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photos courtesy of John Fiola Bell and bell-ringer reunited: In April 1999, Holy Trinity, Tiverton, forwarded to RISEN an e-mail from John Fiola in Methuen, MA. Fiola, a former signalman on the destroyer U.S.S. Cone, was on a search for the ship's bell, which he'd had to polish, maintain, and ring as part of his daily duties from 1954-1958. He knew the bell had been given to an Episcopal church "somewhere in Rhode Island" when the Cone was decommissioned and sold to the Pakistani Navy. RISEN printed his inquiry, and soon Fiola informed us that Mrs. Robert Sorlien had responded with news of the bell's whereabouts: at St. Augustine's Church in Kingston ( To the editor, May 1999). On September 12, Fiola and the warship's bell were reunited as the 62-year-old veteran rang it for morning worship. He presented the parish with a service patch and a framed picture of the U.S.S. Cone. |
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Church bell found To the Editor: I wanted to thank you personally for your help in finding the ship's bell of the U.S.S. Cone. I got a call today from Mrs. Robert Sorlien and she told me it is at St. Augustines at the University of Rhode Island. I hope to be able to go there this spring and see if I may get pictures of the bell with the permission of the church. Again, thank you for all your help. Methuen, MA |
