USS Joseph Strauss Home Page

So we ask each of the STRAUSS shipmates to include in a special prayer for the complete recovery either physically or emotionally of our shipmates and/or family members from their present suffering.

Prayers needed for:

Your Request Here.

---Please submit binnacle/prayer requests to Ray Berilla, or Doc Kotrola. The names will remain on the list for one month unless cancelled or extended by request

Send your email messages of

support to our troops:

During past military U.S. operations, service members overseas have received messages of support from back home via letters addressed to "Any service member." Due to the increased security this program has been suspended and replaced with an email system.

These letters are important morale boosters to those who are stationed far from home and often risking their lives on a daily basis.

E-mailed messages can be sent 24 hours a day. Selected e-mails will be published in the military overseas newspaper, the "Stars and Stripes." Please take time to send some "e-support" to our service personnel and let them know how much their sacrifices are appreciated!

Barry Coombs

1st Lt/Comm

Click on the link below to send your message.

Welcome aboard the USS Joseph Strauss Website

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I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG,
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS,
ONE NATION UNDER GOD,
INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY
AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

Let us never forget who gets the credit for the freedoms we have, of
which we should be eternally grateful.

I watched the flag pass by one day,
It fluttered in the breeze.

A Young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease..

I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,

With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.

How many died on foreign soil
How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea

How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of Taps one night,
When everything was still,

I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times
That Taps had meant "Amen,"

When a flag had draped a coffin.
Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea

Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.

"And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: 'I served in the United States Navy.'"

-John F. Kennedy 1 Aug 1963

Please click on the link below to add your information to our roster of found shipmates.

Let others know you're on board by signing our message board.

To: All Hands:

The years of hard work and suffering have finally paid off! In a monumental decision August 16 the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) made a ruling that all Veterans that served aboard U.S. Naval ships in the Vietnam conflict are eligible to claim diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange/Dixon. The "boot on the shore" rule HAS BEEN OVERTURNED!

However the Department of Veterans Affairs has appealed the decision and seems determined to tie up the issue in the courts as long as possible. For now they have been granted permission to place a temporary "stay" on all Bluewater Navy/Agent Orange disability claims. But this is not a time to lose hope and become discouraged. On the contrary, if you are suffering from Agent Orange-related illnesses and have not received an Agent Orange exam or gotten your paper work together for a claim now is the time to do so. You can find everything you need to know about filing a claim at Bluewater Navy. It's a website dedicated to reference information specifically related to the Bluewater Navy/Agent Orange topic. It's also the best place to find the latest news on the status of the court battle.

Also be sure to visit our friends over at the VNVETS. They've really gone to bat for the Bluewater Navy. Click the link above and read the OP-ED piece they've published on the subject and do what you can to help get the word out to the local and national media.

We Support the Blue Water Navy Vets!

Our

2007 Reunion

Colorado Springs, CO!

was a great success!

Stay tuned for pictures and details on how to get your 2007 reunion books.

Our 2008 Reunion is slated for Tucson, Arizona September 18 - 21

Our host for this event will be Mike Flood.

Stay tuned for details.

The site selected for our 2009 reunion is Niagara Falls, NY!

Join us and our east coast hosts Mike and Mary Rickards and Tony and Bonnie Luppino on Oct. 1,2,3 and 4th. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at 300 Third St, in Niagara Falls, NY.

We are requesting proposed reunion sites with a shipmate host living within 150 miles of the proposed hotel as per Association By-Laws Article 8, Section 6.

There is a possibility that a site will be selected at the reunion business meeting.

Those of you out there who would like to propose your site locations, please send an email to any one of our officers and make your pitch for your location.

We also have a sister site with Yahoo that includes an email discussion group and some additional files related to our ship. Membership is free and messages are posted on the site if you choose not to participate by email.

Click on the patch to sign up.

New Online Services

The USS Joseph Strauss Association is proud to introduce several new online services. You now have the option of registering for membership, updating the information in your registry listing, paying your annual dues or making a donation online. We have contracted with PayPal to provide us with state-of-the-art security for these transactions. You must set up an account with PayPal to use these new financial tools but there is no cost to you for these services. When you choose to pay your annual dues by Paypal

you will receive an annual email reminder when it's time to renew. Renewing is simply a matter of visiting your secure online Paypal account and authorizing the transaction. Paypal also allows you to use your credit card with it's service if you like. For more information visit www.Paypal.com or click on our link below.

There are links below to fill out a new member application to update your registry information or to pay your dues online. We hope you enjoy the convenience of these new services. Feel free to contact the webmaster if you have any questions or problems.

Thanks again for your support!

A 501(c) (3) Non Profit Organization

WE MAY AGAIN WALK THE DECKS OF A DDG IN JACKSONVILLE

30 minutes ago.........at 6:02 PM 2/26/08
The Jacksonville City Council voted 15 For and 0 Against and PASSED the resolution to accept the
ACVA Project to bring the USS Charles F. Adams
DDG-2 to Jacksonville, Florida.

Much work still needs to be done. The ACVA is working very hard
to complete the ship application to submit it to NAVSEA by
March 31, 2008.

WE NEED TO RAISE MORE FUNDS QUICKLY.
PLEASE SEND WHAT YOU CAN ASAP.

Make checks out to "ACVA"
Send them to
Dave Myerly
5 Bush Road
Denville, New Jersey 07834

Become an ACVA Member by going to our web site http://adamsclassddgvets.org/    and click on "Join the ACVA"
and fill out and submit the application. If you also send a check
for $25 or more at the same time we will assign you the title of ACVA Plankowner with your own ACVA Plankowner Number!

ADAMS CLASS SHIPS
DDG-2 USS Charles F. Adams - DDG-3 USS John King
DDG-4 USS Lawrence - DDG-5 USS Claude V. Rickets
DDG-6 USS Barney - DDG-7 USS Henry B. Wilson
DDG-8 USS Lynde McCormick - DDG-9 USS Towers
DDG-10 USS Sampson - DDG-11 USS Sellers
DDG-12 USS Robison - DDG-13 USS Hoel
DDG-14 USS Buchanan - DDG-15 USS Berkeley
DDG-16 USS Joseph Strauss - DDG-17 USS Conyngham
DDG-18 USS Semmes - DDG-19 USS Tattnall
DDG-20 USS Goldsborough - DDG-21 USS Cochrane
DDG-22 USS Benjamin Stoddert - DDG-23 USS Richard E. Byrd
DDG-24 USS Waddell
Royal Australian Navy
HMAS Perth DDG-38          HMAS Hobart DDG-39          HMAS Brisbane DDG-41
German Navy
Zerstörer Lütjens D185        Zerstörer Mölders D186        Zerstörer Rommel D187

One of the highlights of the 2007 USS Joseph Strauss reunion was the introduction of one of our shipmates who has gone on to become a successful author by retelling his colorful Navy experiences in a novel titled "Steve McQueen Would Be Proud". If you ever wished you could go back and relive some of those unforgettable experiences once again, Steve Mitchell is your time machine!
   Steve, who served aboard the Strauss during the Vietnam era, has an uncanny knack for capturing the atmosphere of an environment. He knows what it takes to bring it alive in your mind. The sounds and smells of the ports come back to you, the craziness of the bars, the wild characters...the adrenaline.
He's also got a steel-trap mind for all the wacky stuff that went on aboard ship which he demonstrated in several of the book excerpts he read for the reunion attendees at our banquet. He read one chapter on the "Sea Bat" that had everyone in stitches. I know he ended up reading much more than he planned from his book that night because the audience kept asking for more. I don't know about Steve McQueen but I know that a lot of people in that audience were proud of Steve Mitchell and I'm one of them! There's a link to Steve's website at the bottom of this article with excerpts from the book (including the "sea bat" story!) and information on how to order your copy. It's a great read. You're going to love it!
Ray Berilla
webmaster
Steve autographing shipmate Dennis Dale's copy at the reunion

Click on book to go to Steve's website

We Will Not Forget!

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Webmaster-Ray Berilla