The following paragraphs will attempt to describe how this visit came about and what was done during the time the sailors were here.

On May 24, 2000 the Webmaster of the Warner, NH Web site, Dick Cutting, received an e-mail inquiry from the new Avionics Master Chief Petty Officer aboard the USS Kearsarge. Ken Reichert stated that in addition to his "9 to 5" Job as an Avionics Master Chief, he builds wooden ship models. His intention is to organize a ships project construction of a scale model of USS Kearsarge "1". He is hoping to build the model using many different materials from the ship, ports they will visit and other sources that have meaning to the ship and her crew. He stated that he could think of no better place to start gathering materials than from the mountain that gave this great ship her name. The steam & sail Sloop of War Kearsarge was built in Portsmouth, NH in 1861 from wood that came from Mt. Kearsarge and also within sight of the mountain. He hopes to use wood from Kearsarge Mountain to lay the keel and frame members for the hull of the ship. He has obtained, from the U.S. Archives, a detailed set of Civil War era plans for the Steam Sloop of War Kearsarge. With a three year assignment on the ship and at least one long cruise to look forward to, he is expecting to have many evening hours to occupy. The ships force has many skilled sailors that can produce almost anything with the proper materials. His hope is to be able to construct the model in time to enter the model ship in the 2002 Mariners Museum model ship contest and then have it on display in the crews mess hall on the current USS Kearsarge LHD 3.

A reply by Dick Cutting to him indicated that there was a very high probability that his request could be fulfilled. Dick Cutting along with John Hill, Gary and Ted Young located some of the species he had requested and subsequently notified him, again by e-mail, to that effect. Ken then provided the dimensions of the wood he was looking for and said that he would probably be up sometime in the fall to pick it up. As it turned out, there was a great interest among crew members of the ship to "get on board" with this project. There was also a great desire to continue and strengthen the ties between the USS Kearsarge and the Town of Warner, New Hampshire.

In mid July, Ken notified Dick that the ship was getting out of the Portsmouth, Virginia shipyard and would be headed to New Jersey for stores onload. He had the opportunity to get with the Commanding Officer and Command Master Chief and they all felt it would be great if some of the ships crew could break away from the onload to take a two day trip up to New Hampshire. The Captain wanted to make this a ships event with involvement by the PAO (Public Affairs Officer) and Ships Photographer. The group also indicated their desire to get involved with a community service project while they were visiting Warner.

Through a cooperative effort of many people, a tentative schedule of events was put together.

So, on Sunday afternoon August 13^th, six sailors, the Command Master Chief and Master Chief Petty Officer Reichert arrived in Warner. John and Bev Hill hosted the group for the evening meal and some R&R after their trip from New Jersey.

Monday saw less than desirable weather but everyone was determined to climb to the top of Mt. Kearsarge. After the climb in the morning the American Legion Post supplied lunch. Following lunch, everyone gathered at Gary Young’s house to view the various species and pieces of wood that had been gathered from various sources. It was at this time a visit was made to the site of the Red Oak log cut that produced the wood the Plankowner plaques were made from. This log cut had taken place February 9, 1993 and was very near Gary’s home. A piece of oak was selected from the one of the remaining original trees and was carried out and added to the other wood destined for model ship project. After a steak dinner provided by the American Legion Post a public reception was held at the Town Hall. At that reception, organized by Dick Violette, there were numerous exhibits showing the current and all the previous USS Kearsarge’s. These exhibits were from the Library, Historical Society, Dick Violette’s collection and items brought by the crew members. The program was extremely well received by the more than 100 people in attendance. The crew members were each presented a selection of items relating to Warner and Mt. Kearsarge. Command Master Chief Quibilan gave a very nice presentation, with excellent slides, about the current USS Kearsarge LHD 3. That was followed by an extended question and answer period. Members of the crew gave excellent explanations to questions relating to their area of expertise. CMC Quibilan and Master Chief Reichert made several presentations by to individuals that had helped put the program together. A presentation of a piece of well deck that had been recently removed from the current USS Kearsarge during overhaul was made to the Historical Society. This piece will join an existing piece of wood from the original USS Kearsarge (Sloop of War) the Historical Society already had. These activities capped a very enjoyable evening for everyone.

Tuesday morning a community service project was performed at Simonds Elementary School. The original plan was to re-paint and stripe the outdoor basketball court surface. However, it had rained earlier in the morning and the surface was still wet and had standing water on it. A backup project had been sought out and ultimately had to be used. Recently, a classroom’s suspended ceiling had been removed and all new tiles needed to be cut and placed. This was a project that was met by great enthusiasm by members of the crew and was completed prior to lunch. A couple of other people assisted with placement of gravel around the edges of the newly resurfaced asphalt parking lot. The principal, custodians and a member of the School Board were very surprised and appreciative of the wiliness and desire of the crew to perform tasks such as these. Other residents of the town were amazed also when learning about the jobs that were performed. At noon, lunch was served at the Foothills restaurant. A trip to the two Covered Bridges and an opportunity to view some of the older homes in the Waterloo section of town was taken prior to their departure back to the ship.

An e-mail was received on Wednesday indicating that they had a safe return trip. Master Chief Reichert indicated on several occasions during his time here that he hoped this trip was the start of a long and active relationship between Crew members of the USS Kearsarge and the Town of Warner, New Hampshire. MC Reichert referred to a statement that crewmember Billy Young made at the public reception. He said, "we all feel this is "Our Ship" (Warner and The Crew) and we will do our best to make you proud and keep you up to date".

On behalf of the Town, this writer would like to thank the group for visiting and I hope, too, that this recent visit is only the beginning of a long and active relationship.

Dick Cutting, Webmaster

Below is a listing of the Crew members who visited.

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