Inaugural Issue - September 1999

From the Captain's Cabin: Admiral H. H. Mauz Jr.
Admiral Hank Mauz  USN (Ret.) was captain of the USS England from August 1980 until October 1982.  He retired four and a half years ago and the last position he held in the Navy  was Commander of the Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT) in Norfolk. Updating his chronicles since the Navy he said, "We moved to Pebble Beach and then I became involved in farming on a large scale in the San Joaquin Valley. That lasted about 3 years and I am now traveling for the government to various parts of the world, doing some 'board' work, serving on a couple of non-profit boards in this area, and tending to family business matters. We have a house in Colorado that we are now renovating and that takes us there a lot too. I am from Colorado and my family still lives in the Denver area." 

Admiral Muaz is very interested in our reunion. He is planning his schedule around it and hopes to be able to speak at a gathering of those who served onboard the England. This will certainly go a long way toward making our event very special.

Web site Update

There have been a lot of additions to the web site in August! People have sent in so many items that at times it was hard to keep up! 

One of the most exciting new additions is the Video Room. This currently contains some video clips from film that was shot by David True.  Very interesting and exciting footage. More will be added in the future. If you have any videos pictures of the England, please contact Dennis O'Brien at dennis@obriens.net .

There are a large number of pictures of the ship and of various artifacts.  If you have digitized pictures of items, people or events on board the England, please send them to files@obriens.net.  If you need assistance with scanning or any other aspect of getting your items on the web site, write to Dennis O'Brien or call (714)961-6840.

Key Events for DLG/CG-22
Crew members have expressed an interest in a number of projects for the future. We need to work on solidifying plans for the a reunion and ship visit .

Operation Reunion - Through use of  the web site, we have found approximately 60 shipmates from DLG/CG-22 in the past two months. This is a great start but over the years it is likely that thousands served on board her so there are many more to reach. 

There are a number of publications that accept advertisements for ship reunions.  These will help us reach beyond the Internet to more shipmates. 

The proposed date is July 27, 28 and 29, 2001 in San Diego, DLG/CG-22's home port.  This is not set in stone, but unless there is overwhelming objection, this should be our target date. We need to organize the event, hotel, speakers, facilities and events. Everyone will need to get involved so please volunteer, especially if you live in the Southern California area.

Operation Boarding Party - England is now in Northern California awaiting disposal.  I have collected the information necessary to begin the process to schedule a visit to the England. This needs to be done soon before her status changes.  Part of the process is that we need to submit names of those who are going to be visiting, to the Navy for background checks.  A target of January, 2000 is being considered. There are costs of  approximately $400 to $800 to cover the cost of transportation to the ship and other costs. This would be divided amongst the boarding party members. The purpose of boarding the ship is to photograph her, raise the flag on her again, and reminisce. Please write Dennis O'Brien at dennis@obriens.net if you plan on being part of the boarding party.

ON-LINE FORUM

Don't forget the on-line forum! It is an excellent place to discuss plans and remember the past.

Pasadena City College, Pasadena, California is celebrating their 75th Anniversary on September 25th, 1999 and invites all who served on both DE-635 and DLG/CG-22 to attend the events.  John Charles England, for whom both ships are named, attended Pasadena City College prior to enlisting in the Navy. Later commissioned, Ens. England lost his life on board the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.  Calvin T. Ward, who's son Richard provided much of the content for the DE-635 web site, served on DE-635 and attended Pasadena City College. 

The Pasadena City College web site has devoted a section to the history of John C. England, Calvin Ward and both ships. We have been honored to have assisted. They have expressed the desire to have those who served on the  England be a part of their event, as we are part of the same thread of history. Check their web site at www.paccd.cc.ca.us  for more details.  Please attend if you can, and wear your USS England hat so shipmates can find you! They expect 10,000 attendees.

Bringing History Back 

Operation Remember -  The thread of history that starts with John C. England and continues through all of us is not well documented. Even Naval History archives do not have easy assess to information.  Some crewmembers have expressed a desire to create a museum display, placing the documented history in various archives to assure its preservation. Bill Thompson has been looking into possible places to display the history.  If you have information, artifacts, ideas . . . consider sharing them so we can accomplish this goal.