Inside this issue:

Mike Nesbit’s Message

1

Welcome Mat & Taps

2

Mail Call 3

The Oriskany Fire of 1966

3

USS Little Rock 4

Facts about Reno 4

BRYCE CANYON UPDATE

July 2015 Volume 20, Issue 2

A Newsletter Serving Former Crewmen of USS Bryce Canyon (AD-36)

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Ahoy Sailors, Our Bryce Canyon Reunion is coming up October 8th through the 11th in Reno, Nevada. Here are some of the places we will see while in Reno, the second largest city in Nevada after Ve-gas. Reno, Nevada has large gambling casinos, live stock-raising and mining. The popula-tion grew after a large silver de-posit, the Comstock Lode, was discovered in the late 1850’s. We’re looking at a Lake Tahoe Luncheon Cruise and a tour of Virginia City. We’ll be going to the Ponderosa, where Ben, Ad-am, Hoss, and Little Joe lived. We’ll see saloons, man-sions, mines and ghosts. We’ll also see one of the greatest au-tomobile museums in the coun-try. There is a lot to see in Reno, Nevada, so you won’t want to miss this USS BRYCE CANYON REUNION. We try to have these reunions in all four time zones so everyone can get a chance to attend a Bryce Canyon Reun-ion. If you go to “One Reunion” you’ll go again. Our reunions

have become a regular BC Family affair. I hope to see our BC Sailors in Reno. Don’t forget to send in your $20 Annual Association Dues so we can pay for our great Bryce Canyon Newsletters to all our members. Also, don’t forget to bring a nice gift for the gift exchange at the reunion (something you would like to win). Rick Campbell, the Navy Sub Commander who wrote two great books, The Trident Deception and The Empire Rising, has now finished his third book, Ice Station Nautilus, which will be released very soon. I’ve read both books and they are great. We always want to support our Navy Sailors. Please call or e-mail me anytime if you have any questions about our BC Reunions.

Mike Nesbit, Bryce Canyon Association President Hm Phone # (619) 562-5690

Cell # (619) 357-9688

E-Mail: thenezz@cox.net

__________

2015 USS BRYCE CANYON REUNION

Oct. 8-11

Reno, NV

Sands

Regency Hotel

Volume 19, Issue 2 Page 2

The UPDATE is the official publica-tion of the USS BRYCE CANYON Association. From now on it will be published quarterly in January, April, July and October, subject to receiving sufficient funding. The Newsletter is funded by voluntary contributions from the membership. All members are encouraged to support the voice of the BRYCE CANYON. A financial state-ment appears in each issue of the newsletter. The newsletter is intended to be a vehicle for the members to express opinions, make suggestions and espe-cially share experiences. Unless otherwise stated, the views and opinions printed in the newsletter are those of the article’s writer, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Association leadership or the Editor of the Newsletter. All letters and stories submitted will be considered for publication, except unsigned letters will not be published. Letters requesting the writer’s name be withheld will be honored, but pub-lished on a space available basis. Signed letters with no restrictions will be given priority. Letters demeaning to another ship-mate will not be printed; letters es-pousing a political position will not be printed. Premier Reunions is not responsi-ble for the accuracy of article submit-ted for publication. It would be impos-sible to check each story. Therefore, we rely on the submitter to research each article. The editor reserves the right to edit letters to conform to space limitations and grammar. You are encouraged to actively participate in the newsletter family, by submitting your stories and sugges-tions.

_________

Jerald Drabek

(1974-75) Chief Died April 7, 2015

Amil Stanley

Died 1967

Wendell Garber (1953-54) DC3

Died June 15, 2015

Cyril Buehler (1967-68) CDR Supply Died April 15, 2015

Joseph Calvillo

(1950-51) BTG1 B Div Died March 21, 2015

Kenneth Jarvis

(1950)BTG2

Died June 1, 2002

William Eubanks

(1951-54) ME2 6th Div Died April 2015

Paul Hunn

(1954-56) SH2 S Div Died 2015

Morton Stroing

(1958-59) YNC

Died 2010

___________

WELCOME MAT

The USS BRYCE CANYON Association announces the follow-ing former crewmen have recently been located. Welcome aboard and we hope to see you at the next reunion.

Charles Snyder (1969) PO Box 12725

Oklahoma City, OK 73517

405-308-6369

bosshog54897@yahoo.com

David Smith

(1962-64) ETN2

221 E Desert Rose Dr Henderson, NV 89015

__________

TAPS

The Bryce Canyon Update learned of the following shipmates’ deaths since the last newsletter. Every member of the Association sends his heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of the de-ceased.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR 07/15

Balance from 12/14 $3632.63

Dues Received since 04/15 $175.00

Available for 07/15 $3807.63

Cost of 04/15 issue (4 pages—558 copies) Postage: $172.98

Paper: $100.44

Envelopes: $39.06

Printing Costs: $200.88

Labor: $78.00

TOTAL COSTS: $591.36

Balance Remaining for 10/15

$3216.27

Dues of $20.00 are due in Jan-uary of each year. Send dues to Premier Reunion Services at the address on to the right.

__________

Statement of Statement of Statement of Statement of PublicationPublicationPublicationPublication

Published By: dina@mlrsinc.com Premier Reunion Services karen@mlrsinc.com

PO Box 11438 Web site: www.mlrsinc.com/brycecanyon

Hickory, NC 28603

“Our Reunions Work So You Don’t Have To” 828-256-6008 (voice) 828-256-6559 (fax)

Shipmates, It’s sad that I am writing to let you know that we have lost 3 more ship-mates and close friends of mine. Lost Victor Levin in Sept. 2014 and Bill Eu-banks in April 2015. Also Paul Hunn in April 2015. So of the six mates that I had close contact with, I have lost three of them. But it does leave me with great memo-ries we made aboard the Great Bryce Canyon. Hope to see you at the next reunion at Reno.

As always, a shipmate, Leo Hultgren

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Page 3 BRYCE CANYON UPDATE

Mail CallMail CallMail CallMail Call

The Oriskany Fire - of

26 October 1966

"Its a rare sight to see a Destroyer Tender

alongside an Aircraft Carrier. As a matter

of fact, no one here knows whether it has

ever happened before.

Recently, however, at Subic Bay, in the

Philippines, USS Bryce Canyon (AD-

36) wrote a new page in Western Pacific

history by going along-

side USS Oriskany (CVA-34). The event

was occasioned by a serious fire which had

broken out in Oriskany while operating off

the Vietnam coast. As soon as the ships

were moored together, Bryce Canyon' s

repair personnel swarmed aboard the carri-

er, and commenced around-the-clock oper-

ations. First on the agenda was the immedi-

ate recharging of some 107 CO2 fire extin-

guishers, which had been used in fighting

the blaze. At the end of six days, all repair

work was completed. Every one of the sev-

enty ventilation and heating systems, as

well as all electric motors in the damaged

area had been checked out and restored to

order. During this period, working parties

from the tender had also pitched in

with Oriskany sailors and personnel from

SRF Subic, in cleaning up the fire and

smoke damaged areas to make them habita-

ble. Elsewhere aboard the tender, skilled

technicians worked on countless jobs not

immediately associated with the fire

damage, giving the carrier a tender

availability the like of which she had

never seen. On conclusion of

work, Bryce Canyon' s modern elec-

tronic accounting machine installation

tallied the results of her 6-day effort.

In all, a total of 6,019 manhours had

been expended; the equivalent of a

two week availability for four destroy-

ers.

As both ships got underway at the

crack of dawn on the sixth

day, Oriskany sent the following visual

message to the tender: "Your outstand-

ing service and voluntary assistance in

removing our scars is greatly appreciat-

ed. The willingness to work and your

speed and efficiency helped us leave

Subic Bay in outstanding shape for our

transit home. Well done to all men

aboard Bryce Canyon!"

By Bruce Campbell

Page 4 BRYCE CANYON UPDATE

tion in near-shore (littoral) environ-ments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric 'anti-access' threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft," a Navy fact file on the ships says. LCS ships are designed with what the Navy calls "mission modules," which can be switched out quickly according to assigned tasks. The ships have a core crew of around 50 with accommodations for 97 sailors, depending on the mission. LCS vessels come in two variants, the monohull Freedom class and the trimaran Independence class. Free-dom-class ships hold odd hull num-bers. Ships of the Independence class hold are designated by even hull numbers. Littoral combat ships made news earlier this year when the USS Fort Worth, LCS-3, the second in the Freedom class, cruised through the South China Sea, where China is building facilities on reclaimed land in the disputed Spratly Islands. The U.S. Navy said at the time that LCS vessels will be making more frequent visits to the region. "Routine operations like the one Fort Worth just completed in the South China Sea will be the new nor-mal as we welcome four LCSs to the region in the coming years. Deploy-ment of multiple LCSs to Southeast

By Brad Lendon, CNN

July 16, 2015

In the launch ceremony, speakers said the 378-foot-long, 3,000-ton litto-ral combat ship with only a 13-foot draft is ideal for the missions the Navy faces in shallow waters around Pacific Rim, where the Navy is increasing presence as it keeps an eye on Chi-na, which is expanding its naval forc-es and its presence in the South Chi-na Sea. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said the launching of the Little Rock is em-blematic of the Navy's commitment to have a fleet of 304 ships by the end of the decade, enough to maintain a strong presence in all the world's wa-ters. That presence means "being where it counts, when it counts," Ma-bus said Saturday. "That presence reassure allies, it deters potential foes." "LCS is a fast, agile, focused-

mission platform designed for opera-

Asia underscores the importance of this 'region on the rise' and the value persistent presence brings," Capt. Fred Kacher, commodore of the Na-vy's Destroyer Squadron 7, said in a press release. Rear Adm. Brian Antonio, execu-tive officer of the LCS program, said Saturday the Navy will have four LCS vessels based out of Singapore by 2018 as it focuses on the Asia-

Pacific region. The Little Rock will now undergo sea trials before official delivery to the Navy, expected in 2016. The Little Rock follows LCS-10, the USS Gabrielle Giffords, in launching this year. The Gabrielle Giffords, named after the former U.S. congresswoman who was shot in an assassination attempt in January 2011, was built in Mobile, Alabama, by Austral USA. The Giffords will be the 16th naval ship named for a woman. LCS-9 carries on the heritage of the Little Rock name previously held by a guided-missile cruiser. The first USS Little Rock began service as a light cruiser shortly after World War II, then was converted to the guided-

missile format. That ship, which is now a muse-um in Buffalo, New York, was de-commissioned in 1976.

__________

NAVY’S NEWEST COMBAT SHIP, USS LITTLE ROCK

FACTS ABOUT RENO, NV

• Reno experiences around 1,000 earthquakes every year. Fortu-nately most of them are too weak to do any damage or even be felt.

• Before taking the pen name “Mark Twain”, Samuel Clemens went to Reno to search for gold and silver. He was unsuccessful.

• While many people know Vegas as the marriage capital of the world. Reno became known as the divorce capital of the world after 30,000 couple untied the

knot between 1929 and 1939 due to very lax divorce laws.

• Before Vegas took off in the 1960s, Reno was the gambling capital of America.

• Gambling in Reno can be traced back to pre-colonial times, with games being played in celebra-tion of hunts and harvests.

• Reno’s namesake comes from a man who has never been to Re-no, Jesse Lee Reno. Shot in a battle in Maryland, it was custom-ary to name train stops after fall-

en soldiers. • Reno holds the Guinness World

Record for most people playing checkers at one time, 540.

• Tahoe Tessie, the North Ameri-can counterpart to the Loch Ness monster, is said to travel at more than 60 mph and stretch up to 80 feet long. She calls Lake Tahoe her home.

• With more than 16,000 slot ma-chines, Reno has one machine for every 14 residents.