| Name: Bill W |
| My URL: Visit Me |
| My Email: Email Me |
Great site..so much to browse will be back..congratulations on a job well done.
12/26/00 01:29:47
| Comments: looking for anyone who wants to chat. |
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| Comments: I would like to get in touch with CSA Ted Luis Sanders/2nd Division. He works on the USS Rainier. Thanks so much... |
| Comments: Stood anchor winch watch when pulling into Subic.. It was super leaning over the bow watching the glass sea being parted on a perfect sunny day. Remember the sea bat on the fantail (: |
| Comments: A LOT OF GOOD TIMES AT THE "BANK CLUB" |
| Comments: Found this site a few years ago, and every once in a while I'll, when no one else in the house isn't using the computer, I'll come up on this site and simply remember, Oh so many years ago, and yet it seems like only yesterday. I know my experiences aboa d the Rainier will remain with me forever. |
| Comments: Thank GOD I found this website |
| Comments: Here's an Email originally addressed to Larry Butts but cc'd to us...(ed.) My name is Ed Manion (RM3), I served with you my last years on the Rainier. Yesterday while playing on the internet, I got the shock of my life when I came across the website for the USS Rainier. Today I still have chills, and really excited. I hope you will forgive me for all the hard times Frank (RM2) and I gave you in the radio shack. I have a lot of things from the Rainier that I have been saving to bring back some great memories of those times in my life. A little about me, I served on the Rainier from July 66 to July 70. Im a retired Chief Warrant Officer with 24 years of service. I work for the Department of Defense at Fort Leavenworth Kansas. I work with communications systems for the Army. Yesterday while going over the Rainier website, I discovered the reunion was in Kansas City, 45 miles from e 5-8 Oct. Only if I would have found the website acouple of weeks ago. Let me give you my E-Mail edmanion@hotmail.com or manione@leav-rdd.army.mil. Hope to hear from you and other shipmates. |
| Comments: As a former Marine, I was fasinated to discover that in addition to a beautiful mountain and a great beer, that there was a U.S. Navy ship that I shared a name with. Facinating web site. Thank you to all who served on her to protect our country. |
| Comments: I am doing some searching for my husband, trying to locate some of his buddies from the Mazama. Have enjoyed looking thru this site. |
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| Comments: To all hands. Reunion at KC,MO went over good a total of 65,Rainier Sailors,Wifes,and guests at the dinner show. Two ladies Sang the 30s-40s-50s songs and even dressed of that time. I have been to KC lots of times and the trips in and about showed more th n I thought was there. Sorry you never got there. Good time was had by all I do belive.Try to get ready for the next one. you will never regret. Just find someone that has been there and ask them. Fair sailing for all. |
| Comments: Good looking page as well as being informative. Mt. Katmai & Mt Rainier did run across each other more than once during my tenure. I do wish the Mt.Katmai had a page! Again, good looking! |
| Comments: I found out about this site thru Charlie Brown, It does bring back memories, I also have pictures of everyone aboard that ship. I live in LaPine OR.I'm currently The Commander of the American Legion Post 45 in LaPine, come by and I'll buy you a Rainier Be r. Good job Mr. Freeman |
| Comments: thanks, I've have really enjoyed going over your part of our history....again please be proud of yourselves and your accomplishements. Thank you, Mary |
| Comments: Four more days until reunion in K.C.!! See you there. Please note my new email address. |
| Comments: Used the Web page to locate Joe Lenz , a shipmatefrom the Rainier. I crossed the country to have a nice reunion and a good meal in Atlantic City NJ I even Won money in the caseno. what a great time. We missed Danny Shaw another shipmate, got our wires cr ssed. |
| Comments: great site you have here,it was the only way i could find anything on my former ship the AE15 thanks for all your hard work it sure is a pleasure to visit your site |
| Comments: looking for info on mt baker any leeds |
| Comments: Great site..so much to browse will be back..congratulations on a job well done.
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| Comments: Great Web Page, we need more pictures,guys dig out the photo albums and copy them. Scan and send.PS Mike Walls id like to hear from you .I guesss I lost your E mail address, Im meeting Joe Lentz In Atlantic City on Sept 22 while Im home there on Vacation. Hope to hook up with Danny Shaw ,he was an electrican on the Ship with us. |
| Comments: I SERVED ON THE RAINER AE-5 FROM MAY 68-MAY 70, I THEN WENT TO NAS CUBI PT IN THE PI FOR TWO YEARS, THEN TO THE USS DURHAM LAK114 FOR TWO YEARS AND THEN NAS CHASE FIELD IN BEEVILLE TX FOR TWO YEARS. I GOT OUT IN 1976 AND WENT TO WORK FOR THE VETERANS ADMIN HOSPITAL IN GAINESVILLE,FL AND I AM STILL AT THE VAMC AS OF THIS TIME. I ENJOYED MY TIME ON THE RAINER. I STILL KEEP IN TOUCH WITH CLARENCE MCKEE WHO WAS A BM3. HE LIVES IN DALLASTOWN,PA. HE COMES OWN AND WE HAVE A GREAT TIME TALKING ABOUT THE RAINER TIMES. ANYONE REMEMBER WHEN WE ALMOST SANK SITTING AT THE PIER ? MY SON IS NOW IN THE NAVY HE IS A HM2. HE SPENT 4 YEARS ON THE USS SAIPAN LHA2 AND IS NOW AT NAS JACKSONVILLE,FL. HOPE TO HERE FROM SOME OLD SHIPMATES. |
| Comments: A great site for bringing back memories of what it was like on these ships. Thanks to all who contributed! |
| Comments: Many, many thanks to Bill Freeman for the trip down memory lane. Not too bad for a "decky". If any of you former Rainier sailors would like to wite please e-mail me. I would like to hear from you. I even have a six pack of Rainier Ale that I managed to sa e. |
| Comments: While flying with the 174th.AHC(Duc Pho, Americal Div. U.S.Army 69-70), I landed on an Escort Destroyer(fan-tail deck- I think it was called). It was late 69. I don't remember what the name of the ship was. I do remember that the deck was just large enoug to set my UH-1H down(90-degrees to the deck). The area, at sea, was in the southern I-Corp.(southeast of Chu Lai) area. If anyone remembers that "Scared-S___-less"( for me!) event, send me a note. I think that the ship had a problem with one of it's "Scr ws"! Thank's for your help. "Dolphin 27", 23rd. Div. 69-70. By the way, Great Web-site!("Check out"-174th.AHC) |
| Comments: Okay guys, "check's in the mail" for the '00 reunion in KC. Last call, registrations due in a few days. See you there. |
| Comments: Here's an email addressed -- but not xmitted -- to SK1 Kenneth Morrison (email cited as Stores117@aol.com) Ahoy, Stores -- Enjoyed your 04/05/00 22:26:04 log entry. I had the extraordinary privilege of serving in AE 5 from July 66 to June 68 as Ops/Nav/Unrep OOD. I was also privileged to help lobby the Navy for another RAINIER and then to attend AOE-7 Commissioning in 1995 to see the torch passed -- a thrill that defies description. I visited AOE-7 briefly a bit later when she passed through Pearl (I was then teaching intermediate school math on the Leeward Coast of O'ahu) and came away VERY impressed with the professionalism of the AOE-7 crew. After working hard on RAINIER, I had some memorable experiences as XO of a brown water riverine support ship (converted WWII LST) for a year in country retaking control of waterways the NVA/VC thought they had co-opted in Tet 68. RAINIER was excellent prep for a combat assignment. I clearly recall RAINIER rearming **FOUR** birdfarms on Yankee Station on Ho Chi Minh's birthday in M y 67. We were pretty tuckered out after that. The teamwork spirit on that ship was unbelievable (my RM's and ET's volunteered to go down on deck after their watches to help roll bombs during breakout) We didn't have any fancy elevators, just some fantastically talented electric winch operators and many willing hands who did their best to make "We Deliver -- You Fire" come to life. I also recall telling one of my Unrep phone talkers -- who was bound fo stateside and discharge in the near future -- "Don't ever forget this moment. Never again will you stand on the bridge helping a team to move cargo ammo in the Gulf of Tonkin while the carrier's band provides music as the sun nears the horizon." My gue s is he never will either. RAINIER was an unforgettable experience. Without those 'sweathogs', ROLLING THUNDER (DRV) and STEEL TIGER (Laos) would have ground to a halt ... and a number of small boys on gunline south as far as the Ca Mau Peninsula would have had to stand down. RAINIER was the best of the best ... and I believe still is. GOD BLESS USS RAINIER and her fine crew! You folks are doing a great job carrying forward an honorable legend of service. Fair winds and a following sea, shipmates, Tom Stuart LCDR, USN ret Kailua-Kona Hawaii (high school teacher -- math/physics/astronomy) |
| Comments: Anyone remember a shipmate named Reynold C Reed MR2. He just retired from a job in Fremont Calif. and is moving to Oregon. He would like to hear from LtJG BOB Kathern. Reed was on the ship until 1966. |
| Comments: Best bluewater duty in 21 years service. Oldest AE in WestPac -- earned the "E". Teamwork & shipmate spirit kept us going. Those who went before established a legacy of excellence that will not be forgotten. |
| Comments: I would like to know what happened to the ships log book,I would like to hear about what the ship was involved in reguarding actions in the north and south, and event that happened on board ship.Espicially actions viewed by officers of men who performed t eir duties under very hazardous conditions. |
| Comments: Just saw the webpage for the first time. It brings back a lot of memories. Any body remember the time we were lost off the coast of the philipines due to water in the compass? |
| Comments: New shippment of CAPS. Looking forward to the KC |
| Comments: Loved being on the Rainier if only a short time but long enough to make a westpac tour before going to Florida for the Cuban crises lots of good memories. |
| Comments: Went aboard as EM1 and left as EMC. Will always remember those false fire alarms that we treated as real and the replenishing and dumping operations. Also the smoky engine room. Loved every minute of it. |
| Comments: When Mt. Hood exploded Nov. 10, 1944, my ship, USS Honolulu,was in floating drydock in Manus after surviving torpedo damage at Leyte Oct. 20, 1944. We were recovering our dead for burial at Manus. Your website is the best description of this tragedy I hav seen. Thanks. |
| Comments: Really brought back old memories! |
| Comments: If anyone is out there from the good old Mazaza |
| Comments: ENJOY SEEING OLD SHIPMATES NAMES.BRINGS BACK GOOD MEMORIES.KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK .HOPE TO SEE U ALL IN OCT.HAVE TALKED TO SOME OF U ON E MAIL .HAVE SOME PICS IF I EVER LEARN TO SEND THEM ON COMPUTER.AGAIN THANKS FOR THE GOOD WORK |
| Comments: MY HOW THE YEARS HAVE GONE BY. |
| Comments: Came across your site. Good sight. I was on the MARS 69-70 and REGULUS 70-71. Postal Clerk. Was it the RAINIER 6that LAID over at the pier in Alameda in 69 or 70? I wish I had the picture that's in my mind of that. I think one of your photos thats not IDe of an unrep is of the REGULUS. We are having a reunion in Oct. for the REGULUS would you post a note on your site to see if any of your hands served on the REGULUS. Thanks. Again, a great site. Samuel W. Pullig |
| Comments: I would like to hear from old buddies. |
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| Comments: ..Give me time I'm still brousing,but looks better than some of the other stuff on the web, but give me 6 days leave in Sasebo anytime!! |
| Comments: This is great, I have searched for 4 years for information on the Rainier during the Viet Nam era. I feel like I have found an old friend. Have anyone information on Merl Hayden SF3? He is the last person I saw from the Rainier and that was in '79. I wish all of my old shipmates the best and please let me know where and how you are. Also My best to the "new" Rainier, you fellows have a great name to defend but we are sure you are up to it. Remember, "The finest in service since 1941". |
| Comments: Signed in before, don't see any record of mine or several others that logged in around that time. Anyway, I think the webmaster has done a great job here. I have contacted/been contacted by several shipmates as a result of this site, some have become freq ent correspondents. Alot of old memories have been jogged by these correspondences. Always looking forward to hearing from those as well as old shipmates that I haven't heard from for almost 40 years. Keep in touch. |
| Comments: Frist Freeman Knows dthe web page is dthe best. Now Rogert Chapp your URL doe not work on this unit so please try again. The reunion name list has sailors names fron 56to 60, Not all but several. All Rainier Sailors are invited to the next Reunion in KC 5 o 7 Oct 2ooo. Good luck to all. |
| Comments: GREAT WEB PAGE LOOKING FOR RADIOMEN 1957 TO 1960 |
| Comments: HERE'S AN E-MAIL WE RECEIVED ABOUT THE FATE OF THE OLD SUBIC BAY AMMO PIER: THANKS FOR THE UPDATE LCDR OLSEN... Bill: I am the Chief, Navy Programs at JUSMAG-Philippines, US Embassy, Manila. I was on the ammo pier about 2 weeks ago. Obviously there is little activity there but some of the bunkers are being used as factories by various businesses. The current custodians of the base, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), hope to develop the site into an eco-tourism attraction because of the many ropical fish which are so abundant at the pier. There is some rumors that the Philippine Navy is trying to get the area to develop a small naval station but I doubt that will happen due to legal and financial restrictions. Miracle Beach, just to the seaward side of the pier area, has been developed as an exclusive beach for high rollers. It was former President Ramos' favorite hideaway when he was up there. Other than that it is pretty quiet there. Still a long ride and still a security area. BTW, since the passage of the Visiting Forces Agreement, we have conducted some small exercises there and have staged some supplies in one of the bunkers for the duration of the exercise. Best wishes |
| Comments: Great site I have visited many times to see if any Pyro crew sign in. I can't find many of her former crew I guess they all died from hard work or have no desire to remember those days. Will check back later anyway. Great job! |
| Comments: ahoy mateys---would like to contact some of my shipmates aboard the ranier in 59-60--have many sea stories to swap |
| Comments: Great site look forward to more. Intrested in hearing from any Mt. Hood crew |
| Comments: I'd like to hear from you! |
| Comments: I'd like to hear from you! |
| Comments: Great to see someone else interested in preserving the memories of the Navy's role in Vietnam. |
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| Comments: What a fine web page . There are new Items added all the time. I was excited to see the old Nordbergs once again. on a good day we got 15 knots out of them. The old 5" would take out every light from the mess decks back every time it was fired. |
| Comments: I logged in to this great site a couple of years ago. But, one of those computer things happened and my entry went down the tube after awhile. I can claim the distinction of being Rainier's last navigator. Also, the distinction of having spent many hou s on her bridge with our webmaster, Bill Freeman. Much has passed since our days on Rainier, and I can tell from the comments that many of us still consider our shipboard time as some of the most meaningful of our lives. There is no military duty like b ing a member of a Navy ship's crew. We walked the same decks and performed the same duties as those who served before us, and in most cases as did those who followed us. Rainier was my third Navy duty station (the only sea duty), and I have just retired with almost 30 years working for the State of Texas. If I were to write a book about all of it, Rainier would take several chapters. |
| Comments: I was looking for info on the Mauna Kea and fell into this place. This place is great. I even found a place to get a Mauna Kea cap! I appreciate all the work that has gone into this site and wil;l be back to explore some more. Thanks....... |
| Comments: Enjoyed your website. Keep up the great work! |
| Comments: I am currently onboard the USS RAINIER (AOE-7) and have been a proud member of this crew for nearly 4 years. I can honestly say that it is an honor to have the bell of the USS RAINIER (AE-5) onboard. We strive everyday to make a name for ourselves and fro reading this website I can say that that no matter what ship it was the shipmates of all RAINIER's have stood proud. I have learned so much while being stationed here and it will follow me throughout my career. This is the finest ship in the Navy and we prove that each and every day of our lives onboard. We may never reach the stature of AE-5 but we are not far behind. Great website. |
| Comments: Went to some reunions but missed the last two, hope to make the one this year in Kansas City? I joined the Navy, a boy, at 17 and learned to be a man aboard the AE-5. As an ENFN I stood evap. watches underway and engineer of the small boats in port, and o course rearming duties as needed. More later,from off the coast of Ulung do Island (sp?) |
| Comments: Thanks for the site....It is good to see That there are still people who have enough soul to love a hunk of steel |
| Comments: I like to check in an see the old shipmates havn't forgotten the old days. Remember the Amo Dump in subic and the long ride to liberty in alongapo. |
| Comments: Very nice site. Was just sailing by, thought I would say HI. |
| Comments: very nice site...being station on submarine for my time...nice to see how life was on a AE...keep up the great work!! |
| Comments: Hello to all of the old crew, lets try and stay in contact through the years. If you see someone you remember from back when, send them an E mail. I've got 5 buds from back then, that I talk to almost daily by computer, we send jokes and things of interes back and forth across the country. Hope to make one of the reunions one day. |
| Comments: Gotta love this website!! Best AE website I've found. The pictures of Olangapo Subic etc really brought back memories. Thanks |
| Comments: I believe I'm the guy on the left in the Unidentified Boatcrew picture. So says my family. |
| Comments: Run across this site while looking for Air Force base locations for my son who is now joining the USAF to become a Jet Engine Mechanic. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw my original command I was assigned to in September 1969. It sure brought ba k a lot of memories. I was one of the last to leave her there in Oakland. I was so young and naïve and didn’t realize what a great ship she was until I had spent the remaindered of my enlistment aboard the USS Kansas City AOR3. Although she was old and slow, the crew made it a good place to work and I was far to young to appreciate it. I sure remember that last major replenish manning a lizard line most of the time… “Rainier's largest unrep occurred on 5 December 1969, when 953.7 short tons of ordnance were transferred to the USS Camden (AOE-2). The transfer climaxed "three days of brea ing out and replenishing ships. It required working for thirty-eight straight hours, breaking for five hours sleep and then working straight through for nineteen more hours until we were finished." I’m now a Computer Systems Analyst / Programmer working in Anchorage, AK don’t know if I can make the reunion or not. I might get lucky and get sent back to the lower 48 for further training around that time. |
| Comments: I have been watching this website for a couple of years. First, I would like to thank you for providing it. I was on the commisioning crew when the Rainier was brought out of mothballs for Korea. I would sure like to hear from any of our shipmates from that first tour. And, again, I am going to try to make it to the reunion this year, but Kansas City, MO is a long way from Seattle. |
| Comments: Nice new guestbook , Have been intouch with a few of my pals who were aboard same time a little shorter and a little longer.... |
| Comments: I am always truly amazed by the complicity of this site and can appreciate the time and effort it takes to make it so. I would like very much to hear from any Rainier shipmate, whether from my era or another. |
| Comments: William, I was just browsing thru the Australian Viet Vets Home page and found your comment about supplying HMAS Hobart from USS Rainier.I was on (OZ Ship) HMAS Vendetta (Call-sign, Premier) on the Vietnam Gunline 1969-1970 and we were ammoed and victualed by Rainier on about 10 occasions. Remember those UNREPs very well. I do recall your Skipper at the time hadn't much of a sense of humor. Our UNREP Flag was a "Skull & Crossbones" with the motto "Stand and Deliver"! He did not think it was funny and requested we "Stand-Off" and remove our flag! The Crew on Rainier were cheering us......but we had to replace it with another otherwise we couldn't get ammo & food & most importantly.....MOVIES! Anyhow, I should also mention the USS Rainier crew's professionalism, because with them we set several records for Transferred Tonnage in Last Elapsed Time.Memories, eh??? Anyhow your not on Ern Marshall's website brought back memories from 30 years ago! Hope you are doing OK. I am living in Canada (20 years) and things are just fine...life is good! |
| Comments: Welcome to the New Guest Log ! |