FSG March 2007 Meeting: March 14th at 6:30p.m. at Mayport USO
We will be making a quilt to send to the ship for homecoming. Please bring
a pre-made dinner napkin (size 16x16) to the meeting Wed. March 14th. We will also be spending time on decorating
them at the meeting if you would like to join us in that. If you are pre-making them please try to stay within the center
(at least 3inches from edges) so we have plenty of room on the edges to stitch them all together. You can put anything you
want on the cloth from simple “We Miss you” to your child’s handprint or a picture. We will also have napkins
for purchase at March 14th meetings for $3.00.l
Please E-mail or bring to the meeting March 14th (no more than
two pictures per family) of something you and your family has experienced or done during deployment thus far to included in
a DVD for the ship.
EASTER PARTY
March 31st from 1:00p.m.-5:00p.m.
There will Eater Egg hunt and cookies and juice will be severed. We are asking that
everyone brings ½ dozen of boiled eggs to color to the Easter party.
If you would like to help the support group out we are accepting donations of the following:
· Plastic Easter Eggs
· Chips
· Cookies
· Soda/water
· Easter Egg dye color
All donations can be brought to the meeting March 14th. Please have the Children to bring their Easter
Basket or a bag to put their findings in.
HOMECOMING BASKET
We will be raffling off Homecoming baskets the
meeting before Homecoming. We are asking for donations to help make these baskets fuller. Your donations can consist of the
following: Bath Products, Linens (nice bath towels), food items (please do not bring in until closer to drawling time) disposable
cameras, candles and anything else you might use or want to use in the days following homecoming. Tickets will be 25cents for one or 5 for $1.00.
For those that can’t make it to the meetings or are out of town at this time please mail a self addressed envelope along
with a check Made out to the USS The Sullivans Family Support Group (please contact us via email for mailing address)..
Homecoming theme was voted on, at the February meeting.
Deployment 06-07
theme will be “Red, White & Blue”
Halfway Dinner:
We’d like to thank everyone that could make it to the Halfway Dinner!
It was a pleasure having dinner with everyone and a wonderful evening out with ya’ll. Congratulations to everyone that
won on the raffles.
April Upcoming event:
· April 14th and 21st we will be holding a Homecoming workshop say to start creating signs to post at the
Sea Otter Pavilion from 1:00p.m.-5:00p.m.
· At our April 11th meeting we will be holding a salad night. Please bring one
item to help create the salad.
UP COMING FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS:
Wednesdays (6:30p.m. at the Mayport USO)
April
11th, 2007
May 9th, 2007
June 13th, 2007
July TBA, 2007
August 8th, 2007
September 12th, 2007
October 10th, 2007
November 14th, 2007
December 12th, 2007
The Sullivans Family Support Group has lowered the cost of their magnets for
sale to $5.00! Magnets available “I Love My Sailor”(heart with two smaller hearts beside it)
and “Support our Sailors”
(Yellow ribbon).
Help Support your Sullivans Family Support Group!
Be the first to kiss you Sailor upon arrival
to Mayport from Deployment.
How does this work? BUY BUY BUY!!!!
The Sullivan Family Support Group sell raffle tickets and you can buy as many as you want for
the months to come. These tickets are always available for purchase. The tickets only cost $1.00 per ticket. Start increasing
your chance to get that first smooch! Drawling will be held at the May 9th
meeting. (If you are not in the area to
purchase these tickets at our events you may send a check to the FSG and receive your tickets by mail Please contact sullivans68fsg@aol.com to order by mail.)
Don’t forget
to check us out online. Our website is updated regularly.
Http://sullivansddg68fsg.tripod.com
sullivans68fsg@aol.com
President- Sabrina English
Vice President- Danielle Meyer
Secretary – Brooke Adamski
Ombudsmen Corner-
Everyone should try to log into
the Sullivans Family Website (this site is different than the Sullivans Family Support Group website) in order to get updates.
It’s a great way to provide families with the information that I have available (although limited)…
http://www.family.surfor.navy.mil/Reg/Registration.aspx?ID=105
Thanks,
Scarlet and Sara
If you
need to contact an ombudsmen please do so via email.
Sara Brown: Sbrownddg68@yahoo.com
Scarlet Bates: ImBates06@comcast.net
In Honor of St. Patricks
Day this month, A little Sullivans History:
THE SULLIVANS (DDG-68) is
named to honor five brothers from Waterloo, Iowa who served together on the USS JUNEAU during World War II. The Sullivan brothers:
George, 28; Francis, 27; Joseph, 24; Madison, 23; and Albert, 20; lost their lives during the Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942. They were adamant about serving together in spite of the Navy wartime policy to separate family
members. Surviving the brothers were their parents, Thomas and Alleta, their sister Genevieve, and the youngest brothers wife,
Katherine, and their son, James. The family today includes two grandchildren of Albert Sullivan: Kelly Ann Sullivan Loughren
and John Sullivan.
The five Sullivan Brothers
were lost when the ship to which all five were assigned, USS Juneau (CL-52) was sunk on 13 November 1942. Many memorial efforts have honored the five brothers. Since their loss much confusion has resulted
from the many myths surrounding both the Sullivan brothers and the Navy's policy regarding family members serving together
at sea, shown during commissioning ceremonies of USS Juneau (CL 52) at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, 14 February 1942
In the aftermath of Juneau's loss, the Navy notified Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Sullivan of Waterloo, Iowa, that all five of their sons were missing in action. Two of the brothers had served previous four-year enlistments
in the Navy and so, when all five brothers enlisted together on 3 January 1942, the Navy was
the obvious choice. They had also insisted on serving together on the same ship. Although the accepted Navy policy was to
separate family members, the brothers had persisted and their request was approved.
It was later learned, through
survivors' accounts, that four of the brothers died in the initial explosion. The fifth, George Thomas, despite being wounded
the night before, made it onto a raft where he survived for five days before succumbing either to wounds and exhaustion or
a shark attack.
The brothers received the
Purple Heart Medal posthumously and were entitled to the American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
Medal with four engagement stars and the World War II Victory Medal. They had also earned the Good Conduct Medal.
They were survived by their
parents, Mr. Thomas F. Sullivan and Mrs. Alleta Sullivan, a sister, Genevieve Sullivan, and by Albert Leo Sullivan's wife,
Katherine Mary Sullivan. Their son, James Thomas, was twenty-two months old at the time of his father's death
