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
I went aboard the Roosie during the ship’s 1961 Med cruise and was transferred to COMFAIRMED, Italy in August 1962. I recognize the names of most of the CR Division crew, and it is good to see their names there .. I retired with 30 years service 1 December 1976. I loved and valued the time that I spent as a crewmember of the USS Roosevelt, CVA-42. Great ship, Great Officers, Great Crew. Anyone that remembers me and wants to contact me — sirwilliam2@cox.net.
Hats off to all who preceded me. I was part of the helo det on the ’75 Med cruise.
VFP-62
AK3
62 med cruise
I was an Aviation Electrician with VF14 on the ’59 Med cruise. I have many fond memories
of the time aboard the Rosie. I don’t have any movies from that time but have many
slides that I have scanned into my computor it’s fun to look at them and relive old
memories. Thanks for keeping the memories going after so many years.
Pete
Absolutely a great website, Larry. I am sure I speak for all of our shipmates . . . we sure appreciate your dedication to the FDR and to this project. It keeps our memories alive.
I reported aboard Rosie in early 1964 and was assigned Special Weapons Unit (W Division) yeoman for a while. Transferred out of SWU in early ’65 to OP Division and spent remainder of my tour (separated Feb ’66) on Rosie with those bunch of terrific shipmates. Great guys . . . great memories. I look back on those days … and my shipmates … with deep respect and great fondness.
Thank you very much for all your work, effort, and dedication.
Nick
YN3, OP Div
1964-1966
I came aboard the Rosie in 1974 after completion of basic training. I made my 1st Med deployment the same year. I was assigned to Deck Department 3rd Division. Shortly into 1975 I switched from a blackshoe to airdaile. I would spend all my free time in the catwalks of the Superstructure watching flight operations and it captured my attention so much that I became an ABH. I left the Rosie in 1976 where I was transfered to VP-30. My time on the Rosie was instrumental (considering I was very young and inexperienced). I learned many things and made many friends (one whom I still have a great friendhip with). I am proud to be among the thousands of men that served on the FDR.
I came aboard the FDR in Bayone NJ in 1945 and went on it’s shake down cruise to Cuba and Rio I was a Quartermaster striker. It is too bad that al the pictures that I had have been lost but I will never forget the memories that I had as a young sailor and the experiences that influenced my life
Thank you for the site
Blair
Marty Silverstein,
I was an IC Electrician too (see my earlier posts) and I knew Buck very well. We have been to each others home in years gone by. I still have a Bluegrass album he gave me when he got out of the Navy. He did in fact help start WFDR. Myself and several others continued playing Country, & Bluegrass as well as Pop music. Frank Manning & Joe Joyce played Sinatra, Bruebeck etc. live in the evenings. We had 3 channels running most of the day & night. It operated out of Telephone Exchange. We had two professional turn tables, a Seebring 100 automatic record player for continuous hits of all kinds, another smaller seebring for “dinner” music which was “piped” into officers quarters. A Chief Johnson brought some Armed Forces Radio Records to us that we used to “broadcast” as well.
I just sent Larry some “stuff” I found including a picture of a Telephone Exchange/Ships Entertainment Patch we had made in Italy during the 62-63 Med Cruise.
Thanks for posting Marty !
My e-mail address is fredh41@hotmail.com
Fred H Burgess
Hi larry and all my shipmates,… Hi Larry it was great talking to you about the good old days aboard Rosey.
I was an IC Electriction from 1957 to 1959
I would enjoy talking to anyone of my shipmates.
I am still in contact with a shipmate who goes by the name “BUCK” from Virginia. He would from time to time play country music over the 1 MC. BUCK claims to have started Radio FDR, He does not have a computer, I can contact him or provide his address and phone number for anyonr wishing to contact him.
SERVED ON FDR 1962-1966 V1 DIV LOOKING FOR CREW MEMBERS .OR SITE WITH EMAIL ADDRESSES FROM CREW MEMBERS.
served on FDR ’76-77 last cruise…decommisioning crew…4th div. boat crew.
HI LONNY, I CAME ABOARD IN EARLY 73,WORKED IN THE PIPE SHOP.MY BROTHER DAVE HICKS WAS IN THE CARPENTER SHOP. YOU MUST HAVE GOT OUT ABOUT THE TIME I CAME ON. COULDN’T FIND A PICTURE OF U IN THE CRUISE BOOK… HAVE A LOT OF GOOD MEMORIES
HT3 R Division 1971-1973
I was a J.O. on Rosie 1963-1965 in the Engineering Department. When I left, somewhere in the Eastern Med in the fall of 1965, I was B. Div. Officer. I recognize Ferrara and Sands from Bob’s pictures. Wow, you guys haven’t changed a bit. Cletis Curtley was B. Div. Yeoman and he knew everything about everybody. The men in #3 Engine Room (Main Engines Control) were top notch MMs we got to know because that is where we stood our watches. There were 12 Fire Rooms each with a 1st Class BT in charge. I really take my hat off to those men. We had a great team. It seemed like we would wipe the bearings on the FDB in 2B boiler frequently…then we flooded 3C fire-room alongside the pier in Mayport. I thought I was a gonner on that one, but we had a great MPA, Lt. Willie Westbury and a super Chief Engineer, Capt. Bob Davis. No one ever said a word to me about that one.
One other thing…Geof Calabrese then a BT3 became an officer and served as Chief Engineer as a Commander on either the New Jersey or Missouri (BBs with 600psi boilers) in the 1990s. Way to go Geoffrey.
email: luacreskid@yahoo.com
I now live in Oregon.
Hey- was wondering if anyone out there was on the FDR between 1963-1967?? The great Med Cruise, etc. My nickname was “Little Moose”. If I get some feedback, I’ll leave an email. Thanks for serving with me, it’s an honor. Michael
Found one old ship mate back from 1968. Any others out there who served on the FDR from 1968 to 1971. IM-2 Division under H.B. Wald and Chief Satterfield.
Take care
On board April-July 1966 with VA-72. Any other ‘Hawks out there.
WOW! Sure glad you sent me this web site link. HEY, Phil Dyer…I know you! Rocky introduced us, his bro-in-law was in A div. with me. I was in the boat crew and on the Capts. GIG for a year under Youngblade and Morin. I sent a link to Rocky (Roger Spillers) and hope to hear from him. Hope you get this too!
I was there when the F4 broke the landing gear and have some pictures I had sent in to this site to Larry
E Division IC2
Feb 1961 – Oct 1963
I would like to locate shipmates:
Joe Joyce from Scranton, PA, Joe Bonsak from Catasaqua, PA, Bud Atkins from Cleveland, OH, Robert Hainstock ICC, IC Electricians all; Joe Killemead EM1 from NY (I believe) and Harry Roberts MMC.
There are lots of others I’d like to connect up with again. My e-mail address is fredh41@hotmail.com. If you see this and remember me, or know any of the people I’ve listed above, please write. I have fond memories of time spent with all you guys and many others from the days on the FDR.
I talked to Harry Tucker today. Harry was from Bucks Harbor Maine, still has a summer home there but has lived in Mansfield Center, CT. for many years. My wife Michele & I visited with Harry & Norma a few years ago in their Bucks Harbor home. What a wonderful time we had ! Sadly Norma passed away last summer. Harry is doing well & we had a few laughs today amid the sadness.
I also keep in touch with Jack Nimmo from Cincinatti, OH, now living in Kingsport, TN.
He is STILL crazy.
Larry Benson, EM, from Wisconsin and I worked together at Indiana Bell telephone Co.
until retirement in the 90’s.
More later.
Looking forward to hearing from OLD shipmates.
Hello to friends from the weather office and the FDR softball team, 1964 European Champs.
Thaks to those working on this special project. I don’t have any film to donate but, I do have a 1961 Med Cruise book that I’d be glad to donate. I served aboard the “Rosie” that year and was an AE1 attached to VFP-62 as the maintenance supervisor for the Detachment. It was great cruise aboard a good ship. Special message to Fred Burgess–I too am from Indiana and just down the road from Trafalgar. I was raised in Morgantown. I can be contacted at retaec@att.net.
I came aboard the FDR on February 10, 1961 in Mayport just before departure to the Med.
I was an ICFN at the time. I stayed aboard until I was discharged as an IC2 in October, 1963 in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I can honestly say I enjoyed MOST of my time spent aboard the Rosie. I worked in the forward IC Room, then the Telephone Exchange. I was also a movie operator as were most non rated ICmen, so perhaps you saw a few flicks I put on the BIG screen in the hangar Deck, the Chiefs quarters, the Warrent Officers & Officers Mess decks.
I just found this site. THANKS to all responsible for it. I have some pictures and a short movie clip I hope to share. More later.
Fred H Burgess
Trafalgar, IN
Larry,
This is a great thing you are & have put together.
Thank You,
Patrick F. Walton
1957-1959
Hi to my good shipmate buddies,.. Jim (Burt) Baker, Pat (Duke) Walton, and Charlie Loveshe.Those were great days aboard the FDR. When I had the mid watch, how I enjoyed those spam mid-rat sandwiches from the galley.