FINCH U.S.S. U.S.C.G.C.

Twenty-Fourth Year No. 1 October - December 2010

DE 328 – WDE 428 – DER 328 Distinguished Service Through Three Decades and Three Wars

World War II, Korea, and Vietnam

PORTLAND REUNION A SUCCESS !

We would be remiss if we didn’t thank Gene and Eva for their effort. Hosting a reunion can be a tough task at times and Gene was effective in handling the myriad of tasks - Thanks Gene! The wives presented Eva with a beautiful pearl necklace for her efforts and support of Gene in putting this reunion together. I understand that the women had a good time shopping and didn’t exceed any credit limits! Thanks Eva!

Check out the pictures on page two and see if you can pick out and remember those folks you served with aboard the Finch.

Even the weather couldn’t put a damper on this year’s reunion. Mother Nature tried but it couldn’t compete with the enthusiasm and excitement shipmates exhibited over the trip to the Columbia Gorge. The Multnomah Falls were beautiful as usual and the Columbia River Gorge and Mt Hood are spectacular - rain or shine!

Hotel accommodations were as nice as advertised and Gene and Eva So-mann were gracious and outstanding hosts. These are pretty strong state-ments from a shipmate that was not able to attend this year (Carol and I had other commitments), but I have heard from several shipmates and these are just a few of the many com-ments I have heard!

There are always a lot of folks to thank and Gene extends his thanks to everyone who helped. It is really fun to be the host when others pitch in, as the Finch shipmates do every year.

Portland was a great Site for the re-union and with Gene’s efforts things worked out quite nicely.

In addition to the day long trip to the falls and Mt Hood, the traditional spa-ghetti dinner and the banquet pro-vided exceptional fare. This was billed as a “bring your memorabilia and enjoy sharing memories with your shipmates” style reunion. It did-n’t disappoint folks, as there was time for sharing as well as taking side trips to many of the other attractions in the greater Portland area.

I’ve heard from people who extended their trip to visit the Pacific Coast as well as the many other attractions in the greater Portland area. The one disappointing aspect was our inability to find a host for the 2012 reunion on the East Coast. But the Executive Board has committed to tackle this commitment and we will have a host and site in the near future.

During the business meeting Kent Overholser and Richard Resnick were recognized for their lengthy and on-going support of the reunion associa-tion - Thanks guys, your efforts are greatly appreciated! I guess no one volunteered to assume these posi-tions at the meeting!

Finch Reunion 2010 Host: Gene Somann 23-26 September 2010

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The Banks of the Mighty Mississippi are preparing for the arrival of the Finch and her crew and guests in 2011. Memphis has been selected as our host city for 2011 and Thomas Tabor, DER ‘61 will be our host and the dates are set for 21-25 Septem-ber, with check-in on Wednesday.

Thomas has made arrangements for us at the Crowne Plaza hotel in downtown Memphis with rooms priced at $100. This puts us close to the blues action and within easy ac-cess to some of the finest ribs in America. Book now, call (901) 525-1800 and be sure and mention the Finch reunion to get this great rate!

Our hotel is just nine blocks off Beale Street and located only a cou-ple of blocks from the “Mighty Mis-s i s s i p p i River.” B e a l e Street is as well known in jazz cir-cles as Bourbon Street. The Food Channel consistently rates Memphis as the “Rib Capital of America”. So dig out your glad rags and come to Memphis - Elvis and the city is waiting for the Finch and her crew! It has been a long time since we’ve had our reunion in a city that is as alive and vibrant as Memphis and our host knows the city well and has promised us a visit that will have folks talking for years.

We are planning on the regular events such as our traditional spa-ghetti dinner, formal banquet, women’s shopping trip, a ride down the “Mighty Mississippi”, a visit with

Elvis at Graceland, some outstanding ribs at the Rendezvous, gambling in Tunica, nightly jazz and blues ses-sions on Beale Street, and the list continues. One of the neat things is that the hotel in located in down-town Memphis, which makes it very convenient to everything that makes Memphis a fun and enjoyable d e s t i n a -tion.

We will be bussed to Grace-land and Tunica, but most of our free time will be spent on one of the restored trolleys that provides service to downtown and the river attractions, eateries and clubs. The only prob-lem with the reunion is the time - it is way too short, and Thomas has handled that by having the hotel honor this rate for your entire visit!

So come early and stay late!

In the next issue of the newsletter we will focus on the many things to do in the Greater Memphis area other than what Thomas is planning for us at the reunion.

Our tentative plan is to spend Thursday with a trip to Graceland which includes a close look at Elvis’ life and home. As their website states, this is a chance to ”Discover Elvis - Visit Graceland - Shop Elvis”. This is an opportunity to see what life was like at Graceland and to see how the King lived, plus the chance to buy Elvis memorabilia from the King himself. Checkout their web-site www.elvis.com for more info.

Thursday evening we will have ribs at the world famous Rendezvous. If

Are You Ready for Some Good Blues and Ribs? R E U N I O N

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F I N C H

you are a John Grisham mystery novel fan you will recognize the res-taurant from his book “The Firm.” This is the place

where the rich and crooked lawyers of Memphis social-ized and conspired over lunch and a couple of drinks.

Friday will find us on the Mississippi enjoying an informative and leisurely trip down the river which will take us back in history. This is unlike any other river cruise and is a must ac-tivity in Memphis. Friday evening we will enjoy out traditional spaghetti dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Saturday we will send the women shopping and the men will once again solve the pressing world problems at our business meeting. Afterwards we will bus on down to Tunica and spend the afternoon gambling and enjoying a Mint Julep or two at one of the many casinos.

Saturday evening we will participate in our formal banquet, and Thomas has arranged for a local historian to share the inside secrets about Mem-phis. This should be an enjoyable evening.

Sunday, we will have breakfast at the hotel and bid farewell to our ship-mates for another year. This will be a fun and fast paced affair and will leave you wishing it was longer.

Register Today (901) 525-1800

Agenda Finch

Our 2011 Host Thomas Tabor

DER-328 1961-63

We’re on the web! ussfinch.com

Finch Reunion Association

2011 Reunion Chairmen Thomas Tabor (DER ‘61) Memphis, Tennessee (901) 743-2168

Executive Board Chairman Robert Buck (DER ‘59) KarolynBob@aol.com

Executive Board Members

Myron Skubinna (DER ‘66) myrons@hctc.com

Robert Bumbulucz (DER ’60) rbumbulucz@gmail.com

Gene Somann (DER ‘57) Portland, Oregon (503) 504-9422

Membership Chairman Richard S. Resnick (WDE ‘52) 3175 Coolidge Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90066 rsresnick@ca.rr.com

Treasurer Kent Overholser (DER ‘57) 20 Warrington Road Vernon Hills, IL 60061 Koverholser@sbcglobal.net

Assistant Treasurer Dave Stidham (DER ‘60) DWST820@aol.com

Secretary/Editor Robert Bumbulucz (DER ’60) 1443 Porch Swing Lane Matthews, NC 28104 (704) 277-2753 bumbulucz@gmail.com

DESA Representative/Publicity Mike Sandberg (DER ‘60) (541) 739-2343

Chaplain Gordon Shilling (DER ‘60) (440) 946-7760

Editor’s Corner

Dues Please check the ad-dress label on this newsletter to see if there is a $ sign beside your name. If there is a $ sign this means your dues are paid, if there is not a $ sign this means you are not current with your dues. You can pay your dues by mailing a check for $10 (annual dues) to Kent Overholser, 20 Warrington Road, Vernon Hills, IL 60061.

2012 Reunion We currently do not have a site or a volunteer for the 2012 reunion. This years Executive Board Chairman, Bob Buck, is looking for volunteers to host the 2012 reunion. Think about it and let Bob know if you are willing to help or if you have some ideas about a loca-tion. It helps everyone if we have some insight into the options before the next reunion. We will work with you in planning and hosting the event, all you need to do is volunteer!

to publishing only three issues a year. We will have a December issue that covers the recent reunion and an-nounces the location and some infor-mation on our next reunion. We will follow-up in early April with a issue that focus on the reunion and offers an opportunity for early registration. The final issue will be in July and will be the last issue before the reunion and will of course have all the registration in-formation and forms.

The Most Amazing Thing I was coming home from church a month or so ago and as I was sitting at a traffic light I looked up and the car ahead of me had a USS FINCH DER 328 license plate holder. I sat there for a moment thinking I was in some kind of dream world or something. I signaled to him and he pulled over and we talked for a few minutes, his name is Robert Fields, DER ’65 and he lives in the same area of Charlotte that we do. Robert is recently retired and is interested in coming to a reunion.

TAPS Hoyt O. Perry, Jr., DE’43 Mr. Perry passed away on October 11, 2009. He was one of the original “Plank Owners” and served as the ships communications officer.

Newsletter Input It would be nice to have a volunteer serve as the focal point to gather in-formation concerning our shipmates. The newsletter has become primarily focused on our reunions and each is-sue contains less information concern-ing our fellow shipmates. If you would be interested and willing to serve as our new “Scuttlebutt” please let me or Richard Resnick know and we will help you get started. Think about it…..

New Publication Dates Beginning with this issue we are chang- ing from four issues of the newsletter