USS Ponchatoula Shipmates Association

AOG 38   AO 148   TAO 148

 Painting by Huntzinger, 2003, copyrighted. Commissioned by the USS Ponchatoula Shipmates Association and presented to the City of Ponchatoula, LA.

 

 

New Life For the USS Ponchatoula???

May 2010

Our Association had an unusual guest speaker at our banquet at this years reunion in Ponchatoula, LA.  An organization that calls themselves “California Ships to Reefs”.  They presented a slideshow on the benefits of saving old retired ships from going to the “scrap man”, and instead, sinking them so they can become a reef.

The reef serves as a refuse for marine life and a destination for recreational divers who love to dive on ship wrecks.  The Ponchatoula is one of the ships being considered for use as a reef.  If selected, she would do useful service for another 100 years. 

To have the Ponchatoula selected will require a lot of effort and time.  Now that the ship’s bell is secure in its new home at Ponchatoula, LA we think this will be our next big project.  The association’s officers will be calling on our members for help in our effort to make this happen. 

Read more about California Ships to Reefs at: www.cs2r.org

 

 

Fedex Bell Story

February 2010

Click on this link to see the Fedex newsletter regarding our ship's bell

 

Plaque dedication in Washington D.C.

December 2009

Comments from the Secretary

We had several members of the shipmates association that were in attendance at the plaque dedication at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. December 3rd, 2009.   Adam Snyder and Phillip Jones both attended the dedication in their dress blues.  Adam wore his uniform from WWII (including his flat hat) to represent the AOG-38 era, and Phillip Jones wore his dress blues representing the AO-148 era.  Both of them should receive some type of commendation for staying fit and trim enough to get back into those uniforms after all of these years.  It was a very nice dedication ceremony and included a great wine and cheese reception after the ceremony.   Thanks to those that planned and participated in the dedication, those that attended the dedication and the reception.

You may view a YouTube slide show of the plaque dedication by going to this website link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xFarmYPGzw

 

 

USS Ponchatoula's bell is delivered to Ponchatoula, LA

November 2009

 

For Immediate Release:                                                            11/9/09

Contact:                                                                                   Emily McKneely

                                                                                                emily@tangitourism.com

                                                                                                985-542-75204 

See Photos 

USS Ponchatoula Shipmates Association acquires special gift for the quaint south Louisiana town of Ponchatoula.  

Two members of the USS Ponchatoula Shipmates Association arrived in the quaint town of Ponchatoula with a special gift on Monday, November 09; the bell from the USS Ponchatoula (AO-148) commissioned in 1956.  FedEx, veterans’ affairs supporter and sponsor for the transportation, delivered the relic to Ponchatoula City Hall at approximately 9:30am.  Greeted by Barry Litchfield and John Hearn (Shipmates of the USS Ponchatoula) Ponchatoula Mayor Bob Zabbia, Ronnie Perrin, Chris Winburn, and Judy Cordoba – City of Ponchatoula, and Emily McKneely – Tangipahoa Tourism; Shawn Harrison and Rob Phillips, representing FedEx, delivered the prized bell and shared their enthusiasm for supporting the endeavor.  P.F. Hammond, Rodger Smith, and Phil Rehlander, were instrumental in securing the prized 53 year old artifact and in coordinating its delivery.  The USS Ponchatoula bell will be official unveiled during the association’s 2010 reunion the week of May 2-6. 

The 2nd tanker to be christened with the humble name, the USS Ponchatoula was commissioned with the purpose of supporting the fleet by delivering fuel.  She served in a variety of capacities from January 12, 1956 until she was stricken from the Navy’s active duty fleet on August 31, 1992.  On May 1, 1999, she was transferred to the Maritime Administration’s National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benicia, CA where she is presently anchored.   

Further information regarding the USS Ponchatoula Shipmates Association and reunion details may be found at: www.ussponchatoula.com. 

 

 

New working uniform (nwu) for the Navy

October 2009

Click here to see a picture of the Navy's new working uniform.

 

 

USS Ponchatoula Shipmate's Association
2010 Reunion Information Update

October 6, 2010

Greetings Ponchatoula Shipmates,

We have good news to report! The Quality Inn and Conference Center, were we will be staying while in Louisiana for our reunion in 2010, has reduced the room rate we will be charged. The room rate has been reduced to $70.00 plus tax per night for either an atrium room or an outside room. There are fewer atrium rooms than outside rooms. When the number of rooms we have requested on our contract with the hotel are sold out, the $70.00 rate may not be available any longer. We are encouraging the members of the shipmates association to reserve their rooms early for a couple of reasons:
1. As mentioned above, the room rate may increase after the rooms we have requested on our contract are sold out. If you know you are coming to the reunion please go ahead and make your room reservation. Call 985-345-0556 to reserve your room
2. We need to get a better idea of how many people will be attending the reunion so we can start negotiating with vendors we will need to use such as bus companies, etc. We will also need a headcount for a luncheon with the Mayor of Ponchatoula.  Click here for more information.

 

Our Ship's Bell

October 6, 2009

More good news! The USS Ponchatoula (AO-148) ships bell has been located in Washington, DC. The USS Ponchatoula Shipmates Association has made arrangements with the US Navy to allow the bell to be loaned to the City of Ponchatoula Louisiana for display inside the city hall. The bell will be transported to Ponchatoula Louisiana within the next few weeks. The Ponchatoula city leaders have agreed to wait until the USS Ponchatoula Shipmate's Assn. is there for our reunion to display the bell. A few of the association officers plan to arrive in Ponchatoula a day early to get the bell polished and back into "ship shape" condition. When the shipmates association makes the presentation of the ships bell to the city during our reunion, we plan to have it polished and bright, and something we will be proud to present to this patriotic little city in Louisiana named Ponchatoula.
We are planning to use the USS Ponchatoula ship's bell in the portraits we shoot of each shipmate attending the reunion in 2010. Don't miss this opportunity!
We hope to see a great turnout of USS Ponchatoula sailors and their wives at this reunion. Please do what you can to make it to this shipmates reunion in Ponchatoula Louisiana. We were treated like dignitaries when we had our reunion there in 2003. You don't want to miss this reunion!!

 

Navy Memorial Plaque

A plaque honoring the USS Ponchatoula AOG-38, AO-148 and TAO-148 will be dedicated at 3:30 pm December 3, 2009.   The image on our home page is a color reproduction of the plaque that will be on display at the Navy Memorial in Washington DC.  The dedication is open to anyone who wishes to attend.  It will be held at:

 U.S. NAVY MEMORIAL
701 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004-2608

For more information contact Rodger Smith at: tworms43@hotmail.com