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Prayer Requests:
Please keep the following AOS-USA Members in your prayer:
For the repose of the soul of Fr. James F. Barry, AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priest, who passed suddenly
Fr. Tim Brian - Cruise Ship Priest member, who is facing heart problems.
Fr. Marvin Klemmer - Cruise Ship Priest member facing illness.
Fr. Donald Koch - Cruise Ship Priest member facing illness.
For those in the path of Tropical Storm Isaac
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Join AOS USA Today!
To join AOS USA simply click on the following link:
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Special Prayer Request
We ask your prayers today for those who may be impacted by Tropical Storm Isaac. It is expected to become a hurricane this morning and to make landfall in Louisiana tonight or early tomorrow morning.
We ask prayers for our friends with AOS New Orleans, AOS Mobile, Alabama, AOS Gulfport, Mississippi, and the Confraternity of Our Lady Star of the Sea in Morgan City, LA.
We also ask prayers for our dear friends with Global Maritime Ministries in New Orleans, and the manyworkboat operators, pilots, fishermen, oil rig workers, and merchant seafarers who may be in the path of Isaac.
May Our Lady Star of the Sea guide and protect them all.
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| Prayer for Hurricane Season
O God, Master of this passing world, hear the humble voices of your children. The Sea of Galilee obeyed your order and returned to its former quietude; you are still the Master of land and sea. We live in the shadow of a danger over which we have no control. The Gulf, like a provoked and angry giant, can awake from its seeming lethargy, overstep its conventional boundaries, and invade our land and spread chaos and disaster. During this hurricane season, we turn to You, O loving Father. Spare us from past tragedies whose memories are still so vivid and whose wounds seem to refuse to heal with the passing of time. O Virgin, Star of the Sea, Our Beloved Mother, we ask you to plead with your Son in our behalf, so that spared from the calamities common to this area and animated with a true spirit of gratitude, we will walk in the footsteps of your Divine Son to reach the heavenly Jerusalem where a storm-less eternity awaits us.
Amen.
Originally dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Audrey in 1957. - Fr. Al Volpe, Cameron Parish, LA
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EXXON VALDEZ
AN ENGINEER'S POSTSCRIPT
By Jerzy Glowacki
(Editor's Note: This article comes to us courtesy of Jerzy Glowacki, SUNY Maritime Graduate of 1970. He wrote this article for "The Mariner" and graciously allowed us to reprint it for our readers.)
Jerzy (George) Glowacki, B.S. Marine Engineering, NY Maritime Class of 1970, served twenty-one years with HUMBLE OIL / EXXON, retiring in 1991. He was Chief Engineer aboard the ill-fated tanker EXXON VALDEZ when she struck Bligh Reef, Prince William Sound, Alaska, a few minutes after midnight on March 24, 1989. The estimated eleven million gallon crude oil spill remains the standard by which all spills are measured to this very day in the U.S. This is George's story, starting with the design and construction of the ship through the accident, the salvage, and the vessel's reconstruction.
On Sunday, May 31, 1970, I walked out through the Fort Schuyler sallyport as a graduate of SUNY Maritime College, happily clutching my Bachelor of Engineering diploma, my USCG license and a U.S Navy commission. Hired by Humble Oil, I flew to Boston the very next day for my first assignment as a "green" Third Assistant Engineer.
My career with Exxon included many shore assignments as well as sailing. I raised my licenses as soon as I could, and at the age of twenty-eight received my first assignment as Chief Engineer (C/E). Later, I became involved in new vessel construction, and had the privilege of sailing as C/E on the maiden voyages of three of these new ships, the last one being Exxon Valdez.
READ MORE ON THE VALDEZ SAGA
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S/S United States Marks 60th Anniversary of Maiden Voyage
July 11, 2012
The following is the text of a press release issued by the SS United States Conservancy:
For more info go to: http://www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org/
(NEW YORK) -- In celebration of the 60th anniversary of her historic maiden voyage, the SS United States is steaming onto computer screens across America. The Save the United States Campaign (www.SavetheUnitedStates.org) blends social networking with historic preservation to raise awareness and resources for the cause of saving one of the nation's most iconic national symbols. The groundbreaking interactive experience will create an online community committed to protecting a unique and inspiring expression of American pride and innovation.
Like the Space Shuttle and the 747, the SS United States is one of the nation's crowning technological achievements. Larger than the Titanic, she shattered the transatlantic speed record 60 years ago this week - a record that has never been broken. The safest, fastest and most advanced ship of her time, SS United States epitomizes "Made in America" and remains the largest passenger ship constructed entirely in her namesake nation. The historic vessel was part of a top secret Cold War program to build the fastest ship afloat; the SS United States could be quickly transitioned from the luxury liner of choice for Hollywood celebrities to a massive, high-speed troop carrier.
Today, America's Flagship sits idle and in a state of disrepair in Philadelphia awaiting restoration and repurposing as a museum and self-sustaining stationary waterfront destination.
"The Save the United States Campaign is as an exciting and inspiring project the entire nation can rally around," states Susan Gibbs, executive director of the SS United States Conservancy, which purchased the vessel last year. "This new campaign leverages the power of social networking and the internet to save one of the 20th century's crowning technological achievements for future generations. This campaign will allow people from the world over the chance to connect with the vessel online and participate in the ship's restoration in a very personal way."
The dynamic web platform, designed by Social Control of Los Angeles, enables visitors to scroll across the exterior of the ship and zoom in to uncover historical information about the ship's passengers and crew, from the Presidents who sailed aboard her as well as immigrants, movie stars, diplomats, and people from all walks of life.
For $1 per square inch, supporters can select and save their own sections of the ship. They can also upload photos, stories, anecdotes, and tributes which can be linked to their Facebook pages and other social networking sites. Individuals and corporations have a variety of customization options including highlighting their sections with badges, colors and other graphics.
"We're creating a new online community of people who care about this great ship and who are eager to celebrate our common history," states Gibbs. "The platform makes participating in the campaign fun and exciting while being accessible to all ages and income levels." All donor profiles will be included in a new high-tech Wall of Honor in the permanent shipboard exhibition. The interactive display will insure that all participants' stories become a lasting part of the larger story of the SS United States.
Funds raised by the campaign will be used to restore the exterior of the nearly 1,000-foot-long ship to her former glory. They will also be used to develop a 20,000-square-foot museum as well as a dynamic Center for American Design and Discovery that will explore history, science, technology and innovation themes.
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Important Upcoming Events for
AOS USA Members
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