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USS Benjamin Stoddert (DDG-22) &

USS Jupiter (AVS-8) Association

T h e S I T R E P VOLUME 10 - NUMBER 4 2014 FALL/WINTER EDITION

Association President: Ron Zorn, 9609 Vomac Rd., Santee, CA 92071, ronaldzorn@gmail.com (619) 402-5523

Editors: Art & Janie Hansen, 5800 30th Avenue, Kearney, NE 68845, artandjane@Reagan.com (308) 237-5435

Aloha Oe

After one Great Reunion in Honolulu, Hawaii Well, it is done. The Hawaii reunion is in the rearview mirror now, and everyone is looking down the road to Nashville. However, the recent memories of Honolulu, just like the more distant memories of those who were home-ported in Pearl Harbor, are now ours to cherish forever. And what a reunion it was: fun-filled tours and dinners made this one especially memorable. Many of this year’s attendees took advantage of the hotel’s policy to allow the reunion rate for rooms before and after the reunion to extend their stay—either on the front end or in the days following the reunion. Others used the opportunity to visit some of the other islands and see parts of Hawaii that were not on most sailors’ itineraries 40 and 50 years ago. The main reason for choosing Hawaii for the 10th Stoddert/Jupiter reunion was because this year is the 50th anniversary of the commissioning of the Benjamin Stoddert. Everyone knew that it would be rather expensive but seemed willing to look beyond that. The “Benny Sweat” was home-ported in Pearl Harbor, and the Association members overwhelming validated through a vote that it was fitting to celebrate her 50th year there. The reunion in Honolulu gave

many sailors and their guests the opportunity to visit old neighborhoods, look for old haunts—now long gone, and re-visit places where memories lingered 40 and 50 years later. A long walk around Honolulu resulted in seeing some things a bit off the beaten path. The statue of

King Kamehamea (left) is in front of the Aliiolani Hale (home to the Hawaii State Supreme Court) across from Iolani Palace

and is not on most tours, but often visited. The Hula dancer is by the walk-way to the Aloha Tower (the one that Jack Lord was standing in at the start of the original Hawaii Five-O television shows. Below is

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one view from the Aloha Tower. The view has changed since 1976, no doubt.

The Grand Circle Island tour of Oahu on Thursday included a stop at Kualoa Ranch which had a great restaurant for lunch, where I tried a local Hawaiian favorite, loco moco, which is a huge pile of white rice topped with a hamburger patty, brown gravy and eggs over-easy….mmmmmm! It isn’t everybody’s idea of a treat but it is right up my alley, and I found it delicious.

The Grand Circle tour also took us by most of the famous stops on the island of Oahu. We drove through Waikiki and past Diamond Head on the way to places like Halona Point/Blowhole Lookout, Chinaman’s Hat and Lion Head Rock, and a stop at Pali Lookout. Below is a view from one of the stops on the Grand Circle Tour (Hanauma Beach).

And this was from Pali Lookout (below).

Other stops included the Byodo-In Temple with its huge bell and black swans, and a wonderful grounds in which we were allowed to walk and enjoy the serenity of the area. The buffet dinner and floor show was very much enjoyed by those in attendance. The Liberty Belles did a bang up job and really engaged the crowd. The Friday tour to Ford Island, the USS Missouri, the USS Oklahoma Memorial, and the Pacific Aviation Museum was also a hit with the reunion attendees. It was inspiring to see the spot where World War II ended. There was ample time for a great lunch in the Aviation museum cafeteria and still explore the artifacts and displays in the Aviation Museum. There was a little bit of pre-tour excited confusion as the ladies tried to figure out whether or not they could take their purses and pocketbooks. The Saturday tour to the Arizona Memorial went a bit smoother because Friday’s tour worked out the kinks with the security procedures, so we knew what to expect. The visit to the memorial itself was very moving and memorable. Unfortunately, the tours were “modified” and some of the stops advertised (National Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl and Dole Plantation, for example) were either skipped or shortened, owing to time constraints.

Reunion Book is out!

We received our reunion book in the mail!

What fun to search through all the photos and see what people were doing! Everyone who ordered it should have it by now. If you didn’t order one, well, maybe you can look at someone’s at the next reunion! (The shaded part of the image in the above photo shows the back of the book.)

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NOTICE: The SitRep will be issued only two times per year. The Fall/Winter edition will follow the reunion and the Spring/Summer edition will come out about 2 months prior to the next reunion. Are there any aspiring newsletter editors out there? We are looking for a new one! Art and Janie Hansen want to retire.

Upcoming in 2015: Tennessee Reunion Save the Date: Mark your calendars (now that you have the 2015 on the wall) or write it in your cell phone calendar—the next reunion will be in Nashville, Tennessee from September 8- 13. Here is a taste of what you will see and experience in Nashville besides the wonderful stories and memories shared by your shipmates and their guests: First and foremost is a place to stay. The hotel selected for our reunion is affiliated with the Marriott Hotels: The Inn at OpryLand, 2401 Music Valley Dr., Nashville TN 37214, phone number: 1-800-291-9434. The hotel is, as its name suggests, close to the Grand Ole Opry! Of course, we are all eligible to receive the reduced rate of $109.00/night. Tell your friends to mention the “Jupiter-Stoddert Reunion” and qualify for that rate during that time as well! While there is no continental breakfast, the area has a lot of options including Starbucks and Cracker Barrel. Hotel amenities include a lounge/bar, airport transportation, ATM, jacuzzi or spa. There is limited RV parking though there is no electrical. A brief outline of the plan for the activities is as follows: Sept. 8: Registration and Hospitality Room Sept. 9: Registration and Hospitality Room Sept. 10: (9:00-4:00) Tour of the Hermitage (home of Andrew Jackson). Lunch on your own at Farmer’s Market. WW II Memorial; Vietnam Memorial; Centennial Park; Music Square; Country Music Hall of Fame Museum (7 Hours) $60. (5:30-9:30) Walk to Nashville Nightlife Theatre for Dinner/Country Music Show $44. Sept. 11: (9:00) Board the General Jackson for Lunch/Show while cruising the Cumberland River $90; (6:15-9:15) The Grand Ole Opry Show $52.

Sept .12: (9:00) Business Meeting; (10:30) Shuttle to explore Nashville and shop. (6:00-11:00) Banquet with entertainment $58. Sept. 13: (8:00-noon) Hospitality Room; Departure for home, or stay longer at same Reunion rate, good for 2 days prior to or after Reunion. As always, you can sign up for as little or as much as you want to do. However, as soon as you DO know, please do a favor for those who are planning the reunion and get your reservations and payments in as soon as possible to help with the planning process!

It wouldn’t be a good Hawaii Navy newsletter without a little bit of hula: Bill Christiansen, who hula’ed into a prize at Germaine’s Luau!

***News Flash!*** Mike Rigdon, John and Bernie Dishaw, and

Ron and Maureen Zorn are meeting April Stoddert sometime in February of this

year in San Diego, CA. April is a direct descendent of Benjamin Stoddert and she retired from the Navy in November 2013.

Pictures will undoubtedly be on the website, and she has been invited to be

guest speaker at the Nashville reunion.

SHIP’S STORE IS OPEN: Enclosed in

this newsletter is a one-sheet store-and-

order form. Please peruse it and make your

purchases from this handy-dandy insert!

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In Memorium - Jim Leapley 66-69 July 10, 1947 -- February 26, 2013

Leapley, Jimmie K. “Jim”, age 65, passed away

Tuesday, February 26, 2013 at Vandalia, OH following a lengthy illness. Jim is survived by his father, James,

Belleville, OH, loving wife Anna {Gates} Leapley, son; Steven and his wife Cindy Leapley, 6 grandchildren,

along with many others.

Jim was a Viet Nam veteran who served aboard the Benjamin Stoddert from 1967 to 1969.

A Celebration of Life service was held Saturday, March 2, 2013, at Tipp City Nazarene Church in

Vandalia, OH.

Jim loved to attend the reunions, and, in fact, he attended the last one as some of the Benjamin

Stoddert shipmates conducted a “scattering of ashes” that was completed on Saturday, September 13th in

Hawaii. Jim’s widow was not in attendance, but there was a Navy color guard and bugler.

Reunion 2015 Nashville, Tennessee. We hope you can join your friends &

shipmates there from September 8-13.

Registration cut-off date: July 15, 2014

Lest we forget: The 50-50 drawing was

held in Hawaii with the happy winners:

Bob Brown,

Roger Evans,

Jim Hinton, and

Dave Saunders!

Congratulations to these lucky sailors! Who knows? You may be the lucky

winner in Nashville! How? You ask. Why it’s a simple as thinking about how many chances you would like to buy at $10.00

for 12 chances, and sending in a check for the number of chances you want with

some return address labels to: John Dishaw, 3035 Charlotte Street, Newbury Park, CA 91320. John will paste your

name on some tickets, and there you are! We will be selling 50-50 tickets right

up until it’s time to draw some names out of the hat in Nashville, so if you want to wait until then, that’s okay, too!

Benjamin Stoddert/Jupiter Association Art Hansen, Newsletter Editor 5800 – 30th Ave. Kearney, NE 68845