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Page 2 Officers for 2009 Charles A. Lloyd, Chairman & Sec.Treas. 1985-2009 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 Armed Guard Crew, Feb 14, 2009 C.A. Lloyd . NC Bill Bartzatt. NE Don Gleason . KS I start out with this POINTER knowing you want get it Clarence Korker . FL Joe Colgan.. MD before Valentine’s Day. I did want to get it to you before Gerald Greaves . RI Ground Hog Day but, it looks as if it may be Easter Al Sniff . FL before it arrives. Anyway, I am glad to be around to send Kenneth Sneed . IN Ralph McNally. OK out another one. Good to have you, too. Joseph Benedict . MN Richard Hudnall. AZ Zed Merrill . OR First!! Corrections to Oct. 2008/Jan. 2009 POINTER. Joe Esposito . IL Go to Page 5 and change OHIO to KANSAS below and Bernard Stansbury . VA to the left of the photo. I knew better that Bob Dole was a Forrest Flanagan. WV Hilary Makowski. PA former Senator from Kansas. I just didn’t catch it. Page 22 Arnold Latare . IA story was also printed when I found out it was a hoax. Put Bob Ober . OH J.F. Carter . LA “FICTON” under the title. I would appreciate it as it may Howard Long . SC fall into the hands of the “ENEMY”! And to those who Mike Molinari. NY did not get that POINTER, let me know. Thanks to all Tom Dufrense . MA William F. Isabell. AL for your compliments on the POINTER and to those Trustees who donate to keep it going. C.A. Lloyd . NC Theo Schorr . PA NEXT!! The REUNION IS ON!! See Page 20 for the form to fill out and send to Morris John Shirley . TX Arthur Fazzone . NY Harvey who is the Host. Send him the Check or M.O. for what you want to take part in includ- Louis Tew . CT ing the bus to and from the ship if taking the cruise. Send check of $89.00 each directly to the Johnny Stanley. GA Al Colella. MO ship which includes Continental Breakfast and lunch plus drinks and entertainment. I do hope Jay Wildfong . WI to sail once more with both AG and MM crew. I sailed the Lane Victory and this one is Henry Harrison. WA SPECIAL, too. Mervil Yarbrough . NV Neal Vermillion. MD Wm. A. Carter . DE William Sache and Ray Didur name has been removed from the B.O.D as both have sailed on to Chaplains be with those who have taken that Final Voyage. Sache was one of the first 52 in ’82. He was the Lyle Kell. WA one who suggested that we not have dues and have strictly donations as some may not be able to Buck Donaldson . TN pay. It is that way today. Those of you with computers and ones with access with them through children and grand ATTENTION children or neighbors, go to GOOGLE and type in most anything of interest. You know where you are. You know where we are. We know where we are. I heard about and typed in USS FORRESTAL CEREMONY and saw the tragedy that hap- But we don't always know pened aboard ship. Type in: www.armed-guard.com and read the late Tom Bowerman’s Armed where you are. Guard Web Site that is run by Ron Carlson of the Liberty Ship, the S.S. JOHN W. BROWN. Please notify us when you move. Many of you said you would write your story and I never got them. Tell your experience while Non-Profit Organization you can. (cal) Tax Exempt No. 74-2316668 Remember, I “STILL” can't move ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ as fast as I did when I was in my twenties! When you call, let the phone ring so I can get to it! -CAL Officers - Gunners - Signalmen - Radiomen - Corpsmen - Waves - Boatswains - Coxswains - Ship's Company - Radarmen Page 3 LETTERS FROM THE CREW... Charles, boat crewmen – and tell their stories. My Homer Lemke On Page 6, Oct 2008-Jan. 2009 research to date has led me to focus on a 4525 NW Kaneeta Dr. POINTER, top of page picturing handful of convoys that took place on the Portland, Or. 97229-3040. Myrt Van Dyke. I believe I served with New York/Halifax – Liverpool route her in 1944-’46 in Ship’s Company, ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ during March-May 1943. These are: 52nd & 2nd Ave, USN Post Office, Armed Guard Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.. HX229 (dep NYC March 3, arr Bro Lloyd, If she is the same person, her name then Liverpool March 23) • HX229A (dep I haven’t heard from any Armed Guard was Myrtle Mae Lynch. I remember NYC March 9, arr Liverpool March 26) lately except Carl Sides of Opelika, her as being from Iowa. It would be • SC122 (dep NYC March 5, arr Al.. Both, he and his wife are both in a great if I could drop her a line for old Liverpool March 24) • HX231 (dep CARE HOME. We write to each time’s sake. Are you allowed to share other about once a month. He, like NYC March 25, arr Liverpool April 10) mailing addresses? myself, was reared on a farm during the • ONS5 (dep Liverpool April 21, arr John Moulis “”Depression Days” and have some *********** Halifax May 12) • SC130 (dep NYC interesting tales to tell. C.A., if you It all happened when I saw Myrt’s May 11 arr Liverpool May 26) know anything about farm life, you name in the POINTER. I E-Mailed should know what a “SHINBUSTER” you to confirm my suspicion and I con- Any help you could provide to inform is. It’s when you trying to plow in tacted her and even though she did not your fellow Merchant Marine veterans of Georgia or N.C. in a “new ground” remember me, we were able to with a hard headed horse or mule that this project would be deeply appreciated. exchange letters, shared photos and won’t stop when you say “WHOA” briefly shared the events of our lives Ed Offley • Military Reporter when you hit a deep root and the root during the past 64 years. Thank you 21200 S. Lakeview Dr. pops out of the ground and busts your Charles for all you are doing to keep Panama City Beach FL 32413-3419 shin!! It hurts like heck and that’s what the Armed Guard crew in touch with Email: [email protected] you call a “SHIN BUSTER” and it each other. Myrt no longer goes by 850-774-6585 cell phone hurts for months!! Lloyd, I see a lot of “Stuffy” anymore. things in the POINTER you send out ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ that brings back a lot of memories. For E.John Moulis instance, in one POINTER was a pic- Mailman 2/C ture of a sailor at “PARADE REST”. 24 Parkwood Dr.,Unit 103 Augusta, Me. 04330 My first trip overseas was on the S.S. [email protected] ALCOA PATRIOT, a 9-month “cruise” into all 3-campaign areas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ After a Port Director 4 day pass, some of the Armed Guard crew wanted to Dear Mr Lloyd: Dear C.A., ship out again together but those at the I have a book contract with a major New In 1944, in a P.E. class playing football, AGC split us up. Some of us got mad I broke my arm and they made a cast but it did no good. I was stationed on York publisher to write a narrative non- for it. With my arm in a sling, I was watch and given “1903” Springfield fiction history on the key convoy battles going through the cafeteria line at with a bayonet and put in the North Atlantic in the spring of Great Lakes and near the end of the 1943. The book is intended for both line; someone dropped the enclosed at a large door in 1943 that faced the devotees of maritime history as well as a card in my tray. Six weeks later, when street with a sign stating, “CLOSED” new generation of readers who have not the cast was to come off, The “Meat with orders that no one enters after been exposed to previous historical Wagon” driver drove me and another 1630 hours. About 1700, a big black guy to the Green Bay side of Great car with a blue flag with two white accounts. My goal is to locate a cross- Lakes. When we got to the hospital to stars stopped at the door and started section of survivors and veterans from all check in, they asked why the other guy inside. He insisted to let him enter. He pertinent places in that sea fight – mer- was there. “Scarlet Fever”, was the went back to the car and came back and chant crewmen, Naval Armed Guard answer. Needless to say, I was tried to enter again. I refused to let him personnel, officers and escort sailors, air- EXPOSED, so back in the hospital--- in. In another POINTER showed a men on land-based patrol aircraft and U- -----with scarlet fever. Civie; a sailor and a navy officer at an Page 4 LETTERS FROM THE CREW... outdoor “Privy” known to us as the ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ NAVY HEAD. The officer was my gunnery officer on the S.S. GLENN Dear C.A., CURTIS from Port Said, Egypt Enclosed is a picture of some of our Tinnian Island. Merry Christmas.