The ex-USAFS Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg was first commissioned as the US Navy troop transport USS Gen. Harry Taylor. The ship saw service in WWII, the Hungarian Revolution, and the Cold War. After decommissioning, it even starred in a popular motion picture. As an artificial reef, the ship will not only be a recreational resource for divers and fishermen, but will serve as an underwater classroom for the Florida Keys Community College, and be a platform for ground-breaking research in reef monitoring as mandated by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Management Plan.
In Memory
Of Jim W. Fras
May 15,
1925 - September 9, 2002
The Next Chapter - page five
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This is the former military troop
transport ship USS General Harry Taylor (shown here at port in Bremerhaven Germany) on which the Fras
family journeyed to New York Harbor. It has a storied and distinguished
history with the US Navy and later was
commissioned to the USAF as the General Hoyt S. Vandenberg and equipped
for duty as a missile tracking vessel. It has since been retired to the bottom of
the Florida Keys to carry on as an artificial reef.
Click
here for the Ellis Island Experience
Click
here to see original passenger list showing the four member Fras
family.
Click
here for the Ellis Island Experience
Click
here to see original passenger list showing the four member Fras
family.
During the trip by sea, Jim was
appointed band leader in charge of gathering a group of
musicians to entertain in the ship's ballroom.
One late evening as the celebrating continued, the sea storms became so violent that people were literally being thrown around the dance floor. Jim at one point went sliding into and destroying the main drum as his shoulder went through it.
For the most part the audience enjoyed the entertainment - after all they were heading for the freedom of America...