12/15/01 : Work has started on converting the Westpac/IO 1982 Cruise Book for the web. Hopefully it will be posted by the first of the year. Highlights include a Rescue at Sea in the South China Sea, TWO Line Crossings, Middle Eastern ports of call (including Pakistan), Australia, and Hong Kong.

12/07/01 : Take a minute to remember the 2,403 shipmates who gave their lives 60 years ago today in the attack on Pearl Harbor. To learn more about the attack, click here.

12/07/01 : The address of the ship's store supplier has changed. Please bookmark the new one at http://www.kt-creations.com/. If you haven't ordered any of this great stuff yet, you really should. These are high quality items and would make a great present for a shipmate. 12% of all sales also go to support this website.

11/09/01 : Welcome aboard Steve Muirhead! E-mail me when you can Steve. It's been a long time.

09/13/01 : Posted another account of John Brewton's final action to the About John Brewton page. This account is by Robert P. "Doc" Clark, a corpsman on that patrol, and others.

09/11/01 : God bless those whose lives changed today when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon was attacked. The faceless, cowardly criminals that were responsible proved only that they deserve a fate worse than death. May there be a special level of hell reserved for worms like these. Please take a moment to find out how you can help the rescue and recovery efforts.

09/10/01 : Posted new USS Brewton wallpaper in the Downloads Section

09/10/01 : The Shipmate Registration and Message Board should be back on-line now. Thanks to everyone who reported these were broken.

09/07/01 : We're Back! Thanks to everyone for putting up with the downtime recently. We have a new professional web hosting service backing us up (www.simonweb.com). In addition to the web pages loading faster, we have a great deal more storage space to work with. New cruise books will be posted shortly. If you run across any broken links or features of the site that don't work properly, please let me know so they can be fixed.

06/27/01 : Just a reminder that the 10th anniversary of the Brewton's decommissioning will be coming up next summer. Also the 30th anniversary of the commissioning. The decommissioning date was July 2, 1992. The commissioning date was July 8, 1972. If anyone has pictures or information of the decommissioning ceremony, please contact me here. The goal is to put up an online version of the decommissioning ceremony much like we have of the commissioning.

06/04/01 : Due to pathetic service from the current ISP, the USS Brewton page will be relocating shortly. This shouldn't affect anything unless you still have the old address bookmarked. Be sure to use www.ussbrewton.com for bookmarks. There are usually "bumps" when moving a site of this size, so please bear with us for a while if you encounter any problems.

06/03/01 : There are now 333 shipmates listed in the Shipmates Online section. Happy Veterans Day to everyone.

02/24/01 : The ship's store is OPEN! Check it out Here. The merchandise available is top quality, and very reasonably priced. For those of you who have been asking where you can buy USS Brewton stuff... THIS IS IT!

02/02/01 : The ship's store will be opening very soon! We have made arrangements with a company called KT Creations to produce USS Brewton merchandise. Items that will be offered include shirts, sweatshirts, and jackets. They will all have the USS Brewton name, hull number, and a knox-class silhouette. Look for the Ship's Store page to open within a few days. If you can't wait until then, you can go to the KT Creations homepage and order from them directly.

01/30/01 : Because of a bug in the message board program, all posts that were made in the last few weeks have been lost. I think I've tracked down the cause, so all should be working fine now. Please drop me a note if you have any problems at all posting or reading.

11/10/00 : John Sabatini sent in the latest pictures of his (huge) Brewton scale model. Absolutely Incredible! Remember, John built this from scratch using mostly wood strips and carvings. Final size on this is 4 feet 8 inches long, 21 inches high and 6.5 inches wide. Here are the pics with descriptions by John:

10/27/00 : Posted a batch of pictures from Everett Hayes in the Brewton Photos section of the page. (#135-138) These pictures were taken during or shortly after the Brewton's commissioning in 1971.

10/23/00 : Posted a new movie clip on the Brewton Movies section of the page. This video was taken at the change of command ceremony on 17 August, 1988. This clip is very large, so a fast connection is a must for viewing it.

10/15/00 : The USS Brewton movie clip page is finally up. You can see it HERE. Thanks to CMC Steve Leavitt for loaning these hard to find videos, and to Mike Thompson for donating space to house them on the internet. The clips are large in size, so a fast internet connection will help. Please let me know if you have any difficulty viewing these. More will be uploaded in the coming weeks.

09/27/00 : A big BRAVO ZULU to Mike Thompson for converting another USS Brewton cruise book for the internet. Mike has put up the West Pac/Indian Ocean 1984 cruise book. You can see the book by clicking HERE. It is also linked from the Cruisebook Page with the others. Way to go Mike! :)

08/15/00 : For a bit of useless fun with naval flags, click here. This page allows you to type in a phrase which is then converted into naval flags (or semaphore). It doesn't recognize numbers just yet, only letters.

07/31/00 : An artist named Ian Hall from California is producing wooden models of the USS Brewton for a limited time. Says Ian: "It has been made using a print from my artwork which is applied to 1 inch thick white pine then hand cut to shape . The result is a 14 1/2 in. long model of the "Bubba Bee" which although it is two dimensional presents a remarkable 3D effect when displayed on a shelf The model is being produced in a signed and numbered edition of 100." I recently purchased one of these, and the artwork is superb. You can view pictures of the model HERE and HERE. To get one for yourself, visit Ian Hall's Web Site.

07/28/00 : REUNION IS COMING UP! New reunion information has been posted on the Reunion Information Page. The deadline for reserving your rooms at the reunion is October 1, 2000. See the reunion page for details. Don't miss out!

06/15/00 : Posted the tribute given to Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. in congress by Senator Russell Feingold from Wisconsin. You can find it on the Odds and Ends page, or skip directly to it by clicking here. Thanks go to Everett Hayes for locating this.

06/15/00 : There are now 247 shipmates listed on the Shipmates Online page.

05/20/00 : The oneline version of the USS Brewton Commissioning Book has been completed. You can view it by clicking here.

03/10/00 : Here's your chance to see an official "plank" from the Brewton commissioning crew! Check out photo #134 on the Brewton Photos page for a picture of Everett Hayes' plank. MM3 Hammond had a large part in making one plank for every plankowner.

02/15/00 : More Reunion Information! Check the Reunion Information page for details. Bravo Zulu to the Reunion Committee and Mike McCain for pulling this thing together. This thing is going to happen! Make your plans now so you can attend.

01/18/00 : New Reunion Information! Check the Reunion Information page for details.

01/18/00 : The first Commanding Officer of the USS Brewton, John W. Kinnier has checked in, and is now listed on the Shipmates Online page. Welcome aboard, sir! Captain Kinnier's ears must have been burning from all the talk about him recently on the page. :-)

12/10/99 : Have completed through page 15 in the USS BREWTON Commissioning Book. Lots of great information here! Did you know that the first Commanding Officer, John Kinnier, held a PhD in Physics? His Executive Officer, Edward O'Brien held a Masters Degree in Physics. That was one smart set of folks!

11/20/99 : Everett Hayes sent in some great pictures of his plankowner certificate which can be seen on the Brewton Photos page #130-131. These certificates were given to members of the Brewton crew who were aboard her during commissioning. Truly a rare piece of memorabilia. Thanks Everett!

11/19/99 : Work has begun to put the USS Brewton commissioning book on the web. Look for it to appear in the Cruisebook Section before too long.

10/22/99 : Added a wonderful picture from Everett Hayes to the Brewton Photos section (photo #129). It's a very high quality picture, and shows the Brewton in her first foreign port, fall of 1972, Vancouver, British Columbia. The ship had not even finished her sea trials and shakedown cruise when this picture was taken! Thanks Everett.

10/15/99 : Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr. is in the hospital, following lung removal surgery for cancer. Admiral Zumwalt is the reason that our ship was named the USS Brewton. He personally made sure that the ship was named in honor of John Brewton. He also provided comfort to John's family and fiancee after his death. Admiral Zumwalt has dedicated his life to the improvement of the US Navy, and the defense of our nation. A greater leader of men or finer officer cannot be found anywhere. God bless you sir. May your recovery be a speedy one. See the URL below for more information.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/w/AP-Zumwalt-Cancer.html

10/14/99 : John Sabatini (OS2 '84-89) has undertaken quite a project. He's building a 1/96 scale model of the Brewton. The hull is complete (all 4 feet of it!), and John is working on the superstructure now. John says: "This could take years and cost hundreds of lives!" You can see some pictures of this incredible work in progress by clicking below. This is going to be a museum quality showpiece and really something to behold. Drop John a note and let him know what you think. Fantastic work John!

Model Pictures: Hull #1, Hull #2, Main Deck, Bow.

09/13/99 : Welcome aboard to another plankowner on the Brewton - Doug Finn (QM2 '72-74). That makes about 20 plankowners listed on the Shipmates Online page so far, and a grand total of 179 shipmates. Still need about 60 more for a full crew - Unless the guys from deck division take two watch sections. ;-)

08/17/99 : Due to popular demand, the USS Brewton page now has it's own "WWW" address. www.ussbrewton.com has been registered, and should be working within days. Now you won't have to try and remember the long, confusing web address that the page has now. If you already have your bookmarks set, then you won't need to change them at all. The old address will continue to work, and both with get you to the same place.

08/16/99 : Added a batch of pictures to the Brewton Photos section (#120-128). These pics are from Marty Sigwing, and they show the "guts" of the Bubba Bee - the machinery spaces. Pretty darn ugly, but running like clockwork! Thanks Marty.

07/31/99 : Six pictures added to the Brewton Photos section. (Pictures #113-118) These are from John Sabatini. John is now officially an EX-OSC(SW). Congratulations John! Enjoy your time at home, you earned it!

07/13/99 : Added some new documents to the USS BREWTON Ship Documents page. One you might want to look at is the last POD ever for the USS BREWTON (01 July 1992). It's very interesting how much importance was being placed on sexual harassment at that time. This was right after the Tailhook scandal broke. Over half of the ship's last official document is devoted to a definition of sexual harassment, while only one sentence mentions the decomissioning ceremony itself! Also added a dependent's newsletter from the ship during a deployment.

07/04/99 : Happy Fourth of July shipmates! Here's hoping that you have the chance to relax this weekend and enjoy America's Birthday with plenty of hot dogs, apple pie and fireworks. Try and take time to teach a youngster about what liberty means, and how they should appreciate the men and women who have given it to us. Special thanks to our Brewton shipmates still "Manning the Rails" on US Navy vessels around the world. Cheers fellows!

05/30/99 : Added some new things to the Ship's Documents section of the page. Traffic across the page has been very light lately. After talking it over with the web expert (former EM2) Mike Thompson, it appears that all the major search engines forgot everything they knew about this page! So when shipmates went searching for us, they came up empty. Hopefully this has been remedied. If you know of other good ways to get the word out to our shipmates, please do!

05/07/99 : Scouting around the internet from time to time really does pay off. I've located many shipmates, ship pictures, and facts that way. Here's a wonderful picture of the Brewton that I found tonight at http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/ff-1052.htm. It's a (rare) high resolution port quarter view of the ship. This photo is now also located on the Brewton Photos section of the page (picture #112).

05/04/99 : As many of you may know, this site is located in Oklahoma City. The tornados came close enough to deposit parts of houses in our yard, but my family and I managed to make it through unharmed. Many of our neighbors and friends weren't so lucky. Please give them a place in your prayers. Thanks to everyone for your wonderful and supportive messages. We really appreciate you thinking of us!

04/29/99 : Started a new section of the site for USS Brewton Ships Documents. This page will contain samples of the day-to-day paperwork from the ship. The only thing posted so far is the Thanksgiving Day 1983 Menu. As evidenced by the fantastic variety, the MS's were doing one heck of a job! :) I should have several more up within the coming weeks, including some PODs (Plan of the Day), Dependent's Cruise guidelines, and Family Grams. All of this information is courtesy of Marty Sigwing. I hope you enjoy these great little reminders of shipboard life as much as I do!

04/28/99 : Added another page to the About John Brewton section. The new narrative is by Captain Rick Woolard, and is taken from the book "Hunters and Shooters" published by Avon Books. John was Captain Woolard's Assistant Platoon Commander in 3rd Platoon, SEAL Team TWO from January to December 1968. They also attended Ranger school together. To read the new page, click here. This story is incredibly powerful not because Rick talks a lot about Bubba's heroism, but because he paints a real-life, down-to-earth picture of a man that anyone would feel proud to call a friend.

04/25/99 : Westpac 1986 Cruise Book is finished.

04/20/99 : Sorry for the lack of updates lately! There's been quite a lot going on. Paul Crissy sent over his copy of the USS Brewton WestPac/Indian Ocean '82 Cruise Book. I'll get started putting it on the web just as soon as the Westpac 1986 book is finished. (It's done through page 65 of 80 now) Putting entire cruise books on the web is definitely not an exercise for the faint of heart! The more time the cruise book staff put into making them great, the more time it takes to duplicate them on the web... and those cruise book staff were GOOD! This fourth one will have to be the last, as it's getting rather expensive to house that many pictures.

03/29/99 : Posted a new batch of photos from Fred Bustin in the Brewton Photos section of the page. (Photos #107-111) They're from 1990, during Operation Desert Shield. Also have completed through page 50 in the Westpac 86 cruise book. Paul Crissy has generously agreed to loan his copy of a cruise book from 1982, so look for that one next after the Westpac 86 is finished up.

03/11/99 : Several SEAL team members who served with John Brewton have generously agreed to recount their experiences with "Bubba" in Vietnam. Rick Woolard and Erasmo "Doc Rio" Riojas were both present on the patrol in which John was wounded. In addition to this, both of them have contributed to several books which detail the event. In the next several days I will be putting sections of these books and interviews on line, in a new section of the page devoted entirely to the life of John Brewton. You can see the page HERE.

03/10/99 : Have completed through page 20 in the USS Brewton WestPac 1986 Cruise Book.

03/03/99 : Added a link to Jim McMinds home page on the Links part of the page. Jim was an MM2 on the Brewton from 1974-1975. Drop on by his page and have a look. He has some great pictures of other ships. Do you have your own home page set up? Let me know and I will post a link to it on the Brewton page! Also have completed up through page 10 of the WestPac 1986 cruise book. You can have a look at what's finished by Clicking Here.

02/21/99 : Congratulations to Marty Sigwing (MM2 1983-1986) who's son Jonathan Adam Sigwing was born on November 5, 1998. Jonathan weighed in at 9 lbs, 3 oz.

02/15/99 : Finished the USS Brewton West Pac 1975 cruise book on the Cruise Books portion of the page. E-mailed the shipmates list with reunion information. There were only 10 bad e-mail addresses out of 150! If you would like to get on the reunion mailing list, send e-mail to ussbrewton@hotmail.com with your name, street address, city, state, zip, and phone number. Things are happening fast now. Don't get left out! You can also now order USS Brewton ship's ballcaps and reunion tee shirts in the Ship's Store.

02/06/99 : The USS BREWTON Reunion Committee is finally being formed! Mike McCain has agreed to head up this project. Please e-mail Mike for futher information on joining the committee, or to find out how you can help. A well-planned reunion is something everyone who attends will remember for a lifetime. There is a lot of work to do to make this happen... so all hands turn to!