3rd Bn, 5th Marines Reunions
2000
The very first reunion. It was just supposed to be a fishing trip and turned into something wonderful. There was so
much joy for some to see people that they had not seen in many years. There was laughter, tears, and sadness for those who were
lost. This was a plain and simple affair as we had no tent, no outside lights, beer in coolers, and the Wall of Honor tacked
up on the side of a cabin. It only lasted three days and two nights but those who were there swear it was the best of them all.
2001
There was a larger crowd at this reunion. We had a tent with lights, a beer buffalo, and some tables & chairs.
All the cooking was done field mess style, as with all the reunions held at Highland Marina. This was the first year we
had a chaplain (Chaplain Richards), color guard, and a bugler. They came up from MCLB - Albany to help us out. There
was some rain on Saturday but quit long enough for the ceremony to be held.
2002
This year's crowd overflowed into the Layfayette Garden Inn in LaGrange. The tent was larger than the previous one with
more tables & chairs. The chaplain and color guard came up from MCLB - Albany to help us again and brought a brass quartet
with them. The weather was not good, there were cool days, cold nights, and rain. It was still a good reunion despite
all that.
2003
Highland Marina was booked up by the first of August 2002 for this reunion. The tent set-up grew again. We went from
one large tent to a larger tent & two small tents. This was also the first year that a raffle was held. It was a lot
of fun and a huge success! There was also a professional photographer to take the photos and the MCLB group joined us
again. It did rain on Thursday but the weather was beautiful the rest of the time.
2004
There were more wives and children this year than we had previously had. It is becoming more of a family thing and this
was good. Even though it's all about the marines and the honored family, their families are part of them. Most of this
reunion was the same as last years but there was a live band for the first time. We did find out that Chaplain Richards was
retiring. He will be missed. The weather was great, only a few light showers, and it seems everyone had a great time.
2005
This reunion was not so good weather wise. It poured rain on Friday and there was a river running through the tent and
down the hill. It did stop clear up for Saturday, as it always seems to do, and the ceremony went on without any problems.
Everything remained much the same as the previous years except that we had a brand-new Wall of Honor that was made for us by Valorie
Steele of LaGrange and a new chaplain, Chaplain Headrick. It was also discovered that the marina had been sold and
we were uncertain if we would be able to hold the reunion here the next year.
2006
The weather was almost as beautiful as it was in 2000. Some great days and great times this year. The new owners
of the marina had made some changes and we were able to move the tent set-up to a more level location. That also gave us a better
place to erect the Wall of Honor. It was more visible and looked very nice, especially at night with the lights. Other
than that everything was much the same as before.
2007
A lot of changes went on at the marina as the new owners wanted it to be more of a family type resort rather than the fishing
camp it was. Beautiful weather this year, no rain and not too hot nor too cool. Something new this year was the additon
of four pavilions behind the tent area which gave us more room to spread out. Chaplain Headrick notified us that he would
be transferring out to California and there will be another new chaplain next reunion.
2008
The last reunion held at Highland Marina. There was rain this time, especially on Thursday but not on Saturday. The
new chaplain is Chaplain Ranard, a very nice man. This year we had Sgt. Maj. Kennedy and Col. Haliday with us along with the
rest of the group from MCLB-Albany. We still have the professional photographer, the live band, the beer buffalo, and the same
tent set-up. Highland Marina will be missed by most but it's time to move on elsewhere.
2009
This years reunion was held at Hickory Knob State Park in S.C., right off the Savannah River. It was nice to have an air-conditioned
meeting room and a restaurant on site that could handle the crowd. The park has a pool, walking trails, a golf course, skeet
shooting, boat ramp, and pool tables. We did have an overflow that we housed in the Cullars Inn in Lincolnton, GA and the Savannah
Lakes Resort in McCormick, SC. The first ever golf tournament was held with a trophy designed by George Blankenship. There
was also a KIA walk organized by Karen Ford. The photograher (Tim McClain) & our friend, George Britt, came to SC with
us. We had a color guard from the Marine Corps Reserve in Greenville, SC and the LIncoln County GA High School Band for the
ceremony. The weather was great but hot and humid. We had a good time anyway.
2010
The second year at Hickory Knob was not quite as hot as it was in 2009. There were some showers but not anything major.
They were remodling some of the rooms while we were there so we were short at least six rooms. The Savannah Lakes resort closed
their motel so we didn't have that to fall back on but we made do. The golf tournament was held again and a Skeet Shoot
was added. There was a shopping trip for whoever wanted to go. They were to some of the small towns around the park where
there are antique shops and some neat little boutiques. The raffle & auction are still being held and they did very well.
George Britt brought his entire band this year and they performed on Friday night. We had some dancers but missed seeing Tom
& Goodie Wolf dance and also Phyllis Blankenheim. Phyllis had a broken foot.
2011
Reunion 2011 is now over and it's kind of a bittersweet ending for us since this is our last year to host it. We will still
be dealing with the honored families though. I do believe that the ceremony this year was the best ever. Our guest speaker
was R. V. Burgin, the author of "Islands of the Damned". He gave one of the best speaches I have heard in a while. Another
exciting thing about Mr. Burgin was the fact that he got to meet a man who was in the same place at the same time during WWII at Peleliu,
Orin Whitman. The Honored Family this year was from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada. The Wolos family (Paul
Wolos), a very nice bunch of people.
Claudia Nicholson made a beautiful quilt to auction off this year, and also a picture
that was made with the scraps left over from the quilt. Steve Cottrell was the lucky winner of the quilt drawing and also
purchased the picture at auction. We had some nice things to auction off this year. The George Britt Band gave us some
outstanding music and we want to thank them for going all that way to entertain us.
The winner of the golf trophy was George
Blankenship and there was a winner in the skeet shoot, can't remember who. If you know please tell me! We had a ladies
luncheon this year and that's something we've never had before. Thank you to Karen Ford who thought of that. Karen also
worked very hard on the KIA walk and she has our thanks for that. Thanks also go to Jerry Bain, Jim Bisesi, Val & John Smith,
and Paul Smith for helping with the auction/raffle. Many thanks to Dee & Ken Godkin, Kay Groves, & Kathy Christy who
assisted me with the T-shirts & hats this year. It took a load off of me! Thanks too to all those who helped erect
the Wall of Honor and take it down. These folks also helped with the clean-up afterwards.
A huge "Thank You" to all
the employees & staff of Hickory Knob State Park for all their help and hard work, and for putting up with us for the last
three years! We are going to Cadiz, Kentucky folks!
Thank you everyone for a great twelve years!
Semper
Fi,
Brenda & Curtis Eidson
For info on Reunion 2012 go to the bottom of this page.
For more photos of Reunion 2011, please click here.
For photos from McClain Photography, please click here.
If you are asked for a password, it is 2011.
Reunion 2012
Where: Lake Barkley State Resort Park in Cadiz, KY
When: Arriving May 17 and leaving May 20, 2012
Rooms: the
Lake Barkley Lodge (motel style) has 120 rooms, the Little River Lodge has 10 rooms and one suite, 9 2-bedroom/2-bath cottages
and 4 2-bedroom/2-bath log cabins.
Amenities: Gift shop, indoor/outdoor swimming pools, boating, fishing, walking/biking trails,
trap shooting, golf, horseback riding, fitness center and more!
Food: Full Service dining room
Cost: the deposit will remain
the same. $60.00 payable by December 1, 2011. The checks will be made out to Ken Godkin and sent to 8309 N. 37th St, Omaha,
NE 98112. (Just as always this money will be used to cover all the expenses of the reunion.)
Lodge rooms: $66.16 per night Cabins/Cottages: $99.24 per night (two people/couples can split this
cost) When you make your reservations you will be charged one nights stay as a deposit. Reservations will remain
available until full or April 1, 2012, whichever occurs first. To make reservations, please call 1-800-325-1708 and be sure
to get a confirmation number.
For Lake Barkley's website click HERE.