A movement is underway to bring the \”USS\” Charles F. Adams to Gloucester City\’s waterfront. Led by Dr. Jim Doster, pastor of Lighthouse Baptist Church, the Adams was decommissioned August 1990 and placed in mothballs at the Philadelphia Navy Yard where she is currently berthed.

Pastor Jim, whose church is located at the corner of Market and Washington Streets, is associated with the Adams Class Veteran\’s Association (ACVA) which has been diligently trying to procure the ship as a museum for several years.

Doster said, \”the ACVA has tried to move the battle ship to Tampa/St. Petersburg, Milwaukee and several other cities but for one reason or the other none have panned out. We are now looking at Gloucester City as the most ideal site for the museum because of its proximity to the Navy Yard, the easy access for the public and the fresh water of the Delaware River.

The ship was stricken from the \”Ship Donation List\” last month and seemed destined to be scrapped, but a last ditch effort by the ACVA got the attention of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and we won a reprieve. He directed that Adams be held on \”Donation Hold\” for another year to give us time to put together a viable plan for Adams to move to Gloucester City.

The project would involve participation by the government of Gloucester City, the Businessmen\’s Association, the local Veteran\’s clubs and the ACVA. My conversations thus far with local business leaders have been very positive. Most seem to feel the fuel depot south of the marina would be ideal as it would provide a seawall as well as be easily accessible for the public.

The vision of the museum ship would be tours; special events and eventually, maybe even overnight encampments such as are being held onboard USS New Jersey. The question of tourist competition with BB-62 has been raised, but we do not feel that it is a valid issue since these are two very different classes of ships and each has a unique history that would draw a crowd.

On Tuesday, May 22nd, I am hosting a special meeting at Vincent\’s Restaurant to introduce Gloucester City officials and businessmen to the prospect of bringing the former Navy warship, U.S.S. Charles F. Adams DDG-2 to Gloucester City as a museum ship. Many of the men I have spoken to are excited about the concept and are eager to hear more from the \”experts\” at our dinner meeting. Present will be a Marine Engineer and a Survey Team of 15 former Navy Officers and Enlisted men who will be in the area examining the ship which is currently in Philadelphia.

If brought to fruition, this project could be an enormous boost to our City esthetically as well as economically. There are many hurdles to be overcome, but with the right mix of government, business and public support, believe this is something we can do. As a Navy retiree and former Adams crewmember, I have a personal interest in seeing the \”Charlie Duece\” permanently berthed in Gloucester, however, I also am convinced that this can be a tremendous PLUS for our waterfront development program.\”

\”USS\” Charles F. Adams web site

see letter

 

photos by Frank Messenger

Some shots of Philly\’s newest tallest building, the Comcast Tower, appears to be just short of topping out The \”box\” on top of the building is going to be filled with liquid which will help to stabilize thebuilding during high winds and other disturbances.

ADAMS CLASS VETERANS ASSOCIATION, Inc.

* SAVE * RESTORE * PRESERVE *
 

   
To: ACVA Members, Former Shipmates and Friends,

I hope all of you know by now that the ex-USS ADAMS DDG2 has been returned to \”Donation Hold Status\” at the direction of the CNO, Admiral Mullen a former Adams Class DDG Commanding Officer. On April 25, 2007, I received a letter from Vice Admiral M. P. Fitzgerald, Director, Navy Staff for the CNO, confirming this decision. We now have until March 31, 2008, to find a home for ADAMS and submit an Application for Donation to NAVSEA.

So what to we do now?

Our \”City Search Team\” composed of retired Captains, Jim Aldrich (DCA/MPA on DDG11, 67-70) and Bob Branco (MPA on DDG23, 68-69, XO on DDG20, 77-79, CO on DDG2, 83-85) are currently investigating the possible berthing of ADAMS in the Gloucester City, New Jersey area. Other members of our ACVA Board are making the rounds once again and contacting existing museums to identify a back up location. Anyone with connections to any museum that you believe might be interested in adding ADAMS should contact me by email at [email protected] or by phone at 623-849-9526. ACVA will follow up on all leads. We are still working with several other cities that we have previously worked with, to see if they can commit to a berth and funding.

Comprehensive Survey Team to visit ADAMS

On the morning of May 7, 2007, ACVA submitted an \”Official Request\” to NAVSEA so that on Monday, May 21, 2007, marine surveyor Joe Lombardi can conduct a resurvey of ADAMS in order to update the one he conducted a few years ago. Thanks to Member Donations this has been made possible. Information from the survey will help us in our talks with those we are asking to offer ADAMS a berth.

Not only did ACVA file a \”Formal Request\” with NAVSEA to perform a resurvey but also to allow a team from ACVA to go aboard Adams on May 22, for what we are calling a Comprehensive Working Survey. We also asked for two extra days on ADAMS, May 23-24 if necessary to complete our work.

Bob Branco took a volunteer list we gathered in 2004-2005 and contacted many and came up with a revised list of volunteers that will be divided into six (6) teams of 2-4 persons to cover as many spaces on ADAMS as team size and time permit. Bob devised a standard survey form to document missing or broken items in each space and the overall condition of that space. The team consists of seven (7) former Enlisted, two (2) former Warrant Officers and four (4) former Officers (all 06 Retired USN Captains).

This team plans to take many photos, lots of Video and take a minimum of two (2) weeks to compile a report and post photos to the ACVA and/or ADAMS web sites.

Future of ACVA and ADAMS

No one said it would be easy, and no one said it would be quick. Some on our board worked with other groups to find a home not only for ADAMS but other ADAMS Class ships and they came up short. I don\’t want to see us end up short again. I hope that with the help of all those who ever walked across the quarterdeck of an ADAMS Class ship and called her home for even a short time, we will be successful.

Donations to help make this dream come true can be sent to our ACVA Secretary, Dave Myerly at the following address:

Dave Myerly
5 Bush Road
Denville, NJ 07834-2906

With the help of our ADAMS Class Shipmates we can and will be successful. Questions and comments can be sent directly to me at [email protected] or by phone at 623-849-9526 or mail them to me at the following address.

Tom Crosser
President, Adams Class Veterans Association, Inc.
8520 West Clarendon
Phoenix, AZ 85037-2723

By Hank Miller, (Hank is a former resident of Gloucester City who lives in Japan) 

 

Westerners often find it takes Japanese a long time to make decisions.I believe the training for dicision making starts at an early age,when Japanese children are conditioned to be shy. 

 

\”Which do you like,Taro,\”you ask,\”the red candy or the blue one?\”Taro will not respond because children in Japan never have to make decisions.\”Hazukashi disu!\”(\”He\’s so shy!\”)Interjects Taro\’s mother with a smile,clearly praising the boy\’s behavior. 

 

And once will not be enough.She\’ll repeat \”hazukashii\”several times,which means embarrassed.(Just count the\”Hazukashiis\”next time you are around a Japanese mother and her child. I bet hundreds. Then imagine twins!) 

 

It\’s no wonder Japanese kids are so shy-they are constantly told to be.While the child smiles and burries his face behind his mother,we never fine out which Taro likes,the red or the blue.So I suppose it should be no wonder that by the time students get to my creative writing class at the Miller home school it can take an entire 60-minute class just to decide on a topic for an assay. 

 

This is not to say the students are doing nothing in class; they are thinking,trying to decide on what to decide.It goes like this:\”your next assignment is to write a 5oo-word essay.\”The class looks up at me-the students are horrified.I can see the question marks floating over their heads like in cartoo balloons. 

 

\”But I have nothing to write about,\”says one student.\”me neither.\”Me neither,\” \” Me neither,\”they each answer around the table. 

\”How about your trip abroad or your part-time job?\” 

I suggest.\”That\’s a good idea,\”says one student. Another student plays with her eraser while another looks at her winnie-the Pooh pencil,sighs and says to her friend,\”Pooh-san kawaii ne?\”(isn\’t Winnie the -Pooh cute?\”) 

 

\”What is your topic?\”I ask her.\”Pass!\”She says, as if my English class were a quiz show. II go back to the student who was showing promise with her topic. 

She is deliberating.\”Which should I write about, my trip abroad or my part-Job? Do shiyo ka na?\”(Which?)Then suddenly, another student interjects and the question marks above her head change to exclamation points:\”Muzukashii!\”(Difficult!\”). 

 

I can see the word written in bold red letters in the cartoon, accompanied by a lightning bolt. Exasperated, she crosses her arms in front of her on the desk and buries her face. Another student chimes in\”Muri!\”(\”Impossible!\”)While little muffins of steam pulse out of her head in her cartoon balloon 

 

It\’s almost as if I can read their minds, and their horoscopes: Aquarius: 

You will have a difficult time making decisions today Pisces: Postpone any decisions today, especially small ones.Libra\”Beware of making decisions today that will affect your entire week.Capricorn: Ignore people who try to push you into making decisions. 

I go back to the girl who was making progress. 

 

She has decided to write about her trip abroad and has even written the first paragraph of her essay. 

Meanwhile, the girl with the Winnie-the-Pooh pencil is now adhering Disney stickers onto her electronic dictionary.\”Kawaii ne?\”(\”Cute\”) she says to her friend.  

 

I wonder what this girl\’s\”O-baa-chan\”(\”grandmother\”) cart is going to look like when she\’s in her 80s. Suddenly, the chime rings sixty minutes have passed and not one decision has been made! 

Well, one has. I turn to the girl who has already written a paragraph, but now she is sitting with a blank sheet of paper in front of her. 

\”What happened?\”I ask.\”I\’ve changed my topic, \”she says. This is when I realize that we have fully completed the progress of decision-unmaking. 

At times in Japan it pays to be somewhat of a mind reader.  

 

Warm Regards from Kitakyushu City, Japan  

 

Hank F. Miller Jr.