Newport Dealeys
Washington
DC
2021
Newport Dealeys Shipmates of Cortron
8
Home Port, Naples Italy
Newport Dealeys 2021 Reunion
After being in port for a year, the Newport Dealeys finally got
underway again. We reunited on September 16th thru the 19th at the Washington Dulles Airport Hilton for our annual reunion.
The hospitality room was complete with our memorabilia displays and was well stocked with food and drinks thanks to the efforts
of Mike and Beverly Upchurch. This provided us with a friendly environment to welcome our shipmates and guests. After a light
pizza and salad buffet, reunion Chairman Marc Arsenault welcomed the attendees and disclosed several new shipboard artifacts
that became available to us in the past year. First was an original 3 in. shell casing from the USS Van Voorhis, donated by
Mike Upchurch and refurbished by Marc. Next was the shipbuilder's plaque and plate of the USS Dealey. They were sent to us
by a retired New York City police officer, Tony Cuccia. He stated that they were in the possession of a member of his
service organization, " Retired & Active Emergency Service Members Association (REMA), who was moving and with no
knowledge of their origin or significance, was going to scrap them. Recognizing them for what they were, Tony did a search
on the internet and found us via our web site. He stated that on behalf of the REAM membership, we proudly donate them to
the Newport Dealeys. They arrived in time for our annual reunion. The Newport Dealeys will be forever grateful for his
effort to find us and they will now become a principal item in our reunion artifacts display.
Our Friday tour took us
to George Washington's Mt. Vernon Home overlooking the Potomac River where we got a glimpse of life in the late 1700's. Our
tour guide Ann Marie was an excellent host guiding us through the many details of the estate. She arranged a short wreath
placing ceremony at the tomb of George Washington with Bob Matuszewski, Robert Harris, Jerry Skorch and Marc Arsenault as
participants. On our return to the hotel, we had our business meeting. After routine reports, we engaged in a discussion on
the future of the Newport Dealeys. Recognizing our previous years downward attendance trend due to aging shipmates,
ever increasing health issues and attrition, an open discussion followed concerning our future reunion format, site locations
and other shipmate preferences. We decided to poll our reunion active shipmates, create a profile to determine our future
course and make a conclusive decision sometime in early next year. We then enjoyed a buffet dinner and an evening of socializing.
Saturday was a day on your own. Many shipmates went to the nearby Aero-Space Museum which had many impressive displays such
as the space shuttle Discovery, an SR 71 and the Concord. We also had a close up view of a Dash Helicopter which some of our
Dealey ships had onboard in the mid 60s.
Prior to dinner, our Chaplain Jerry Skorch conducted the "Missing Man Ceremony"
referring to a table setting which consisted of a set of US Navy ward room dishes supplied by Charles Lawing. Later, we passed
out Newport Dealeys challenge coins to all attendees and Mike Upchurch read a piece titled "The Men Who Sailed Below"
a tribute to the Engineering Division Sailors, that worked below decks to provide the ship's power under stressful and difficult
conditions.
Our guest speaker, Captain John Rodgaard, RD3 USS Courtney, provided us with a presentation on his latest
book titled "Tail Ships", an insight into the latter years of the USS Courtney, USS Hammerberg, USS Van Voorhis
and the USS Lester and their assignments under the command of Cortron 8, home ported in Naples Italy 1969-73. The book will include the early days of experiments and testing to prove the validity of employing transducers
on a long cable towed behind the ship to obtain a quiet under water environment for passive sonar under the directive of the
ITASS program. The success of these efforts eventually matured and developed into what is now standard equipment on many war
ships today. His presentation began with a description of basic sonar then went on to shipboard stories, shore life in Naples
and encounters with the Russian Navy during the cold war years in the Mediterranean Sea. Capt.Rodgaard anticipates that his
book will be available sometime in 2022.
Our Sunday morning memorial service was conducted by Jerry Skorch, Bob
Matuszewski and Charles Lawing. We honored 18 newly reported deceased shipmates including Larry Percival USS Cromwell and
Chief Richard Legg USS J K Taussig and USS Hartley. We will miss them dearly.
I would like to thank Mike and Beverly
Upchurch, Jerry Skorch, Bob Matuszewski and Charles Lawing for their assistance with our 22nd annual reunion under these
stressful times.
Sincerely
Marc Arsenault
Reunion Chairman
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Hilton Dulles Airport Hotel
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Joe Csizmadia checking in
with Beverley Upchurch
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Hospitality Room
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Pledge of Allegiance in the Hospitality Room
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Reunion Chairman
Marc Arsenault Welcomes the Attendees
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Mike and Beverley Upchurch with the
refurbished three inch
USS Van Voorhis shell
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Marc Arsenault introduces the recently donated
USS Dealey Plaque
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USS Dealey
Ship Builders Plaque
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USS Dealey
Shipbuilders Plate
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Jerry Skorch and Herb Mann Checking out the Newport RI
Naval Base Photo
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Tour host Ann Marie
on the guide map
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George Washington's
Mount Vernon Home
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Halfway Rest Bench
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Wreath Ceremony at the Tomb
of George Washington
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Honor Guard
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Jerry Skorch
Missing Man Ceremony
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Remembrance Table
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2001 Reunion Chairman Marc Arsenault
Opens the Evening
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Mike Upchurch
" The Men Who Sailed Below "
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Capt John Rodgaard
Revealing the details of his new book
"Tail Ships"
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Tony and Judith Zeoli
USS Lester
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Marc and Kathy Arsenault
USS Lester
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Garnet and Doris Stump
USS Joseph K Taussig
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Bob and Ralphene Matuszewski
USS Courtney
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Captain John Rodgaard
( RD3) USS Courtney
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Michael and Beverley Upchurch
USS Van Voorhis
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Ron and Shirley Trummel
USS Cromwell
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Charles and Juanita Lawing
USS Lester
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Harry and Karen Davis
USS Van Voorhis
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Herb Mann
USS Joseph K Taussig
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Joe and Evelyn Csizmadia USS Cromwell
with
Grandson Joey Giordane Tech Sgt. USAF
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Bruce and Ruth Whitney
USS Josepj K Taussig
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Don Shields and Jeanne Baio
USS Lester
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Michael and Vera Lewis
USS Dealey / USS Lester
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Jerry and Sandy Skorch USS Joseph K Taussig
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John and Catherine Pero
USS John Willis
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John Hagan
USS Lester
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Charles Dayhoff
USS Lester
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Robert and Dorothy Harris
USS Cromwell
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Arthur Petz abd Gloria Perrotta USS Hartley
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Capyain Wyman and Susie Howard
USS Lester (X0)
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