SUMMER IS HERE, EVERYONE ! "REUNION '09 IN BEAUTIFUL SAN DIEGO IS COMING UP FAST!"
Keep the Sailors, Soldiers and Marines in the Mid-East
and Around the World in Your Prayers...
American and Allied Soldiers, Sailors and Merchant Mariners
Continue to Place Their Lives on the Line for You and Yours.
Bravo Zulu, Operation Iraqi Freedom !! -
Thanks to Everyone for their Memorial Day tributes to our fallen heroes.
THE GUEST LOG IS BACK UP!
We finally got the Guest Log archived and re-opened so get in there and fill it up ...
Check the Guestbook Archives for the new Volume 6 for entries from 2008 to July 2009.
- All the entries back to the 1990's are in the archives.
GEOCITIES UPDATE:
THIS WEB SITE'S HOME FOR OVER TEN YEARS IS FINALLY FALLING TO YAHOO'S WRECKING BALL OF PROGRESS.
GOOD OLD "GEOCITIES" WHICH, BACK IN 1995 OR SO, PIONEERED THE IDEA OF LETTING EVERYONE HAVE A "FREE"
WEB SITE, IS GOING TO BE TAKEN DOWN BY THE END OF THE YEAR AND THIS SITE WITH IT.
HOWEVER, WE ARE GOING TO TRANSFER THE SITE TO TO YAHOO! WEB HOSTING.
THE UPSIDE IS WE WILL GET A SPIFFY NEW DOMAIN ADDRESS LIKE AE-5@YAHOO.COM" OR SOMETHING SIMILAR
THE COSTS WILL EVENTUALLY GO UP, LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE-
BUT, IN THIS CASE, WE'LL ALSO KEEP THE QUALITY UP- SURPRISE, SURPRISE !
A LITTLE BIT OF A CONTRIBUTION MAY MAKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAINTAINING THE SITE AND
ALL THAT IS INVOLVED WITH IT AND THE SITE GOING DOWN SO-
SO IF YOU LIKE THIS SITE, -AND WE KNOW YOU DO - GIVE A THOUGHT TO MAKING A DONATION.
A "PLANK OWNERS" BOARD WILL BE PUT UP SOON ON THE MAIN PAGE TO HONOR OUR PATRONS.
IF YOU'D LIKE INFORMATION, CONTACT THE WEBMASTER AT "WFREEMAN555@HOTMAIL.COM" FOR THE GRUESOME DETAILS.
WE'LL HAVE A DONATION CAN AT THE REUNION FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE >B> : ) THANKS.
DOMAIN NAME SUGGESTIONS
As noted above, we will shortly have a new Yahoo! DOMAIN NAME - the address of the web
site and our new email address. The one we have now is a relic of the past, with the webmasters name on it...
but the new one can be anything we want it to be,
so start coming up with some good ones...USSAE5.org ? USSRainier.com?
You can do better than that, cant you? Send in your suggestions to : wfreeman555@hotmail.com,
or let me know your ideas at the reunion.
CHANGES AT THE TOP:
The RAINIER REUNION ASSOCIATION has a new SKIPPER AND "ERUPTION" EDITOR!!!
BILL WELCH (who doesn't look at all like Captain McMallister of "The Simpsons") now has the two
jobs. Former Semi-Skipper Gene Chambers has just
advised us of the change, and assures us he will help out any way he can.
NEW RAINIER ACTION VIDEOS ON LINE !!
We have finally mastered the art of putting up videos of Rainier action in the
Tonkin Gulf on-line, thanks to Vidilife.com, our video host.
Check the link under the "Underway Replenishment" section on the
main page for ELEVEN(!)different videos.
Click HERE for a sample.
This clip shows "At Sea- The View from the Bridge- 1968"
Let us know what you think. If you have some DVDs of Rainier action,
you'd like to see on this site, let the webmaster know. If you have trouble viewing the videos, let us know too.
NEW AMAZON.COM BOOK STORE AVAILABLE
Check out our new Amazon.Com book store.
Lots of interesting Naval-oriented books, videos and music.
Every purchase helps to support this web site !
NEW SHIP'S PATCH GRAPHICS TO DOWNLOAD
George Crofton, USAF of GoldenWebPage has made us some really beautiful graphic
versions of the "Crossed-Bombs" ship's patch. Look for them under
the list of patches on the main page and check out the great flag background
patch George also sent along- George's Award to the Website is on the Awards Page.
Thanks, George.
NEW ! NAVAL TERMINOLOGY TEST
How many of these Naval Terms do you remember?
Are there more?
Here's the definitive Naval Terms Dictionary in case you missed a few.
VETS ON "SECOND LIFE"
If youre not familiar with "Second Life," it's a virtual reality world
on the net, where the vast resident-created landscape is populated by over 60,000 users at any
one time. You have your own "avatar", an animated figure that
you can use to explore the place and meet interesting people from all over
the world.
One of the interesting parts of it is "Patriot Island" where
there is a large compound laid out for veterans of all services and well over 800 members of the military veterans group. There are interesting discussions and activities, such as the full-dress military ball on May 25, as well as access to the DAV, American Legion, VFW and the Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans organizations. Feel free to visit at Second Life - and the best part is - it's all free. If you drop in at Patriot Island, ask for your webmaster, Mr. Hawksby- I'll buy you a San Miguel.
The amazing media and graphic technology will blow your mind.
The Webmaster at the Veteran's Center, Patriot Island,Second Life
E-MAIL DIRECTORY
The Email Directory of former Rainier Sailors (and a few family members) is being expanded daily as more and more shipmates are located.
To See who's included so far, CLICK HERE. Contributions and Corrections will be Appreciated.
CAPS AND T-SHIRTS FOR ALL
- Gene Chambers has a load of Rainier ball caps- Get yours NOW for the 2009 Reunion.
Joe Appelt (bfajpa@boernenet,com) has a few T-Shirts left- not all sizes available. $10 or so, depending on your girth,
plus $3 shipping and handling. Check the main page for details on how to order.
For other Rainier logo stuff try...Naval Shopping.Com More expensive than Gene and Joe, but some cool stuff.
Cafe ress also has some Rainier gear. Google them.
SEA STORIES
Contributions of photos, stories and memorabilia are always welcome. Get out those word processors (or typewriters for you WW2 guys)and write us about any of these subjects, or whatever else you want to talk about.
Your webmaster read that 3,000 (!) World War Two veterans die each month. Their personal stories and the history of that time are dying with them, and ought to be preserved for upcoming generations. This is one place to do it. Write it all down. YOU may not think your particular story is very important, but someone, sometime, somewhere will be glad you did. If for no other reason, write it all down for your own family. Then- send a copy to us. Your story might make the next edition of the book "We Deliver-You Fire" Do you want some ideas as to how to write your story? Check this website of the Memories of Destroyermen in WW II for some pointers. Just think what your memoirs would be worth to your great-grandchildren ! Send a copy to us.
Try these themes:
1. The most "unforgettable" character or event.
2. The "Tonkin Gulf Incident".
3. Most memorable liberty or liberty port.
4. First day aboard.
5. Last day aboard.
6. Holidays at sea: barbecues in cluster bomb canisters, ships band, Christmas overseas, etc..
7. What I Did the Day the War Ended...(Whichever War YOU Were In).
8. How the Ship's Bell Got Its Crack.
9. The most "colorful" watering hole in Asia.
10."Close calls" while working, in combat, on "Shore Patrol" or on liberty.
Send in all those photos and stories ... This is the place to make them all live forever. Send to "wfreeman555@hotmail.com" You'll be glad you did.
