The Jerseyman |
Upcoming Events Onboard the Big J
From the office of Jack Willard, Vice President, Marketing and Sales
Garden State Craft Brewers Guild Beer Festival
Saturday June
28, 2014 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
This
annual beer fest returns to the Battleship on Saturday, June 28th from
1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
Guests can experience a tour of the Battleship, enjoy
the music of the Cabin Dogs, take home a souvenir sampling mug, enjoy
food concessions and, of course, sample beers from over 20 breweries
throughout the Garden State. Beer Festival tickets are $45 per adult.
The VIP
Ticket is back! For just $55, a limited number of guests will gain
access at 12:00pm - a full hour before the festival public enters,
and be given the opportunity to sample special
craft beers and chat with the brewers. But hurry, these tickets go
fast!!
Tickets can be purchased online at
www.battleshipnewjersey.org. Just click the Beer Festival
flier on the website. You can also get tickets by calling
(866) 877-6262
ext. 107, or purchasing them at the Battleship Ticket Office every day
from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm.
Battleship Blast Annual Fundraiser
Saturday, July 5, 2014
from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Save
the Date - Saturday July 5
- The
Battleship Blast Fundraiser is back! The night
will feature a delicious Surf-n-Turf
dinner, open bar and entertainment on the fantail, then the best view of
the Independence Week fireworks show over the Delaware River at dusk.
Plus,
all proceeds go to the ongoing preservation and maintenance of the
Battleship, a 501 c non-profit museum and memorial.
Tables and partnerships are available,
for more information or for
tickets, call (866) 877-6262 ext. 144.
You can also
visit the ships website at
www.battleshipnewjersey.org/blast.php
Hope to see you
there!
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I was a Sailor Once...
VADM Harold Koening USN (Ret)
The
following prose was authored by VADM Harold Koening USN
(Ret). While it speaks directly to those who have gone down to
the sea in ships, it will be appreciated by all who have worn a uniform
in the service of our nation
I
like
the Navy. I like standing on the bridge wing at sunrise with Salt spray
in my face and clean ocean winds whipping in from the four quarters of
the globe - the ship beneath me feeling like a living Thing as her
engines drive her through the sea.
I like
the sounds of the Navy - the piercing trill of the boatswains Pipe, the
syncopated clangor of the ship's bell on the quarterdeck, the harsh
squawk of the 1MC and the strong language and laughter of sailors at
work.
I like
Navy vessels - nervous darting destroyers, plodding fleet auxiliaries,
sleek submarines and steady solid carriers. I like the proud names of
Navy ships: Midway, Lexington, Saratoga, Coral Sea - Memorials of great
battles won. I like the lean angular names of Navy 'tin-cans': Barney,
Dahlgren, Mullinix, McCloy - mementos of heroes who went before us.
I like
the tempo of a Navy band blaring through the topside speakers as we pull
away from the oiler after refueling at sea. I like liberty call and the
spicy scent of a foreign port. I even like all hands working parties as
my ship fills herself with the multitude of supplies both mundane and
exotic which she needs to cut her ties to the land and carry out her
mission anywhere on the globe where there is water to float her.
I like
sailors, men from all parts of the land, farms of the Midwest, small
towns of New England, from the cities, the mountains and the prairies,
from all walks of life. I trust and depend on them as they trust and
depend on me - for professional competence, for comradeship, for
courage. In a word, they are "shipmates."
I like
the surge of adventure in my heart when the word is passed "Now station
the special sea and anchor detail - all hands to quarters for leaving
port", and I like the infectious thrill of sighting home Again, with the
waving hands of welcome from family and friends waiting pier
side.
The work is hard and dangerous, the going rough at times, the parting
from loved ones painful, but the companionship of robust Navy laughter,
the 'all for one and one for all' philosophy of the sea is Ever present.
I like
the serenity of the sea after a day of hard ship's work, as flying fish
flit across the wave tops and sunset gives way to night.
I like
the feel of the Navy in darkness - the masthead lights, the red and
green navigation lights and stern light, the pulsating phosphorescence
of radar repeaters - they cut through the dusk and join with the mirror
of stars overhead. And I like drifting off to sleep lulled by the myriad
noises large and small that tell me that my ship is alive and well, and
that my shipmates on watch will keep me safe.
I like
quiet mid-watches with the aroma of strong
coffee - the lifeblood of the Navy - permeating everywhere. And I like
hectic watches when the exacting minuet of haze-gray shapes racing at
flank speed keeps all hands on a razor edge of alertness. I like the
sudden electricity of "General quarters, general quarters, all hands man
your battle stations", followed by the hurried clamor of running feet on
ladders and the resounding thump of watertight doors as the ship
transforms herself in a few brief seconds from a peaceful workplace to a
weapon of war - ready for anything. And I like the sight of space-age
equipment manned by youngsters clad in dungarees and sound
powered phones that their grandfathers would still recognize.
I like
the traditions of the Navy and the men and women who made them. I like
the proud names of Navy heroes: Halsey, Nimitz, Perry, Farragut, John
Paul Jones. A sailor can find much in the Navy, comrades-in-arms, pride
in self and country, mastery of the seaman's trade. An adolescent can
find adulthood.
In years to come, when sailors are home from the sea, they will still
remember with fondness and respect the ocean in all its moods - the
impossible shimmering mirror calm and the storm-tossed green water
surging over the bow. And then there will come again a faint whiff of
stack gas, a faint echo of engine and rudder orders, a vision of the
bright bunting of signal flags snapping at the yardarm, a refrain of
hearty laughter in the wardroom and chief's quarters and mess
decks. Gone ashore for good they will grow wistful about their
Navy days, when the seas belonged to them and a new port of call was
ever over the horizon. Remembering this, they will stand taller and say,
"I was a
Sailor once.
I was part of the Navy;
The Navy will always be part of me" |
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What I like about being a Volunteer on the Big J
Jacob Smeltzer, Battleship Encampment Program Volunteer
You may recall that we had a story in the last issue
of The Jerseyman about Jacob Smeltzer, one of the ships youngest
volunteers. In that article I apologized for not having a photo of
Jacob to include in that issue but I promised to provide one in our next
edition, so here it is.
Bravo Zulu Jacob, keep up the good work! |
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Photo of Jacob at work in the
Overnight Encampment Store. |
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Did you ever wonder, how much room the Battleships Engineering Spaces
Take Up?
Rich Thrash, Brass Team Volunteer
In the last three or four issues of
The Jerseyman I have used this back page to feature silhouettes of
battleships that sailed the seas under the flags of Germany, Japan and
England during World War II. Beginning with this issue, and lasting for
the next few, I will be featuring drawings of various aspects of the
Battleship created by Rolland Garber, a long-time volunteer on the ship.
In the drawing below he has plotted out
the ships four engine rooms and fire rooms and overlaid them over a
regulation NFL football field. It really helps to put the size of those
spaces into perspective, pretty impressive!
In future issues I will feature hull
cross sections and cut away drawings of the turrets that Rolland has
also drawn.
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Layout of the ships four engine
rooms and fire rooms, overlaid on a regulation NFL football field. |
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Disclaimer:
The
Jerseyman
is an independent ships newsletter,
written and produced solely for the
enjoyment of the Battleship’s current volunteer crew and staff, former
crewmembers, and other readers. The Jerseyman is not sold,
subscriptions are not offered, and all credited photos and stories are
the sole property of their authors. Wherever possible,
The Jerseyman
requests permission, properly credits, and identifies the source of
photographs, stories, or quotations. If crediting errors or any possible
copyright infringements are found, please let us know and corrections
will be made. If you need to reach The Jerseyman please use the
contact information below. |
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Rich Thrash,
Volunteer Writer/Editor
11859 Coopers Court
Reston, VA 20191
E-mail:
rich@ussnewjersey.com |
The Jerseyman
Logo is courtesy of
Maritime Artist and former USS New
Jersey
crewmember,
James A. Flood |
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