Dear Sabalo Shipmates,

Thank you for coming to the reunion in Kansas City. I hope you had a good time, and a chance to meet a few old friends, or meet some new one's even from a different era. These events are far too brief, and it seems you never get enough time to tell all the stories you remember, nor hear all those from others. It is enough to know that we all went through similar circumstances, and relish the time we had aboard.

The activities of the national convention were previously thought to be a benefit to the experience, but it seems that the opposite is true, and are more of a distraction and cost escalator. As experienced, having the Sabalo get together during the reunion seems to have scheduling conflicts, and adds to the expense of everything from the banquet down to the price of beer. Bill Towery made a beer run, and a six pack of bottled Miller Lite cost $22.50. Future planning will seek to make the cost of lodging, and celebrating and enjoying fellow shipmates more reasonable.

Some attendees and other men have mentioned the upcoming convention in Little Rock in 2006. While this has a favorable aspect in that the Razorback is there for touring, my experience in discussing this with many men leads me to believe that a fully attended Sabalo reunion wouldn't be likely. A number of men have suggested over the past couple years that we should have our own affair. Accordingly, the particulars of having what may be the last big splash will be investigated - San Diego being the consensus target. The boat spent its last five years home ported there. (Pearl has the edge in this regard, but Hawaii is too expensive, and also, no one can drive there.)

The date will most likely be during 2007. This will give time to fully explore possibilities, make arrangements without any pressure, find any remaining shipmates not on our rosters, or located, and get the word out in time for just about anyone to arrange their personal schedule to attend.

The national convention will be held in San Diego in 2009. Waiting until then for the next Sabalo affair would be counter productive. We'll all be four years older then, and health and age have a way of precluding travel we might like to undertake. If 2007 is successful, maybe an encore might be in order in 2009 for those who can still make it. Stay tuned for further announcements. Please communicate any ideas for reunion locations, programs, etc.

Thank you to all for those who have added donations to the Crew Association for continuing activities. Funds are used for postage, telephone, and web site fees. I will strive to continue to add material to the web site along with getting the complete muster lists and ship's history from the National Archives.

And to those who made that extra donation to the support of Katrina victims, in particular, Fred Holcomb who was prevented from attending, thank you for your generosity. Fred's only communications to date follow. As of 9 Sept. AM, cell phone service is not yet restored, and postal service remains suspended in the affected areas.

As soon as the USPS gets back to operations I will be forwarding our collected donations to the suggested organization which Fred has indicated. I think that putting the money directly into a local charity might be more effective than other alternatives. Because of your open pockets we will be sending $360, in memory of departed Sabalo shipmates, to help in a small way in recovery activities.

Thank you all again, Your shipmate, Jeff Owens

Emails from Fred Holcomb

Rec'd 4 Sep

We are all OK. Shelby and I are in Athens AL. We stayed home thru the storm, but we ran out of fuel for the Generator and food was getting low (besides, the heat was a killer). We took my dad and step mom to Columbus, MS on the way up.

Kim, our oldest, got electricity and plenty of food donations, so she is still there and working. She is the office manager of a doctor's office. Heather works for the Salvation Army and is on the job in Gulfport. We have her daughter, Cali, with her. Stephanie, our youngest, is with her in-laws and safe. She works for NOAA.

How was the reunion? It sure broke my heart to miss it...

Fred & Shelby Holcomb

Rec'd 7 Sep

Jeff,

Thank all the guys for the Katrina relief offering. It brings tears to my eyes to see how people all over the U.S. are sending relief supplies and in some cases coming themselves to help.

The best place to send it for my neck of the woods, is:

The Refuge

P.O. Box 1019

Gautier, MS 39553

If you write a check make it payable to The Refuge. Designate it for Hurricane Relief.

This is a spin-off church from the one I attend. It is close to my house and I have been helping with their effort to distribute food, clothing and personal items. They give out between 300-400 boxes of food a day. The latest shipment of supplies came from an individual in California. His truck came into town and the local authorities pointed him to The Refuge. Beginning this weekend, The Refuge will be the distribution center for the Assemblies of God. They are expecting several trucks full of needed supplies. But, right now, they are existing on their own.

The Pastor there is Rev. Rick Smith, a retired navy Chief. It's awesome seeing this 6 foot 4 inch redhead with tears in his eyes as he reaches out to the community.

We just got some bad news tonight. One of my daughters got some unpublished information. We have heard so much on the TV about New Orleans, some about Biloxi and Gulfport, but not much about Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis, or Waveland. The word is that they expect the death toll to be 600+ in those three communities. I have a first cousin in Pass Christian that I have not heard from. I grew up there until 4th grade.

When it's all over with, the loss is going to be staggering.....

Keep in touch,

Fred