May 30, 2018 4 min read

For the folks in Monongahela, the tune “Anchors Aweigh” should be rolling in their heads come mid-June.

That’s when 26 shipmates and their families and friends attending the third reunion of the USS Monongahela will roll into town as part of a Pittsburgh-area get-together.

While the USS Monongahela gets its name from the river and not the mid-Mon Valley town that shares its appellation, the shipmates couldn’t pass up a chance to include a stopover in the town with a name dear to them.

Starting at 6 p.m. on June 15, the reunion attendees will arrive at Monongahela’s Chess Park by chartered bus, where they’ll get off for a look at the town’s war memorials, then cluster around the gazebo for group and individual photos.

David Thompson, event chair of the Mon Valley Veterans Council and commander of American Legion Post 302, arranged a full evening of activities that moves to City Hall at 6:30 for a look at some of the memorabilia taken from the three naval ships named the USS Monongahela.

“A lot of the parts for the third ship were made by the [now-defunct] Combustion industrial factory here in town,” Thompson said. “At City Hall, the reunion attendees will be able to see the anchor from the first ship and photos, personal effects and other memorabilia from the other two. They’ll also be able to page through the scrap book about the third ship compiled by city clerk, Carole Foglia.”

During the welcome program at 7:15, the Mon Valley Leathernecks will advance the colors and the Mid Mon Valley Shipmates will lead the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a welcome speech by Mayor Robert Kepics.

Reunion coordinator, John Aldesic of Carrick, who served onboard the Monongahela starting in October 1988, and left with the rank of boatsmen’s mate, 2nd class, in December 1991, will introduce the reunion attendees. Following a special presentation by the Monongahela City Council, the Mid Mon Valley Shipmates will conduct a “two-bell ceremony” honoring the departed shipmates who served on board the Monongahela.

The event will move to the Monongahela Aquatorium at 7:30 for a meet-and greet with the public, followed by a Pittsburgh-style food buffet for the reunion attendees at 8 that will feature foods like Isaly’s barbecued chipped ham on Cellone’s buns, pierogies, kielbasi and halushki.

Pittsburgh was chosen to host this year’s reunion, which runs from June 13-17, because of its location on the Mon River. The reunion, the largest of the three held so far, will be headquartered at the Sheraton, located right on the river.

“I contacted (Pittsburgh’s Convention and Visitors Bureau) which sent us 25 discount coupon booklets,” Adlesic said. “I left the day open for people to explore the city’s attractions on their own, and many are excited about riding on the incline. I’ve also included an evening dinner cruise up and down the Mon on board the Gateway Clipper the evening of the 14th and a semiformal banquet at the Sheraton on the 16th.”

According to Thompson, the Navy commissioned the first USS Monongahela, a fast-moving, wooden sloop of war in 1863. The ship served in the Battle of Mobile Bay during the Civil War and participated in the Spanish-American War with Teddy Roosevelt in Cuba. The ship eventually sank, but a salvage operation saved its anchor, which is now on exhibit at Monongahela City Hall.

The second USS Monongahela was an AO-42 tanker that was commissioned on Sept. 11, 1942 and received a total of 12 battle stars during duty in World War II and Korea. The ship was decommissioned on Aug. 22, 1957.

The third USS Monongahela was commissioned on Sept. 5, 1981, as an AO-178 tanker that refueled other ships.

“Basically, it was a floating gas station,” Adlesic said.

The ship saw duty in the North Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean and the Pacific, and earned four navy military commendations and three battle ribbons during the Persian Gulf Wars.

In 1991, the ship was cut in half at a shipyard in Louisiana, and a 110-foot addition was made to the tanker, increasing its holding capacity from 5-1/2 million gallons of gasoline to 9-1/2 million gallons.

The ship was decommissioned in December 1999 and eventually scrapped in Louisiana in 2014, the same year as the shipmates’ first reunion.

“We’ve already had reunions in Virginia Beach and Florida and now Pittsburgh, so we hope to have our next one in two years in Louisiana because the state played such an important a role in the ship’s history,” Adlesic said.