From: James P. Owens - March 8-9 2005
Plank Owner, USS Kawishiwi AO-146
(Vern typed this out –while reading J.P’s hand written letter, for easy transmittal)
Hi Vern
You may remember me as a plank owner and CO-Host of 2001 reunion with Myrrl Helman in
Monroeville (Pittsburg), PA. I am also the man who wrote the letters to the “Lonely Hearts Girls” and I
caused so much havoc in Long Beach it took 44 years to find out WHO DID THAT.
I will not be coming to San Francisco but I realize what an effort it is, like it was with Myrrl and
his wife Joann and since I lived 100 miles away I couldn’t really help them.
Since the reunions were started I have seen 51 of the men. I never married. A few are deceased
like Paul C Kemp and G. David Grifford radio man from Forest Hills, PA. Grifford had such a high I.Q.,
never went to radio school and had the highest score for 3rd class in the Pacific Fleet. He had an
opportunity to go to the Naval Academy through the second skipper, Capt. Earl T. Hydeman. I saw the
Capt. in 1988 in New Stanton, PA with his wife. He was from Piqua, OH but lived in Virginia Beach,
VA. He retired from the navy and was a teacher at Bullis Prep in Silver Spring, MD. They called him
the “Sea Wolf”. Capt. Hydeman was commander of a nine-submarine wolf pack on board USS Tinosa
(SS-283). They sunk one of the big Battle ships. In patrol #4 he sunk 6 ships, ranking No. 6 in tonnage
sunk, 7,186 tons.
Vern confirmed this on web at;
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/cno/n87/usw/issue_6/silent_victory.html .
And http://www.submarinesailor.com/stories/SeaDogMineDodgers.asp
The Captain said he was sorry that I didn’t get emergency leave when my mother had cancer and I
wanted 30 days. I could only get 21 days. 3 men in my division had leave twice and got leave a third
time.
When I worked for Westinghouse Electric, I was called up to the plant manager’s office and
faced the head of the United Fund. I told him I wouldn’t donate because the Red Cross gets 22% of the
top. The plant manager left me make one phone call. The head of the United Fund and the plant manager
did not know my aunt was head of the Welfare Board in West Merland Co. Westinghouse never put
pressure on any employee. The head of the United Fund was escorted off company property.
Years ago I was elected as the Bishops Assistant of the Greenburg Dioceses. I was elected
because I told the Bishop he couldn’t be trusted. I came out, the only parish that was running in the
black. I was right.
The plank owners will tell you about the ship leaving Sasebo, Japan with relief supplies for the
Philippines. The Philippine government sold everything on the black market. I sent a letter home to my
parents and a letter to congressman, John Dent, about what they were doing. For a while, all letters were
then cut off in Subic Bay. John Dent was a friend of my dad’s. and My father was a truck driver for the
Pennsylvania R.R. in Pitcaim, PA, Myrrl Helman’s home town (by Monroeville). My father forgot more
people in his life time that the average person knows.
My niece’s birthday is today, the 9th. She is 18 and a senior in high school. The day she was
born, I was reading the Pittsburg Post Gazette and I read where Duquesne University was the first
college in the United States to start a Futuros Program (Creating Futures). It took me 6 months. You
needed 3 sponsor Graduates of Duquesne U. The program was set up for graduates and then later for
peons like me  where the power circuit breaker div. was closed and I was working in the printing div.
Well I was the 1st man or woman to pay for a nephew or niece’s college education.. It cost me $8500.00
for the 4 year of college. I was the biggest mill hunk  employee and the company bottomed up.
I believe this country is headed for a 1929 crash. We are broke. They haven’t done anything for a
National Health Bill.
When I was on the mighty K, we had a Brit, 2 Filipinos, and a Canadian. They did not have to
wait 7 years for citizenship. Many of the crew worked for companies that went out of business. Ed
Joseph of New Middletown, Ohio (Youngstown Sheet & Tube); Marty Stell of Mt. Holly NJ; Richard
Hickey of Beaver Falls, PA (Babcock & Wilcox); Tom Swanson, of Bedford, PA (Pittsburg Plate
Glass). Yes the country is sold out to special interest like Halliburton. There is no difference between the
Democrats and the Republicans. In Canada it was the 3rd party that got National Health Insurance, also
after 9-11, 24 hrs. later the Canadian Government cut their immigration from 35,000 to 8000 a yr. to
migrate to Canada, you must have a job first, like New Zeeland and Australia.
I hope you will let some of the Plank Owners who will be there, read this letter since I can’t
write to everyone. I haven’t heard from anyone and shortly I will be going south to Annapolis, MD. The
weather has been bad around here. I’ll be closing this letter and maybe some of the crew that is there
will read this, then ship it on to others.
Some of the crew that I know is deceased:
 Paul C. Kemp, 3rd Div Gibsonia, PA
 Wayne Montgomery, 1st Div
 Dave Grifford, Came aboard about August, OPS Radio Operator, killed in plane crash, Forest
Hills, PA
 Charles Schmier, 2nd Div. Illinois City, IL (Quad Cities Area)
 Marvin Cohon, Came aboard about August, Supply , Sherman Oak, CA
 Ken R. Brown, 2nd Div, Holyoke, Mass.; Killed on a swift boat. Ken was a small, light, fun
loving guy. He met a 6 ft. 200+ female body builder in Long Beach. - Name is on the Vietnam
Wall.
Now if anybody writes to me. A few of the crew will read it and I will ship it on.
Respectfully
James P. Owen (Big J. from PA)
James P. Owens
12460 Beatrice Dr.
P.O. Box 412 Linesville, PA 16424
(Tuttle PT.) (Espyville, PA )
Phone – 9:00pm-10:30pm 724-927-9226
Phone – Judy Fitzsimmons 724-927-9234
Live where the Ducks walk on the Fish
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not
In the United States, the IRS checks every Obituary column and if they see special friend
companion, the survivor is audited.