Location: News and Discussion

Discussion: Pacific Fleet Museum - Long BeachReported This is a featured thread

Category: Discussion Forum / General Discussion
Showing 3 posts
me3tv
me3tv
Pacific Fleet Museum - Long Beach
May 21 2008, 8:33 AM EDT | Post edited: May 21 2008, 8:33 AM EDT
For those of you that don't already know me let me introduce myself and our project. I'm with the Pacific Fleet Center in Long Beach, California and we are developing the USS Ranger CV-61 as a naval museum. Where we will certainly display the history of the aircraft carrier and the local history of the Navy town of Long Beach and on a broader scale will will showcase the history of proud ships of the Pacific Fleet. Our webpage just went up and HOUSTON is one of the two historic ships of the Pacific Fleet we display ( www.pacfleet.us ).

The USS Houston is one of the icon stories in the Pacific theater and with our local history where Rossevelt came to Long Beach / San Pedro Harbor to depart on CA-30 for his Baja, Mexico fishing trips. Also, we are developing a US Marine Sea Duty display-memorial utilizing what will be a replica of the USS Houston's main-forward mast. I have been working with USMC Howard Charles and other members of the association in these past months and everyone has been solid help.

We are having our first annual fund raising dinner at the Planes to Fame Air Museum in Chino, California on 26 July 2008 (see attached invitation). Please consider attending if you are able and help the Pacific Fleet Center promote this event. To make the naval museum and HOUSTON - Marine Corps Sea Duty Display / Memorial a reality fund raising is a top priority. Attending yourself, forwarding this e-mail, word-of-mouth, phones calls...anything the men and women of HOUSTON can do to help promote this first ever event will be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or request don't hesitate to ask me.

Daniel Hadel
Pacific Fleet Center
(720) 273-6287
1  out of 1 found this valuable. Do you?    
me3tv
me3tv
1. RE: Pacific Fleet Museum - Long Beach
May 21 2008, 8:35 AM EDT | Post edited: May 21 2008, 8:35 AM EDT
A discussion about the San Pedro Marine Operator

From: Ca30ng@aol.com [mailto:Ca30ng@aol.com]

Hey - I was there when you were still in terry cloth pants!! Remember, my dad was career Navy! You just brought back some exciting memories when every once in a while Mom & I would go down to a "communications center" & I'd breathlessly wait to hear my dad's voice..... Mom would be soooo nervous and always forget to say "over". It only happened 3-4 times but it was like talking to him on the moon or something. I got to say, "Hi Daddy, over" just once and thought I was too cool (since Mom couldn't remember for the life of her to say "over"). Most of those precious moments were spent reminding her to say "over"..... I then she'd cry when her time was up.
Val
In a message dated 5/20/2008 4:32:47 P.M. Central Daylight Time, vic@buzzcreek.com writes:
i will send something of a donation.
I joined my ship at Long Beach for a shipyard - drydock overhaul in 1971. I am quite familiar with the old days of the long beach naval station and the san pedro base. San pedro was our connection to landline communications that we could reach by radio from the ship. "This is the San Pedro Marine Operator, over" "this is Irish Song - we have need of a phone patch, over" .... (USS O'Callahan was "IRish Song"...)
They should also get a copy of THE LAST STAND ... I will send one.
vic
 Do you find this valuable?    
me3tv
me3tv
2. RE: Pacific Fleet Museum - Long Beach
May 21 2008, 8:36 AM EDT | Post edited: May 21 2008, 8:36 AM EDT
I once called Karen from the ship near the Philippine Islands - on our first anniversary ... in Dec of 1972.
WE patched by HAM operators. It took about 4 HAMS to get to her in Pensacola, Florida.
The patch connected after the last HAM in line made the phone patch -- with each HAM saying "loud and clear, over" ... next guy "loud and clear over" next guy "loud and clear over" etc.
Then we had a brief conversation ... "happy anniversary, over" "happy anniversary over" == tell the folks hello for me, over --- etc. and then ...
"I love you, over" and she said "I love you, over" and then all the HAMS said in order "I love you too, out" "I love you too, out" .. end of transmission. All this was audible on speakers in the radio shack. Embarrassing ....OMG.
What a kick.
But the San Pedro Marine operator was a fixture anytime we were within radio range of Long Beach.
Great memories, eh?
My ship has a reunion in BOSTON in JULY -- I hope to go. www.ussocallahan.org .
vic 1  out of 1 found this valuable. Do you?