DD 27 DD 407 DLG/ CG 31
July 14, 2008
DDG 104 Commissioning Update
At June's Planning Meeting, it is was announced that the Keynote speaker for the Commissioning will be Secretary of the Navy Dr.Donald Winter. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley will also be in attendence.
At the final
Planning Meeting on July 9th, $137,000 in donations had been collected towards
the goal of $150,000 to help cover the cost of the event. There was confidence
that the goal could be met in the final weeks.
Commissioning
Treasurer Bob Wetzer confirmed receipt of our combined check from the Sterett
Association members' donations and expressed his appreciation for our
contibution. As you can see in Dennis Dean's Secretary-Treasurer's Report
below, 32 Association members donated a total of $7807 in our "For the Good of
the Ship" Commissioning fund drive.
Good Conduct Award Sets the Standard from Old To New
Sterett Association
Officer-at-Large Steve Hayes relates the following story which led to
the memorable transfer of an artifact of meritorious sea service aboard the
first USS Sterett DD 27 over to newest ship named Sterett. Accepting a 1916
Good Conduct Award for DDG 104 was Ships Weapons Officer Lt. Raphael Castillejo
at the June Planning Meeting.
About 18 months
ago, my brother in law found what he thought was an old coin among family stuff.
He had no idea what it was. It had a date of May 16, 1916, US Navy and USS
Sterett on it, along with his grandfather's name. His family knew very little
about the grandfather.
My sister
recognized the name Sterett from my service on both DLG 31 and CG 31 and told me
about it. From her description, I had no clue.
I finally got to
see it last November, when my sister became ill and I went to North Carolina. I
took it with me to research. When I described it , Dennis Dean identified it as
a Good Conduct Award. Back then, GCAs were given on discharge. So Charlie
Gregory was discharged from the US Navy on May 16, 1916 on the USS Sterett. Had
this surfaced this year, it is unlikely I would have been told about it since my
sister made the Sterett connection and she passed away in November.
We still haven't
been able to get any info on the grandfather, although I have requested records.
All we have is a name and a discharge date.
The original
had a ribbon and pin on it which had been lost.
Look at
http://www.history.navy.mil/medals/gcm.htm
Fig 2 for a decription of the original.
We thank shipmate Steve Hayes and his brother in law for the gift of the medal and the story behind it. Expect to see both there at the Commissioning.
The Drawings
- Lots of Luck!
The results are in
for two of the three Commissioning drawings! After conducting the random
drawings last Friday, we are pleased to announce the winners:
Free room upgrade at the Hilton BWI Hotel: William Sterett
Two free nights
at the 2009 San Diego Reunion Hotel (Capt) George Sullivan
Congratulations to
both of you. Lucky!
The third drawing is for seats in the "Governor's Box" during the Orioles game at Camden Yards. Sunday afternoon on August 10th. For this drawing, we will need to know what members will be around for the game on Sunday. If you will be attending the Commissioning and plan to be in town on Sunday, please e-mail Evan evanmickel@comcast.net by Friday July 18th so that you can be included in the in the drawing for the first pair of Governors Box seats.
For all those attending the game, mention the number of tickets you need in your e-mail to Evan. If more than 12, he can purchase through Group Sales and mail them to members (expecting reimbursement later or upon receipt of the tickets).This way we can all sit together. Rumor has it that Camden Yards ballpark will pipe out some kind of salute to the Navy's newest ship.
The timeframe for
Sunday's game is covered in the POD on our website: http://sterett.net/DDG104_Commissioning/pod_commiss.htm
More detail on the
game was provided in the "This Just In" section of the 3/31/2008 Commissioning
Announcement; http://sterett.net/Newsletters/Newsletter_20080331.htm
A
reminder that Capt. Jack Hilton's funeral will be held at the Ft. Myer Old
Chapel at 0900 hrs on Wednesday August 13, 2009 with interment immediately
following in Arlington National Cemetery. Following the service, there will be
a reception at the Ft. Myer Officers Club .
For those shipmates and families who will be in town the night before the
service, John and Susie King are hosting a dinner on Tuesday evening at their
home in McLean, Virgina for the Hilton family and the Sterett Shipmates.
If you will be able to attend the dinner and/or the reception at the Ft. Myer Officers Club, please email John King at gnik@aol.com for headcount planning purposes and directions to both locations.
* * *
Just received this note from Jeff Hilton, Jack's son, expressing thanks to Sterett shipmates.
Click the link: http://sterett.net/public/Note_From_Jeff_Hilton.htm
KAL 007
September 1st will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the shoot down of the civilian airliner Korean Airlines Flight 007 by Soviet interceptors. This resulted in tragic loss of 269 passengers and flight crew. Sterett CG-31 was deployed to play a key role in the subsequent search and salvage operation and our ship's presence became an important factor in this tense Cold War confrontation.
We plan coverage of this topic in an upcoming newsletter and on our website. Shipmates who participated in the 1983 operation are invited to pass along any recollections, photos, etc. to enhance our coverage. Simply use this newsletter's reply button or e-mail webmaster@sterett.net.
Reunion 2009 - Onto "America's Finest City"!
Our next Reunion is now scheduled for the weekend of September 25-27, 2009 in San Diego, CA. Expect to hear more from the Reunion Planning committee in the Fall as plans take shape for a big time in the town that ships named Sterett often call homeport.
Members of your 2009 Reunion Committee are listed in the bottom frame if the Association Officers page on the website. http://sterett.net/public/Assocofficers_07.htm
President Sterett Association
Secretary-Treasurer Dennis Dean's Report
July 8, 2008 PayPal Account Balance
Currency
Available Balance
U.S.
Dollar:
$3,167.59
July 8, 2008 Naval Federal Credit Union
Description Balance
Association
Checking
$3,169.48
Share
Savings $6,067.71
Total
(including Commissioning Donations) $12,404.78
July 8, 2008 USS Sterett (DDG 104) Commissioning Donations
Members donating Total donated
32 $7,807.00
|
|
148 Members in Good Standing for 2008 and Beyond (as of July 10, 2008) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Total 148 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Blue shading indicates shipmate who served aboard WWII Sterett DD-407 |