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.” |