Dear Mr. St George:
I read about the reunion of USS Alaska CB-1 in the January 2010 VFW Magazine. Pensacola in March is a glorious place, the azaleas should be in full bloom…(I was the Port Services Officer at NAS from 1982-1984).
I am a member of the Universal Ship Cancellation Society (USCS), which is an international organization of 1200+ men and women, founded in 1932, who collect naval covers (postal pieces cancelled aboard Navy & Coast Guard ships and Marine Corps bases). We are committed to keeping alive the histories of the fine ships of our Navy, Marine Corps, & Coast Guard team, and the men & women who serve in them.
Attached are scans of a couple Alaska covers and a photo postcard, and I thought that perhaps some of your shipmates might enjoy seeing them. In fact, some of the attendees at your reunion may well be responsible for some of this mail. You may send these on to potential attendees as a way to help promote your reunion, or any other manner you deem appropriate. (Maybe posting on your reunion web page?) (I hope that SK2c Rendell, LT Murch and S2/c Croudo are still with us, and at your reunion!)
Also, you might want to visit our web site at: [url=http://www.uscs.org]www.uscs.org[/url]. There you will learn more about our society. If anyone wants more information about collecting naval covers and the USCS, they may contact me directly.
Another web site that might be interesting to some of your shipmates is the Naval Cover Museum ([url=http://www.navalcovermuseum.org/]Naval Cover Museum[/url]), which is an on-line collection of naval covers, and Alaska has its own page there. Just click on “Enter the New Museum,” and then put Alaska in the search block, and it will pop up!
Hope you have a great reunion!
Best regards,
Glenn Smith
Mayor, Borough of Orrstown, Pennsylvania
Past District Governor, Rotary International
Lieutenant Commander (Deck LDO), United States Navy (Retired)
Former QMCM(SS), Former CWO4 (Boatswain)
3571 Orrstown Road
Orrstown, PA 17244
717-300-5429
highlandglenn@kuhncom.net