Sixth Marine Division

Sixth Marine Division Association Reunions

The 50th and Final Reunion
Fredericksburg, Virginia
September 14-19, 2021

It's going to be a while before we have time to post pictures,
but you can read all about the reunion and see lots of pictures
in the latest Striking Sixth newsletter (pages 1-19 and 26-28).
You'll also find lots of photos on our Facebook page.

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL!

DC Rigby, Ross Laporte, Watson Crumbie, Ken Wells, Neal McCallum, Leonard Turner, and Harry McKnight with the Sixth Marine Division Colors at the National Museum of the Marine Corps

We're not going to tell you it was perfect. But we think everyone had a great time. We had eight Sixth Marine Division Veterans (ages 94-98) attend, which we thought was remarkable, especially during a pandemic.

In a week of hightlights, two were particularly special:

We got to see the original Sixth Marine Division colors at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. They arrived from San Diego just a week before we got there. It took years, but we credit the persistance of our historian, Laura Lacey, for finally making it happen. We also credit Watson Crumbie (29th Mar-1-C) for getting the ball rolling a number of years ago.

Association Historian Laura Lacey with the Colors
We ended the reunion with the Sixth Division Marines drinking a shot from the Last Man Bottle. Then we all toasted the vets and sang the Marines' Hymn. We thank Watson Crumbie for finding the long lost bottle at VMI and asking Col Keith Gibson to bring it to our reunion. For the history of the bottle, see pages 2-3 of the Spring 2020 Striking Sixth newsletter.

Watson Crumbie with the Last Man Bottle

OUR HOTEL

Holiday Inn Fredericksburg Conference Center
20 Sanford Drive
Fredericksburg, VA 22406

Ken Wells, Neal McCallum, Lester Penny, Harry McKnight, Leonard Turner, DC Rigby, and Watson Crumbie at the dinner banquet

REUNION SCHEDULE

We tried to keep it simple. Since it was the last reunion, we wanted to allow plenty of time for socializing in the hospitality room. All activities were at the hotel except for the trolley tour and bus trip to the museum.

Tuesday, September 14

6:00-8:00 pm - Meet and Greet Reception - with hors d'oeuvres and a presentation by Division Historian Laura Lacey on the Sixth Marine Division

Wednesday, September 15

2:00-5:00 pm - Trolley Tour of Fredericksburg - with stops at Ferry Farm (George Washington's boyhood home) and Kenmore Plantation. We also drove through historic Fredericksburg.

Thursday, September 16

9:00 am-3:00 pm - Bus Trip to the National Museum of the Marine Corps - with at quick stop at the Stafford County Armed Services Memorial

7:00 pm - Marine Corps Jazz Band Concert

Friday, September 17

1:00 pm - Presentation by docents from the National Museum of the Marine Corps - with exhibits from the museum's collection. We also had a pizza lunch donated by Leonard Turner and his daughter, Karen Turner.

7:00-10:00 pm - Annual Meeting and Auction

Saturday, September 18

10:00 am - Memorial Service

2:00 pm-4:00 pm - Open House - An opportunity for guests to meet the Sixth Division veterans in the hospitality room.

6:00-10:00 pm - Reception and Virginia Comfort Dinner Buffet - including an open bar thanks to a generous donation from Kate McGuigan and Tom Montalbano.