On June 15-17th of 2001, 60 shipmates with their families met in Longmont, Colorado for a reunion of Sterett sailors.
Several special guests arrived over the weekend. Tracy Lee Phan, her sister Keri Lee and her father Ut Lee arrived from Illinois along with Le Phung from Chicago. These 4 were Vietnamese refugees that were plucked from the ocean By Sterett off Vietnam after they fled their communist ruled county in 1982 and 83. They came to meet Captain George Sullivan and his crew who rescued them.
In attendance was LeRoy marsh and his wife Carolyn from Eureka, California. LeRoy represented the Military Heritage Foundation that was working to acquire the Sterett for a museum ship in Humboldt Bay, California.
Also in attendance was Art Marrs who served aboard the USS Sterett DD-407 during WWII and the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Friday the 15th activities were held at the RainTree Plaza hotel in Longmont, Colorado. Registration began at 9 AM with a hospitality suite open. At 11:00 the Lounge area was opened up for our exclusive use with plenty of room to congregate and catch up on news. This activity continued on into the night with the bar manned and ready. many shipmates used this day to explore the area and gather in groups to share a meal or just a drink among old friends.
On Saturday, the 16th, at 09:00 a chartered bus picked up the ladies for a trip into the Colorado Rockies to Estes Park, Colorado for a day of shopping and exploring. At 10:00 the rest of the group met at the nearby American Legion to conduct a business meeting which was preceded by an update by LeRoy Marsh on the status of the project to save Sterett and get her sat up as a museum/memorial. At the business meeting, new officers were elected and the location of the next reunion was decided.
President - Otis Wolfe
Vice-President - Vince Danner
Secretary / Treasurer - Jeff Kirk
Officers at Large - Russ Johnson, Don Cook and Bill Mallow
Following the charter bus's return from Estes Park at 16:00, a catered Bar-B-Que banquet was held at 18:00 at the American Legion Post. 123 people total attended. Besides a wonderful meal, there were many presentations and speeches by our guests. The refugee's led off the agenda with a heart touching story by Ut Lee. The refugees had been interviewed by the local newspaper as well as a major TV news crew out of Denver. Their stories of what they went through to gain their freedom touched the hearts of all who were there. Webster Boomer Duck was also in attendance and his care was transferred from George Elder to the arms of LeRoy Marsh who was given the challenge of providing a home aboard the ship Sterett for Boomer. The evening was rounded out by the introduction of the newly elected officers and the announcement of the next reunion.
On Sunday morning of the 17th at 10:00, we again gathered at the American Legion for a short memorial service led by Elden Miller. It was here that we honored the memories of our shipmates who had passed away and to wish all the attendees a safe journey home.