MILITARY SEA SERVICES MUSEUM, INC. SEA SERVICES SCUTTLEBUTT December 2017 A message from the President Greetings, The year 2017 was another good year for the Museum. Thanks to our Member's dues, a substantial contribution from our most generous member and contributions from a couple of local patriotic organizations, we will end the year financially sound and feeling confident that we will be able to make any emergency repairs and continue to make improvements to the Museum. As reported in previous Scuttlebutts, most of our major projects have been completed. Our upgraded security system with motion activated cameras inside the Museum and outside the shed John Cecil should be completed this month. The construction of a concrete structure for the mid-1600s British Admiralty Cannon should be completed early next year. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a New Year that is happy, healthy and prosperous. On this Christmas day let's all say a prayer for our troops that can't be home with families and loved ones. They are doing a great job of preventing the spread of terrorism and protecting our freedoms. Please say a prayer for their safe return home. John Military Sea Services entry in Sebring's 2017 Veteran's Day Parade The construction on Fred Carino's boat was done by Fred and his brother Chris. The replica of the bow ornament was done by Mary Anne Lamorte and her granddaughter Dominique Juliano. Military Sea Services Museum Hours of Operation 1402 Roseland Avenue, Sebring, Open: Thursday through Saturday Florida, 33870 Phone: (863) 385-0992 Noon to 4:00 p.m. E-Mail: [email protected] Web site: http://milseasvcmuseum.org/ 1 Welcome Aboard New Members On 1 Dec 2017, Kenneth and Kathleen Wells became annual members of the Museum. Kenneth is a U.S. Navy Veteran and a retired IT Specialist. Kathleen is a retired Police Officer. Kenneth and Kathleen live in Sebring, FL. On 1 Dec 2017, Charles and Betty Martin became life members of the Museum. Charles is a retired U.S. Army Warrant Officer and is retired/disabled. Betty is a Certified Nurse's Assistant. Charles and Betty live in Avon Park, FL. On 1 Dec 2017 Richard and Sandra Tufts became annual members of the Museum. Richard is a retired U.S. Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer and a retired Electrician. Sandra is a retired Doll Maker. Richard and Sandra live in Lake Placid, FL. On 5 Dec 2017, Robert and Joann Posthumus became annual members of the Museum. Robert is a retired U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander and a retired Configuration Manager for the Navy SSN 688 Program. Joann is a U.S. Navy Veteran who served as a Navy Nurse. Robert and Joann live in Sebring, FL. On 8 Dec 2017, Vernon and Nancy Ringle became annual members of the Museum. Vernon is a U.S. Navy Veteran and retired from Retail Sales Management. Nancy is a retired Engineering Clerk. Vernon and Nancy live in Sebring, FL during the winter months and in Michigan in the summer. A very hearty welcome aboard to our newest members! A sincere thank you to all our members for their continued support. Without member support, the Museum would not be able to pay its bills and would have to close the doors. Memoriam We are saddened by the passing on 18 November 2017 of Rodney E. Richardson, age 89. Rodney was a long time member of the Museum. He retired from the U.S. Navy as a Chief Petty Officer after serving during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Rodney, while serving in USS Bainbridge (DLGN-25), participated in Operation Sea Orbit---in 1964 USS Bainbridge, USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) and USS Long Beach (CGN-9) made the first nuclear-powered trip around the world. We are also saddened by the passing on 21 November 2017 of Nancy Gill. Nancy and her husband John were long time members of the Museum. John (MCPO, USCG (Ret)) continues as an active member. Nancy worked in many professions during her life. She was also an excellent seamstress, enjoyed travelling, and volunteered for many charitable projects. Nancy enjoyed singing with the Glad Hatters and in various Church Choirs. Fair winds and following seas Rodney and Nancy. Rest in Peace! Our thoughts and prayers are with the Richardson and Gill families. 2 Quotable Quotes We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free ---Ronald Reagan We must be ready to dare all for our country. For history does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.- --Dwight D. Eisenhower \ In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.\ ---Franklin D. Roosevelt Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.---Abraham Lincoln Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. ---Thomas Paine Seaman Recruit Mathew James Walter White Jr., Age 18, father of Gordon White, Navy Vet, Museum Member, and Volunteer. Photo taken 100 years ago probably at Norfolk, VA. Why the Military Sea Services Museum is Non-Political A special note about politics and our 501.c.3 status. As our goals for the museum are to honor our military, specifically the sea services, and to educate and inform the public regarding the same, we are established as a state of Florida non-profit corporation, and are recognized by the IRS as a 501.c.3 non-profit. This status allows individuals to donate funds to the museum and claim it on their income taxes. This status precludes and proscribes our participation in political activities as an entity or as individuals representing the museum for that purpose. This does not mean that a member of the museum is prohibited from participating in campaigns, donating money to the same, etc. They just cannot do it in the name of the museum. Beyond that, to achieve our goals, we cannot and do not play favorites. Additionally, not everyone in the room is a Democrat, Republican, or Independent. There is at least one of each of these. Our cohesion and camaraderie are too important to let the passions of our politics affect our group. We leave politics at the door for good reason. We all have feelings, sometimes very strong ones, on what is going on in our country. We all love our country, and demonstrated that by our service in uniform or our support to the museum, and in many other ways. Just because someone is a “fill in the blank” doesn’t mean that he or she loves America any more or any less. Our country was founded on the very freedoms that allow these differences of opinion. No other country in the history of the world ever enjoyed the freedoms we hold so dear. But we strive for unity, and choose to not let the divisions so dominant in the public sphere affect our unity as members of the Military Sea Services Museum—where history comes alive. Thank You COL Mike Borders, USA (Ret) for this excellent reminder. 3 My Most Memorable Experience Jack Moore, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Museum Member On the morning of Dec 7, 1941, the USS Sacramento was tied up to a dock in Pearl Harbor. I was two decks below reading the Sunday newspaper. Occasionally, I would peer through the porthole to watch harbor activity and to admire the battleships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. They were lined up in two rows abreast and, this morning, were preparing for church services. Even though I was little more than a recruit, I was so very proud to be a part of the U.S. Navy, the greatest Navy in the world according to the military experts of the time and to 19-year-old Jack H. Moore, Seaman 2/c. As I returned to my bunk to finish reading the Sunday paper, I heard the unmistakable sound of General Quarters. Automatically, I reached for my helmet and ran up two flights of steps to the main deck. Believing this to be just another routine drill, I felt no apprehension, only irritation for being disturbed on this peaceful Sunday morning. However, when I reached the main deck and looked astern, I saw torpedo planes with large red insignias on their wings and fuselages. They were flying just above water and were in the process of releasing their torpedoes. As I watched the torpedoes speed toward Battleship Row and explode against the hulls of those great ships, it was unbelievable but true, we were being attacked by the Japs and this was not a drill, this was war! I immediately ran to my battle station, a .50 cal. machine gun located on the flying bridge. My assignment was to pump water into the water cooled machine gun, but since I was the first man to arrive at my battle station, I pulled off the gun cover with one hand and with the other tried to flip open the lid of the ammunition storage box. To my amazement the storage boxes were locked! Looking down, I saw a hammer near the storage boxes which someone had forgotten to put away. With the hammer I smashed the locks open and with all my strength lifted the fully loaded ammunition container onto the gun mount and began firing at the attacking aircraft. They were flying on a flight path that passed over our port bow and near a huge hammerhead crane located on the dock near the ship.