Volume 8, Number 3
USS MANLEY (DD-940) ASSOCIATION
July 1, 2006
With the opening ceremonies on the near horizon, the eleventh reun-
ion of the USS Manley Association shapes up to be the most exciting
and most attended this small - but great - organization has enjoyed
since six shipmates joined together in Philadelphia in 1990 to remi-
nisce their navy days. Undeniably, the remaining original plank own-
ers with what hair they have left thin and gray and waistlines overlap-
ping belt lines will have difficulty recognizing the old navy town be-
cause as the Chamber plugs it - it is the New Norfolk with a nearly
total facelift. It is only fitting that the Manley crew return to the place
some called homeport in the younger years.
The real success of the Manley reunions has been the obvious seam-
less blending of crews from every year of her 26 years of active ser-
vice. All of them doggedly make the trek from points near and far to
take their seat at one of the large tables in the hospitality room as
quick as the doors open on day one to get their biennial refill on the
lives of their good friends and rehash what was and what may have
been. It takes no time before they discover their once thought un-
common experiences were not so uncommon after all.
The storm of 57 was as harrowing as the one in 65; the mount explo-
sions of 66 and 80 were equally frightening; and the boiler room fire
of 64 was duplicated in 79. These eerily similar events, they have
come to realize, are the risks of serving at sea and touch all their
lives; but they also erase the lines thought to distinguish the crews
from year to year. We are now simply the Manley sailors.
As they move from table to table, seat to seat, shipmate to shipmate
that first day with handshakes of goodwill and broad smiles of recog-
nition, the aging sea stories are
retold perhaps with a new twist, but
they never thin or gray. Some
have the nerve to question their
veracity but I can tell you the sto-
ries are true alright!
On Monday morning at the farewell breakfast there will be the usual
attempt to postpone the end but it will fail again because it must.
There will be thanks given for these past four days and promises
made to make it happen again later. Memories will be taken and
some will be left behind. It is only certain these sailors, these patri-
ots, came to this place to celebrate their uncommon pride, their un-
common respect, and to feel that uncommon camaraderie so desper-
ately missed. It truly is a very uncommon celebration.
“Joe, let’s go to Norfolk!
Carolyn and I are ready.”
Butch (Miller)
For An Uncommon Celebration
For many years Ben Stein has writ-
ten a biweekly column called
“Monday Night At Morton’s,” Mor-
ton’s being the famous Steakhouse
chain known to be frequented by
movie stars and famous well-to-dos
from around the globe. Stein is
now terminating the column to
move on to other things in his life.
As I begin to write this, I “slug” it, as
we writers say, which means I put a
heading on top of the document to
identify it. This heading is
“eonlineFINAL,” and it gives me a
shiver to write it. I have been doing
this column for so long that I cannot
even recall when I started. I loved
writing this column so much for so
long I came to believe it would
never end.
It worked well for a long time, but
(Continued on page 6)
Ben Stein’s Final “Monday
Night At Morton’s”
Ben Stein is a noted economist,
writer, commentator, and
sometime actor
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