OLD FLAME RETURNS TO VET.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
Odds and ends from around the Valley: Tom Bacon was just starting his two-year tour of duty aboard the USS Goldsborough Three ships in the United States Navy have been named USS Goldsborough for Louis M. Goldsborough.
Although the two never met, their paths are about to cross now - nearly 40 years later - because of an old Zippo lighter. It turned up a few weeks ago in iSoldit, Richard Chemel's new eBay store in Chatsworth, along with a few dozen other old Zippo lighters a customer wanted to auction off. Most were emblazoned with the names of cigarette brands, but one was etched with the initials RCH RCH Reach RCH Riohacha, Colombia (Airport Code) RCH Residential Care Home RCH Railway Clearing House (UK) RCH Research in Computing for Humanities (University of Kentucky) and ``U.S.S. Goldsborough.'' Chemel did some digging and learned the ship had been commissioned for service during the Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. . ``I knew it was somebody's lighter who had served on that battleship, and it didn't feel right auctioning it off to a stranger,'' Chemel said. ``In the auction, I asked if anyone was on board this ship, and if they could help find the individual, I'd return the lighter to him. Almost immediately I received an e-mail from Tom.'' Bacon is a collector of memorabilia from the USS Goldsborough, which was decommissioned in 1993 and sold to Australia, where it was cannibalized for spare parts Spare parts, also referred to as Service Parts is a term used to indicate extra parts available and in proximity to the mechanical item, such as a automobile, boat, engine, for which they might be used. Spare parts are also called “spares. . ``I went to the ship's roster and found Ron, who was the only one who listed his middle initial, so I knew it had to be him,'' Bacon said Thursday from Champlain College Champlain College is a private, professionally focused college established in 1878. Champlain enrolls 1,950 full-time undergraduate students on its campus in the historic Hill Section of Burlington, Vermont. [1] U.S. in Vermont, where he has worked since being discharged from the Navy in 1968. ``Ron e-mailed me back and said he had lost the lighter sometime in the mid-'60s, and he would love to have it back as a remembrance from that time in his life.'' So Chemel's sending it to Bacon, who will meet up with the shipmate who preceded him in Vietnam to give him back his old Zippo. ``We've been getting a lot of stuff to auction off with initials or names on it, and whenever possible I've been trying to get it back to the rightful owner,'' Chemel said. Of course, sometimes the rightful owner just doesn't want it anymore. ``When I arrived at work the other morning there was a woman waiting for me to open,'' Chemel said. ``She had just gotten divorced and wanted to auction off her wedding dress and wedding ring. ``She told me to put it up for $19.99. She just wanted to get rid of them. ``Everybody has a story,'' Chemel said. ``It's pretty amazing.'' Speaking of amazing, figure the odds on this one. Tom and Barbara Graham were at a used-book sale at the Church of the Chimes in Sherman Oaks a few weeks ago when a volume of children's riddles caught her eye. ``Since I like riddles, I opened the cover and saw the name inside was the same as my husband's,'' Barbara said. ``I called him over and said, There's another Tommy B. Graham around somewhere. ``He looked at the book and couldn't believe it. The address under the name was the same address he had when he was 6 years old, living in Salt Lake City. It was his book. ``That was 70 years ago, and he's moved to many states since then, but never taken things like books with him. We don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. who donated the book, but for 25 cents it's now back with its original owner.'' There are a couple of important community milestones to recognize this week. The Canoga Park Women's Club celebrated its 90th birthday Wednesday, and American Legion American Legion, national association of male and female war veterans, founded (1919) in Paris. Membership is open to veterans of World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Post 308 in Reseda turns 77 on Sunday. Both of these organizations have been instrumental in making life in the Valley better for a lot of people. The women's club established a crisis hotline to counsel battered women in 1977, and was instrumental in the opening a few years later of Haven Hills, a shelter where women can flee with their children when domestic violence leaves them without alternatives. The 90-member club also sponsors a free Veterans Day luncheon for all vets, and is active in dozens of fund-raising events throughout the year to raise money for local charities. American Legion Post 308 in Reseda has long been a safe haven for vets in the Valley. Every dime from its annual dinner dance goes to programs the post hosts for vets living in the nursing home at the Sepulveda VA. Without the Legion members and their wives paying weekly visits to keep these old vets entertained and active, most of them would have no one stopping by. Happy birthday, and thanks to a couple of Valley organizations with a big heart. And finally, once again this Halloween season, Tierra del Sol is turning its seven-acre campus into a Harvest Festival and Pumpkin Patch for kids of all ages, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 16. There will be a Kid's Zone with a petting zoo, and music on the main stage throughout the free event. A barbecue luncheon is available to adults for $12, and children under 12 for $6. The money raised goes to training, employment and support services support services Psychology Non-health care-related ancillary services–eg, transportation, financial aid, support groups, homemaker services, respite services, and other services for the more than 450 men and women with mental retardation mental retardation, below average level of intellectual functioning, usually defined by an IQ of below 70 to 75, combined with limitations in the skills necessary for daily living. , autism autism (ô`tĭzəm), developmental disability resulting from a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain. It is characterized by the abnormal development of communication skills, social skills, and reasoning. , cerebral palsy cerebral palsy (sərē`brəl pôl`zē), disability caused by brain damage before or during birth or in the first years, resulting in a loss of voluntary muscular control and coordination. and other developmental and physical disabilities Tierra del Sol serves. The nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. is located at 9919 Sunland Blvd., Sunland. For more information, call (818) 352-1419. Dennis McCarthy, (818) 713-3749 dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Richard Chemel of Chatsworth holds up the monogrammed Zippo lighter that he nearly sold in an eBay auction. (2) A close-up shows a picture of the USS Goldsborough, and the initials of the vet who owned the lighter in the '60s. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer |
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