.
USS HECTOR ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCEMENTS:
ATTENTION: AOL, Netscape, Mozilla and
Firefox Browser users.
To be certain you are viewing the very latest
information on this, or any other website,
You may need to click on the RELOAD button
(for each page) at the top of your browser.
SEA STORIES ARE ALWAYS
WANTED FOR OUR NEWSLETTER:
We can't put out our newsletter without YOUR help
& we are running short of stories for the newsletter.
Everyone has had some interesting stuff happen to
them, or at least seen some funny stuff during their time aboard Hector,
so how about sharing it with your shipmates?
Don't just assume your stories aren't worth reading about.
If you have anything that might be interesting to
tell us about, please email our newsletter editor: Leon
Ennis
SUBIC BAY 1969 & LONG BEACH,
CA
My Fellow Shipmates: I'm making a personal
request. I received this really big boat from Uncle Sam on my 20th
Birthday in August of 1969.
I'd really be pleased to see a nice photo
of Hector at the Pier in Subic Bay, as I first saw her, in 1969.
If you've got one, would you share it with me?
I really wish I'd taken more than just a handful
of photos around the ship after just coming aboard, but I did not.
I also never took any pictures around the city
of Long Beach, and I don't believe any of my close shipmates did either.
Anyone out there
with photos from around the early 1970's of
the Pike (the amusement park) & some of the downtown area?
If you've got any photos, please contact the
webmaster: dvstahl@gmail.com
The Hector Herald Goes Digital
Ladies, Gentlemen and Shipmates of all ages: The Hector Herald
is going to follow the nation’s other great newspapers
and offer you the option of having the Herald delivered directly
to you email Inbox. This is an optional service. If you wish
to continue
receiving your Herald by mail via the USPS, fear not, your Herald
will be mailed as always, with no further action on your part.
If you chose to receive it by email, you will have to notify
the association secretary Norris Long <nlong_wvmr@yahoo.com>
by email, with your correct email address and your desire to receive
the Herald as a pdf file.
This file can be opened with the Adobe Acrobat Reader which is available
free online.
Receiving your Herald by email will have several advantages for the
reader: You will save a tree and have less in your recycle bin.
The color pictures will be in color, alas the b&w pictures
will not be in color but they will be clearer. The association will
save some money
on printing and postage. The fellow who folds, addresses and
stamps them will have less to do, that’s me.
Click on the following link to email Norris Long, nlong_wvmr@yahoo.com
NAVY DAYS ON VIDEO
Many of you may have noticed that awhile back
Charlie Atkins 71-74 (HT2) shared some movies he took during his days aboard
Hector.
We placed the movies on YouTube with a link
to them for our shipmates to enjoy. It's hard to believe that Charlie
was the only one to
take movies while on Hector. If any
of you have some movies on VHS or DVD, but have "personal stuff" on them
you don't want shared,
I can edit them and share only what you wish.
I cannot convert super 8 films to digital, but may be able to refer
you to a reasonably priced
company which can do so. If you've got
any movies from your Hector days, lets talk. Contact the webmaster:
dvstahl@gmail.com
2 of our Shipmates do a Radio
Show
Charlie Atkins (our former Ship's Storekeeper)
and Charlie Meder (our Hector Historian)
did a live broadcast on a Northern CA (Santa
Cruz/Monterey Bay area) radio station
for the Hector Association on Saturday May
23, 2009. For additional info go to KAPU
RADIO
and scroll down the page to find the link
to the audio files. To go directly to the audio files,
CLICK
HERE.
HECTOR'S INVOLVEMENT IN WWII
We now have more "lost" details of Hector during the waning years
of WWII. Go to the USS
HECTOR WAR CRUISE
Our Plank Owners might find this particularly interesting
USS HECTOR WEBSITE VISITORS
Some of you may have noticed the new "counter" at the bottom of
the main page, and it shows that we've had
over 3,000 visitors since late Nov 08. I thought you might
be interested in knowing where these visitors are, exactly.
While I can't share the "counter account" with you, I thought I'd
show you a map that I have access to which shows me
the locations of our visitors. I'll try to update it occasionally
for you, at least for awhile, if there is any interest in this.
CLICK HERE
for the latest visitor map.
ONE OF OUR PLANK OWNERS IN A TV ADVERTISEMENT
One of our sharp eyed Shipmates caught one
of our Plank Owners,
Wesley Niccolls (RT1) 43-45, in a Clint Eastwood
advertisement for The Honor Flight Network.
CLICK
HERE to learn more about the Honor Flight Network, and to see the adverstisement.
43 seconds into the Advertisement you'll see
Wesley and the AR-7 on his ball cap.
He is on the screen very briefly, so keep
a close eye out for him.
A slightly larger screen size of the advertisement
is also on YouTube, CLICK
HERE
Volunteers Needed
The success of our
ship could be attributed to the spirit it instilled in us. Carpenters,
electricians, enginemen, machinists and professions of all sorts working
together is what kept our ship afloat for 43 years. Our motto, Through
Work - The Victory still applies tand every one of us in our daily lives.
During these hard economic
times many of us have had to change our way of living and resort to doing
without or doing it ourselves. Unfortunately, many of us are physically
capable but lack the knowledge and must resort to outside help. Those
who need to hire outside help are sometime apprehensive out of fear of
being charged too much for work not needed. Bottom line is we need
to work together by offering our services to our fellow shipmates to help
keep them afloat.
I need volunteers to help
in the formation of a Free Question and Answer service. You're only
requirement is that you have a working knowledge in your field. Fields
would include but not limited to: construction, automotive, basic home
repair or hobbies.
If you are interested in helping me to help
our fellow shipmates please contact me at BlevinsEmFn@Yahoo.com.
2012 REUNION HOSTS WANTED:
If you would like to consider hosting (or
Co-hosting with a buddy or other volunteer) the 2012 Reunion
Don't be afraid if you don't have a helper
in mind, we've put 2 volunteers together before.
Please contact Bob
Pratt
THE POOP DECK
Looking for a lost Shipmate or would like to get together with a
bunch of your friends and swap sea stories?
Then you need to visit the Poop Deck at your ship store.
Just click on the Ship Store tab at the top of this page, then click on
Poop Deck.
It's that simple.
PERSONAL WEBSITES
Have you sent us a number of your photos from
your Navy Days and ended up frustrated because we just can't use every
photo we are sent? Do you have so many photos you don't know which
to send? Why not start up your own website? There are many
companies offering space for free websites, and with free online website
builders, anyone can make a website to be proud of. If you start
your own website, we'd be happy to post a link for it on our Related Sites
page. If you have any questions about this, feel free to contact Dennis
Stahl
THE EX-USS HECTOR
We now have photos of the USS Hector under the Pakistan Navy, after
her decommsssioning.
Use the link on the Photo Albums page or click here, for your convenience
Ex-USS
Hector
HURRICANE KATRINA
We have 12 shipmates in Louisiana, 5 in Mississippi,
and 22 in Alabama who may have been affected by the storm. Any donation
to the Hurricaane Relief Organization of your choice is possibly making
a difference for some of our shipmates, as well as all others who live
in that region.
NOTICE TO ALL "NEW SHIPMATES"
Many of our new contacts forget to supply us with
their mailing address. If you give us your mailing address, you will
receive a complimentary (free) copy of our newsletter. The Association
treats this information as confidential, and is used solely for Association
business. Only with permission, do we share email or mailing addresses
with other shipmates when they request to make contact with other buddies.
Not all our shipmates have internet access, and snail mail may be the only
other alternative.
HECTOR DECK DIAGRAMS
Does anyone have one of the Tiger Cruise booklets or Welcome Aboard
booklets from the 50's, 60's or 70's? A set of deck diagrams
of the Hector were often in these booklets. We now have a set from
the 80's - see the Photo Albums page for the link. The diagrams would
make a neat addition to the website. If you have one of these, contact
Dennis
Stahl
CRUISE BOOKS
We have a fellow (not a Hector sailor) who is involved in a project
encompassing over 7,100 USN/USCG ships. He's looking for digital
photos or scans of Hector cruise book covers. He presently has the
following covers: 1954-55, 1958, 1959-60, 1960-61, 1966-67, 1968,
1970-71, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1978-79, 1981-82, 1984, and 1985-86 cruise books.
If you can provide a scan or photo of any other Hector cruise book covers,
please contact
Dennis Stahl
VA Court Overturns Agent Orange Rule
The Court of Veterans Appeals ruled August 16 in the case of a Navy
veteran who had appealed an earlier decision by the Board of Veterans'
Appeals on his Agent Orange disability claim. The veteran, Mr. Jonathan
L. Haas, had claimed service connection for diabetes mellitus and other
conditions due to exposure to dioxin (Agent Orange) while serving aboard
a Navy vessel during the Vietnam War. The Board denied his claim,
since VA regulations limited potential service connection due to presumed
exposure to herbicides only to veterans who actually set foot in Vietnam.
"Blue Water" sea service veterans have long maintained that the "on-shore
only" rules were arbitrary and unfair.
The Court essentially swept away the VA's rule. In reversing
the Board's decision in Haas' case, the Court said the law was "not clear
on its face concerning the meaning of the phrase 'service in the Republic
of Vietnam'" [emphasis added]. It said the law doesn't "limit [application
of the] presumption of service-connection for herbicide exposure to those
who set foot on the soil of the Republic of Vietnam."
Specific diseases the VA presumes to be service-connected for qualifying
Vietnam service include diabetes mellitus (Type II), Hodgkin's disease,
prostate cancer, multiple myeloma, certain birth defects such as spina
bifida in the children of Vietnam veterans, and chronic and lymphocytic
leukemia. Click
here for a complete listing and related information.
The Court did not actually award a disability to Haas, but sent his
case back to the Board for that determination. If the Board rules
in his favor, the Court directed that his other Agent Orange-related medical
conditions also must be compensated.
What does the ruling mean for others? The implication of the
court ruling is that all who received a Vietnam
Service Medal and who contract one of the listed diseases could expect
the VA to rule that disease as service-connected.
However, the VA can appeal the Court's decision. MOAA recommends
that members and other veterans like Mr. Haas who served offshore but did
not set foot in Vietnam, and who suffer from diseases or conditions that
they believe to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange should consider filing
a claim for disability. Members who have had such claims denied may
wish to re-file based on the Court's decision. We strongly recommend
that veterans seek the advice and assistance of an experienced veterans'
service organization before proceeding.
VETERANS SOCIAL SECURITY
NUMBERS
AND OTHER RELATED INFO HAS BEEN
COMPROMISED
For more Information, visit this link: http://www.washingtonpost.com
A Message from the Webmaster
There are many ports of call that Hector made during her 43 years,
but if you folks don't send me some pictures, these ports can't be represented.
Does anyone have any Decommissioning Photos?
Photos of stuff going on aboard or nearby the ship is interesting,
too. If need be, you can mail them to me for scanning & I will
return them to you. Please don't send "buddy" pictures. Over
16,000 served aboard Hector in her 43 years. Photos with people in
them are OK, but individuals will not be identified. Please,
on reunion photos - don't send several photos of the same group of folks.
Posting several photos of one group isn't fair to others.
When I took over the role of Webmaster in Jan 2003, I had almost
no experience in creating or maintaining a website. I guess Bob Lea,
co-host of the 2002 reunion and creator of the fledgling website, figured
I had the pride and enthusiasm to do right by it. Those of you who
have been with us since then will have noticed the many changes & hope
you will feel they have been improvements. I don't receive a nickel
for doing what I've done (nor do any of the other volunteers who make everything
happen).
Our dues are $15 for 2 years, which helps support everyhing that
goes on, from newsletters, to website, to reunions. How many of you
belong to the VFW or American Legion and are paying $20-$25 each year
to support them? Don't worry. There will be more wars and more
members to support these organizations. They even take non-veterans
now.
It is believed that over 16,000 served aboard Hector during her 43
years in commission. But there will never be any more new Hector
crewmates. In fact, our numbers get smaller as the years go by, as
our shipmates pass on. So, you see, we are all members of a very
Special Organization, and one you should take pride in. The
USS Hector has reunions with at least twice the numbers of attendees of
our sister ships, Ajax & Jason. Isn't that proof we are the best
& deserve your support? Won't you help support your Organization?
Dennis Stahl 69-72 (HT3) DC Shop
Have Questions, Comments or Photos to add to the Website?
Contact the Webmaster
This page is provided by
Mo-Net, Inc.