It has been almost ten years since I started planning the first Patrol Gunboat Association reunion. In 1997 I created a very simple basic web site in order to help get the information out. It was far from the professional web site that most of you have been accustomed to.

I used the web site to explain my reasons for trying to organize this Association. Eventually one of our shipmates, Jim Thomas (PG-101) volunteered to create a much more professional web site, and the current high quality Patrol Gunboat Association site was born. Jim allowed me to continue to bore the members with my introductory page, calling it the "Master Chief Speaks" page. In almost ten years I think I had only changed this page one time. In 2006 Jim turned the site over to me again so now I guess I am a web master too. Hopefully I can do as good a job as Jim has done for these last few years. The first thing I changed is the name of the page. The link is now called "From the Master Chief".

While some of the words may change, some pictures added, some deleted, the basic message is still the same. For new members who venture onto this page, let me first introduce myself. I served onboard USS CANON (PG-90) from January 1973 until July 1975. After leaving CANON, I continued in the Navy until I retired in May, 1996 as a Master Chief Petty Officer. I now reside in Virginia Beach.

Back in the early 1990's I became involved with the USS Canberra Reunion Association. Canberra (CA-70) was a World War Two Cruiser. Just prior to the Korean conflict, she was converted to a Guided Missile Cruiser, CAG-2. My father Paul, a World War Two (CA-70) veteran formed the USS Canberra Association in 1988 and organized their reunions from 1990 until 2002 when he turned the group over to two CAG-2 veterans. I attended my first USS Canberra reunion in 1994 when it was held in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Since that time I have been fortunate enough to have attended all but one reunion between 1994 and 2002 when my father resigned as the Association Chairman due to health problems.

My involvement with the Canberra Association was one of the things that motivated me to consider starting one for the PG's. It was obvious from the beginning that a reunion for just one Patrol Gunboat would not yield a sufficient number of participants so I decided to see if we could organize all the PG's into one group, and the Patrol Gunboat Association was born.

From the very beginning I felt that a reunion of the crewmembers from the seventeen Patrol Gunboats as well as the associated Staffs and Support Ships would be a successful venture that would be a pleasant and rewarding experience for everyone.

The first Patrol Gunboat Reunion held at the Holiday Inn City Centre, Peoria, Illinois from 12 - 16 August, 1998 showed me as well as the sixty some crewmembers that attended that the spirit and camaraderie that we had on the Gunboats still exists. I believe that everyone who attended had a great time. The second annual Patrol Gunboat Association Reunion was held at the Fairview Park Marriott Hotel in Falls Church, Virginia in August, 1999. Our attendance had grown to seventy three former crewmembers plus guests. In 2000 we went to Saint Louis, Missouri and stayed at the Sheraton West Port Lakeside Chalet. Next came San Diego, California from August 8 through August 12, 2001. Our San Diego Host was the Hanalei Hotel in the heart of San Diego's Mission Valley. Banquet attendance in San Diego was a record 171 members and guests. In 2002 we headed east, meeting at the Sheraton Chicago Northwest.

The 2007 reunion was held in Buffalo, New York starting on Wednesday, August 1 and ending on Sunday August 5, 2007. All I can say is "WHAT A HOOT". I had a ball, and I hope everyone else did too. The food was great, the dining out, a first for us was excellent and the Saturday Working Party had an excellent turnout.

The contracts have been signed for the 2008 reunion in Seattle and we are now working on the tours and meals.

From the beginning, I have believed that these reunions should be a family affair, entertaining for the crewmembers, wives and even children. I try my best to keep the costs of the reunions as low as possible, while still having a quality event that all can enjoy.

Updated by Terry W. McManuels on 3 March, 2007.