Subj: LSM 45 move
Date: 3/19/04 1:38:33 PM Central Standard Time
From: jnjheld@wna-linknet.com
To: jburtbrown@juno.com

Dear All,

This note is to bring you all up to date on the move of LSM 45 to North Carolina, A work party will gather in Omaha on Monday, March 29th and begin preparing the ship for her move. We hope to remove her mast on April 1st. While no date has been set for the tug, the contract is being reviewed and it could arrive as early as April 3rd. The proposed route is: Down the Missouri to St. Louis, down the Mississippi to New Orleans, hug the Gulf Coast past Mississippi, Alabama and the west coast of Florida, pass under the Seven Mile bridge in the Florida Keys, proceed through the inland Hawk channel to Miami, at Miami return to near coastal following the beach to Charleston. At Charlson she will enter the Intra Coastal Waterway and head on up to Jacksonville.

I will send out another notice once a date has been finalized for departing Omaha.

Judy

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4/1/04 2:34:08 PM Central Standard Time
From: raconley@cox.net
To: sandscraper3@aol.com

This is a report on the LSM-45 from Omaha. Jack and Judy Held along with other volunteers have been working all week towards getting the ship ready to leave for Jacksonville North Carolina. The ships hull has been painted and the welders and a crane will be here Friday morning to get everything else ready for towing. It is hoped to have it under tow on 14 or 15 April.

A position report will be emailed several times a week while the ship is under tow along with any other pertinent information.

This report sent for Jack and Judy by Bob Conley

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Media Coverage for LSM 45's trip to N.C.
Date: 4/5/04 7:24:12 AM Central Daylight Time
From: jnjheld@wna-linknet.com

Dear All,

Many of you have asked what sort of media coverage there will be when the '45 leaves Omaha.  The answer is "Whatever YOU can arrange.  The small group of folks actually participating in the move will not have time to arrange for any coverage except for the Jacksonville area.  If you live anywhere near the Missouri River, Mississippi River, Eastern Gulf Coast (MI, AL, GA, FL) or lower Atlantic Coast (FL, GA, SC) and want newspaper or TV coverage, it will be up to you to contact the local press.  We are sorry, but we simply do not have the resources to give all the information to all of the papers and TV stations along the route by ourselves.

Thank you for any help which you might be able to give.
Judy

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4/5/04 1:20:47 PM Central Daylight Time
From: jnjheld@wna-linknet.com
To: Sandscraper3@aol.com

We are pleased to announce that the LSM 45 is now ready for towing to North Carolina.  Jack and I drove to Omaha the last week in March to  start the process.  On Saturday, the 27th, we gathered the boxes of artifacts which had been stored off the ship.  We came across 5 unopened boxes which, apparently, are items left at the 2000 National reunion and never processed.  If anyone reading this has donated an item and have never received a letter of acknowledgement for it, please contact us and we will keep an eye open for it.  All items which have been acknowledged, have been accounted for and sent on to Jacksonville.

  Our address is:
J. Held
700 Talon Circle
Jacksonville, NC  28546
or
jnjheld@wna-linknet.com

Also on the 27th, Omaha received 2.5" of rain which is significant because it was enough to raise the water level in the Missouri river enough to almost float the LSM (The Corps of Engineers has not yet started releasing water from the flood control dam up river).  Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were spent removing all portable items from the ship and placing them in a trailer bound for the Marine Corps Museum of the Carolinas.   

On Monday we were joined by the members of our work party. The work party consisted of Fred Bessell of central Illinois (his father served as Cook on LSM(R) 188); Howard "Buck" Buckingham of Ft. Atkinson, WI (Baker - LSM 420) and his wife Nathlie; Jack Held, Jacksonville, NC (Signalman - LSM 174) and his wife, Judy; Marvin Hermanson, Pasadena, CA (LSM 463 & 350); Howard McConnell, Winston-Salem, NC (XO - LSM 311) and his wife, Donna; and Rich Richardson, Norfolk, NE (LSM 448).  From Jacksonville we had Sgt Maj Joe Houle, Director of the MCMC and Sgt Maj Ihor Sywanyk  of the museum's Board of Directors.

The Sgts Major departed with the truck and trailer Tuesday morning with all of the artifacts..  We had wanted to start painting the outside of the ship, but the very cold weather and high winds prevented us from doing so.  All we were able to accomplish that day was the breaking up of the log jam which had accumulated between the ship and the bank.  Wednesday dawned much warmer, but still too much wind for the paint sprayer, so 3 of us scraped and painted (with long-handled rollers) from the top down, another 3 were in a small paint boat doing the same from the bottom up.  From the boat we were only able to paint the port side, which faces the land and the stern.  It was too dangerous to be on the off shore side in a boat with no engine.  So, all in all, about two thirds of the outside hull was painted.  The plan is, at this writing, to meet the ship in Charleston, SC and finish the job with a paint sprayer.  At that time we will dress the ship with signal flags and a banner, and raise the Marine Corps flag.  On Thursday we met with the two tug captains who will be moving the ship from Omaha to St. Louis - two very nice and very professional brothers.  They are confident that they can move the '45 off of the bank even if she is not afloat by then.

Friday, April 2, we all met at the park at 0830.  The crane and welder were there when we arrived and while the welder set up his equipment, the crane placed the props, a 20mm gun mount (which we had earlier removed) and a hose reel on board.  When the welder was ready, we attached the lifting straps onto the mast and burnt it off at the level of the Conn.  We then removed the two arms of the mast to fit it onto the well deck.  We also removed part of the 40mm fire control tub to give the tugs more visibility.  Everything was tied down and we left the ship for home by 1400.  We will be driving back to Omaha on April 14th or 15th which is when we expect the tug to arrive to pick up the ship.  The entire voyage will take in the neighborhood of 3 weeks. We are really appreciative of all those who came out to help, and we fully expect the ship to be safely in Jacksonville by the time you read this.

Nautically Yours, Jack and Judy Held

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Subj: LSM 45 arrives Jacksonville, NC
Date: 6/2/04 11:59:19 AM Central Daylight Time
From: jnjheld@wna-linknet.com

Dear All;

Jack and I arrived back in Jacksonville late last night after a two-week trip to the West Coast. We had expected to see the '45 here already and all the ceremonies over and done with. However, in case some of you did not get the word, there were some delays. I do not have all of the details, but it seems that the ship left Charleston, SC on Saturday or Sunday and got as far as just below Myrtle Beach when an airplane crashed into the Intracoastal Waterway in front of her, and she was forced to stop for two days while the wreckage and bodies were removed. She continued on her way here, was delayed a bit by the tide, and is now moored in Mile Hammock Bay at Camp Lejeune.

Jack and I went out to see her this morning only to find that we had to talk our way through a couple of checkpoints - One was an American Marine checkpoint and the other was a Royal Dutch Marine checkpoint. It seems that there are over 5,000 French, Dutch, Danish, British and Australian Marines on base for a joint NATO exercise. This exercise will be taking place at Camp Lejeune the entire month of June, and part of this exercise will be at Mile Hammock Bay as there are boat/ amphibious launching ramps there. So, while we were able to talk our way in today, once they are finished setting up their facilities and get the drills underway, we will not be able to view her until next month.

As I understand, the Marine work parties will still be able to go out to the ship by small boats from a local marina, so work will be done. The ship looks really great. Three days were spent in Charleston scraping and painting the starboard side of the '45, which we were never able to get to in Omaha due to the river current. In addition to her new paint job, she is dressed with signal flags from bow to stern, the Marine Corps flag is flying aft, and a jury-rigged mast on the con is flying Old Glory. Rather than just tying her off to a mooring buoy, she is moored with port and starboard lines leading aft from the stern bitts, and a long lead from the bow which looks to be anchored ashore on a nearby island.

As for the welcoming ceremonies, I understand that they might be held early in July after the NATO exercise is complete. I have been told that the Myrtle Beach newspapers did a fantastic job of covering the ship, and our local NBC TV station as been giving a small segment on the '45 each evening for the past week. In one segment, I have been told, the reporter jokingly said that ships of her type were subject to Kamikaze plane attacks during the war, and the 45 just missed another 60 year later in the Intracoastal Waterway

I will let you know about the ceremony as I learn of the plans - and will, of course, update you if anything significant happens.

Judy

I just got off of the phone with Joe Houle. There is no date for these festivities at this time, but it definitely will not be this week or this weekend. I will be sitting down with Joe tomorrow and may have more to tell you then.

Photos
Subj: Photos of LSM 45 in Myrtle Beach area
Date: 6/3/04 9:52:19 AM Central Daylight Time

Dear All,

These photos were taken by a Jacksonville high school student, who volunteers at the Museum. Thought you would like to see what the starboard side looks like now - after scraping and painting.

Keep smiling! Judy

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Subj: Date for LSM Ceremony
Date: 6/3/04 12:40:45 PM Central Daylight Time
From: jnjheld@wna-linknet.com

Ahoy All,

A date has been set for the "Welcome Home" ceremony for the LSM 45. This will be on Saturday, July 31st at Camp Lejeune. The Museum hopes to have the LSM along side a dock by then, with a gangway for boarding, but will not know if this is possible until the First week in July. No time has been set yet.

Please pass this word on to any other LSMer or interested persons who you may know of.

Judy

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Subj: Hazardous Waste Removal on LSM 45
Date: 9/3/04 9:09:26 AM Central Daylight Time

Dear LSM Veteran;

The local environmental and safety agencies here in Jacksonville have now completed their inspection of the '45. She passed with flying colors except for the engine room. Here they found some lead based paint in the hard-to reach places (behind equipment and on the overhead out of reach). There are also some cracks in the asbestos, which were not present in Omaha. The best guess is that a combination of two years without maintenance and the vibrations caused by the movement to North Carolina caused these cracks to appear. In order for the engine room to be opened to the public, the paint will have to be removed and the asbestos either removed, or re-taped and painted to contain the dust.

To accomplish this, the ship will be towed 60 miles to Wilmington, NC and tented to prevent any lead paint or asbestos dust to escape. The cost of this will run around $250,000. To overcome such a cost the Museum is asking the local community, the Marine Corps family and LSM veterans for donations. In return, all donations $50.00 or over will receive a video of the ship's journey from Omaha to Jacksonville plus videos of the transfer ceremony held on July 31st aboard Camp Lejeune, and a current color photo of the ship. (Please specify whether you prefer VHF tape or CD disc).

Donations may be made with check (please indicate on check that it is for ship clean up) and should be sent to:

MCMC
PO Box 1046
Jacksonville, NC 28541
(910) 937-0033

Thank you for your support and Semper Fi

Jack and Judy Held LSM 174

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