Written by: Norman R. Jones
The 5th annual reunion of the 17th Artillery Regiment Association was held October 9, 10, and 11, 2003, in the Red Lion Hotel at Lawton, Oklahoma with a tour to the top of Mount Scott, The Wildlife Refuge and The Holy City and a stop in Fort Sill.
Veterans started arriving on 8 October. On 9 October 2003, most all of our veterans had checked in. The Hospitality Room was a gathering place for most during the entire day. We had a good crowd and we all gathered at the open-air grills on the courtyard grounds of the Red Lion Hotel, fired up by Chief Chef Richard Jones, Mike Burke and Ray Comeaux. The main menu was Homemade Texas Sausage from Giddings, Texas and Hamburgers. Afterwards when it became dark, there was a slide show on the outside. We enjoyed the slides of Gerald Brown.
On the morning of October 10, we boarded the chartered buses for our tour. We were very fortunate to have Leslie Scott (Korean War Veteran) as our tour guide. The weather was great. After the tour we returned to the Red Lion Hotel, and most of us went to the Fisherman’s Cove for Dinner.
On October 11 we held our general membership meeting and then our banquet lunch. Our guest speaker was Colonel Thomas S. Vandal accompanied by Major Dale Owen and Mrs. Price (wife of LTC Price Commander of the 1/17th Artillery in Iraq). We ate lunch, took pictures and said our good byes. The pictures of all events of the reunion are posted below.
The following pictures were taken at the reunion (Click On An Image To See Full Size).
