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USS Norfolk, DL-1 |
USS Mitscher, DL-2/DDG-35 |
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| USS John S. McCain, DL-3/DDG-36 |
| USS Willis A. Lee, DL-4 |
USS Wilkinson, DL-5 |
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Click on a ship's name above to be taken to that ship's history section. |
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The DESTROYER LEADER ASSOCIATION is a nonmilitary, nonsectarian, nonpolitical, and nonprofit organization of sailors who served aboard the U.S. Navy's only five ships to have been classified as a Destroyer Leader. The overall objective of the Association is to provide coordinated means for these veterans to meet periodically and to serve as a resource for the preservation of historical information and events related to the ships and their crews. The Association also is an intermediary to the public for its better understanding of the contributions of its members' naval service. Annual reunions of the combined membership are the primary means for camaraderie and reminiscing.
In 1997, members of the ships established an informal group known as the "Destroyer Leader Group." Since then, the group had been growing with its objectives becoming expanded and more defined and managed. As a result of this refinement, the members decided that formal recognition of the group was appropriate. At the Business Meeting during the reunion in Colorado Springs, Colo. on 28 September 2002, the members elected to incorporate. On 12 November 2002, the group officially incorporated as the DESTROYER LEADER ASSOCIATION under the leadership of a Board of Directors and other officials. The result is a fine-tuned outfit of which its members are proud. We encourage all veterans of the respective ships to join the Association. |
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Warm regards,
Mike Bugara, President |
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