25 December 2009
NEWSLETTER
Merry Christmas
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2010 USS Wisconsin BB-64 Reunion
September 7-12, 2010 Olympia Resort, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
_City
of Oconomowoc Home Page
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THIS IS THE NEWS WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR
Press release
from The City of Norfolk:
City of Norfolk Assumes Ownership of
Battleship Wisconsin
BB64 to be included in Nauticus admission
Norfolk, Va—Transfer of the Navy’s last and largest battleship—the USS
Wisconsin—is now complete, paving the
way for the public to see interior areas of the ship within the next three
years. Navy officials signed papers on
Monday, December 14, transferring ownership of the ship to the City of
Norfolk. Nauticus
will now handle the day-to-day operations of the ship and will continue in
partnership with the Navy, through the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, for some
uses, such as naval ceremonies. As a result of the transfer, care for this
major icon of naval sea power lies in the hands of the entire Hampton Roads
community.
“Nauticus is excited about taking over stewardship of the
Battleship Wisconsin,”said
Nauticus Executive Director Hank Lynch. “It’s been a
long time coming, and we are anxious to give the public more access to this
American treasure and icon of the City of Norfolk.”
The
Battleship Wisconsin, long homeported in Norfolk, serves as a focal point for visitors
to Downtown Norfolk. The long-range goal of the City and Nauticus
is to preserve, maintain, and improve this beautiful ship for countless future
generations. To that end, the City has set aside $6.2 million in capital
improvement funds for immediate environmental and ship’s systems upgrades. But,
to fund routine maintenance and preservation, the battleship will become part
of the existing Nauticus paid experience. Starting
Saturday, December 19, battleship access will be included in Nauticus’ current admission of $10.95 for adults, and $8.50
for children ages 4-12. Children age 3
and under are admitted free.
Admissions
and special events rental revenues will also help Nauticus
improve the interpretation of the ship’s interior. Some spaces of the ship are expected to be
open for guided, hard hat tours, by next spring. Over time, more and more of
the ship will be prepared for visitors to experience.
Naval ceremonies,
including re-enlistments and retirements—will continue to be offered on the
ship free of charge..
However, a suggested donation of $64 may be requested – any such
donations will go directly to the Wisconsin
Preservation Fund for ship’s maintenance costs.
Over the
coming weeks, visitors to the battleship will experience new interpretive
signage and additional programs to assist with understanding the significant
role that the Battleship Wisconsin
has played throughout history, including her service in World War II, the
Korean War, and Operation Desert Storm. As before, the docent force of veterans
and Battleship lovers will be on board to tell the story of this great ship.
Long term plans call for diverse educational programming and access to the combat
information center, berthing areas, wardroom and
barber shop. Oral histories will also blend with innovative technology to tell
the personal stories of veterans who served on the ship.
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Additional
reading: December 16, 2009 The
Virginian-Pilot
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/12/norfolk-officially-takes-over-wisconsin-nauticus
REUNION
INFORMATION WILL BE MAILED OUT BEGINNING THE FIRST WEEK OF
JANUARY 2010
you will not receive your reunion information until you renew your
membership.
A large number
have already mailed in their dues and their new membership cards will be mailed
out with the reunion information so that we can save on postage.
Those members whose membership does not expire at the end of the year will have
their reunion information mailed the first week of January.
I'm sure all of
you read Bill's article in the Badger and have questions concerning the Great
Lakes graduation. At this time, there are only 100 seats available
and our association has those seats reserved. The seats for the actual
ceremony will be assigned to the first 100 former crew members who sign up for
the tour.
If we are able
to secure additional seats former crew members still will have first
priority for those seats. No seats will be confirmed until you check in
at the reunion.
The bottom line is for anyone to have a chance to attend the ceremony you must
purchase the tour tickets. All deadlines apply so please pay attention to
your reunion information paperwork when it arrives.
____________________________________________________________
Please keep your email address up to date
with LaDonna
even if you don’t want it posted online.
Please contact LaDonna
Bradshaw, bb64members@aol.com. Or (601)
693-4614
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FROM MY PERSONAL LOG
|
On This Day, December
25th. My personal log ended when I was transferred
off the ship on June 20, 1956 to be discharged. |
|
EMAIL ADDITION |
||
|
Juan Blaylock
(Non Member) |
SN 4th Division |
1987-1988 |
|
Joel L. Pryson (Non Member) |
GMG2 G-1 Division |
1988-1991 |
|
EMAIL
ADDRESS CHANGE |
||
|
MM2 M Division |
1955-1958 |
|
|
SH2 SS Division |
1950-1952 |
|
|
|
IN MEMORIAM |
|
|
DECEASED |
|
DATE OF DEATH |
|
Steven Hodul (Non Member) |
SN FM
Division 1954-1955 |
9/21/2009 |
|
DECEASED WIFE |
|
|
|
Jean
Moore |
Frank Moore
GM3 7th Div. 1951-1952 |
12/08/2008 |
S I C K B A Y
Frank Moore, GM3 7th Division 1951-1952, was for a time a volunteer Docent on our
ship until he started to have eye problems.
Because of this he had to give up what he liked to do best. His daughter
Vicky, has informed us that Frank has had a lot of
health problems and is in a rehab type place. But like a true Wisconsin sailor,
he loves to talk to the people there about our ship. Frank can use some cheering up like a note or
card from his shipmates and or former crew members.
These can be sent
to: Frank Moore 10113 Sycamore Landing
Rd. Williamsburg, VA. 23188. Vicky
visits him everyday so will see that he gets his mail.
Cheer up Frank, mama
Wisconsin is pulling for you, you have to make sure everyone there knows
everything about out ship.
DOCENTS LUNCHEON
Will be held at Vista Point Norfolk Naval
Station @ 12:00 pm Monday 25 January 2010.
Association members that live in the area
are welcome to attend. Please contact Tom Bradshaw at BB64BT1Retired@aol.com so that Tom can add your name to the list.
TEE SHIRT AND PIN DESIGN
Deadline for the
design of the reunion pin and tee shirt is February 1st.
The contest is open to all association members. The prize is a free room
for 1 night at the reunion.
Please mail or
email your design to:
Tom Bradshaw
PO Box 227
Marion, MS
39342
(601)693-4614
Good luck and get your design in as soon as
possible.
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PLEASE REMEMBER TO INCLUDE IN YOUR PRAYERS,
OUR SICK AND DEPARTED SHIPMATES AND THEIR FAMILIES.
FAIR WINDS AND FOLLOWING SEAS