The Pointer, September Through November 2010
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Pointer_Fall 10_11ptNEW 7/29/10 1:39 PM Page 1 USN Armed Guard WW II Veterans 115 Wall Creek Drive Rolesville, N.C. 27571 1 (919) 570-0909 [email protected] www.armed-guard.com "Donations keeps us afloat" Our and Motto was... We Did! Sep/Nov 2010 Edition T r e ia a n su or re lif Island, Ca REMEMBER ALSO: THE TWIN TOWERS THE PENTAGON AND FLIGHT 93 God Bless Them This POINTER is in Memory of all Branches of service in WW II; the Navy, Army, Marines, Airmen, Seabees, Merchant Seamen, Wacs, Waves, and especially to the Special Unit of the Navy known as the U.S. NAVY ARMED GUARD which was first used as Gun Crews in WW I on board cargo, tankers and troopships and where needed to protect the ship, cargo and the merchant crews who bravely ran the ships to each port of call until deactivated after WW I.They were established again for the same purpose in September of 1941 and remained active until WW II was over and the need for gunners were not needed. This issue is also in honor to all the people all over the world who built ships, planes, tanks, trucks, jeeps, guns, ammo and all things needed to win a war against the ruthless killers. Thanks to the farmers who fed us all. Thank God for seeing us through. Pointer_Fall 10_11ptNEW 7/29/10 1:40 PM Page 2 Page 2 Page 55 Pointer_Fall 10_11ptNEW 7/29/10 10:13 AM Page 3 LETTER FROM RUSSIA Officers for 2010 Charles A. Lloyd, Chairman & Sec.Treas. 1985-2010 115 Wall Creek Drive Rolesville, N.C. 27571 1-919-570-0909 [email protected] Ron Carlson 616 Putnam Place Alexander, VA 22302-4018 703-549-5908 Board of Directors Dear Shipmates and “ALL Y’ALL”, 7/26, 2010 C.A. Lloyd . NC John Stokes. CA Don Gleason . KS Had a few corrections made in a letter to you but I must Clarence Korker . FL have deleted the letter in error. NOW, I don’t remember Joe Colgan.. MD Gerald Greaves . RI what they were. Do you ever have that problem? One was Al Sniff . FL that I was hoping to get some photos of the Liberty Ship Kenneth Sneed . IN S.S. ARTHUR M. HUDDELL that the people of Greece Ralph McNally. OK Joseph Benedict . MN acquired and sailed to Greece and have restored and re- Richard Hudnall. AZ named it the S.S. HELLAS. This has been accomplished Zed Merrill . OR Joe Esposito . IL and they have done a GREAT job of restoring it into a Bernard Stansbury . VA beautiful ship, one they can be proud of. I had located 11 of Forrest Flanagan. WV the HUDDELL crew and 4 of these are known deceased. Hilary Makowski. PA Arnold Latare . IA I know they are proud to know their “HOME AWAY Bob Ober . OH FROM HOME” in those troubled times has been J.F. Carter . LA Howard Long . SC restored. Mike Molinari. NY Tom Dufrense . MA I wish all of you could have been at the Bedford, Va D-DAY Memorial on June 6, 2010 and William F. Isabell. AL sat among the HEROS of that day of 1944. They were thin in number but they came to Trustees honor those who did not make it home. I know it was hard on some of them due to age but C.A. Lloyd . NC Theo Schorr . PA I am sure they will be back next year and until they can come no more. God Bless ‘em. John Shirley . TX Arthur Fazzone . NY Louis Tew . CT Your continued support of the POINTER keeps us going. We are not locating as many as Johnny Stanley. GA we once did but each one is thankful to get the two packets of POINTERS that is sent to Al Colella. MO each one from the overprints I had done in the past for them. I am glad I thought ahead. I Jay Wildfong . WI Henry Harrison. WA hope you enjoy this one as much as I do in being physically able to do so. I will take credit Mervil Yarbrough . NV for picking out the articles but putting them together should go to Karmen Piland, P.O.Box Neal Vermillion. MD 26344, Raleigh, N.C. 27611-6344 at the printers. Write and tell him what you think. Wm. A. Carter . DE Chaplains Lyle Kell. WA Since this is a Sept/Nov. Edition, I would like to say ahead that I hope you have a great Buck Donaldson . TN Thanksgiving Day. Before then, we will have the Sept. 11 tragedy at the Twin Towers in New York City, The Pentagon in Washington,D.C. and Flight 13 in fields of Pennsylvania by brainwashed people against the hand that feeds them with no feeling for anyone. I do hope our prayers will be answered and they will lay down their arms and return to a civi- ATTENTION lized free government and Peace will be restored thoughtout the world so that people can You know where you are. You know where we are. help the famine and poor of this world and use the resources and materials of the world’s We know where we are. wisely. (cal) But we don't always know where you are. Please notify us when you move. � � � � � � � � Non-Profit Organization Tax Exempt No. 74-2316668 e. Cover photo From: Apostolos D. Kaknis Ethnikis Antistaseos 177 - Drapetsona Piraeus - Greece Remember, I “STILL” can't move Tel-Fax +302104630039 Cell phone +306942660860 as fast as I did when I was in my twenties! When you call, let the [email protected] phone ring so I can get to it! -CAL Page 54 Officers - Gunners - Signalmen - Radiomen - Corpsmen - Waves - Boatswains - Coxswains - Ship's Company - Radarmen Page 3 Pointer_Fall 10_11ptNEW 7/29/10 10:13 AM Page 4 LETTERS FROM THE CREW... SHIP OF GLORY/McANDREW - 1945 the Marines by a long shot on the Stephen Walton (Archivist) island for only half had been taken Department of Documents, when we arrived. There were 6 ships Imperial War Museum, sunk around us. If they would have hit Duxford-Cambridgeshire CB22 4QR us, the whole bay of ships would have Telephone 01223 499346 blown up. The marines lost a lot of fax 01223 837267 men. E-Mail [email protected] Gene Johnson is now deceased. Russell � � � � � � � � Haggerty and I sailed on the S.S. JOSEPH SIMONS together and I Dear Cal had talked to him many times by phone I just read the latest Pointer and am but he has been gone 3 years. His amazed at its stories and memories. daughter E-Mails me a lot still so I You have a great staff and are an amaz- know he is gone. Another shipmate, ing man to gather the letters and pres- Tom Weitzel and I talked a lot on the ent them in the magazine. I understand phone but he has gone, too. I sailed that you did get to visit the American with and talked to Chet Blythe and Victory ship in Tampa and I was there Carroll J. Hillman but haven’t heard in 2007 on Veterans' Day. It was a trip from either in 3 years so, Cal, I guess I of a lifetime for me, visiting my "old am the only Armed Guard left from my ship" when our kids from Texas, Peter group. On the tanker EMMETT, we & Micki Lacker came up and flew me took a load of B-29 airplane fuel to the to see the ship, not only to visit the island of Tinian for planes like the ship but it was my first plane ride after Enola Gay that dropped the atom 81 years.Here are a couple of pictures, bomb on two Japanese cities one with me at a signal light and the other where I found my old bunk and and ended the war. I will be 89 next borrowed a crew member's cap for the Feb. 5 th. I enjoy the POINTERS. photo. My experiences were not as dan- Thanks. gerous as many of those in the Pointer but they were great for me. I served on Capt. M.H. Ringering the Towanda Victory and the Laconia 9608 NW. Rosaria St., Victory on trips to France, Italy and � � � � � � � Portland, Or. 97231 Russia and came back safely in 1945. US Navy Armed Guard. Enclosed is a check to help pay the Charlie, rent, keep up the good work. The 4 ships, S.S. JOSEPH SIMONS, � � � � � � � � S.S. ELIHU TTHOMPSON, S.S. Jim Lacker 673 McCoy Rd. HURRICANE and the S.S. W.L.R. Dear Cal Gaylord MI 49735 Emmett that I sent in that you have Many thanks for the "POINTER" to [email protected] listed is correct. When I got my ship the POINTER WEBSITE - an excel- list from St. Louis, Mo. National lent resource which will hopefully save The latest Pointer just came in the mail Personnal Records and you sent me you at least some trouble with postage and they get better as time goes by. Gene Johnson, I called right away and etc! It is good to give many more peo- he answered the phone and I went to ple the opportunity to access the mag- � � � � � � � � see him in Phoenix, Az. the next day. azine, I am sure it will boost awareness We spent 3 wonderful days with him. of the vital role played by the USN Dear CAL, Gene and I sailed on the S.S.