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The USS America
Carrier Veteran’s Assoc.
REUNION 2012
September 11 – 15, 2012
Baton Rouge, LA.
Holiday Inn South (225-924-7021)
Sept. 11, registration and welcome aboard reception
Sept. 12, Memorial Service at USS Kidd, Lunch and Swamp Tour
Sept. 13, Bus Trip to Tour the LHA6 AMERICA
Sept. 14, General Meeting and Banquet Dinner
Sept. 15, Bus to New Orleans
Hotel Register on your own $87 or $92 w/code AMC
The Holiday Inn South has made some changes to the hotel shuttle for military reunions as of May 2012.
The hotel will provide a complimentary shuttle/van service to and from the Baton Rouge Airport. The guest must contact Heather Day or Kisha Lacy with arriving and departure flight information- this includes:
flight name, number and time of arrival, as well as a cell phone number to be reached.
The phone number to contact Heather or Kisha is 225-924-7021.
Guests must call and arrange a pick up by 8/26/2012.
After which the guests will be responsible for their own transportation.
With this in mind, they will only run shuttle times from 7am-6pm in the afternoon- so please try to schedule your flight arrival and departure times between these times of the day. They will only pick up the guests that calls Heather or Kisha with advanced reservations.
Reunion Registration at:
ROBERT A. HALL JR.
CAPTAIN, UNITED STATES NAVY
A native of Billerica, Massachusetts, Captain Bob Hall graduated from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 1984 with a Bachelors degree in Marine Transportation and a USCG Unlimited Third Mates License. As a Merchant Mariner, he shipped out commercially on a variety of vessels to include voyages in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Captain Hall received his naval commission from OCS in 1989.
Afloat, Captain Hall most recently served as Commanding Officer in USS PORTER (DDG 78) from December 2006 to June 2008. During his command PORTER earned the prestigious Battle “E” award for exceptional battle readiness and completed a highly successful forward deployment to the CENTCOM theater of operation, conducting anti-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa. Previous sea duties include: Executive Officer in USS NICHOLAS (FFG 47) from December 2001 to May 2003; pre-commissioning Chief Engineer in USS DONALD COOK (DDG 75) from November 1997 to February 2000; and, Chief Engineer in USS PETERSON (DD 969) from October 1995 to August 1997. Commander Hall began his navy career as the Damage Control Assistant and Auxiliaries Officer in USS JOHN HANCOCK (DD 981) from October 1989 to December 1992.
Ashore, Captain Hall last served as the Executive Assistant (EA) to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Global Force Management, Joint Operations, Plans, Policy and Training (N3N5N7) at U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFFC). Other shore tours include: Lead Maritime Homeland Defense planner at USFFC; National Military Command Center (NMCC) Systems Operations Branch Chief in the Operations Directorate (J-3) on the Joint Staff; and, Naval Weapons Program Analyst on the OPNAV Staff in Washington DC. Additionally, Captain Hall has attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey CA, where he earned a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington DC, where he earned a Masters degree in National Resource Strategy.
Captain Hall’s personal awards include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Navy Commendation Medal (two awards), Navy Achievement Medal (two awards) and numerous unit citations. He is married to the former Kasey Mullen of Bangor, ME and they have been blessed with two children, Andrew and Rebecca.
Captain Hall is the prospective Commanding Officer of PCU AMERICA (LHA-6), the lead ship of the Navy’s newest ship class—the 45,000 ton AMERICA-class.
THE NAMING OF CVA66 AMERICA
Those of us that have followed the history of USS America CVA-66 have often heard the tale that the Late President John F. Kennedy specifically asked that CVA-66 be named America, however, no one to our knowledge has been able to document this fact. Recently the Kennedy Library (http://www.jfklibrary.org/) located in Boston Massachusetts released their online archive of President Kennedy’s important papers and records generated during his 1000 days in office. Researching the online archive has allowed us for the first time to confirm this long heard tale that USS America CVA-66 was personally named by JFK! The name suggested for CVA-66 before JFK’s input; USS CONGRESS!
Other documents include a listing of suggested ships names, requests from a Senate member and other individuals for the selection of USS Williamsburg as the ships name and even a paragraph in a document confirming the selection of USS Constellation to be home ported in San Diego that USS America was expected to replace the Essex Class carrier USS Hancock home ported in Alameda California.
Many thanks to USS America shipmate Scot Celley for researching and locating these documents which are provided here courtesy of the Kennedy Library. If you wish to see documents directly through the Kennedy Library, the original search link can be accessed here (scroll down quite a few documents): http://www.facebook.com/l/47d43ss6Hu44NqPyj13twpDv7CA;www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-084-013.aspx
Special thanks to Tom Trujillo for helping put this together.
Click on the banner to the left (Naming the CVA66) to view the letters.
NEWSLETTER
IN OUR ONGOING EFFORT TO PRODUCE A NEWSLETTER THAT IS OF HIGH QUALITY AND CONTENT, THE CVA BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS ASKING FOR YOUR HELP. SEND US YOUR STORIES AND PHOTO'S REGARDING YOUR TIME ABOARD USS AMERICA CVA/CV-66 OR YOUR THOUGHTS CONCERNING THE SOON TO BE USS AMERICA LHA-6. TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE MARCHING UP 5TH AVENUE IN THE NYC VETERAN'S DAY PARADE, THE MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR AMERICA IN PHILA. OR FINDING A LONG LOST SHIPMATE. WE MAY NO LONGER HAVE AMERICA, BUT WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE OUR STORIES AND EXPERIENCES. SHARE THEM WITH THE ENTIRE CVA BY WAY OF THE NEWSLETTER. SEND THEM TO THE ADDRESS BELOW, AND AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
PLANKOWNER AND CREWMEMBER PLAQUES
These Plaques are available to Plankowners and Former Crewmembers who are members of the CVA only. The Plaques feature the ship name USS America CVA 66 and Plankowner or Crewmember engravings. The Steel is from elevator #1 of the USS America. To order your plaque, contact Rich Fleischer, the ship store manager.
SALES FROM THESE VENDERS HELP SUPPORT THE CVA
Jodohost This website is maintained by Prime Management Services. |
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www.ussamerica.org |
USS America Carrier CVA, INC.
P.O. Box 1239
Hopewell Junction, New York
12533
1-888-391-CV66 (2866)
Copyright © 2003 USS AMERICA Carrier Veterans Association, INC.
The USS America Carrier Veterans Association, INC.( An NYS Tax-Exempt Corporation) is a Tax Exempt Organization, under IRS Code 501(c)(19).
(Payments made to this association may be tax deductible. Kindly consult your tax advisor.)
