Two first helo squadrons recognition in Lakehurst on May 7

[Mike Dobson]

This is from Jim Chester about recognition of two original Navy helicopter squadrons .. Jim is the Webmaster and can be contacted at 541 512 9684    ---- here is the article , perhaps some of our NE members might want to attend   ...........................

From:
NHVA – the Navy Helicopter Veterans Association

For immediate release:

Plaque Commemorating The Navy’s First Helicopter Squadrons to be Unveiled
At 10:00 AM on May 7, 2014, in ceremonies in Hanger 1 on board Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Lakehurst, a plaque commemorating the establishment of two squadrons as the first Operational Helicopter Squadrons in the US Navy will be unveiled. The Navy Helicopter Veterans Association (NHVA) will be among the prime participants in the ceremonies.
By circumstance, the NHVA is holding a reunion of its members in the vicinity of the airbase and will be touring the NAS Lakehurst facilities as part of their activities. The Navy Helicopter Veterans Association consists of former Navy Helicopter crews and support personnel. The visit to NAS Lakehurst is a revival of many personal memories since many of its members have served on board that facility. (For information about the Navy Helicopter Veterans Association see the attached statement of purpose of the organization and visit our website at htttp://www.navhelo.org .)
Blimp squadrons had been the mainstays of aviation at NAS Lakehurst prior to the time of the establishment of Helicopter Aviation at the base in 1948. The Navy chose NAS Lakehurst to be the East Coast home of the new squadron, Helicopter Utility Squadron TWO (HU-2). A second squadron (HU-1) was to be commissioned as well with it’s home to be on the West Coast. All Navy Helicopter Squadrons that exist today can trace their origin to these two squadrons commissioned at NAS Lakehurst in 1948.
While all military aircraft have a military role as fighting machines, the helicopter has been utilized as an instrument of peace and comfort with much of the efforts of their crews directed to rescue and relief. The history of the helicopter squadrons at NAS Lakehurst includes notable operations such as the SAR effort on Thanksgiving Day in 1964 at the collision of the Stolt Dagali (a Norweigan Freighter)  and the Israeli Passenger Liner Shalom and the rescue operations during the flood at Pottstown, PA, in 1972.
The plaque has been a longtime project of Barbara Marriott, wife of CAPT Mike Marriott, ever since she noted during her husband’s tour as Commanding Officer of HC-2, that the Blimp Squadrons that had existed at NAS Lakehurst were still receiving most of the fanfare about NAS Lakehurst even though helicopters had assumed virtually all of the missions that had occupied the blimps.
During time Barbara Marriott, as a young Navy Wife, lived in Lakehurst with her husband in 1957, the Blimp Squadrons were decommissioned. The inspiration for the Helicopter Squadrons Plaque began when Barbara’s Husband Mike returned to Lakehurst a second time in 1972 for a tour as Commanding Officer of HC-2. She felt strongly that the original Navy Helicopter Squadrons should be noted and remembered.
In the past few years, Barbara revived the idea of the plaque and with the encouragement of her husband, CAPT Mike Marriott, and the assistance of CAPT Bill Personius of the NHAHS (Navy Helicopter Association – Historical Society) and Roger Jordan of the Navy Lakehurst Historical Society Museum located in Hangar 1 on NAS Lakehurst, the fabrication and installation of the plaque have become realities.
 At 10:00 AM, during the Wednesday events of the 2014 Reunion of the Navy Helicopter Veterans Association, CAPT Christopher Fletcher, USN, Commanding Officer of Naval Station Lakehurst, will preside and NHVA President Earl Hoffay will unveil the plaque in Hangar 1, commemorating the establishment of the first and second operational helicopter squadrons in the USN, Helicopter Utility Squadron Two (HU-2) and Helicopter Utility Squadron One (HU-1) in 1948. (Yes, by mere hours,  HU-2’s establishment preceded HU-1’s!)
Contacts:
Barbara Marriott –  [e-mail]
Lakehurst Navy Museum – Rodger Jordan  HYPERLINK "mailto:[e-mail]" [e-mail]
Navy Helicopter Veterans Association, Earl Hoffay, President -  HYPERLINK "http://www.navhelo.org" http://www.navhelo.org 
Navy Helicopter Association – Historical Society –  HYPERLINK "http://nhhs.org" http://nhhs.org



[kid purington]

..After leaving HAL-3, i was assigned to HELSUPPRON TWO, Lakehurst NJ..my medals were catch'n up with me here and Capt. M Marriott, would call me forward and read aLOUD, to the squadron, my award write-ups, then pin on the medal, shake my paw and congradulate me....he enjoyed these moments and was proud to have me in the squadron as told to me as i stood before him...on the other hand the XO would have dearly enjoyed hanging me as he told me when i stood before him for sum reason or reasons,..There were 3 AO's at that time..myself AO3-an AO2, and AO1...an East-Pac came up...being as the 1st and 2nd class AO's were married, i thought "great" i get to see Europe....WRONG...so i ran the AO shop, Note; we had no ordnance at that time....so i would go to my office in the morn'n and yell at myself to clean-up this place and then told myself "if you need me i will be at the EM club" now get to it sailor.!!..they sent an AE officer over to square me away...WRONG...had that nugget be-fulgueled as he asked who the hell i was yell'n at..when i said "that piece of chit worthless AO etc;-etc;" he ran from my office and never ever returned...i was known to be insane among the O's...luckey for me "i was"..

Tanks for write-up Ten Bear...a wonderful skid down memory lane...Hand Salute to the capt'n and crews of Lakehurst Helo Squadron's.....you to XO....