REUNION THAILAND NOVEMBER 2015

Special Occasion Nov 2015

50th Anniversary

Handing over ceremony

This is to help spread the word

I expect the OCA will be organising

something so please contact them

if you are interested.

I had this message from Jim Curtis

he lives in Ubon

Hi Hank,

First of all I send you my best wishes for this coming week-end: I hope that things go smoothly and that many of the old crowd renew their camaraderie. I am sorry that I cannot be there but I wanted to return to Thailand before my visa expired: this saved me a lot of trouble and expense.

When the Japanese Army set up a P.O.W. camp in Ubon late in the last war, a Thai woman became a local heroine by smuggling food to the prisoners at great risk to herself. There is a Monument of Merit in the Central Park which was set up to her memory by the prisoners that survived and every year in Ubon the members of the local government, the Amphur, hold a Remembrance Day parade to honour “Little Mother Ubon”. The date of this parade has been chosen as November 11^th, Armistice Day, to coincide with our Remembrance Day.

Over the past few years it has become a day of remembrance for both the Thais and for the ex-pats. There are many Thai ex-servicemen who join in the ceremony as well as vets from the UK, America and Australia. The serving Thai military are usually well represented and the governor of Ubon Province is the top brass to attend. I have become very involved with this remembrance ceremony and for the previous two years I have read the “Exhortation”, (They shall not grow old…….etc.) whilst trying to tell the Thais that the two minute silence should last a full 120 seconds !

In previous years the ceremony has had some support from ex-op crown people and I hope to make 2015, (50 years since the official handing over ceremony) a reunion of all ex-crown persons to take place here in Ubon. I hope that it will become a rather spectacular occasion with as many old soldiers as possible attending. I have been promised a lot of support from the Op Crown Association and I want to extend this invitation to everyone, even those not enrolled in the OCA. Usually, there are approximately 25 to 30 wreaths presented and laid at the Monument of Merit. The OCA has laid one for the previous four years: it would be nice to see one from another group of ex-crown people.

I’m writing this with 13 months to go before the reunion ceremony, hoping to give as much notice as possible to anyone who would like to attend. Please, Hank spread the word about this reunion and hopefully it will become a memorable occasion.

Again, I wish you well with your reunion this week-end.

Yours, 

Jim Curtis