Sixth Marine Division

Sixth Marine Division Association Reunions

2019 Annual Reunion
Loews Philadelphia Hotel
August 27 - September 1

Many years ago, Philadelphia hosted our
founding fathers when they declared
Independence and formed a new government.
And we all know how well that turned out.
More than 200 years later,
things turned out pretty darn well for
the Sixth Marine Division when we held
our annual reunion in Philadelphia.
We visited first class historic sites,
stayed in a beautiful and stylish hotel,
ate fabulous food, enjoyed great weather,
got together with old and new friends,
and ended the week being entertained by the
incredible — indescribable! — Mummers!!!
We had a wonderful time!

Sixth Division Veterans Neal McCallum, Kenneth Wells, Bennett Bard, Herbert Kinney,
Leonard Turner, Harry McKnight, Lester Penny & Marvin Skeath

Thank You! Many thanks to our co-chairs Buzz
Bissinger and Lisa Smith for all their hard work
and dedication to putting on a fun-filled reunion!

lineal descendent Buzz Bissinger & his wife
Lisa Smith

History 101. We got our first history lesson
at the opening night Meet & Greet where
Ben Franklin entertained us with stories
about colonial Philadelphia.

Buzz Bissinger welcomes everyone to Philly.

Bennett Bard compares notes with guest speaker,
Ben Franklin.

Mary Walker, Buzz Bissinger & Lynne Warren

Patty Payne shows Neal McCallum the calendar
she made with pictures from the 2018 Reunion.

Deborah Magnuson & Paul Kirst wearing shirts Paul
made to honor Deborah's late father, Jack Magnuson
(22nd Mar-1-A).

Field Trips! The history lessons - and fun -
continued as we traveled around the city and
across the Delaware to take in some of
Philadelphia's top sites.

Lester Penny, Neal McCallum, Herbert Kinney, Bennett Bard, Leonard Turner & Harry McKnight stop in front of the USS New Jersey where
we took a tour and enjoyed lunch on deck.

Sixth Division Veterans throw a memorial
wreath into the water.

A reporter discovers how interesting and articulate
Neal McCallum is.

News Reports of Our Visit to the USS New Jersey

Herbert Kinney, Lester Penny, Kenneth Wells, Bennett Bard,
Leonard Turner, Neal McCallum & Harry McKnight pose at the
site of Tun Tavern where the US Marine Corps was founded.

We had our own special tour of the
Liberty Bell where our Veterans got
got a standing ovation!

Signers' Hall at the National Constitution Center was a popular spot
for photos. Gillian Martin, Connie Houseweart, Dave Hilner, Gregg Woodhouse, Lisa Benedetti, Louise Lutts, Anita Benedetti, Melinda Benedetti & Carroll McGowan take their turn.

Nola and Harvey Andrews, great grandchildren of the late
Jim McGuigan (29th Mar-3-G), hold up a sign they made
to welcome us to the Upper Darby Marine Corps League
where we enjoyed a wonderful dinner.

Waiting for dinner to be served at the Upper Darby Marine
Corps League.

You can't say you've experienced Philadelphia until you've
tried a Philly cheesesteak! Connie Houseweart, Sharon
Woodhouse, Buzz Bissinger & Dave Hilner find out what
all the fuss is about at Gino's in South Philadelphia.

What a View! The 33rd floor of the Loews Hotel provided a fabulous setting for drinks, hors d'oeuvres, and our Annual Meeting and Auction.

Philadelphia really sparkles at night!

Lester Penny & Parker Brauer

Dee and Rick Willauer

Louise Lutts, Karen Turner, Mary Brauer

Kris Oberdorf, Marvin Skeath, Kelley Rouse

Jim & Melanie Rigby

Auctioneer Extraordinaire Sharon Woodhouse & Association
President Connie Houseweart

George Washington and Ben Franklin prayed here. And we honored the Sixth Division Veterans
who passed at a very special Memorial Service in historic Christ Church. It was beautiful.

Bob and Jane McCalmont head into Christ Church
for the Memorial Service.

Colorguard enters Christ Church.

Leonard Turner pays his respects.

Action News Report of Our Memorial Service

Mummers!!! We've had some great banquets before, but we've never had entertainment quite like the Mummers! We don't even know how to describe them, but we can tell they know how to have fun! :)

And speaking of fun, how about Lester Penny leading the conga line?!

We are happy to report the Mummers play as well as
they dress!

Lester Penny leads the conga line!
And becomes an inspiration to everyone. :)

Herbert Kinney, Brenda Fletcher, Natalie & Ken Wells

Dolores Bertram & Barbara McKnight

Guest Speaker Samuel Nicholas, first
Commandant of the Marine Corps, &
Bob McGowan

Special Thanks!

The Sixth Marine Division Association would like to thank the following organizations and individuals for their
overwhelming generosity in supporting our reunion:

Comcast Corporation — sponsor of the Reunion and host of our Grand Dinner Banquet:
David L. Cohen, Dalila Wilson-Scott, Danielle Arnold, Sarah Ferst, Carol Eggert, Meredith Setzman, and Ed Carr

Christ Church — host of the Memorial Service:
The Rev. Timothy B. Safford, The Rev. Susan Richardson, Parker Kitterman, Cecilia Wagner, Neil Ronk, John Hopkins, and Patrick McCue

The Philadelphia Independence Visitor Center:
James Cuorato, Jennifer Nagle, and Ashton Seiwell

The National Park Service:
Cynthia Macleod and Andrew McDougal

HealthFleet Ambulance:
R. Sean Buckmann

Ceisler Media and Issue Advocacy:
Larry Ceisler, Kate Wilhelm, and Will Jara

Loews Philadelphia Hotel:
Yana Tonyuk

Krapf Coaches:
Gary Krapf

Upper Darby Marine Corps League:
The late Jim McGuigan (29th Mar-2-G) belonged to the League and we thank them and the entire McGuigan family for a memorable dinner.

Ann Bissinger

Buzz Bissinger and Lisa Smith

Stuart and Gena Shapiro

The City of Philadelphia:
The city was proud to recognize the historic importance of the Sixth Marine Division, and their support was phenomenal.

We hope to see you in Fredericksburg for the 50th and Final Reunion!!!
September 22-27, 2020
Look for details and registration information in April 2020.