USS Stoddard Alumni Newsletter—February 2020 Page 2 the Following Are Some of the Events We Are Looking Into for the Reunion
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Website: www.ussstoddard.org USS STODDARD Date: February 2020 ALUMNI NEWSLETTER USS STODDARD DD566 WWII * Korea * Vietnam 32nd Reunion— Jacksonville, Florida September 16th – September 19th– 2020 Hosts: Bill & Ulla Double Tree by Hilton Jacksonville Riverfront 1201Riverplace Blvd. Melyan Jacksonville Fl. 32207 Reservations: Email: [email protected] 1-800-222-8723 “USS Stoddard Join us for an exciting reunion in beautiful Jacksonville Florida. Jack- sonville is on the banks of the St. Johns River in the First Coast region of Group Code STO “ northeast Florida. The hotel is about 25 miles south of the Georgia state line and 328 miles north of Miami. The Jacksonville Beach communities are along Standard Room - $119 the adjacent Atlantic coast. The area was originally inhabited by the Timucua Riverfront Room - $139 people, and in 1564 was the site of the French colony of Fort Caroline, one of Riverfront Suite - $159 the earliest European settlements in what is now the continental United Rate Good Three Days States. Jacksonville was named after Andrew Jackson, the first military gover- Before / After Reunion. nor of the Florida Territory and seventh President of the United States. Breakfast for 2 Included Harbor improvements since the late 19th century have made Jackson- Additional Breakfast $10 ville a major military and civilian deep-water port, facilitating Naval Station Mayport, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, the U.S. Marine Corps Blount Island Free Parking Command, and the Port of Jacksonville, Florida's third largest seaport. Inside this issue: Jacksonville's military bases and the nearby Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay, form the third largest military presence in the United States. Sig- Jacksonville Reunion 2 nificant factors in the local economy include services such as banking, insur- Highlights VB/Norfolk 3 ance, healthcare and logistics. As with much of Florida, tourism is important to the Jacksonville area, particularly tourism related to golf. VB/Norfolk Attendees 4 Stoddard History Page 5 Stoddard History (Cont.) 6 Financial Report 7 Secretary Notes 7 Chaplain’s Report 8 Stoddard Family Help 9 Ship’s Store 10 USS Stoddard Alumni Newsletter—February 2020 Page 2 The following are some of the events we are looking into for the Reunion. We only have a few days to see so many great sites, if we can’t go to all, please stay few days and enjoy this historic part of Florida. A trip to Ste. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine was founded in 1565 by Spanish Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles, Florida’s first governor. He named the settlement "San Agustín" (St. Augustine). The city served as the capital of Spanish Florida for over 200 years. It was designated as the capital of British East Florida when the colony was established in 1763; the colony was ceded to Spain in 1783. Spain ced- ed Florida to the United States in 1819, and St. Augustine was designated the capital of the Florida Terri- tory upon ratification of the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1821. The territorial government moved and made Tal- lahassee the capital of Florida in 1824. The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park is a 15-acre, waterfront historical attraction, where visitors can learn about the first Spanish settlers who came here in the 1600s and the native Timucuans who were here to greet them. With a working archaeological dig on site, as well as several re-created Span- ish and Timucuan buildings and dwellings, the park is bursting with history. It's also just a beautiful spot to relax, enjoy the views over the water from the 600-foot Founders Riverwalk or from the Observation Tower, sample the waters from the natural spring (Ponce de Leon's leg- endary Fountain of Youth?), and let the kids feed the roaming peacocks. The St. Augustine Light Station is a private-aid to navigation and an active, working lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida. The current lighthouse stands at the north end of Anastasia Island and was built between 1871 and 1874. The current lighthouse tower, original first- order Fresnel Lens and the Light Station grounds are owned by the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, Inc., a not-for-profit maritime museum. The museum is open to the public 360 days a year. Admission fees support continued preservation of the lighthouse and five other historic structures. The Naval Station Mayport is a major United States Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. It contains a protected harbor that can accommodate aircraft carrier -size vessels, ship's intermediate maintenance activity and a military airfield. NS Mayport has grown to become the third-largest naval sur- face fleet concentration area in the United States. The station has a busy harbor capable of accommodat- ing 34 ships and an 8,001-foot runway capable of handling most aircraft in the Department of Defense in- ventory. Naval Station Mayport is also home to the Navy's United States Fourth Fleet, reactivated in 2008 after being deactivated in 1950. We will have our USS Stoddard Memorial Service at the Veterans Memorial Wall in downtown Jacksonville. The quarter-million dol- lar monument was dedicated in November, 1995 and serves as a tribute to more than 1,500 Jacksonville area American war heroes. The outdoor memorial was promot- ed as "the largest of its kind" and "the only wall that hon- ors veterans from all six [service] branches" (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine). The 65 foot-long black granite monument contains the names of servicemen and women from World War I through Operation Desert Storm and the current war on terrorism. In front of the wall stands a torch with an eternal flame. USS Stoddard Alumni Newsletter—February 2020 Page 3 Thanks to John Gerten & Vicky Tristan for all the great reunion pics! Fort Gorges in Casco Bay USS Stoddard Alumni Newsletter—February 2020 Page 4 Name Last Rate Stoddard Years Guest Herby Anaya MM2 1964-1967 Merci Renteria Glen Balzer ET3 1964-1966 John Barr FTG2 1964-1968 Barbara Martin Benitez SK3 1965-1967 Delia Martinez Henry Bennage YNSN 1951-1954 Sheila Melanie - Daughter Marlene Brant Widow of Tommy Brant Chris Bolen -Daughter Robert Butler BT3 1967-1969 Pat Clint Coneway LTJG/CAPT 1966-1969 Greta Jim Day LTJG/CAPT 1963-1964 Betty Tom Davis MM3 1944-1946 Lawson Davis - Grandson Robert Fix SN 1966-1967 Sharon Brandon Ofsthun-Grandson Mary-Daughter Ron Futch MM3 1965-1968 Donna John Gerten TM3/TMC 1966-1967 Zeke Giesecke STG3 1966-1969 Michael Green BMSN 1969-1970 Daisy Clyde Grindell ET2 1952-1955 Joyce Bearse John Halicks Pat US Army - Lieutenant Colonel 1982-2014 * Stephen Hamilton ENS/CAPT 1966-1967 Patricia Joseph Harpster MM1/MMC 1951-1954 Marilyn Jean Davis Loid Hawkins SN 1954-1957 Sandra Victor Heath RD3 1959-1962 Bonnie * William Hunter LT/LCDR 1966-1969 Pat Nancy Goss & Cheri Hurst -Daughters Chris Hurst Widow of Capt. Bill Hurst Jen Goss LT.USN & Dana Goss - Granddaughters Carl Jones MRFN 1964-1968 Arvilla Terry Keel YN3 1965-1966 Bill LaGoe Son-in-Law-Loid Hawkins Cathy - Daughter Loid Hawkins John Laible LTJG/CAPT 1966-1968 Cricket William Melyan DC3 1966-1967 Ulla Maureen Tracey Middleton-Daughter Jaelynn Moulton- Granddaughter Shawna Middleton -Granddaughter Ed Mercier BM3 1965-1968 Matt Zabkar - Granddaughter's friend Brad Petersen RD3 1965-1967 Stephen Petren LTJG 1956-1958 Janet Philip Pfeifer EM3 1965-1968 Carol Delbert Ping Staff-SGT. 1963-1972 Sharon Al Plapp MME3 1965-1966 Kathy/ Bob & Joy Semrad * Wayne Rau YN3 1966-1967 Nancy John Rauh SK3 1967-1968 Carlene Kelly Baumer- Daughter Rick Riggs FTG2 1964-1968 Susan * Robert Ritchie BMSN 1968-1969 Steve Romack US Army Lt. Colonel 36 Years Renee -Chief Warrant Officer 3 24 years Jack Sanborn GMG3 1965-1968 Donna David St.Clair BMSN 1965-1969 Sandra Garry Stone BT3 1962-1966 Marilyn Henry Strub III PN3 1966-1968 Maria Diego Tristian SF2 1965-1969 Vicki Dan Withers ET3 1965-1966 Roxane Bob Wooden BM3 1951-1954 Stella Adam-Son * Denotes Alumni 1st Time at USS Stoddard Reunion USS Stoddard Alumni Newsletter—February 2020 Page 5 USS Stoddard History Page—Dangerous Boiler Incident Received this email from Tom Balogh LT MPA 1965-1967 (Sent to 1962 –1965 Stoddard email addresses and received some very good responses) Before all the old timers are gone, I wonder if you could inquire to the alumni about a boiler room incident which would have occurred before my time there starting in 1965. I was sent, as a green Ensign, to COMCRUDESPAC engineering officers school in San Diego. The course was taught by very seasoned Chiefs, Boilermen and Machinist's Mates. When they learned that I was from Stoddard, there was a big joke about failure to follow the most basic procedure when going from cold iron to preparation to get underway, and Stoddard's experience with almost melting through the hull. EMPTY THE BOILER GAGE GLASS AND REFILL, to be sure there is water in the boiler. Apparently the boiler had been drained during the in port time and not refilled. The crew lit off the boiler and could not get any pressure, so kept adding more fuel rods. Eventually this created a critical overheating/fire? Don't have more details, but they had a photo on the wall of engineer- ing school, showing the base firemen teams with several fire hoses pouring water down the stack. Does anyone have memory of this event, or have heard from others before them? My google searches keep coming up empty. Would be interested in what year this occurred and what happened to the skipper and chief engineer? Received a reply from Garry Stone BT3 1962-1966 I just got aboard the Stoddard at San Diego Naval Base 32 street late 1962 and had just settled in.