Merry Christmas Shipmates

December 15, 2014
Merry Christmas Shipmates
Time to mark your 2015 calendars for
San Diego!
San Diego, California is the site for your Firedrake Reunion 2015! We
will be meeting at the Crowne Plaza San Diego Mission Valley Hotel
with arrival on Sunday October 18th and departure will be on
Thursday morning October 22nd.
Of course we will have many activities and loads of time to meet and greet your fellow
shipmates, renew old acquaintances and make new friends as we enjoy the warmth of
southern California.
Our hotel is a beautiful place with very nice amenities. All rooms have balconies or
lanais overlooking adjacent golf course or swimming pool area. For those who will be
flying in to San Diego there is shuttle service from and to the San Diego Airport. For
those who are driving they are offering us discounted (half price) self parking at $6.00
per day. We have been negotiated an excellent room rate of only $115.00 per night
plus Occupancy tax and tourism assessment and fee. This rate includes their
scrumptious breakfast buffet for two guests per day per room to start off your day.
You need to coordinate your own room reservations with the Crowne Plaza San Diego
by phoning in your reservation request to 1-888-233-9527 . It is very important that you
identify yourself as part of our group. Ask for the USS Firedrake (AE-14) Reunion
2015 rate when calling. You will need to provide your name(s), requested type of
room, requested bed type (i.e. king, or double queen), and your check-in and check-out
dates. Normal check in should be for arrival on Sunday October 18th and departure on
Thursday morning October 22nd for a total of 4 nights. This special rate may be
extended for three (3) days prior to and following our group’s meeting dates if you wish
to extend your stay to dates outside the reunion.
Deadline for making your room reservation at our special reduced rate is
midnight September 24, 2015, but please call the hotel and make your
reservations as soon as possible.
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Guest check-in time 4:00 pm and check-out time is 12:00 noon. If you arrive earlier in
the day, or need to check out later, the hotel will provide safe luggage storage. At the
time you make your reservations the hotel will require a valid credit card but you will not
be billed until you settle up your account upon departure.
More Information on Reunion 2015 coming soon!
I am still working on arranging the schedule of activities and will be issuing another
newsletter and your Reunion 2015 Registration Form as soon as those arrangements
are finalized and costs are known. The registration form and information will be
included in that newsletter.
We will have an arrival day Reception on Sunday evening October 18rh. Our closing
banquet will be at the Crowne Plaza on Wednesday evening September 21st. Look for
another Newsletter soon!
If you have questions or want to discuss anything about the 2015 Reunion contact Dick
Tracy at 610-207-2016 or email to [email protected] .
News Flash
USS Firedrake AE-14 has just been
added to the list of Agent Orange
Ships for Mekong delta Exposure in
1966
The Veterans Administration just last month added the USS Firedrake to its
listing of ships PRESUMED to have personnel exposed to Agent Orange for the
month of April 1966. This is important to any shipmate who may have been
onboard during that period and may be suffering or have suffered from any of a
number of diseases that could have been caused by exposure to Agent Orange.
If so there may be VA assistance that you may be eligible for. Following is the
link to the ship listing.
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http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/shiplist/list.asp#F
The Nov/Dec issue of the AE/AOE Sailors Association Newsletter has a front page
write up concerning the Firedrake listing and suggestions on how to qualify a
claim if you have suffered from Agent Orange related illnesses. A copy of that
article is provided on page 4.
Firedrake Merchandise Available
There are a limited number of Firedrake items available for sale. These items may be
ordered by contacting Dick Tracy at [email protected]
Ship’s Patches – a 5 inch diameter cloth patch (photo)- $8.50 each includes postage
Firedrake Ceramic Tiles - 6”x6” with stand (photo below) - $10.00 each plus postage
Firedrake Golf Shirts (Navy) – (1-Med, 4-Lg, 4-XL, 1-XXL) - $20 each plus shipping
Firedrake Ball Caps – one size fits all - $10.00 plus shipping
Web Site and Information Sharing
Our ship’s web site is www.USSFiredrake.org . It is being updated with photos taken
during the last reunion at Charleston, SC. For those of you who were unable to make
the 2013 reunion there is a copy of the group photo posted on the web site. Click here
to go directly to the photo listing page, http://ussfiredrake.com/photos.html
If anyone has photos that you would like to see added to our web site please contact
Dick Tracy at [email protected] to arrange it. Your photos of the reunion are
welcome so we can all enjoy them.
Also, if anyone has any stories about times when you were on the Firedrake that you
would be willing to share, and or other photos from your Firedrake days please pass
them along by email or US Mail. If you have any questions or want to just chat about
anything concerning the Firedrake call me at 610-207-2016.
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