Look at the list of new members, if you see someone you once knew and want his address and phone number, write to me and I’ll get it to you. If you know someone who served on the Lex, let me know and I’ll send them some information about our group.

Please remember if you move to send me your change of address and new telephone number. Many phone, area codes have changed. Another thing, look at the date after your name on the label that was used to mail you this newsletter. It is the date your dues are paid to. If it is 2002 or before you are behind with your dues.

Send Dues to: Lloyd Friedli. P.O. Box 16, Lexington, IL 61753

Remember dues are now $10/Yr. Make check payable to:

USS Lexington Assoc.

Looking for Information – Walter A. O’Grady Jr. Walter was a Radioman 2^nd Class on board the USS Lexington during World War II. His daughter would very much like to talk to anyone who may have known her father who is now deceased while he was on the ship. Contact Lloyd Friedli with any information.

Looking for Information – William K. Horton. William was a torpedoman on board the ‘Lex’ and his last known address was Honolulu. Anyone having information contact Art Streitz, 1060 Shorewood Dr, Lacrosse, WI 54601; phone (608) 788-7621

Looking for Information – Van Thaxton (Buddy) Campbell. Buddy was an Aviation Chief Ordinancman when he was on board the ‘Lex’ in the 1940’s. Anyone with information contact Lloyd Friedli.

Looking for a Cruise Book – Gary Lundquist is looking for a 1956 Cruise Book. Anyone having one should contact him at 4055 Great Republic Rd, Cherry Valley, IL 61016-9685; phone (815) 332-4174

Both the reunion registration forms and tour forms go to the Association Treasurer. Hotel registration/reservations are made directly with the Reunion hotel. Note that on the Association Registration form we have added an ‘emergency contact’ area – please complete this name and phone number request.

A great reunion is planned for you, for your enjoyment. Come to Colorado and enjoy the colorful Aspen’s; the majestic Rocky Mountains travel the cog railway up to Pike’s Peak. In addition to Pike’s Peak the tours can take you to the U.S. Air Force Academy, shopping in Old Colorado City, to the Cripple Creek Casinos or to the Royal Gorge. But, more important come see old friends, make new friends and enjoy visiting with shipmates and their families!

Hotel Reservation can be made directly by calling the DoubleTree national reservation number at (800) 222-8733 or calling the hotel directly in Colorado Springs at (719) 576-8900. Make Sure to tell the Customer Service Representative that you are with the USS Lexington Reunion. The rate is $99+tax per room, per night with no charge for additional guests. Based on availability the room rate will be honored 2 days prior to, and 2 days after the reunion. All hotel registered guests will receive a breakfast voucher for each day of the reservation. The voucher may be redeemed for either a continental breakfast or $3.50 off any regular priced breakfast menu item. Complimentary transportation to and from the airport is available. Parking at the hotel is free. The enclosed form is for your use in making your reservations by sending the form or by calling the above numbers.

Tuesday, September 7^th Registration Desk in the Hospitality Room

• at noon. The Hospitality Room will be open throughout the week with the hours determined as needed.
• Welcome Reception: 6:00PM to 7:30 PM
• Complementary Hors D'Oeuvres and a Cash Bar.

Wednesday, September 8^th Tour #1 U. S. Air Force Academy – 10:00AM to 3PM

See the prestigious Air Force Academy, bordered by densely wooded foothills that surround the 18,000 acre facility. See Falcon Stadium, the Cadet Glider port and other key facilities. Explore the $3.8 million Visitor’s Center (funded entirely by donations) and the internationally known 17 spired Cadet Chapel. Lunch is served at the Officers Club, then we are off to explore one of the most photographed natural wonders in the U. S., the Garden of the Gods. This 1,350 acre park is nestled at the foot of Pikes Peak, and features majestic shaped sandstone formations.

Total cost including tour, transportation by coach, and lunch: $38.00

Sit back and relax as the world’s highest cog railway takes you to the top of Pike’s Peak, 14,110 feet into the clouds! Once on top, you will see for yourself why this mountain inspired Katherine Lee Bates to write our country’s beautiful song "America the Beautiful". Enroute the train passes through the pines and aspens, and watch out for wildlife! Hidden in the forest will be bighorn sheep, deer, marmots and other creatures as we head to the summit in safe and modern Swiss-made railcars. On the way back down the mountain, enjoy a gourmet box lunch. On arriving back in historic Manitou Springs, we will take time to enjoy a short drive through the town before returning to the hotel.

Total cost including tour, transportation by coach and rail, and box lunch: $60.00

No visit is complete to Colorado Spring without seeing the famous Van Briggle Art Pottery factory, established nearly 100 years ago. It is one of the oldest, active art potteries remaining in the U.S. You will see some of the pottery displayed in the world’s most famous museums, and hear the love story of Artis and Ann Van Briggle. Our last stop is Old Colorado City where you can stroll along the brick sidewalks, and shop in the unique boutiques and antique shops in some of the 100 year old buildings. Enjoy lunch on your own in one of the delicious restaurants along Colorado Boulevard.

Total cost including tour and transportation by coach: $27.00

Note: You cannot do both Tour #2 and Tour#3 as they are at the same time!

Originated in 1953, this working ranch began inviting the public for supper, and it grew to seating for over 1,400 people outside or inside, depending on the weather. We will arrive at the Ranch a little early to enjoy the old western town of over a dozen completely restored buildings. Supper includes tender slices of beef in their special mild Bar BQ sauce, foil wrapped potatoes, Flying W beans, chunky applesauce, old fashioned spice cake, served with biscuits, hot coffee, lemonade or ice tea. After supper, The Flying W Wranglers perform their famous western stage show, a traditional brand of western entertainment not to be missed when visiting Colorado!

Total cost including transportation by coach, supper and entertainment: $34.00

Bring your lucky charm and visit Cripple Creek, high in the Colorado Rockies. This little mountain town offers a wealth of "Old Time" and "Modern Day" fun. This gold mining town was established in the 1890’s and now offers Las Vegas style casinos so you can "strike it rich"! (You will receive a "Player Bonus" Coupon Book to get you started!) Our luxury coach will transport you in comfort, and you will have time on you own to play the hottest slots, stroll down historic Bennett Avenue, shop a little or have a bit of lunch before enjoying the scenic ride back to the hotel!

Total cost including transportation by coach: $29.00

An hour and one half southwest of Colorado Springs is the world’s highest suspension bridge and one of the most interesting attractions in this area. Look down 1,053 feet to the Arkansas River below the bridge, ride the aerial tramway swinging over the gorge or venture down the world’s steepest incline railway to the bottom of the canyon. Enroute to the Royal Gorge, we will drive past the Ft. Carson Army Base, NORAD Combat Operations Center for the North

American Aerospace Defense Command, and through scenic Red Rock Canyon, Enjoy lunch from one of the three snack bars located within the park, and all admissions and rides.

Total cost including transportation by coach, park admission, inside park lunch: $60.00

Note: You cannot do both Tour #5 and Tour#6 as they are at the same time!

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why is it necessary for each person to pay a registration fee to the Association for the reunion? The Association registration fee pays for the administrative costs of planning and putting on the reunion. It pays for the opening night reception. It pays for the Hospitality Room and any drink or food that is provided in that room.

What makes up the banquet meal costs? The banquet meal cost is the actual cost to the Association for each meal and an additional $1 or $2 to defray part of any entertainment costs. For example most banquet served dinners are now between $20 and $40 before gratuities and taxes. Gratuities for a group banquet are now generally 20% and taxes are between 5% and 8% depending on the area. Therefore, an acceptable banquet meal costs $25, gratuity of 20% (25 x 1.20 = $30) and a tax of 6% ($30 x 1.06= $31.80) we have a meal cost of $32. A $1 or $2 fee is added in to partially defray entertainment cost then brings the cost of this example to $33 or $34.

In 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month, the world rejoiced and celebrated. After four years of bitter war, an armistice was signed. The "war to end all wars" was over.

In 1921, an unknown World War I American soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England and France, where an unknown soldier was buried in each nation's highest place of honor (in England, Westminster Abbey; in France, the Arc de Triomphe).

These memorial gestures all took place on November 11, giving universal

recognition to the celebrated ending of World War I fighting at 11 a.m..

Armistice Day officially received its name in America in 1926 through a Congressional resolution. It became a national holiday 12 years later by similar Congressional action. If the idealistic hope had been realized that World War I was "the War to end all Wars," November 11 might still be called Armistice

Day. But only a few years after the holiday was proclaimed, war broke out in Europe.

Realizing that peace was equally preserved by veterans of WW II and Korea, Congress was requested to make this day an occasion to honor those who have served America in all wars. In 1954 President Eisenhower signed a bill proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day.

A law passed in 1968 changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.

As you can see Lloyd Friedil has a great sets of tours lined up for us. He did a marvelous job.

(1) TOTAL NUMBER in our group is                                                                                                                              

(2) COST to register is $25 per person                                                                                                         x $25

(3) TOTAL REGISTERED AMOUNT                                                               (1) X (2)                                                 

(4) NUMBER FOR SATURDAY NIGHT BANQUET                                                                                                    

(5) COST for Banquet is $33 per person                                                                                                      x $33

(6) TOTAL BANQUET AMOUNT                                                                   (4) X (5)                                                 

(7) TOTAL REG AND BANQUET AMOUNT                                                (3) + (6)                                                 

Dinner selections are (Please indicate number; the number should total the same as the

number on line (4):   

                                                  CHICKEN BREAST OSCAR                                                           

                                                  ROASTED PORK TENDERLOIN                                                   

In Case of Emergency Contact – Name                                                                                                                           

                                                                                Phone                                                                                                    

A book written by, Otto Romanelli, (Lt.Com. Ret.) has just been published by Turner Publishing.It is called "Blue Ghost Memoirs" (USS Lexington 1943 - 1945) I got an advance copy of this book. I found it very enjoyable reading. Some of the stories were serious at the time but are humorous reading now. You'll read about the new landlubber sailors ride through their first heavy sea, the lost boat, torpedo hit, Kamikaze hit, Typhoon, Turkey shoot ,Leyte Gulf and more. I'm sure you will enjoy it. I’m told this book will be on sale at the reunion.

A tale worth sharing----

Each year I am hired to go to Washington, DC, with the eighth grade class from Clinton, WI, where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.

On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave soldiers raising the American flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima, Japan, during WW II. Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue,

and as I got closer he asked, "Where are you guys from?" I told him that we were from Wisconsin. "Hey, I'm a cheesehead, too! Come gather around, Cheeseheads, I'll tell you a story."

James Bradley just happened to be in Washington, DC, to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to his dad, who has since passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington, D. C., but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night.)

When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. Here are his words that night.

"My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin. My dad is on that statue, and I just wrote a book called, " Flags of Our Fathers", which is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list right now. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me. Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game. A game called "war." But it didn't turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are generals who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old. (he pointed to the statue) "You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph a photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. Boys won the battle of Iwo Jima, boys, not old men. The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was sergeant Mike Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the "old man" because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, 'Let's go kill some Japanese', or 'Let's die for our country.' He knew he was talking to little boys. Instead he would say, 'You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers.'

The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona. Ira Hayes walked off Iwo Jima. He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, 'You're a hero.' He told reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?' So you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes died dead drunk, face down at the age of 32 ... ten years after this picture was taken.

The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop, Kentucky. A fun-loving' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70, told me, 'Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts. Those cows crapped all night.' Yes, he was A fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store; a barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the morning. The neighbors lived a quarter mile away.

The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John Bradley from Antigo, Wisconsin, where I was raised. My dad lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite's producers, or the New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to say, 'No, I'm sorry, sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back.' My dad never fished or even went to Canada. Usually, he was sitting there right at the table eating his Campbell's soup. But we had to tell the press that he was out fishing. He didn't want to talk to the press. You see, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and on a monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a caregiver. On Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died. And when boys died on Iwo Jima, they writhed and screamed in pain.

When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said, 'I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. Did NOT come back.'

So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima, and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time."

Suddenly, the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a hero for the reasons most people would believe, but a hero nonetheless. We need to remember that God created this vast and glorious world for us to live in, freely, but also at great sacrifice. Let us never forget from the Revolutionary War to the Gulf War and all the wars in between, that sacrifice was made for our freedom. Remember to pray praises for this great country of ours and also pray for those still in murderous unrest around the world. STOP and thank God for

being alive and being free at someone else's sacrifice. God Bless.

REMINDER: Everyday that you wake up free and put your feet on the floor, is going to be a good day. Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself. --Henry Miller. Thanks to Ron Haag for this article.