{"id":85,"date":"2014-11-11T04:27:28","date_gmt":"2014-11-11T04:27:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=85"},"modified":"2015-01-09T17:06:58","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T22:06:58","slug":"a-story-from-the-uss-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/11\/11\/a-story-from-the-uss-pittsburgh\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMy goodness, I want that ship\u201d: A story from the USS Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sept. <\/a>
Sept. 25, 1951: The USS Pittsburgh being recommissioned in the same year Richard Pillart joined its crew. (Handout\/Navy) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Feb. <\/a>
Feb. 23, 1944: Mrs. Cornelius Scully, wife of the Pittsburgh mayor, was at the original ship commissioning in Quincy, Mass. (ACME photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"March <\/a>
March 1955: The USS Pittsburgh standing guard while Chinese Nationalists were evacuated from Tachen Islands. (Credit unknown) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Oct. <\/a>
Oct. 11, 1955: The third USS Pittsburgh (CA-72). (Handout\/U.S. Navy) <\/div> <\/div>
\"1952-53: <\/a>
1952-53: Mr. Pillart, left, aboard the USS Pittsburgh, and with shipmates in Venice, Italy. (Courtesy of Dick Pillart) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"2014: <\/a>
2014: Mr. Pillart, left, and Bob McKnight, at the 38th and final reunion. (Courtesy of Dick Pillart) <\/div> <\/div>
\"2014: <\/a>
2014: The crew received these coins at the 38th and final reunion. (Courtesy of Dick Pillart) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"1926: <\/a>
1926: This was the second USS Pittsburgh. It served during World War I. (Credit unknown) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

This is a Veterans Day story about the USS Pittsburgh. There have been four of them, and one is still in service<\/a>, but our focus today is on the one that sailed in the 1940s and \u201950s.<\/p>\n

Moreover, this is about a sailor, Richard Pillart. He resides in Florida, but he\u2019s from Polish Hill. And he calls himself \u201ca real Pittsburgh nut. My sister still lives in the house I lived in as a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

As much as he loves Pittsburgh, he has an equal interest in USS Pittsburgh history. He would. He served on it.<\/p>\n

In 1951, Mr. Pillart quit high school and joined the Navy.<\/p>\n

“Just like after 9\/11, there was a lot of patriotism then,” he said recently. “I wanted to go in and save the world.”<\/p>\n

Because he was underage, he convinced his mother to sign for him on his service papers. He went from Pittsburgh to bootcamp, then on to electrician mate\u2019s school.<\/p>\n

When he finished, the Navy let him pick his next station. He knew he wanted to be in the Pacific. He examined the list of vessels in operation there.<\/p>\n

“I saw the USS Pittsburgh and said, \u2018My goodness, I want that ship.\u2019”<\/p>\n

He was aboard from 1952 to 1954, traveling the world and building lasting bonds.<\/p>\n

That is, more or less, how he came to us. For the past 38 years, Mr. Pillart and his surviving shipmates have had a reunion in various cities nationwide. They exchanged memories, produced commemorative coins and, at a 1997 reunion in Greentree, donated a model of the ship to Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall.<\/p>\n

In September 2014, the group held its final reunion in Washington D.C., after which he sent the Post-Gazette a Facebook message: \u201cA good time was had by all albeit a bit sad since it was our last reunion after 38 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many sailors from World War II and the Korean War have \u201csome kind of ailment,\u201d he said, \u201cand they\u2019re all going. We had a memorial service for eight of our shipmates who passed away this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Pillart made sure to mention shipmate Bob McKnight, a Connellsville native who attended \u2014 yes \u2014 each of the 38 reunions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There have been four of them, and one is still in service, but our focus today is on the one that sailed in the 1940s and \u201950s.<\/p>\n

Look at the pictures\u201cMy goodness, I want that ship\u201d: A story from the USS Pittsburgh<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":88,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[946],"tags":[961,982,1036,1079,1178],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/tumblr_neoxr1YYR51rr5swxo2_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C816&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1923,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/03\/29\/easter-in-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":85,"position":0},"title":"Easter in Pittsburgh","date":"March 29, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"For Easter, Pittsburgh reporters used to go \u201chopping down Bunny Trail\u201d in Downtown Pittsburgh, dressed as Easter bunnies.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/tumblr_mkej4kzQjs1rr5swxo2_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C1020&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2524,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/09\/13\/uptown-renaissance-in-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":85,"position":1},"title":"\u00a0Uptown Renaissance in Pittsburgh","date":"September 13, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"\u201cThis helicopter shot shows plenty of wide open spaces...\"","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/tumblr_ma9gvfZ4ic1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C728&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8912,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/06\/20\/he-was-displaced-from-his-homeland-pittsburgh-welcomed-him-with-open-arms\/","url_meta":{"origin":85,"position":2},"title":"He was displaced from his homeland. 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