I just got home from a very productive trip to Pensacola,and Jacksonville, FL.
I have finalized our reunion details (as much as possible for now).
We are set for the Holiday Inn Resort @ Pensacola Beach. The rates are the same as posted before.
The Thursday buffet by the pool is set, Friday we will have a guest speaker, I meet with him last week and he will provide
handouts and help with filing for VA claims as well as Agent Orange claims.
I stopped at NAS JAX and talked to VP30 Ops, and they have scheduled a P8-A to fam over to Pensacola Friday during our reunion and we
will get to board it and take a tour. Sat night our dinner will be at the National Flight Academy, as the museum is still not having any functions outside of the daily schedule.
And it probably will not change. WE will have our group pictures taken by our plane QE10 on Sat afternon before dinner.
I toured the Flight Academy and it was like stepping onto a ship. I think it will bring back some memories to anyone who was on a ship back then.
All in all we will be ready for the reunion. Hope to see you all there.
Guy Fisk

Thanks to Jim Thayer, he found a former VP40 member from our era.
WELCOME ABOARD KIRBY HAMM. He was in VP40 from 1962-1965.
He was an AO2 and flew in crew 1 with me for awhile.
If you remember Kirby please let him know. His email address is hamm.kirby@yahoo.com

Tony Lazzaretti sent me this, It deserved a wider audience
so here it is in Word 2003 format. I can Hear and Smell it now.
Although I never seen them so clean and shiny as this.

ROUND ENGINES

TAPS
Listen to “Taps”

Here is something Every American should know.
We in the United States have all heard the haunting song, “Taps”. It’s the song that gives us that lump in our throats and usually tears in our eyes.
But, do you know the story behind the song? If not, I think you will be interested to find out about its humble beginnings.

During the Civil War, in July 1862 when the Army of the Potomac was in camp, Brig. Gen. Daniel Butterfield summoned Pvt. Oliver Wilcox Norton, his brigade bugler, to his tent. Butterfield, who disliked the colorless “extinguish lights” call then in use, whistled a new tune and asked the bugler to sound it for him. After repeated trials and changing the time of some notes which were scribbled on the back of an envelope, the call was finally arranged to suit Gen. Butterfield and used for the first time that night. Pvt. Norton, who on several occasions, had sounded numerous new calls composed by his commander, recalled his experience of the origin of “Taps” years later:

One day in July 1862 when the Army of the Potomac was in camp at Harrison’s Landing on the James River, Virginia, resting and recruiting from its losses in the seven days of battle before Richmond, Gen. Butterfield summoned the writer to his tent, and whistling some new tune, asked the bugler to sound it for him. This was done, not quite to his satisfaction at first, but after repeated trials, changing the time of some of the notes, which were scribbled on the back of an envelope, the call was finally arranged to suit the general.

He then ordered that it should be substituted in his brigade for the regulation “Taps” (extinguish lights) which was printed in the Tactics and used by the whole army. This was done for the first time that night. The next day buglers from nearby brigades came over to the camp of Butterfield’s brigade to ask the meaning of this new call. They liked it, and copying the music, returned to their camps, but it was not until some time later, when generals of other commands had heard its melodious notes, that orders were issued, or permission given, to substitute it throughout the Army of the Potomac for the time-honored call which came down from West Point.

In the western armies the regulation call was in use until the autumn of 1863. At that time the XI and XII Corps were detached from the Army of the Potomac and sent under command of Gen. Hooker to reinforce the Union Army at Chattanooga, Tenn. Through its use in these corps it became known in the western armies and was adopted by them. From that time, it became and remains to this day the official call for “Taps.” It is printed in the present Tactics and is used throughout the U.S. Army, the National Guard, and all organizations of veteran soldiers.

Gen. Butterfield, in composing this call and directing that it be used for “Taps” in his brigade, could not have foreseen its popularity and the use for another purpose into which it would grow. Today, whenever a man is buried with military honors anywhere in the United States, the ceremony is concluded by firing three volleys of musketry over the grave, and sounding with the trumpet or bugle “Put out the lights. Go to sleep”…There is something singularly beautiful and appropriate in the music of this wonderful call. Its strains are melancholy, yet full of rest and peace. Its echoes linger in the heart long after its tones have ceased to vibrate in the air.

The haunting melody, we now know as “Taps” … used at military funerals was born.

The words are :
Day is done, gone the sun,
From the hills, from the lake,
From the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.

Go to sleep, peaceful sleep,
May the soldier or sailor,
God keep.
On the land or the deep,
Safe in sleep.

Love, good night, Must thou go,
When the day, And the night
Need thee so?
All is well. Speedeth all
To their rest.

Fades the light; And afar
Goeth day, And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well; Day has gone,
Night is on.

Thanks and praise, For our days,
‘Neath the sun, Neath the stars,
‘Neath the sky,
As we go, This we know,
God is nigh.

I too have felt the chills while listening to “Taps” but I have never seen all the words to the song until now. I didn’t even know there was more than one verse. I also never knew the story behind the song and I didn’t know if you had either so I thought I’d pass it along. There is another version of the orgin but SNOPES claims it is
FALSE.
I now have an even deeper respect for the song than I did before.
Remember Those Lost and Harmed While Serving Their Country.
And also those presently serving in the Armed Forces..Please send this on after a short prayer.

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.

I have posted the February 2014 Newsletter on this site today. It is found on the PICTURES, VIDEO & MORE TAB
VP40 NEWSLETTERS section.
All the newsletters are published in PDF format.
I will be adding OLDER newsletters there very soon.

I received this picture from Jim Thayer and it is QE10 in the last flight from San Diego to Pax River in 1968.
Notice the crew names under the port window of the cockpit. I have been told these were removed sometime before it was displayed at the Naval Museum in Pensacola. Also the QE10 was removed and the names were added for this flight. If anyone has more or different details LET ME Know.

Guy

I received this from James Stull . It is the Obit for John King.

WELCOME ABOARD our newest member. ROBERT A. BLECHLE. He was in VP40 from 11/1953 to 1/1955 as a AMS3. He was in crew 12.

He recognized a few of the people and names from our web site, so if anyone remembers him please welcome him aboard.

His email address is rblechle2@charter.net. He asked if there was a Cruise Book for the 1954 deployment? Does anyone know or remember this Cruise Book.

If it does exist, send it to me and I will publish it on this website and return it to you.

I received this poem from a member of our group FRANK BOTTOMS and I thought it was worth sharing it with you all
I WAS A SAILOR ONCE AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN

I liked standing on the bridge wing or the 06 level 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 drove her swiftly through the sea.
I liked the sounds of the Navy – the piercing trill of the boatswains pipe, the syncopated clang 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 liked Navy vessels — nervous darting destroyers (they were called ‘tin cans’ for a reason), plodding fleet auxiliaries and amphibs, sleek submarines and steady solid aircraft carriers.
I liked the proud names of Navy ships: Bennington , Midway, Lexington , Bunker Hill, Saratoga , Coral Sea, Antietam, Valley Forge – – memorials of great battles won and tribulations overcome.
I liked the lean angular names of Navy “tin-cans” and escorts – – Kenneth D. Bailey, Barney, Kennedy, Dahlgren, Mullinix, McCloy, Damato, Borie. Leftwich, Mills, Stickell, Ault, Paul, Coontz , Basilone – – mementos of heroes who went before us. And the others, light and heavy cruisers – – San Jose , San Diego , Los Angeles , St. Paul , Chicago – – named for our cities. Big battlewagons proudly named for our States – – Missouri , New Jersey , Iowa and Arizona .
I liked the tempo of a Navy band blaring through the topside speakers as we pulled away from the oiler after refueling at sea.
I liked Liberty Call and the spicy scent of a foreign port.
I even liked the never-ending paperwork and all-hands working parties as the ship filled herself with the multitude of supplies, both critical and mundane in order to cut ties to the land and carry out her mission anywhere on the globe where there was water to float her. Underway replenishments were a thrill to watch and participate in while everyone helped stow needed stores.
I liked sailors, officers and enlisted 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 trusted and depended on them as they trusted and depended on me – for professional competence, for comradeship, for strength and courage. In a word, they were “shipmates”; then, now, and forever.
I liked the surge of adventure in my heart, when the word was passed: “Now set the special sea and anchor detail – all hands to quarters for leaving port,” and I liked the infectious thrill of sighting home again, with the waving hands of welcome from family and friends waiting pier side.
I loved the sound of “Flight Quarters” over the 1MC, and the smells and sounds of the launch and recovery of aircraft. The continuous ballet of a flight deck in action is an awesome thing to see. Does it get any better than a big aircraft carrier defending America ‘s freedom?
The work was 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 was ever present.
I liked the serenity of the sea after a day of hard ship’s work, as flying fish flitted across the wave tops and sunset gave way to night.
I liked the feel of the Navy in darkness — the masthead and range lights, the red and green navigation lights and stern light, the pulsating phosphorescence of radar repeaters – they cut through the dusk and joined with the mirror of stars overhead. And I liked drifting off to sleep lulled by the myriad noises large and small and the rocking from side to side that told me my ship was alive and well, and that my shipmates on watch would keep me safe.
I liked quiet midwatches with the aroma of strong coffee — the lifeblood of the Navy permeating everywhere.
And I liked hectic watches when the exacting minuet of haze-gray shapes racing at flank speed kept all hands on a razor edge of alertness.
I liked 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 transformed herself in a few brief seconds from a peaceful workplace to a weapon of war — ready for anything.
And I liked the sight of space-age equipment manned by youngsters clad in dungarees and sound-powered phones that their grandfathers would still recognize.
I liked the traditions of the Navy and the men and women who made them. I liked the proud names of Navy heroes: Halsey, Nimitz, Perry, Farragut, John Paul Jones and Burke. A sailor could find much in the Navy: comrades-in-arms, pride in self and country, mastery of the seaman’s trade. An adolescent could 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 AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN.”

2/5/2014
I have updated our VP40 member roster today. There are some new members and some changes to current members.
It is presented in 3 different formats for you. You can view it/print it on the MEMBERS ONLY page.
login to access it and please logout when you are finished.

I found a web site www.vpnavy.org
They have a VP40 section on it and you can add comments on the page for anyone to read.
I found 80 people from our VP40 seaplane era that are NOT members of our group. I sent them all emails
and so far I have received about 10 back. Some of them will join our group.
Most of the comments are OLD (1998-2000) and their emails have been changes/cancelled/ or ???
I ask if anyone reads this post AND you are from VP40 seaplane era (1946-1967)and want to join our group, please email me at
ggfisk@vp40.com or leave a comment here to this post.
I am sure some of the email comments from that site have been changed and perhaps
you are reading this now.
I posted another death today of 1 of our members. We are now falling into a negative position where we are losing more members than we are gaining new members.
We had been staying pretty much even but as of 2014 we are falling behind. LET US ALL beat the bushes and turn this around.
thank you
Guy Fisk
ggfisk@vp40.com
(828)654-7812