Volume 6, Issue 3 June 2003

Special Points of FROM THE PRESIDENT Interest First, I would like to take this time to aboard a 17 year-old kid and left at 21. • Your President has some thank you for all the cards, letters and What friends and experiences I made/ good advice for you that phone calls re my surgery. It went well had and sharing them again really takes you won’t want to miss in but jitterbugging and the Charleston are the years off a person. So, with this in his cover story. out for the moment. mind, let’s make it a bang up year in • WELCOME MAT con- As we look forward to Philadelphia I’m Philly. See ya at the reunion. tains two new names for hoping for a more than larger attendance We must be aware we are all veter- our roster. Let’s find more than previously. It seems to me that the ans and the most precious document for the next issue. location should bring out some we have- you have is your DD214, record of dis- n’t seen before and others too timid to charge. You are entitled to benefits you • MAIL CALL contains the attend in the past. You haven’t seen may not be aware of. You may request following letters: them in decades, yet they greet you with an original from: • Jim Lombard tells of his favorite spot to head for open arms. You have shared something when a drone was headed life-changing with them, and you share a Navy Personnel Command Liaison Of- for the ship. common bond no one else does or even fice • Cliff Thompson has ques- understands. However, some are reluc- Room 5409, PERS-313E tions about the torpedo tant to attend. Many changes have oc- 9700 Page Avenue tubes on the Missy. curred and, of course, apprehension is St. Louis, MO 63132 • Herman Engel gives infor- understandable. This is a common feel- mation about a museum of ing many veterans get, and we’ve all Once you have your original in hand, interest to you.. • Robert Abbott tells about been there at one time or another in pre- head for the nearest VA Center and his life during and after vious endeavors/undertakings. There is REGISTER. At least you’ll be on the the Missy. nothing quite like reuniting with people roles. Some I have known are receiving • Van Gardner begins his you haven’t seen in 50 years or so, but prescriptions at the very least. You owe it story of researching the it’s very rewarding in a sense that we to yourself and your loved ones. . were youngsters and this time frame ‘48- Looking back on our past reunions, I

’56 were our formative years. I went (Continued on page 2) VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3 PAGE 2 MISSISSIPPI PIRATE

(Continued from page 1) see that this is #7. Maybe that’s our STATEMENT OF lucky number and it’s up to you. Be there and maybe some one will buy PUBLICATION you a drink. Yes, it seems we’re led astray all too easily at times, but these The PIRATE is the official publi- WELCOME MAT are special occasions. Any excuse, cation of the USS MISSISSIPPI As- huh? sociation. From now on it will be The USS MISSISSIPPI Asso- Our history started in Myrtle Beach, published quarterly in March, June, ciation cordially welcomes the fol- SC, followed by Biloxi, MS; Jackson- September, and December, subject lowing shipmates who have been ville, FL; San Diego, CA; Norfolk, VA to receiving sufficient funding. The located since the last newsletter. and lastly, San Antonio, TX. Just an Newsletter is funded by voluntary We hope to see you at the update and a geography lesson for contributions from the membership. next reunion, and we hope you when we vote on the 04 reunion. All members are encouraged to will take an active part in the as- Some phone calls I’ve received ques- support the voice of the MISSIS- sociation. tion how long and where. The word SIPPI. A financial statement ap- gets out ever so slowly. Some of you pears in each issue of the newslet- Fred Brock have sent notices of the reunion in lo- ter. 758 Pickett Post Rd cal papers. Thanks for the effort and I The newsletter is intended to be Walhalla, SC 29691 think we got one or two. Hey, they all a vehicle for the members to ex- count. So, if you live near a major city, press opinions, make suggestions John B. Williams contact the local paper. It should be and especially share experiences. P O Box 2460 no cost and if not, try something else Unless otherwise stated, the Rock Hill , SC 29732-4460 like crying. Just kidding. All things Mili- views and opinions printed in the ______tary lately are leading the pack, so newsletter are those of the article’s jump on the band wagon and let ‘er writer, and do not necessarily rep- rip. resent the opinion of the Associa- tion leadership or the Editor of the Roger J. Moscone Newsletter. All letters and stories submitted will be considered for publication, Published By: MAIL CALL Military Locator & Reunion Service, Inc except unsigned letters will not be PO Box 11399 published. Letters requesting the To all Sailors and all Marines that Hickory, NC 28603 writer’s name be withheld will be served on the USS Mississippi, honored, but published on a space 828-256-6008 (voice) BB-41 and EAG-128, 828-256-6559 (fax) available basis. Signed letters with The crewmembers of USS Mis- no restrictions will be given priority. sissippi CGN-40 Reunion Associa- [email protected] (e-mail) Letters demeaning to another tion extend an invitation to the [email protected] (newsletter) shipmate will not be printed; letters members of the ship that brought www.mlrsinc.com (web site) espousing a political position will honor to the name Mississippi. not be printed. The reunion 2003 will be held “Our Reunions Work So You Don’t Have To” Military Locator & Reunion Ser- in Jackson, Mississippi from vice, Inc. is not responsible for the Thursday 31 July to Sunday 3 Au- accuracy of articles submitted for gust 2003. Financial Statement publication. It would be a monu- The host hotel is the Crown mental task to check each story. Plaza in Jackson and special Balance remaining after 03/03 issue Therefore, we rely on the submitter $1533.48 room rates of $79 and $89 for the to research each article. reunion can be made by calling Funds collected since 03/03 issue The editor reserves the right to $0 (601) 969-5100 and ask for inter- edit letters to conform to grammar, nal reservations and request the Funds available for 06/03 issue and/or space limitations. $1533.48 special USS Mississippi Reunion You are encouraged to actively rate. Funds expended for 06/03 issue participate in the newsletter family $256.23 by submitting your stories and sug- Thursday will be for arriving at Balance remaining for 09/03 issue gestions. $1277.25 the hotel and meeting old and new ______friends in the hospitality room.

Send contributions to ML&RS. Friday: I am planning a bus VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3 MISSISSIPPI PIRATE PAGE 3 trip to the Vicksburg National Bat- hit and headed for the ship. My favor- Dear Karen, tlefield Park, 42 miles from Jack- ite spot was to jump down to main After several years of research son, depending on the response, I deck aft and duck into the marine and preparation, the Old Capital Mu- hope to have a 47 or 55 passenger compartment on the port side. When seum of Mississippi History in Jack- bus take us to the park. The cost the terrior missiles started, they at son, MS opened the exhibit Pride of for this trip should be less than $20 least blew up the drone and only left the Fleet: The USS Mississippi on per person. That will include the smaller pieces. The drones in those June 1, 2003. This exhibit will run bus, park admission and a tour days were F8F left over from WWII. through November 9, 2003, and will guide from the park in our bus for a How many people remember Chief explore the history of the four USS grand tour. Black? I remember we used to say he Mississippis by featuring uniforms, Saturday is for your enjoyment had been around since Christ. He was flags, various memorabilia, photo- along with a reception at the Old a CPL and had a lot of time on the graphs, scale models of the ships, Capital Museum of Mississippi His- same ship. and film footage. I was invited to at- tory at 2 PM at their new exhibit to tend the pre-opening events on honor all four ships that were Respects, June 2nd, but was unable to attend. named after the state. All crew Jim Lombard I had contributed some memorabilia members and their guests will be [email protected] that is part of the exhibition. honored for their service with a tour ______There is also a nice tribute to the of the exhibit. late Cap’t Alan Hazen who was a Saturday night we are having a Hi Karen, LTJG when he was in charge of our banquet at the hotel for all crews I had been told that there were tor- division in 1952. He commanded the and their guests. The cost for the pedo tubes on the New Mexico class USS Leonard F. Mason banquet will be $35 per person. of . The Missy was of that DD852 (1965-67) and retrieved Neil Sunday at the hospitality room class. A shipmate (Earl Slattum and I Armstrong and Dave Scott on the will be the end of the reunion as the (Cliff Thompson) discussed this by Gemini VIII mission. You can go to crew departs to return home. mail and email. He was aboard her at “Alan Hazen” on Goggle for more the end of WWII and claimed to have info. If you are interested in the been in every compartment on the Vicksburg Battlefield Park trip, ship. He could not recall where the Yours truly, please call Dan Huskisson at (623) torpedo room and/or torpedo tubes Herman Engel, ET2, “T” Div 1949-52 972-7369 to make your reserva- were located. A search of “Jane’s [email protected] tions. American Fighting Ships of the 20th ______Century” showed a side view of the Thank you, New Mexico (sister ship of Miss and Dan Huskisson Idaho). This view had underwater I served aboard the USS Missis- USS Mississippi CGN-40 Reunion compartments shown numbered 1 to sippi EAG 128 from December 1950 Association 2003 23 from bow to stern. In number 5 to November 1952. I was a Radar- 10410 W Diana Ave were TTS and TTP. I decipher this to man assigned to King Division. One Peoria, AZ 85345 be Torpedo Tubes port and starboard. thing I remember about CIC was e-mail: [email protected] or In a text it was stated that two 21-inch that it was located on the starboard [email protected] TT were submerged. Number 5 com- side one deck below the main deck. ______partment was just forward of the #1 Since the Mississippi was built be- . Earl said that he had been fore the days of radar, the area had Editor’s note: The following stories told that at times garbage was shot a fitting on the outside bulkhead. were received after a plea by e- out of the torpedo tubes. Neither Earl One day another Radarman named mail for stories for this issue, as we nor I were in weapons divisions, both Bob Schult and I unscrewed the fit- had nothing from the members to being Electronic Technicians. Per- ting and found out that we could see print. A big thanks to everyone who haps some of the gunnery people outside. So, being very initiating, we answered my request! Please send from the Missy can shed light on this would open this fitting whenever we more for next time also. subject. were going into or out of port. This allowed us to see the buoys as they From SSgt Jim Lombard, (Marine Cliff Thompson passed. Since CIC was amidships DET 1951-52) [email protected] on the starboard side, as we passed We all in the antiaircraft crew in the buoys, we would transmit over the exposed 3 in 50 cal automatic If anyone knows anything about this, the sound powered phone to bridge mounts being tested at that time, please send us your account of it for that we had the buoy (number) had to establish our favorite spots the next issue. Our address is on abeam to starboard. That sure was to bug out to when the drone was page two. (Continued on page 4) VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3 MISSISSIPPI PIRATE PAGE 4

(Continued from page 3) National Archives in College Park, MD plied that I could not see the CONFI- good radar to pick up a contact so to do some research on the Missis- DENTIAL ONES. Then I went to close. sippi. It was a very interesting trip and http://www.nara.gov/research/all/ I was a reservist that was re- I wish I could do it again. I kept a diary plan.html which had a lot of good called for the Korean conflict, so of the trip and have cut out most of information about planning a trip. I after my release from active duty, I the personal information, but it is still clicked on all the links and printed went back to my reserve unit. four pages long. I think some of the them and put them in a binder. Twenty-five years later I was still in crew may find it interesting, especially Then I read all of it. the USNR and I retired from my ci- those who live close enough to make If anyone just went to this place vilian job as a Police Lieutenant for their own trip. without doing this they better have the Port Authority of New York and an unlimited amount of time and New Jersey Police Department. I A TRIP TO THE NATIONAL money. You could waste a week volunteered to go back on active ARCHIVES AT COLLEGE and still not get anything but motel duty as a TEMAC Recruiter. I PARK, MD bills for your trip. served three years with the NRD in We planned our trip so as to ar- Newark, NJ. I then transferred to 22-24 APRIL 2002 rive Monday afternoon with enough the Reserve Center on Staten Is- time to find the place and get our land and recruited for the reserves THE PURPOSE OF THE TRIP photo ID researcher’s badge, get until 1984. I then was offered a 1. To copy a movie made while I property passes for all our equip- Chief Recruiters position in RED- was on the USS Mississippi ment and have all our notes we COM FIVE in Revenna, Ohio. EAG-128 10/24/1953 were going to take inside the re- When Master Chief Chet Hancock search area stamped to show it was 2. To scan as many photo- retired from CRUITCORE FIVE, I graphs of the EAG-128 as ours. They close at 5:00 pm on took over that job until I retired due possible. Monday but are open until 9:00 pm to age restrictions, in 1989. I joined 3. To see what plans they had of on Tuesday. We would be ready the Navy March 17, 1947, and re- when they opened Tuesday and get the Mississippi especially as tired Sept 1, 1989 with over 42 EAG-128 a full long day in and I had hoped years service. (Ten Gold Hash 4. To look at the deck log for 14 that would be all it would take. Well, Marks). May 1952, (The day I re- that’s what the plan was. I will say that I had many years ported aboard) of fun and work, good times and 9 Sept. 1953, the day the THE WAY IT WAS bad, but I would do it all over again Captain lost the anchor by giving On Friday afternoon before the if I could. I can still remember a few trip I was doing some last minute the order to let go while still do- names from the Mississippi: Henry checking on the internet and there ing 10 knots. Dowell, J. J. Lebowitz, Smokey 20 Oct. 1954, the day I left the was a notice that they had had a Stover, RD2 Bergan, RD3 Medina ship for discharge on 28 Oct. problem with micro-organisms in the (the boxer), P.O. Jenkins, P.O. sprinkler system’s water at the Ar- 1954 Winn, P. O. Davis, P.O. Pagett, P. chives II in College Park, MD. They

O. Margetts, P.O. Mel Norris, P.O. had caused a large number of mini- Purnell, Lt. Summers, Chief Black, THE PLANNING leaks. Certain sections may be P. O. Morrell, P.O. Simms, Chief A lot of planning went into this trip closed so call before you come. I Brennan, P. O. Anderson, P. O. Zi- and it turned out to be a good thing. I called the 800 number and got ran onkowski, and there were two guys started by going to the NARA Archival around through several voice mail that taught me how to play Wist, Information Locator (NAIL) on the systems before I finally got a human but for the life of me I can’t remem- internet at http://nara.bov/nara/nail. being. He was a nice one and told ber their names. I think the best lib- html. me the work had been finished. He erty port we hit was New York City. I clicked on “Search for Archival Hold- also told me I would be able to see After going in and out of Norfolk, ings” and this sent me to their search the CONFIDENTIAL movies as they VA, any port was good liberty. Well, engine. I searched on USS Missis- could declassify anything in their that’s it for now. Hope you all have sippi and then Terrier and came up care that was over 12 years old. fair winds and following seas. with 61 movies that were at the Ar- Saturday we loaded up the car chives in College Park, MD. Several with 3 equipment cases of photo Robert Abbott (MCPO Retired) of the Terrier movies were marked as and electronic equipment. I took my [email protected] Security classification CONFIDEN- 35mm film camera, tripod, laptop, ______TIAL. I thought surely after 50 years scanner, 3 boxes floppies, 25 CD/R, this stuff has been declassified. I sent cables and power packs to scan the Karen, an email to NARA with a list of the still photos. We drove to our son In April 2002 I took a trip to the movies I wanted to copy and they re- Joel’s house in Charlotte, NC to VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3 MISSISSIPPI PIRATE PAGE 5 spend the night and borrowed his these are self serve. The one the same switch. When I finished a new Sony TRV-520 Digital 8 cam- movie that I had made the trip for reel I would try to rewind it for the next corder. was one of these. One of the em- person, but the transport would rewind Arriving in the Washington, DC ployees was showing me how to about half a reel and bog down. I area we took I-95 around the east find the tapes and to use the dub- would crank it by hand to finish. Time side up to the north side and got bing equipment when the first tape wise this worked out because by the off on US-1. This is where all the deck jammed the cartridge and it time I got mine rewound the employee motels were that was close to the would not rewind. He would have to had flipped the next reel for me. This Archives. We drove past looking pull the 16mm movie version for me went on until the employee went to at the motels and went to the Ar- to copy. This was a blessing in dis- lunch and I was down to the last and chives. We went to got our badges guise as he pulled all my movies for as it turned out best reel. The name and were told we would have to me at that time. There were four of it was “Terrier The New Fleet wait until the next morning as it movies I could not get because no Weapon”. It was the only one with was too late to do any research as reference copy had ever been made sound on it and the employee loaded we had missed the 3:00 pm pull of for them. Two of these were the it to show me how to thread the film documents. They said they could CLASSIFIED movies. One was past the sound pickup head. The not issue a badge on a day you did “Terrier Theory and Operation”. I sound was badly garbled. He said not do research. They have a lot would like to have seen that one. most of the sound movies sounded of quirky rules like this. The next We left the video dubbing area that way. After he left I saw that the day we can get a badge and it’s and went to the Non-Restricted Mo- film had a loop in it as it passed over good for 3 years. They did give us tion Picture Viewing Area. 16mm the pickup head. I re-threaded the film a list of motels that had a lot more and 35 mm motion picture film is and found out there was a spring than on their web page. I was able viewed in a special area. You may loaded idler roll that you had to pull to get the property pass forms to fill use your own video camera to shoot the film tight before putting it on the out for all my equipment. They the image directly off the viewing sprocket and that fixed the garbled also stamped all my notes after screen. Audio may be recorded sound. I was planning on the camera making me take them out of the with a microphone from the speaker microphone picking up the sound from binder. I would not be allowed to or through an audio output that re- the projector speaker to record the take the binder in the research quires an RCA male plug on your sound. The only trouble was they had area. We checked in a Day’s Inn audio cable. I set up the camcorder the speaker turned off and had a pair that had just been completely re- on my tripod a few feet from the of head phone plugged into the jack. modeled and was nice for $65.00 a viewing screen and used the zoom They had an RCA phonograph jack for night with free continental break- to adjust the screen size. When sound out but I did not have a cable fast. We ate supper at the nearby they brought out the movies the that would plug into the camera. I IHOP. I filled out my property problems began. The projectors lucked out though because I snapped passes that night so it did save are really high quality and smooth the headphones over the camera so some time and we knew where to with almost no flicker, but the film that one ear piece was over the built in go and park the next day. on the reel was flipped over. The camcorder microphone. It sounds a Tuesday we were at the Ar- first scene was an Admiral with all little tinny but better than no sound. chives when they opened. We got his ribbons on the wrong side of his As I was rewinding this last reel by our badges made and put all our jacket. Then there was a guided hand after the machine bogged down equipment on a cart they supply. missile destroyer number 10 that a woman came over and asked me We had to go to the basement and was 01. The employee said this what I was doing. I told her about the put all our cases, purse and bind- was because someone had flipped rewind bogging down on large reels ers. The only equipment you can it over when they used the film. He and she said “Oh!, you need to flip this have on the cart are your property took it outside to a rewind machine switch”, and she flipped one under the passes and stamped notes on the that was broken and manually re- front panel. It worked fine. I told her cart you take in the research area. wound it for me. I began copying it about the films being flipped over and They open the research area at while he checked a couple of the the employee having to manually re- 9:00 am and we were first in line. other films. They were all flipped wind them because someone had After the guard looked at all my over. There was a recessed light done it wrong before. She got a big stamped notes and scanned our over each workstation. I noticed I laugh out of that and said the reason badges they let us in. We went was getting a reflection of the cam- the films were flipped was because immediately to the 4th floor and era on the projection glass and when they make a reference copy gave them the list of movies I asked if there was a separate from the intermediate copy they put wanted to see for the 9:30 pull. As switch for each light. I wanted to the emulsion sides of the film next to it turned out they have some of the turn mine out to get rid of the reflec- each other to get the best copy. The movies copied to videotape and tion but was told they were all on first time the reference copy is used it VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3 THE PIRATE PAGE 6 has to be flipped. She said you PHOTOS FROM VAN GARDNER’S COLLECTION could tell if the reel had been used. They put a green tape seal they put This is a photo of a Terrier missile named “Flying Flynn”. Our Captain on the can when they make it. at the time was Capt. Thomas J. Flynn and that’s the reason for the name Most of the tapes we had were and shamrock. We named all our “Birds” as we called them. I got to name sealed with green tape. It just one and pull the firing key the week before I left for discharge. I named mine meant I was the first one to use “Short Timer’s Special.” It was a beautiful shot. If you look closely at the these particular reels of film. She photo you will see a small pink dot in the left hand square blast window on showed me another switch that the aft superstructure. (This did not copy well enough to make out.) That is would let you reverse the current to my face. I was controlling the launcher for the photographer to get the angle the left reel and reverse the film as he wanted for the picture. you view it. I asked her how she knew all this and she said she was an independent paid researcher who had been doing this for 20 years. She had just finished doing some World War II stuff for the His- tory Channel. I wish now that I had gotten her name and address. After lunch we went to the 5th floor where the still photographs are kept. They have card file draw- ers with sections for each ship. I asked how many photographs I could have pulled at one time and the woman at the desk told me 26. I went through the card index for the EAG-128 and picked 26 photo- SLIDE NUMBER 80-6K-17361 DATE: 30 JUNE 1954 graph numbers to be pulled. Some SECOND MISSILE OF OPDEVFOR EVALUATION PHASE. “FLYING FLYNN” of the index cards were actually TTV-36 small proof photographs so you could actually see what it was go- ing to look like. It was passed the Here is a photo of the Mississippi tied up to a pier at NOB (Naval Operating last pull time of the day so I got Base) Norfolk, VA on March 26, 1953. I liked the photo because of all the some blank pull request forms cloud formations in the background. I went on 6 days leave two days later and (actually the form is called a it helped me getting away quicker not having to ride the motor boats from the “Reference Service Slip”) to fill out anchorage. The official navy photograph number is 694914. tonight. We left for the day and ate Van Gardner at the IHOP again. 30% off on Tuesday for Senior Citizens. I filled out the forms at night in the motel.

To be continued in the Sept. issue. ______

REGISTRATION PACKET DUE OUT IN JULY The registration packets for the October 16-19, 2003 reunion in Philadelphia, PA will be out in July. Please read the packet in its entirety, as there are some changes to the packet from former years. To avoid being charged for something you do not want, please read the instructions carefully. USS MISSISSIPPI in Norfolk, VA, March 26, 1953