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Organizing and leading the weekend with Wynne Davis were Capt. Gerry Roncolato (USN, Ret.), Capt. Bill Erickson (Executive Director of the Surface Navy Association), Terry Miller (Executive Director of Tin Can Sailors) and Dave McComb (President of the Destroyer History Foundation).
The celebration attracted about 80 participants including twenty shipmates from all six American destroyers engaged in the 1943 battle. Other attendees included shipmates of other destroyers from the Solomon Islands campaign who remembered hearing news of the victory, family members and friends from across the country, and several Vella Gulf officers who served under Capt. Davis, including both XOs.
The two central days of the event balanced programs and free time.
On Friday, while Miller videotaped many veterans’ oral histories, McComb delivered two PowerPoint presentations—By Sea through the Solomon Islands (120 photographs taken from Guadalcanal to Rabaul) and The Battle of Vella Gulf and its Place in History (linking events of the battle with the evolution of technology and tactics both before and after). He also made available a printed volume containing the complete US deck logs and action reports from the battle. At the evening banquet, Rear Admiral Nevin Carr, commissioning executive officer of USS Vella Gulf and former commanding officer of both USS Arleigh Burke and USS Cape St. George, addressed the group.
On Saturday morning, Navy Memorial President and CEO Rear Admiral Rick Buchanan and chaplain Lt. Brian Weigelt led a memoral service in downtown Washington. In the afternoon, the group traveled by bus to Baltimore for dinner at the Rusty Scupper and the sunset commissioning of the latest Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104).
Three invitees who were unable to attend but who sent their regrets were the children of Captain Tameichi Hara, commanding officer of Shigure—the battle’s sole surviving Japanese destroyer. Before departing, the group signed greeting cards which were mailed to the Hara family in Japan, who quickly responded with “deepest appreciation to all of you for sending us wonderful cards with heartwarming messages.”
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After the event, word arrived from the Solomon Islands of the need for a tractor to help in cleanup still not complete from a tsunami that hit the Vella Gulf area in March 2007, flooding the town of Gizo to a depth of 20 feet. Those wishing to contribute to the nearly $15,000 cost of acquiring and transporting the tractor to remote Gizo are invited to e-mail destroyers@domeisland.com for further information.
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