Article 87

“Any person subject to this chapter who through neglect or design misses the movement of a ship, aircraft, or unit with which he is required in the course of duty to move shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”

-- Art. 87, Uniform Code of Military Justice.
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The 2009 reunion of the Navy Musicians Association begins on June 24. In other words: the ship is about to weigh anchor.

If you haven't made your plans, now is the time.

To register for the reunion, download an NMA reunion registration form .

There are still some rooms at the Virginia Beach Holiday Inn Executive Center. For reservations, call (800) 567-3856 or (757) 499-4400.

I look forward to seeing you, and all members of the NMA.

W-w-what? You haven't yet joined the NMA?

Send a $30 check made out to NMA to:

Cecil Strange, Treasurer
Navy Musicians
Association
PO Box 2294
Plant City, FL 33564-2294

(Include information on your service dates, instrument(s), telephone number, and email address.)

Take care of this right away and save yourself a boatload of trouble later.

Carry on.

Buddies in Abundance

I love this time of year. With only three weeks to go until the NMA reunion, the scuttlebutt--who's definitely coming, who's maybe coming, who can't come--starts flying.This year it looks like we'll have a lot of first-timers (and "first-time-in-a-long-timers") in attendance.

Some are old shipmates I haven't seen in decades. Chuck Harris, Dale Vanderpool and Ed Henson, friends from my first duty station, Navy Band San Francisco, are rumored to be coming, as is John Pastin, a shipmate from my tour on staff at the School of Music.

I'm especially glad to hear that my Newport and SOM shipmate, Max "G.F." Murray, is coming. Because the families of MUs visit this site, the explanation of what "G.F." stands for cannot be given here. It will, no doubt, be explained at the reunion.

Only three weeks . . .

. . . until the Navy Musicians Association reunion.

Anybody know these guys?

A trio of US Navy musicians plays for crewmen in the sickbay of carrier USS Randolph (CV-15), 11 August 1945.

The players: MU3 Joseph Calicari (violin), MU2 Wilfred Batchelder (bass) MU3 Charles Apellonia (accordion).

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.