OHIO DESA. Conference.

Here are some picture I took of some extremely interesting and historic men. Men that I am proud to call my new friends!! I wish that I would have taken more pictures,  but I was having such a great time, and was to busy running my mouth to do so!                                  
This is Wally Vinson.  He is off the USS Gillette.  He contributed greatly to Warren Szczypiorski web site of the USS Gillette. I highly recommend that you all stop by there, you can get there from my links page.  Wally and I talked most of the night about the Buckley Class DE. I found Wally a wealth of information. I never knew what the inside of a DE was like. Since I only have seen the out side.  He went over the lay out and through his vivid stories of being out at sea I felt like I was actually there!  Thank you Wally for sharing your time with me.  It is time like these that I will never forget. I am so proud to call Wally Vinson my Friend!!
 These Pic's were taken April 2000.
This is Bill Kale.  Bill is one tough guy.  I was so glad to meet him.  I have been a student of the Naval Battles off Guadalcanal. I have given speeches and talks at many schools and museums about these battles, and to finally meet some one from the Cushing is a dream come true. Bill Kale was the helmsman on the USS Cushing DD-376.  Commander "Butch" Parkers ship during the 2nd battle of Savo Island.  He saw the BB Hiei come sliding through the water only yards from them. Saw the Cushings  5" 38 rounds slamming into Hiei.  What a site to see!!!!! He also watched as a 5.5" Jap round go ripping through the bridge taking crew and equipment with it.  He was also one of the last ones to leave the battered and burning Cushing,  helping the wounded Commander Parker into the water.
What makes this story even more interesting is that Bill Kale was almost kicked out of the Navy for being to young.  He was an orphan that ran way from the state home for orphans to join the navy.  He was found out to be to young,  but a sympathetic Admiral sent him to the Asiatic Gun Boat fleet in China for a year.  Saying " when you return Bill you will be old enough!  And with that the Admiral promptly "LOST" Bills Personnel records!!!  Bill Kale we Salute you!!!!
This is Arthur Overacker. Arthur is off of the USS Jenks.  His ship was instrumental in one of the Atlantic greatest Epics.  The capture of the U-505 on the high sea's.  The USS Jenks was part of the hunter killer group formed around the CVE USS Guadalcanal.  The Jenks is the ship that speed the captured code books to the US. These code books were an important link in the operation that broke the back of the German U-boat threat.   Arthur said that the USS Jenks captured some U-505 crew.  One of the German officers was placed in a bunk next to his. All they could do for the trip back was just look at each other.  It seemed to Arthur that the German was glad the war was over for him.  You can find out more about this battle by going back to the front page and clicking on the link for U-505 in the Greenwood history section.

Charley Manning,   and the Ohio DESA Commander, Mr. Rodger Garner.
Me, John John, Teddy and Wally Vinson at the Sidney Ohio Liberty.

I would also like to give Honorable mention to others I meet at the Ohio DESA conference.  I wish I had taken there picture as well. Mr. Dorsey Biller who is the only man I know to have actually smashed up a DE. The USS Mack, DE358. Seems Mr. Biller was helmsman, and while trying to come along side a floundering Philippine Frigate during a storm. They "bumped a couple times." Mr. Rodger Garner was the first person I met there.  I would like to thank him for showing me around, and making me feel like a shipmate! Mr. Charley Manning, who also runs the USAAF museum in Dayton. I would like to thank him for the time he spent with me and the invitation to come up to the museum for a special tour. I will be taking you up on that offer soon Mr. Manning!