Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 62 Alumni Group

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Minutemen: I have received word from LT Jay Headrick, the former Mustang A. Co. Commander for the 7th, 8th and 9th deployment that the Chaplain for the 8th and 9th deployment (LT) Father James Mennis, Captain, USN, Retired Chaplain Corps has passed away. Here is part of his obituary:

Monsignor James Mennis - March 25, 1938 - October 28,2014.

Obituary
Monsignor James Finbarr Mennis, a native of Ballycastle, County Mayo, Ireland, and a 30-year veteran of
the u.s. Navy, died on October 28,2014, at the McGraw Center for Caring Hospice Facility in Jacksonville.
He was born on March 25, 1938, to the late John and Sarah Ruddy Mennis of Ballycastle and Navan,
Ireland. Fr. Mennis entered All Hallows College Seminary in Dublin, Ireland, in 1956 and was ordained a
priest in June 1962 for the Diocese of Sacramento, California. His fIrst assignment was as assistant pastor in St. Basil's Church, Vallejo, California. In 1966, he was assigned to Holy Spirit Parish, Sacramento, followed
three years later by a posting there as the Diocesan Catholic Youth Director. Fr. Mennis was commissioned
in the U.S. Navy in November 1970, and his first assignment as a naval chaplain was to the Marine Air
Group 56 in Santa Ana, California. Four months later, he was trained at Coronado, California, in preparation
for duty with COMNAVSUPPAC Saigon, Republic of Vietnam, as a Circuit Rider in the Delta region covering some 32 units/ships. Upon his return to the United States, Fr. Mennis had tours in the Naval Disciplinary Command in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 62 home-ported in Gulfport, Mississippi; temporary assignments to Rota, Spain, and Okinawa, Japan; the Naval Station in Charleston, South Carolina; and Naval Station Keflavik, Iceland. In September 1979, he was directed to Boston College for post-graduate studies specializing in Religious Education and was then
assigned to the Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. His next assignment was back overseas, this time to
Naval Activities, London, England, as the Command Chaplain in September 1983. He then enjoyed four
successive tours in the Tidewater area of Virginia, followed by sea duty onboard USS Dwight D.
Eisenhower as the Command Chaplain with additional duty to COMCRUDESGRU Twelve. That was followed by a three-year tour as Command Chaplain at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek beginning in June 1991, then as the Command Chaplain of Naval Station Norfolk with additional duty to COMNAVBASE Norfolk. From Norfolk, he traveled south to Florida to become the Command Chaplain of Naval Air Station Cecil Field, after which he was assigned to Naval Station Mayport, Florida, as the Command Chaplain. In the year 2000, he retired from the U.S. Navy and remained in the Mayport/Jacksonville area. Before and after his retirement, he served as chaplain for several military-related organizations in the Jacksonville area, including the Navy League of the United States, the Mayport Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, and the Semper Fidelis Society. Fr. Mennis enjoyed life-long friendships with people all over the world, from his school days in Ireland, through his dedicated U.S. Navy career, and following his retirement to northeast Florida. He was known by his friends as an avid golfer (one who achieved a hole-in-one on three occasions!), a caring chaplain, a trusted confidant, a
benevolent citizen, and a true friend. Fr. Mennis was predeceased by his brother John. He is survived by
brothers Tom and Michael and by his sister Francis, a Mercy nun, all of Ireland. He is also survived by ten
adored nieces and nephews and their loving extended families. He is being returned to his beloved Ireland,
where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Nov. 6, 2014. He will be laid to rest beside his
parents in St. Mary's Cemetery in Navan. Rest in Peace, thy good and faithful servant. ****The service in
Navan on ****Nov. 7 is scheduled to be webcast. Mass starts 5 am EST on Friday and you can view the service through St. Mary's Church. Go to live webcam and that will get you to St. Mary's Church and click on it. A local Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 12:00 p.m. noon, Wednesday, Nov. 19 in St. Paul's Catholic Church of Jacksonville Beach, FL, with Reverend William Kelly
as Celebrant. Expressions of condolence may also be made by signing online guest book for Fr. Mennis. obituaries or can be mailed to the family in care of Brendan Mennis, Dunmoe, Navan, County Meath, Ireland. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Society of S1. Vincent de Paul, the Northeast Florida Community Hospice Foundation, or the charity of one's choice. Services under the direction and care of Quinn-Shalz Family Funeral Home of Jacksonville Beach, FL & Farrelly Funeral Directors of Navan, Ireland. Funeral Information
Services: He is being returned to his beloved Ireland, where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Nov. 7, 2014. ****The service in Navan on ****Nov. 7 is scheduled to be webcast. Mass starts 5 am EST on Friday and you can view the service through St. Mary's
Church. Go to live webcam and that will get you to St. Mary's Church and click on it. A local Memorial
Mass will be celebrated at 12:00 p.m. noon, Wednesday, Nov. 19 in S1. Paul's Catholic Church of
Jacksonville Beach, FL, with Reverend William Kelly as Celebrant. Interment: He will be laid to rest beside his parents in S1. Mary's Cemetery in Navan. Rest in Peace, thy good and faithful servant. Memorial Donations: In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Society of S1. Vincent de Paul, the Northeast Florida Community Hospice Foundation, or the charity of one's choice. End of obituary.

Further information and additional correspondence is contained on our website link 21, members only, by going to the individual biographies of Mennis and Headrick.

We wish our Brother James Mennis fair winds and following seas.

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Served on Security Element Phu Bai with 62 for around 12 weeks. Remember Fred McKinney, Ronald Long, Bob Hofer, Richard A Meyers, Billie Burchett and more..
Photos on this site of Norm's to view.. To all that served with 62 "2015" Cheers!!

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Was IN MCB 62 For Frist & Second Tours
Last Reunion Attended 2014 Gulfport! Won the Shotgun! Cool!
Hoping to make the "2015" "God Willing" And Win-again
Happy New Year Too All "Can do Ken"

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Greetings to fellow Seabees who served on the Phu Bai deployment. I was in the Security Element for the entire deployment. Then became an instructor in the Military Training Dept at CBC Gulfport. Navy Service from May 1966 to January 1969. BU2.

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Tragedies, tension and unrest have been in our lives too often these past few months. May we all take a moment to offer up a prayer. I want to wish each and everyone of you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR filled with peace and love.

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The Navy Seabee Veterans of America (NSVA) have just completely revamped their website. Previously, their webmaster was Billy Millican, a fellow Minuteman and a member of our NMCB 62 Alumni Group. With their new revamped website the NSVA chose to employ a third party company to design their new website and go with a new webmaster. With their newly designed website comes a newly designed guestbook. The new guestbook does not carry-over the thousands of entries from the old guestbook. It was starting from scratch, brand new.

I sent an email to the NSVA website coordinator asking if their old guestbook entries, which go back YEARS, could be incorporated into the new guestbook. Here is his reply:

Norm, Sorry I'm just now getting back to you. One of our delays/issues that we had building the new web-site. We tried many things to try to get the old guestbook on the new guestbook. But, since it was third party and script coded different we could not transfer it over. I sorry but there is no access to the old websites guest book entries. Regards, Jon.

We here at the NMCB 62 Alumni Group will keep our guestbook in this format for as long as we have a website and a webmaster to maintain the site. The membership dues of the NMCB 62 Alumni Group maintain this site.

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Anyone remember the MARS station at Dong Ha. That was me. I ran phone patches into Gulfport just after Camille. I was in B company. The company cdr was a CWO but can't remember his name.

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JONATHAN GROHS.
GROHS, JONATHAN P. Jonathan P Grohs, 68, of Torrington, CT passed away Sunday, November 30th, at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital. Jonathan was born in Torrington, CT on June 23, 1946, a son of the late Frances (Thorne) and Henry L. Grohs. He was a graduate of OWTS Class of 1965. He served in the U.S. Navy Seabees in the Vietnam War, and was a recipient of The Purple Heart. He was retired from Yankee Gas Company. Active in Scouting, he was Scoutmaster for Troop 3 at Center Church for many years. He was a member and Past Master for Seneca Lodge #55, and was a member of Disabled Vets Chapter 11, Torrington VFW Post, and Seabee Island X-1 Group. After retirement he was a volunteer driver for DAV. Jonathan is survived by a son, Christopher Grohs and his fiance Rachel of Stafford Springs and brothers Robert and David Grohs of Torrington, as well as a niece, Julie Cruz. Funeral Services will be held at Center Congregational Church, Torrington CT, at 11 AM on Thursday, December 4th, with burial following at Hillside Cemetery. Friends may call Wednesday 2-4 and 6-8 PM at Phalen Funeral Home, 285 Migeon Ave., Torrington. Memorial Contributions can be made to Center Church Book of Remembrance, 155 Main St., Torrington, CT 06790, Chapter 11 DAV, PO Box 511, Union City, CT 06770 or Camp Workcoeman, 169 Camp Workcoeman CR Council, 60 Darlin St., East Hartford, CT 06108.
Phalen Funeral Home, 285 Migeon Avenue Torrington, CT 06790. (860) 489-9600. Published in register citizen on Dec. 2, 2014.
We will miss our Brother "JP" and wish him fair winds and following seas.

To send a memorial message to JP's family, go to his obituary on our Facebook page for the email address of the funeral home.

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I regret to inform you all that our fellow 62 Seabee Jonathon "JP" Grohs passed away Sunday, November 30. He will be greatly missed by all of us that knew him. He was a kind and caring man as well as a fine and proud Seabee. His obituary can be viewed on line the RegisterCitizen.com. Rest in peace Jonathon, you certainly have earned it.

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Congratulations to the following NMCB 62 Minutemen and Scotland Bees who have joined or renewed their Alumni Group Membership Dues.

Dues $$ received from 9-6 through 12-1-2014. Names are in the order of when their dues were received.

ST. CYR, Paul
LYONS, Patrick
PARKER, Michael
PIRRELLO, Frank
McILROY, Dr. Hugh M.
THOMAS, Michael
BACUS, Zelby
GROCKI, Joe
ALLISON, Bill
GROHS, JP
PARKS, Ted
REYNOLDS, Jerry
POWELL, Bill
ROLL, Bill