, the many beaches, our unique town of Provincetown on the outer Cape or just relax in the hospitality room, by the pool (indoor and outdoor) or play a little golf.

Give some serious thought to attending. We may be reaching the end of our get-togethers and it would be great if more of you could attend. Please return the enclosed attendance questionnaire as soon as you can as final plans must be formulated as early as possible.

Now for the bad news:

THE COST

Rooms at the Sheraton Hyannis $99 per night
Trip to Martha's Vineyard $45 per person.(this is a I 3/4hr. ferry ride and bus tour of the Island)
Our Saturday Night Banquet $35 per person (includes buffet, tax, gratuity)

Reservations must be made for the Sheraton no later than August 1, 2002 by calling 1 800 598 4559 and mentioning the U.S.S. Bangust reunion.

Payment for the scheduled activities must be received no later than August l5th.

We look forward to your early reply.

Norman & Jean Hatt
P.0. Box 477
E. Sandwich, Ma. 02537

Email Norm and Jean
hatnjh@msn.com

Main Page