From: Doug McAvoy
07/09/03

Naming of Aegis Building in honor of CAPT Eric Washam
Monday, September 15th 2003, has been selected as the date to name the AEGIS Building at Wallops Island, VA in honor of Captain Eric Lee Washam, USN. The time of the ceremony has yet to be determined, but we are looking at 10 or 11 am.
In order to comply with current security requirements, we will need to know in advance if you want to attend.

Please send me or Ms. Jill Jester, EMAIL, your mailing address so that we can send you an invitation and RSVP card.

Please use our Command web page, listed below, for maps, driving instructions, etc.

We will keep you informed as plans develop.

Steven R. Habeger
Executive Director
Surface Combat Systems Center
757/824-1669
http://www.scsc.navy.mil

From: Steven R. Habeger
07/07/03

From: Jerry Heidenreich
01/20/03

Some time ago an Email from a Mr. Becker in regard to the 35 men killed on the Curtiss, was forwarded to me. They were not buried at sea as his father claims. I was aboard the Curtiss a day after the hit. A Lt. Jones and three of us radar men from the USS Norton Sound went over to get spare parts as they were going to tow the Curtiss out. The bodies were on the seaplane deck and each was in a litter and each was covered with a flag. They were waiting for a small craft to transport them the Marine and Army burial detail in Okinawa. I don't remember Captain Custer holding us at an inspection when general quarters sounded. During that time we didn't have inspections what with being up all night at GQ and half the ship at standby stations- it was job to keep the ship operations going. I appreciate your keeping the memory of the USS Norton Sound going. At one time the association was a strong association. I have a couple of questions. Was the wheel and the anchor ever set in a park in Oxnard, CA? Do you know what happened to the association? I thought a group in Oxnard was going to carry on after Bob died. At one time the association even had small scholarships available for family members who won them by writing essays on given subjects. I enjoyed the reunions that I did go to. Most of all I enjoyed the correspondence from the association letting us know what was going on.

Keep up the good work.

Jerry Heidenreich 1944 to 1946 

Does anyone know where Jim Ford is? He was XO of the Sound '67 - '68.

From: George Lewis
04/19/03

From: Ken Stanis
02/25/03

Do to the lack of responses I have received for a Norton Sound reunion (20 to date in favor of one). It is not worthwhile to pursue a reunion at this time. To all of you who did respond thank you. I will try and give this a shot again in future.

I am a ships machinery historian and I would like to know if some one can send or email me photos, any plans/drawings (don't have to be machinery) or manuals for the Norton Sound or any other seaplane tenders machinery.

Thank you.

From: Tom Bates
02/24/03

From: Albert Becker 02/12/2003

Would like communicate with any Norton Sound radioman vet who might be able to provide me with info about the radio links and codenames used by the Norton Sound and other ships at Kerama Retto. I am particularly interested in finding out just what the "TBS" was, and if someone remembers what some of the codenames represented. I keep seeing references to "Tangent," "Academy," and "Bolo." The Curtiss was codenamed "Wiseman," I know, but that's about all the info I have. I also have copies of some comm logs from the USS Curtiss, from the date she was struck by a kamikaze on June 21, 1945. Veterans might be interested in knowing that the attack on the Curtiss--and the resulting casualties--might not have happened except for a communications foul-up from a radar picket ship that failed to report a sighting of a circling Japanese aircraft overhead just twenty minutes prior to the attack. Since the Curtiss was the area communications control ship, she should have been included in the list of addressees concerning any bogie report, but for some reason, this time she was not. The only warning came from visual sightings by Norton Sound lookouts some two minutes before the kamikaze hit. One can only wonder what might have happened had the Curtiss had those extra twenty minutes to prepare for any attack.
Thanks, and have a great day.

From: Albert Becker 02/11/2003