Newsltr May - Aug. 2003

This is our Fourth Ships Newsletter to be created in this format. If you would like to contribute an article, a piece of Navy or Plymouth Rock history, photo, memory or anything that might be of interest to you or other shipmates, you can sent it as an e-mail to:

Bill Provencal, Association Secretary at:
billinp@metrocast.net

or regular mail at:
Bill Provencal
37 South Main Street
Pittsfield, NH 03263

If you change address or e-mail address be sure to let me (Bill Provencal) know so we can update our Crews List. My e-mail is billinp@metrocast.net Our website is found at www.ussplymouthrock.com

A reminder from Harry: If you have made your reservation and have a need to cancel it, be sure and notify the Radada Inn or they will charge you for the room.

The "Port of Call" at the Naval Base has been dropped as the banquet site for security reasons, instead it will be held at the Ramada Inn.

We have a room reserved for the Association at the Ramada Inn. The hospitality room is #177, on the ground floor, and this is where you will check in when you arrive.

            Note: To get everyone on base, I will need a list of shipmates who do not have a Military ID card. This is required by base security. A sign in sheet will be available in the hospitality room. I will use the sign up sheet as a list. It is essential that you sign the list.
      ·         0700 – 0730 Breakfast
   ·         0740 – Meet in the Lobby to leave for Great Lakes Training Center, transportation by Ramada Inn.
   ·         0900 – Review Recruit Graduation. Seating will be provided in new AC drill hall, if completed (under construction).
   ·         1300 – Group picture. 8 X 10 $10.00
   ·         1330 – Business Meeting – Hospitality Room

        Banquet: Ramada Inn
      ·         1630 – 1730 – Cash bar and hors D’oeuvres
   ·         1800 – Dinner served
   ·         1930 – Guest Speaker, Dr. Scott Magnes, CDR, USN Orthopedic Surgeon, Sports Medicine Specialist

Saturday, June 7, 2003
   ·         0930 – Bus leaves for a tour of Volo Auto Museum and Antique Mall
   ·         Lunch on your own at the Museum
   ·         1400 - Bus leaves to return to Ramada Inn
   ·         1500 - View video – LSD WW II – Hospitality Room
   ·         Dinner on your own

A thank you for all of you who have recently joined the Association. We now have 32 new paid members that have joined in the past 4 months. This gives us a total of 115 association members. Our primary source of revenue are the bi-annual dues of $20.00. Please be advised that dues for 2001-2002 are due prior to the reunion in June 2003. For those of you who are not yet paid Association members, any support in the form of dues would be appreciated. Dues enable us to mail the newsletter to all those paid members who do not have e-mail, meet advance committments for the reunion, future website costs, general postage costs. To become a member of the USS Plymouth Rock Association complete the Application for Membership which can be found in the Ships Website on the Links Page and mail to Bob Nichols.

                    Bob Nichols, EM1
                    24 Geraldine Rd.
                    N. Arlington, NJ   07031
                    201.998.5778
                    E-mail: enichols24@aol.com

**Paid Association Members**
Allaire, Bob	Andersen, Harry	Baldwin, Brad	Balf, Jim	Bell, Joe
Bello, Ralph	Bena, Joe	Bierce, George	Bild, Bob	Boyer, Earl
Buchanan, Richard	Buiak, Peter Jr	Bjorkman, Raymond	Brunton, Thomas	Bullington, Calvin
Caldwell, Tim	Casilllas, Greg	Chappel, John	Clark, Robert E	Conboy, Bill
Conklin, Robert T.	Conroy, Mike	Copeland, Tory	Crowl II, Martin	Cummings, Stephen
Cypher, Harold	Cyr, Dennis	Dalfonzo, Sam	DeCastro, Tom	Decuir, Wilton J
Dussault, Andrew	Edwards, Maurice	Edwards, R. A.	Eldridge, Margurite	Fisher, Jack E
Fisher, Jay	Forton, Andrew	Freeman, James	Gingery, Robert	Greco, Jr., Sal
Gregory, Peter	Guertin, Jerry	Hart, Ed	Hartson, George	Hoffman, Dave
Hopper, Richard	Jennings, Seeley	Jepson, Norm	Johnson, John	Joyce, Ed
King, Ronald	Krolak, Ray	Kuhns, Jimmy	Lamay, Roger	Larson, Jerry J
Law, Billy	Luttrell, James	Madill, Shorty	Mathis, Richard	Mason, Wallace
McAvoy Sr., John	McCully, Wade	Mohawk, Paul	Moyer, Larry	Murtha, Jerry
Muse, John	Musella, Rocco	Nichols, Bob	Noto, Ralph	O"Neil, Marty
O'Neil, Thomas	Power, Rand	Pratt, Richard P	Pressler, Bill	Provencal, Bill
Purvis, Anthony	Pyle, Ted	Raniszewski, Louis	Rimel, Nelson O.	Ringer, Joseph E.
Rhine, Don	Robertson, Allan	Robinson, Jim	Robinson, Warren	Rose, Chris
Sandlin, Richard	Schneider, James	Scott, Bill	Seeley, Douglas R	Shanahan, Robert
Shewchuk, Richard	Simon, George	Sims, Bill	Smith, Larry	Stackhouse, Norman
Stark, Peter	Stoval, Jack	Stull, John III	Swathwood, David	Swearingen, Ronald
Tacinelli, Jerry	Verhagen, Mike	Viaene, Robert	Watkins, Richard P	Vranesevic, Robert
Wagner, Paul	Wagner, Tom	Ward, James	Wessels, Gary A.	Ziemba, James

Any paid Association members (2001-2003) who are not on this list and who have paid their dues, please contact Bob Nichols.

USS Plymouth Rock flying her International Call Sign
"November Tango Quebec Alpha"

Chit
One tradition carried on in the Navy is the use of the word "chit." It is a carry over from the days when Hindu traders used slips of paper called "citthi" for money, so they wouldn't have to carry heavy bags of gold and silver. British sailors shortened the word to chit and applied it to their mess vouchers.
Its most outstanding use in the Navy today is for drawing pay and a form used for requesting leave and liberty, and special requests. But the term is currently applied to almost any piece of paper from a pass to an official letter requesting some privilege

Eight Bells
Aboard Navy ships, bells are struck to designate the hours of being on watch. Each watch is four hours in length. One bell is struck after the first half-hour has passed, two bells after one hour has passed, three bells after an hour and a half, four bells after two hours, and so forth up to eight bells are struck at the completion of the four hours. Completing a watch with no incidents to report was "Eight bells and all is well."
The practice of using bells stems from the days of the sailing ships. Sailors couldn't afford to have their own time pieces and relied on the ship's bells to tell time. The ship's boy kept time by using a half-hour glass. Each time the sand ran out, he would turn the glass over and ring the appropriate number of bells

Ditty Bags
Ditty bog (or box) was originally called ditto bag because it contained at least two of everything - two needles, two spools of thread, two buttons, etc. With the passing of years, the 'ditto' was dropped in favor of ditty and remains so today. Before WW I, the Navy issued ditty boxes made of wood and styled after foot lockers. These carried the personal gear and some clothes of the sailor. Today the ditty bag is still issued to recruits and contains a sewing kit, toiletry articles and personal items such as writing paper and pens.

We would like to thank the following shipmates for providing pictures to the website, and especially for Harry for serving as Reunion Coordinator for this upcomming reunion.

**Shipmates who live in the state of Kentucky**
Brown	W.E.	Owensboro	KY
Cooper	Tony	Owensboro	KY
Cummings	Bob	Crofton	KY
Edwards	R.A.	Hickman	KY
Epley	Tony	Central City	KY
Law	Billy	Elkton	KY
McGowan	Joe	Edmonton	KY
Pearsall	Lester	Magnolia	KY
Rose	Chris	Peewee Valley	KY

Rare Photos These are time-lapse photos of the recovery of the USS Cole. In the first photo, a transport ship is "flooded" to allow it underneath the disabled USS Cole. Cole was transported from Aden to Pascagoula by the Norwegian heavy transport ship M/V Blue Marlin. As the photos progress, the USS Cole is secured to the deck of the transport ship. Then the transport is slowly raised to the surface of the water to get underway.

Petty Officer
The Petty Officer can trace his title back to the old French word petit meaning something small. Over the years the word also came to mean minor, secondary and subordinate. In medieval and later England just about every village had several "petite", "pety" or "petty" officials/officers who were subordinate to such major officials as the steward of sheriff. The petty officers were the assistants to the senior officials. The senior officers of the early British warships, such as the Boatswain, Gunner and Carpenter, also had assistants or "mates." Since the early seamen knew petty officers in their home villages they used the term to describe the minor officials aboard their ships. A ship's Captain or Master chose his own Petty Officers who served at his pleasure. At the end of a voyage or whenever the ship's crew was paid off and released the Petty Officers lost their positions and titles. There were Petty Officers in the British navy in the Seventeenth Century and perhaps earlier but the rank did not become official until 1808. Petty Officers were important members of our Navy right from its beginnings and were also appointed by their ship's Captain. They did not have uniforms or rank insignia, and they usually held their appointments only while serving on the ship whose Captain had selected them. Petty Officers in our Navy got their first rank insignia in 1841 when they began wearing a sleeve device showing an eagle perched on an anchor. Some Petty Officers wore the device on their left arms while others wore it on their right. All wore the same device. Specialty or rating marks did not appear officially until 1866 but they seem to have been in use for several years previously. Regulations sometimes serve to give formal status to practices already well established. In 1885 the Navy recognized it three classes of Petty Officers--first, second and third--and in the next year let them wear rank insignia of chevrons with the points down under a spread eagle and rating mark. The eagle faced left instead of right as it does today. The present Petty Officer insignia came about in 1894 when the Navy established the Chief Petty Officer rank and gave him the three chevrons with arc and eagle. The first, second and third class Petty Officers also began wearing the insignia they do today.

The following items are offered for sale through the Ships Store. All orders are handled through Harry Andersen, 2544 Chestnut Street, Waukeegan, IL 60087. Telephone 847-336-2151, e-mail andycporetsnipe@aol.com All orders must be accompanied by a check. Checks must be made out to the USS Plymouth Rock Association. You can click on any image to obtain a larger view of the item.
Plymouth Rock Mug. Price is $8.00 + $4.80 shipping and handling.

Colored Paper Ships Patch, 6 1/4'. Price is 1.00 + $.40 shipping and handling.
Bumper Stickers. Price is $2.00 + $.40 shipping and handling.
Ships Patch. Price is $8.00 + $.75 shipping and handling.

Plymouth Rock Cap. Price is $8.00 + $.75 shipping and handling.

Personalized Commemorative Plaques. Price is dependent on size, 7x9 is $15.00 + $5.00 shipping, 8 x 10 is $20.00 + $5.00 shipping. If you wish to order, notify Harry Andersen and he will send you an Order Form.

If you give the command "SECURE THE BUILDING", here is what the different services would do:

The NAVY would turn out the lights and lock the doors.
The ARMY would surround the building with defensive fortifications, tanks and concertina wire.
The MARINE CORPS would assault the building, using overlapping fields of fire from all appropriate points on the perimeter.
The AIR FORCE would take out a three-year lease with an option to buy the building.