Service. PRS offers many different packages. We hope that everyone has a good Fall and Holiday Season. In February, we will be visiting some of our Purdy shipmates that have migrated to warmer weather. I need to listen to more of Carl's singing. We still have Purdy hats, sweat-shirts, white polo shirts tee shirts and jackets. Limited sizes at this time. Please send Dues ($10.00) & mone-tary donations to Jim Meechan, secre-tary. It keeps the newsletter funding go-ing. If you have any questions, you can call:

Bill Dow, President (860) 426-1278. Dan Zavisza, VP (603) 898-0842

Jim Meechan, Sec-Treas (614) 475-6748

Fred Harrington, Chaplain (585) 669-2877

Bill Dow Purdy Reunion President

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We are hoping that everyone enjoyed their summer. We understand that Fred & Judy have been busy traveling around the country visiting Purdy shipmates. He said hospitality at each visit has been great. By the time this is printed we will have had a visit with some of our Purdy shipmates at John & Rita Mustakos’ ocean front property. The next Reunion is only 9 months away and we hope you are saving for your trip to Dayton, Ohio. We are hop-ing to see Purdy Shipmates who have been to past reunions, but have been missing lately. We would love to see you return again. Also anyone who has not been to a reunion before is really miss-ing a great time. Purdy stories seem to change a little each year as people’s memories are changing. Those that at-tend regularly, Purdy ladies and Purdy Shipmates, will make you feel very wel-comed. If you cannot attend the 4 day event, than try to make at least the Ban-quet & the Sunday morning Memorial

Special points of interest: • President’s Message • VP Message • Chaplain’s Corner • Dayton, OH Survey • Stars & Stripes Folding Ceremony

September 2015 Volume 25 Issue 3 Official Newsletter of the

USS Purdy (DD-734)

The Purdy Report

Published by:

Premier Reunion Services

P.O. Box 11438

Hickory, NC 28603

Phone: 828-256-6008

or Fax: 828-256-6559

web: www.mlrsinc.com/purdy

Our reunions work so you

don’t have to.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

with lots of hugging and invitations to "come down, or up, or over" some-time. Ten of us remained until Sunday and John and Rita took us to Stoney Creek, Connecticut, where we board-ed a boat and toured the Thimble Islands in the local area of the Sound. There are about 300 of these rocky islands in Long Island Sound near here, and any that are bigger than about two automobile parking spots have some kind of house or building on them. Many were bought in the 19th century and some are even owned by descendants of the same family that originally obtained them. It was a great day for a cruise and at the end we said our good-

byes and thanked John and Rita for hosting a wonderful weekend.

Capt. Dan Zavisza

Vice President

Page 2 Volume 25 Issue 3

The weekend of 28-30 August 2015 was chosen for the annual infor-mal USS Purdy picnic earlier this year. This one was hosted by John and Rita Mustakos at their home in East Haven, Connecticut. The weath-er co-operated nicely with clear skies and temperatures in the high 70's and low 80's. Some of us were able to join John and Rita on Friday night and visit sitting on their sea wall which overlooks Long Island Sound. Later, the six of us, Fred and Judy Harring-ton, Rita and John and my wife Jean, and I went to the Sandpiper restau-rant just a block away for dinner. On returning we were able to watch the moon come up over the Sound. As you can see in the first photo the moon came up spectacular-ly, casting a line of reflected light right to the sea wall. Saturday started out nicely again. As the Purdy shipmates assembled at the Mustakos' at noon, friendship was

The Purdy Report

renewed once again. The Purdy sailors enjoyed it and the ladies en-joyed it. I heard that the wives, at one point, wondered what the men were discussing. Was it something new, or were they just re-telling old stories again? "Now, Ladies, we will not give away any secrets." If you must know, we were discussing mat-ters of philosophy, the physics of lower frictional ship movement and the mechanics of grilling the perfect burger. These were deep discus-sions! The feasting began mid afternoon after we finished off most of the hors d'oeuvres various participants brought. The photo of the serving table tells the story well. Later as it began to turn to dusk, John lit the first annual Purdy campfire. Then we sang Girl Scout songs........(not!) Eventually, when the last brownie and raspberry tart or other treat was finished, we broke up about 2030

A MESSAGE FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT

Page 3 The Purdy Report Volume 25 Issue 3

“Was Doug a plankowner?” Someone else said, “No, but I heard from some of his shipmates that he should have walked the plank a few times.” I heard this college professor told his class he would prove there was no God. He said, “God, if you are real, come and knock me off this stool in five minutes. Four minutes and 40 seconds and a retired sailor got up and punched the professor in the face and knocked him out. When the pro-fessor came to, he said, “What was that all about?” The sailor said, “God was busy, so he sent me.” My friend told me why all the Navy kids are so damn bad. Because their dads are Marines. I want to pray. God be with all my shipmates and their mates. God we are getting older and these bodies are breaking down. Touch us at our great point of need. Keep us safe and let us stay in touch with each other. In Je-sus name. Amen. That’s it. We love you all.

Chaplain Fred & Judy the Cutie

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This Purdy Report is being sent to 164 dues paying members only. Please send your annual $10.00 contribution (checks made out to “Purdy Association”) to: Jim Mee-chan, 145 Laura Dr, Gahanna, OH 43230. The cost of this issue of the Purdy Report is $312.40.

Dayton, OH, known as the Birth-place of Aviation, was named after Jonathan Dayton, a captain in the American Revolutionary War and signer of the U.S. Constitution. It was home to the aviation pioneers

(Continued on page 4)

Donald Gould

(1946-47) S1/c 1st Deck Died 2012

Hi, Judy and I are having a great sum-mer. After the reunion we went to Ne-braska to see Ken and Eilleen Petit. Great time. They showed us Nebraska in three days. Ask Ken about ditch-weed. Went to a poker run on the on the Missouri. We used boats, not bikes. Went to see John and Sweetie last weekend. Had a blast. They live right on Long Island Sound in Con-necticut. We drank a few beers and ate too much. Bill Dow wants us all to call him Mr. Pres. Talked to Dom Vello this morning. He was still in bed at 8:30. He’s finally feeling better. Hi to Uncle Art & Sweetie. Rich Kain, I’m mixing the drinks. Hi to Lemacky and Lewell. Go Yankees. Charles G. made me say that. Going to Lee, Mass. Fri-day. Will see the Dows and Gerardis. Mr. Pres. Larry S. is on our M.A.A., but Mindo is chief M.A.A. Barney, I got the Popeye shirt. Larry D, hope you are feeling better. Don Hazen, how’s your golf game? Gerry and Bev, can’t wait to see you two. Love you both. Ken and Turibia, we will have a reunion in Fla. with the Sansones.

Aloha, Chet and Chubby. How’s all in paradise? Jim and Peg M., when are we going to dinner? Jim & Mary, I’m telling all we can stay at your house during the reunion. Tony & Judi need to sleep in the frog. John Mikulak, I see you changed your name. Bob and Karen, we will see you next win-ter in Fla. Bob, Judy wants to go to a raw clam bar. Was great to see you two. Bob and Judy Smith. Bob, I was watching the Yankee/Cleveland game. Someone on the Indian team tried to steal third, got caught. End of game. Looked familiar. Van & Gerry, enjoy your sign. Don we’re going to start calling you Captain Double Z. Ryddle and Fleming, you two have to come to Dayton, Ohio. Oh yeah, bring Carol and Donna too. Phil and John. John, go to Fla. There’s a king cobra loose. At my pond I saw a big snake, black with light stripes on it?? Where are the Andersons? George and Shirley, hope you are going to Ohio. Hi, Bill Arnold and all your fami-ly. God bless. Maurice and Phyllis, we missed you. Talked to Doug Har-vey. At the picnic someone said,

CHAPLAIN’S CORNERCHAPLAIN’S CORNERCHAPLAIN’S CORNERCHAPLAIN’S CORNER By Fred Harrington

TAPS

The Purdy Report was notified of the following shipmate’s death since the last newsletter. Not all members died recently, but we just learned of their deaths. The entire crew sends our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the deceased. Please let Premier Reunion know if you learn of the death of a former ship-mate so he can be recognized in here and on the Honor Roll at the reunion.

FINANCIAL REPORT

COME TO DAYTON, OH

IN 2016

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Wilbur and Orville Wright, who ran a bicycle shop in Dayton before their fa-mous flight in Kitty Hawk, NC. With a population of about 142,000, it is Ohio’s fourth largest city.

TOURS

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNIT-ED STATES AIR FORCE

Formerly known as the United States Air Force Museum, this is the official national museum of the United States Air Force and is located at Wright-Patterson AFB, east of Dayton. With over 300 aircraft and missiles on display, you will be able to see many rare and important aircraft. Just a few of the collection includes one of four surviving Convair B-36’s, the only sur-viving XB-70 Valkyrie, and Bockscar—the B-29 Surperfortress that dropped the second atomic bomb in World War II. The museum has several Presiden-tial aircraft, including those used by Franklin D Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. The center-piece of the Presidential aircraft collec-tion is SAM 26000, the first aircraft to be called Air Force One, used by John F. Kennedy through Richard Nixon dur-ing his first term, after which served as the backup Presidential aircraft. There is a large section of the museum dedi-cated to pioneers of flight, especially the Wright Brothers, who conducted some of their experiments at nearby Huffman Prairie. The Wright’s 1909 Military Flyer is on display, as well as other Wright Brothers artifacts. The museum also has a large inventory of USAAF and Air Force clothing and uni-forms in its collection. A third hangar now houses Cold War-era planes such as the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, the F-

117 Nighthawk stealth fighter and oth-ers. An IMAX theatre features aviation and space oriented IMAX films.

SUNWATCH INDIAN VILLAGE/ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK

This is a partially reconstructed Fort Ancient Native American village along the Great Miami River. This culture lived between about AD 1000 and AD 1650. The people were farmers and the last historic group to occupy the

(Continued from page 3) a full service restaurant, The Golden Jersey Inn which serves country style food in a beautiful timber frame building. If it’s a picnic style meal you would prefer, there’s Barnabe’s Walnut Grove where you can have the same country style meal and delicious ice cream in a beautiful outdoor setting. Also on the property are two miniature golf courses, a driving range, a 30 ft. slide for both kids and adults, a batting cage and an extensive playground for the little tots featuring tractors, a corn pit, a “cow” to milk and much, much more.

CITY TOUR

RIVERSCAPE RiverScape is a popular park along the Great Miami River in the heart of downtown Dayton. Beautiful floral plantings, hanging baskets and fountains make RiverScape the Miami Valley gathering place. Among the attractions here are the Five Rivers Fountain of Light; Laser, Light and Music Shows and Inven-tor’s Walk. The focal point of RiverScape is the Five Rivers Fountain of Lights, a series of five fountains that shoot water upwards of 200 feet and 400 feet across at the confluence of the Great Miami and Mad Rivers. On weekend evenings the fountain pro-vides a football field size water screen for RiverScape’s Laser Light & Music Shows. Also at RiverScape is Dayton’s Inventor’s River Walk. This walk is a tribute to the fact that Dayton has had more inventions per capita than any other city in the United States. The walk consists of seven inven-tion stations that celebrate Dayton inventions. Included are a life size replica of the Wright Flyer III and bigger than life versions of the pop top can, the ice cube tray, the cash register and others. From RiverScape you can catch a ride on the Duck Tours for an ex-citing ride into and out of the Miami River, giving riders a thrill you won’t soon forget! Learn about the city’s rich history while riding on a re-

(Continued on page 5)

land prior to the arrival of European settlers. The excavation of the site began in the 1960’s and soon attract-ed many amateur archaeologists from the immediate area. In 1988, SunWatch opened to the public and now combines archaeological re-search, including the reconstruction of the Fort Ancient structures in their original 13th century locations, with an interpretive center that exhibits many of the artifacts that have been recovered from the site.

PATTERSON HOMESTEAD

This is home of Dayton’s influen-tial Patterson family who lived on the site from 1804 to 1904. The Federal style home, constructed between 1810 and 1850, was originally the home of Revolutionary War veteran Colonel Robert Patterson and his wife. Later his son Jefferson raised his nine children in the farmhouse. Two of those children, John H. and Frank J. Patterson, co-founded The National Cash Register Company (NCR) in 1884 and eventually built the factory complex on the northern fields of the old family farm. When the house was donated to the City of Dayton, it was fully furnished with 18th and 19th century antiques along with several original family pieces. Over the years, the artifact collection has grown to include more family-related artifacts that are housed in six period rooms.

MIAMISBURG MOUND

This prehistoric Indian mound is the largest conical earthwork of its kind in Ohio. It measures 65 feet in height and 877 feet in circumference. This best known of the Indian mounds in Ohio is believed to be the work of the Adena Indians who ar-rived about 1000 BC.

YOUNG’S JERSEY DAIRY FARM

The Young farm began in 1869 and has been expanded over its al-most 150 year history to include a variety of activities for the whole fam-ily. Approximately 1,120,000 custom-ers visit Young’s Jersey Dairy annu-ally. Famous for its homemade ice cream and cheese, Young’s also has

STATE OF OHIO KOREAN WAR MEMORIAL & ALL VETERANS WALKWAY

The Memorial honors all service-men and women involved in the “forgotten war.” It includes a 475 foot walkway leading to the memorial.

WRIGHT-DUNBAR INTERPRETIVE CENTER AND THE WRIGHT CY-CLE COMPANY

Showcased in this center are three of Dayton’s most creative men—aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright and writer Paul Lau-rence Dunbar. You’ll see exhibits that demonstrate how the lives of these three men came together to weave a rich historical tapestry. All three were classmates in school, and when the Wright Brothers ran a printing shop, they printed Dunbar’s newspaper for the African-American community, the Dayton Tattler. Visit the Wright Cycle Company and see the bicycle technology the Wrights

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stored WWII amphibious D.U.K.W.

HISTORIC OREGON DISTRICT

The Oregon District is a historic residential district, 5 square blocks in size, at the edge of downtown Day-ton. Home to some of the city’s first merchants, within this district is a unique block of fine restaurants, out-door dining, taverns, entertainment, and unusual retail shops.

CITIZENS MOTORCAR COMPANY: AMERICA’S PACKARD MUSEUM

Here you will find a fully restored 1930’s dealership featuring beautiful vintage Packard motorcars on dis-play.

ESTER PRICE CANDIES

You’ll not be able to resist these fine chocolates, made from the high-est quality ingredients, placed in a distinctive gold box and tied with red ribbons.

(Continued from page 4)

In order to provide the kind of re-union you want, not what we “think” you’d like, please take a few minutes to look over, complete and return this survey to Premier Reunion Services right away. The reunion agenda will be created from the responses and the chairman’s input. Let your voice be heard. Mail surveys to:

Premier Reunion Services

P O Drawer 11438

Hickory, NC 28603

Fax: 828-256-6559

Reunion format:

Do you want entertainment after the Saturday night banquet ____yes ____no?

Would you prefer a formal (Sunday dress) banquet or a more casual (slacks and a golf shirt) banquet?

_____ Formal _____ Casual

2016 USS PURDY SURVEY

incorporated into the structure and mechanisms of their gliders and fly-ers.

CARILLON HISTORICAL PARK

The park is a 65-acre outdoor mu-seum with 25 exhibit buildings and structures. It showcased Dayton’s rich heritage of creativity, invention and milestones in transportation that changed the nation and the world. Visitors learn about these achieve-ments through the exhibit buildings and interacting with hundreds of arti-facts and exhibits. The highlight of the collections is the 1905 Wright Flyer III, the world’s first practical airplane, and a National Historic Landmark. Also on display are the steam locomotive, the 1835 B&O (Grasshopper) and the first automobile self-starter. The park is home to the Deeds Carillon, one of Dayton’s most well-known landmarks, and the largest Carillon in Ohio.

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Activities: Please indicate which activities you would like to see on your reunion agenda. _____National Museum of the United States Air Force

_____SunWatch Indian Village/ Archaeological Park

_____Patterson Homestead

_____Miamisburg Mound

_____Young’s Jersey Dairy Farm

_____Dayton City Tour (Please check the sites you would be interested in seeing on the city tour.) _____Riverscape

_____Historic Oregon District

_____Citizens Motorcar Company: America’s Packard Museum

_____Ester Price Candies

_____State of Ohio Korean War Memorial & All Veterans Walkway

_____Wright-Dunbar Interpretive

Center and the Wright Cycle Company

_____Carillon Historical Park

If you have questions, call 828-256-6008

PLEASE RETURN SURVEYS BY NOVEMBER 15, 2015

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