July Meeting Notes

At the July meeting we started with the Tolling for the boats lost in July and a tribute to Dick Moe, who went on Eternal Patrol earlier in the month.

Keith provided a recap of the Kirkland Independence Day Parade. This was our fourth year participating and the city of Kirkland still make us feel so welcomed! Thanks to Bob Opple for his efforts in getting us into the parade and thanks to everyone that was able to attend.

Maureen, the lady that helps organize the parade, provided a link to a YouTube video showing the preparations for the parade, including some picture of the High School kids making the boutonnieres given to Veterans, and the parade itself. We hope you enjoy it. (If you can't get the embedded version to work, try going to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5sacWG4GWQ)


Float Refit: We are scheduling a "refit" on the base float sometime after the Auburn Veteran's Parade in November. Plans are to remove the boat and rebuild the supports that hold it in place. This will be done at Jim Harper’s house in Everett and we can use lots of help. More information will be coming soon.

Base Raffle: Seattle Base is raffling off a submarine cut-away plaque (the winner has their choice of submarine class and it can be customized with the appropriate boat name). You don't have much longer to purchase tickets for the Base Raffle. The drawing will be held at the Tolling of the Boats Ceremony on August 20th, but you do not need to be present to win. Each ticket is $5. If you would like to purchase tickets, contact Jim Harper (tel: 425-357-6485, e-mail: kh6cn@earthlink.net).

Upcoming Events:
Tolling of the Boats Ceremony - This will be at the Kirkland Marina Park on August 20th. We are planning on a picnic before the ceremony, along with the drawing for the base raffle. Unfortunately, we were not able to secure the Navy Band again this year, but we will have a “surprise” guest speaker for this important event.

Black Diamond Labor Day Parade - On September 5th, we will be participating in the Black Diamond Labor Day parade. There will be a barbeque, car show and a good time for everyone. Plan to attend!

USSVI National Convention - The national convention is set for September 5 - 11 in Springfield/Branson Missouri. You can find out more information on the convention website at: www.ussvispringfieldmo.com.

Navy Birthday - Jim Weaver, from VFW Post 2995, invited everyone to the Navy’s Birthday party to be held on October the 13th at the post. Dinner will be served. It’s not known at this time what the menu will be but we should receive an announcement before the event.

Tahoma National Cemetery Veterans Day Program - This program will happen on Friday, November 11.

Auburn Veterans Day Parade - This is set for Saturday, November 12. We are planning on marching in the parade with the base float, other submariners from the region, and the Silent Service Motorcycle Club.

2011 Christmas Luncheon - We have reserved the Seattle Yacht Club on Saturday, December 17 for our luncheon.

July Program:
Keith Watson presented a program about some of the German submarine service plans for winning World War II. These plans might have made a difference, but it was a case of too little too late to be effective and the Germans lost 722 submarines to Allied attacks. During the early -war years, Professor Hellmuth Walter was working on a high-speed Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system for U-boats that used highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide to produce steam for a turbine. If this system had been installed on combat-ready boats in the early or mid-war years, the Germans could have won the war in the Atlantic. But the hydrogen peroxide proved to be too volatile and the system had other problems too. However, the Germans were able to advance battery technology and hull design, making a boat that could travel on battery power faster, quieter, and longer than any other submarine in existence. After the war, the Allies were able to use the German advances for their own submarines.

Binnacle List:
Ted Taylor - Ted is hanging in there and would love to hear from his USSVI shipmates. He enjoys talking with anyone who calls. You can call him at 425-228-3764.

Andrea Geisler - Andrea is still suffering from the effects of the eye infection.

Robbie Robertson - Robbie is still undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.

Bruce Fisher - Bruce is still undergoing treatment for diabetic neuropathy for his foot.

Eternal Patrol: Dick Moe

Richard "Dick" Moe departed on Eternal Patrol on July 12, 2011. Dick was born May 6, 1924 and served as a Radioman in the Navy from 1944 through 1946. He qualified on the USS Kingfish (SS-234) in 1945. He also served on USS Apollo (AS-25), USS Sabalo (SS-302), and USS Lapon (SS-260). Dick was a Life Member in the USSVI, USSVI Seattle Base, USSVI-SVWWII, and a member of the Holland Club. He is survived by his wife Dorothy; please remember her and the family in your thought and prayers.
Sailor, rest your oars.

There will be visitations at the Hulbush Funeral Home (281 S. Burlington Boulevard, Burlington, WA. 98233) from 9-5 on Wednesday and Thursday July 20 and 21.

Service will be held Friday, July 22 at noon in the Bay View Cemetery in Bay View, WA.

Directions to Cemetery:

• From Interstate 5, take Exit 230 - turn onto Highway 20 heading West
• Turn right onto Farm to Market Road (Highway 237)
• Turn Left onto Josh Wilson Road; follow the road into Bay View.
• Turn right onto Bayview-Edison Road
• Turn right onto Bayview Cemetery Road and straight to destination.

A Memorial and Reception follows the service at 1:30 at the Burlington Lutheran Church (134 East Victoria Street, Burlington, WA. 98233, 360-755-0729)

Directions to Church:

• From Interstate 5, take Exit 230 - turn onto Highway 20 headed East
• Turn left on S Burlington Blvd
• Turn right on East Victoria Ave to church on the right

If you are planning on attending -please wear your vest or cap so we can show solidarity from our Fraternity.
Thanks,
Keith

July Meeting Announcement

Hi Shipmates,

The July USSVI Seattle Base meeting will be held on the 20th of July at VFW Post #2995. Come at 6PM for the social hour and stay for the 7PM business meeting.

We will start the meeting with the monthly Tolling the Boats, then celebrate July birthdays for our members, and then we will look at the technological bonanza the US Submarine Force encountered in Germany at the end of World War Two. We will have some very interesting photos of some of the advanced technologies discovered by Allied troops and talk about how those technologies changed the U.S. Submarine Force and the other submarine forces of other countries.

German Type XXI submarines after VE-Day

I look forward to seeing you there!

Fraternally,
Keith Watson
Commander Seattle Base USSVI

Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park Medal of Honor and Silver Star Ceremony

Base Member Lois Mezek passed along this information about a special ceremony honoring the Medal of Honor and Silver Start recipients at Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park. The information about the ceremony is given below and you can read more at the Evergreen Washelli website.

Evergreen Washelli is proud to have in our care several Medal of Honor Recipients and one Silver Star Recipient. We are now creating a permanent marker that will tell each medal recipient’s heroic story. This permanent tribute is our way of thanking each medal recipient and their families for their selfless and courageous service to this country. We invite you to attend the ceremony and witness the unveiling of their permanent memorials, to visit their graves, read their stories and see images of the medals received.

This special ceremony will pay tribute to our Medal of Honor Recipients: Lewis Albanese (Vietnam), William C. Horton (Spanish/American), Robert Ronald Leisy (Vietnam), William Kenzo Nakamura (World War II), Orville Emil Bloch (World War II), Harry Delmar Fadden (Spanish/American), and Silver Star recipient Vesa Juhani Alakulppi (Vietnam).

Please join us at a special ceremony in honoring our Medal of Honor and Silver Star recipients on July 16th, 2011 at Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park 11111 Aurora Ave N Seattle WA. 98133

10:30 am - 11:00 am : Concert with the Washington Letter Carriers' Band

11:00 am : The program will begin with the Parade of Colors followed by The National Anthem, which will be sung by MAJ William MacCully, Veterans Memorial Cemetery Board, and Pledge of Allegiance led by CSM Doyle Burke, Veterans Memorial Cemetery Board, and Invocation and Benediction by Maj Ed Flacker, with the speaker being MG James M. Collins, Jr. The program will conclude with a Salute from the WA Army National Guard Members, followed by Echo Taps and the Retiring of the Colors. The program should end about 12:00.

The Chimes Tower will play before and after the program. The public is invited to listen to Patriotic music played by the Chimes Tower while visiting the graves of our Medal of Honor Recipients. Please join us in remembering them.

2011 Kirkland Independence Day Parade Photos

July 4, 2011 was a beautiful day for a parade and a good-sized crowd turned out to watch the parade. The city of Kirkland does a nice job with the parade and all the festivities for celebrating Independence Day.

Here are a few photos as we prepared for the parade.

Getting the float ready for the parade

SubVets take advantage of the shade while everyone says hello.

Silent Service Motorcycle Club (SSMC) members planning their ride

A group photo of all the veterans participating in the parade

Jay Davis catches a ride in the truck towing the float

Robbie and Terri Robertson get a ride in Sam Ronnie's limo

Then the parade got underway.

VFW Honor Guard leads

The SSMC led the SubVets, with WWII veteran Fred Ensslin hitches a ride on Bob Opple's bike

Tim Floersch and Pete McCafferty carry the SubVet banner, with a little help from Makayla Wilson

Next up, the Seattle Base float

Dave Goodson had a good time sounding the Diving Alarm

The on-foot SubVets follow the float

Doug Abramson brought out his classic car

We ended our part of the parade with Sam Ronnie's limo with Lois Mezek, Adm. Horton Smith, and Robbie and Terri Robertson

Independence Day Parade Reminder

just wanted to post a quick reminder about the Kirkland Independence Day Parade on the 4th of July.

We are planning on meeting at the same location as last year, near Heritage Hall at the corner of Central and Market Street. To get there, you take Exit 18 off of 405, head west, that’s Central Street. Follow Central until you reach Market and turn right to find parking at Heritage Park.

The parade group is planning for our mini-sub float, several marching USSVI base members, three cars for our WW2 members, and the Silent Service Motorcycle riders.

It is recommended that we show up by 10:15 am, since the streets will be closing to traffic after that. The Children's Parade starts at 11:30 am and the main parade starts at noon.