THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 29, 1994 TAG: 9406270133
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940629 LENGTH: NORFOLK
Denham, executive officer of the guided-missile frigate Kauffman, which arrived at its new home in Norfolk earlier this year, wanted to replace the ship's command photo board, a framed collection of pictures showing the ship's officers and senior NCOs.
{REST} It's the first thing a visitor sees when arriving on the ship's quarterdeck.
The old one had become tattered after seven years, especially in the raw climate of Newport, R.I. where the Kauffman previously was based.
So it fell to Petty Officer 1st Class Eugene T. Face to carry out Denham's order to repair the board.
What does the 31-year-old, 13-year Navy quartermaster do?
``He says, `Dad can make anything,' so he called me,'' said Face's father, Neil, a retired petty officer first class who lives in Potterville. He last visited Norfolk as a destroyerman in 1960.
The elder Face went to his Potterville Lions Club for some money, then to City Council and finally, after the project mushroomed, brought in the local school board and the 800 kids in the system, plus parents and teachers.
He and a few friends went to work with some red oak on the four-foot square board, molding places for 20 photos to be inserted and set it on a 6-foot-high frame.
They drove to Norfolk last week and presented the panel to the Kauffman's commanding officer, Cmdr. James F. Deppe, and his 200-member crew.
But more than just a picture board, what has emerged between Denham's order and Eugene Face's unique way of carrying it out is a brand new association between the ship's crew and the residents of Potterville, 15 miles southwest of Lansing, Mich.
``They adopted us and have been interested in what we are doing,'' Denham said. ``They wanted to set up a dialogue between the town and our ship. They've opened up a letter writing campaign.''
An exchange of videotape, showing the students in Potterville what the ship and its crew do, will be broadcast on the school system's cable television station.
Denham plans for such exchanges to continue next year when the Kauffman heads off on a deployment to the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
``That will give the students a feel for the geography for that part of the world and (show) how the Navy is being used to support our national policies,'' he said.
Meanwhile, visits are being planned between the crew and Potterville residents.
As for Neil Face's first visit to Norfolk in 34 years, ``it's a lot bigger and more spread out,'' he said of the city.
``All I remember about the Navy in those days was that it was a whole lot of work.'' He served then aboard the destroyer Sigourney. by CNB