By Eric Forberger, courtesy Cumberland Valley VB
Other wars, other reunions
The wars and conflicts that have ensued since World War II generate military reunions in varying degrees.
Often, veterans don’t begin thinking about reunions until they reach middle age, when “they are more established and have their families raised,” said Roberts. “They begin looking back on their service as a favorable time in their life.”
Aboard the Queen Mary, Roberts is seeing more reunions with ties to what he calls “the instruments of war.”
“We are seeing reunions come together for ships, for example, the USS Enterprise. You’ll have different generations that have served on the ship but were not on it at the same time.”
The P-38 National Association holds gatherings for devotees of the P-38, a plane flown in World War II. Membership extends beyond the men who served on those planes; historians, engineers, aviation enthusiasts and others attend P-38 gatherings.
In Branson, Mo., which has worked to welcome military personnel and veterans for the past 20 years, “we are still seeing reunions of the Korean War era, but the most numerous by far are the Vietnam veterans,” said Julie Peters, leisure group sales manager for the Branson/Lakes Area CVB.
“The Desert Storm guys are just starting to organize,” said Giblin.
Interests, needs vary
Not surprisingly, younger veterans are more active than the World War II veterans, who are now in their late 80s and 90s.
“When you are 90 years old, navigating three miles of stairs through this venue [the Queen Mary] is very difficult,” said Roberts.
Veterans of all ages enjoy casual gatherings in the hotel hospitality suite, but it is the older veterans who seem to enjoy those occasions most.
“They go to the hospitality suite, and it is stories all afternoon, sipping on drinks if it doesn’t interfere with their medications,” said Roberts. “Then [they go on] one or two bus tours, but never very long ones. No dancing, no DJ, no band.”
By contrast, veterans from the Vietnam War era are interested in a higher-end experience, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be in a big-name city, said Katherine Smith, sales coordinator for the Cumberland Valley Visitors Bureau in Carlisle, Pa.
“Vietnam veterans are hosting reunions in larger groups and are looking for nice properties, are willing to pay for upgrades and entertainment; and they don’t seem to place as high a value on well-known ‘destination’ locations.”
