POLARIS MISSILE FACILITY, ATLANTIC 34 Years of Service to the Fleet 29 March 1960 - 05 January 1995

For those of you that did not attend our April get-together, you missed a great time. It is always so good to see those "we worked with daily for so long" and now "do not see at all" unless we attend or happen to "just run into them". It is hard to believe that another summer is over and we now get to plan for all the wonderful things that require lots of work like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hope this letter finds you and your families well and happy. I am tentatively planning the get-together in 2001 for April 14th. Please let me know of any ideas you have for these events.

Jim Bates wrote "I want to thank all of you who have sent warm wishes and prayers for my recovery after my two recent operations!! A humbling experience like mine shows the importance of family and friends and confirms again what we learned as small children about the Good Shepherd who watches over each of us.

For a little over four months, I had been assured that the chest pains I had last Thanksgiving in Kentucky were really only an infection of the lining of the lung. It turned out that I had an abdominal aortic dissection. (Simply put, it was a de-lamination of the layers of my aorta.) First, after a heart catheter, I needed four bypasses. Then two months later, a dycron replacement for my aorta. After the second operation, both the surgeon and the assisting surgeon came to tell me that they did not know how I had lived with this condition.

As I gradually lost 25 pounds from lack of appetite, I would note each day that my face was shrinking and that my ears were getting bigger, and bigger and bigger. So if you see this vaguely familiar skinny guy with big ears, it's me."

In addition to many trips to Atlanta and Columbia, we went to Aliquippa, PA for my Family Reunion on July 4th. In October, we are going to Cincinnati and Cleveland, OH for several days. Looking forward to our next get-together!"

Mark's birth mother came up from Atlanta to visit for a few days in August. Mark met her (for the first time) last October, but this was the first for Joey and me. It was a great time, we even had a party and our friends told her stories about Mark. She had a wonderful time."

Last, but definitely not least, I am studying to be an Evangelist. I'll have my Trial Sermon sometime next year."

Her son, Ryan, is 11 years old and in the 6th grade. He is 5'4" already. She helps her Dad raise her youngest sister's twins (boy & girl). Her sister was killed in a car accident in 1996. The twins are 15. Trina's mother passed away in 1998 with a massive heart attack. Trina says she will be 40 years of age on November 20th.

They have a beautiful little grandson, Hunter, who is eight months old. He was born to their daughter, Sherry on 13 January 2000. He was born on his great- grandfathers (Brenda's dad) birthday. They never knew it could be so wonderful to be grandparents. Hunter is the sweetest little angel in the whole wide world (would you say Brenda is a little prejudice?) Sherry is still living in Charleston and works for a contractor at SPAWAR. She keeps in contact with several of the POMFLANT Alumni through her work. Daughter, Wendy works on Hilton Head and still lives at home. They love having her home with them.

Nicky and Brenda play golf when they aren't playing with Hunter. It is kind of hard to fit golf into their schedule when all they want to do is play with Hunter.

My daughter, Elaina, is now residing in Virginia Beach and just recently resumed her college studies. Her major is Child Psychology and she is very determined to get her degree. She thoroughly enjoys working with children. And speaking of children, she and her soon to be husband recently announced to me that she is pregnant with their first child. I'm very happy for both of them and pretty excited about becoming a grandparent for the 1st time. Elaina, and her fiancée, Scott Hunter, will be married on Saturday, November 25th at the gazebo on the Battery here in Charleston. The reception will be in the Jessamine Room at the Gaillard Auditorium. They will reside in Virginia Beach where they will both continue with their studies. The baby is due around St. Patrick's Day. I always look forward to keeping in touch with all of my POMFLANT friends."

Mary and I spent seven months last winter in Florida where the rain is a lot more scarce than in the Seattle area in the winter. Enjoyed being near the three children and nine grand-children so much that we are now going to retire in DeLand, Florida just as soon as we can sell our house. We have grandchild #10 on the way in December. Our youngest son, David, enlisted in the Navy last January at the age of 30. He is married with 3 children."

If anyone has any pictures of Marines on duty, please post them. We need more pictures on the WebSite. I love seeing the old base again!"

This year we took a cruise to the Bahamas on The Big Red Boat with about 30 people from Era's church.

Era went on a missionary trip to Honduras for 12 days to work at a retreat for the Honduran missionaries. I just stayed home.

Our daughter, Cherill is going to be visiting us over our anniversary. She and Kenny (our young 40 year old son) live together in LA County (the land of fruits and nuts) California, while our eldest, Bryon, lives near Cottageville, SC.

We have 2 grands, Bryon Jr. and Lori. We love retirement and don't work anywhere but around the house. We love company. Y'all come."

I am still working at SPAWARSYSCEN in the Finance Department. It certainly is no POMFLANT. I wish I could retire today, but I still have five years to go.

Gene, of course, retired from the Naval Shipyard Fire Department and now works about 6 hours a day at Alston Middle School in Summerville. He is off every summer and all of the school breaks so he really enjoys it.

We live out in the country in the Lebanon Community. We love it so much. We have a couple of horses which Cindy and I ride. Gene was born and raised out here, so it was coming home for him when we made the move from Summerville."

An 'overview' is as follows:

As a young boy from the Blue Ridge Mountains, a scant distance from Appalachia, Bill Riddleberger witnessed the 'hardships' brought on by the "Great Depression", which had an adverse effect on the folks who lived through it. To be a survivor, the weak bodied had to grow stronger, the less thoughtful had to become wiser. Many kind hearts hardened in order to survive. Work was scarce. Any job was taken with appreciation by adults and/or children and done with a sense of pride. This traumatic era became known for its demonstrative "work ethic". As a child, absorbing it all, Bill's dreams and goals began forming.

This is his story, which began in the Virginia Mountains, to the Texas Plains and later to the California Shores. Eventually his journey brought him to the Low Country of South Carolina. Follow along the trail of his life, which unfolds in short adventure stories blended with poetry. Involve yourself in One Man's Quest of the American Dream…of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Thanks for the opportunity to tell you about this and a good portion is about people and events in the South Carolina Low Country." E-Mail me: Bill Riddleberger.

We have done some traveling this year; a trip to Jacksonville, FL in February, a trip to Tennessee and Kentucky in March, where we toured the Saturn factory in Spring Hill, TN and the Louisville Slugger factory/museum in Louisville, KY (where Jim was raised). We attended our 13th reunion of the USS WHITEHURST (DE-634) in Knoxville in June, and in July, Rosalie and Kim attended two Braves vs Mets games in Atlanta. Rosalie, Jim and Jimmy are going to the Southern 500 in Darlington on Labor Day, and in early September, Rosalie and Jim are attending the Destroyer Escort Sailors Association convention in Albany, NY (only about 30 miles from where Rosalie grew up), and we plan on visiting with some of her family while there. On 2 October, Rosalie and Jim will be driving up to Renfro Valley, KY to attend the George Jones concert, and in November, we will be going to Hawaii. Jim was there on a Destroyer in 1960/1961, but Rosalie has never been, so it will really be an exciting trip. We'll be staying at the Armed Forces Resort Hotel (Hale Koa), on Wakiki Beach, and have booked tours and shows each day. Also, we'll be visiting with a retired Navy Captain, who Rosalie worked for at NAS Pensacola.

On our trip back from KY and TN, we stopped in Iva SC to visit with A.R. Brown (who has had some knee trouble) and then later on this Spring, he came here twice, and attended our breakfast with the POMFLANT group. Many of us still get together as often as we can, at Shoney's, on Ashley Phosphate Road at 9:30 on Wednesday mornings."

Grady led his neighbors in organizing their fight against crime. He worked alone for the first four months to gain control of their crime. Crime dropped 43 percent. Grady worked intensively to establish a crime watch program and trained homeowners for the crime patrol and set-up 28 block crime watches. Crime was reduced by 57 percent and was down 85 percent the first quarter of this year.

For his hard work and using wireless phones to summon assistance to reduce crime and make his neighborhood a safer place to live, ALLTEL nominated Grady for the South Carolina "Wireless Samaritans" National VITA Award. On June 14th, he joined America's other winners in the National Building Museum's Ballroom in Washington to accept the honor.

Grady's story was the only crime watch in the nation selected by a law enforcement and emergency response panel of judges for the Wireless Samaritans honor.

Grady and June, were the guests of ALLTEL and the Cellular Industry in Washington. "It was a great five day fun trip." Grady met his congressman and toured all of the sites around the nation's capital including priority visits to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and NASA Headquarters (Grady's previous employer), where he received a NASA pin and a bundle of material to help him when he visits kids in schools. In 1999-2000, Grady completed thirty sessions in schools, College of Charleston and an adoption home for kids.

Grady would like to say thanks to Alysia and Jeff Lucas, who suggested to him at one of our early POMFLANT get-togethers, that he should go to the schools and speak to kids. Alysia and Jeff review his presentations, encourage and advise Grady from time to time on difficult groups. To inspire young minds for future careers, Alysia and Jeff are responsible for over 1100 kids receiving Grady's Astronomy, Space and Rocket lectures.

Seven former POMFLANT employees and one spouse were are breakfast this week. They are still meeting every Wednesday morning at 9:30 in the meeting room at Shoney's just off I-26 and Ashley Phosphate Road. Maybe you can join them some Wednesday morning.

Since our last newsletter, we have lost some from our family:

Gene Johnson - died in August 2000. He was employed by Lockheed from September 1979 until September 1992. He died in a Fort Gordon, GA hospital. He was 63 years old.

Pat Lennon - died in December 1999. He worked for Lockheed in the ESB for many years. He was buried in North Carolina.

Ken Byrd - died in June 2000 at his home. Ken worked in the Safety Office for over a decade. He and his wife lived in North Charleston.

Jim Perry - died in May 2000.

Adele Holleman (wife of Joe Holleman) - died in March 2000. Joe was a Department Head and a long time POMFLANT employee. He resides in Summerville.

Please keep Ron Thomas and John Maney up to date on your e-mail addresses and or your current snail mail address and telephone number changes.