USS Rankin (AKA-103)
Reunion Information
Reunion 2008 - Stuart, Florida
As most of our shipmates know by now, the Rankin is berthed at the bottom of the sea seven miles off the coast of Stuart, Florida. We’ll be boating out to the site during our reunion from October 30 - November 2, which is the best weekend of the year to visit South Florida. (The weather is great, the hurricane season is over, and the winter crowds haven't yet begun to arrive.) Registration packets will be mailed in late July or early August.
We hope to have over a hundred shipmates, wives, girlfriends, kids, grandkids, and other friends of the Rankin. You are hereby issued an Official Invitation to Attend.
Stuart, known as the sailfish capital of the world, is a picturesque old Florida town with many 21st century amenities. It's on the Intracoastal Waterway, not far from the Atlantic Ocean, where the Rankin spent so much time. The USS Rankin reef is one of the town's biggest attractions, and at least one of her anchors is on public display near an attractive city park.
Skip Sander visited Stuart in late June, and met with many people who are working to make our reunion one of the best ship reunions ever held. Former QM2 John Haddox (who retired many years later as a Lieutenant and has a tattoo to prove it) is the county's Veterans Affairs supervisor, so we have pretty good connections in government. We're working on getting an official proclamation in honor of our gathering.
 Overview of Stuart's Old Town section
  Some of the city's newer aspects
  Many former Rankinites have visited the ship's anchor in Stuart. Shown here are Dave Bartholomew (LTJG, 1960-62) and relatives of 1953-54 XO Louis Eickwort. Our reunion plans include a ceremonial anchor painting party for those who remember how to use a paintbrush.
  Some underwater photos of the ship from 2003. If all goes as planned, our reunion will feature a live video feed from the ship to the surface, so we can see how the old girl has changed.
Our ship holds a special place in the hearts Stuart’s 15,000 residents, since her 1988 sinking was a major event in the city’s history. Some witnesses to that event will be on hand to tell us all about it.
Planning for the reunion is underway right now, with several excellent tours in the works. The best of these will be the boat trip out to the Rankin. We’re chartering a vessel big enough to give a smooth ride to all hands who are willing to sail on her. If we’re lucky, we’ll see some live video from the ship on the bottom, and eat some fish caught in or near the ship. Also in the works are placing an underwater flag and sinking a memorial wreath.
We will also travel 18 miles north to see the National UDT/SEAL Museum and the St. Lucie County Historical Museum, both in Fort Pierce. The museums are located at the former Amphibious Training Base where many WWII boat crews learned to handle their LCVPs and Mike boats.
  From the museums: An actual AKA training mockup used in WWII training at Fort Pierce, and an LCVP being restored by a group of WWII amphibious trainees. The restoration will be finished before the reunions. (Photos by Skip Sander)
Stuart is about 40 miles north of Palm Beach International Airport, in the heart of Florida’s Treasure Coast. Reunion headquarters will be the newly renovated Ramada Inn, shown in the pictures below.
 Hotel entrance from U.S. 1
 By the very friendly Tiki Bar (Photo Skip Sander)
 One of their VERY good oldies bands (Photo Skip Sander)
Click Here for memories of Reunion 2007 - New London, Connecticut
Click Here for memories of Reunion 2006 - Washington, DC
Click Here for memories of Reunion 2005 - San Diego, California
Click Here for memories of Reunion 2004 - Norfolk, Virginia
Click Here for information about Finding and Organizing Navy Reunions.
Reunion 2007 - New London, Connecticut  
   The Radisson is located in the heart of New London just steps away from theaters, galleries, restaurants and Long Island Sound. Area attractions include Mystic Seaport, Mystic Aquarium, Mohegan Sun Casino, Foxwoods Casino and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
 Mystic Seaport
 Foxwoods Casino
Reunion 2006 - Washington, DC   Our third reunion was held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA, from September 21-24, 2006. Click Here to see a list of people who attended.
Our reunion management company has set aside part of its web site for information about our reunions, including profiles of former crew members. Click Here to visit it. (The profiles are filed under Crew Profiles.)
Here are some photos of the reunion, mostly of Friday's trip to Arlington National Cemetery. More photos will follow as people send them in:
Reunion 2005 - San DiegoLike its predecessor, the 2005 reunion was a HUGE success. The facilities were stunning, and the tours of San Diego were marvelous. Seeing the Fleet Week Parade of Ships, up close and personal from a harbor cruise boat, was something to remember for a lifetime.
Reunion DVD - We have a professional-grade 15-minute DVD with 150 photos of the San Diego reunion and 40 of the Norfolk reunion, including animated views of many. It has knocked more than one pair of socks off. The DVD is available for $6.50 from The USS Rankin Association, 153 Mayer Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15237.
We've put the San Diego photos into ZIP'd PDF files that anyone can download and view. You can print or save individual photos from the slide shows, and you can even order prints online (a "Read Me" in each file explains this stuff). You can download the files by clicking the links below:
Click Here
to download photos of the Welcome and reception (2.7 MB).
Click Here
to download photos of the City Tour (8.8 MB).
Click Here
to download photos of the Luau (8.3 MB).
Click Here
to download photos of the Fleet Week tour (12.0 MB).
Click Here
to download photos of the Banquet (8.7 MB).
Here are a few of the pictures from the DVD. Please let us know about corrections or additions to the names:
This is what we did in San Diego...
Thursday September 29
12:00 noon: Registration begins/Hospitality Room opens.
5:00 PM: Welcome Reception begins with cash bar and light hors d'oeuvres. Hospitality Room closes during reception. Remainder of evening is free; dinner is on your own.
Friday September 30
7:30 - 8:30 AM: Private Breakfast buffet
9:00 AM: San Diego city tour departs. The tour is on quaint and exciting motorized trolleys, and includes Old Town, Gaslamp Quarter, Coronado Island with a stop to see the famous Hotel Del Coronado, visit the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado and North Island Naval Air Station, stroll down the beach, etc. Lunch is at Seaport Village. After lunch, we ride modern amphibious vehicles on the San Diego SEAL Tour. There'll be a few minutes leisure time after the SEALS return and we'll leave on the final leg of the tour, through Balboa Park and past the San Diego Zoo (sorry, we don't stop there), returning to the hotel around 4:30.
9:30 AM: Hospitality Room opens for anyone not going on the tour and for Friday arrivals.
6:00 PM: Social Hour with a cash bar
7:00 PM: Luau.
Saturday October 1
7:30-8:30 AM: Private Breakfast buffet
9:00 AM: Depart for your choice of the USS Midway museum or an active duty ship. Following that, depart for a luncheon cruise to observe the Fleet Week parade of ships and aircraft.
4:00 -5:00 PM: Business Meeting
6:30 PM: Social Hour with cash bar begins and photos taken.
7:45 PM: Banquet begins. Opening remarks by Louis "Skip" Sander, then dinner is served. Following dinner the annual gift raffle will be held (MUCH shorter this year!). Following the presentations, there will be music for listening and dancing.
Sunday October 2
8:00 AM: Private breakfast buffet, followed by the memorial service.
Reunion 2004 - NorfolkThe 2004 reunion was a HUGE success, with several people calling it "the greatest event of my life!" We had 297 people for dinner on Saturday night. From Thursday through Sunday, many groups of former shipmates, both officer and enlisted, could be seen in animated discussions of their life in their Rankin days and ever since.
To those who attended, Thank You! For those who couldn't make it, we'll see you next year in San Diego!
CLICK HERE to see the Newsletter report of the reunion.
CLICK HERE
to see our best list of the people who attended the reunion. A few people on the list cancelled at the last minute, and there were some number of attendees who aren't on the list.
We have about 40 photos of the reunion, taken by the reunion company and shipmates in attendance. We've put them into a ZIP'd PDF file that anyone can download and view. You can print or save individual photos from the slide shows, and you can even order prints online (a "Read Me" in each file explains this stuff). You can download the file by clicking the links below:
CLICK HERE
to download photos of the 2004 Reunion (8.5 MB).
A DVD with photos of this reunion and the 2005 one is available at modest cost. See Reunion 2005, above, for details.
Here are some of the photos from the reunion. We know many of the names, but we've left them off in the interest of getting the pictures posted quickly (if you know names, send us email, but PLEASE be specific about who is where in what photo):
 The Lobby of the Hilton Norfolk Airport
 Registration Desk
 George Meinig in the Hospitality Suite
 Friday's Dinner
There were about 275 people in attendance tonight, and almost 300 at Saturday's banquet.
 Navy Base Tour - a 21st Century Gator Freighter
There ARE no more AKAs or APAs. Gator ships have flight decks and LSD-style well decks, sometimes on the same ship. Also no more boiler rooms -- almost all ships are powered by gas turbine engines.
 Norfolk Tour - Entering Nauticus
Nauticus is an ocean-themed museum on the waterfront in downtown Norfolk, right next to the battleship USS Wisconsin.
 Color Guard at Saturday's banquet
They are from the Top Hatters Squadron, Naval Sea Cadets, Norfolk, VA.
James R Johnston, CDR, USNR, Advisor/Commander.
 WWII-era shipmates
On the left is Melvin Munch. In the middle is Al Reid. Who are the others?
 Patriotic Entertainment
The Just Friends Trio, from Norfolk, VA. Jim Harris is the manager/impresario.
 Skip Sander calls all hands to the passageway for group pictures
 A crowd of WWII-era guys
Who's got some names for us?
 More WWII-era guys
The officer in uniform is Paul Allen, who as an Ensign in 1946 was the Supply Officer. In the front row with raised knee is Abe Levine. On the floor next to him is V. Harley Miles. Smiling behind the two of them is Allen Reid. To the right of him is Bob Gragan, and on the end to the right is Melvin Munch. We need help with the others.
 Early 1950s (Jill Breslau, holding a photo of Max, was an infant at the time)
Others are Frank Trojan on the scooter and Ed Gaskell, in the Commander's stripes, plus Fred Golingan in the Chief's uniform. Left rear is ENS Dave Wakelee, right rear is Gunnar Hansen. Fifth from the left in the rear is Halver Becken.
 Early 1960s
Front row: John Mazzarini, RM3; Wayne Ranes, RM3; Jim Izyk, RMSA; Jack Nelson, RM3. Seated behind Mazzarini is Will Overall, ET2. Standing (treated as one row): Mike Lipp, ET2; Tom Baird, LT; James Delbaugh, RMSN; Dave Stone, LTJG; Bob Devault, SM2; Ralph Ayasse, SMSN; Bob Hansen, RM3; John Hakala, ET2
 Delegation from "The San Juan 28" plus John Beck and Dick Eldridge
Seated: LT John Beck, LCDR Ben Pester, LT Gary Montalbine, LT Tom Baird. Standing (treated as one row): LTJG Dick Eldridge, LTJG Bob Reynolds, LTJG Charles Brown, LTJG Dave Stone, LTJG Bill Len, LTJG John Feeley, LTJG Jack Raso, LTJG H. Ed Miller, LTJG(SC) George Berninger, LTJG Skip Sander
 Captain Exum and some of his guys
Seated: LT Bob Hopper, CAPT John Exum, LT Dusty Rhodes. Standing: LT Mike Williams, SFP2 Homar Hall, LTJG Mike Fulton, ENS/LTJG Dan Oroz, LTJG Ron Casteel, LTJG John Tracy, LTJG Rod Brown, LTJG Bill Thompson. (Names courtesy of Dan Oroz)
 John Exum and MORE of his guys
Some are identified in the photo above. The distinguished-looking gray-haired man standing third from the right is LT (?) Ollie Bates. Other names would be welcome.
 Five Friends
L to R: Stringer, T. Douthit, Taylor, Plumb, W. Douthit
 Sunday Breakfast
 Memorial Service
 Honor Roll
Ed Miller read the names of over 200 Rankin shipmates known to be deceased. Very moving.
Here's a full-size picture of the name tag and city tag that were provided to reunion attendees:
 If you are a plankowner, you got one of these, too...
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