| USS Hopewell 50th Anniversary Reunion,
Baton Rouge, LA April 6-9th, 1995
When thinking about and preparing for the 50th
Anniversary Reunion celebration of my ship, the USS Hopewell(DD681), many
vivid thoughts raced though my mind.
Even though my naval discharge on @ December,
1946, and being employed in the Home office of ...Provident Life
Accident Insurance C. 31 years, as well as being a minister of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ for 37 years, ...it still seems only a short while ago
that World War II was in full swing and we were bombarding Japanese
installations, dropping depth charges on submarines, shooting down enemy
planes, picking up survivors, etc. all over the American Theater and
Asiatic-Pacific Theater of War clear on in to Tokyo Bay.
During my reminiscing and review of my WWII
paraphernalia, I came across a diary where just a small amount of history
of the U.S.S. Hopewell was recorded. While looking over the diary,
it was like opening a treasure chest of very deep, sincere, and mixed
emotions in me as I relived these experiences, and thought you might like
a chance to do the same. Therefore, with my most humble thoughts, I
dedicate these pages to you, the valiant officers and men making up the
crew of our ship, the USS Hopewell,..
As you review these pages, it is my desire to
have my shipmates of World War II join me in reliving the more than three
years we spent together aboard her and also to fulfill the missing early
history of the USS Hopewell for the benefit of the officers and crew who
served during the Vietnamese War. Long may we remember our gallant men and
[this] ship, the USS Hopewell, which carried us through ..[three] wars to foreign
shores with a minimum loss of life and delivered us back to the good old
USA, still the greatest nation in the world!
Presented in loving memory with my greatest
& most sincere respect, God Bless All of You!
Rev. Allen W. Angel
Hixson, TN |