Nineteen Eighty-Three (1983), some 38 years after the end of WWII, the time was right to reconnect with old friends, friends they had made protecting the world from tyrants, on a ship called INGHAM. The men from the INGHAM had raised their families, Ronald Regan was President and Patriotism was back. As a nation we had again become the "city upon a hill—the eyes of all people are upon us". The time had come to reunite and go visit their special lady, the "Mighty I", so the planning for a 1984 reunion began.  

The process to reunite with fellow shipmates began with a yellowing, 12-page document labeled "Name, serial or service number, rank or rate and home of all officers and enlisted men aboard the USCGC INGHAM as of 1, July 1945". Out of the 307 names on the document, 178 were contacted by mail or phone regarding the reunion. Each INGHAM sailor contacted was then asked to spread the word to their close friends. The 1st reunion organizers were Donald Balsly, Russell Burkhard, William Henderson, Frances Balsly, and Lucy Burkhard.