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Association Officers
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President
Ron Zimmerman Sr.
474 SW Prater Ave.
Port St. Lucie, FL 34953
(772) 621-4016
ae17assn@adelphia.net
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Vice President
Doug Hauser
2137 Young Farm Pl.
Montgomery, AL 36106
(334)277-2151
hauserae17@charter.net
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Secretary
Jack Norton
2386 SE Patio Circle
Port St. Lucie, FL 34952
(772)335-9852
nortonae17@msn.com
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Treasurer
George Kaiser
311 W. Oak Lane
Glenolden, PA 19036
(610)237-1652
dcckaiser@juno.com
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Reunion 2006
Sept. 20th -
24th
Kissimmee, FL |
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From
our President: Plans for the 2006 Reunion are
complete and the
Bank is OPEN for Business!
To make it convenient we have included a Reunion
Registration form with this newsletter. There is also one
available on our web site in case the dog eats this one.
Please note that there is a registration cut-off date. Also,
this year we will be having an Early Bird Registration door
prize drawing for 1 Free Night at the hotel.
To be eligible your envelope
containing the Reunion Registration forms and money must be
post marked prior to July 7, 2006 .
New Finds: Ronald Grams, GMG3, ‘65; Charles Starks,
GM3, ‘54; Jesse Coston, GM3, ‘55 and David Padgett, MM2,
‘59.
Honor Roll: George A. Farrands, ET3, ’52; Paul
Brosie, EN3, ’56; William P. Gray, HMC, ’67; George R.
Hudacik, BM1, ’62; James R. Madarena, EM2, ’49 and Richard
J. Zawodniak, S1c, ’46.
We wish to express our deepest sympathy and most sincere
condolences to their family and friends.
Web Site Update: Besides the usual updates to the
crew lists and Honor Roll pages, nothing new has been added
to the web pages. I am still working on the 1962 Deck Logs
and now hope to have them ready for the Reunion and November
web page update. Originally my plan was to have them ready
for this update but I got behind on my Association work
because of a hard drive crash - due to, from what I can
tell, a Virus that was imbedded in an e-mail. The suspected
culprit was one of those that had several
FWD. FWD, FWD. in the
subject line. Normally I don’t open those e-mails at all,
but the subject line looked important so I did. Fortunately
I had recently done a back-up of the files so nothing major
was lost. Still, it cost me a lot of time and frustration
to reformat the hard drive, install the operating system
plus all the programs and get my computer back up and
running. For this reason I
will no longer accept e-mails that have been FWD several
times! No funny story or joke is worth exposure to a
virus that is imbedded in an e-mail that the sender might
not even be aware of. So, if you are one of the above mass
e-mail FWD folks, PLEASE do
not include me in your “Send To”. The proper
etiquette for sending things on to others is to copy the
text, or whatever it is you want to send on, into a NEW
e-mail that you create.
This ONLY works if you have an up-to-date Anti-virus program
installed and have it set-up to scan ALL incoming and
out-going e-mails. Those who still insist on sending
me e-mails that have been forwarded several times will have
their e-mail addresses blocked - a course of action that I
would rather not have to take. Sorry about the hard line
stance on this but the next time I might not be as lucky and
lose ALL the files I have regarding the web site plus other
information, correspondence and files. Thank you for your
understanding.
Ron Zimmerman Sr.
President

From the desk of the Vice President: Hello
again to all! This year is going by fast, here it is June
already, and reunion time is fast approaching. Jack and Pat
Norton, along with co-host Ron and Sally Zimmerman have
worked very hard on putting this together for us all, so
please plan to attend.
As many of you might know I had some concerns about Baton
Rouge, LA, as the site for the 2007 reunion due to the
influx of people from the Gulf region who lost their homes
during the hurricane last year. As my wife and I will be
hosting it, we took a trip to the area to check it out. I am
happy to report that my worries were for nothing. We
traveled all over the city and found there were no problems.
Now, I can begin to plan activities for the 2007 reunion. I
already know what one of the tours will be, the D-Day Museum
in New Orleans. We will be holding the Memorial Service at
the USS Kidd museum, hopefully with lunch included in Baton
Rouge. All the rest to be determined at a later date. For
those who like a casino, there are a couple there. But this
is for 2007.
On our trip we traveled the coast line of Mississippi,
Louisiana and New Orleans. The disaster is still visible
along the coast and the devastation that we saw is unreal. I
know we have some of our shipmates in the area, so please
keep them in your prayers.
On reunions, I would like to see a few more get involved. I
hope some of you will bring information to present at this
year’s business meeting for the 2008 reunion location. It
seems that for the last few years the only ones that host
reunions are the board. Let’s see if we can get more
shipmates involved and hold a reunion in your area. The goal
was to try to have one in each state. I am sure some of you
would like to see one close to you. If you don’t volunteer
to host one it might not happen. As I said before I am
willing to help, but you would have to do the leg work as I
might be to far away from your location to help in person.
So, bring some information to the reunion and present it. We
do go out two years now so you have time to plan, but keep
in mind an airport close to the hotel is important.
Back to this years reunion. It is a great opportunity to meet
some of your shipmates and a great bunch of people. So, make
your plans to be part of this years crew. Hope to see you
all there.
Membership: Again, thanks to all who
have supported the Association and help keep the old boat
afloat.
Anyway, as membership chairman, it is my job to hassle
those who have not yet paid for 2006 and get more to join
the active membership. It is a great Association and I
believe it is one of the best. Our President does a great
job on the web site, and he should be complimented whenever
possible. Not to much though, as all those hats he bought
will not fit his big head.
I’m very happy that we have many shipmates who send in their
dues on a regular basis. Some send it as soon they receive
the newsletter, so they wont forget, which is great. So, if
you can, please send it in now. Also, when you come to a
reunion, in order to vote at the business meeting, you have
to be an active member.
As of this newsletter we have 158 paid for 2006 which is
up from the 131 before the spring newsletter. So, that says
we only picked up 27 more which means we have a lot more to
do to reach a goal of 250-300. When I started out we had 76
paid members. Over the years, we have received paid
membership from 354 shipmates. I’m not sure if they think
they only have to pay dues once and that makes them an
active member. The dues, as most know, are yearly and that
is how we can send out three newsletters a year and maintain
our web site. I hope we can bring many of these shipmates
back. So, if you have not paid your 2006 dues please do so
now and your ability to pay for future years is always
welcome. Thank you for your support.
Doug Hauser
Vice-President & Membership Chairman

REUNION UPDATE: First off, we want to say thank you to
our “Early Bird” shipmates who have already sent us their
registration forms & checks for the 2006 Reunion. One of our
shipmates is coming all the way from New Zealand! Mike
LaFauci and his wife Donna will be making a mega-mile flight to
join us all in Kissimmee, Florida. Now, how about the rest
of you --- IT’S TIME TO MAKE YOUR PLANS.
Our computer whiz, President Ron Z., has posted a page on our
web site dedicated to the 2006 Reunion. Go to
www.greatsitkin.org and click on the rotating sign at the
top of the Welcome page. The reunion information page will
show you all the great tours and events we will be enjoying;
pictures and info. on our host hotel, the Ramada Plaza Hotel
& Gateway Inn; and there is even a link to the band’s web
site that lists music selections from their repertoire. One
knowledgeable visitor sent me an e-mail stating it was the
most fantastic and comprehensive web site and reunion
presentation he had ever seen. So, check it out ---I know
you’ll be impressed with all that is being offered to you.
So, fill out the form and send it to us today and then get
ready for another super reunion.
You know one of the things we all have in common is our
memory of our shipboard experience. Come to the hospitality
suite at the reunion and keep the USS GREAT SITKIN memory
alive. It will be your attending that will make the
2006 reunion the success we want it to be.
Jack and Pat Norton,
Ron and Sally Zimmerman
Reunion Hosts

Secretary’s Report: Along with working on this year’s
reunion and the newsletters, I have been busy acquiring
necessary updated paperwork. With the changing of the
secretary position from Don McClane who lives in Texas to my
living in Florida, we had to apply for a new non-profit
postage permit and a sales tax exemption for Florida. It
took a few months, but all is in place now.
Also, one of the items in the list of secretary’s duties
(along with being part of a great association) is sending
greeting cards to our members. So, if you know of a shipmate
who is not feeling well, let me know and a card will be sent
to let him know the Association is thinking of him.
Jack Norton
Secretary

Repair 3: Here it is, 2 weeks before Memorial Day,
official start of summer. Or, so they say. I’m sure, as a
lot of us get a little grayer each passing day, all of the
seasons start to just blend in together. Ahh, so it goes.
One thing for sure, the 2006 reunion will be here all too
quickly, and this year, the coming of the reunion will mean
the 1st week of Autumn. And that Shipmates, is my
little lead in to my quarterly reunion push.
Again, I direct my attention to the guys from the
little shop on the 2nd deck outside the reefer
flats, R DIVISION! No big speech, just want to say I’m
getting a little weary of Fred Applegate and me being the
only Damage Controlman at the party! These Sounding and
Security watches are getting a little tedious guys, how
about coming to Orlando this year and taking a watch or 2?
Hmm. Speaking of Sounding and Security, do any of my R Div
brothers remember us getting sent to the engine room to
stand evaporator watches during the 71 Med Cruise? I sure
do. Didn’t like it much then, but in retrospect, the main
space was an interesting place to be. And that’s where I’ll
take up my ship tour for this edition.
The evaps were used to distill sea (salt) water into fresh
water for use in the boilers and for crew use. They ( it was
only one evaporator, but as I recall, we always called it
“the evap set.”) were located on the upper level of the
engine room, port side. Aft of the evaps were the emergency
generators. I still can picture the MM’s hand cranking the
generators to get them going when steam got low, which
seemed to be a regular occurrence during my tour on the old
Girl. Try as I might, I can’t picture what was forward of
the evaps, but if I walked past the evap controls toward the
center of the main space, there were the turbines.
OK, now here is where my lack of MM knowledge comes to the
fore. I know there were 2 turbines, but which was which? The
big one in the center had a large, plastic, Champion spark
plug stuck on the top. Do you know, those plastic plugs are
selling for over $100 these days?
In front of the turbines were the throttles and a large
control board with gauges and stuff. And aft of the turbine
were the boilers. Now, I KNOW I butchered a lot of the terms
for these main space fixtures, but I sort of did it on
purpose. In past newsletters, the staff has begged and
pleaded for some of you guys to get in front of a keyboard
and write stuff for the letter. Ok M and B Division, here’s
your chance! Correct my errors or omissions, tell the rest
of the crew just what you did in the main space, where and
how you did it, and some good stories I’m sure you all have.
As usual, we still have lots of good items in the ships
store. This year in Orlando, we will have a new shirt to
sell, and a new design coffee mug too.
But for now, I’m off watch, and I’m
hitting the rack! Stay Safe!
George Kaiser
Treasurer

Support the Troops: In the last 2 newsletters I talked
about my son and his unit’s deployment to Iraq. His being
deployed has me wondering if any other crewmember has a son
or daughter, grandson or granddaughter that is currently
deployed to, or has served in, the middle east in support of
the operations in either Iraq or Afghanistan. If so, please
call, write or e-mail me and let me know. I am planning on
putting together a list of those, who like their father /
grandfather have served in the armed forces.
The information that I need is their name, rank, branch of
service, dates and place deployed to and their father’s /
grandfather’s name and date he served aboard Great Sitkin.
This list will be posted in the hospitality room in honor of
their service to this country. The list will also be in the
November ‘06 newsletter. Thank you in advance for your
support in this effort.
Ron Zimmerman Sr.

Visitor Log Messages:
Thanks so much for the well maintained web page. I just had a
visit from Bill Padgett and his wife. I served with Bill on
the old ship in "M" Division. I had not seen or heard from
Bill in 46 years. The visit was great but way too short, but
we plan on improving on that! Robert E. Pratt MM2
Great Web Site.....Have "Plan of the Day"
logs for most of two years.
Bill Schultz 63/65
Ran the post office on the Sitkin from
1968 to 1969 with fond memories of the time,.....interested
to hear from shipmates I knew.
William R. Morrison 68-69
Worked in 1st Div, became postal clerk.
Would like to hear from anyone from those days. Good luck.
Dennis Leary 66-68
My father was on the Great Sitkin
8/45-5/46. Thank you for this web site.
Bruce Zaretsky
Would like to have S. Gibson; G. Deneault,
ETN3; R. Dietrich, RM2; G. Foras, RM3 and Ed Kuzma, RM3
contact me if possible. Believe Kuzma and I were stationed
together in Londonderry in 63-64. Frank Hausen ‘57-’58
I searched, out of curiosity, for
"BARBERICH" on Google.com, Images. What I found was
unexpected. Pictures of my Dad when he served on The Great
Sitkin!!! What a great memory to have. Thank you for
maintaining this site. Willy Barberich
This is a great site. It brings back fond
memories of my four years sailing her around the world, and
especially of my shipmates and the great friends I was
blessed to have made on board. I have thought of many of you
over the years and wondered how you are doing. I now look
forward to hearing from you. To those who put this site
together, THANK YOU and WELL DONE! MAY GOD BLESS EACH OF YOU
WHO SERVED OUR GREAT COUNTRY WHILE SAILING "THE GREAT
SITKIN". John Hopper ‘67-’71
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