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News from sister-ship J P Kennedy (DD850)
Ships in the picture are Fiske, Rush, Kennedy at 50's ComDESRON8 change of command
Received the following message from our sister-ship USS J P Kennedy (DD850) at Battleship Cove, MA.
May 2011 Field Day Newsletter
The last few months leading into May have accomplished the
prepping of the Motor Generator Room for painting, prepping of the
Port side rails of the Signal Bridge, working on sound powered
phone circuits, painting the blackout area of the 01 passageway
near the ASROC deck, and many other tasks. Yet we always look
forward to the May Major field day aboard DD850 to reunite old
friends and really get some work accomplished.
Our May 2011 Field Day did not disappoint as we had over 54
volunteers report aboard for our 5 day field day. Once again, the
greatest asset we have is our volunteers who represent a mix bag
of ships, stations, and civilian capacities. So let's get into
our people and work projects.
|
Walt Crew (USS Rich) |
Mike Angelini (USS Joseph P. Kennedy
Jr) |
Electrical:
Repaired lighting in compartment A-411A
Repaired Passageway light in the forward officers passage
Repaired coffee brewing machine
Restored ventilation and lighting to Mt 51
Rewired controller and start switch on No #1 air compressor in the
Aft Engineroom.
Repaired and relocated pressure switch on No #1 air compressor in
the Aft Engineroom
Repaired lights in B-4 Aft Engine Room.
Isolated and repaired switchboard grounds in DASH hangar
Fixed wiring on lower level B-3 Aft Fireroom
Mechanical Maintenance:
Removed all vent covers for summer service
Sealed 2" pipe on torpedo deck
Repaired and closed all hinged covers on torpedo mounts
Repaired and sealed optical doors on Mt 51 to prevent water
intrusion into the gun mount.
Installed watertight door mechanism on door (01 level to torpedo
deck, port side)
Fixed door to Burke Museum
Special Projects:
Bow to stern bilge crawl--photo documentation of hull conditions
Bow to stern bilge crawl--ultrasound of hull, selected areas on
main deck
B-4 bilge cleaning of all pockets for debris.
Painting Projects (Major man power efforts was given here)
Prep and priming of interior of Mt 51.
Needle gunning and wire wheeling the overhead and bulkheads of the
starboard side main deck forward of the breakwater.
Use of needle gun, and deck crawler to prep and prime the fantail.
Use of deck crawler to prep and then paint the DASH flight deck.
Prep, prime, and finish coat to 25 feet of overhead on the port
side main deck. This is the last area on the port side main deck
needed to be completed.
Prepped, primed and painted the port side signal deck and bridge
wing. Continued to prep and prime forward rail of Signal Deck as
well.
General Restoration:
Cleaned out ASROC magazine of spare and unwanted material.
Completed upholstery restoration on Messdecks.
Added protective coatings to Bridge wing wooden trim.
Made new Plexiglas panel for wing urinal and changed out mounting
hardware to stainless steel.
Installed and secured both bridge wing voice tube weather covers.
Installed fire wand retainer bracket port side main deck at Frame
80
Installed CO2 Foam canister rack in main passageway that was taken
from HORNE.
Field Day specific:
Manned Galley and Messdecks to provide meals to all hands from
Thursday night to Sunday morning.
Cleaned, sorted, and manned storeroom for field day.
Participated in "Meet the Veterans" program
Tidbits about the Field Day:
1. We had 2 members of the Board of Directors of the museum, 6
family teams, 1 ww2 vet, 4 men over 80 years old, and 7 kids under
the age of 18 working aboard.
2. Appreciation to Ed Zajkowski for coming up early so volunteers
could report for duty by Wednesday. Also special thanks to Dave
Stawicki for all the support getting materials ready and
supporting work efforts throughout the weekend.
3. First time volunteer, Jim Weber, who also works at Bath Iron
Works received permission to allow us the loan of a ultrasonic
thickness tester so we could test our hull and decks for wear.
4. A huge BZ to everyone who came to the field day as their
teamwork and work ethic got us through a thunderstorm and our very
optimistic goals for the weekend. Our manpower was put towards
putting the look of the ship first with preparation and painting
the major goals. As many said, "we never worked this hard in the
Navy but now this ship represents everything to us".
5. All volunteers were given a Green KENNEDY work hat and coffee
mug for their efforts. Yet there is a deep passion and love for
this ship that exists in the hearts of many that gifts could never
replace.
Membership E-mails
Today, November 29, 2011, Gil Beyer, the Ship's Historian, E-mailed us the following:
...asking our Shipmates if they have a cruise book for a specific
cruise? I recently had a request from Shipmate Barrett Clisby
looking for a copy of the 1970 Cruise. I don't have one and
neither does the Navy Historical Center.
If we could find one it would be a great addition to
our archives and, eventually, the Navy Historical Center.
Gil
The following E-mail was received on March 2, 2011 from Rich Angelini, Assistant Curator, USS J P Kennedy (DD850). This museum ship moored at Battleship Cove, Mass. Within the E-mail are several links to videos at YouTube about life on destroyers.
All Hands,
It has been a rough winter in Fall River, Massachusetts this year with
an amount of snow fall that we havent seen in a long time. Ice forming
around the hull of DD850 makes even the most optimistic volunteer a
bit nervous. Through the high winds, punishing snow, and ice, USS
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr DD850 rides out these weather conditions with her
volunteers in anticipation for warmer weather and the tourist season.
We have taken on a few interesting projects over this winter aboard
this Gearing class Destroyer:
1. Since the end of November 2010, we began the restoration of First
Division Berthing (enlisted quarters under the Mess Decks) with the
intention to bring back the look of the late1960s with the correct
paint scheme and the addition of missing equipment/items. With the
removal of the bunks, a three month effort of intense chipping,
cleaning, and masking was accomplished by volunteers, NAPS students
from NAVSTA Newport, and employee Dave Stawicki. The removal of paint
from original labels revealed references to the old MT 52 and its
systems. While the work went about with good progress, it wasnt
without bad news. While removing decades of tile glued together behind
some lockers, we found that the steel deck of the old ship had rotted
through in some areas to a store room below on the Stbd side. Work
immediately stopped as we scraped out the remaining rotted areas.
Plans are to have a team of staff and volunteer welders put new
decking in during the May field day (we Hope!). Moving forward and one
step back, we primed the entire space in preparation for a top coat
that will be applied after the metal work is done. We hope to complete
this overall project within the next few months as welders become
available.
2. The Motor Generator room on the main deck starboard side is being
prepped for primer and painting to restore this space to its early 70s
in Port Electrical shop/MG Room configuration. Prepping is well on the
way and we hope to have it completed within the next few months.
3. John Bisbano and Bob Ledux mentioned to me that though they love
working on the Radar repeaters, they have gotten them all working and
even restored the signal switching gear in the RADAR room to send
target information to any repeater from RADAR. I was asked, "What else
is interesting that we can looked into?". Over a week ago, I mentioned
how great it would be to activate the 1MC stack in the IC Room to use
the General Quarters, Chemical, and Collision alarms. While our 1MC
loudspeakers have always operated, we have not had the alarm system
operating in at least a decade. Fast forward to last weekend,
volunteers were quietly going about there business when "Clang Clang
Clang" came over the speaker system. It seems that John and Bob fixed
a wiring problem in the No 1 Signal generator over the week and got
the system operational. All I can say is excellent work to them both.
They are reworking Signal Generator No 2 and then plan to trace down
and fix all the alarm actuators throughout the ship. It was a exciting
time to hear the ship come to life and all the volunteers went home
with a smile on their face.
4. Bob Washburn (USS William R. Rush )and a group of NAPS students are
reworking the Bridge wing teak railings at Naval Station Newport for a
spring installation. Bob is instrumental in organizing our monthly
NAPS program
5. We have a excellent weekly crew of Owen Hayes (USS Waldron), Tom
Publicover (USS Robert Owens) , Maury Crotteau (USS Harwood), Jim
Mulvihill (USS Waldron), Al Lundgren (USS John Paul Jones), Dana Reed
(USS Laub), Mike Angelini (USS J.P. Kennedy Jr), Ted Hayes, and Bobby
Young (USS Patterson) that meet the maintenance and on-the-spot issues
aboard this 60+ year old ship.
News:
1. Our sister ship, USS Orleck DD886, is planning for a early April
opening in Lake Charles, LA. We wish them great success and look
forward to a working relationship with the new organization. Visit
them on the web at: http://orleck.org/
2. Many of you have seen the Ernest Borgnine video that we have posted
on our YouTube channel for Tin Can Sailors' effort to "Save our
Historic Destroyers". I would like to thank all that have viewed it
and have contributed. Our Destroyers desperately need help for their
long term survival. I would ask you to also mention to your friends
about joining the membership of theTin Can Sailors Association. TCS is
a organization dedicated to the preservation and historical
recognition of destroyers. A strong TCS means a strong Destroyer
fleet. Enlist a shipmate today at
http://www.destroyers.org
3. For the past few years, we have provided a US Navy video about
Destroyer life at Sea aboard DD850 for our visitors. This video is a
15 minute film produced by the US Navy in 1970 aboard USS Gearing
DD710. It is a excellent representation of the period in time that the
KENNEDY represents and the traditions of our sailors at that time. So,
as a service to our sister ships and friends, this video is now
available on YouTube. Go to
http://www.youtube.com and type j p kennedy in the search box.
The first three videos are about destroyers.
4. Ever wonder what these Sumner-Gearing class Destroyers looked like
in the 1940s when first built? Ed Zajkowski (USS Keppler) has provided
us a unique opportunity to view images of these as-built CANS on
navsource at http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/interior.htm . It is
well worth a look!
5. Lastly, our busy field day season is soon upon us with the Major
May field day on May 19-20-21-22 . Please start planning to come
aboard and help us with our restoration. If you have any questions,
please drop us a email. We hope to see you all aboard in May!
Fair winds and following seas,
Rich Angelini
Asst Curator, USS J.P. Kennedy Jr DD850
VietNam Era Shipmates -- Important Information Regarding Agent Orange
The following E-mail's were sent to us in mid-January 2010. Please open and read these documents. They are both in PDF format so everyone should be able to open and read them. You need not have a specific word processing program.
Denny
Steinberger sent this E-mail to us on 1/22/2010
Don Valentine sent this along to us on 1/23/2010
More information about this important topic will be posted here and covered in greater detail in the next scheduled Fiske Newsletter.
The following e-mail on the same topic was received on 1/27. Please read:
From:
Robert Mitchell [mailto:rmitchell@saratogacountyny.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 14:05
To: don\diane valentine
Cc: james rapson
Subject: Fw: Veterans Corner February 2010
Please notify all USS Fiske shipmates that served on board during the vietnam cruise June 16-21 1966 that they may be entitled compensation if they have any of the AGENT ORANGE presumed disease's.
THE
BELOW 4 WAS JUST ADDED:
B cell leukemias
Hairy cell leukmia
Parkinsons disease
Ischemic heart disease
Acute subacute transient peripheral
ALS
Chloracne
CLL
Diabetes (type 2)
Hodgkins desease
Multiple myeloma
Non-hodgkins lymphoma
Porphyria
Prostatr
Respiratory cancers, and
Soft tissue sarcoma (other thanosteosarcoma,chondrosarcoma,
kaposi's sarcoma, or mesothlioma)
Also, if any of these shipmates died of any of the these disease's the WIDOW can filed a DIC clam with the VA. These WIDOWS should make contact with American Legion, VFW service officers, or any county/state veterans service agencies in their area. Never file a claim on your own. Always use a professional ADVOCATE. Filing on youe own mat delay your claim. If you need help call me.
Bob
MItchell, Dir
Sartoga County
Veterans Service Agency
518-884-4115
Received the following e-mail in mid November from the Ship's
Historian, Gil Beyer. Please read and share your tales with Gil:
Historian’s Report 11/16/2009
Here it is seven weeks after our gathering in Idaho and I just
realized that only about 8 of you that attended the Reunion fulfilled
my request to complete your ‘Blue Books’ with stories of your time
onboard. Either I’m as dense as a post or I’ve had other things on my
mind – your choice.
To those of you that did give me, or send in, your stories I am deeply
indebted as you have given me some much needed details of the years
you were onboard. Your stories have given texture and depth to the
bare details of deck logs and operations reports.
I’ve also received a great DVD from Shipmate Lou Nigro (1956-1960)
that he put together from his 8mm movie he took during his time
onboard. Shipmate Ernie Starcher is shown working on a UHF antenna on
the yardarm of the forward mast and dozens of other scenes of
shipboard life and liberty ports. This is the type of material that
gives life to our time onboard Fiske.
There is another DVD that I received from Shipmate Bernie Cobetto of
the Fiske’s first Around the World Cruise when she went to Korea in
1951 and crossed the Equator. There are some excellent scenes of King
Neptune’s initiation of the Pollywogs.
Dr. Cobetto was the Squadron Medical Officer during that cruise and
treated the 13-14 Fiske crewmen that came done with polio after
visiting one of several Far Eastern ports on the way back to Newport.
Dr. Cobetto turned After Officers Quarters into a quarantine ward for
those infected. The Fiske was denied access to Marseilles because of
this infection and those shipmates infected were transported off the
ship at Gibraltar to be airlifted to the States. Anecdotal information
seems to indicate that all but one of these shipmates recovered
completely – a not insignificant number in those days – with only one
shipmate suffering permanent disability. Does anyone have any further
information on this event?
All of these little vignettes are what give life and breathe to the
Fiske. I want to preserve these stories and only you can help me do
that. All of you that attended the Reunion received a ‘Blue Book’. I
ask that you complete the task I asked you to do at the Reunion – tell
me a story. A story about anything that happened while you were
onboard Fiske. Be it funny, sad, scary or simply one of the ways that
we used to fill the hours and hours of boredom that was routine
steaming.
I don’t want to be too depressing but I’ll say the same thing now that
I’ve said previously – we aren’t getting any younger and when we go
these stories go with us if they aren’t written down and filed
somewhere. I have been in contact with the Navy Historical Foundation
and they will happily receive and archive anything we choose to send
them. I’ve already just about doubled their photo collection of the
Fiske with copies from the Association files.
So as not to leave out any one that wasn’t fortunate enough to attend
the Reunion in Post Falls I have limited number of Blue Books
available for those that wish to help me complete my quest to full all
the gaps and holes that currently exist in our history and maybe, just
maybe, give me some material for the book that Sandie and I are trying
to put together. Drop me a line or an email and I’ll send out one of
the books I have left for you to fill up with whatever you want.
Gil Beyer
Association Historian
Received the following from Charlie Thompson on October 24th:
Good Morning Gentlemen,
I would like for this message to be posted on the website and also in
our next newsletter. Thanks
I received the check from the USS Fiske Association for $357.50 today
for my Rifle Shell Pen project I am doing for our soldiers fight for
our freedom in Iraq.
As I stated at the reunion, it cost a little over $4.00 per pen and
your help to assure my mission continues, I THANK YOU and the
Association.
I wish had kept better records but I'm guessing that I have sent at
least a 1000 pens to our troops. This will assure that about 80 more
soldiers will receive pens compliments of the Fiske Association. Since
the reunion I had one request for 28 pens and they were shipped out
upon my return from the reunion. Then I had a First SGT request 50
pens for his soldiers and they were sent out and I just received word
from him that they arrived and he will pass them out.
Since the reunion I have received word from two of our shipmates that
they have rifle shell casings that they will be shipping to me. If any
other shipmate has access to spent .308 rifle shells, I would really
appreciate getting them. They can be sent to me at:
Charlie Thompson
117 Park Place
Panama City Beach, FL 32413
This past Thursday I had the opportunity to visit with a WWII soldier
and I gave him one of my pens and he was truly touched by receiving
it.
I will continue to make this rifle pens and ship to our soldiers who
are currently fight for our freedom. This project will continue as
long as I am physically able to do the work.
On behalf of our troops, I thank the USS Fiske Association for your
contribution.
Charlie Thompson
QM2, 1960-63
NOTE: E-mails earlier than 2008 have been removed.