It’s been over a week now since the reunion, and time to get some thoughts down to share. I apologize in advance, this will be longer than most blogs. What a wonderful week we had in Savannah! Four DD467 families were to be represented this week; the Hackett family, Deering family, Mullane family and my own, the Hedrick connection. In total, 13 people from the DD467 group, the most ever since we had been coming. We arrived Tuesday evening a little after 6:00, grabbed our packet, said hello to the folks and grabbed dinner. We were early to bed so we could get up early in the morning for our first adventure.
Wednesday, we visited the Mighty Eighth Museum, built to honor the air corps that basically beat the daylights out of the Germans with their B-17’s in WWII. I noticed a couple of people in our tour group that were unfamiliar, a woman kept sneaking looks at me and finally asked, “Are you Tammi?” That’s how I met Cathy Jelinek and her son, Henry “Sonny” Jelinek. Cathy is the daughter of O. Milton Hackett, an officer on board the DD467 and a survivor. Her son Henry V, or “Sonny” was with her for the tour. Cathy lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband Henry IV, and they also have a home in Savannah. The Jelinek’s has been in the cork harvesting and production business since 1855. I had no idea that so much could be done with cork! Sonny and his family live here and run the store, the second Cork House (the first is in Ontario). We visited the family shop on W. Bay Street Thursday. Please visit this STRONG family business if you’re in Savannah, and say hello to Sonny!
Thursday we also went to Tybee Island for a walk on the beach. Got my toes in the water and some great photos of waves, birds and dunes. The quiet of the surf and the calls of the sea gulls was hypnotic. Then someone drove up a bus and dropped about a hundred middle school kids on the beach at the pier. Gone was the quiet. That’s when we headed to the other side of the island and ate lunch at A.J.’s Dockside on the west side. The view from the outside porch of the marsh and marina was spectacular and sunny. A beautiful day! As we arrived back at the hotel we met another STRONG family, the Deerings. A few short months ago I located Edwin Deering, the twin brother of Edward A. “Eddie” Deering, who died on Arundel Island. Thanks to his granddaughter Sarah and daughter-in-law Cindy, we got Ed to agree to visit the reunion. Cindy and Ed were in the hospitality room. Many hugs were exchanged, introductions as well and Ed made himself right at home among the DD758 crowd. Ed was a medical officer in the Pacific during WWII, so he had his own stories to tell. So we had part of the Hackett family there, more were set to meet us on Friday, the Deerings – and where are the Mullane’s?
Friday was downtown at the riverfront. For this tour we were joined by Jeff Hackett, son of O. Milton Hackett and brother to Cathy Jelinek, and his wife Sydnia Jacobs. We were touring historic areas on the bus when the brakes decided to lock up – very noisily. Fortunately it broke down right in front of the First African Baptist Church. This beautiful building was built by slaves in 1859. After they would finish their work in the fields, they would spend evenings working on the structure. Bricks were made at the river and carried in the aprons of the women up to the structure. The walls are 4 bricks thick, The sanctuary is a beautiful and historic pale blue shade known as Hain’t Blue, the color reported to repel ghosts and bad spirits. The stained glass windows have images of the first 6 pastors of the church. In the basement we saw diamond shapes in the wood floor, holes punched in the wood to create the diamond. According to our guide these served the purpose of supplying oxygen to folks hiding in the tunnels below the church as they escaped on the Underground Railroad. Soon, we had a new bus and proceeded to the riverfront for lunch and shopping. Next was a riverboat tour on the Savannah River. Our guide on the boat gave us some great dish on all the historical sites along the river, including the Civil War Fort Jackson. We even got a cannon blast, just for us!
So we got on the elevator as we were coming back from our trip downtown and the Mullanes got on with us. Tom and his son Tommy, anyway. More excitement, more introductions and a promise to meet downstairs after freshening up a bit. We went down to the hospitality room where Bob and his son Chris soon joined us. Bob and Tom are nephews of Daniel J. Mullane, another of the young men who died on Arundel Island. We spent some time doing introductions to the Deerings and others, chatting, hugging (because the Mullane’s are huggers) and then went back to the room exhausted, elated and so pleased that these families had joined us and were enjoying themselves.
Saturday morning after breakfast was the board meeting and raffle. The Mullane’s stepped up and bought tickets and even won some things, as did the Deerings. And thank you Cindy Kaminski for very generously giving Ed the print of the DD467. You’re a sweetheart! There was much more chatting and hugging after business was completed. The DD758 folks were just so friendly, accepting and really enjoyed talking with the new families. It was heartwarming to see how they all got along and watching them interact was so much better than I anticipated.
That evening was the banquet. Before dinner was served, a member of each family got up and spoke, talked about their young man and what it meant to be here among all the folks in the association. Thank you to Jeff Hackett, Tom Mullane and Edwin Deering for sharing with us. Dinner was great, and Ron had 2 tables reserved for the DD467 families. We sat with the Hackett/Jelinek family and the Deerings and Mullane’s were together. I had given DD467 ball caps to Ed and the others and was tickled to see Ed wearing his, and Henry donned his as well. Cindy got a group shot of us all and I hope to post that up soon!
Now, impressions - what impressed me most was watching all of these families interact, the new DD467 and the regular attendees from the DD758. You really had to be there. They smoothly and easily chatted, smiled, laughed, hugged, told stories and exchanged contact information. Everyone of them had a great time, were happy to be there and thanked me countless times. I felt really great about how all of this came together. It just went better than I could imagine.
This amazing week is behind us now. A few more things lie ahead. The movie for The Castaway’s War is set to begin shooting in late winter of 2020, but a few details need to be ironed out yet before I can announce that things are under way. The National Geographic documentary I’ve been consulting on is finished and delivered. Soon I will have more information to share on broadcast dates and on just who I have been working with – again, major excitement for me! We also have the memorial plaque that’s sitting in my den. I need to get the plaque in the waters of the Kula Gulf and if all the stars and moons align, it should happen some time next year. So keep your fingers and toes crossed for us, that this one final goal for our ship gets accomplished.
Thank you so much, STRONG Association, both DD758 and new DD467 members, for all your support, your love and enthusiasm for the site and the project. I could not have gotten this far without you!
-Tammi
Wednesday, we visited the Mighty Eighth Museum, built to honor the air corps that basically beat the daylights out of the Germans with their B-17’s in WWII. I noticed a couple of people in our tour group that were unfamiliar, a woman kept sneaking looks at me and finally asked, “Are you Tammi?” That’s how I met Cathy Jelinek and her son, Henry “Sonny” Jelinek. Cathy is the daughter of O. Milton Hackett, an officer on board the DD467 and a survivor. Her son Henry V, or “Sonny” was with her for the tour. Cathy lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband Henry IV, and they also have a home in Savannah. The Jelinek’s has been in the cork harvesting and production business since 1855. I had no idea that so much could be done with cork! Sonny and his family live here and run the store, the second Cork House (the first is in Ontario). We visited the family shop on W. Bay Street Thursday. Please visit this STRONG family business if you’re in Savannah, and say hello to Sonny!
Thursday we also went to Tybee Island for a walk on the beach. Got my toes in the water and some great photos of waves, birds and dunes. The quiet of the surf and the calls of the sea gulls was hypnotic. Then someone drove up a bus and dropped about a hundred middle school kids on the beach at the pier. Gone was the quiet. That’s when we headed to the other side of the island and ate lunch at A.J.’s Dockside on the west side. The view from the outside porch of the marsh and marina was spectacular and sunny. A beautiful day! As we arrived back at the hotel we met another STRONG family, the Deerings. A few short months ago I located Edwin Deering, the twin brother of Edward A. “Eddie” Deering, who died on Arundel Island. Thanks to his granddaughter Sarah and daughter-in-law Cindy, we got Ed to agree to visit the reunion. Cindy and Ed were in the hospitality room. Many hugs were exchanged, introductions as well and Ed made himself right at home among the DD758 crowd. Ed was a medical officer in the Pacific during WWII, so he had his own stories to tell. So we had part of the Hackett family there, more were set to meet us on Friday, the Deerings – and where are the Mullane’s?
Friday was downtown at the riverfront. For this tour we were joined by Jeff Hackett, son of O. Milton Hackett and brother to Cathy Jelinek, and his wife Sydnia Jacobs. We were touring historic areas on the bus when the brakes decided to lock up – very noisily. Fortunately it broke down right in front of the First African Baptist Church. This beautiful building was built by slaves in 1859. After they would finish their work in the fields, they would spend evenings working on the structure. Bricks were made at the river and carried in the aprons of the women up to the structure. The walls are 4 bricks thick, The sanctuary is a beautiful and historic pale blue shade known as Hain’t Blue, the color reported to repel ghosts and bad spirits. The stained glass windows have images of the first 6 pastors of the church. In the basement we saw diamond shapes in the wood floor, holes punched in the wood to create the diamond. According to our guide these served the purpose of supplying oxygen to folks hiding in the tunnels below the church as they escaped on the Underground Railroad. Soon, we had a new bus and proceeded to the riverfront for lunch and shopping. Next was a riverboat tour on the Savannah River. Our guide on the boat gave us some great dish on all the historical sites along the river, including the Civil War Fort Jackson. We even got a cannon blast, just for us!
So we got on the elevator as we were coming back from our trip downtown and the Mullanes got on with us. Tom and his son Tommy, anyway. More excitement, more introductions and a promise to meet downstairs after freshening up a bit. We went down to the hospitality room where Bob and his son Chris soon joined us. Bob and Tom are nephews of Daniel J. Mullane, another of the young men who died on Arundel Island. We spent some time doing introductions to the Deerings and others, chatting, hugging (because the Mullane’s are huggers) and then went back to the room exhausted, elated and so pleased that these families had joined us and were enjoying themselves.
Saturday morning after breakfast was the board meeting and raffle. The Mullane’s stepped up and bought tickets and even won some things, as did the Deerings. And thank you Cindy Kaminski for very generously giving Ed the print of the DD467. You’re a sweetheart! There was much more chatting and hugging after business was completed. The DD758 folks were just so friendly, accepting and really enjoyed talking with the new families. It was heartwarming to see how they all got along and watching them interact was so much better than I anticipated.
That evening was the banquet. Before dinner was served, a member of each family got up and spoke, talked about their young man and what it meant to be here among all the folks in the association. Thank you to Jeff Hackett, Tom Mullane and Edwin Deering for sharing with us. Dinner was great, and Ron had 2 tables reserved for the DD467 families. We sat with the Hackett/Jelinek family and the Deerings and Mullane’s were together. I had given DD467 ball caps to Ed and the others and was tickled to see Ed wearing his, and Henry donned his as well. Cindy got a group shot of us all and I hope to post that up soon!
Now, impressions - what impressed me most was watching all of these families interact, the new DD467 and the regular attendees from the DD758. You really had to be there. They smoothly and easily chatted, smiled, laughed, hugged, told stories and exchanged contact information. Everyone of them had a great time, were happy to be there and thanked me countless times. I felt really great about how all of this came together. It just went better than I could imagine.
This amazing week is behind us now. A few more things lie ahead. The movie for The Castaway’s War is set to begin shooting in late winter of 2020, but a few details need to be ironed out yet before I can announce that things are under way. The National Geographic documentary I’ve been consulting on is finished and delivered. Soon I will have more information to share on broadcast dates and on just who I have been working with – again, major excitement for me! We also have the memorial plaque that’s sitting in my den. I need to get the plaque in the waters of the Kula Gulf and if all the stars and moons align, it should happen some time next year. So keep your fingers and toes crossed for us, that this one final goal for our ship gets accomplished.
Thank you so much, STRONG Association, both DD758 and new DD467 members, for all your support, your love and enthusiasm for the site and the project. I could not have gotten this far without you!
-Tammi
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