Shang takes over Association Helm
Election of officers
The following personnel were elected at the San Diego Reunion business meeting:
Ken Shang President
kdshang@gmail.com, 206-525-2038
JC Powell Vice President
Jpowell999@gmail.com, 225-751-9393
Wayne Sieckowski Secretary
wsieckowski@gmail.com, 360-895-1556
Larry Hook Treasurer
hook622@yahoo.com, 610-554-7801
The Secretary / Treasurer position was separated again by a unanimous vote of the attendees. Ken Shang has relieved John Martin as USS James Monroe Association ( JMA ) President. Now that John has stepped down, we need to recognize that he is the main reason we have an organization. I knew John on active duty; he was a bluie and I was a goldie. We became friends through the JMA. I know John spent many hours looking for former crewmembers and their addresses. With the help of Dick Reuss, they put together the JMA. I do not know how to thank them for all they did other than to say “Thank You”. We should all be very grateful they put the JMA together, which has allowed many of us to stay in touch with shipmates who were very important to us earlier in life and are now more important because they are life long friends. In addition, many of us have made new friends through the Association. Thank you John and Dick.
Newsletter
This is the first newsletter to be sent out in over 3 years. At the San Diego meeting, it was decided a newsletter would be sent out quarterly. This first newsletter is being sent to everyone whether you are a JMA member or not. Future newsletters will be emailed to JMA members with hard copies mailed to those who do not have internet access. The newsletter will also be posted on the website.
The newsletter will be a way the JMA can communicate with the membership, offer an opportunity to renew friendships, share 622 sea stories and promote esprit de corps among 622 shipmates
Our regular columns will include reunion information, shipmate updates and a means for remembering those who have gone on eternal patrol. This newsletter will be only as good as you are sending in stories and information. Articles / information can be sent to ssbn622assn@yahoo.com or mailed to:
Wayne Sieckowski, 3932 Colonial Lane SE, Port Orchard, WA 98366.
Next reunion
The next reunion will be the summer of 2011 in Charleston, SC. Walt Spiller, Billy Graham and Wayne Sieckowski are the committee for the Charleston reunion. The reunion will be held in the summer, probably the June time frame, to allow members who have school age children the opportunity to attend. Details will be published as soon as they are known.
Database Update
If you received this newsletter, we have your correct address in the database. If it was forwarded to you please inform us of your new address. We ask that everyone please provide the JMA with your current Email Address. We encourage all with internet access to receive the newsletter via email to reduce mailing costs.
James Monroe 250th Birthday Celebration
From April 25 – 28 April 2008 a number of crewmembers gathered in Fredericksburg, VA to celebrate the 250th birthday of James Monroe. We also traveled to Washington DC to the Arlington National Cemetery and to the Navy Memorial where we presented a wreath in honor of our shipmates who are on EternalPatrol.
Eternal Patrol
Here is the list of names of shipmates on eternal patrol.:
Joseph Barnoski, H. Lee Basham, Victor Belbusti, Noel Blue, Thomas Bowker, Eron Brasher Jr., Robert Brown, William Caldo, Frank Chance, Warren Cobean, Kenneth Cox, Martin Cox, James Crussell, Donald Devries, John Dooling, Melvin Dresbach, Frank Fears, Philip Filer, Clarence Gillis, William E Gregory, James Harris, John Hawkins, William Henry, Gerald Horner, Gordon Hutt, Joy, M Justice, Donald Kildoo, Frank Kiss, Paul Klinedinst, Robert Lee, Eugene Lindsey, James Livingston, Richard Lumsden, Robert Macgregor, Jack Manska, Bill Mathis, James Mclaughlin, Sylvester Meyers, George Moore, Gale Pancake, Robert Petitt, James Peyton, Robert Potts, Terrence Provost, James Reilly, William Sandiford, John Saul, Urban Shick, Richard Short, Wesley Sissler, William Spratt, Bobby Stogner, Steven Stone, Andrew Svard, Jack Thornton, Wade Tomberlin, Raymond Valade, Hobert Wade, Raleigh Wert, Cart White, Edward Zarate, Joe Zilker
If anyone knows of others or corrections to this list please let us know at ssbn622assn@yahoo.com
Membership Dues
Please send your dues to Larry Hook or Wayne Sieckowski. Dues $15.00 yearly $150.00 Lifetime
USS James Monroe Plaque Dedication
On May 9 2009, about 15 JMA members gathered in Washington, DC for the dedication of the USS James Monroe plaque on the Commemorative Wall at the Navy Memorial.
San Diego Reunion Sept., 2009
We had our Bi-Annual reunion at the Town and Country Resort in San Diego, CA. This reunion was held in conjunction with the Submarine Veterans (USSVI ) Convention. This allowed everyone to look up old shipmates from other boats. Along with the activities at the Town and Country , there was time to explore San Diego.
Ken Shang on USS Dolphin in San Diego
JMA Reunion Dinner in Little Italy, San Diego
Thank you Bob and Peggy Miller for your efforts in putting the 2009 reunion together.
Special Thanks to Bill Sterchi and Jim Bayliss for a job well done as JMA Officers.
I would once again like to thank John Martin and Dick Reuss for the existence of the JMA. I only hope we will be able to do as great a job as they did.
Website
The new JMA website is www.ussjamesmonroeassn.org. It is still being developed but it’s operational and has all the information that was on the previous two websites, has many updates from recent events and has many new features. It was built with modern website tools so that it should be much easier to update and change so that we can keep JMA members better informed and help them keep in touch with each other.
Presidents Comments
Welcome Aboard Shipmates!
It’s a privilege and an exciting challenge to be the new President of the USS James Monroe Association. For those of you who don’t know me, I served on the James Monroe Gold crew from October, 1971 ( fourth patrol from Pearl Harbor / Guam ) through late 1974 when she departed Pearl Harbor for the transit to Newport News, VA for her second overhaul. I made six FBM Deterrent patrols and was E/IC/RC division officer and MPA during my tour.
I, too, would like to take this opportunity to thank the original members and officers of the JMA who originated the organization and website and made it what it is today. For me the JMA has not only been a great way to renew acquaintances with former shipmates but also a means to make new friends who share the bond of service to our country, the US Navy Submarine Force, and the USS James Monroe.
The JMA has been existence for about 15 years now and is thriving. Our current goal is to recruit more association members and reunion attendees and to also have more younger former crewmembers as participants so the JMA will continue to thrive as more of the earlier crewmembers go on eternal patrol. This is the main reason we moved the 2011 reunion from the traditional fall date to summer. We hope that younger crew former crewmembers will find it easier to attend while school is out. At the same time, we will do our best to keep the cost of attending to a minimum.
If you know of any crewmembers who are not in our database, please encourage them to contact us with their information or let us know so we can follow up. Our association can only be as strong as the members we have. I hope to see you in Charleston.
