T H E bright penny
July 2010 A NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS OF THE USS BERKELEY (DDG-15) ASSOCIATION Reunion 2010 just a month away
Denver Reunion BTCS (SW) Darrel Williams was Our next reunion is now born in Perham, Minnesota in March In the Spotlight less than two months 1948. He graduated from Pelican away, and deadlines are Rapids High School in 1966. quickly approaching. If He joined the Navy in August 1967 you plan to attend or (after being prodded by the Draft believe you may be Board) reporting to the Recruit attending, we urge you to Training Center, Great Lakes in call 303-296-0400 and December. Upon completion of make your room Recruit Training he reported to his reservations at the Downtown Denver first ship the USS Guadalcanal LPH- Comfort Inn. July 19th is the deadline to 7, homeported at Norfolk, VA. reserve rooms at our special reunion rate, While serving aboard Guadalcanal the and this will also be the deadline for ship recovered the Apollo 9 Manned Space Flight Capsule and Astronauts registering for the reunion. Please mail after an Atlantic splash down in your payment for the reunion ($60 per March 1969. After a short exodus person) to the USS Berkeley Association, th from the Navy in Nov. 71 he re- C/O Gerry Hansen, 6318 S. 20 Street, enlisted in Feb. 1972 and reported Milwaukee, WI 53221 no later than th to BT “B” school in Philadelphia, PA. August 7 to ensure receipt before Gerry His next assignment was the USS departs for the reunion. Oriskany CVA-34 homeported at The dates for the Denver reunion are Alameda, CA (Aug 72 - Nov 73). August 19-22, 2010. The Welcome After six years of sea duty Darrel BTCS (SW) Darrel Williams Reception will be held Friday evening (Willie) was assigned to Fleet from 5-7 PM, and the Banquet will be Maintenance Assistance Group also ment was SIMA, San Diego for his Saturday evening beginning at 5 PM. in Alameda, CA from Nov. 74 until second tour of Shore Duty. His last Other activities will be taking place Dec. 75. He then served aboard set of orders were issued in May beginning Thursday afternoon. There is USS Preble DDG-46 homeported at 1986 to the USS Schofield FFG-3 some confusion regarding the Coors Pearl Harbor, HI (Jan 76 - Jan 78) home ported in San Diego, CA. He Brewery tour. A cost was previously and in February 1978 he reported retired in June 1988 as a Senior listed in a newsletter article, but we aboard the USS Dixon AS-37 Chief Petty Officer. accidentally left the cost off the homeported at San Diego, CA as a Following Darrel’s naval career he registration form at the web site. A per Chief Petty Officer. It was during this worked for a short period as a boiler person charge of $10 will be collected to tour that he met and married his wife operator for Civil Service at Naval help offset the bus charges. This fee can Kathleen in September 1980. Station San Diego and then Camp be paid in advance or at the reunion. The Chief Petty Officer Williams Pendleton. In January 1990 he was tour is Friday morning, and the bus departs reported on board the USS Berkeley hired at the University of California the hotel at 9 AM. We also attempted to in October 1980. While on Berkeley San Diego as a Systems Operator at include a free tour of the Denver Mint, but he was Work Group Supervisor of the Central Utility Plant and in as of this writing, the Mint will be closed EB01 (#1 Fire Room) and EB-14 (Oil Building Maintenance. He retired to the public for annual inventory during & Water Test Lab). During his tour from UCSD in June 2006 and never our reunion. There is a slight possibility of duty on Berkeley the ship looked back, only looking ahead to the the inventory dates may change, and if so, completed WestPac 1981, went next “road trip”. Enjoying RVing, we will inform attendees via the web site through a shipyard overhaul in Long especially in the summer months to and when you arrive for the reunion. Beach, CA and numerous local-ops, North Dakota and Minnesota where More details regarding the reunion can be qualifications and exercises. He the grandkids are and life is a lot earned his (SW) desig-nation while found at the web site. You can also email slower. aboard Berkeley. Al Meier at alphawhiskey.ddg15@yahoo. Darrel and his wife Kathleen reside Chief Williams departed Berkeley in com or call 408-656-3879 with questions in San Diego, California; have one son October 1983 and his next assign- or requests for more information. and two granddaughters.
From the pages if desired. The logs can be Quarterdeck purchased through the ship’s store for By $13.00 each including shipping, except for 1964, which is $15.00. This is a CDR Jim Barrett ( Ret) chance for you to go back and review events that took place while deployed. We expect this to be a popular item in Ship’s Logs are now available in the ship’s store. the Ship’s Store The Association paid a service in Berkeley made seven deployments Washington, DC to scan the logs and during the Vietnam war and we now the 1964 deployment was the longest at have four of the deployment logs from just over eight months with 750 pages that era. The logs are on separate CD’s and is on two disks. Thus, the for each deployment beginning with the difference in price for 1964 log. This day of departure until the day of return. expense has been incorporated into the They are copies of the original price of the CD’s. It took a while to get handwritten pages and are in Adobe PDF the four logs declassified for copying format. With Adobe Reader you can and we still have three cruises peruse the pages and print a page or remaining to be cleared. The Bright Penny - July 2010 Page 2
USS BERKELEY ASSOCIATION LIBERTY CALL! 5553 Makati Circle believe Pat Clark recommends San Jose, CA 95123 Those sweet words of yester 408-656-3879 a tea party at the historic year raised our spirits, and Brown Palace (where we’ll be E Mail: [email protected] Website: www.USSBerkeley.com provided some time for holding all reunion events). Annual Dues: $20.00 relaxation and fun. Those Director: Al Meier Ladies, what do you say! Asst. Director: Dale Johnson words were especially Send me an email at Secretary: Pat Clark & Tammy Meier gratifying after a prolonged Treasurer: Gerald Hansen Al Meier alphawhiskey.ddg15@yahoo. Membership Committee Chairman: Al Meier period at sea and when com and let me know. Regional Chairmen: visiting a new or favorite port. Northeast: Duane LeDoux And while we’re on the Southeast: Randy Wilkins Now let’s just substitute subject of liberty call and North Central: Larry Norris South Central: Don Carson reunion for liberty call and reunions, it’s not too early to Northwest: Ron Bravo Denver for that new port, and start thinking about the BIG Southwest: Vacant th Ship’s Store Mgr: Gerald Hansen see if we can’t recapture the 50! That’s like in 50 Bright Penny Editor & Publisher: Jim Barrett enthusiasm we had when the anniversary of the USS Webmaster: Jim Barrett ACVA Representative: Vacant words “Liberty Call” blared Berkeley commissioning, and Newsletter Distribution: To dues current members via out over the intercom system! there will be a big celebration! e-mail in pdf form and to non–e-mail members via U.S. Mail. As the saying goes “You don’t We will once again select a stop having fun because you list of three potential host grow old, you grow old Berkeley History cities for the 2012 reunion because you stop having fun.” which is to be held in the July I was recently contacted by a South West region. How 40 Years Ago, 1970 gentleman who coordinates appropriate it is that cities 01-12, NGFS RVN, attached to CTU the reunions for the USS John such as Long Beach and San 70.8.9; 12-15, enroute to Bangkok; 15- Paul Jones and the USS Hull, 19, visit Bangkok; 20-23, enroute to Diego, where the ship was Subic Bay; 23-26, upkeep Subic Bay; who was checking with other home ported for many years, 27-31, enroute to CONUS. associations that are planning can be possibilities. The cities
30 Years Ago, 1980 reunions for later this year. will be announced at the
01-06, Inport NavSta San Diego; 07-08, He was interested in reunion banquet, and voting inport San Diego - Fast Cruise; 09-10, information regarding our will commence around early SoCal OpArea; 10, inport Weapons expected attendance relative to September. Another thing I Station, Seal Beach; 10-11, SoCal OpArea; 12-13, inport San Diego; 14, past reunions, and also our would like you to consider is SoCal OpArea; 15-16, NGFS spotter Associations membership. the time frame for the 2012 services, San Clemente Island; 17-18, Not to my surprise, other reunion. All our recent SoCal OpArea; 19-20, inport San Diego; 21-25, SoCal OpArea; 26-31, associations are experiencing reunions have been held in inport San Diego. very few early signups for August or September. What
20 Years Ago, 1990 their recent reunions. We are works best for you? You can 01-02, inport San Diego; 03, SoCal just now beginning to see an let us know when you vote midshipmen training; 04-08, inport San increase in room reservations online (or send me a note) for Diego; 09-10, SoCal midshipmen training; 11-12, inport San Diego; 13- at the Downtown Denver the reunion city. 23, SoCal OpArea - law enforcement Comfort Inn. With the Now “Hear this”, this old operations; 23, inport San Diego; 24-27, Denver reunion just over six radarman is getting excited as SoCal OpArea - all comers at sea weeks away, I strongly training; 29-31, inport San Diego - we set a final course for our upkeep period. encourage you to make your next port of call, and our ETA
10 Years Ago, 2000 reservations soon to ensure a (estimated time of arrival for Ex-Berkeley in service with the room at our discounted rates the uninformed) is 1200 on Hellenic Navy of Greece. and to be part of the August 19, 2010! All sections festivities. are granted Liberty. TAPS The reunion itinerary can be RMC John T. Franz, May 25, 2010. found on the web site by Chief Franz served aboard Berkeley 1964-67. selecting the “Reunion Info”
GMG1 Carl J. Conway, October 28, tab, scroll down to “Next 2009. GMG1 Conway served aboard Reunion”, and then scroll Berkeley 1983-85 down to the “Itinerary”. Since we still have time to enhance CDR Robert J Cepek, son of Capt. your experience, let me know Robert J. Cepek (Ret) has been selected for promotion to Captain. Both are what additions we can make. USNA graduates. Capt. Cepek served as I have thought about a Bull Big Mo’, Little Berk’ 1978 ASW Officer in Berkeley 1964-66. Session for the guys, and I Photo by BM2 Mike Wyngaert