FINCH DE WDE DER 328. Twenty-ninth Year No. 3 August & September2016

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1 U.S.S U.S.C.G.C. FINCH DE WDE DER 328 Distinguished Service Through Three Decades and Three Wars World War II, Korea, and Vietnam Twenty-ninth Year No. 3 August & September2016 LAS VEGAS HERE WE COME! 2016 ARIZONA CHARLIE S DECATUR SEPTEMBER 25 TH 29 TH 2016 We ve planned a glow in the dark package of events including dinners and outings with a smattering of Protons, Neutrons and Positrons. The theme of this year s reunion is in memory of Finch s participation in the 1962 nuclear testing at the Christmas Island in the South Pacific. The nucleus of our reunion will be at: Arizona Charlie s Decatur located: 740 S Decatur Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV Phone: For room reservations call and use code C-FINCH ********DEADLINE FOR HOTEL ROOM RESERVACTION SEPTEMBER 2nd******** There will be dinners planned for 2 of the 3 nights. A very large and nicely furnished hospitality room is available. Hotel provided bus is available for rides to the Strip or airport for $3/person each way! This is the tentative Plan of the Day for each day! SUNDAY 25 TH Arrival Registration Noon-10 pm 1600 Hospitality room will open for registration MONDAY 26 th 1000 Depart from Hotel for Nevada Nuclear Museum 1500 Return to hotel 1600 Hospitality room open 1700 Cocktails 1800 Spaghetti dinner in hotel banquet room TUESDAY 27th 0700 Depart by bus for Nevada National Security Site tour. There is no cost for this tour or the bus as both are provided by your tax dollars first filtered through the Department of Energy. The bus ride is about 1 hour. No cameras or cellphones are permitted on the site. Area 51 is just to the North of the site. WEDNESDAY 28 TH 0900 Business meeting in the Hospitality room Ladies meet for in hotel lobby for shopping trip 1700 Cocktails 1800 Dinner in the hotel banquet room (ending of the reunion) THURSDAY 29 TH Breakfast and farewells

2 Finch Reunion Association 2016 Finch Reunion Chairman Bob Piazza (DER 66) Executive Board Chairman Gerald (Jerry) Gardiner (DER 60) Executive Board Members Myron Skubinna (DER 66) Dave Stidham (DER 60) Membership chairman Richard Resnick (WDE 52) 3175 Coolidge Ave Los Angeles, Ca Assistant Membership Chairman Warren Marshal (DER 58) Treasurer Ann Cragg (DER 57) PO Box 353 Emigrant, MT Secretary and Publicity Bob Piazza (DER 66) Newsletter Editor Sharon Lewis / Ron Moul (DER 64) The Villages, Florida sharon6064@comcast.net IT IS THE VETERAN It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion. It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom of assembly. It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial. It is the VETERAN, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote. It is the VETERAN who salutes the flag. It is the VETERAN who serves under the flag. ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM. Bless them all!!!!! DUES ARE DUE.. If you are in arrears on your dues, please make out your properly completed check to USS Finch Reunion Association and mail to Ann Cragg, P.O. Box 353 Emigrant, Mt Dues are paid annually based on the calendar year and are due January 1 st, but can be paid anytime. The dues we collect at the reunion are for the upcoming year. Annual dues are $10.00 per year, but you can make a life-time payment of $ if you prefer. Dues paid at, or after, the reunion are applied to the following year. Spouses of the deceased crew members who paid life membership dues will continue receiving the Newsletter. Finch website:

3 Note from the Editor Our return to Las Vegas Everyone bring your gambling money and be ready to enjoy the shows activities and the surrounding areas. Go on line to select shows of interest don t delay. Viewing the beauty of Las Vegas and seeing the beauty of the hotels is awesome, one of my favorites is the (dancing waters to music) in front of Bellagio Hotel, plus many more is a sight in itself, not to mention the inside as well. Everywhere you look while walking the streets is an amazement of the construction and beauty. Las Vegas has much to offer even if you do not gamble, it is a fantastic site to enjoy and the fact something is always going on from sunrise to sunrise and NEVER stops. Take a drive to the area that surrounds Las Vegas there is so much to see. Take advantage of your trip west, trust me you will enjoy every minute, if nothing else just watch the people hurrying and rushing to make a million! Book your room and send back your reservations NOW deadline is September 4 th, To attend this great adventure in Las Vegas since Bob Piazza has put much effort and time in putting this all together for all of us. (2016 Finch Reunion) You do not want to miss another great gathering of Veterans that served the Finch and their spouses and or guests. We are looking forward to seeing everyone once again. LADIES: don t forget the cookies and goodies you always bring. You know everyone looks forward to your baking and surprise goodies. Everyone please bring your ideas for our next 2017 Finch Reunion, where will it be? Some information from Ron as follows: 1991 was the last time the Finch Reunion was held in Las Vegas and it was held at the Riviera Hotel. The chairman was Larry Kirkhuff, WWII Veteran. The attendees were only WWII vets other than Ron Moul a Viet Nam Veteran. It was attended with DESA (Destroyer Escort Sailors Association). It was their annual DESA Reunion and we joined with them for that year. The previous year 1990 it was held in Dearborn Michigan and it was the first time WWII Veterans knew the Finch continued to serve after WWII The following year the Finch continues as before. See you all in Vegas, Your editor, Sharon FREAK OF NAVIGATION The passenger steamer SS Warrimoo was quietly knifing its way through the waters of the mid-pacific on its way from Vancouver to Australia. The navigator had just finished working out a star fix and brought the master, Captain John Phillips, the result. The Warrimoo s position was latitude 0 degrees x 31 minutes north and longitude 179 degrees x 30 minutes west. The date was 30 December Know what this means? First Mate Payton broke in, We re only a few miles from the intersections of the Equator and the international Date Line. Captain Phillips was prankish enough to take full advantage of the opportunity for achieving the navigational freak of a lifetime. He called his navigators to the bridge to check and double check the ships position. He changed course slightly so as to bear directly on his mark. Then he adjusted the engine speed. The calm weather and clear night worked in his favor. At midnight the SS Warrimoo lay on the Equator at exactly the point where it crossed the International Date Line! The consequences of this bizarre position were many. The forward part (bow) of the ship was in the Southern Hemisphere and the middle of summer. The rear (stern) was in the Northern Hemisphere, and in the middle of winter. The date in the aft part of the ship was 31 December Forward it was 1 January The ship was therefore not only in two different days, 2 different months, two different seasons, and two different years, plus two different centuries all at the same time.

4 FINCH 2016 REUNION RESERVATIONS September 25-28, 2016 Arizona Charlie s Decatur, Las Vegas, NV 740 S. Decatur Blvd (702) Full Name +MI: Date of birth Place of birth Home address Citizenship Guest: Date of birth Place of birth Home address Citizenship Guest: Date of birth Place of birth Home address Citizenship Arrival Date: Departure Date: I will have a personal or rental car: Yes: No: I have hotel reservations at Arizona Charlie s: Yes: No: Other: Sun-September 25 Arrival-Hospitality room opens at 1600 $/person # Total $ Dinner on your own Mon-September26 Atomic Museum Las Vegas $22 x = 0930 Depart for museum Meet at hotel North entrance Spaghetti Dinner Diamond Mae's Ballroom $35 x = Salad/Penne & meat sauce/sausage/chicken Cacciatore/dessert Tues-September 27 DOE Nuclear test Site (Note expanded schedule page 5 and 6) 0700 Depart by bus from hotel North entrance Lunch & drinks on bus $15 x = 1800 Arrive Hotel- Dinner on your own Wed-September Business Meeting Ladies shopping-meet at North entrance Free day 1800 Banquet dinner Diamond Mae's Ballroom $35 x = Salad/Salmon/Pork loin/potatoes/green beans/ dessert Name tag & Hospitality room expenses $10 x = TOTAL $ Please submit your reservation form to Ann Cragg so it is received no later than August 31 5 Make checks payable to USS Finch Reunion and mail with this form to: Ann Cragg, P.O. Box 353, Emigrant MT 59027

5 USS Finch Reunion Tuesday September 27, :00 a.m. Ryan s Express bus arrives at C-1 Building, rear entrance. Meet Richard Ivy, Institutional Visits, National Security Technologies (NSTec). 7:05 a.m. Depart for Arizona Charlies Hotel, 740 South Decatur Boulevard. 7:30 a.m. Arrive at Arizona Charlies Hotel. Meet visitors at north entrance, located on the Ross Store side. 7:45 a.m. Depart for Mercury. 9:00 a.m. Arrive at Mercury Badge Office for badging. Photo identification is required at time of badging. 9:20 a.m. Depart for Gate :25 a.m. Arrive at Gate 100 for badge check. 9:30 a.m. Depart for Mercury Cafeteria. 9:35 a.m. Arrive at Mercury Cafeteria. Rest stop 9:50 a.m. Depart for Icecap Ground Zero (GZ). 10:30 a.m. Arrive at Icecap GZ. Briefing by Richard Ivy. 11:00 a.m. Depart for Sedan Crater. 11:15 a.m. Arrive at Sedan Crater. Group photo 11:30 a.m. Depart for T-1 Training Area. 11:50 a.m. Arrive at T-1 Training Area. Drive-by briefing. A government camera is approved for a group photo at Sedan Crater and will be controlled by Richard Ivy. Briefings are unclassified. NO FOREIGN NATIONALS

6 12:00 Noon Depart for Apple II houses. 12:10 p.m. Arrive at Apple II houses. Drive-by briefing 12:20 p.m. Depart for Building :35 p.m. Arrive at Building Lunch from Bistro in large conference room. 1:30 p.m. Depart for Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC). 1:55 p.m. Arrive at Area 5 RWMC. Meet Tom Hergert, Facility Manager or Jon Yonko, NSTec. 2:20 p.m. Depart for Frenchman Flat. Check in at Nonproliferation Test and Evaluation Complex (NPTEC) before entering and exiting lake bed. 2:25 p.m. Arrive at Frenchman Flat. Briefing on weapons effects test structures and NPTEC. 2:45 p.m. Depart for Mercury. 3:00 p.m. Arrive at Mercury Cafeteria. Rest stop. Escort returns water container to cafeteria supervisor. 3:15 p.m. Depart for Gate :20 p.m. Arrive at Gate 100 for badge check. 3:25 p.m. Depart for Arizona Charlies Hotel, Las Vegas. 4:40 p.m. Arrive at Arizona Charlies Hotel. Drop off guests. 4:45 p.m. Ryan s Express bus and Richard Ivy depart for C-1 Building, North Las Vegas. 5:10 p.m. Arrive at C-1 Building. Bus released. ###

7 FINCH REUNION 2016 Richard S. Resnick 3175 Coolidge Ave Los Angeles, CA Return Service Requested TO: We re on the web! ussfinch.com A Note from Carla Stidham, (regarding the check she was given as a gift to her at Norfolk Reunion) Dear Finch Ladies, I want to thank you so much for generous gift of $100 to be used for a charity of my choice. Most of you know that it went to the Christmas Shop of the Boys and Girls Club in our community. The Children are able to select gifts for their family members at no cost to them. The gifts are then wrapped and ready to put under the tree. The club, the children and I were blessed by your support. Once again Thanks, Carla SEA TALES by E. Z. Earl THE ORIGINAL USS CONSTITUTION In July, 1776 the Constitution sailed from Boston with the declared mission to to destroy and harass English shipping Her compliment was 475 officers and sailors. Her stores included 48,600 gallons of water, 7400 lbs. of cannon balls, 11,600 lbs. of black powder, and, of course 79,400 gallons of Rum! She arrived in Jamaica in October where she took on 826 pounds of flour and, of course, 64,300 gallons of Wine! In November she set sail for England to do battle in which she destroyed five British men of-war And captured 12 merchant ships, of course, salvaging only their stores of Rum! By January her shot and powder were depleted, but she still conducted a night raid up the Firth of Scotland where her landing party captured a distillery and, of course, transferred 40,000 gallons of Scotch back aboard! She finally set sail for home where she arrive in February with NO food, NO cannon shot, NO powder, NO Rum, NO Scotch, but, of course, 38,600 gallons of water! GO NAVY!