USS BELKNAP Association
USS BELKNAP AssociationIn Honor of all shipmates, all years, all crews.2014 Newsletter -- Issue #2Letter from the Presidentby Mike AbbottShipmates,Time is flying! We are really only about four months from our50th Reunion Celebration in Portland, ME. While it may seemlike a lot of time, it really isn’t. For several reasons, we needthose of you that KNOW you are going to attend, to take the timeand register ASAP.First of all, the tours are filling up fast.There are already over 45 seats takenfor the BIW & Freeport Tour, and over25 seats taken for each of the other twotours. With the potential that extra busesmay not be available, only limited seatsmight remain. (See tour details within).In addition, for the first time, a reunion brochure is being created thatwill include either an attendees list orthumbnail photos. Our nametags willinclude photos of the shipmates from“back then” and they take time to creMike Abbottate. Special meal tickets with appropriate choices are being made for each attendee.None of these things take a lot of effort, but taken overall, thesooner we have your registration, the sooner we can make sureyou are “counted” for all of these items.For those of you who have not yet decided, I encourage youall to consider joining us in Portland. We see the potential forit to be the best reunion yet, and the more of you that we canshare it with, the better it will be for us all.We have planned a number of surprises for all of you thatattend.Finally, it has been a busy and hectic six months, with lots ofthings being done behind the scenes. I want to thank the entireBoard as well as others for all of their support and work: BobGilhooly and Rich Botteron for creating the new website; Skipand Jean McCarroll for their work on the financials and gettingour tax status in order; Jim Farrow for conceiving of the Rickettspresentation and taking on the MDand WV roster for updating; DickLemon for working the FL roster andbeing always there with wise counsel; Lou Apuzzo for keeping a firmgrip on the Ship’s Store and procuring new items for sale and for thewelcome bags you will all receive;Bill Staley for designing the pin thatis included in this newsletter for yourvote, and other 50th items; Dick Tremain for this and the previous newsletter; Mike Reeves for creating theaforementioned reunion brochure,and especially Christine Maloneywho conceived of this reunion andhas worked tirelessly to make thingsrun smoothly. Chris, heads up, thework is not over Hope to see you all in Maine inOctober.1
To Purchase or Not ?We have never had a pin orsimilar insignia that we couldcall our own. In an effort to determine if we should considerthe purchase of a limited number of pins that can be used oncaps, lapels, or jackets (amongother things), we are asking youto vote on your preference forthe pin shown below.The graphic shown is aboutactual size. It has been designed with dual posts so that itwill stay aligned however youattach it. Cost per pin will be 4at the reunion and 4.75 otherwise to pay for shipping.Please express your interestby going to http://ussbelknap.org/belknap-pin asap andindicating if you are interestedor not. If you are interested,please indicate how many youthink you would purchase. Thisinformation is important because the numbers we collectwill determine if we will buythe pin. There is a 4-week leadtime for delivery, so we needto make the purchase by midSeptember at the latest.Next Reunion?Portland, MaineOctober 22-26,2014Shipmates Out and About1964 Plankowner Jim Trotter (L) andDick Tremain (1972-75) talk about theupcoming reunion at a Special Olympics of Central Iowa “Airplane Pull.”Both shipmates were volunteering atMark and Judy Angle stand nextto a 16-inch projectle on the maindeck of USS IOWA (BB-61) in thePort of Los Angeles. The Anglesa Des Moines, Iowa, Special Olympicsevent to raise money. Trotter timed“tug-of-war teams” as they struggledto move a Boeing 757 across a finishline. Tremain took pictures.were able to tour the ship on arecent vacation. Mark said, “It feltgood to get my feet on steel, even ifthe deck was covered in mahogany.”2
USS Belknap Memorial Bike is Complete!by Mark AngleI am happy to inform you thatthe USS Belknap Memorial Motorcycle is complete. Judy and Iflew out west from Virginia to filmthe reveal. Danny Koker and thefine people of Count’s Kustomsand Leftfield Pictures presentedthe bike to us in a place I thoughttalk about. However, this port call won’t believe. And thanks to Taniis going to be on that super prosha, our contact at Leftfield Picgram “Counting Cars” with “Thetures. Also, to my wife Judy, thanksCount” on the History Channelfor your support and letting mefor all to see. As of now we do not do this, I love you.know the date the program will beWe are looking forward to seeshown. As soon as I find out I willing all of you in Portland in Octocontact the Association and I willber. There you will be able to seepost it on the Belknap Facebookthe bike up close and personal.site. We have heard as early asI am sure you will be amazed atlate summer or in the fall.what Count’s Kustoms has doneThere are too many people toto honor our shipmates. I thinkthank that have helped with thisyou will be as proud as Judy and Iproject and I know I would missare of the USS Belknap Memorialsomeone, so thanks everyone.Motorcycle. I know all of you willAs Belknap shipmates we dogive a great big BRAVO ZULU toowe a special thanks to DannyCount’s Kustoms.‘The Count”Koker andMark Angle talks with shipmates in Tampa Samantha,about his work with Count’s Kustom Cars our projectand his attempts to get a BELKNAP memo- director, whowere alwaysrial bike built.there for me.would be impossible. I’m also go- The biggesting to have to leave it up to yourthanks goimagination as to where and whoout to Shanwas there with us. There was onenon who builtvery special person there. Yousuch a wonDanny Koker, star of the HistoryMark Angle worked with Kokerknow who you are and I thank you derful bikeChannel’s show Counting Cars,and his Counting Cars team buildfrom the bottom of my heart.and to Ryansitsatopacustombuiltmotora BELKNAP-themed bike built toI personally think the bikethat laid downcycle.inStugis,S.D.Kokerbuildshonor shipmates lost in the 1975honors those who lost their livesthe gold andcustom cars and motorcycles forcollision at sea. It will be disin the collision in a very propersilver leafalivingandisaregularonanumplayed in Portland.and tasteful manner. The bike also over a paintberoftelevisionshows.Shipmatepays tribute to the USS Belknapjob that youin other ways. I’m sorry, butit does tend to lean a littleto the time I was on board in1972 and 1973.There is an old saying,“What happens in Vegas,Stays in Vegas!” and I’mafraid that is very true withJuly 15 at 9:00 p.m. Easternthis project. We have evenand 8:00 p.m. Central on thesigned papers to make surethat saying stands true. Wehave to think of it as one ofthose great port calls, thereare some things you just don’tUSS BELKNAP Memorial BikeAirdate Announced!History Channel3
MY NAVY STORYby Mike AbbottEditor’s note: Shipmates havegreat stories to tell and have ledvery interesting careers. We’veseen this time and time againwith the book STARBUSTERbeing the best example. Tell usyour Navy story. In the meantime, Association President MikeAbbott tells us his:After lettering in baseball, soccer, and basketball my senior yearin high school, and already having an induction date for the Navy,friends and I mostly chilled duringthe summer of ’64.We arrived, on the morning of3 Sept. ’64, my youngest brother’s3rd birthday, at the InductionCenter in Phila., only to be toldthat we were too early and to goget some breakfast. Returningfrom White Castle an hour or solater, we were again told that wewere too early and to grab somebuckets and swabs and clean theheads! Should have gotten the hintthen We finally took the oath at14:03 – there was a clock right infront of us.After boot camp in Great Lakes,we were to return there from bootleave to start FT”A” School. Wehad barely gotten started when webroke again for Christmas leavewhich put me deep in the hole onleave, taking another nine monthsto get even.FT”A” School was in two phases, with only 6-year obligors goingto the second phase. Previously,the entire school was conductedat the same location, but we werethe first class where the secondphase went to either Bainbridgeor Mare Island, depending onwhere our “C” School was to be.Since I was going to Dam Neck, VAfor my “C” School, I went to Bainbridge. This was also the home ofthe Naval Academy PrepSchool, Waves Boot Camp,and Nuclear Power School.We marched everywhere;to school, to chow, and back to thebarracks.After school in Dam Neck, I gotorders to Belknap, but had to bunkon USS Sierra (AD-18) while awaiting her return from Gitmo. I assisted in an effort to re-gun USS Bache(DD-470) that had just come backfrom thegun line inVietnam. Noluck. Theyhad fired somuch thatthe barrelhad “welded” itself inthe breechblock andMike Abbottcouldn’t beremoved. Don’t know what the endresult was.After reporting aboard Belknap,I was immediately assigned to“permanent” shore patrol onGranby St. in Norfolk! Permanent meant 18 days, but it wasenough! The bright side of reporting aboard was that I was already FTM3 because of extensiveschooling, and the CO’s policy wasthat technicians didn’t go messcooking Served for six years and 22days on my first tour, includingcruises to Northern Europe, several to the Med and twice to Vietnam, making FTM1 before leavingfor shore duty in Dam Neck as aninstructor. I made FTMC duringthat tour. Taught several differentclasses while there, including Terrier System and Combat Systemclasses. Some of these includedItalian Naval officers who also hadthe Terrier Guided Missile Systemon a couple of ships. It was during that time in Dam Neck that thedisaster at sea occurred betweenBelknap and Kennedy.When it was time for me toreturn to sea duty, no decision hadyet been made about the futureof Belknap, so I received ordersto USS Biddle (CG-34). When Ihad served aboard Biddle for twoyears, I was eligible to “crossdeck” to another ship to completemy sea tour. Luckily, Belknap wasin the very early stages of reconstruction, so I requested, andreceived orders to PhiladelphiaNaval Shipyard as part of her future crew. For eight months, I was50% of the crew, the other half being MMCS John Agnew. John wasresponsible for all engineeringspaces and other spaces belowthe main deck not covered by me.I had all weapons spaces and thesuperstructure, which was stillnon-existent at the time. While inPhila., I made FTCS.It was a great time seeingBelknap come back to life! And,a proud day when she was recommissioned. After completingrefresher training in Gitmo andother evolutions, my sea tour wasrunning down, but I wanted tomake one last cruise, the upcoming Med cruise in ’81-’82. In orderto do this, I had to contact the Bureau for permission so that I couldextend to complete the cruise. Mydetailer told me that it would workperfectly because they were eyeing me for a Detailer position andthe timing was good. That did notsound like a good thing to me, butI wanted to sail with Belknap so Iwent through with the extension.The day we returned from thecruise, I again called my detailer.My question: “In the event that Iwas selected for Master Chief,would I still be coming to DC”?His response, “Well there’s goodnews and there’s bad news. Thegood news is that you made Master Chief. The bad news is you’restill coming to DC”.4
I have to say that the Detailer tourwas very rewarding. Starting out asonly the FTM Detailer, within a fewmonths, I had taken over the officefor all FT/GM/GMT personnel inthe surface navy. During my tour,we were able to up the 6-year reenlistment bonus for FTs to 36,000,increase first term reenlistmentsfrom 22% to over 60%, and providea training pipeline for senior pettyofficers who would have previouslynever had a chance for retraining. Inaddition, I served as detailer at theonly time up to then where womenwere allowed into the field. Thatperiod was rough because womenwere not then allowed to serve onwarships, so that the only place wecould put them after training was in ashore billet, taking it way from guyswho were coming off a six-year seatour. That experiment was discontinued for some time after that, and Iam not sure when it was restarted.When my tour was up, I would haveto make the decision about goingback to sea as a Master Chief orretiring. The choice was easy. OnBelknap, I left as the Senior Enlisted.If I returned to sea, I might go to acarrier and be 50th on the list, orbe a Senior Enlisted on some othercommand. I even had two shore commands offer to create a billet behinda desk that would be labeled assea-duty. I declined, as that was not areal choice since I had been sendingguys back to sea after three yearsashore and it was rightly my time togo too.So, on 30 June, 1985, I transferredto the Fleet Reserve only five daysafter my 39th birthday and the daybefore the whole surface rating waschanged to FC. In total, I served 10years in Belknap, more than anyoneelse in history. While aboard, I waspromoted to FTM2, FTM1, FTCS, andFTCM.Ricketts Crew Honoredby Jim Farrow, Past PresidentFormer Presidents SkipMcCarroll and Jim Farrowwill, on July 26th, have thehonor of representing the USSBELKNAP Association in presenting a proclamation to theUSS Claude V. Ricketts Association reunion at the CrownPlaza National Airport Hotel inArlington/Crystal City, VA. TheProclamation will be presentedto the former CommandingOfficer of the USS Claude V.Ricketts, Robert C. Powers,representing the USS ClaudeV. Ricketts Association. TheProclamation was signed bythe current USS BELKNAP Association Board of Directors andall past Presidents of the USSBELKNAP Association. If youare interested in joining Skipand Jim,contactJim at JFarrow01@comcast.net. Oncethe proclamationhas beenpresented,a copy willbe posted Jim Farrowon ourwww.ussbelknap.org website,for you to see.Shipmates Attending the Portland ReunionAs of July 10, 2014Mike AbbottMark AngleLouis ApuzzoMike BatesRandall BergstromPeter BondRich BotteronGary BowersPeter BrennanT.J. Bronsberg-AdasRay ChmielewskiWillard DonnellJim FarrowKit FergusonRaleigh FitzgeraldRobert FitzgeraldJim GenschBob GilhoolyJoe HulseyBob JosephDick LemonMalcolm MacAskillSkip McCarrollThad McGeheeEd MeisenbachGarrett MillerRon MorelandRich NoldeBob PittDana RobinsonDick ShaferAl SniffTed StomaLeo StrupczewskiDick TremainScott TurnerJesse WhillockGerald ZimbricName not on the list?Your wife says sign up for the reunionnow. She needs a vacationwith fun people, too!5
Koozie Contest!next newsletter. Dick snapped hisKoozie full of “soda pop” in Paris,France. Ohlala!2006 Reunion Revisited2006 Reunion RevisitedWhere in the world is your USSBELKNAP Koozie? Send DickTremain (dick@tremain.org) yourtraveling Koozie pictures for the6
For reservations, call the hotel directly at:207-774-6151Our Reunion Hotel: Merry Manor Inn-- Amenities for Belknap’s 50th Anniversary Reunion Free transportation by cab to and from Portland International Jetport. The hotel reimburses you onthe way in and prepays the taxis for trips back to the airport. Maine Table Restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner, and will be open for lunch on days wedon’t have a tour scheduled. Complimentary buffet breakfast available daily to all. Free parking. Free RV parking, but no hookups. Indoor-outdoor pool and 18’ Jacuzzi available. Free coffee, tea, and decaf in the lobby 24-hours a day. Complimentary group reception on Friday evening with beer, wine, cheese/cracker trays. Non-smoking facility, but designated smoking areas are available outside of the hotel. Pet friendly – requires 20.00 one-time fee for a maximum of 2 pets. Free wifi in all rooms. All rooms have microwaves and refrigerators. Maps and visitor guides provided in all welcome packets. When you figure out when you are planning to leave for the airport, sign up at the front desk andthey will have a cab waiting.Editor’s note: Want to know more about the area around Portland? See:http://www.youmustbetrippin.com/home/new england by motorcycle day 3.htmlwww.ussbelknap.ORGby Bob Gilhooly, AssociationSecretaryThe new web site ussbelknap.org has been up and runningnow for about six months. The oldweb site has been shut down. Wehave had new shipmates join theassociation through the web siteand many old shipmates haverequested access.In the photo galleries picturesfrom many of the reunions havebeen added in addition to shipboard pics.If you have pics to shareforward them to webtech@uss-belknap.org or send us an emailif they are not electronic and wecan make arrangements to scanthem and return them.We anticpate adding a sectionto the site for the Ladies Auxiliary. If any of the ladies out therehave ideas for that section youcan send them to Lori Apuzzo theAuxiliary President.If you have questions or coments about the web site or ideasfor additions you can forwardthem to webtech@ussbelknap.org and we will run them by theassociation officers.ReunionDietary Needsor Requests?If anyone has any specialdietary needs, please contactDonald Haggett, Director ofSales, at his direct phone line– 207-774-6157, or they canemail Donald at dhaggett@merrymanorinn.com.7
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The Boston Globe called the BIW Tour a “must-see”, DownEast magazine named it a “Best of Maine” attraction andYankee magazine named it a “Best of New England.”9
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Postmaster: Address correction requested.Bob Gilhooly6 Schillhammer Rd.Jericho, VT05465Stampgoeshere!Planning on attending the reunion?Here’s a check list:1. Reserve your Merry Manor Inn hotel room. Call the hotel directly at: 207-774-6151.2. Fill out the registration form on the other side of this sheet and mail it to Skip McCarrollalong with answers to the questions below.3. Email a headshot of yourself during the time you served inBELKNAP to: AbbottMDP@aol.com by September 30, 2014. The photo willbe used to make customized name tags.4. Make travel arrangements5. Prepare to have a great time!In three sentences or fewer, answer these questions:a. What is your favorite BELKNAP memory?b. What is your favorite port-of-call and why?c. If I could do it all over again I would do this differently:
USS BELKNAP Association In Honor of all shipmates, all years, all crews. 2014 Newsletter -- Issue #2 1 Shipmate
members of the USS Belknap Association were in attendance to make a presentation of a Proclamation thanking the crew of the USS Claude V. Ricketts the night of November 22, 1975 for their heroic efforts saving the USS Belknap CG-26 and her cr
USS Tidewater AD-31 USS Dixie AD 14 USS Grand Canyon AD/AR 28 USS Shenandoah AD 26 T he USS Tidewater (AD-31), USS Dixie (AD-14), USS Grand Canyon (AD/AR-28), and the USS Shenandoah (AD-26) send us their Newsletters filled with information about their crew and some interesting stories of the adventures on board those ships. .
1975, USS JOHN F. KENNEDY collided with USS BELKNAP (CG-26 ) tragically killing 47 Sailors. USS THOMAS C. HART was on station with JFK and BELKNAP that night and rendered assistance to the stricken crew. Tommy Sexton remembers, “When I was on my first Med cruise we were involved in a rescue after the colli-sion of the Kennedy and Belknap there
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Belknap’s first experience with an Atlas Copco rig was his Uncle Bill Belknap's TH60. The first Atlas Copco rig he owned himself was a new T2W. Since that first acquisition Belknap has added a used At-las Copco T3W and two new TH60 water well rigs, one of which is a deep-hole (DH) version with pullback capability of 70,000 pounds (311 kN).
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