Dear Sir:

I am writing to you concerning the wonderful ariticle that appeared in your paper on May 8, concerning US Navy veteran Bill Schutz and other former crewmen of LST-467 who will be visiting St Thomas during the week of May 14 for their military reunion.

I would like to call your attention to the color painting of the ship that appeared in your article. My father, Stuart James Knickerbocker of East Lansing, Michigan, is the artist who hand painted that image from memory several years ago. He is also a former crewman of LST-467, and he and much of his family will be joining the other crewmen next week.

After the war, my father launched a career as a commercial artist and animator (now retired), and his talent is evident in the painting that you reproduced in your paper. He made this painting several years ago for his crewmates to commemorate one of their earlier reunions, and since then, Mr Shutz and others have reproduced it on t-shirts, coffee mugs, wine bottle labels, framed wall prints and other treatments. He donated the original painting to the reunion committee, and it was raffeled off to one of the crewmen at an earlier reunion.

My dad has never copyrighted this image of his old ship, but he loves to know that people enjoy it. Our entire family would be very grateful if dad could receive attribution for his work if it is published again in your paper. When the veterans are in St Thomas next week, I hope you will be able to run the picture again with a credit given to Stuart Knickerbocker, Pharmacists Mate, 1st Class, LST-467.

My wife, Adrienne and I will be joining my mom and dad in St. Thomas for the reunion next week, along with my brother Jim, his wife Linda, and my daugher Alyssa.

Thank you so much for your consideration of my request.

Matt Knickerbocker