Newsletter 6 Number 4

U S S R E E V E S (DLG-24/CG-24) A SSOCIATION Winter 20132013----20142014 Volume 6, Issue 4 The Ironman—A Double Ender’s Newsletter Membership Scorebox Punchbowl Is Not At Capacity Current 22 USS REEVES was first homeported at these casketed gravesites were not made Past Due 144 Long Beach in 1964. She was forward de- known to us," said William Thompson, presi- ployed to Yokosuka 1966-1967. After return- dent of the 442nd Veterans Club, in a 31 DEC Snail Mail Ad- letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric dresses Only 285 ing to Long Beach, she was moved to Bath, ME, in 1968 to undergo a major AAW up- Shinseki. The veterans group said it had no Email Address 467 grade. Once recommissioned in 1970, idea, until recently, that the grave sites were REEVES moved to the Hawaiian Islands from open. Thompson added that it "seems that Total Shipmates 3,222 1971-1980, and 1989-1993. When not at such information has been deliberately with- Pearl, she was forward deployed to Task held from us and other veteran organizations" Dues Notice! Group ALFA in Yokosuka, Japan. Due to by the VA and that former cemetery Director Please be sure to check your mailing label or email nota- spending more than 20 years of her active Gene Castagnetti, who retired 30 SEP, was tion. service life west of buoy Papa Hotel , genera- prevented by higher-ups from disseminating If it doesn’t say Current tions of crew members have a close associa- news of the graves' availability. "I am certain above your name at the top tion with Oahu and the Punchbowl. This im- that the families of recent veterans of the of the label, you should re- portant article follows: 442nd Regimental Combat Team who have new your annual dues. To reach the greatest number of For more than two decades, word was that died would have chosen one of these open shipmates, we will publish the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacif- casketed gravesites had they known of this," the complete Association ic at Punchbowl was at capacity for in-ground Thompson, 89, said in the letter. Castagnetti newsletter to any valid email declined to comment on the situation. or snail mail address. Your burials. The grand veterans cemetery atop an dues payments make this extinct volcanic cinder cone was established The 100th Infantry Battalion and possible. in 1949 and contains 29,342 grave sites for 442nd Regimental Combat Team of mostly burial of caskets, 3,994 for in-ground cremat- Japanese-Americans, many from Hawaii, be- Inside this issue: ed remains and 11,380 spaces in columbarium came the most decorated units for their size in walls for inurnment of cremated remains, ac- Army history in World War II for valor at a President’s Message 2 cording to the Department of Veterans Affairs, time when the nation questioned their loyal- Shipmates’ Deck Log 3 which oversees Punchbowl. But the reality is, ties. Most of the surviving nisei veterans, Punchbowl has 99 open in-ground grave sites some of whom live on the mainland, are in Vet’s High Water Mark 4 — information never shared by the VA with their upper 80s and 90s. Brad Phillips, West Our Next Reunion: Portland 5 local veterans service organizations such as Coast director of the VA's National Cemetery the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Le- Administration, said word of the grave open- Financials 6 gion or the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd ings was passed to Oahu funeral homes over Grass Roots Advocacy 6 veterans clubs, officials said. Those organiza- the summer but to no one else. "Our thought Tricare Centers Close 6 tions could have spread the word to their was that broader communication in the members around the nation that some Punch- (veterans) community would have led to a Retail Job Myths 7 bowl graves were open, officials said. The misperception that the cemetery was open to graves have become available through the all burials — which wasn't in fact the case," Shipmate Passes 7 ongoing disinterment and identification of Phillips said. What is generally known to still Agent Orange Update 8 Korean War "unknowns," families relinquish- be available at Punchbowl are "niches" for ing plots and the removal of dead trees on the cremated remains. "At the time, also, we felt ZIPPO Story 10 cemetery's grounds, which has freed up burial that the local demand for the grave sites would space. quickly overcome the available sites," Phillips Reversing Pension Cut? 11 (Continued on page 8) "We are puzzled and disturbed that PageP a g e 222 The IronmanIronman————AA Double Ender’s Newsletter The President’s PagePage————OnwardOnward to Portland Greetings to the some of those shipmates you haven’t seen memorable association members, and Reeves Association in years and get them interested. It’s nev- Reeves plank owner. As you’ll read fur- Family: er too early to get started, particularly ther into this issue, you’ll see the memori- when thinking in terms of air fares. Air- al for Ronald “Red” Redfield. Ron actu- The “polar express” lines provide fairly good discounts for ally passed away in September, but none winter of ‘14 has early ticket purchases, and even those of us were aware of it until we received a kept most of us try- fortunate enough to have a surplus of Christmas card back from his sister noti- ing to stay warm airline miles to burn can get far better fying us of his passing. Her message though this has to be deals by ticketing early. included the memorial letter that was in one of the most bru- the local paper, and a note from her say- tal winters in recent memory, and it’s Read up on Portland and all she has to ing that Ron spoke of his Reeves ship- only January. I guess Mother Nature has offer. You’ll find that it has plenty of mates all the time, and was very proud to re-aimed her jet stream to get us caught good local restaurants, tax-free shopping, be part of our association. Red has been up for the last few years of mild winters. and lays claim to being “home to more to all of our reunions, and has proven to Come on springtime! craft-breweries than any other city on be a true friend and shipmate to everyone earth”. Locals call it “Beervana”. Port- he engaged. You could just tell that there The only advantage that the weather has land is located right on the Columbia Riv- was no place in this world that Red would right now is that I’m inclined to look for- er, and is only a 35 minute drive from the rather be than with his Reeves shipmates. ward to warmer weather and fun things to very scenic Columbia River Gorge. The do in the New Year, which brings me Columbia River valley is known for its He was part of the Reeves legacy for a right up to Portland for the 2014 Reeves many excellent wineries, which Mary and long time, first as part of the commission- Association Reunion. The plans are I had a chance to check out a few years ing crew in 1964, and later as the deck made and the dates are set for our next ago. It’s beautiful country with plenty of chief on the USS Oldendorf (DD972) opportunity to get the Reeves Family things to see and do. Our favorite was the when they went with the Reeves to back together for our west coast tour. “Maryhill” winery. Check it out on line Quindao China in 86. The Oly was out- Our in-house staff of highly trained reun- and you’ll see why. board of us and both crews struggled to ion planners has assured me that this is erect large entertainment tents that com- going to be one of the best reunion ven- As far as logistics go, Mike has included pletely covered both fantails. Chief Red ues we’ve ever had, and the accommoda- an entry form to get you started on the worked with both deck crews to get the tions are exactly what we need to enjoy registration process. We really don’t tents rigged and functional for the big our stay in Portland. need that information back yet, but it does CINCPACFLT hosted party on the two give you a good idea of the dates, times, fantails. I mention it because Red always While it may seem that month of October and costs associated with the reunion for enjoyed bringing that story up at the reun- and the City of Portland are both pretty planning purposes. We really want to ions. He obviously loved his ties to the far away, let me assure you that it’s right make this our best reunion yet, and we’ve Reeves, and we were his shipmates and around the corner from a planning per- got our work cut out for us to make it chosen family. We all lost quite a friend spective. This is the ideal time to start better than our past reunions. with his passing. that planning process. Take a look at your year and pencil in our dates in to get Okay, I’m all done with the sales pitch. Godspeed Red the process started. Talk to you signifi- cant other and get them thinking towards On a more somber note, I’d like to say hanging out with us in October.

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