2026 Information and Annual Dues
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REGISTRATION FORM – USS DIXIE/USS AJAX REUNION 2026
13-19 September 2026
For Badge Make – up (Please Print Clearly)
Name: ______________________________ Guest (s) Name: ___________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________
City: ________________ State: _____ ZIP: _________ PH: ____________ (Cell) ____________
Email: _____________________________ Ship: ___________________________
Years on-board: M: _______TO: _________ Div/Dept: ________________ Rank _____________
*Registration Fee: $50 Number Attending: ____ Total: $_____
Monday, 14 Sept: WWII Museum, Lunch on Own $90: ___ Total: $_____
Tuesday, 15 Sept: Creole Queen Historical Tour w/Lunch; $128 ___ Total: $_____
Destrehan Plantation Tour
Wednesday 16 Sept: Ultimate Swamp Tour, w/Lunch $159: ___ Total: $_____
at Segnette Landing; New Orleans City Tour
Wednesday 16 Sept: Whitney Plantation Tour $89: ___ Total: $_____
Thursday 17 Sept: Old US Mint Tour; w/Lunch $106: ___ Total: $_____
at Court of Two Sisters Mardi Gras World Museum Tour
Friday: Banquet Buffet Dinner: $63: ____ Total: $_____
Totals: $ _______
Mail your check to reserve a spot for the 2026 USS Dixie / USS Ajax Reunion:
Make check payable to the USS Dixie Association
Mail to: Edward Williams, 6320 Elmcrest Drive, San Diego, CA 92119
Cell: 619-823-9576, email: treasurer@ussdixie.org or edsmail@cox.net
*Registration fee of $50 includes: Hospitality Room, Welcome Reception, Name Tags,
Newsletters & Misc. Expenses!
USS Dixie/USS Piedmont/USS Ajax September 2026 New Orleans Reunion
Dates: 13-19 September 2026; 6 nights 13-18 September 2026
Location: Hilton Doubletree, 2150 Veterans Memorial Blvd | Kenner, LA,
(504) 467-3111; www.neworleansairport.doubletree.com
Reservations: 800-222-8733 or booking at: www.doubletree.neworleansairport.com
Room rate: $125/night + 14.75 % tax = $143.4375/ night
Early arrival date: 9/12/2026
Reservations Cutoff Date: 8/19/2026
Complimentary Gated Self-Parking
Complimentary Wi-Fi
Complimentary Breakfast for 2 per room
Around the Clock Airport Complimentary Shuttle Service
Rate is available 3 Days Pre and Post above Event Dates
Complimentary American Flag in Meeting Room
Complimentary Podium
Waived Meeting Room Rental for Banquet Dinner in Lieu of $750 in Food and Beverage Purchases
Let the Good Times Roll!
This year our reunion will be in September in New Orleans. The reunion will begin on Sunday, 13 September and conclude with a banquet on Friday, 18 September. We will be staying at the Hilton Doubletree in Kenner, close to the airport (free parking and free breakfast). We have some wonderful tours planned:
Mon, 14 Sep; Day 2: WWII Museum (open from 0900-1700).
Tues, 15 Sep; Day 3: Creole Queen historical tour with lunch: 1000 sail time; 1130-1230 return time. Plantation tour at Destrehan Plantation: the oldest documented home in the Lower Mississippi River Valley; constructed in 1787.
Wed, 16 Sep; Day 4: Ultimate Swamp tour 0945 (2-4 hours); followed by lunch at Segnette Landing. New Orleans City Tour: French Quarter, Garden District & Cemetery: 3 hours.
Thurs, 17 Sep; Day 5: Old U.S. Mint tour; lunch at the Court of Two Sisters; Mardi Gras World Museum tour.
Fri, 18 Sep; Day 6: Meetings and Banquet dinner
Sat, 19 Sep; Day 7: Departure Day
I’ve been to New Orleans several times and personally I love this city. It has a fascinating history (and some personal history as well as my great-great grandmother was baptized in St. Louis Cathedral). The World War II Museum has expanded since we were there. My family purchased a brick ($300) and it was moving to go and visit my dad’s brick on my last trip.
We will have a trip on a Mississippi paddlewheeler (with lunch) and then Destrehan Plantation which was constructed in 1787. This area of Louisiana was primarily growing sugar, not cotton as we often think of plantations and while there are many similarities between plantations, sugar plantations also had some unique characteristics.
On Wednesday we are off to the swamp to discover how people lived in the Bayou. We will have lunch at Segnette Landing, a Cajun and Seafood Restaurant on the Water. After lunch we will have a tour of the French Quarter, the Garden District and a Cemetery. (In New Orleans, people had to be buried above ground because the ground is waterlogged.)
On our last tour date, we will visit the Old U. S. Mint. The original building operated beginning in 1838. It minted coins for the Confederacy and has also served as a prison and as a storage facility for the Coast Guard as well as a fall out shelter. In 1979, the property was transferred to the State of Louisiana and has been a museum since 1981. Lunch will be at one of my very favorite restaurants in New Orleans, The Court of the Two Sisters which features (among other things) turtle soup, shrimp and grits, a filet steak and bananas foster, all in a beautiful outdoor-like setting.
On Friday we will have separate meetings for each ship, followed by a banquet. We will be deciding if this arrangement of meeting with other ships works for us.
One of the places I try to visit when I come to New Orleans is the Whitney Plantation. It looks at plantation life from the view of those who worked the land and is based on the interviews of former slaves which were conducted during the Depression (you can see many of these interviews at the Library of Congress website and search for “slave narratives.”) There are statues of the people interviewed around the plantation, people who were still alive in the 1930s, but were children in the 1860s. More info on this will be available at a later date. The cost is $89.00.
In your free time, there are lots of other interesting places to visit and plenty of great restaurants. Check out the list of places on the website or in the packet. A couple of other places I would recommend are Café du Monde (one in Kenner and one downtown) for beignets (square donuts), the Acme Oyster House, (724 Iberville St, New Orleans, LA (504) 522-5973) , and Mulate’s Cajun (201 Julia, 504-522-1492), a fun place with live music either most or every night (call to check) and a big dance floor for family dancing
I am looking forward to seeing everyone in September in New Orleans. This should be a lot of fun and having met with the Dixie and Piedmont sailors last fall, I can tell you they are a great group of people.
So laissez les bon temps roller! Let the Good Times Roll!!
Betty Krafft
President
ggpugmom@gmail.com
509-768-3138
Kenner/Metairie Eateries & Shopping near Doubletree by Hilton Hotel
Circle K 2100 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Kenner (504) 471-2685
McDonald’s 2145 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Kenner (504) 466-0979 ~0.1mile 3min
Chick-fil-A 2236 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Kenner (504) 469-2300 ~0.1mile 3min
Daisy Dukes Diner (Bkst) 2244 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Kenner (504) 470-2400 ~0.2mile 5min
Burger King 2601 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Kenner (504) 681-9362 ~0.5mile 10min
Subway 2705 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Kenner (504) 305-5467 ~0.6mile 11min
Louisiana Purchase Kitchen 8853 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Kenner (504) 468-3663 ~0.8mile
Waffle House 2439 Williams Blvd, Kenner (504) 559-2537 ~0.5mile 10min
Gendusa’s Italian Eatery 2717 Williams Blvd, Kenner (504) 305-5305 ~0.2mile 4min
Don Jose’s Grill 2722 Williams Blvd, Kenner (504) 305-6224 ~0.1mile 3min
Brick Oven Café 2805 Williams Blvd, Kenner (504) 466-2097 ~0.2mile 3min
Harbor Seafood & Oyster Bar 3201 Williams Blvd, Kenner (504) 443-6454 ~0.6mile 12min
Café Du Monde 3245 Williams Blvd, Kenner (504) 469-7699 ~0.8mile 15min
Big EZ Seafood & Oyster 2121 25th Street, Kenner (504) 800-4188 ~0.5mile 10min
Olive Garden 1315 W Esplanade Ave, Kenner (504) 464-4612 ~1.5mile 30min
Aldi’s Grocery (9AM-8PM) 8855 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Metairie (855) 955-2534 ~0.7mile 1
Walmart Supercenter (6AM-11PM) 8912 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Metairie (504) 465-0155 ~0.8mi15min
Dollar General (8AM-10PM) 2525 Williams Blvd, Kenner (504) 217-7166 ~0.4mile 8min
Westland Shopping Center (across from Dollar General)