Association News
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| 2/19/2005
I have exciting news to report to
you. The President has included funds that we can tap to restore
the Sherman in his budget for this year. It will take one piece of
enabling legislation to pass the Congress this session to make our
dream possible. This past Thursday Congressman Wayne Gilchrest, of
Maryland's First District, introduced H.R. 990 in the House of
Representatives that will accomplish our funding for the ship. The
Bill was referred to the House Armed Services Committee where it
will be assigned to the Readiness Sub-Committee chaired by
Congressman Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland's Sixth District.
HOW CAN YOU HELP? CONTACT YOUR
CONGRESSMAN IMMEDIATELY, BY FAX, EMAIL, PHONE CALL, OR REGULAR
MAIL. TELL THEM THAT YOU ARE A VETERAN, YOU VOTE, AND YOU WANT
HIM/HER TO SUPPORT H.R. 990! You do not need to contact
your U.S. Senator at this point. This bill will originate in the
House and at some later point will come to the Senate. The next
issue of our newsletter will have the full bill published in it. I
would include it here, but it hasn't come off the government's
presses yet.
Our shipmate Louis Seymour informs me
that half of the rooms he held at the Ramada Inn for the Snipe's
Reunion on April 29th through May 1st in Nashville are gone. If you
are planning on going call the Ramada Inn Airport Suites directly at
615-883-5201, tell them you are with the Forrest Sherman Foundation,
and you will get an unbelievable rate of only $59 per night
single/double. You won't even need to rent a car as the hotel will
provide shuttle service from the airport. There are a ton of things
to do in Nashville, and you really don't need to be a Snipe to go.
I plan on being there, and having a great time seeing shipmates.
You can email Louis at
doginwoods@comcast.net, or phone him at 251-478-6608 for further
information.
DON'T FORGET TO CONTACT YOUR
CONGRESSMAN AND ASK HIM TO SUPPORT H.R. 990!!!!
Best regards,
Kurt
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| 1/29/2005
I wanted to update you on the
progress we are making with obtaining Federal Funding for the
Sherman project. We have been assured by Navy officials at the
highest level that there will be a funding source in the President's
Budget that can be tapped for the restoration of the Sherman. This
budget will be sent to Congress sometime in February. Once it is
received we will need a piece of enabling legislation to authorize
the Secretary of the Navy to spend the money. We have a senior
member of Congress standing by to introduce this legislation as soon
as the budget is received by Congress. I will advise you of the HR
number once it is introduced, and request that you contact your
congressmen to support our efforts.
Speaking of the Secretary of the
Navy. Gordon England, our long time friend and supporter, is
rumored to be leaving the Navy to take over as the Secretary of the
Air Force. At this point it is just a rumor, but high Navy
officials that we have spoken with seem to confirm it. Gordon will
be missed, but we know the Air Force needs his help. He will still
be in the Pentagon, and hopefully still be in a position to assist
us.
Our shipmate Louis Seymour is putting
together a Snipes Reunion in Nashville from Friday, April 29th until
Sunday, May 1st, of this year. He has arranged for a block of rooms
under the Forrest Sherman Foundation's name at the Ramada Inn Suites
north of the airport for only $54 per night. You must call the
hotel directly at 1-615-883-5201, ask for reservations, and tell
them you are with the Forrest Sherman Foundation to get that rate.
The hotel has shuttle service from the airport so you won't need to
rent a car. Opryland is close by, as well as other entertainment.
If you want more information Louis' email address is:
doginwoods@comcast.net.
It should be a lot of fun and I'm going to try to make it depending
upon our situation with Congress.
Speaking of reunions! The Dunes
Manor Hotel in Ocean City has informed me that over half of the
rooms are gone for our reunion in September 2006. The dates are
Sunday, September 17th until Thursday, September 21st, 2006. The
hotel rate is $89 per night, single/double, and all the rooms are
ocean front. Call the hotel directly at 800-523-2888, ask for
reservations, tell them you are with the Forrest Sherman group to
get this rate. If you are even thinking about attending I urge you
to make a reservation soon. Once the rooms are gone, they are
gone. Remember, you may always cancel up to 72 hours prior to your
scheduled arrival at no cost.
Kurt |
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| 12/13/2004
Recently several of you forwarded
emails to me that purportedly came from the Forrest Sherman Ship's
Store advertising golf shirts, hats, and other merchandise that had
the Sherman Logo on them. This merchandise is a knock off, and did
not come from the Foundation. We receive nothing from the sale of
this merchandise, and we cannot guarantee the quality of what they
are selling. The only merchandise that we endorse is what is
contained in the Ship's Store on our home page at
www.ussforrestsherman.org.
We have advised the company that sent out this email that they are
infringing on a copyrighted name, and to cease using it. We
thoroughly investigate, and guarantee, all of the merchandise that
we sell either through the Foundation office or from our approved
vendors. We urge you not to purchase anything except through our
Ship's Store.
It appears that this company got the
email addresses from our Crew list on our home page. Mailing lists
are a big business. We have always declined to sell our mailing
list, or to even loan it to other organizations. While we don't put
a home mailing address for you on the home page, we have listed
email addresses so that you can contact your shipmates. We are now
considering removing these email addresses, and just to list the
name, rank/rate, and dates served on the ship. If someone wishes to
contact a shipmate they can send the email to the Foundation office,
and we will forward it to you. In that way you will be free to
contact that person, or not to contact them, as you wish. Before we
do that we would like your input into this procedure.
The latest issue of the Sherman News
was mailed out last week. There are a number of you for whom we
have no home mailing address. This newsletter is not available on
line, but by regular mail only. We have a limited number of extra
copies left in the office. If you have not received this newsletter
please send me your home mailing address, and I will send you a copy
while they last. That will also insure that you get future copies
of the Sherman News.
Kurt |
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| 11/20/2004
On March 29, 2004 we submitted our 500 page application for donation of the ex-Forrest Sherman DD-931 to the Secretary of the Navy in care of the Inactive Ship Program at NAVSEA. They spent many weeks reviewing the application to see if we met, or exceeded, the minimum requirements for donation. Having determined that we did so they then accepted our application.
As required by law they then posted
the following notice in the Federal Register on June 17, 2004: "The
Department of the Navy hereby gives notice of the deadline of
November 18, 2004 for submission of a donation application for the
Destroyer ex-FORREST SHERMAN (DD 931) under the authority of 10
U.S.C. section 7306...." Any other qualified organizations had that
time to submit a competing application for donation of the ship or
the Navy would then work with the Foundation exclusively to restore,
relocate, and donate the ship based upon the information provided in
our application. This time period expired at the close of business
this past Thursday.
I spoke with Capt. Lawrence Jones,
Program Manager Inactive Ships at NAVSEA, yesterday.
This is another big step that we have
completed in our efforts to bring the ship to her new home. We have
much more to do, but we are getting very close.
Kurt |
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| 10/5/2004
The christening of the new FORREST
SHERMAN DDG-98 was a wonderful experience. 150 members and guests
from the Foundation met in Pascagoula for the event. They were
joined by over 50 members of the Sherman family, many who are
Foundation members, for the ceremonies.
Friday evening got the party started
with 90 Foundation members gathering for dinner at the Tiki Club.
It was a great party that was enjoyed by all.
Saturday morning saw an invited
breakfast for Foundation members and their guests at Northrop
Grumman. We were bussed to the ceremony site, and there we found
the newest ship of the fleet. And, a beauty she is. The ceremony
was delayed because Senator Cochran, the prinicipal speaker, had his
flight from DC delayed due to the early morning fog. But, while the
Navy Band played on, we had a great opportunity to meet some of the
new crew members of DDG-98. The actual ceremony followed Navy
tradition, and it was a pleasure to be there. The Foundation
members were recognized during the ceremony and asked to stand. I
know that I speak for all who attended in expressing our pride. We
were informed that the commissioning of the ship will not take place
until December of 2005. The ship will be based on the East Coast
either in Mayport or Norfolk.
Kurt |
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| 8/2/2004
While the Appropriations Bill passed
Congress without a specific mention of the Sherman project,
sufficient discretionary funds were allotted to the Secretary of the
Navy to restore the Sherman. Our contacts in the Secretary's office
have indicated that he will do so if Congress will authorize him to
act. We are half way there!
The Department of Defense
Authorization Bill for 2005 will go into Conference in September.
We can include our language if we put enough pressure on Congress.
I have listed below the members of
the Senate and House committees (Click
here for copy). I have also attached the sample language we are
requesting (Click
here for a copy). If one of these Congressmen and Senators
listed below is yours, it would be of big help for you to contact
them requesting inclusion of the attached language. I have been
told that faxing them works best. Emails are often returned by form
letter, and the person never sees them. A fax is handled, and seen.
We don't want this to look like a
form letter, so it would be appropriate for you to add something
personal prior to the attached letter, as well as after. This is
probably the most important thing you can do right now to help
restore the Sherman. Although the Conference isn't until September,
I have been advised by congressional staffers that now is time to
act. And, the more the better.
If your Senator or Congressman isn't
on the list below, please look them up and fax them anyway. Ask
them to request inclusion of the language by the Committee Chairmen
and Ranking Members.
This request is extremely urgent.
Your help is needed, and believe me that in an election year they
will respond. Tell them that you vote, and that your vote goes to
those who help.
If you have any questions please give
me a shout.
Best,
Kurt
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| 7/13/2004
I received a call this morning from
Bill Van Horne, of Congressman Ben Cardin's staff, that the House
Appropriations Committee staff has been receiving calls from various
congressmen requesting inclusion of the $3 mil for the Sherman
project to be included in this year's Appropriations Bill in
Conference which may happen next week. He told me to have all of
you to keep it up. We've gotten their attention.
Below is the list of the full
committee. If any of these folks are your congressman, please take
a moment to contact them to ask that the Committee include the
Maryland Delegation's request to fund $3 mil to establish the ship
as a memorial to the Veterans of the Cold War era. Congressman
Cardin initiated the request, but it has been signed on by every
major elected official in Maryland.
Please don't write a letter. Delays
in the mail because of security reasons won't let it get there in
time. Either FAX a letter or email a letter. There is nothing more
important you can do to help save this ship right now than to
contact your congressman. Please help out and take a few minutes to
do so right now.
Best,
Kurt
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| 7/9/2004
The wheels of Congress are moving very slowly as far as our request for the $3 mil. We are now waiting for two conferences between the House and Senate. The first is for the Appropriations Bill and the second is for the Authorization Bill. We have high hopes that our requests will be contained in these bills. However, right now Congress only convenes Tuesday through Thursday. They will shortly recess for the week of the Democratic Convention, return for a few days and recess again for the week of the Republican Convention. After that it is hoped that they will return and schedule the conferences, but there is no guarantee. If they continue to get bogged down in their political bickering we may be left out this year. But, I grew up as a Brooklyn Dodger fan and we always had the saying "Wait'll Next Year"! We will not give up until we are successful.
In the meantime the Navy is really
cooperating with us. If you remember the type of port holes that
used to be on our ship the glass section would open to let in fresh
air. The newer ships don't have that. They are solid glass with
the black out covers. Over the years a number of those glass port
holes disappeared from the ship. They are impossible to replace.
The last Sherman ship to be active, Decatur, was used as an
experimental ship and just deactivated a few months ago. It is
being sunk on July 14th. I emailed Capt. Larry Jones at NAVSEA to
see is there was any possibility of retrieving some of those glass
sections. He gave an order to have them all removed, crated, and
shipped to the Philly yard for storage on the Sherman at the Navy's
expense. That will save us a lot of money, and make the ship look
more like she did originally.
Shipmate Ira Bernstein sent me a
roster of the crew from October of 1959. I've attached it to this
email. Some of those folks we already have on our list, but most
are missing. If you have some time please look through it and see
if you can find any of them.
The christening ceremony for the USS
FORREST SHERMAN DDG-98 is still scheduled for October 2nd. If you
haven't made a hotel reservation as yet you should do so
immediately. At last count there were just 5 rooms left at our
special rate of $55 per night single/double. It's the Hampton Inn
in Moss Point. 228-475-2477. Ask for reservations and tell them
you are with the Forrest Sherman Foundation to get the special
rate. Shipmate Bob Bralliar informs me that the Keesler AFB has a
BOQ for those of you who qualify, and that its within driving
distance of Pascagoula. Remember, if you are going to attend I MUST
have the names of all who will attend. The invitations have not yet
been mailed but they will be addressed to Mr. & Mrs., and have a
place to indicate how many will be coming in your party,
George Lussier informs me that the
home page for his American Legion Post 28 has some new information
about Veterans health care, and a lot of other information. You may
visit it at www.alpost28.org.
I was sent a book to read entitled
THE RIGHT THING. It was written by Cmdr. Scott Waddle, USN (Ret).
Cmdr. Waddle was CO of the sub USS GREENEVILLE which had the
unfortunate accident with a Japanese training fishing ship off
Hawaii several years ago. Its a fascinating book, and a must read.
Incidentally, Scott Waddle graduated from Forrest Sherman High
School in Naples, Italy.
Lastly, I want to thank all of you
who joined the Foundation as a result of our appeal in the last
newsletter. If you didn't have time, or forgot to do it, a
membership blank is attached.
Best,
Kurt
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| 6/16/2004
You probably have not received the
new newsletter as yet, but the info about the christening of DDG-98,
USS FORREST SHERMAN, is not quite correct.
In the next several weeks Northrop
Grumman will be sending out over 7,000 invitations to the
ceremonies. If you are on our mailing list you will be receiving an
invitation with a RSVP card. If you plan to attend you MUST return
the card to Northrop Grumman. You can always cancel later if your
plans change. This is a major Navy event, and many important
dignitaries will be in attendance.
The ceremonies will be October 2nd in
Pascagoula. However, the deal for the hotel in Biloxi fell
through. I have arranged for a small block of rooms at The Hampton
Inn in Moss Point, which is just outside Pascagoula. This is the
same hotel that we stayed at for the keel laying ceremony. The rate
will be $55 per night, single or double, plus tax. Northrop Grumman
and the Navy have held most of the hotel at $69 per night, so our
rate is much cheaper. This is a fine hotel. All rooms now have
wireless high speed internet connection, in-room coffee makers, iron
and ironing boards, clock radio, and cable TV with HBO. There is an
out door pool, and free continental breakfast. There is a full
service restaurant and bar next to the hotel.
Individuals must call the hotel
direct and guarantee their arrival by credit card. The number is
228-475-2477. They must identify that they are calling to guarantee
arrival for the FORREST SHERMAN FOUNDATION room block. The cut off
date for this rate is September 10th. However, we were only able to
obtain 20 rooms, so if you even think you might attend you should
call now. If your plans change you may always cancel up to 72 hours
prior to your scheduled arrival at no charge. This block of rooms
is being held for the nights of September 30th, October 1st and 2nd.
Northrop Grumman will be providing
bus transportation to the ceremonies from the hotel and back. I
will need a list of all people who are planning to attend so that I
can provide it to them. You do not need to stay at this hotel to
ride the bus, but I will need all the names of those planning to
attend.
This is going to be a big event, with
a lot of attention. If you want to attend please make your
reservations now. If you are going to fly in you should make
arrangements to use Gulfport/Biloxi. The air fare is much cheaper
there. Its only about a 30 minute drive from the hotel.
I don't have the schedule of events
as yet, but will forward them to you as I get them. I have been
informed that the dress code is "civilian informal", whatever that
is. Because I will be flying in I will not have Last of the Great
Gunships t-shirts with me. Order them direct from the Foundation at
$15 each plus $2 shipping.
Best,
Kurt
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| 6/15/2004
Senators Barbara Mikulski and Paul
Sarbanes, of Maryland, have requested the Subcommittee on Defense to
include in this years Defense Department Appropriations Bill $3 mil
to restore the USS FORREST SHERMAN DD-931 as a memorial to the
veterans of the cold war era.
If one of the below listed Senators
is yours, would you please take a moment to contact them and request
their support for this effort. Please do not write a letter unless
you are going to fax it because security issues greatly delay the
mail. Fax it, email it, or please call their office.
This is really important. We are on
our way in the House, and now we need the Senate.
Kurt |
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| 6/8/2004
The U.S. House of Representatives
Appropriations Committee is about to mark up the Defense Department
Appropriations Bill for 2005. It is in this bill that Congressman
Ben Cardin, supported by the entire Maryland Delegation, has
requested $3 mil to establish the Sherman as a memorial museum to
the Navy/Marine Corps veterans of the Cold War era. We need your
help.
I have the full list of the
Committee members. Please take a few minutes to email your
congressman if he is on the committee asking for his/her support
for inclusion of the Sherman project in this bill. This is
extremely important to the success of the Sherman project.
If you receive a reply please let
me know.
Best regards,
Kurt
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| 5/28/2004
Almost four years ago I was informed
by staff at NAVSEA that they were going to sink the SHERMAN, and
that there was nothing we could do to stop it.
Today I have been notified by NAVSEA
that they have accepted our application for donation of the SHERMAN
as having met, or exceeded, the minimum requirements for donation of
the ship. They will post it in the Federal Register, and the six
month waiting period will begin.
There will be much more to do, but on
this very special weekend let us pause to reflect on the sacrifices
of our comrades in arms both in the past and present, and to
celebrate our victory in saving the USS FORREST SHERMAN DD-931.
Best,
Kurt
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| 5/17/2004
I had a long conversation with the
folks at Northrop Grumman today concerning the christening ceremony
for DDG-98, the new USS FORREST SHERMAN. It now appears that the
event will be held on Saturday, October 2, 2004 at the Pascagoula
Shipyard. This is not definite yet, so don't rush to make airline
reservations. They will let me know in a few days when this becomes
firm. The commissioning ceremonies will probably be in May of 2005,
and we should get invitations to that also.
However, it is going to work
differently than the keel laying ceremony. Northrop Grumman, and
the Navy, will send out a personal invitation to each member of the
Foundation. We will provide them with a mailing list in a few
weeks. If you have not been receiving our newsletter, then we don't
have your address and you will not get an invitation. So, if you
haven't already done so, please send your home mailing address to
George Lussier at
dd931rm@verizon.net now. If you do not have an invitation you
will not be able to get into the yard.
The Yard is also going to be making
hotel arrangements with a resort hotel in Biloxi at a group
discount. They will provide transportation from the hotel to the
ceremonies and back. Also, the hotel will provide transportation
from the airport and back for those staying at the hotel. They told
me that the room rate will be approximately $20 more than where we
stayed the last time, but you won't need a rental car. All those
hotel/casinos are right on the beach in Biloxi, and within walking
distance of most everything. I will give you the information as
soon as I get it.
Since I will be flying to Gulfport I
will be unable to bring t-shirts for purchase. So, you may order
them on line through the Ship's Store. Speaking of Sherman Items,
Rick Blackwood, a member of the Foundation, has a company that has
developed an entire line of Sherman products as a fund raising
venture for the Foundation. They are inexpensive, and the
Foundation gets a portion of all items sold. I've attached the
info, but if you can't download it you may go to
www.cafeshops.com/databank/271541 to see the items and order
them on line.
I hope to see many of you in
Biloxi/Pascagoula in October.
Best,
Kurt
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| 5/7/2004
Well, Reunion 2004 is now over, and
what a reunion it was! We had our largest crowd yet, 208 total and
128 shipmates. If you have photos that you would like to post on
our home page please email them to Bob Wood. A great time was had
by all, and the membership voted to go back to Ocean City in 2006.
Mark down these dates, September 18th-21st, 2006. It's too early to
make reservations, but this is one you will not want to miss. This
will be the Return To The Sherman Reunion, and most likely will
feature a bus trip to the ship. More details will follow in a few
months, but start planning your vacations and saving your pennies!
It now appears that the christening
for DDG-98, the new USS FORREST SHERMAN, will be held in October of
this year in Pascagoula, MS. As soon as I get a firm date from the
Navy and Northrop Grumman I will make hotel arrangements and let you
all know. Hopefully I will have sufficient time to put it in the
newsletter, but if not I will let you know by email.
Yesterday Captain Crenshaw, Ann
Sherman Fitzpatrick, and I had an excellent meeting with the
Secretary of the Navy, Gordon England, at his office in the
Pentagon. Also attending the meeting was Rear Admiral Joseph Sestak,
who was representing the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Vern
Clark. We thanked both for the naming of DDG-98 after Admiral
Sherman and made a brief presentation. The photos and a full
description will be in the next newsletter.
The Secretary is enthusiastically on board with all aspects of the
project, and offered his help to cut through some of the red tape
involved. He ordered his Special Assistant, Capt. Kevin Wensing, to
assist us with any request we may have. Believe me, I have already
started that ball rolling. We've come a
long way since a bureaucrat at NAVSEA told me in the Fall of 2000
that they were going to sink the ship no matter what we did.
Wrong!!
In the meantime, it is the membership
$$ that keep this effort growing. We now have over 200 paid up
members, but this email goes out to over 500 folks. If you haven't
joined the Foundation as yet there is a membership application
attached. Help support us, and if you have a few extra bucks please
make a contribution. Remember, its tax deductible.
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| 3/22/2004
Greetings Shipmates,
On 26 July 2000 we contacted Tom Peltin, of Tin Can Sailors, and
Chan Zucker, of Historic Naval Ships Association, asking for
guidance in an effort to save the USS FORREST SHERMAN DD-931. I was
referred to Tom Demas, Program Manager of the Navy Ship Donation
Program.
On 31 July 2000 I emailed Mr. Demas to express our interest in
attempting to save this historic ship as a museum/display vessel and
to have her placed into a donation hold. Part of the response I
received from him is as follows"...The Navy does not plan to retain
the destroyer for donation hold. The ship is currently scheduled
for a fiscal year 2001 disposal by experimental use (sinking
exercise), the Navy does not plan to retain the destroyer for
donation hold." In a follow up phone call to Mr. Demas I was
informed that nothing we could do, or say, would affect this
decision and that the ship would be sunk in January 2001. We were
just a few short months away from the sinking of the SHERMAN. In a
later email from Capt. Gary Hall, Program Manager Inactive Ships, he
confirmed this decision as follows "Forrest Sherman's status was
reconfirmed 'for experimental use-SINKEX'." Attempts to contact
both of these individuals by phone were to no avail. They wouldn't
return phone calls.
A long battle with the Navy then ensued. Guess what, they were
wrong. The SHERMAN was eventually placed into a donation hold by
the Navy with more than a little prodding by members of Congress.
Today is a historic day in our fight. We have submitted to the
Navy our application for donation of the SHERMAN to the Foundation
for relocation. This over 400
page document, which has cost the Foundation in excess of $85,000
for the various feasibility and engineering studies required by the
Navy, was shipped by Priority Mail this morning. In fact, 12 copies
at a weight of over 60 lbs, were sent to NAVSEA.
This effort was made possible by you, the members of the
Foundation, with your membership dues and generous contributions.
We are not done yet. Some of you have not joined the Foundation.
We need your help. I've attached a copy of the membership
application to this email. Please take a few minutes of your time
to join with the rest of us who are supporting this effort. We
still have to raise $227,000 to insure that the local facilities are
ready for the ship upon donation.
Best regards,
Kurt
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| 3/7/2004
Greetings Shipmates,
The Reunion 2004 is only 7 weeks away! 54 of you who have made
hotel reservations have not as yet returned the activities forms to
the Foundation office. I need these for several reasons. I have to
give the hotel and Hooper's counts for the meals in 2 weeks. I also
have to pay them in 3 weeks. The activities form is attached to the
Reunion 2004 document with this email. Please fill it out and get
it back to me as soon as you can.
The hotel still has a couple of rooms left at the reduced price.
If you haven't made a reservation yet, time is running out. When
all the rooms are gone there is nothing more that I can do. Call
them today!
I have attached a great photo of an ashtray from the CPO Mess
that Shipmate Peter Buiak has donated to the Foundation for a return
to the ship. It will be on display at the reunion. So will a lot
of other memorabilia from the ship be available to look at. If you
have items, or photos, that came from the ship please bring them to
the reunion. We will have tables set up for the display. If you
wish to donate them to the Foundation, great, but if you just want
them to be displayed, that's great also.
The various engineering studies needed for our application of
donation for the ship have been completed. We are simply waiting
for the paper work to include in the application. By the end of the
month our application will be in to the Secretary of the Navy. It
has been a long 3 years to get to this point. However, it took 11
years for the USS Midway group to get their application in and the
ship donated! So, I guess we aren't doing too bad.
We had a great response to the request for $55,000 to pay for the
surveys. However, we are still about $10,000 short. If you were
planning on making a donation now is a good time to do so. Someone
sent in a cash donation without a name being attached. It was
postmarked in Frederick, MD on March 1st. On the back is an
American Legion sticker. We like to respond to every donation, no
matter the size, so if you could let me know who sent it I would
appreciate it very much.
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| 2/25/2004
Greetings Shipmates,
I hope that you all received your latest newsletter. If you
didn't, its because we don't have your home mailing address. Send
me your address, and I'll send you a newsletter.
In the newsletter I pointed out that the complete survey of the
Sherman by a team of engineers was underway. It has now been
completed, and the ship was found to be in excellent shape. There
are some areas that need to be addressed, but nothing that we didn't
expect This survey alone cost $25,000, and we need to replenish
these funds into our bank accounts. If you can help, it would be
appreciated.
The Reunion 2004 is coming up in less than 2 months, and things
are moving right along. Remember, this is an informal affair - no
suits, no ties, no formal dresses! This is a time for relaxation
and fun with all of your shipmates.
When we set up the reunion we held 140 rooms at the reduced
price. They are gone. I spoke with the sales manager at the hotel
and asked her if she could add any more rooms. The problem is that
they only have a few rooms left for anybody. She will extend the
reduced rate until the middle of March, which is only 2 weeks away,
for anyone from the group who calls, but can't guarantee that there
will be any rooms left. So, if you haven't made your reservation
yet, do so now! All the information is included in the attachment.
Also, don't forget to send in your activities form to the
Foundation office with your payment. The form is at the end of the
attachment. I've had to send in $5,000.00 to the hotel, and
$4,000.00 to Hooper's as deposits. So, prompt payment is
appreciated.
Space in the newsletter didn't permit me to give you a little
background on CDR Jeffrey S. Nilsson, USNR (Ret), the Executive
Director of the Historic Naval Ships Association, and the speaker at
our grand banquet. Jeff started his Naval career as an enlisted man
in 1957 at Great Lakes. He then went to Personnelman "A" School at
Bainbridge before serving on USS MERCURY (AKS-20) and USS GEIGER
(TAP-197). He served at various Reserve Commands until 1974 when he
was commissioned as LTJG in the 1635/Intelligence. While ashore
Jeff entered the banking field, as well as obtaining a Bachelor of
Science Degree in Business Management from Rutgers University. He
has also done graduate study at the University of Miami.
Jeff "retired" in 2002, and has now taken over from Chan Zucker
as the Executive Director of HNSA. This organization, of which the
Foundation is a member, has played an important part in the efforts
to save the Sherman. Without their help, and guidance, it never
would have happened. We are extremely happy that he has agreed to
speak at the banquet.
The Application for Donation of the Sherman has now reached
almost 250 pages, with much more to come. It should be ready to go
to the printers by the middle of March, and will be delivered to the
Secretary of the Navy by the end of March. In the meantime Congress
is moving on our funding request. Hopefully by the end of the year
everything will come together.
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| 12/12/2003
We have now reached a critical point in our efforts to save the SHERMAN. As you know, we were successful in having Congress include language in H.R.1588 requiring the Secretary of the Navy not to dispose of the ship except to a non-profit organization like the Foundation. Part of this legislation requires us to submit our application for donation of the ship. Once this is done, we have received assurances from members of Congress that they will provide the $3 mil we have requested to restore the ship and relocate her. This could happen next year if we move quickly enough. The application for donation requires many engineering studies required by the Navy. The cost of these studies are $55,000.00. I receive emails from many of you quite frequently asking what you can do to help. Here is what you can do right now to assure we get the $3 mil from Congress. This email goes to over 550 folks on our email list. If each of you would raise $100 from your friends we would have the necessary funds. That means find 10 friends to give $10 each, or 20 friends to give $5 each, and the money will be there. This has to be a team effort, and we need your help now. Renewal memberships in the Foundation were sent out recently. To date, 138 of you have renewed your membership for 2004. Many of you included a generous donation in addition to your membership dues. We greatly appreciate your support, and I believe that I have written a personal letter to each of you who have made a contribution. However, many of you have not renewed as yet. If you received a membership card, and renewal form, for 2004 please take a minute to renew now. If you did not receive a membership card it is because you are not a member of the Foundation. Your membership is important to the success of this effort. For those of you who haven't joined as yet, I have attached a membership application to this email. Please take a moment to download this form and join with us to restore the SHERMAN. Remember, we take Visa and MasterCard as well as checks. If we do not submit our application for donation of the ship by early Spring of next year we will have failed in our efforts to save the SHERMAN. We need your help, and we need it now. Raising money is not a pleasant job, and writing letters like this is also not pleasant, but we need to join together as shipmates to save this historic ship. Take a few moments of your time this Holiday season to raise that $100, or more! Please help us. We can't afford to fail! Best regards, Kurt |
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| 11/07/2003
Greeting Shipmates,
In the U.S. House of
Representatives, early this afternoon of November 7, 2003, the following
Act was passed. It is expected to pass in the Senate shortly, and we
have been assured that the President will sign it into law. H.R. 1588 DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION CONFERENCE REPORT
House Report 108-354 LIMITATION ON DISPOSAL OF OBSOLETE NAVAL VESSEL
“The Secretary of the Navy may not dispose of
the decommissioned destroyer ex-Forrest Sherman (DD-931).. to an entity
that is not a nonprofit organization unless the Secretary first
determines that there is no nonprofit organization that meets the
criteria for donation of that vessel under Section 7306(a.)(3) of Title
10, United States Code.” We have been successful in saving the USS FORREST
SHERMAN DD-931! However, much more still remains to be done. The leaders of Congress have assured us that they
will make every effort to fund our request to restore this proud ship,
and relocate her, once we submit our application for
donation. In order to do that we must raise $50,000.00 immediately to
pay for the engineering studies that are required by the Navy to
complete the application process. There will be a detailed plan in the next edition
of our newsletter, but for tonight let’s celebrate! Best regards, Kurt Wagemann |
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| 7/28/2003
This is to advise you that Congress adjourned for their summer recess without completing action on our request for $3 mil in funding for the Sherman project. They will continue work on the bill when they return after September 3rd.
Although I have not received formal notice from the Chief of Naval Operations, I have been advised that the Donation Hold status for the USS FORREST SHERMAN DD 931 has been extended for another year.
The Foundation office will be closed next week to allow us to travel to Mississippi for the keel laying ceremony of the USS FORREST SHERMAN DDG 98. The below list of names, and the years they were on board, are those that I have confirmed for the trip. If any one else is going to be attending please let me know as soon as possible so that I can make transportation arrangements from the hotel to the yard and return.
Kurt Wagemann, 1957-1959 Mike Harrington, 1967-1968 Michael Robertson, 1967-1968 Joseph Murphy, 1976-1979 Louis Seymour, 1977-1981 Don Short, 1972 Gary B |