Do to a error on my part, the website was pretty much trashed last week. I’ve managed to rebuild it from backups and everything appears to be in order. If you find any problems, please let me know. Sorry for any inconvenience.

From Doug Karr, Veteran Advocate & Outreach Coordinator of the Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center

“My name is Doug, and I represent the Mesothelioma and Asbestos Awareness Center, a leading Internet resource for information about mesothelioma, a fatal form of cancer. I am also a veteran of the United States Navy, and a proud advocate for veterans. The MAA Center has been recognized by the Health on the Net Foundation as a reliable & trustworthy source of medical information on the web and is approved by Disability.gov as an excellent resource for veterans and all members of the military community.

As you may know, mesothelioma cancer is caused by previous exposure to asbestos. Countless veterans were exposed to asbestos while aboard naval ships, while repairing military vehicles and aircraft, and while residing in aging military housing. Troops currently serving in Iraq are also at risk of asbestos exposure, making this a very timely health and safety issue for veterans and all members of the military community. In addition to featuring information about asbestos exposure and the health consequences for veterans, we also provide content on a number of other veteran issues, including PTSD, addiction, and more. ”

The website is located at www.maacenter.org. There is a permanent link to it on our Links page.

I’ve received several messages regarding Mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer of the the lung or the abdomen. I have recently become aware of a website that provides information regarding this form of cancer. If you would like to know more, check out Mesothelioma Web and be sure to visit the page dealing with veterans.

Miller Green has contributed about 150 photos from the reunion. You can view them here. If you have any you’d like to contribute, drop me a line.

Over the weekend, Jack Richardson pointed me at the website of Naval History & Heritage Command. The website describes the Command as follows: “The Naval History & Heritage Command is the official history program of the Department of the Navy. Its lineage dates back to 1800 with the founding of the Navy Department Library by President John Adams. The Command now includes a museum, art gallery, research library, archives, underwater archaeology and curator as well as research and writing programs.” Anyone interested in Naval history should check out the website and perhaps, visit the museum.

The website address is http://www.history.navy.mil

Thanks to Jack for the tip.

On December 30, 1946, the George 1, a Navy patrol plane attached to Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s Antarctic Expedition crashed, killing several crew members. James “Robbie” Robbins was one of the survivors who spent 5 days on the Brownson. Robbie shared part of the story at the recent reunion and we’ve posted it on the Memorabilia page (click here to go directly to the story). There’s a link in the article to the full story which describes they’re ordeal in detail.

Just wanted to wish all of you the best reunion ever and to ask you to keep the website in mind when you return. We’d love to post photos of your trip. If I can get enough, I’ll set up a gallery on the website just for Reunion 2009 photos. Send them to photos@ussbrownson.com and don’t forget to tell us who’s in them and what’s going on.

Jack Richardson pointed out that there is a Wikipedia page for Admiral Brownson. I checked it out and found that there is also one for each of the Destroyers named for him.

• Admiral Willard H. Brownson
• USS Brownson (DD-518)
• USS Brownson (DD-868)

The official Navy website has posted a slideshow of the best photos of 2008. There’s some great shots there.

Click here to view it.

Thanks to Capt. Jack Richardson for pointing this out to us.

In accordance with the By-laws of our Association, President Eliff has appointed a nominating committee for the 2009 Reno reunion. Article IV-Committees, Section 3, states the following:

» Continue reading “2009 Nominating Committee Appointed”