March 2021 Newsletter
Shipmates,
Thanks to shipmates John F. Byers, Jr. (SMSN 58-61), Bill Kelly (QM1 68-69), Capt. Ed Mulhern (LT, 68-69) and Perry Massey (BT2 67-69) for donations to help with the printing and mailing of this newsletter.
We have a number of deaths of shipmates to report, some due to COVID, but many just reflect that our membership is getting older as the years we served aboard recede into the past. James Hicks, Mikey Peters and Sandy Reid hosted reunions in years past. Take care and hope to see you at the upcoming reunion.
Dick Oliver
Welcome Aboard
A hearty welcome aboard to GM3 Eddie L. Michael of Vancouver Washington. Shipmate Al Eisenbraun learned of Eddie via his sister on Facebook. Al is very active on Facebook and the Hubbard has its own Facebook page. If you friend Hubbard on Facebook you will be a part of the conversation among Hubbard shipmates and relatives regarding the ship and its shipmates. New shipmate Eddie came aboard Hubbard March 1, 1959. He had been a crew member of USS Silverstein DE-534 until that ship was decommissioned. Eddie was aboard Hubbard until July 14, 1959, when he transferred to USS Picking DD-685, a Fletcher-class destroyer.
We also welcome SM3 Billie Ward Everly of Warsaw, Indiana. He came aboard from boot camp in September 1965 and stayed until the mass transfers at the end of DD-748 active service in 1969, completing his time aboard a destroyer escort. I thought we had
located him several years ago but he did not respond to the letter inviting him to be a part of the group. Recently I ran across his name in a file folder of pending items. We got an update on his address and phone number. Al Eisenbraun followed up on the phone number and had a nice chat. He and Al have both had similar heart surgeries.
Another new shipmate is RM2 John Bangerter. His son found our website on the internet while looking for a birthday present for his father. John came aboard Hubbard from San Diego boot camp October 14 1950 and stayed until June 1953. In the cruisebook listing he is shown as Lynn Bangerter but he prefers his middle name, John.
The Dickerson Mystery
Our muster roll listings for post-WWII end with July 1946 because the remaining pages were overexposed and unreadable from there until the first decommissioning 15 January 1947. The three pages that end April, June and July 1946 are signed by LCDR V. M. Dickerson, USNR, by direction. The March pages end with M. H. Buaas signing as XO.
Al Eisenbraun in June 2020 was in touch with the son of the LCDR and here is what he learned. His name was Vincent M. Dickerson and he served as XO from March 1946 to September 1946, at which time he became CO until the decommissioning. His son has his father’s napkin ring which is engraved with his name and the title commanding officer. The son is Michael M. Dickerson and he had his name added to the napkin ring and used it when he was senior
medical officer on the USS Iowa. The father was promoted to Captain and retired but he died June 25, 1970 of a service-connected disability. The son completed his internship and medical residency at the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego. His son was born there in 1988 and was named Arleigh after Admiral Arleigh Burke. Vincent M. Dickerson had served with Arleigh Burke when Vincent was gunnery officer on the USS Charles Ausburne before serving in Hubbard. Michael Dickerson completed surface qualifications in USS David R. Ray (DD-971) in 1986 before going on to serve as medical officer in USS South Carolina (CGN-37) and the battleships USS Iowa and Wisconsin. He was medical director at the Pine Ridge Indian Health
Service Hospital in Pine Ridge South Dakota when Al reached him.
Edition of March 2021
So, the mystery is solved. LCDR Vincent M. Dickerson was the last Commanding Officer of Hubbard at the end of her first period of service, WWII.
Why We Attend Reunions - a Note
Shipmate Otto Brock writes as follows on learning of the death of Don Smith. “I was just this morning apprised of the passing of shipmate Donald W. Smith, EM2, 1954-1957. Don and I served on the Hubbard at the same time. He would come into main battery plot once a day to check on equipment and I got to know him quite well. After the ship returned from the Far East cruise in 1957, Don met Miss Bernadene. One day Don came into main battery plot and asked
if I would stand up for them in Las Vegas at their wedding. Naturally I did and that was the last time I saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith until the Hubbard Reunion in Nashville, TN in 2002. Neither had changed much from the last time I had seen them - maybe more mature. Don will be missed by all.” Al Eisenbraun reminds me that at the Oklahoma City reunion in October 2017 the son of Don and Bernadene was the banquet speaker. He retired from the Navy as a Captain.
Flower Donations
We attempt to send flowers for funerals of shipmates. However, unless the shipmate has been active in our association we usually do not find out about the death until well after the fact, too
late to provide flowers. When we do send flowers it is usually a red/white/blue wreath on a stand with a ribbon indicating the name of our ship. We do not usually have time to solicit donations to pay for the flowers and so just go ahead and pay for the flowers out of our general fund. Sometimes shipmates volunteer to help pay for the
flowers and we do accept donations after the fact. If you wish to make a donation for this purpose, you can send us a check. Since
our bank account is in the name of the USS Harry E. Hubbard Reunion Association you can use that name in making out the check. Shipmates also send in checks for newsletter expense and to help with reunion expenses, so be sure to indicate the purpose of your check if you send one.
Roster Changes
I received an email from someone who said he was a friend and neighbor of Dan Valle and wanted to let us know that he had died April 15, 2020. DK3 Daniel M. Valle was aboard from March 1968 to the final transfer of crew to the Mullaney. RD3 Peter G. Howland 1956-58 on our memorial list had several interesting jobs. He was the bass player for the Righteous Brothers in the mid 60’s including the great song "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling.” Sometime our website prompts a report from a family member. Such was the case recently when Debbie Wheelock reported the death of her father, Charles Travis. We also received a report on the death of Joseph R. McFarland and several others in this manner.
We note with particular sorrow the passing of IC2 Sandy Reid. Not only was he a faithful attendee and host of our St. Louis reunion in 1994, the sixth, but he was also founder of our ship store and ran it up through 2007. He was called up in the Korean Conflict and served
a little less than a year in Hubbard. He was a noted St. Louis Cardinal baseball fan, as was his son Glenn, who in recent years brought his father to the reunions. They could be seen proudly wearing their Cardinals shirts. I was surprised to learn that the “S” middle initial of Sandy was for a middle name of Spence and not for something related to the Sandy nickname. Sandy was in remarkable health until recently when a bad fall seemed to set off a rapid decline.
As this newsletter was going to press we learned of the death of Bob Shenk. Bob and his wife Paula attended many reunions. He was Professor of English at the University of New Orleans for 34 years and wrote numerous books on Navy history. Particularly noteworthy is his
book America’s Black Sea Fleet, about our squadron of four-stack destroyers 1919-1923 during the Greek and Armenian genocides in Turkey.
Our Departed Shipmates
CWO2 (RM1) James W. Bowser 1965-66 11/11/96 Gaithersburg Maryland
GM2 Leroy Donald Brown 1946 12/16/19 Mount Wolf Pennsylvania
GMG3 William Cecil Casey 1966-69 6/13/01 Forrest City Arkansas
SH3 John Richard Clifton 1966-69 3/17/20 Lynnwood Washington
SK3 Henry E. Coger 1953-56 2/24/20 Fredericksburg Texas
Plankowner SM2 Charles Edward Collier 1944-46 6/21/20 Salisbury Maryland
BT2 Warren F. Crosby 1959 1/20/13 Redding California
GM3 Richard Charles Cyckowski 1945-46 10/4/19 Wilmington Deleware
STG3 William H. Crevier 1968-69 6/13/20 Tampa Florida
Capt (MC) Carl Norman Danitschek (LTjg 1959-60) 3/29/20 Waynesville North Carolina
LCDR Vincent Manford Dickerson 1946-47 XO 3/46-9/46 CO 9/46-2/47 Piedmont Oklahoma
WO4 George P. (Gunner) Evans 1959-60 (FTSN) 12/15/20 Cherry Hill New Jersey
CS3 Joseph Eugene Ferro 1956-58 9/27/20 Sandy Utah
QM3 Gary E. Fletcher 1961-64 10/27/19 Bellingham Washington
SN Peter T. Foley 1969 1/28/2021 Lake Villa Illinois
SN Francis Frassa 1959-60 3/26/97 Stratford Connecticut
MM3 Eugene C, Glockner Jr. 1951-52 1/9/2018 Thibodaux, Louisiana
QM1 Richard Carl Gossett 1967-68 2019 Virginia Beach Virginia
GMG3 Joseph Lee Griffie 1966-69 8/23/20 Burdett Kansas
SN Howard C. (John) Hendricks 1966-68 12/1/20 Grove City Ohio
TM3 James M. Hicks 1950-54 4/24/20 Wetumpka Alabama
Plankowner S 2/c Marvin Eugene Hill 1944-45 4/29/20 Richmond Virginia
RD3 Peter G.Howland 1956-58 2/27/21 Prescott Arizona
GMG3 Dewey Roger Jarrell 1966-69 9/1/20 North Aurora Illinois
MM2 Charles B. Jenkins 1952-55 3/10/20 Lake Charles Louisiana
IC2 Richard Merrill Johnson 1953-57 3/11/20 Omaha Nebraska
SD1 William Jones 1966-68 5/13/84 Los Angeles California
Plankowner S12c Ray Rexel Jordan 1944-46 8/3/02 Anderson Indiana
GMG3 Gary Douglas Kirby 1963-66 2/20/21 Omaha Nebraska
QM1 Senio Martinez 1956-60 12/15/04 Trinidad Colorado
FN Jerry W. McCollum 1966-67 1/26/2021 Oakland, Tennessee
GM2 Joseph Richard McFarland 1950-53 10/6/17 San Antonio Texas
Plankowner SO3 Hayden Morris 1944-46 4/5/20 Rehoboth Beach Delaware
MM2 Theodore A. (Ted) Nahhas 1966-68 8/8/20 Volcano California
SM2 Ernest A. (Pete) Pace 1965-66 1/21/20 Pahrump Nevada
GMCM Michael D. Peters 1960-66 4/30/20 Albuquerque New Mexico
GMG3 Robert Irey Powell (SN) 1968-69 6/14/19 Grants Pass Oregon
IC2 Alexander Spence (Sandy) Reid 1950-51 9/15/20 Florissant Missouri
CSSN Joseph Edward Allen Rose 1965-66 5/25/12 Shady Side Maryland
WO2 Richard M. Schamp (MMFN) 1959-61 11/30/20 Lake Stevens Washington
ETR3 Kenneth Raymond Scott 1966-68 4/6/20 Eugene Oregon
Capt Robert E. Shenk USNR (LTjg) 1965-68 1/30/21 Mandeville Louisiana
EM2 Donald W. Smith 1954-57 8/19/20 Anaheim California
LT Robert Lloyd (Bob) Stivers 1964-66 12/23/20 University Place Washington
BT2 Carol E. Thomas 1959 11/8/20 Union City Tennessee
SN Charles Edward Travis, Jr. 1957-59 9/8/12 Darby Pennsylvania
SN Phillip Updike 1954 3/22/20 Eufaula Oklahoma
DK3 Daniel Muzquiz Valle 1968-69 4/15/20 League City Texas
GM3 Clyde Shelby Wagner 1957-58 12/7/17 Lake Butler Florida
Flower Donations
We attempt to send flowers for funerals of shipmates. However, unless the shipmate has been active in our association we usually do not find out about the death until well after the fact, too late to provide flowers. When we do send flowers it is usually a red/white/blue wreath on a stand with a ribbon indicating the name of our ship. We do not usually have time to solicit donations to pay for the flowers and so just go ahead and pay for the flowers out of our general fund. Sometimes shipmates volunteer to help pay for the
flowers and we do accept donations after the fact. If you wish to make a donation for this purpose, you can send us a check. Since
our bank account is in the name of the USS Harry E. Hubbard Reunion Association you can use that name in making out the check. Shipmates also send in checks for newsletter expense and to help with reunion expenses, so be sure to indicate the purpose of your check if you send one.
To communicate with John Kraft, the reunion host, use the information provided by him on the reunion flyer, 2021 Reunion Information.
Richard E. Oliver
Ensign Nov 1968 to June 1969 last WestPac cruise
Editor Dick Oliver
Hubbard Herald
