* "In kind" refers to payment for goods or services with a medium other than legal tender - in this case the value of donated work on the application. Visit the NEWS FLASH to find out why there are now two thermometers.

NEWS UPDATE APRIL 30, 2009

DDG-2 CLASS SHIP REUNIONS IN 2009

Today starts the USS Claude V. Ricketts DDG-5 Reunion in Jacksonville, Florida. The Big Nickel’s Reunion Coordinator Carl Slack has welcomed other ACVA supporters to join their celebration. USS Hoel DDG-13 Reunion will be in Branson, Missouri in October 2009, and the USS Lawrence DDG-4 Reunion will be in Charleston, starting the 21st of June 2009. Reunion groups from other ships in the class, who would like to have information on their reunions posted on the ACVA web page, please forward them to Dave Myerly. Reunion information will be posted on the REUNIONS link.

NEWS UPDATE - MARCH 17, 2009

SHIP RESTORATION - MATERIAL DONATION AGREEMENT

The ACVA and JHNSA recently completed an important Material Donation Agreement with NAVSEA to obtain antennas for the restoration of ex-USS CHARLES F. ADAMS (DDG-2). The antennas shown above will be removed from a ship undergoing scrapping in the near future and provided to ACVA/JHNSA for display while the Ship Donation process continues. The radar antennas will be displayed in the Armed Forces Military Museum in Largo, Florida and the satellite communications antennas will be displayed with other DDG-2 class memorabilia and museum information at the Jacksonville Landing in Jacksonville. Keeping the items on public display is required until the ship begins the restoration process after the Navy officially donates it as a museum. This is a significant step in restoring the ship to its former appearance as an active Navy Ship..

NEWS UPDATE FEBRUARY 9, 2009

(ACVA members Steve Weber, Bill Reinhard, and Craig Bernat)

The ACVA and JHNSA began the effort to develop restoration plans for the ADAMS in November and December of 2008. From 17-21 November five members participated in a NAVSEA Open House in Philadelphia at the Inactive Ship Facility. Steve Weber, Bill Reinhard, Craig Bernat, Jim Lappegaard, and Bob Branco visited four Navy ships that are planned for disposal. They obtained important pieces of equipment that had been removed from the CHARLES F. ADAMS during her many years in that facility, and placed that equipment on board the ADAMS. The ACVA and JHNSA are also filing a Material Donation request with NAVSEA to obtain replacement SPS-40 and SPS-10 radar and WSC-1 satellite communications antennas that are important for restoring the appearance of the ship during her last operating days at sea.

NEWS UPDATE JANUARY 30, 2009

Major milestone reached in making the USS CHARLES F. ADAMS NAVAL SHIP MUSEUM a reality. Use the following link to view the report:
ACVA and JHNSA UPDATE - JAN 30, 2009

YEAR END REPORT / NEWSLETTER - JANUARY 6, 2009

A summary of our progress during 2008 and our current status can be downloaded or viewed via this link.

The effort to berth the USS CHARLES F. ADAMS (DDG-2) as a Naval Ship Museum as a part of the Jacksonville Historic Naval Ship Museum project received nation-wide news coverage in the October edition of SEAPOWER, the monthly magazine of the Navy League of the United States.

TO VIEW THE ARTICLE : Click on the following link, SEAPOWER Article, and you'll be able to read the article on the Naval Ship Museum being proposed for the Jacksonville Florida waterfront.

NEWS UPDATE OCTOBER 30, 2008

The beginnings of Navy Birthday Celebration started on Thursday morning when ACVA Treasurer Craig Bernat picked up Bert Watson in Fairfax, VA. Craig’s truck was full of guided missile destroyer shipboard equipment that was being transported to Jacksonville to be put on display for the Navy celebration at The Jacksonville Landing.

On Friday they set up the equipment in a vacant store front (donated to ACVA/JHNSA). In spite of the rain they were able to unload the 3 shipboard SPA-25 radar repeaters and other display equipment and move it to the Jacksonville Historic Naval Ship Association (JHNSA) Navy Birthday Celebration booth tent location near the USS STEVEN W. GROVES (FFG-29). On Saturday morning, Bert and Craig were joined by Wayne Misenar and Tim Nightengale to greet the countless visitors who came to see the GROVES and the display tents at the landing. A radar repeater was placed in the walk in front of the booth. There was always a crowd of parents and kids around it and those that past by did so because of the crowds around the radar repeater. The kids were in awe when the top of the radar repeater was opened, showing the inside of the repeater to them. As Craig was showing off the big video game to the kids, the others were handing out the JHNSA information sheets, JHNSA Volunteer forms, and JHNSA donation forms. The visitation line for the GROVES during the weekend was several blocks long and thousands were turned away.

Bob Hoffman (facing camera in the background), Jacksonville ACVA Board Member and JHNSA President Bert Watson and
ACVA Member Tim Nightingale show the kids the inside and outside of a SPA-25 Radar Repeater.

On Sunday the crowds were very enthusiastic and the long lines for the GROVES tours were long, with several thousand people being turned away. The Jax River Taxi manager is very supportive of the museum plans and would like to land his craft at the mooring pier once the museum is opened. Towards the end of the weekend, one of the coordinators of the NAVY Birthday Celebration came by the JHNSA booth and expressed that the JHNSA booth was the most popular booth there of the four booths(Naval Order, Navy League, USO and JHNSA).

Overall it was a great weekend. JHNSA got nothing but support from people visiting the booth, and everyone thought it was a great idea of having USS CHARLES F. ADAMS on the waterfront. The Navy Birthday Weekend would be a great annual event.

NEWS UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

JAX VISIT. On August 11, 2008, Captain Dave Tungett, Program Manager for the Navy's Inactive Ships Program met with Bert Watson, Jim Aldrich, and Tom Schodowski in Jacksonville to view the planned site for ex-USS CHARLES F. ADAMS DDG-2 on the St. Johns River. In addition to presentations from the ACVA/JHNSA leadership, Capt. Tungett met with representatives from the Mayor of Jacksonville’s office, local hotels, and Duval County Schools who highlighted the positive benefits of the ship museum to the community in Jacksonville.

PHILLY SHIP VISIT. On August 28th ACVA/JHNSA leaders visited to CHARLES F. ADAMS in Philadelphia to update Donation Application planning ideas before their meeting with NAVSEA PMS 333. Bob Branco, Bert Watson, Jim Aldrich, Pete Mansel, Craig Bernat, and Steve Weber completed another good survey of the Adams and a tour of ex-USS EDSON to develop some new display ideas about about preparing ADAMS as a museum.

NAVSEA MEETING. Our meeting on Friday August 29th with Capt Dave Tungett and Glen Clark lasted over 4 hours and the discussion created a good path for providing answers to the questions on the Donation Application. Later in the meeting we discussed Curatorial Plan questions with the Naval Historical Center Curator, Mark Wertheimer. We also obtained lists of Naval Historical Center artifacts from all of the ships in the DDG-2 class that are available to develop excellent displays to memorialize all 23 ships in the museum. The revised Donation Application is due to NAVSEA at the end of January 2009.

NEWS UPDATE - JULY 28, 2008

(L-R) Jim Aldrich, CNO Admiral Gary Roughead, Bert Watson

CNO ENDORSES THE ADAMS CLASS SHIP MUSEUM
After the CNO’s recent participation in the Battle of Midway Dinner in Jacksonville in June where he met ACVA and JHNSA officers, his staff released the following announcement:

“The ADAMS Class Veterans Association and the Jacksonville Historic Naval Ship Association are truly undertaking a worthwhile cause. The CHARLES F. ADAMS Museum will represent all of the DDGs of this historic class of destroyers. The Museum will be a fitting and dynamic tribute to the many Navy veterans who served on these great ships.” G. Roughead

THE “NEW CHARLIE DEUCE”
While there certainly is nothing new about the 48 year old ex-USS CHARLES F. ADAMS (DDG-2), these two photos of the recent paint maintenance provided for the sides of the guided missile destroyer have greatly improved her appearance. She is still moored outboard of ex-USS FORREST SHERMAN (DD-931) and ex-USS EDSON (DD-945) at the Philadelphia Inactive Ships Facility.

NEWS UPDATE - JULY 11, 2008

NAVSEA RESPONSE TO DONATION APPLICATION
On June 20, 2008, NAVSEA responded to the Adams Class Veterans Association and Jacksonville Historical Naval Ship Association, both who had jointly submitted the Donation Application for ex-CHARLES F. ADAMS DDG-2 to be established as a ship museum in Jacksonville, Florida. The PMS 333 Inactive Ships Program Office provided a total of twenty four questions and comments from different parts of the Donation Application to be addressed in future discussions with the ACVA and JHNSA. This marks an important stage in the Donation Application process and the beginning of the dialogue between the NAVSEA and the sponsoring groups. The ACVA and JHNSA members who wrote the Ship Donation Application are meeting on a regular basis to develop responses to the NAVSEA questions. At this point, they see no problem in fully answering all the questions by the deadline.

The deadline for responding to NAVSEA PMS 333 Donation Application questions is January 30, 2009

Introduction

The Adams Class Veterans Association is an IRS registered 501(c)(3) Charitable Organization.

Our Mission

• Work with all Adams class groups and organizations to Save, Restore and Preserve the USS Charles F. Adams DDG-2;


• Educate the public on the rich naval heritage of the Adams class DDG ships;


• Document the roles of Adams class DDG ships in United States history;


• Show the importance of preserving historic naval vessels and memorabilia for future generations to appreciate.

What is a ship, really?

Most people look at a ship as nothing more than a bunch of iron and steel. A sailor sees it as a living being concieved in a shipyard; the hopes, dreams and pride of those who built her - from the grandmother who helped assemble her electronics to the welders and pipe fitters who turn her into something recognizable. Eventually the day comes when she is commissioned and her crew breathes life into her hull. Her radar and lookouts are her eyes, sonar her ears, radios her voice and engines her heart. She reflects her crews attitude, their hopes and dreams. In her life time she will see about 10-15 complete crews man her, until that sad day when Uncle Sam says 'Thank you for your service" and she is retired.

The ships of this class were, in the tradition of the Navy, named for famous men; from Revolutionary War heroes and Civil War admirals to former statesmen. It is our dream and goal to save the last of this proud class of ships.