Articles
      1. Pre-Registration Surveys Now Due August 3
      2. Hotel Reservations Now Open
      3. Arrive at Gate Security by 5:30pm
      4. Registration Forms Available mid-August
      5. Preliminary Itinerary 
      6. Ridesare Matchmaker Service

 

 
      1. Pre-Registration Surveys Now Due August 3

The July 31 deadline for the Pre-Registration Survey has been extended by a few days to August 3.  Surveys must be postmarked by this date to the address on the form if you wish to obtain the discount on the registration fee.  The survey form is posted at our site at www.314usa.org/free-newsletter   The survey will save you money on our registration form and it will help us plan our events to suit the needs of the majority of attendees.  We may not be able to respond to your needs if you do not complete the survey.


       2. Hotel Reservations Now Open

The All-American Inn on the Air Force portion of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) can now accept your reservation for rooms between October 10-13.  There are a limited number of handicap accessible room so we kindly ask you not to reserve a handicap accessible room unless you absolutely must have one.  We want to be sure there are enough handicap rooms for the WWII veterans who may attend.  If you must have a handicap room and none are available, please contact the reunion chair at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   There are a handful of rooms also available for the night prior to and after the reunion dates.

The group reservation name is the 314^th Infantry Association of WWII.  However, you may be asked for the group reservation number which is 20150103774***.  The reservation phone number is 609-754-4667. There are a variety of rooms and suites.  A basic room consists of one queen bed, a full bathroom similar to a civilian hotel room, a microwave, coffee maker, small fridge, a safe, an iron and ironing board.  You may reserve a room now even if you have not pre-registered. 

In January 2019, the room rate increased from $60 to $70.  It is unlikely but possible the room rate could increase before October, and we are not allowed to lock in the current $70 rate. Any rate increase would more likely occur in December or January.  We advise you to make your hotel reservation soon.



      3. Arrive at Gate Security by 5:30pm

Gate Security closes at 6pm each night after which it is impossible to get a weekend pass.  The hotel will require a pass at check-in.  Please plan to arrive well before 6pm as there may be a line to process new arrivals.  You may not be able to stay at the base hotel if you arrive after 6pm. There are many gates.  The only gate we recommend entering is the McGuire gate at 3021 McGuire Blvd, Trenton, NJ 08641 as this is the closest gate to the hotel and it opened later than the other gates.

Gate security is less rigorous than airport security.  Your bags will not be checked nor will you walk through a scanner.  All adults will need a driver’s license and Social Security number.  We are required to submit these numbers along with your Date of Birth prior to your arrival.  So, this information will be collected on the registration form.  If we do not obtain this information from you by the registration deadline, you will not be on the official guest list and it could take hours to process your security clearance.  To obtain a visitor’s pass, you will have one finger fingerprinted and a facial photograph will be taken and printed on your visitor’s pass.  You must carry your pass at all times while on base.

If you are flying in to one of the nearby airports – Philadelphia or Newark, NJ – we recommend you rent a car which you would then be allowed to bring on base.  There is a Hertz car rental office on base, and we have a corporate discount ID if you wish to use Hertz.  This ID (CPD#) may save you a few dollars.  The discount code is: CDP# 2181767.  The Hertz office is the only car rental office on base.  If your flight gets delayed, please know we are working on a way to get you a temporary pass after 6pm, but if succesful, there will be a fee involved and you would need to go back to the gate early Friday moring to get a weekend pass.  

If you arrive by other ground transportation (Uber, Lyft, bus, etc.), someone already on base will need to pick you up at gate security.  We hope to have a team of volunteers to facilitate transportation from the McGuire gate to the hotel. We cannot send our volunteers to the other gates as they are too far from the hotel.   This service may be paid service and it will only be offered on Thursday, October 10 from 12 noon to 6pm.  Hotel check in time begins at 3pm.  If you arrive earlier, there is comfortable seating in the lobby.


     4. Registration Forms Available Mid-August

If you complete a Pre-Registration Survey and submit it prior to the deadline, we will send you a registration form by email by August 16.  If you do not have email, we will send one to your postal address to arrive shortly after August 16.  If you do not complete a Pre-Registration Survey, you will need to check our website after August 15 to obtain the form.

The registration fees will change – the family rate that was previously announced is not workable, so this will be replaced by an individual rate structure.  Since the base has not yet put in writing whether we will have free bus service on base, we may need to charter buses and increase the registration fees to cover the cost of charter buses.  The fees will be determined by August 15 when formal registration forms are mailed.  Please understand that making reunion arrangements within a complex military structure is very different than arranging a meeting at a conference hotel.

       5. Preliminary Itinerary     

The Preliminary Itinerary for the weekend activities are posted at our site.  The final itinerary will likely change as this is the nature of meeting on a base unlike meeting at a civilian hotel.  Please understand that organizing a reunion within a complex military organization is very different than organizing a reunion at a conference hotel where there is one point of contact.  While the 1-314^th Infantry Regiment and the 174^th Infantry Brigade at the base have been and remain very supportive and responsive, not all offices at the base that will provide support have been as responsive.  Some details will fall into place at the last minute, as this is the nature of organizing a reunion on a military base whose first and foremost obligation is to their military mission(s). 

To view the itinerary, click here.

     6. Rideshare Matchmaker Service

We hope to offer a rideshare matching service from the Philadelphia Airport to gate security by mid-September.  This service, if available, will be run by a volunteer and will not be available from the Newark, NJ airport.  (The reunion chairperman will not have time to provide this service if a volunteer does not step forward.)   The service and how it will work will be announced in our September newsletter.

Additional Resources

Please help spread the word about our expanded and unique reunion by phone, email, or postal notes to a friend and also through social media.  Please direct newcomers to http://314usa.org/free-newsletter

 

WWII Veteran Dies, Donations Sought for Proper Burial

One of our WWII veterans who attended the 2019 reunion, Donald E. Lundquist of DeLand, FL, passed on May 29, one day before his 94^th birthday.  He had only distant relatives survive him.  His family cemetery is in Brockton, MA.  Unfortunately, he did not have enough money to secure a proper burial at this distant cemetery.  His Power of Attorney contacted the 2019 reunion chairman, Joseph Piekunka, to explain this unfortunate situation and asked if anything could be done. 

Our association is making arrangements for a proper burial and asking for donations.  Likewise, the 314^th Infantry Regiment at Fort Dix, NJ, has generously agreed to send a detail to provide a proper burial ceremony.  The burial arrangements will cost the association about $400 and will likely take place at 10 am, June 26, 2020.  If you would like to make a donation, you may do so at http://314usa.org/ecwid-314usa-store/  Alternatively, you may make a check payable to:  314^th Infantry Association of WWII, and send to:  c/o Joe Piekunka,  9 Kellogg Road, Cortland, NY  13045.   Joe will also attend the ceremony to represent our association.

It should be noted here that Fort Dix is very responsive to requests made by our association.  With numerous military budget cuts and limited resources, they are not only sending a detail - they are also sending a chaplain, reducing our costs to ~ $400.  Likewise, Colonel Maybouer, Commander of the 174^th Infantry Brigade, is taking a day from his busy schedule to attend the burial ceremony.  The colonel never met Lundquist as the colonel had to be out-of-town unexpectedly during the 2019 joint reunion.  

Lundquist was a corporal during WWII assigned to the 314^th regimental HQ.  He journeyed to the 2019 reunion knowing it would be his last. He was unable to walk on his own.  A Vietnam veteran, Al Haslam, who had not meet Lundquist before the announcement of the reunion, graciously agreed to escort his new acquaintance.  Lundquist spoke directly with the troops at Fort Dix during the reunion about his experiences in WWII. A full obituary may be found at: https://www.allensummerhillfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Donald-Lundquist-2/#!/Obituary

Lundquist deserves a proper burial. Our association exists to remember and honor our WWII veterans.  We hope you are able to help - relative to your means.  For those nearby wishing to attend, the cemetery is:   Melrose Cemetery, 88 N. Pearl St., Brockton, MA  02301.   Plot #24 on North Div., Section M.


   WWII Veterans Left to Right, Donald Lundquist, Robert Vondale, Peter Wisnowski, at Fort Dix, October 2019.



2020 Joint Reunion Cancelled Due to Pandemic

The 2020 Joint Reunion will not be held as planned in Charleston SC due to uncertainties about travel restrictions and probable low attendance relating to COVID-19.  Each year, the two associations (314^th and 315^th associations of WWII) take turns alternating who will plan the next meeting.  The 2021 reunion will be planned by the 315^th Infantry Association.  Pending a formal hotel contract, we anticipate it will be held at Wyndham Garden Hotel, Mount Pleasant, SC.  The dates have not been set so room reservations are not possible as of yet.  If you had already made reservations for this year, their phone number to cancel is +1 843-606-1506. 

We will pass along 2021 reunion information to you as it becomes available.


Resources

314th Facebook      https://www.facebook.com/314thInfantryAssociation/
315th Facebook      https://www.facebook.com/315thinfantryregimentwwii/
Friends of the 79th  https://www.facebook.com/groups/301455523233899/
79th Div. of WWII    https://www.facebook.com/79thInfantryDivisionWWII/

Help Us Build Our Future – We Are Moving to Electronic communications

We are a non-profit dedicated to preserving the memory of your father/grandfather and all who served in the 314^th Infantry Regiment in WWII.  We survive on donations and by keeping our costs low. Giving us your email address will be a donation of sorts - helping us to lower our costs.  To help us with this effort -

We must have:

1, your full name

2, your email address or a descendant’s/relative’s email address

We would also like to know (optionally)

3, the name of the 314^th veteran who served, or your interest in our organization,

4, whether you are a 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd generation descendant/relative of a veteran, or an interested American.

Click here to give us your full name and email address and please give us the optional information too.

Please Whitelist Our Email Address

Our email messages will come from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Our email may land in your Spam folder, Update folder, or other folder unless you whitelist it.  To whitelist our email address, add <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.> to your email contacts, or for specific instructions re: your email service and whitelisting, please search the internet with a term like "how to whitelist an email address in [gmail/yahoo/etc.].

If You Do Not Have Email or Wish to Receive Postal Mailings

In the near future, we will only mail postal mailings to those who do not have email access.  This will require those who want a postal mailing to return a simple form each year.  (Those who do not return the form nor provide an email address will not receive future correspondence. Please consider a tax-deductible donation if you ask for a postal mailing.)  At some point, we may need to consider charging a fee to those who want to continue with postal mailings.  We hope your donations from time to time would prevent an extra fee.  WWII veterans and their spouses will always receive postal mailings at no additional cost.

Welcome to the 314th Infantry Association of WWII.  Here we hope you will find here what you are looking for.  We have suggestions on how to search for veterans, battle maps of the 314th, upcoming meeting information and more.   The 314th has a very distinguished battle history and we are dedicated to preserving the memory of the veterans of the 314th.  In WWII, the 314th Infantry Regiment was part of the U.S. 79th Division, a spearhead divisioh which was ultimately under the command of General George Patton.  Our fathers and grandfathers fought on the front lines throughout Europe.  They were among the first divisions to capture a bridge over the Rhine river, before Hitler destroyed the many other bridges over the Rhine to protect Germany from Allied forces.

The Cross of Lorraine signifies: 1, a region in France often first        to be invaded by Germany 2, French Resistance in WWII 3, US Army 79th Div. Insignia

Our policy is very simple:

1. If you give us your email and/or postal address, these are kept in secure spreadsheets, only for our use.

2. We do not share, rent, sell or release any information you may give us, unless we receive a formal court order to do so.

3. We do not place cookies on your computer.

4. We will not ask you for confidential informatoin such as DoB, Social Security Number, or other highly sensitive information.  If you register for an annual meeting or other event which is being held on a military base, to be included on the gate security guest list it is usually required that we submit to the base your DoB, SS# and driver's license.  Only on this rare occassion will we ask you for confidential information.  

5. We ask you to never share with us similar information - our computers are firewalled and password secured, yet it is remotely possible that any small computer could be hacked.  So please do not give us highly sensity information.  Any confidential information you may choose to give us will be kept in password protected files.

6.  It is highly unlikely that we would degrade the above policies; any changes in the above policies would be posted here and announced in our newsletter.

We welcome you to use the "Contact Us" form if you have any questions about our privacy policy.