Our association doesn’t have any annual dues or membership cards. Just a good bunch of shipmates, enlisted men and officers that served on the Hunt at any time. We do have a Board of Directors as listed in that section. The Trustees, the Treasurer and the Secretary are permanent positions. Each year, at the reunion, we elect a new Second Vice President. The following year he moves up to First Vice President and the next year to President. The current President selects the date and site for the reunion as well as being the host. The President will also have a Hospitality Room Hostess, to work with him and manage the Hospitality Room for his reunion.
We have held an annual reunion every year since 1989. Our reunions are attended by shipmates from WW-II and subsequent cruises of the Hunt. Family and friends are also invited to attend. We try to rotate our reunions, yearly, East, Central and West so that a maximum number of shipmates are able to attend.
Officially, our by-laws state the purpose of our association as:
“THE PURPOSE OF THE ASSOCIATION IS TO PERPETUATE THE MEMORY OF UNITED STATES NAVAL VESSEL, THE USS HUNT DD-674, A DESTROYER, WHICH WAS COMMISSIONED ON 22 SEPTEMBER 1943, SERVED HER COUNTRY WITH DISTINCTION AND VALOR DURING WORLD WAR 2 AND SUBSEQUENT CONFLICTS. THIS VALIANT SHIP WAS DE-COMMISSIONED ON 15 DECEMBER 1945 AND RE-COMMISSIONED FROM 1951 THROUGH 1963. THE PURPOSE IS ALSO TO PROMOTE FELLOWSHIP AMONG ALL WHO SERVED ABOARD THIS PROUD NAVAL VESSEL.”
We have a phrase that expresses our feeling about the Hunt and that has become sort of a slogan:
TO ALL OF US WHO HAVE EVER WALKED THE DECKS OF THE U.S.S. HUNT, DD-674, SHE WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED AS THE BEST DAMN TIN-CAN IN THE NAVY.
