USS HULL ASSOCIATION (DD
350, DD945)NOT TO LEAVE THE SHIP – SPRING 2009 NEWSLETTER
SDIEGO GREAT IN ’08 – WHERE WILL 2010 BE?
GREAT TIME AT HANDLERY
By all accounts, the 2008 Reunion of the USS HULL Association was a smashing success. 85 shipmates, their spouses and families from DD-350 and DD-945 spent three memorable, mid-week days at the Handlery Resort in Mission Valley in October of last year.
President Gallegos & Reunion Chairman Modell Hoist First HULL Reunion Banner
For some shipmates this was the first visit back to the home port since they left DD-945. The "new" San Diego is still very much a Navy town. There was sightseeing, but mostly time was spent seeing friends, exchanging sea stories and reminiscing.
1960’s
HULL 1960's Shipmates Well Represented.
The Business Meeting included discussion of the project to name a 6th ship with the storied name of "HULL" led by DD-945 plank owner and retired RADM Bruce Newell. Association donations were made at the banquet to USS Orleck and Typhoon Cobra Memorials
from auction proceeds. Then, DD-350 and Typhoon Cobra survivors Pat Douhan and Archie DeRychere gave riveting accounts of the terrible storm. Later, shipmates and their spouses and guests danced the evening away to the music of a Marine Corps disc jockey!
Pat Douhan and Archie DeRychere
SO, WHERE & WHEN IN ‘10?
How about Vegas, San Antonio, Long Beach or Branson, Missouri? Those are four of the sites Reunion chairman Bob Modell is eyeing for next year’s Gala. They all have pluses. So do others.
Las Vegas Strip at Night
| HELP
WANTED Shipmate Lamar Ramer donated some 5035mm colored slides from USS HULL DD945 activities during the '63-'64 time frame.We need some one (or two) to scan the slides into a computer for distribution and use on our web. |
WHERE IN ’10 (CONT’D)
Las Vegas has the glitz and gambling that has made the show biz mecca a popular place and it was the location of HULL’s first two Reunions.
But there are other attractive cities and areas that have become big reunion sites, including the Long Beach area.
BRANSON, MISSOURI
There’s Branson, Missouri – called the most patriotic city in America by the American Legion because of all the military reunions it hosts each year. Nestled in the Ozarks with plenty of country and Vegas-style entertainment and shopping Branson is booming and is opening a new airport next month, giving it easy access for reunion and convention travelers.
SAN ANTONIO
And "remember the Alamo!" - the phrase Texans relate to right alongside the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag? Who could forget the sight of the Texas shrine or the famed and romantic San Antonio Riverwalk that has delighted tourists, conventioneers and military reunion attendees over the decades.
FROM THE REUNION CHAIRMAN…..
It’s been half a year since our 2008 reunion in San Diego and as you can tell, we’ve been looking into various cities nationwide which meet our criteria for an outstanding reunion. These include:
Lodging cost, accommodations, and hotel quality
City sights and attractions
Menu quality and cost
Availability of transportation, both long distance and locally
Top quality hospitality suite allowing guest provided refreshments
You’ve seen where the broad brush selection process has taken us. In the next few months, we’ll be narrowing the candidates to a final selection.
But, the key to any successful reunion is the enthusiastic support of the Association’s membership. And the larger the association, the stronger it will be. Look at the membership numbers in this newsletter – and where each of you lives. Recruiting is an all hands evolution. And mark your calendars today for October, 2010. We’ll let you know as soon as the exact dates and location are firm. Until then…..Fair Winds & Following Seas
Bob Modell
Reunion Chairman
MEMORIAL DAY MUSINGS
From the hallowed bridge of the DD-350, a little bit of news and some thoughts about Memorial Day 2009.
On December 7, 2008 the Pearl Harbor reunion was fittingly held in Fredericksburg, TX – the home of the Admiral Nimitz museum. DD-350 has been well represented over the years, but our numbers have been slowly decreasing. Three attended in December – Bob Coyne, J.L. Dillingham and Archie DeRycker whom you all met at the Association’s 2008 reunion in San Diego.
Kay and I are blessed with pretty good health and are trying to keep in contact with our remaining shipmates. Shipmates, this museum should be a "must" visit for every Navy man. I’ve gotten a number of calls concerning the latest Navy book out "Down to the Sea" by Bruce Henderson which I think is the most accurate account to date of the loss of life and vessels in Typhoon Cobra. Shipmates want to know if Herman Wouk’s earlier "The Cain Mutiny" was actually about DD-350. My answer: it wasn’t but easily could have been!
We’re planning to observe Memorial Day at one of the pier side observances – then throwing a wreath into the ocean. Yes, it’s emotional for me, but I do it. I hope each of you plans to do something special. Fortunately, the memory lets us remember our 22 years of reunions, the good times with shipmates, the many stories – good and not so good. You proud shipmates of DD-945 can keep that torch burning and keep those reunions going.
Again from the DD-350, I want to thank each of you for including us in your group. My Irish Blessing for the day is "May you live to be a Hundred years, with One Extra to repent!"
Pat Douhan
For your DD-350 Shipmates
NO MORE SSNs IN ID CARDS
SSNs will no longer be printed on ID cards and should not be relied on as a unique ID number. These changes are being made by theDepartment of Defense to protect the identity information of cardholders. Changes to ID cards will occur when the cardholders’ expired cards
are renewed. The removal of SSNs will occur in three phases, all of which will occur upon ID card renewal.
*Phase 1: Remove Dependent SSNs beginning by end of calendar year 2008
*Phase 2: Remove printed SSNs from all cards beginning by end of calendar year 2009
*Phase 3: Remove SSNs embedded in barcodes to begin during calendar year 2012
How to Request Military Service Records or Prove Military Service
Military personnel records can be used for proving military service, or as a valuable tool in genealogical research. Most veterans and their next-of-kin can obtain
free copies of their DD Form 214 (Report of Separation) and other military and medical records. Go to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001|
JOIN THE HULL SHIPMATE ALBUM HULL Association Historian and Webmaster Lou Colella is at it again. He’s putting together an album of Association shipmates from DD-945 then (when we were on active duty) and now (well, a current photo today if you want) and a biography or whatever you want to add from your days about HULL to the present time. It will be much the same format Lou is using on the official USS HULL website where we see photos and thumbnail sketches of Association officers. We want as many of you as possible to get into the act, too. http://www.usshullassociation.org/Association%20Officers/AssocOfficers.htm If the photo includes you and other shipmates, please make sure you supply Lou with that information as well. And don’t forget to include your rank/rate and the dates you were aboard the ship. This is a great way to share memories of HULL – and bring in new shipmates to the Association as well. That’s what your Association is all about! Some of us never had a HULL Cruise Book. |
HULL NAMING PROJECT UPDATE
Recently our DD945 Decommissioning CO Captain Stephen Howell, USN (ret) offered to deliver our HULL NAMING package to the office of West Virginia Senator Rockefeller. This continues our efforts, started last year, with a letter writing campaign that resulted in letters of support from a number of Senators. Our effort is to have a new destroyer named HULL to continue the long line dating back to the Civil War. Captain Howell also sent several items from the last HULL.
Wardroom plaque
Admiral Bruce Newell (’58-’60) and Captain Jim Burritt (’62-’65) have been working the SECNAV angle. Our main impediment is slow new construction and the new administrations review of NAVY building programs in general.
Subic Bay belt buckle, Engraved Zippo
Souvenirs such as these are being collected by our Historian – Lou Colella (‘60-’63)
MEMBERSHIP REPORT
TOTAL MEMBERSHIP 426
DD2350 41
DD945 385
DUES PAYERS 60
GEOGRAPHICAL DSISTRIBUTION:
CA 74
TX 20
FL 16
AZ 14
VA 12
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RI 1
