Sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed at what I'm trying to do. In order to accomplish this, it's necessary to get publicity. If you can get the word out about the possibility of an expedition, find other family members, then we can begin to ferret out ways to find money to make this trip and documentary happen. To do so means exposing myself and the people I'll be working with to lots of contact from the public, from people who have an interest in WWII history or perhaps have a connection to STRONG itself. As welcome as this will be, there could be some issues with finding the time to appropriately deal with the work involved in pulling this off. I can't even begin to know what to do first: do we get an attorney or accountant to help set up some kind of account? How do we go about writing up a proper treatment for a documentary to present to an interested group? Since there is no such thing out there as a “Planning an Expedition for Dummies” book, we'll just have to write our own book as we go. Obviously other people have organized enough to pull this off. There are loads of documentaries out there from the History Channel, National Geographic, Military History, Discovery and more. If they could do it, then there's hope for us too. Since I feel like I've been given this task by someone who is counting on me to get it done, I can't very well let them down. And now I have other people counting on me, live people who are slowly becoming invested in this project. I hope this means a great exchange of ideas, energy and eventually a distribution of some responsibilities. Whatever happens, I am so looking forward to it, and seeing what each new contact brings.
Hey all, I got this today from Jim Kelly of the USS STRONG DD-467/758 Association:
Dear Tammi, We are now in possession of the christening bottle that was used to launch the 467 by Mrs. Hobart Olson on May 17, 1942. Also, last year the Association visited the Bath Iron Works in Maine where the 467 was built. Jim Merriman, a 467 survivor, was in attendance. Regards, Jim They have the bottle! That same bottle is in the photographs on the Memories of STRONG page. It's currently in a wooden case and will be available for viewing at the reunion in September. Another artifact reclaimed. I was about 10 years old when this all began, with a brass plaque on the back of a family stone at Machpelah Cemetery in Mount Sterling, KY. At 54, I've been at this a while. And now, I have other family members involved, people who have a stake in the success of this project. I'm not the Lone Ranger in this anymore, and it feels great. So for their loved ones as well as my Uncle Billy, I want to do everything I can to see this through. Over time I'll be posting news, updates, a bit of history and a lot of thanks and kudos to the wonderful museum personnel who have been so helpful. So welcome!
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Tammi JohnsonWelcome to the blog! I'm a life long Kentuckian with a degree in Anthropology, thus a nice background in research, thanks to some great profs at the University of Kentucky. Family and historical research are what float my boat, and this project has been the heart of it for a very long time now. I welcome input and ideas for blog entries, so if you have something to contribute I'll happily post it. Archives
December 2024
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