reunion

U.S.S. Brough DE-148 Reunion Page

I thought it only fitting to open this page with this photo of the original crew of the Brough. The photo was supplied by Rod Blue, and if I am right the photo was taken at our first reunion in Hampton, Virginia.

Front Row: Rod Blue, Jack Ernes, Ralph Nadeau, Dan Cooley, Walt Bennett, Perry Pascotti,
Harold Burleson.
Back Row: Stan Williamson, Frank Gotovich, Doug Burgess, E.B. Smith, Vernon Stech.

5th Annual Reunion Atlantic City, N. J., October 21-24, 2001

It's hard to believe that four years have passed since our first reunion in Hampton, Va. Here we are in Atlantic City, N.J., a great choice for a reunion. Thanks to the tremendous efforts of Bert and Joe Deluca with the help of Frank Kirkleski, this year's reunion was a smash hit.
Opening with a welcoming get- to- gether in our hospitality room furnished by Holiday Inn. The Hor'derves were a welcome treat to all the travelers. This was followed by most with a little serious gambling. Neil Schultz and myself had heard the hamburgers in " Hooters" were pretty good, so we gave it a try and found not only the burgers were good but the surroundings were excellent as well.
The next morning we were off on a bus ride to tour the Battleship New Jersey. (Camden, N.J.) A most enjoyable trip and tour.
The evening started with a dinner at the Tropicana buffet followed by a show in the Tropicana theater. Then what else? A little more serious gambling!
Tuesday was a free day and a small group of us headed for a winery the name of which escapes me,
but it was New Jersey's oldest and an excellent tour was given. Every one purchased their favorite
wines and we headed back to the hotel. ( I had purchased two nice bottles that I put on Ice in the
hospitality room for our table at the reunion dinner, but alas! when I went to serve it, it had been
consumed by another table. ) The dinner was great and a good time was had by all.
After a breakfast buffet on Wed. morning we were all on the road home.
See you next year in Myrtle Beach!

4th Annual Reunion Albany, New York, September 10th - 15th, 2000

It was announced at the reunion buffet by Tom Gruber that we sadly have lost two shipmates that have attended previous reunions. A moment of silence was initiated for Bob Kropfel and Tom Ewers. Both were Korean era sailors. They will be missed.

A few new faces appeared at this 4th reunion, namely, Tom Sullivan, Skip Rose, Bob Castin, and Don Getrost. All but Tom Sullivan were Korean era, I believe Tom was ww2. Skip and I were "partners in crime" in the radar gang '51 to '55. Bob and I were known to do a little carousing also. We, along with Neil Schultz, another 'O' division buddy bent our elbows a little at the bar but could not duplicate the 'old days'.

Once again we have to thank Phyllis and Tom for putting together another great reunion.

Our next reunion is tentatively scheduled for Newport, R. I.

Here is a treat for those of you that did not receive the URL for John Bests' Photos of the reunion and his visit to the U.S.S. Slater --------http://www.nachtmuzik.net/navy/

This page is becoming very long and possibly would load faster if I split it in half. Maybe next year. I stole the sketch at the top of the page from Ron Zarem's note cards. I would gladly give credit to the artist but he or she is unknown.

SEE YOU IN NEWPORT, '01

U. S. S. Brough DE-148 3rd Annual Reunion Bay City, Michigan, June 11, 12, 13, 1999

( Photo by R. Blue) Another year has passed and we have another reunion behind us. Once again our reunion organizers have done a terrific job. Our thanks go out to Ron Zarem, Rod Blue, Tom and Phyllis Gruber and whoever was involved in the background unknown to me.

Bay City was a great location and the hotel accommodations were very good. The hospitality room sure got a work-out. I don't know the exact number of shipmates in attendance but I think it topped the first two reunions. The count in this photo is 34, but I think there are a few faces missing. By the way, I have this photo thanks to Rod Blue. I had a problem with my camera and lost all my pictures.

I will not attempt to name everyone in the photo as I did in the previous reunions. I now feel it is unfair to have all those question marks when I do not know a name.

The galley crew had the best showing as the largest group, both era's included. Let's hope that next year in Albany we have even more.

It was suggested that I install a picture of the Brough model on this page. Most of you have seen it in the flesh. ( last year in Michigan. )

See you in Albany! Jim Shea PREVIOUS REUNIONS FOLLOW BELOW 2nd Annual Reunion, Springfield, Mass. August 27, 1998

        Front row: Frank Gotovitch, Tom Gruber, Jack Trimmer, Paul Monaco, Marshall Silva
        Standing: Rod Blue, Tom Ewers, Vern Storrings, Marvin Hume, Ron Zarem, Jim Shea, Chuck
        Kellogg, Bill Wilson, Neil Shultz.

        Cliff Foster is directly behind Tom Ewers. Among the missing are Dennis Horning and Joe Deluca,
        ( Probably in the head.)

        I apologize for the question marks, I never wrote down the names of everyone and could not
        retain them all.

Here is Brough, probably in late '51 or early '52

1st Reunion Hampton, Virginia September, 1997 This photo was taken by a professional photographer, hopefully it will be a little clearer. However, it shows only the crew from the time of recommissioning in '51 and beyond.

        Front Row: Dennis Horning, Jack Trimmer, Cliff Foster, Tom Ewers, Tom Gruber, Joe Deluca,
        Henry Lange.
        Back Row: Jim Shea, John Ertz, Bill Wilson, Ron Zarem, Chuck Kellogg, Vernal Storrings.

        The photo below includes every crew member that showed at Hampton. (And wives or girlfriends)
        Some day I intend to identify all, but right now there are too many names unknown to me. I could
        use some input, but I suppose we don't have that many crew members on-line.

I am adding this photo below because I'm sure there are many crew members that have never seen
or heard of the incident. I have come up with a title, I call it............. OOOP'S !!!

This incident occurred in Key West Florida in January of 1952. Brough was coming in after a day of ASW exercises. There was a huge concrete abutment at the head of the pier which if I remember correctly, held a flagpole flying Old Glory. The wind was heavy and the current swift, we were headed for the abutment, and should have been a simple matter of backing off but something went wrong, and we plowed into it. I happened to be on the pilot house deck a the time and had a good view of the whole
episode. I remember grabbing for something to hold onto and bang, the flagpole rocked back and forth for a couple of minutes. It turned out in the end that there was no negligence involved, it was a mechanical malfunction. ( Cliff Foster or Tom Ewers can explain the whole thing in their mechanical terminology.) Needless to say, we were in port for a spell.

The one thing that stands out in my mind, is being on the forecastle the next morning, and watching President Harry Truman walking by not twenty yards from our bow and eyeballing the damage. He huddled with his entourage, said a few words and continued on his morning walk. For those of you that don't remember, Harry S. Truman's "Summer White House" was on the Key West Navy Base and he was well known for his morning walks.

The ship tied to our starboard is or was the U.S.S. Tills DE-748 and was sunk as a target in April of 1969.

HOPEFULLY WE WILL ADD MANY MORE PHOTOS AND ESPECIALLY MANY NEW
FACES TO THIS PAGE. SEE YOU IN MYRTLE BEACH!

JIM SHEA [ BACK TO DESA ] [ BACK TO SHEA'S PLACE ]