2018 Reunion in Buffalo, NY
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  • “REUNION 2018 FRIENDS, FAMILIES AND FELLOWSHIP”
     AMAZING BUFFALO NY – The host of our 28th Reunion last September. WEDNESDAY evening a group of early arrivals walked to Pearl Street Brewery for sunset drinks and a meal overlooking Lake Erie. We discovered that Pearl Street Brewery would “Tap the Pumpkin” the following evening where we could taste the famous fall beer selections. THURSDAY morning, we boarded our tour bus for to visit Niagara Falls State Park, Bridal Veil Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds. The park was immaculate, crowds light and there was a mini-bus transportation throughout the giant park for those who had difficulty walking. The weather was perfect and the falls truly spectacular. We returned to our hotel to meet new arrivals and several first timers. Members from the ’62-’65 years welcomed their medic and traded stories the rest of the evening. A group of four returned to the Pearl Street Brewery to “Tap the Pumpkin”; two sailors and two skeptical wives. The brew master and owner met the group, gave us a short tour before the tasting began. “OMG this is so good!” exclaimed the wives. The four left happy and headed for the original home of “Buffalo Wings, world famous Anchor Bar”. We weren’t disappointed. Fat, juicy wings, lean beef, local rolls and more local beer! We returned to report the results and the rush was on to sample the best wings ever! FRIDAY morning our bus dropped us at the Erie Canal (the original) where it empties into Lake Erie. We took a two-hour narrated tour of historic Buffalo River and surrounding area including the famous General Mills plants that make all those famous cereals. One story caught everyone’s attention – the story of an unmanned freighter breaking loose in the dead of winter, drifting into another large freighter. The two freighters joined and continued down river and smashing into the railroad drawbridge. The ice dam created by the freighters flooded 22 square blocks of downtown Buffalo.  Following the river cruise our group entered the Naval and Military Park along Lake Erie, where we gathered for a group picture under the nuclear submarine sail for a group picture and toured the light cruiser LITTLE ROCK and destroyer SULLIVANS. SATURDAY – our annual business meeting decided on SAN DIEGO, CA as the location for the 2019 Reunion and 75th Anniversary celebration. Our “white elephant” auction netted over $1590.00 for our Association.
     HUNTER-KILLER – Our 2018 Reunion speaker was CDR George Wallace, USN (Ret.). George accepted our invitation to come to Buffalo NY. CDR Wallace commanded nuclear submarines and has operating knowledge of Special Warfare (SEAL) operations with nuclear subs. George became an author after his retirement from the Navy. George also has a day job in the defense consulting industry. Among other awards he was awarded the CIA Meritorious Unit Citation. George authored four books to date – Dangerous Grounds, Firing Point, Final Bearing and Operation Golden Dragon. Firing Point became the basis for the script Hunter Killer and later a major motion picture of the same title. The movie was in theaters October and November 2018. George’s journey from sub skipper to author and then seeing one of his books become a major motion picture is an amazing story well told at our final banquet. George brought copies of his books to the reunion and returned to Washington with empty boxes. IF YOU MISSED THE MOVIE “HUNTER-KILLER” IN THEATERS, Amazon has the DVD available as of January 15, 2019 for $15.95. My wife and I planned to take George and his wife, Penny, to dinner after they arrived and checked in to our hotel. After sharing cocktails with our reunion group George’s wife learned of our trip to the ANCHOR BAR – home of the “original “BuffaloWing”. Off we went! At dinner my wife and I settled for “mild” heat on our BullaloWing” order. Penny and George ordered “hot heat” spices on their wings. They devoured their order with a blink of an eye. We powered through some of the best menu items following Penny’s top priority to experience “BuffaloWings” in their original birthplace. Our guests were not disappointed – original “BuffaloWings” are the best! George made the drive with wife Penny, Washington DC to Buffalo in one long day. This delightful couple made many new friends during their visit to Buffalo and the USS Frank Knox Reunion.

Reunion Dinner

Saturday Meeting and Auction

Buffalo

Niagara Falls

Buffalo River Cruise

Buffalo Naval and Military Park