Thursday's Page 1 story about a ship portrait of the USS Missouri brought back memories for Gloucester's Paul Kelley, who served aboard the ship during the Korean War.
The 80-year-old Kelley served in the U.S. Air Force.
"In 1952, myself and two other airman from the 5th AF were deployed from Korea, where we served for 12 months, to the Missouri for 'special operations,'" he wrote in an email to the Times, adding that his unit served for 45 days in combat operations along the North Korea coastline in the East Sea/Sea of Japan.
In a telephone interview Friday, Kelley said he served almost four years in the Air Force. He wondered if there are any other Gloucester residents who served aboard the USS Missouri.
Kelley also recalled how some of the city's youngest residents have been aboard "Big Mo," also known as Mighty Mo, when the Gloucester High School's concert band, The Docksiders, traveled to Hawaii in 2010 to perform aboard the 48,000-ton vessel, which is famous because it is the site where Japan surrendered during World War II.
The USS Missouri is moored next to the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor. The two vessels are side by side in a memorial that is testament to both the beginning and the end of World War II.
The portrait of the USS Missouri, valued at roughly $3,500, has been donated by New Zealand artist Peter "Spike" Wideman through Roger Armstrong, owner of Gloucester's State of the Art Gallery on Pleasant Street, to be raffled off in a benefit for Gloucester's World War II Memorial Fund.
Raffle tickets are $10 for one or three for $25. For more information, contact Roger Armstrong at 978-395-1783 or Mel Olson at 978-283-3501.
Tickets can be purchased at the Veterans Center at 12 Emerson Ave., Gloucester, and at State of the Art Gallery at 18 Pleasant St., as well as through local veterans organizations.
The drawing will be held April 14 at the State of The Art gallery.
St. Ann pupil's art goes national
A painting by St. Ann School first-grader Vanessa Torres has been chosen by Massachusetts Art Education Association President Christopher Whitehead for inclusion in the MAEA Youth Art Month Show, which will be on display in the National Art Education Association Convention.
That event will run March 1 to 4, at the Hilton Hotel in New York City.
The convention focuses on the idea that educators educate better when they collaboratively explore what it means to be teachers and learners with one focal point: the power of visual arts education to fulfill human potential.
Honored veteran
The flag at the Veterans Center will fly this week in honor of World War II veteran David Cameron.
Born Feb. 13, 1917, he entered the U.S. Navy on June 16, 1941, and was discharged Jan. 17, 1946.
A medical assistant, the pharmacist's mate first class served in Cape Gloucester and Australia. He served with the Marines in the first landing on Guadalcanal.
Cameron was awarded the American Area Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation with Blue Star, the Asiatic Pacific Medal with three Bronze Stars, the Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.
He died Dec. 31, 2006.
The flag was requested to fly in his honor by his wife, Jean Cameron, and his children.
Anyone wishing to fly a flag in honor of a deceased veteran can call the Office of Veterans' Services at 978-281-9740.
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