Shipmate Gene Baker ran across this picture in a Time magazine article from the late 60s. So far no one who has seen the picture can recognize the man, so we thought we'd post it here and see if it rings a bell with anyone. If you know who it is email me at webmaster @ ussjosephstrauss.org (minus the spaces). Here's the excerpt from the magazine article that mentions our ship:
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"In its campaign to interrupt North Viet Nam's flow of arms and men to the Communist troops in the South, the U.S. possesses a large arsenal of tactics and weaponry as yet unused against Hanoi. Last week the U.S. introduced three new forms of military pressure against the enemy's supply lines.
This was the response to the Communist use of the Tet holiday truce last month to funnel some 25,000 tons of war materiel southward. Each of the three new moves was carefully tailored for a specific and precise military mission.
NAVAL BOMBARDMENT
Until last week the U.S. Seventh Fleet, patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin, was authorized to fire only on shore batteries that fired first on them or on radar stations tracking U.S. ships for targeting purposes. Other coastal targets—roads, trucks, trains, SAM missile sites—have been taken care of by the fleet's fighter-bombers, whose activity is drastically curtailed during the monsoon month of March. Last week Navy guns attacked those North Vietnamese targets as well.
The guided-missile destroyer U.S.S. Joseph Strauss opened up with 5-in. guns that lob 54-lb. shells [Actually 70-pound high-explosive projectiles] from ten to 14 miles. Two minutes later, the guided-missile cruiser U.S.S. Canberra began firing its eight-inchers, whose 260-lb. shells carry 17 miles.
The decision to use naval shelling will likely turn March from the safest to the crudest month for the Communists. The fire-directional-control computers on U.S. warships make Navy guns the most accurate conventional weapons available."
Admiral Keener passed away on November 17, 2002 after a long retirement in Ponte Vedra, FLorida.
May He Rest in Peace
This space is reserved for shipmates and their spouses. Please email information to Ray Berilla at webmaster @ussjosephstrauss.org.
BINNACLELIST/PRAYER LIST
We all know of the power of prayer, each in our own way, during serious illnesses, loss of loved ones, and hard times.
So we ask each of the STRAUSS shipmates to include in a special prayer for the complete recovery either physically or emotionally of our shipmates and/or family members from their present suffering.
Prayers needed for:
Bill Bizon
Aboard 1964-68
Chief -Fox Division
---Please submit binnacle/prayer requests to Ray Berilla, or Doc Kotrola. The names will remain on the list for one month unless cancelled or extended by request
Send your email messages of
support to our troops:
During past military U.S. operations, service members overseas have received messages of support from back home via letters addressed to "Any service member." Due to the increased security this program has been suspended and replaced with an email system.
These letters are important morale boosters to those who are stationed far from home and often risking their lives on a daily basis.
E-mailed messages can be sent 24 hours a day. Selected e-mails will be published in the military overseas newspaper, the "Stars and Stripes." Please take time to send some "e-support" to our service personnel and let them know how much their sacrifices are appreciated!
Barry Coombs
1st Lt/Comm
Click on the link below to send your message.
Welcome aboard the USS Joseph Strauss Website
"And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: 'I served in the United States Navy.'"
-John F. Kennedy 1 Aug 1963
Please click on the link below to add your information to our roster of found shipmates.
Let others know you're on board by signing our message board.
To All Hands:
CongressmancomestotherescueofBlueWaterSailors!
“We owe it to our veterans to fulfill the promises made to them as a result of their service. “If, as a result of service, a veteran was exposed to Agent Orange and it has resulted in failing health, this country has a moral obligation to care for each veteran the way we promised we would. And as a country at war, we must prove that we will be there for all of our veterans, no matter when they serve. The courts have turned their backs on our veterans, but I believe this Congress will not allow our veterans to be cheated of their earned benefits.” - Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Representative. Bob Filner (D-Calif.)
A news release from Filner's office stated:
"Currently, VA requires Vietnam veterans to prove “foot on land” in order to qualify for the presumptions of service-connection for herbicide-exposure related illnesses afforded under current law. This issue has been the subject of much litigation and on May 8, 2008, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals upheld VA’s overly narrow interpretation. Congress clearly did not intend to exclude these veterans from compensation based on arbitrary geographic line drawing by VA.
The Agent Orange Equity Act of 2008 is intended to clarify the law so that every service member awarded the Vietnam Service medal, or who otherwise deployed to land, sea or air, in the Republic of Vietnam is fully covered by the comprehensive Agent Orange laws Congress passed in 1991. If enacted, this bill will make it easier for VA to process Vietnam War veterans’ claims for service-connected conditions that scientists have conclusively linked to toxic exposures during the Vietnam War and that are identified in current law. With this legislation, Congress will leave no doubt that the “Blue Water Navy” and all combat veterans of Vietnam are intended to be covered and compensated; thus ensuring that these veterans will receive the disability benefits they earned and deserve for exposure to Agent Orange."
Details:
Agent Orange Reform Bill Introduced (HR 6562) Bill # H.R.6562 Original Sponsor: Bob Filner (D-CA 51st) Cosponsor Total: 5 (last sponsor added 07/22/2008) 4 Democrats 1 Republicans
We were there too.
About This Legislation:
Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Rep. Bob Filner (Calif.) introduced the "Agent Orange Equity Act" ( H.R. 6562), that will reverse the VA's decision that prevents the "Blue Water Navy” military retirees and veterans from claiming presumptive status for the diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure.
The legislation is in response to a US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decision in the Haas v. Peake “blue water” case, that reversed a Veterans Court of Appeals decision which had previously ruled in favor of Jonathan Haas, a blue water veteran. The US Court of Appeals ruled that the VA’s definition of “service in the Republic of Vietnam” (which includes those who set foot in, served on inland waterways or put into port in Vietnam) should remain the standard for proving exposure. This definition, used by VA for more than a decade, excludes Navy veterans who served off the coast of Vietnam.
Please contact your U.S. Representative to ask for their support for this important legislation. You can contact your representative now by entering your zip code in the box below and clicking "GO". You will be taken to a page with a prepared letter addressed to your representative. Feel free to personalize the letter by changing or adding personal details.
Detailed, up-to-date bill status information on H.R.6562.
The site selected for our 2009 reunion is Niagara Falls, NY!
Join us and our east coast hosts Mike and Mary Rickards and Tony and Bonnie Luppino on Oct. 1,2,3 and 4th. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at 300 Third St, in Niagara Falls, NY.
We are requesting proposed reunion sites with a shipmate host living within 150 miles of the proposed hotel as per Association By-Laws Article 8, Section 6.
There is a possibility that a site will be selected at the reunion business meeting.
Those of you out there who would like to propose your site locations, please send an email to any one of our officers and make your pitch for your location.
We also have a sister site with Yahoo that includes an email discussion group and some additional files related to our ship. Membership is free and messages are posted on the site if you choose not to participate by email.
New Online Services
The USS Joseph Strauss Association is proud to introduce several new online services. You now have the option of registering for membership, updating the information in your registry listing, paying your annual dues or making a donation online. We have contracted with PayPal to provide us with state-of-the-art security for these transactions. You must set up an account with PayPal to use these new financial tools but there is no cost to you for these services. When you choose to pay your annual dues by Paypal
you will receive an annualemailreminder when it's time to renew. Renewing is simply a matter of visiting your secure online Paypal account and authorizing the transaction. Paypal also allows you to use your credit card with it's service if you like. For more information visit www.Paypal.com or click on our link below.
There are links below to fill out a new member application to update your registry information or to pay your dues online. We hope you enjoy the convenience of these new services. Feel free to contact the webmaster if you have any questions or problems.
Thanks again for your support!
A 501(c) (3) Non Profit Organization
WE MAY AGAIN WALK THE DECKS OF A DDG IN JACKSONVILLE
30 minutes ago.........at 6:02 PM 2/26/08 The Jacksonville City Council voted 15 For and 0 Against and PASSED the resolution to accept the ACVA Project to bring the USS Charles F. Adams DDG-2 to Jacksonville, Florida.
Much work still needs to be done. The ACVA is working very hard to complete the ship application to submit it to NAVSEA by March 31, 2008.
WE NEED TO RAISE MORE FUNDS QUICKLY. PLEASE SEND WHAT YOU CAN ASAP.
Make checks out to "ACVA" Send them to Dave Myerly 5 Bush Road Denville, New Jersey 07834
Become an ACVA Member by going to our web site http://adamsclassddgvets.org/ and click on "Join the ACVA" and fill out and submit the application. If you also send a check for $25 or more at the same time we will assign you the title of ACVA Plankowner with your own ACVA Plankowner Number!
ADAMS CLASS SHIPS
DDG-2 USS Charles F. Adams - DDG-3 USS John King
DDG-4 USS Lawrence - DDG-5 USS Claude V. Rickets
DDG-6 USS Barney - DDG-7 USS Henry B. Wilson
DDG-8 USS Lynde McCormick - DDG-9 USS Towers
DDG-10 USS Sampson - DDG-11 USS Sellers
DDG-12 USS Robison - DDG-13 USS Hoel
DDG-14 USS Buchanan - DDG-15 USS Berkeley
DDG-16 USS Joseph Strauss - DDG-17 USS Conyngham
DDG-18 USS Semmes - DDG-19 USS Tattnall
DDG-20 USS Goldsborough - DDG-21 USS Cochrane
DDG-22 USS Benjamin Stoddert - DDG-23 USS Richard E. Byrd
One of the highlights of the 2007 USS Joseph Strauss reunion was the introduction of one of our shipmates who has gone on to become a successful author by retelling his colorful Navy experiences in a novel titled "Steve McQueen Would Be Proud". If you ever wished you could go back and relive some of those unforgettable experiences once again, Steve Mitchell is your time machine!
Steve, who served aboard the Strauss during the Vietnam era, has an uncanny knack for capturing the atmosphere of an environment. He knows what it takes to bring it alive in your mind. The sounds and smells of the ports come back to you, the craziness of the bars, the wild characters...the adrenaline.
He's also got a steel-trap mind for all the wacky stuff that went on aboard ship which he demonstrated in several of the book excerpts he read for the reunion attendees at our banquet. He read one chapter on the "Sea Bat" that had everyone in stitches. I know he ended up reading much more than he planned from his book that night because the audience kept asking for more. I don't know about Steve McQueen but I know that a lot of people in that audience were proud of Steve Mitchell and I'm one of them! There's a link to Steve's website at the bottom of this article with excerpts from the book (including the "sea bat" story!) and information on how to order your copy. It's a great read. You're going to love it!
Ray Berilla
webmaster
Steve autographing shipmate Dennis Dale's copy at the reunion
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One of the highlights of the 2007 USS Joseph Strauss reunion was the introduction of one of our shipmates who has gone on to become a successful author by retelling his colorful Navy experiences in a novel titled "Steve McQueen Would Be Proud". If you ever wished you could go back and relive some of those unforgettable experiences once again, Steve Mitchell is your time machine!
