Thank you for what you did back then to keep our country safe and secure.
Lt. Joseph Orleck represents well, all of you who served.
Watch and Watch as his sacrifice in WWII was commemorated at Arlington National Cemetery and at the Navy Memorial,
On November 11, 2023 at 1100 hrs, 35 sailors, family and friends reported aboard and had a fine time together. A special service, prepared and delivered by Larry McConnell and a dinner at The Village Cafe celebrated the day.
Let’s do it again!
See you aboard the USS ORLECK DD 886
at 11 AM, November 11, 2024!
A PLAN FOR FUTURE REUNION GATHERINGS
ABOARD THE USS ORLECK DD 886
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At the business meeting of our Veterans Day 2022 reunion in Jacksonville, Florida, permanent home of our beloved USS ORLECK DD 886, the eligible voters unanimously responded positively to my suggestion that we dissolve our reunion organization, the Destroyer USS ORLECK DD 886 Association, but only if we replace it with a new way for USS ORLECK sailors, family, and friends to continue to meet at their ship in Jacksonville each year.
Sadly, the Destroyer USS ORLECK DD 886 Association will no longer be conducting the great reunions you became accustomed to for the last three decades. I think few would argue with the fact that our events were the biggest and best in the industry. Now, most reunion groups when they call it a day just fade away. Their ship is gone and all that is left are the memories. For USS ORLECK sailors, family and friends there is good news though. We still have our ship and she is the pride of the JAX Naval Museum in Jacksonville, FL and they are doing wonderful things with her, and she is looking good. So, while things are not going to be the same with organized reunions, we will still be able to gather and celebrate aboard our ship.
How great is that?
The vote at that business meeting was for a plan that would set up a way those interested can meet aboard the USS ORLECK and to go out to dinner together every year into the future on Veterans Day as well as build the rest of their stay around that. You might want to arrange for a mini reunion with shipmates or treat it as an extended vacation and build the other events around it. Veterans Day in Jacksonville will be chockfull of many local activities from a massive parade, many events in and around USS ORLECK, now in her special and permanent mooring at Pier 1, as well as many other exciting things to do throughout this welcoming US Navy town. The possibilities are endless!
We picked Veterans Day for a good practical reason. Our last official reunion was on Veterans Day, 2022. Now on each Veterans Day into the future, we will continue to meet. It is a special day for our military. The Armistice that ended World War I happened on November 11 and the guns ceased firing at 11 AM. Setting the date and time to coincide with the Armistice has the added advantage of having a time and date that will be easy to remember and it will be the same year after year.
We have one of these Veterans Day gatherings behind us now with the group that came in 2023. We need to keep it up and keep it growing with our sailors’ bringing family and friends each year from now on when they will converge on Jacksonville, Florida, meet on the USS ORLECK at 11 AM, and have dinner and or do other things together that day and evening. It is up to you what you make of it. The plan gives flexibility to meet everyone’s needs and desires even if you just plan to come for the day.
There will not be any organized events except the meeting at the USS ORLECK when you can plan to have dinner that evening together as well and sharing and doing other things together as the situation allows. When you post comments below, think about what you would like to do or for others to do together during this time. Do you want to speak to the group like Larry McConnell did last year? Do you want to bring and show something your have cherished over the years from USS ORLECK. What about going out to dinner together?
Nadia, the Director of Events for the USS ORLECK DD 886, has calendared your coming on November 11, and will have a special place designated for you to meet, greet and discuss your plans for the day and weekend.
If you have any questions about this plan, you can contact Bob Orleck at 802-565-0340 (talk or text) or email him at reunion@ussorleck.com. You can also leave comments
So many have experienced immense joy at our reunions and getting together with their shipmates, some who they had not seen for 40 or 50 years. Let’s keep things going in this way! The plan is there and now its up to you. Don’t mess it up! (just kidding).
I hope to hear from many of you that you will be planning to come this upcoming Veterans Day, November 11, 2024, at 11 AM aboard USS ORLECK DD 886. Easy to remember 11AM on the 11th day of the 11th month each year from now on.
Thank you for allowing me to associate with you all these years, to organize and execute the wonderful reunions we have had. It has been the greatest honor of my life.
Best to you all.
Bob Orleck