A Piece of the USS Texas Goes Home In this issue

[Pages:10]Newsletter of the Battleship Texas Foundation

Winter 2015

In this issue . . .

A piece of Texas steel

goes home

Pg.1

From the Director

Pg.2

Exciting New Year

Pg.3

FTV Report

Pg.4

Dreadnought Update Pg.5

Chester Jackson Obit

In Honor Of

Pg.6

In Honor Of

Pg.7

Supporters

Pg.8

Words of the Crew Pg.9

WWII Poster . . .

A Piece of the USS Texas Goes Home

On Dec. 1, members of the Battleship Texas Foundation presented the Newport News Shipbuilding with a piece of USS Texas (BB35), celebrating 100 years since the ship's Commissioning. NNS President Matt Mulherin received the commemorative gift on behalf of the shipyard. Made of original riveted, salvaged steel from the old battleship, the piece measures 16" by 16" and weighs 29 pounds.

Andy Smith, the ship manager, was one of those presenting the steel plate. "Today was all about giving a piece of this ship back to the shipyard," said Smith. "The Newport News shipbuilders here in 1912 to 1914 built a high quality ship, and we feel strongly that you should recognize the people who make things possible. It's only fitting that this piece of steel comes back to the place where the ship was built. It's is almost like a homecoming."

USS Texas is one of six remaining ships to have served in both world wars. In World II, she shelled Axis-held beaches in North Africa, Normandy, Cherbourg and Southern France before being transferred to the Pacific theater were she would support the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. She holds the distinction of being the first U.S. battleship to mount anti-aircraft guns, radar and to launch an aircraft.

Today she is the only remaining dreadnought battleship in the world, a testament to the craftsmanship of her builders. Texas was decommissioned in 1948, having earned a total of five battle stars for her service in World War II. The battleship is now a U.S. National Historic Landmark in LaPorte, TX

Inscription reads,

"Battleship TEXAS Built by

Newport News Shipbuilding Dry-Dock Co. Keel Laid April 17, 1911 Launched May 18, 1912"

Presentation photo on pg.2

Battleship TEXAS Foundation

Advisory Directors

Hon. James A. Baker, III

61st Secretary of State

ADM. James L. Holloway, III

USN (Ret.), Former CNO

Ned S. Holmes

Commissioner, Texas Transportation Commission

Board of Trustees

Anthony K. Gregory,

Chairman

Thomas J. Perich,

Vice Chairman

Donald H. Fischer, Treasurer Rey Gonzales, Jr., Secretary

Charles A. Alcorn, Chairman Emeritus

Jimmy Burke Penny H. Butler Alfred Davis, IV Sylvia R. Garcia Theodore S. Hirtz

RADM. J. Weldon Koenig, USN (Ret.)

Michael N. Pearson CAPT. Clifford H. Royal,

USN (Ret.) Thomas C. Wright

Bruce D. Bramlett

Executive Director; bruce@

From The Director's Chair

2015 is off and running and we believe that it will be an exciting year for The Battleship Texas. Having completed our first round of repairs to The Mighty T we are poised to push forward and complete the remaining repairs and to do so is no small undertaking and will require a significant investment. I am happy to share with you that we are executing our strategy to secure additional funding to move forward. The next few months are critical to our efforts but we are confident that the result will be worth the effort.

In the meantime if you have not paid a visit to The Texas, I hope you will consider doing so. Having completed so much work I can't think of a better time in recent history to stop by. The

Texas is open every day from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM. If you are interested in a more in depth look at The Texas may I suggest you attend one of the Hard Hat Tours that we offer. You will need a reservation and you can find all the information you need by visiting our website at :

.

As long as we are talking about a visit, here is another option you might want to consider. Our Overnight Education Program has hosted over 41,000 young people since it started. Imagine giving a youngster you know the opportunity to spend the night on The Might T. Sleep in the bunks just like the sailors did and get a great behind the scenes look at her. You can also find all the information by jumping on our website above.

TPWD Ship Staff Andy Smith,

Page 2

Jeff Nelson, President Historical Naval Ships Association Andy Smith, Manager Battleship Texas

Matt Mulherin, President of Newport News Shipbuilding Company. Tony Gregory, Chairman of The Battleship Texas Foundation Board of Directors. Stephanie Croatt, Curator Battleship Texas

An Exciting New Year for the TEXAS

By Stephanie Croatt

As the ship's staff has been getting settled into the New Year, we've been taking a look at what is on the horizon. It certainly looks like 2015 is going to be exciting! For the first time in a few years, the ship is fully staffed, and we are thrilled to have all of our man power in place. The maintenance and restoration team is working diligently on a few projects, including restoring one of the 40mm mounts on main deck (starboard). The idea is to restore the correct appearance of the mount and make it so that visitors can point and train the guns.

Maintenance staff is also working to relocate the ship's break room to the Flag Office. This move is part of a larger plan to expand the ship's infrastructure to accommodate larger groups for the Overnight Education Program. The new break room will feature running water, plenty of cabinet space, and maybe a washer and dryer. While project com-

pletion is still several months away, the ship's staff and volunteers are really looking forward to having a working sink in their break room!

On the interpretive front, there are a number of exciting improvements slated to take place early this year. The Battleship TEXAS Foundation and Texas Parks and Wildlife sponsored two interactive exhibits that are currently under development. The first exhibit will be of a ship "Navigation Station" that will allow visitors to steer the ship at the helm and gear the engines up and down to control speed. Visitors will be able to see the ship moving through a virtual porthole, and will be able to steer around obstacles. The second exhibit features an interactive enlisted crew locker. Visitors will be able to touch the locker's virtual contents in order to learn about the items TEXAS's crew kept in their lockers. Along with these exhibits, we will also bring a temporary, travelling exhibit called, "Images of Valor: Latinos and Latinas in World War II." This exhibit will arrive in March and will be dis-

played in the Wardroom for our visitors' viewing pleasure.

Ship's staff is also working to improve collection organization, safety, and stability. Efforts are being made by the collections manager, curator, and ship custodian to clean exhibit and collections storage spaces throughout the ship. Keeping dust and debris off objects on display and in storage not only keeps them looking as bright and clean as possible, but also deters deterioration. Curatorial staff is also working to furnish the newly opened Admiral's Pantry. With the BTF's collection development stipend, we've been slowly acquiring coffee and demitasse cups and a toaster that is the correct appearance for the space. A coffee maker is also among the items on the shopping list.

With all of these exciting events and new things to see on the horizon, we encourage everybody to come out and take in the sights!

Recent acquisition: A box made by a crewman to resemble a gun turret. Circa 1918

Page 3

First Texas Volunteers

By Don Fischer

Restoration

After an exceedingly busy 2014, the First Texas Volunteers (FTV) straightened up and took a deep breath and used the winter months to collectively take stock and plan. Over the past couple of months FTV has been tackling some routine, but necessary, work throughout the public areas of the ship. Included in these activities are the general cleaning and priming of the decks in the Butcher Shop and Brig. Similarly, the Galley and 2nd Deck bulkheads were scrubbed thoroughly, eliminating several years' grime and mildew.

Near future projects may include the re-painting of the Movie Locker, Post Office and a portion of 2nd Deck passageway. Some discussion has also been directed toward possible improvement work in the Combat Information Center and on a 40mm gun mount.

The Foundation also desires to expand its Overnight Program, so work will take place in preparing additional casemate space for the kids to sleep. This work will also allow for additional restroom facilities for the program, and a relocation of office space for the regular ship staff. It remains unclear as to how much work will be done by contractor (abatement of lead paint certainly) and how much by FTV.

Hard Hat Tours

The November Hard Hat Tour succeeded in making $2,020.00. Most importantly, all participants thoroughly enjoyed the experience according to their comments and critiques. The January Hard Hat Tour was a resounding success! Not only was our visitor participation up, but FTV earned a record $3,885.00 for use on future projects.

During this period, taking advantage of the interest in the 70th anniversary of the Normandy invasion, a "thematic" tour, focused on the Battleship TEXAS' participation in Operation Neptune/ Overlord, was offered. General public interest has been limited, but through the Houston Museum of Natural Science, which has held a D-Day and Battleship TEXAS exhibit for the past six months, a special Normandy tour was presided over and conducted by FTV, which seemed to have been a real success. After this season, this is expected to wane, but the thematic concept seems to offer up some intriguing opportunities for the future.

The next Hard Hat Tour is scheduled for :

Saturday, February 21

Contact the Foundation office at 713-827-9620 to make reservations.

Page 4

Dreadnought Update

By Neil Thomas

The work on board the Battleship TEXAS for the structural repair project is complete. As of November 2014, TPWD accepted the work done by Taylor Marine Construction, Inc. (TMC), and as of January 2015 TPWD accepted the successful removal of all of the shore-side support/staging area equipment from TPWD property. Therefore, TMC is completely finished and demobilized from the site and from the ship.

As I reported in the last issue of the Dreadnought, all of the project funding allocated for construction is exhausted. We will have to wait until additional funding becomes available to do the additional critical structural work necessary on the ship. I would like to offer my personal thanks to the TPWD staff, AECOM design team, the Battleship Texas Foundation and all of the readers of the Dreadnought for the support necessary to accomplish such an important project. I hope we can continue the great work soon. As news on possible additional funding becomes available, I will share it with you all in the pages of the Dreadnought. Onward!

Battleship Texas Overnight Education Program

By Kandace Trujillo

We have had a busy last couple of months at the overnight program. We've hosted 624 campers throughout the months of December and January. And we have 305 campers scheduled for February. We are also booking groups well in to the summer. We have had groups from many different areas participate in our education program. We hosted a Boy Scout Troop from Louisiana and are hosting a Girl Scout group from Northeastern Oklahoma.

The overnight program is in the process of adding new lessons to our current program. On our January 10 program, TPWD volunteer Jodi Larson and Ship's Interpreter Sarah Faulkner assisted the overnight staff with a special math lesson. Pack 737 out of Deer Park, TX used math to adjust real Navy recipes. Their task was to turn recipes with portions for 100 people to portions that would feed 1700 sailors. The pack also created a healthy menu from their recipe choices. Their meal included baked fish, fruit salad, prune whip, and lemonade. They did a great job and used their multiplication skills. We owe a special thanks to Jodi and Sarah. Thanks for all your help!

The OEP continues to participate in outreach opportunities. The OEP shared a booth with TPWD at the Houston Museum of Natural Science's Educator Event on January 24. Educators learned more about our program. Hopefully, this will lead to more school groups participating in the overnight program. The Overnight Program will also have a booth at an upcoming scout fair and teacher workshop. The Overnight Program will also participate in Houston Hispanic Forum's Education and Career Fair.

We are always looking for new tour guides for our program. If you are interested or want more information please contact Kandace Trujillo at:

ovenight@ or (281) 542-0684 office.

Kandace Trujillo Overnight Education Program Manager Battleship TEXAS Foundation

Page 5

Chester "Earl" Jackson,

Earl Jackson, 90, passed away on December 9, 2014 at the Banner Hospice in Sun City West, Arizona. Earl was born April 4, 1924 in Great Falls, Montana. .

Earl Jackson served our country in World War II with remarkable and distinguished service in the Navy. He participated in some of the most significant events in World War II. Aboard the U.S.S. Susan B. Anthony, he was involved in the invasion of Sicily in 1943. He was reassigned as a medical corpsman aboard the U.S.S. Texas for the remainder of the war. On D-Day, he was at Omaha Beach for the U.S. led invasion of Normandy. After the subsequent invasion of southern France

The U.S.S. Texas was repositioned to the Pacific Theater. While there, Earl participated in the mission to support the Marines at Iwo Jima. Next, he was assigned to a battle station for 52 days as our forces battled the Japanese forces off of Okinawa. Earl and the U.S.S. Texas were reassigned to the defense of the Philippines until the end of the war. On a date to be determined, in recognition of Earl Jackson's heroic military service, he will be honored with a military funeral ceremony at the National Cemetery in Phoenix where his ashes will be interned.

In Honor Or Memory Of

Charles Edward O'Del Lt. Walter R. Clough, USN Francis O. Hallahan John Bellock, USN DFC Robert T. Collins John C. Alberts

Maurice P Coakley, USN Lawrence E. Poorman David Barnfather, EM2 Rueben B. Kihn James R. Doverspike LCDR James R Kay Colonel Matrix Harry F. Adler, M.D.

Edward P McClearbt, USN RoseMarie Collender Fornie Edward Hartsell E. I. Bradley, USN Lee M. Pierce Daniel E. Hyatt Robert McCutcheon H. Grant Stoddard Charles A. Long Harold H. Kieselhorst

John R. Theis, Jr CAPT John Gaston, USMC (Ret). Capt W. G. Fisher, USN Ray White

Clarence Reed Allen, USN Michael C. Agresti, Sr. The Battleship Texas US Navy Veterans CPL William "Bill" Robert Seltzer, USAF Dominic Cenci Lawrence W. Hurdle

Cmdr. William H. Porter ARM3 Henry G. Traylor William E. Finan Atlee M. Cunningham, Sr., USN LTJG Paul D. Broussard, Jr., USN Anthony G. Tobie

Erwin H. Scheel Bernard Allen Street, Sr. Capt. Harry Katz Harley Ploen Lloyd Osborn

Albert P. Santos CPO Nevin Fidler Howard McGee John F. Kennedy Bob Cook John Brickler Lawrence A. Tippen Capt. Karl T. Clebak, USNR (Ret)

John Willman Barnes

Page 6

In Honor or Memory Of

Harry M. Henderson, S1 USN Oral C. "Buster" Teter Oscar M. "Andy" Anderson Andy Smith Carla Martin Vicki Langley and Art & Myla Corotan Alice Hass

C. C. Miller, USCG John C. Mortimer Arthur Loukas John C. Alberts David Hawkins George Gwynn, USN Julius Wojciechowski Joseph Harris

James H. Long Lt. William Davies YNC Harold E. Abernathy, Jr. Richard Marsh Raymond L. Fischer Carl Alvin Newman Vernon M. Burdick

Josiah E. Mardre, USN Howard B. Tilley Lawrence Parisi Maurice Colman Edwin C. Hartenstein, Sr. Harry M. Henderson, S1 USN Carl E. Vogler, Sr.

LCDR Robert Pederzani, USNR Capt. Frederick H. M. Kinley Kathryn Lusby, Kenneth Lusby, and Vincent Gordon Lusby, USN Colonel Matrix Kathleen Conway CWO1 Melvin C. Seffel, USN Thorleif Ellison, USN Bryson L. Ruff Bobby L. Wagoner Forest Wysong Minor N. Hardin Milan and Christopher Lakich Ervin D. Pupkes Billy F. Schmittou Oliver W. Smith B. A. Crain, Jr. James H. Lamb Edward G. Charnoki MSG Reese Jackson, USA Beierman family HTCM(CMC) Eddie Earl Dees, Jr., USN (Ret) GMGC Tommy Dale Dees, USN (Ret)

SSgt Eddie Earl Dees, USA CAPT John Gaston, USMC (Ret) Capt. David R. Cozier, CEC, USN Clarence Reed Allen, USN Frank J. Benning Garland Hayes, Jr. RADM Robert M. Moore, SC, USN Hubert E. Griffith, Jr. Neil R. Zaccagni CDR Peter W. Wood, USN Jerome Feinstein James H. Tidwell, Sr. Lester Morgan, USNR Edward A. Kenavan, USNR Joe Wayne Davis Robert McCutcheon John W. Taylor Edward P. McClearbt, USN Elvin A. Kays John M. Myer, Jr., EOCS, USN (Ret.) Major William C. Coltman

Dr. Emory Temple Adams, Jr., USNR Joe H. Adcock Janet and Oliver Starcke, USN Ronald V. Afflerbach, FTGCS (Ret.)

Fornie Edward Hartsell E. I. Bradley, USN Daniel E. Hyatt William H. Luedecke W. I. Molesworth

Charles B. Jackino, USN Joseph A. Lafalce USN Leon Larison CDR Nicholas Terrence Gansa, USNR CDR William R. Seidenstein, USN (Ret)

United States Navy Memorial All who served on the Battleship Texas

Page 7

SUPPORTERS

Jerry W. Adcock Dr. Max F. Adler Curt M. Anderson MSgt Daniel Attilio, USMC (Ret) Jimmy Barnett John J. Barnfather

Howard E. Bartholf Donald L. Boudreaux William T. Brockman MSgt Richard E. Brown, Sr., USAF (Ret) Dr. Deborah D. Bryan Marvin W. Butcher John and Roxanne Cabori Errol Callaway

Henry C. Carswell III Stephen L. Coffman Stanley Collender CAPT David R. Cozier, CEC, USN Paul Crain N. Bruce Creswell

Tom Dodson Amos R. Dreessen Earl O. Ellison Dr. Charles J. Farrow Nevin L. Fidler, Jr. Lloyd L. Fields James Fischer Randall S. McDaniel

Robert and Nanette Galysh George H. Gould, Jr. Blake N. Hal Dennis J. Hallahan Michael J. Harris Alice Hass George S. Hausch Christopher O. Heikkila Mr. & Mrs. James G. Hill James E. Hudson III

Thomas C. Hyatt Mark Johnson Doug Kays Clarence L. Landon Dr. A. Bernhard Kliefoth III Donald W. Krause, Sr. John J. Lafalce CAPT Ronald E. Lis, USN (Ret) LCDR Stewart Lindsay, Jr. USNR (Ret) Gerlinde H. Lakich Patricia A. Langa Terry L. Larison John E. Lewis Donna H. Legare Brad and Annette Long Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Loukas John C. Luedecke Gregory K. Lusby Clifford W. Martin Bill O'Neal

Lt. Col. Harry B. Massingill, Jr., USAF (Ret) Barbara McCormick Richard S. Merrell Patrick A. Moore David R. Morgan Harley Ploen Dud and Melba Morris CAPT Robert B. Murphy, USN Jasper Northcutt George J. Narozonick Oscar J. Olson Robert S. Perkin Emil F. Saul

Robert Perwas Bill R. Pierce William H. Porter Philip W. Reed John A. Roberts, Jr. Joe Rutherford Billy and Billie Schmittou Dr. John V. Scholes Perry and Sara Schwierzke Paul E. Stebelton CAPT Joel S. Seffel, USNR (Ret) Mr. & Mrs. Richard G. Stoddard Rex Teter Bryan Tilley James Troy Tucker Donald R. Wagoner William C. Whiteside W. Scott and Judith Williams Charles D. Wright

Lt. Col. William A. White, USA (Ret)

Page 8

Page 7

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download