JANUARY 2009 NEWSLETTER
We’re a few days into a New Year and I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and all the best throughout 2009.
This year will mark the 9th anniversary of the USS Davidson Reunion Association. Once again, the reunion will be held at the Grand Country Inn in Branson, MO. The dates are October 8, 9 & 10. It has just been announced that the brand new Branson airport will open on May 11, 2009, so you will now be able to fly directly to Branson eliminating the usual car rental and 40 mile drive from Springfield. You will need to check and see what airlines fly into Branson.
The 2008 reunion was a huge success and our largest ever even with the high gas prices and the failing economy.
Over 300 new contacts were made last year with some contacts coming too late for the crew to make arrangements to attend the reunion. Those new contacts that did make it are putting out the word to the others about the good time they had and from the response we have gotten, it looks to be an even bigger reunion this year.
During the coming year, we have some important decisions to make. As you may or may not know, Karen and I will be stepping down from our positions as President and Treasurer after nine years. This will be effective at the end of the 2009 reunion. We need to fill these positions as soon as possible to make for a smooth transition and Karen and I can show our successors what needs to be done. As with most changes like this, those taking office are free to change the Association as it best fits their work style. Karen and I recommend that this would be best done by breaking up the jobs into smaller jobs involving lesser time. The Association will be better served with more of the crew taking more of the responsibility. We also need someone to take over the Historian position due to the passing of Darryl Keller last year. At the reunion, we need help with small jobs that will involve very little work. This is your reunion and it needs your help and support to continue. We have ten months to accomplish this but the time to act is now. Decisions have to be made ahead of time otherwise certain programs will be dropped. If you have any questions or would like to help, please contact me.
The 4th and 5th season of Hawaii 5-0 is now out on DVD.
Be sure to check the Davidson website for any new developments concerning AGENT ORANGE. If you were in Viet Nam and onboard the ship it looks very possible that we were exposed to Agent Orange which could be responsible for medical problems you are having today.
If you have had any changes in your address, phone numbers or e-mail address, we need you to update them. It is up to you to update your own contact information.
We also need you to pass on to others our contact information so we can locate former crewmembers.
I would like to thank the following people who have made donations to the ship’s archives:
Mark Else – Misc. items from the 1986-88 period.
Bob Reitter – E-mail pictures
Pat Swaggert – 2 shell cases
John Brayman – 2 shell case ashtrays and photographs
W. H. Johnson – Ship rosters, crest & commissioning plaque plates
Mary Kay Barner, who locates many of our “lost” crewmembers, has asked to have the following list added to the newsletter. Due to how common these names are, we are unable to call so many with the same name to find the person we are looking for. If you are the person listed below or knows of this person, please contact me.
Eric E. Belt
Jack Cecil
William D. Bryant
Stan Echhert
Edward F. Buchman
Robert Ewing
Robert M. Carr
|
L. N. Gilbreath
F. F. Grice
Gary N. Hewitt
David M. McMillan
Bob Perry
Kenneth L. Smith
Brian Watters |
The following former crewmembers have been found since the July 2008 newsletter.
Mark Else
Bill Rappold
Terry Iuie
Neil Liester
Antonio A. Tejada
Ireneo Astria
Andrew Barrows
Alberto L. Corpuz
Pat Doyle
Marcial Padua
Carl Ellison
Scott Packer
Jim W. Cummings
Phillip Van Groshong
Robert Lee Borofsky
David M. Brunat
Lindsey Kalal
Robert D. Chappell
Duncan Dempster
William Russell Squires
Denny Brown
Andrew Jost
Howard Kearney
Jim Garner
Carl Kalili
Arthur J. Wartell
Terry Apthorp
Chris Balling
Robby Lynn Ballou
Stanley Kiska
Paul Koneberger
Robert Kowalewski
Tom Anderson
Chris Cunningham
Ronald de Los Santos
Mark Dickerson
Robert Fleiciano
Mark Fladager
Paul Gonzales
James Hegwoo
Russell Kemp
John Moore
Joe Wright
Abel Ventura
Donbald Gibbons
Robert Gamble
Joe Camarena
Sam Moser
John/Tom Nelson
Ben Elkins
Dennis T. Giles
William Johnson
Dean Vaughn
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Dale Zimmer
Christopher Lewis
Joel Hosler
Alan Hosler
Michael Jonscher
Richard Hascup
Richard L. Jamison
William Kiesner
Kevin Holt
Kurt Bette
Mark Greschke
Michael Kapuscinski
Richard Kwarciany
James Hootman
Enrique Navarro
Dan Neal
Derrick Ortiz
Antonio Echevarria
Lawrence K. Doong
Derek Dingee
Edwin Wallace
Daniel Malloy
Ronney Hudgens
James Boston
Pat Audit
Mark Evans
Robert Ritter
Ralph Swain
Terry Lewis
Richard Newcomer
Lazaro Mendoza
Dennis Cox
Herbert Bergsma
Stanley Craley
Peter Saia
Robert Bettencourt
Robert Fletcer
Gregory St. Hilaire
Dainel Thompson
Charles Richardson
Thomas Lambert
Victoroano Duarte
Douglas Kenneson
Brian Watters
Gary Porter
Lonni Geraci
Kenneth Berns
Clyde Hogan
Ralph Merritt
Richard Zaleski
Jerry Johnson
Nu’u Tilo
Roland Brown |
Below are a list of crewmembers that we have recently discovered have passed away.
BTC Allen E. Personette – 11/18/08
James A Doloway
Jerry Modini – 6/22/76
David G. Russ – 10/12/94
Richard A. Stewart – 12/15/90
Peter Mereth – 1990
Fred Daniel – 2007
William Robert Shade – 10/13/05
Dan B. Jones – 1/1/04
Dewey W. Bright – 9/2/04
Lawrence L. Wells – 12/30/93
Vernon Roy Bothelho – 11/24/80
J. C. Davis and C. Novosad are possibly deceased. If you have any information on these two crewmembers, please contact me.
The dedication ceremony in Washington, DC, for the ship’s commemorative plaque will be on April 17, 2009 at 11 AM. Everyone is invited to attend the ceremony at the Navy Memorial. Contact Mike Peck or Russell Crosby for more details.
The family of crewmember Richard Lucivero is looking for a copy of a picture taken of him in the fireroom with either the Secretary of Defense or Secretary of the Navy.
The next newsletter will be in April and I hope to be able to pass on good news about the future of the USS Davidson Reunion Association. We have a lot of work to do so let’s get busy.
Smooth Sailing, Tweetie
Robert "Tweetie Bird" Schippers
President
U.S.S. DAVIDSON Reunion Association
