90th division president's message

8 May, 1945 - VE Day! 60 years ago, the 90th was in Czechoslovakia - After 11 mos. of combat from Utah Beach through France, Luxembourg Belgium and Germany, the Division had a splendid record. It could not, however, rest on its laurels, for the war in the Pacific still raged, & the 90th was scheduled to eventually go there. Some 4 mos. later, the Japanese surrendered, & VJ Day was pro- claimed. By the end of the year, the Division was back in the USA, de-activated & in a Reserve status.

That was THEN - 60 years later is NOW. This is the theme for our 87th Annual Reunion - THEN AND NOW.

The speakers & displays will illustrate the changes. A recent survey recognized our reunion city, Corpus Christi, as the 4th "happiest city" in the U.S. It is also known as the "Sparkling City by the Sea".

Come and join your fellow veterans here! - We have reserved space in the Omni MARINA Hotel across the street from the waterfront, where our activities will take place. - Thank you to those who sent in the postcards listing your choice of activities. Your input helped decide on the events we have planned. There is a full schedule of activities in this newsletter, so be sure to be familiar with that page.

In addition to the usual "swapping tales with buddies", there will be a Casino Ship dinner Cruise Thursday night [be sure to note the length of time involved in this!]. On both Friday and Saturday mornings, there will be trips to the Lexington Aircraft Carrier [its blue illumination at night emphasizes its nickname, Blue Ghost], the Aquarium, and the Columbus Ships.

The Family Luncheon Friday Noon will officially begin the reunion. Mariachi music will get us off to a rousing start, followed by tasty South Texas food and an outstanding speaker, a military doctor who will contrast military medicine THEN and NOW.

Friday afternoon, there will be a waterfront bus tour around the Bay and on Mustang Island. Friday Evening's banquet speaker, LTG Clark, is the Commander of the 5th U.S. Army which encompasses all the continental U.S. west of the Mississippi, except Minnesota. He is the grandson of BG Joe Tully, our last [WW II] assistant Division Commander. General Clark will tell us about the ongoing transformation of the U.S. Military from THEN to NOW.

The Saturday "Tough 'Ombre" Luncheon will combine the former regimental & supporting units usual separate luncheons into one group because of the program that will be of special interest to all. Three of our current 90th RRC Tough 'Ombres who have recently served in Kuwait, Iraq, Uzbekistan & Afghanistan, will tell us the way it is NOW!

There will be the usual General Meeting Saturday afternoon. Remember the Widows & First Timers Reception; then the Saturday night banquet will feature our current RRC Commander, MG James Ron Sholar - plus awards, the raffle, and music for dancing or listening.

At our Sunday Memorial Breakfast, we will once again be privileged to have BG [Ret.] Chaplain Jim Spivey as our MC & be inspired by our orator laureate, Joe Engle, as the speaker. The program will include the annual reading of TAPS names of those who have passed away since the printing of this newsletter, and the passing of the gavel to the new President, Leon Crenshaw.

Sunday afternoon there will be a bus trip to the King Ranch for a tour and barbecue. For times and prices, refer to the "Reunion Schedule of Events" page and the Reunion Registration page. - Interspersed with all of these events will be displays of military equipment, projection of DVDs covering parts of our 86th Reunion in Alexandria, VA in 2004, and the various events of the November, 2004 "Moselle River 1944" celebration in France. We expect the Vice President of the "Moselle River 1944" Committee, Jean Pascal Speck, and author & Committee member, Tony Kemp, to be with us for the reunion. Mr. Speck is the owner of the L'Horizon Hotel in Thionville, France who hosted the opening reception in November and also housed several of the veterans. Our beloved Henri Levaufre will not be able to attend. -

We hope to have many of the current 90th RRC personnel joining us. They are the ones making great contributions to the proud legacy of the 90th. They also will be the ones who will someday be responsible for keeping the Association active and Reunions an annual event. We need them to start getting involved if this is to happen. -

We also always welcome and encourage all family members of veterans to come, which includes the 2nd & 3rd generation. You are an active and vital part of the 90th Association, and we need you also to remain involved with us.

SO, COME ONE, COME ALL - TO THE "HAPPY, SPARKLING CITY BY THE SEA" FOR ANOTHER MEMORABLE 90TH DIVISION ASSOCIATION REUNION. YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU CAME!

REMEMBER THE DATES: SEPTEMBER 29 - OCTOBER 2 AND MAKE YOUR HOTEL RESERVATIONS EARLY! CALL 1-361-887-1600 - BE SURE TO TELL THEM YOU ARE WITH THE 90TH TO GET THE SPECIAL RATE!

July 2005