Asia Sailor Westpac’rs Association
Asia Sailor Westpac’rs Association came about in December of 2012. Three other shipmates and I decided to start a website after a very unsatisfying experience with another site that purported to support and honor U.S. Navy personnel who had served in Japan. We decided that the site would be for all who served in Japan,, the forward deployed ships, and others who had served in Asia. We determined that the minimum requirements for membership was to have pulled at least one liberty in Asia.
Since neither of us was computer literate enough to set up and host a website, we reached out to the Orient, to an old shipmate for a Webmaster. He estimated at least a month to complete the setup, work out the bugs, and get in operation online. In the interim, I created a Facebook group by the same name. It was my intention to cancel the Facebook group once we were operational on asiasailor.com. But the FB proved so popular we decided to continue in parallel with the website. Later I added an associated political FB group to minimize the political posts on Asia Sailor. The website currently has four hundred eighty-eight users and the Facebook group six hundred thirty-four members.
We decided to have an Asia Sailor’s reunion just four months after conceiving the website and just two months after getting it up and running. The first of the Westpac’rs reunions was held at the Clarion Hotel in Branson, Missouri. The reunion was extremely successful with attendees coming from all over the Continental United States, Hawaii, and Japan. Crewmembers of the stores ship USS Zelima conducted a ship’s reunion within the Westpac’rs reunion.
Asia Sailors attending the 2013 reunion.
Successful reunions were conducted during May 2014, 2015, and 2016 with an increasing number of attendees each year. Many wives attended with their Asia Sailor husbands. We are looking forward to more spouse participation in the upcoming reunion.
Beer, Bullshit, and Sea Stories. Daily routine at the reunion.
Formal Dinner on the last night of the reunion.
The 2017 reunion will take place from May 17 through May 22 at the Clarion Hotel in Branson, Missouri. Looking forward to it.
Tales of an Asia Sailor 
Who’s allowed to participate in your reunions. The reason I ask is i went westpac in 197 3 was in Hong Kong,Phillipines Japan and refueled ships around Vietnam. We could see the shore line but never got in close.
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You were in West PAc, and had liberty in Asia, you are more than welcome to join the website and attend the reunion.
🙂 Lee (asiasailor.com Webmaster)
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Looking fwd to it
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WISH I COULD ATTEND A WESTPACER’S REUNION…..I MADE SEVEN WESTPAC CRUISES FROM 1951 TILL 1971 ON NINE DIFFERENT DIESEL DRIVE SHIPS, MOSTLY DESTROYER ESCORTS…..BUT ALAS, I’M CRIPPLED UP NOW AND IN A WHEELCHAIR AT THE OREGON VETERANS HOME IN LEBANON ~ DUANE S BAUMGARTNER ENCS USN (RET)
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I was only able to make it for an afternoon and evening but had a great time seeing so many other “old farts” from the glory days of WestPac. Saw an old shipmate from the USS Blue Ridge (the “Blue Maru”) and ran into many who had been on ships upon which I had served, just not at the same time, ditto shore stations and liberty ports. I hope to make it for the entire period next year…definitely worth the trip for me! 🙂
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