March 22, 2021
I can’t say for certain when I first entered the Marines Memorial Club. From my perspective it’s always been there. As a teenager, I used to wander the streets of San Francisco and would investigate interesting buildings and may have gone inside to look at the lobby displays. I certainly remember attending a play at the Theatre at least 50 years ago. After that I would occasionally attend a luncheon or dinner with one of the veterans groups that I belong to. It was when I started attending the “Battle of Midway” Commemorative Dinners about 15 years ago that I really became involved in the club and made it my “home away from home.” Except for the pandemic period I have stayed the night at least once a year. I am proud to say that Michael Allen, General Myatt, and General Huly know me. Although I haven’t met General Rocco personally, I have talked with him. The Marines Memorial Club was the last place that I went to in San Francisco before the pandemic started and I hope it will be my destination the next time I go to San Francisco.
It’s hard to say what is my favorite memory as all of my memories have been “my favorite.” I could say attending lectures of individuals whose faces I would see on the news every day, or meeting the Secret Service Agent who was in Dallas with President Kennedy on November 22, 1963. I am going to say my favorite memories were meeting, interacting with, and sharing a drink with the members of our “Greatest Generation” – the heroic Veterans of those World War Two Battles we read about in Books and see on the History Channel. I look forward to “favorite memories” of the future when, once again, we can look over the skyline of San Francisco from the Leatherneck Steak House.
- MCCS Bob Hansen, USN, (Ret.)
![]() With Master Chief of the Navy Russell Smith and Pearl Harbor Veteran Mickey Ganitch at the 2019 Navy Ball at the Marines Memorial Club. This was the last “big event” I attended at the MMC before the Pandemic lockdown. |
![]() Dressed up in our finest for a “Battle of Midway Dinner.” |