HAVE YOU CHECKED THE HOME PAGE FOR THE LATEST INFO?
I have managed to resurrect some of the Guest Books from the previous FDR Websites. There are some that are lost forever but this is the best there is at the moment. There is a lot of good stuff there.
Click on the year you want to view. Click on the left arrow at the top of your browser to return to this page.
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006-09
MISUSE OF INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN COULD BE AN INVASION OF PRIVACY!
Sign in using the comment form at the bottom of the page and please leave a valid email address. It will NOT be viewable to visitors! If you want to hear from your shipmates leave your email address IN THE MESSAGE ALSO.
SO
Please put your email address in your message so your shipmates can get back to you (if they can remember you).
There is software on board that makes it unreadable to the “bots” who collect that sort of stuff.
All entries must be approved before they will appear in the book. Any inappropriate entries, as well as those with invalid email addresses, will be deleted and will not appear. I check daily so don’t despair if your entry doesn’t appear immediately.
Due to a rash of automated spam messages we now use “captcha” authentication. Just enter the “captcha” code and then SUBMIT. Don’t worry about upper or lower case….either will work. If you have trouble reading it just click the little button to the right and it will “refresh”. Thanks!
Many shipmates have told me, via email, about having visited this site. Oddly many have not left entries here for their shipmates to see. THEY do wonder how you are and probably would love to hear from you. This is a great way get back in contact.
REMEMBER….THE ONLY WAY FOR YOUR SHIPMATES TO GET IN CONTACT WITH YOU IS HAVING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR MESSAGE
For YOUR protection – No home phone numbers or addresses please. Please save that for when you make email contact.
REMEMBER….IF YOU WANT TO BE CONTACTED MAKE SURE YOU PUT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE BODY OF YOUR MESSAGE
This site is looking real good Larry! I welcome any comments or questions about anything I have submitted and of course look forward to hearing from any old Cat and Gear guys out there. Everybody take care of yourselves and be safe …. philjudydyer@sbcglobal.net
I came on board the Rosie in Sept. of 75 right out of boot camp. I was a fireman apprentice and went to the pipe shop under Chief Kuhn. I made 3rd class petty officer over in the Med. I was on the decomissioning crew and I’m pretty sure I was the 7th. to the last sailor on board the Rosie. I had alot of good times on board and met a lot of great guys that I wish I would have kept in contact with, but that doesn’t always happen. I left the Rosie and reported on board the Lexington out of Pensacola and got out of the navy in June of 79. I live in Oil City Pa. and work for PA. Dept. of Transportation as a Highway Designer with 20 years and what is nice here is you can buy back your military time for retirement purpose. Hope to make one of the reunions some day my life is pretty busy with a couple of kids and other thing that I am involved in. I coach High School Baseball, am a Boy Scout leader and what ever else that I get my self into, no complaints at all I love it and am glad to be around to do what I can to help others.
It was nice to add myself to the ships roster and also proud to one of the sailors that served onboard the Rosie.
Take Care & God Bless
HT2-Jim Donze
Hello,
I am trying to find out some information on my father Fredrick s LaVigne jr. He said he sailed on this vessel in 1971 and went to Gulf of Tonkin. He is claims he is dying of Agent Orange that he caught at the time of service. I am trying to verify this. Can anyone confirm this? He said just this past week that he has buried 5 fellow navy men that he served with, all died of Agent Orange. PLEASE HELP. I am trying to find any records of any time he served in the navy even if he never made it sailing out. I do not know how to go about this.
My personal email is nebulamommy@yahoo.com
thank you aimee
did 2 tours on the ship, with vaw 121. this was one of the proudest moments of my life. i would love to hear from others who served during the storm of 74 on the trip home. ae3 fowler
Hi,
I served on the Rosie from 1959 to 1961 in the V1 Division. Looking through your crew roster, I don’t see my name or my brothers name, Fred Bartsch, also in the V1.
John P Ruble – I was on the 1964 med cruise vf 14. I dont remember you do you remember me? I will have to look in the cruise book as soon as I can. Hope you are well. Regards Al Alfieri AMS3 – TO Carroll West I was on the FDR for a med cruise, shakedown cruise and a carribean cruise ha ha port of call gitmo 1963-1964 approx. Sorry to hear you feel that way. I hope you are well and can find a way to deal with your bitterness. It will indeed eventually kill you. I know you were there in a different time and place. Regards Al Alfieri. – TO Bob Sand I was on that 1964 med cruise vf 14. I know of which you speak. Regards Al Alfieri. In general, regards to all ships co. and squadrons officers and enlisted. Al Alfieri
e-mail adress forgot to include. carsboatsncycles@aim.com Al Alfieri vf14 AMS3. 1964 med cruise. Thank you.
Served on the rosie in 70-71 cruise air storekeeper.
The times and memories can never be taken away from us.
Glad to have been on board, and a pleasure to have served with you.
DIN0
On July 19, 1970 I was a VF-102 plane captain on board the USS Independence, Polensa Bay. We were there to relieve the USS Roosevelt. I was already home sick and wishing I was on board the USS Roosevelt going home. I will always remember watching the USS Roosevelt ever so slowly sail away. Man, was that a long time ago!
Served on the FDR from 1970-1973 in V-4 division, ABF-3. Made 3 cruises to the Med. Have had the opportunity to get together with other V-4 personnel that served during that time frame. We began getting together about 6 years ago, after 30 some years apart. What a great experience to see old shipmates from days long gone. We get together every year now, and our comraderie is still as genuine as it was 30 plus years ago. We are all members of the FDR Reunion Association. We recently went to Mayport to view the FDR memorial. A site to behold! Our hats off and a grand salute to the committee that handled the memorial. you get a chance, visit it, memories will be reignited! What an incredible journey it was, a chance for young men to develope into men on the short term. While we all disliked it at the time, we are so proud to have served such a fine vessel, we would all do it again. God Bless all crew members, and let the FDR memories live forever. GMenso1127@aol.com
I was in the printshop 1961-62. I have a lot of info about the Rosie, been collecting it for over 40 years. I had so much that in 2005 I hauled 35 boxes to the USS Midway in San Diego. So they have it their library.
Was on the Rosie from 1974-1977, ships company parachute rigger, AIMD-IM2. Had a great time except when that Lybian Tanker hit us in the Straits of Messina, 3-4 months in Naples for repairs. Another 75′ down the side and it would have taken out my bunk with me in it. GQ was for Real that day–lol. I made the last cruise to the Med on it and was discharge 30 days after we got back. Glad I didn’t have to see it in the Scrapyard. Loved the good times and those I served with. My e-mail is jthodgen@gmail.com should any old shipmates want to get in touch. Long live the Rosie in our hearts!!!! How about that typhon in ’75-76 cruise, 4′ of water in the hangerbay and the one set of doors being knocked of its track-crushing 2 planes, killing one guy and injuring 2 others.??
My dad Jerry Reary was on the ship ’57-’59. Thanks for having this site.
Well done
cb
i proudly served from 72-76 arresting gear, V-2 Div.
this is a great site,
served in 1966to1969 m divison old mims. not on crew list
Made two cruises on the Rosie with VA-72 Blue Hawks. The Viet Nam cruise followed by a Med cruise. Great times on a great ship. Joined the Navy to see the world and I did! Had another Med cruise on the Shangrila. Shangrila it wasn’t! We called her the Sh*ty Shang! Would love to hear from my fellow squadron shipmates or others in the air wing that knew me.
germeyerpa@verizon.net
I was attached to VF-14 from 1963 to 1967 The USS FDR sure made a man out you. Lot of good times. Any other VF-14 Members can E-Mail me at jpcj42@aol.com
Forgot to mention in above. Any Red Rippers that read this that made the FDR cruise prior to the one where Squadron was put off in Rota, and also the Rota cruise, please contact me, would be great to swap memories.
hefieusn@msn.com
I honestly don’t know what happened to my old FDR site. I had handed it over to someone due to personal reasons and a few months later, it was gone. That’s why I was so gratified to see that Bob Dorais had undertaken a web site in memory of FDR. And now, Larry has taken over from Bob and has done a fabulous job with this web site. Thanks are in order for your hard work in preserving the history and memories of the ship, the ports, the planes, but most of all, the people with whom we served.
Steve Graham
In response to that question about entering the domain of King Neptune, it was on the way to Rio de Janeiro on July 4 1966, which made us “Star Spangled Shellbacks.” That was quite an experience. I still have my certificate and card.
Made the WestPac deployment and was in VF-14. We all worked hard but made up for it in such fabled places as Olongapo City and Hong Kong, to say nothing of Yokosuka. Who remembers the Sh*tkicker Club up on Thieves’ Alley? Or “New Pauline’s” in Olongapo with the crocodile pool outside? Monkey meat on a stick, pancit and lumpia, and that outstanding San Miguel. We were invigorated and refreshed every time we got back to Yankee Station! There were sad times too…the 8 men we lost in the shipboard fire, and the tragedy on the Oriskany in October. Made us think about the transitory nature of life. And I’ll never forget the Crusader that came back from a strike with its tail chewed up by AA rounds! That was when it came home to me – we were in a war, no foolin’. Capetown, South Africa when we weren’t allowed ashore because of the US Government’s attitude toward apartheid, but the kind and gracious Capetowners who came aboard to visit made up for all that with their smiles and warm comments.
All in all it was a time I’m sure none of us will ever forget.
Was member of VF-11 WFRR aboard Rosie, made a Med cruise and then squadron was put off in Rota,Spain for the next Med cruise. Got to see a bit of Spain while there. Base had Rent a Car and Driver Service. Also went to Gib. while there for Mitchel fishing reels.
When we first settled into Rota, the galley food had tomatoes on everything, anyone remember those block eggs with tomato on top? The squadron had a senior cook, he went to the galley and the food got back to Navy style. I believe we would have lost weight otherwise. Pesata’s was 60 to a buck at the time, I believe, I remember finding beer in town for 3 pesatas, but at the local “Hot Spots” it was 200. The Spanish caught on quick about our “Seabags of Twenties”
–Aboard FDR Engineering Log Room then PAO October 68–October 70.
I really like what you’ve done with the merged site.
I was in E-Division from 1963 t0 1966. Worked out of the sound powered shop and the main IC room. Did a little in the movie booth. I am glad I have all the memories.
What a fantastic site for FDR! Larry has done a terrific job of spinning up this great website. I know the countless hours and hours it takes to do a site like this. We all owe Larry a huge thank you for preserving the memories of this great Midway Class aircraft carrier. Good luck, smooth seas and following winds as this site grows.
Served aboard Rosie from October 71 to March of 74. Did the 10 month cruise in 72. Nothing like a double extended cruise. We were relieved in December of 72 by a CVS, which was an unusual thing, at the time. Seems somebody ‘sank’ the Sara, (sinking Sara,) inport Mayport, and burnt the Forrestal, (aka, the Firestal, aka the Zippo, aka, only know what else).
Was aboard during the racist crap, and am so glad to be free of that stuff, after 18 years!