CLOSE QUARTERS MAKE NAVY REUNION GROUP LIKE BROTHERS

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Pat Frew, Director of Communications
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CLOSE QUARTERS MAKE NAVY REUNION GROUP LIKE BROTHERS

Fort Mitchell, KY/June 18, 2007—It’s appropriate that families and loved ones of sailors aboard World War II Patrol Torpedo (PT) Boats will attend the group’s 43 Annual Military Reunion June 21-25 at the Drawbridge Inn.  The men aboard those small water craft became like brothers themselves.

Reunion organizer Alyce Guthrie says in addition to the 106 veterans scheduled to attend, 14 widows and 110 children and grandchildren of servicemen who have passed away will also be there. 

“These sailors were more than brothers because of the tight quarters they faced on the boats. The largest were 80 feet (long) with a full crew of 12-18.  They were a ragtag bunch.  While there was a great deal of respect for commanding officers there was less of a formality in the relationship between junior men and their commanders,” said Guthrie.

It has been estimated that as many as 64,000 served on PTs but only 331 were killed in action.  They served in all theaters including participation in the Normandy Invasion. Unlike submariners, PT sailors never received hazardous duty pay in spite of close contact with the enemy.  Many prominent men served aboard PT boats:  President Kennedy, millionaires Alfred and George Vanderbilt and former Supreme Court Justice Byron White.

One highlight of the reunion will be a service, Sunday evening, June 24th at 7:30 p.m. when the name of each of the 300 PT Boat crewman passing away in the last year will be read.  For more information about the conference call the hotel at 859-341-2800.

The mission of the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau is that of an aggressive sales, marketing, service and informational organization whose primary responsibility is to positively impact the Northern Kentucky economy through conventions, meetings and visitor expenditures.  The direct economic impact of visitors’ spending in Campbell, Kenton and Boone Counties in 2006 was $263 million.