Vietnam Veterans of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, Inc.

​December 23, 2023 President’s Message

First of all, the Board of Directors and the Trustees want to thank everyone for their participation at the reunion in San Diego this past November. The reunion was held at The Dana on Mission Bay Resort in San Diego, California. The accommodations, the food, and service at The Dana were superb. All of you Marines and your families made the reunion a great success.

We had several excursions over two days at the reunion. First, to Mt. Soledad for the dedication of our Vietnam Veterans of 2d Battalion First Marines plaque commemorating our combat operations in Vietnam, then a trip to Camp Horno Memorial Garden for the dedication of the plaque for the Marines of 2/1, and those who were attached, who were KIA in the terrorist attack at the Abbey Gate at Kabul airport in Afghanistan, and then to our delicious meal at the chow hall at Horno. The second day we ventured to Mt. Soledad for the Veterans Day celebration where during the playing of the Marines Hymn, we all stood at attention and sang a rousing rendition of the hymn. Our Marines were the only ones to sing during their anthem. Other service veterans stood when their anthem played, but we Marines sang out in a rousing rendition of our hymn. A good time was had by all and the ceremony will be remembered for years to come. The CEO of the Mt. Soledad Foundation contacted Trustee Tim Stanton, who coordinated our visit and plaque dedication at Mt. Soledad, to tell him that our robust singing was the hit of the celebration.

This year we also celebrated the second annual Ladies Luncheon at the reunion. It was held on the terrace outside the Hospitality room and was enjoyed by 30 of our wonderful wives, significant others, and family. The food was great and the weather was perfect. We plan to continue this tradition to honor those who put up with us and stand by us for all these years.

Go to www.FirstMarines.org to view the over 300 pictures of the reunion. Barry Noe, our official photographer, performed a terrific job in capturing all aspects of the reunion. If you have pictures you would like to share, email them to [email protected]

We are already in the planning stages of our 2024 reunion which will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We have not settled on a firm date yet, but we are looking at September 4 through 8 or September 25 through 29. At our annual meeting it was decided to reduce our reunion to four days instead of five. We know that its expensive to attend reunions and by reducing the number of days it should alleviate some of the burden. We are investigating ways we can reduce the cost of attending and will relay those efforts after we complete our findings. Next years reunion will be the first time we have held one in the northern part of the Midwest. We hope by having the reunion in Milwaukee that many of you who have never attended a reunion, or only sporadically attend, will be able to make the trip to Milwaukee along with the rest of us. Go to www.FirstMarines.org often to get the latest updates for the reunion. We will also be sending email blasts to keep you all info on the reunion along with a newsletter later in 2024.

I want to thank all of you who have either pressed the DONATE button or sent a donation to Mario by snail mail. Your generosity this year helped us to limit the cost of the excursion transportation to only $10 per person for all the excursions we made. Thanks again for your generosity.

When you go to the website, check out the new PX option. All pricing on the site includes any shipping fees. We plan to expand the variety of merchandise and would appreciate any suggestions of what those may be.

Our Brotherhood is a special part of our lives. Reunions are a great way to reconnect and soothe the soul. We all hope to see you in Milwaukee.

The Board and Trustees wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Semper Fi
Tony Kilroy, President
Vietnam Veterans of the 2d Battalion 1st Marines