The 2009 USS Mahan Association Reunion was held at the Hilton Hotel East in Tucson, Arizona.  Everyone seemed pleased with the accommodations this year.  We had a nice hospitality room for the snacks, drinks and Ship's Store, and another attached room for seating with tables. This room also served as the dining room for the complementary buffet breakfast.  We had another good turnout this year with approximately 58 shipmates and wives in attendance, and again we had a few welcome a few family members and friends this year.  We once again had three 364 sailors with us this year, mostly due to other commitments and travel distance.  We hope to see you all again next year!

Thursday morning we boarded the bus at 0900 and got a start on our touring.  We first traveled to the outskirts of Tucson to the Mission San Xavier de Bac.  Once part of a chain of churches that stretched from northern Mexico to the western U.S. This brilliant white structure is considered the “Sistine Chapel of North America” for the intricate paintings on the walls and ceiling. It is still a Catholic parish serving the Tohono O’odham community for whom it was established in the late 1600s.  We then proceeded thru old sections of Tucson until reaching our lunch location of El Charro Mexican Cafe.  The oldest family-operated Mexican restaurant in the U.S.A.  I wonder if the birds in the trees over our heads were also the oldest?

After lunch we had time to wander thru the ruins of Tubac Presidio State Historic Park.  This original 1752 Spanish Colonial fort, includes portions of the foundations, walls, and plaza floor near the commandant’s quarters, and visited some of the more than 80 shops and galleries adjacent to the park.

Friday we departed the hotel at 0930 for our tour of the Pima Air and Space Museum and the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base "Aircraft Boneyard".  This was definitely a guy tour!  Immediately after World War II, the Army's San Antonio Air Technical Service Command established a storage facility for B-29 and C-47 aircraft at Davis-Monthan AFB. Today, this facility is the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG), which has grown to include more than 4,400 aircraft and 13 aerospace vehicles from the Air Force, Navy-Marine Corps, Army, Coast Guard, and several federal agencies including NASA.  The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) is a one-of-a-kind specialized facility within the Air Force Materiel Command structure. 309 AMARG provides critical aerospace maintenance and regeneration capabilities for Joint and Allied/Coalition warfighters in support of global operations and agile combat support for a wide range of military operations. 

From the D-M AFB we proceeded to the Pima Air and Space Museum.  Upon entering the museum area the bus took us around the outdoor display area with approximately 200 different types of aircraft, giving us an idea of which ones we wanted to get a closer look at later in our walking tour.  After having a box lunch we were able to walk the entire museum area and also visit the eight hangars and indoor museum areas.  I personally enjoyed the 390th Bomb Group Memorial Museum dedicated to the B-17G and the airman who lost their lives over Europe in WWII.

Saturday a few of us toured the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.  This is a world-renowned zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden, all in one place! Exhibits re-create the natural landscape of the Sonoran Desert Region so realistically you find yourself eye-to-eye with mountain lions, prairie dogs, Gila monsters, and more. Within the Museum grounds, were more than 300 animal species and 1,200 kinds of plants. There were almost 2 miles of paths traversing 21 acres of beautiful desert.

Saturday night found us all at the annual banquet.  As it was also Halloween we opted for costumes, or many of us chose Hawaiian dress.  We did not have a guest speaker this year so we went right into the general meeting.  A majority of the members present voting for Washington, DC as our reunion site for 2010, trying to make it accessible for our DDG-42 shipmates, who most of them are unfortunately still in the work place. We do feel their pain though!  Jeff Sweet has volunteered to host the event.  Details will be provided as they become available.

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	Ron Lynch and John Cain in the hospitality room.		Marion Krumlauf and Sandi Storey.		Loretta Cain.
	Craig Bailey checking out the goodies.		Rick Hamer having some breakfast.		Mission San Xavier De Bac
	Garden area outside the Mission walls.		Private chapel on the side of the main mission.		Gerry Emmett, Bill & Mary Lou Sumner, Ev Emmett and Bob Moe touring the main chapel.
	Mary Lou & Bill Sumner, Sam & Mary Sue Chirco, Penny & Ben Souler having lunch at oldest restaurant in Tucson,El Charro.		(left to right) Kay White,Bob Moe, Jeff Sweet, Mary Ellen Fox, unk, unk, Gerry & Harold Odeen, Jim & Sandi Storey and Eiko Hallowell.		Bill Revell and Lisa Nelson.
	Uniforms and bunks Inside the Presidio barracks.		Lances and muskets in the barracks.		Tommy & Bob Pospisil, Mary Sue & Sam Chirco and Bob & Mitzi Heydt.
	Meeting of the minds in the hospitality room. Looks like a BS session to me!		Tommy & Bill Pospisil, Mary Sue & Sam Chirco and Mitzie & Bob Heydt.		Mary Lou & Bill Sumner..
	Navy S-3  Viking at Davis-Monthan AFB AMARC.		Navy E-2C Hawkeye.		Experimental YC-14.
	Air Force B-1B Lancers.		Warthogs and H-46s.		B-52 Stratofortress awaiting the chopping block.
	AEW-3 Fairey Gannet at the Pima Air and Space Museum.		B-36 Peacemaker		B-377 Super Guppy
	Navy F-14 Tomcat.		Navy EC-121 Warningstar.		Soviet Mig-21 Fishbed.
	Host at the Desert Museum.		The spines on this cactus can jump on to your clothing.		Some of the smaller cactus in the park.
	A coyote outside the park.		I think somebody should have cut Pops off!		Bill & Linda Burzelewski, Tom & Susan Rochford and Rick Hamer.
	Penny & Ben Souler, with guests.		Pat Needham & caregiver, "Mother" Evegene Emmett.		Marion & Dave Krumlauf, Al James.