In October 2018, we were able to attend the 30th Annual Reunion of the Swenson Sailors Association. It was held in Norfolk, Virginia; home to the world’s largest Naval Base and home to the world’s last and largest battleship, USS Wisconsin. We spent the majority of our time right on the water.
During his time of service with the Navy, Lynn was assigned to the USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD729). He served from June 1967 to December 1971. He made some lasting friendships during this time. One of them was Roger Merritt, who now lives in Kentucky. It was great to see Roger again, and reconnect with other sailors that served during his time.
On the evening of the first day, we went on a Sunset Dinner Cruise on the Spirit of Norfolk (dinner, dancing, festivities). The next morning, we attended an All Hands Meeting by the Commanding Officer of Naval Station Norfolk and Captain Douglas Beaver, Military Affairs Liaison for the City of Norfolk. We then boarded the Victory Rover for a Naval Base cruise, followed by a tour of the Battleship Wisconsin. On the Wisconsin we also attended a memorial for departed sailors.
On the third day, we toured Norfolk, Virginia, including the MacArthur Memorial, and had lunch at Freemason Abbey, housed in a 140-year old renovated church. It was reminiscent of English style pub houses. We then went to Doumar’s, home of the worlds first ice cream cone.
The reunion concluded with an Evening Banquet. We had such a good time that we’ve committed to attending each annual reunion from now on. In 2019, it will be held in Omaha, Nebraska.
See all of our photos in the Swenson Sailor’s Reunion Album on Flickr.
Leave a Reply