Our History
THE
BEGINNING OF THE
I was asked by our present President Gordon Morgan
if I would like to give a brief preview of the beginning of the
Guadalcanal Campaign Veterans Association, of the facts and the
events that had taken place during its formation that led a few of
us at that time to begin what we have today.
It has been a long road to what the GCV stands for
today, it is the results of many man hours, and the willingness to
carry on the memories by so many men who wanted to be with their
comrades again.
I will endeavor to try to remember some of the
events in the beginning as to why we wanted to organize a unit to
share our memories for the future.
In l970, Mr. Johnny Johnson, a former U.S. Navy
Man, wanted to get together many of the veterans of the Guadalcanal
Campaign, who had participated in the action in the occupation of
Guadalcanal from August 7, l942 until the end of hostilities in
February of l943.
This was to be composed of all the Armed
Forces, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and the Sea Bees
throughout every state in the
Mr. Johnson had at first, placed an ad into the
Norfolk Newspaper, requesting that veterans who had participated in
the action to contact him regarding the implementation of a unit by
a group of veterans who wanted to be together again, and who have
not seen each other for many years.
In doing so, Mr. Johnson received many inquiries
as to how they could help in getting organized.
At Mr. Johnson
invitation, a group of 12 men at first contacted Mr. Johnson, and a
meeting was to be held in
Of the first visit
of the 12 men, they decided that more meetings were necessary, and
that more veterans should be notify that we intended to have an
organization.
We met several times at the home of Mr. Johnson,
and tried to outline a plan as to what course of action to take in
obtaining more veterans.
Again, a news release was made once again to several newspapers
throughout the country, in which we received many letters requesting
more information.
Another meeting was held at the Golden Triangle in
An election of staff officers was the first order of business, and the men at the meeting voted to have the following members be the guiding light in the building of the GVC:
President........................................Michael Zello
Vice President...............................Jasper Brown
Secretary ......................................Will Lewis
Treasurer......................................Tom Swean
We started out by asking the existing members
at that time that since we did not have any money in the treasury,
that all future members would be asked to contribute some money to
defray the expense of buying stamps and envelopes and typing paper
so that we could mail out to those veterans who were asking for
further information regarding the joining of the GCV.
Since no money was
in the treasury, many of the members contributed money from their
personal funds in order that we could notify all those interested.
In many of the letters that were sent out, we also
ask the veterans if they could contribute to the expense that we
have incurred in order that many other veterans could be notified on
what we were doing.
We have had many letters and donations from many
of the veterans, which prompt us to further increase our
notification to many states throughout the
We were flooded with inquiries, and donations were
coming in, and many contributed $5, 10, and 20 dollars which we were
able to send more information out to veterans, and to save some for
any future financial obligation that was to be needed.
It was rather difficult at first, and I must say
this without any hesitation, that our Secretary Will Lewis and his
wife Dot, had put many hours of their time in keeping records those
members who wanted to join.
My wife Jeannette and a few of our friends met at
the home of Will Lewis, and licked many stamps and stuffed envelopes
for many hours.
I must say this with the greatest affection, the
women who helped in putting in so many hours of their time, have
shown us that they were just as much involved, as if they were on
the island themselves.
Needless to say, we had our first convention in
The reunion was great, and many tears were shed on
the meeting of so many of the members, which we will never forget.
Our reunion was conducted by the Chairman, who was appointed Neal (Doc) Kinney, who was great in making sure we all had plenty to drink and eat.
We had as guests the Mayor of
We again held another reunion in l975 in
This reunion was also great, and at that time, the new
president decided to charter the organization in
I am enclosing a copy of the first copy of a news
letter that was made by our new president, which was also sent to many
of the existing members, this was written by the president at that time,
who was also the editor.
As I looked back into the beginning, it was worth
every effort on my part, and those who have put so many hours of their
time, which played an important role, and I want to greatly acknowledge
all of those members who have given of themselves go help in keeping the
tradition of the GCV in all the years before and in the future.
At one time, if my memory serves me correctly, in the
years ahead, I was told that we had reached over 5000 members, and at
every reunion and convention, we always had in excess of over 400 men
and their wives.
To all members and staff officers, I can only say WELL
DONE.
Many members have since
passed on to a better world, and I hope that they looked upon us, saying
“We will see you
all again.”
We all know also, that they all helped in keeping of what we all believe
in.
IT’S NOT THE
GOD BLESS THOSE IN THE PAST,
PAST PRESIDENT
MIKE ZELLO