THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 22, 1996 TAG: 9605210329
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAWSON MILLS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 77 lines
Smaller than battleships but larger than destroyers, they have served in every conflict since the Spanish American War. Four of them are now museums, including the Olympia, Adm. George Dewey's flagship, and the Little Rock, from World War II.
They are Navy cruisers, and for years there have been associations for those who served on certain ships. They try to hold onto their history by holding annual reunions.
Since 1992, the U.S. Navy Cruiser Sailors Association has been open to anyone who has ever served on a cruiser. Last week, the group held its fourth annual meeting in Portsmouth.
The city was chosen for this year's reunion because many members live close by, according to Ed August, the group's treasurer and editor.
The military reunion business is big in Hampton Roads, particularly in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. But those in the Portsmouth tourist business think their city can be a great host as well.
``We haven't really gone after convention business because of limited space,'' said Keith Toler, director of Portsmouth's Convention and Visitors Bureau.
``But this year, we have 118 meetings and conventions, up from 86 in 1994, a 37 percent increase. I think the best market segment will be military reunions.''
The U.S. Navy Cruisers Association has nearly 2,000 members in the United States and seven other countries, representing 110 World War II cruisers and 30 newer ones. Many of those who served on cruisers in WWII brought war stories to swap at the reunion.
Otto Schwarz was 18 when his ship, the Houston, was sunk by the Japanese off Java on Feb. 27, 1942, in what he described as ``the biggest sea battle since Trafalgar.''
Out of a crew of 1,067 aboard ``The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast,'' as the ship was called because of the number of times the Japanese had reported it sunk, 318 turned up in Japanese prison camps in the days following the sinking.
``The death rate among the survivors,'' said Schwarz, ``was 50 percent.''
Immediately put to work by his captors, Schwarz was shuttled from Java to Singapore to Rangoon, Burma, where he was forced to help build the railroad featured in ``The Bridge on the River Kwai'' before being liberated at the war's end.
Another association member who attended the reunion was retired Capt. Channing M. Zucker, a Virginia Beach oceanographer. He is executive director of the Historic Naval Ships Association, a loose alliance of 62 nonprofit organizations with 95 vessels, ranging from torpedo boats to battleships.
The ``fleet,'' if active, would be the world's third-largest navy.
``It consists of nearly all Navy and Coast Guard vessels in the U.S. and Canada,'' said Zucker. ``It's an umbrella organization, consisting for the most part of directors of ship associations. It helps them better manage their museums.''
Many of the ships in Zucker's fleet are famous, such as the frigate Constitution, the sloop of war Constellation, the cruiser Olympia, and the nuclear submarine Nautilus.
Some are not so well known, but are rare examples of vessels important in their time, such as the liberty ships John W. Brown and Jeremiah O'Brien, and the victory ship Lane Victory, humble cargo ships that contributed to the success of the war effort.
There are portions of ships, such as the Confederate gunboat Chattahoochee and ironclad ram Jackson; only the stern sections of these vessels survive.
And there is the battleship Arizona, whose shattered hull lies beneath the waters of Pearl Harbor, under a graceful white concrete memorial.
``The criteria for becoming a member,'' said Zucker, ``is that the vessel must have served in the defense of her country.''
It's a broad definition, liberally interpreted to include shipyard tugs that moved warships and transports and lightships that guided them. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
DAWSON MILLS
Ronald Maciejowski, left, secretary of the U.S. Navy Cruiser Sailors
Association, greets member Otto Schwarz at the group's fourth annual
reunion in Portsmouth last week. by CNB