PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

By Jack Blann

This newsletter edition is predominately devoted to our upcoming reunion at Sam’s Town in Las Vegas October 12 thru 16, 2014. It is our hope that you will seriously consider joining your shipmates for four special days of celebration of your service aboard SHIELDS.

In our recent shipmate survey the overwhelming choice for a reunion site was Las Vegas and last year’s event garnered our third best attendance of all of our reunions. Our choice of Sam’s Town was so popular that our membership decided to return for this year’s event. I invite you to read the reviews in the October 2013 edition of the newsletter. As the years slip by it becomes more difficult for some of our shipmates to attend reunions and so we make it as easy as possible for all to participate. If you are in a situation that finds you with health concerns please be assured that we are prepared to do everything in our power to accommodate your needs. Please don’t put it off any longer. Make this the year that you can cross a SHIELDS reunion off your “Bucket List”. In other association news, we are excited about welcoming our shipmate, Larry Danforth, aboard as the new webmaster of our website. Larry will be upgrading the site over the next few months and we look forward to the improvements that he has proposed. If you have any suggestions for the website, please contact any Board Member. Visit www.dd596.com frequently and watch it evolve.

Our Annual Meeting will take place during the reunion and it will provide association members the opportunity to have an input into our activities and services. If you are unable to attend this meeting, you may submit comments and suggestions to me to be considered at the annual meeting at my contact address listed on page 2 of this newsletter.

REUNION 2014

By Carol Blann

In the Newsletter for April through July, you got lots of information about the Reunion coming up in October. We detailed the scheduled events, the tours, and the goodies included in your Registration. If you would like to see the April/July Newsletter article again, go to www.dd596.com and click on Newsletters and then click on April/July 2014. Now, I want to give you some additional reasons why you should make this Reunion your number one priority for the fall. Let me talk to you about the Sam’s Town Resort/Hotel. We found Sam’s Town for last year’s reunion through Bob and Connie Carl. They live in Las Vegas, and Sam’s Town is where they go for family events and as a place to take visiting friends. They gave us lots of reasons to choose the Resort for the Reunion, and we were glad we did so. First of all is price. Rarely in Las Vegas can you get so much for so little money. Certainly, there is a casino (Duh), but there are many restaurants and eateries on the property as well and extras such as a many-screened movie theater, a bowling alley and a beautiful central Atrium.

The room prices are so low you may decide to move there. The best part of all this is the layout of the Resort. It’s plenty big, but since it’s shaped in a square, with the Atrium in the middle, getting from place to place doesn’t require miles of walking.

Continued on page 3

USS SHIELDS DD-596 All Eras Reunion AssociationNewsletter July 2014

Jene Cain, Editor

This Newsletter Sent to 969 Former Crew Members, Families & Guests USS SHIELDS DD-596 All Eras WWII Korea Vietnam Copyright © 2002 - 2014

http://www.dd596.com

USS SHIELDS DD-596 All Eras Reunion Association Reunion Newsletter July 2014 Page 2

Board Members Contact Info. Jack Blann, LTJG, 61-63 President, Memorabilia Keeper 1008 N. Beeline Hwy Payson, AZ 85541-7312 Ph: 928-308-4850 E-mail: jblann39@hotmail.com Curtis S. Crenshaw, FT2, 62-65 Vice President 2814 Poyntelle RD Richmond, VA 23235-2154 Phone: 804-513-4723 E-mail: curtis.crenshaw55@aol.com Bob Carl, RD2, 64-67 Director, Secretary & Contact List Keeper 231 Viewmont Dr. Henderson, NV 89015-7733 Ph: 702-438-9826 E-mail: bobcarl@cox.net Roger Brotherton, SO3, 60-62 Director, Treasurer, Resident Agent PO Box 8023 Reno, NV 89507-8023 Ph: 775-674-6252 E-mail: rbroth41@aol.com Roy Cook, ETN2, 56-59 Director 7239 N. 15th St. Dalton Gardens, ID, 83815-9507 Ph: 208-640-4447 E-mail: gpacook@earthlink.net

Friends to the Board Contact Info. Jene Cain, ETR2, 61-63 Newsletter Editor 13171 Galleria Pl Apple Valley, MN 55124-6113 Ph: 952-432-8746 E-mail: jenecain@pclink.com Lawrence L Danforth., LTJG, 64-65 4312 Evergreen LN STE A Annandale, VA 22003-3273 Phone: 703-536-1926 E-mail: larry@jlsystems.com Bill Ragan, IC3, 56-59 Ship’s Store 1642 Rambling Rd Simi Valley, CA 93065-5737 Phone: 805-527-2196 E-mail: raganje@aol.com Editor's Note: Please keep your contact information up to date by getting in touch with Bob Carl above. If e-mailing please include DD-596 in the subject line. Also please let Bob know of shipmates who have passed so we can list their name in the newsletter.

MEET LARRY DANFORTH By Jack Blann

Your association Board of Directors is pleased to welcome Larry Danforth as the new webmaster for our website www.dd596.com.

Larry served aboard the SHIELDS as the Supply Officer 1964-1965 and was instrumental in raising the ship’s annual supply rating from a bare satisfactory to an outstanding. He moved on to join the staff of COMCRUDESPAC and worked on the installation of computers on all destroyer tenders in the Pacific Fleet. He advanced quickly in the field of data processing for the Navy, graduated with distinction from the Naval Postgraduate School, joined the faculty at the school and taught graduate computer science and mathematics. Larry was selected as director of applications development at BUPERS where he worked on the cutting edge of computer science.

Larry’s resume includes exemplary service in various branches of the US Government as he was sought to assist several agencies into the modern age of data processing and systems automation. He later founded his own company, JL Systems. For 32 years he states that he has enjoyed being a truly hands on programmer and web designer.

JL systems provides business software and web design services to trade, professional and philanthropic associations across the USA and in Canada, Spain and South America. The Association Management System provided by JL Systems is called NOAH and a full description of the product’s range and features is available on the www.jlsystems.com website. All systems are hosted on a large array of huge virtual software and database servers at the secure data center which is the mid-East node of the internet. This data center is now the home of www.dd596.com.

Larry semi-retired last August while Jackie, his wife, carries on as CEO. Jon, Larry’s first son, is the Chief Operating Officer and has hands on control of the system while also being responsible for new clients. Jeff, Larry’s second son, is the senior technician behind the system handling the challenges of a rapidly evolving technical world.

Larry has some exciting ideas about our association website and we look forward his expertise. Visit www.dd596.com often and watch the changes evolve.

Recently Passed Shipmates

The deceased listed below were identified through letters and phone calls from the family, returned letters marked deceased and research.

Arment, Duane R., LTJG, 53-54 Chilcote, Jack W., SK2, 45 Feltman, Dean R., SN, 52-53 Huff, Charles A., MMCS, 68-70 Schumacher, Wesley J., LT, 63-65

USS SHIELDS DD-596 All Eras Reunion Association Reunion Newsletter July 2014 Page 3

REUNION 2014 (continued) We will do our best this year to get all our rooms closer to the Hospitality Suites, although I didn’t hear much grumbling about this last year. Now, this next thing is girly, I admit, but darn it, I like my hotel to be clean. Downtown Las Vegas can be less than tidy, and even the biggest hotels suffer from the masses of people passing through their doors. Well, listen to this! Even Sam’s Town’s parking garage is clean! I never saw litter or other less lovely things on the grounds or in the halls, or in the public rooms, and there is a real feeling of being in a truly pleasant place. I mean, a hotel that can have a spiffy bowling alley is doing lots of things right.

If you stay glued to the hotel we will have a Hospitality Suite arrangement to keep you watered and comfy. The Hospitality rooms overlook the Atrium, and you can even catch some of the light shows on the big waterfall from the windows. Hospitality is the active word. We keep the coolers full of water, soft drinks and beer, and a bottle or two of wine is usually on the counter. There are peanuts and other salty treats, too. This is all part of your registration fee because we want you to feel that you are at a party, with no restrictions to having a good time with good friends. For the same reason we included more meals in your registration. There are plenty of places to grab a quick breakfast or other food on the hotel grounds, but when it comes to the shared meals in the itinerary, we chose to make things easy. All in all, I hope you will see that your Reunion Board and Committee want you to have a great time. Your shipmates will be there, and we sincerely hope you will be there too. See you in Las Vegas!

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING

The Annual Meeting of the USS SHIELDS DD-596 Reunion Association

Will be held 9:00am Tues. Oct. 14, 2014 at Sam’s Town Hotel and Casino

5111 Boulder Hwy., Las Vegas, NV For the conduct of business, election of the

Board of Directors and adoption of proposed changes to the by-laws.

Room to be announced

PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE BY-LAWS

SECTION 8 Section 8.4 All checks or drafts from either the Master or Reunion Accounts, demands for money and notes of the corporation and all written contracts of the corporation shall be signed by two officers of the corporation as designated by the Board of Directors with the exception of the transfer of funds between the Master and Reunion Accounts by the Treasurer to properly credit the designated accounts when a draft includes funds for both accounts. The requirement of two signatures on any checks and contracts mandated by these by-laws apply regardless of any bank’s signature requirements. Section 8.5 The Corporation may authorize the issue of bank debit cards to any officer of the Corporation, or its’ designated member, to be used for expenditures incurred for preapproved purposes by the Corporation when circumstances preclude the use of checks. The use of bank debit cards shall be limited to those expenditures authorized by the Board of Directors through the approval of submitted budgets or specific designated expenditures.

Please note that complete copies of the association by-laws are available on-line by request to the association Secretary, Bob Carl at bobcarl@cox.net.

USS SHIELDS DD-596 All Eras Reunion Association Reunion Newsletter July 2014 Page 4

LasVegasReunionItineraryOctober12��‐16��2014

HotelRegistrationindividuallyarrangedandpaid.

Sam’s Town �5111 Boulder Highway, Las Vegas, NV  89122,  PHONE  702‐456‐7777 use group name USS SHIELDS REUNION Hotel rates are for Sunday, Oct. 12th  through Thursday, Oct. 16th.. Standard (outside room) rate is $26.00, double occupancy, plus $9.99 hotel service fee that covers unlimited local phone calls, WIFI, voice mail, wake‐up calls, paging service, inbound faxing and shuttle service to The Strip and Downtown properties plus 12% tax (totals $40.31 per night). The hotel rates are higher on weekends if you plan to stay additional days check rates with the hotel. RV Park at Sam’s Town   Advance reservation required.  Full Hook‐ups Call 1‐702‐454‐8055 

 

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

SUNDAY OCT. 12TH 

4:00pm – 8:00pm:  Check‐in and reception in Hospitality Suite.  Soft drinks, beer and wine     with salty snacks available.  Hard liquor is BYOB  

 MONDAY OCT. 13TH  

  9:00am– ‘till you’re tired: OPTIONAL PICK YOUR OWN TOUR DAY.  Make arrangements in   advance and pay on your own.  Many tours are available including ones   to Hoover Dam/Lake Mead, the Grand Canyon South Rim and Las Vegas Strip.   

  To pick a tour and make your reservations on line go to “vegas.com” select “tours.” You can   then pick, for instance, “Hoover Dam Tours” select “view all Hoover Dam Tours.” That   will take you to a list of several different tours with different prices. This same method   will show you tours to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas Strip and Lake Mead.    You can also call 1‐866‐983‐4279 for available tours and reservations.   

  1:00pm‐3:00pm  USS SHIELDS 2nd Annual Bowling Tournament. Sam’s Town        Bowling Alley.  

  6:00pm‐10:00pm  Monday Night Football with beer & pizza provided in Hospitality Suite  

TUESDAY OCT. 14TH   

  9:00am – 10:30am All shipmates/ Association Annual Business Meeting in Hospitality Suite    

  4:00 pm – 8:00pm  Tour of Atomic Museum with buffet Dinner and Raffle.  

WEDNESDAY OCT. 15TH  

10:00am ‐ 4:30pm   WESTERN APPRECIATION TOUR: Bus through Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, lunch and tour at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park and stop at Old Nevada Western Town at Bonnie Springs Ranch with gun fights, hangings, shops, petting zoo and much more. 

  

  6:00pm‐8:00pm     Buff‐quet Dinner: Sam’s Town Firelight buffet.  

  8:00pm‐?                Hospitality Room open.  

THURSDAY OCT 16TH  

  12:00 Noon              Hotel Check‐out 

USS SHIELDS DD-596 All Eras Reunion Association Reunion Newsletter July 2014 Page 5

USS SHIELDS DD‐596 

2014 REUNION REGISTRATION FORM 

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA; OCTOBER 12TH – 16TH   

Name: ________________________________________________________  

Address: ______________________________________________________  

Tel #: ________________________ E‐mail:___________________________  

Guest(s): ______________________________________________________  

Arrival Date: ___________________Departure Date: __________________  REGISTRATION (includes Monday Pizza party,   $ 85.00x ____ = $____________  Tuesday buffet dinner & Wednesday Buff‐quet) 

                                                                         MONDAY OCT 13TH (Register and pay for Optional Tours per Schedule of Events)           BOWLING TOURNAMENT                      $   7.00x_____ = $____________ 

 

TUESDAY OCT 14TH (Atomic Museum Tour,  

           dinner etc. included in Registration) 

         WEDNESDAY OCT 15TH        WESTERN APPRECIATION TOUR            $ 58.00x_____ = $_____________        (Please select sandwich choice for each participant) 

Georgia Chopped Pork:  _______  Texas Beef Brisket: _______  Barbeque Pulled Chicken:______ 

All lunches come with Wilbur Beans, Potato Salad  and Creamy Cole Slaw   

WEDNESDAY OCT 15TH BUFF‐QUET (Included in Registration Fee)  

Check #:_______________                                             Total $ _____________ Make checks payable to: USS SHIELDS REUNION ASSOCIATION Send registration and payments to:     Robert N. Carl, 231 Viewmont Dr. Henderson, NV  89015‐7733   

PLEASE REGISTER AND SEND PAYMENT BY SEPTEMBER 15TH       

USS SHIELDS DD-596 All Eras Reunion Association Reunion Newsletter July 2014 Page 6

USS SHIELDS DD-596 ALL ERAS REUNION ASSOCIATION

2014 Membership Application and Renewal Form

Name:______________________________________________________ Wife’s first name:_________________ Mailing address:______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ City State (9 digits ZIP Code Please)

Telephone:_____________________ E-Mail:_______________________ Years served aboard SHIELDS:________ Rank/rate on SHIELDS_____ Date of birth:____________________ Cell Phone:

Make your check out to: USS SHIELDS REUNION ASSOCIATION. Please mail this form with a check in the amount of $25.00 to cover your dues for the calendar year of 2014. Mail to:

USS SHIELDS DD-596 ALL ERAS REUNION ASSOCIATION ℅ Robert N. Carl, Secretary

231 Viewmont Dr. Henderson, NV 89015-7733

Ships Store Items

Back in stock the Shield’s Ball Cap item #1036. The cap can be ordered by sending a note requesting a cap and your check for $19.00 ($15.00 for the cap and $4.00 S&H) made payable to USS Shields DD-596 Reunion Association to Robert Carl, Secretary, his address is above. Note: If you order a cap at the time you pay your dues please make a

separate check for each as the monies go to different accounts.

Photo Courtesy of John Truesdale RMSN 64-67

USS SHIELDS DD-596 All Eras Reunion Association Reunion Newsletter July 2014 Page 7

Association 2014 Dues

Are Due

Your $25.00 annual dues support the printing and postage for newsletters, currently about $1,000 for each issue. They cover the expenses of locating shipmates and maintaining the master contact list.

Please complete the dues form on the page opposite and mail with your check to Bob Carl. His address is on the contact list page 2. Your dues start new at the beginning of each year. No unpaid dues are carried forward.

Your dues do not support reunion activities; these activities are self-sustaining. All board members and friends of the board volunteer; no one receives compensation in the Association.

Bob Carl, Secretary, has received duplicate and multiyear dues payments from shipmates. Bob applies duplicate dues payments to the future year(s). Thanks to those who have paid in advance.

The association currently mails the newsletter to all located shipmates, regardless of dues status.

USS Shields Korean War 2014 Shipmate’s Reunion

This year's reunion will take place in downtown Portland, OR at "The Courtyard at the Marriot Hotel, phone 800-606-3717, Sept 1 thru Sept 6, 2014"Reservations for the hotel must be made by August 18, 2014.

It is being hosted by the Daughters of Doris and Bill Hansen, BT2, 52-55, Cindy and Kathy. Cindy's email address is cindy.bowman@oregon.gov or bocbo5five@gmail.com and her telephone is 503-990-7834 or 503-373-1945 in case anyone would like to contact her with their plans to attend. Cindy would appreciate a head count for planning.

Attendees can also contact Bob MacNeil, YN2 52-55 at: macneib@aol.com, 509-966-7924 as he is gathering head count info for Cindy also.

For reunion details, contact Cindy Bowman or Bob MacNeil at the above listed email or phone numbers

NOTE: The reunion is limited to SHIELDS Shipmates who served aboard during the Korean War, their family members and guests.

Photo by Jene Cain, ETR2, from around 1961 taken from the radar antenna platform on top of the mast.

Do You Know My Husband? A Widow’s Request for Information

My name is Dorothea Smith and my husband was James A. Smith, "Jim", who was a radar man on the USS Shields from 1951-55. Due to extreme sea sickness he opted out after his four years and enlisted in the 82nd Airborne Army Special Forces until he retired in 1973 as a Master Sergeant. He served in Vietnam as A Cam, a team of 12 people who went into the jungles and trained the Vietnamese.

I only have one picture of my husband, Jim, in uniform while he was in the service and it is very grainy and hard to make out. With Jim is another shipmate with the last name of Spears, first name unknown. Dorothea moved from Oklahoma after her husband died to North Carolina to be near her daughter. I would love to have some more pictures of Jim if anyone remembers him and has some, and I would love to talk to anyone who knew him. My phone number is 910-864-3951 and my address is:

267 Waterdown Drive, Apt. 4, Fayetteville, NC 28314.

Thank you. Dorothy Smith

USS SHIELDS DD-596 ALL ERAS REUNION ASSOCIATION C/O ROBERT N. CARL (SECRETARY) 231 VIEWMONT DR. HENDERSON, NV 89015-7733 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED USS SHIELDS DD-596 All Eras Reunion Association Reunion Newsletter July 2014 Page 8

Visit the Association Website

Our website is undergoing changes and updates. Please visit it often to see what is new. For more details check out the article about Larry Danforth our new webmaster on page 2 of this edition.

http://www.dd596.com

Keep Your Contact Info Updated

Check your address on this newsletter and if not 100% correct, including Apartment, Condo, Mobile Home, Space number and the zip code + 4 digits, please notify Bob Carl listed in the contact information on page 2. If e-mailing please include DD-596 in the subject line. If you move do not forget to notify Bob Carl of your new address, phone number and any change in your E-mail address. Put a change of address in with the Post Office. The change of address stays on file with the post office for about 18 months. These actions will insure you continue to receive the newsletter and will reduce expenses from returned mail and the cost of re-mailing newsletters.