Saturday September 30th 2017, Noon to 5 PM
Elks Hall
21 School Street in Randolph, Massachusetts
$30 Per Person
Twenty years ago on September 30th 1997 the Navy closed Naval Air Station South Weymouth in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Also, twenty-five years ago Marine attack squadron VMA-322 was deactivated at NAS South Weymouth on June 30th 1992.
Come remember a great military base and a great USMCR squadron at a special joint reunion event that will be held at the Randolph Elks Hall at 21 School Street in Randolph, Massachusetts on Saturday September 30th 2017 from noon to 5 PM.
We've got a full afternoon of activities planned that will appeal to anybody - military or civilian - who was assigned to, worked at, or is interested in old NAS South Weymouth, which is gradually being transformed into a new community called Union Point.
Please note that this event is open to anybody who is interested in going. You do not have to have been in the military or have been stationed at NAS South Weymouth. For more than 50 years the old base was an integral part of the surrounding civilian community and civilians are welcome to attend.
The reunion costs $30 per person and includes a buffet-style meal consisting of sliced roast beef and stuffed boneless chicken with gravy, potato and vegetable, tossed salad, rolls/butter, coffee/tea/decaf, and dessert.
There will be a cash bar, a continuous slide show of over 2,000 historic images pertaining to NAS South Weymouth over the years from 1942 through the end in 1997, two guest speakers, and a presentation about the history of the base.
We are pleased to announce that our two guest speakers will be Paul Haley and Andrew "Drew" Ley. Paul Haley is a retired Navy Reserve Captain and Naval Aviator who served with or commanded a number of units at NAS South Weymouth during its final decades. He also served in the Massachusetts state legislature, was active in the "Save the Base Committee" that tried to keep NAS South Weymouth open, and was instrumental in securing the funds to build the Shea Memorial Grove park on the old base before it closed. Andrew "Drew" Ley is a retired Marine Reserve Colonel and Marine Aviator who was an A-4 Skyhawk pilot with Marine Air Reserve attack squadron VMA-322 for several decades and served as the unit's commanding officer.
There will be at least two authors at the reunion who will sell and autograph books that they wrote about NAS South Weymouth. There will be NAS South Weymouth related memorabilia available for sale such as ball caps, t-shirts, challenge coins, etc., to benefit the ANA Patriot Squadron's Shea Naval Aviation Museum (more information about this below) and we're also going to raffle off a number of things to help raise money for the museum too.
Dress for the reunion is casual, but if you'd like to wear your old uniform, a flight suit, or even part of a uniform that would be nice.
The tentative schedule of events for the reunion follows:
12:00 to 12:45 - Mingle and Cash Bar
12:45 to 13:00 - Welcoming Remarks
13:00 to 13:30 - Guest Speaker Paul Haley, CAPT USNR (retired)
13:30 to 14:00 - Guest Speaker Andrew Ley, COL USMCR (retired)
14:00 to 15:00 - Buffet Meal is Served
15:00 to 16:00 - Presentation on the History of NAS South Weymouth
16:00 to 16:45 - Mingle and Cash Bar
16:45 to 17:00 - Raffle
Please note that the reunion is strictly limited to no more than 230 people and reservations are required in advance. No tickets will be sold at the door. Also, no more reservations will be accepted after Friday September 22nd, which is one week prior to the event. To avoid possible dissapointment, please print out, complete, and mail in your reservation(s) using the reservation form that is presented (CLICK HERE) in PDF format as soon as possible. Please mail in a separate reservation form for each person in your party.
We will process reservations on a first-come, first-served basis until we receive 230 reservations or until September 22nd, whichever comes first. If you do not meet the cutoff we will return your check and contact you directly via telephone and/or e-mail.
Please note that we originally specified a cutoff date of August 1st for reunion reservations. This was done because the original reunion "package" included a special commemorative polo shirt for each attendee and we had to get the shirt order to the vendor by the end of the first week of August to ensure delivery in time for the reunion. During the final days leading up to the original reservation deadline several people asked us to extend the cutoff date beyond August 1st if possible, which we have done. We have literally pushed the reservation date out as far as the caterer will allow us, which is Friday September 22nd, one week prior to the event. However, we can no longer offer the commemorative polo shirts as part of the reunion "package" and are offering this shirt-less (but less expensive) deal to latecomers instead.
The reunion will be a fund-raiser for the Shea Naval Aviation Museum on old NAS South Weymouth. The museum, which is located at 495 Shea Memorial Drive on the old base, which is presently being redeveloped into a community called Union Point, is a respository of photographs and artifacts associated with NAS South Weymouth and its Quincy predecessor NAS Squantum. It is operated by volunteers from the Boston area affiliate of the Association of Naval Aviation called the ANA Patriot Squadron. Admission is free. Please note that the museum is presently closed due to heavy construction activity in the area on Union Point. We hope to be able to open the museum from 9 AM to noon on the date of the reunion but this will depend upon the progress of the construction work at that time. Please consider donating any NAS South Weymouth or NAS Squantum related photos or artifacts that might be cluttering up your home to the museum. All money collected over the cost of organizing the reunion will be donated to the museum.
For those persons coming to the reunion from outside the Boston area, there is a Comfort Inn in Randolph that is just a few miles from the Elks Hall. If you would prefer to stay close to old NAS South Weymouth so you can vist the Shea Naval Aviation Museum in the morning there is a Comfort Inn, Best Western Hotel, and a Doubletree Hotel in Rockland that you might want to try.
For more information about the reunion go to the NAS South Weymouth Reunion group on Facebook. If you have any specific questions contact Marc J. Frattasio directly via e-mail.