March 2015 Meeting Notes

The March meeting started off with Tolling the Boats lost in March, followed by birthday wishes for our members, officer reports, and introductions.

Because of the speaker for tonight’s meeting we tried to move quickly through the old and new business portions of the meeting.

Old and New Business: 
Seattle Base Fundraising Events and Ideas – Doug Abramson and Pat Householder are working with Cabela’s Tulalip store to organize some meet and greet/fundraising opportunities. The first will be on March 28/29 (see a separate blog post for more information), followed up by events on May 17 and sometime in August. The base float will be at the event and we will be looking for volunteers to help out.

Doug and Pat are also looking at a similar meet and greet event at the Bass Pro Shop in Tacoma. Stay tuned for more on this.

Seattle Base is also planning a raffle for a three-dimensional cutaway submarine model. We have had similar raffles in 2011. Tickets will be $5 each or 6 for $20 and the raffle drawing will be at the end of June (corrected from original post on March 31). The winner will have their choice of boats, including Balao, Tench, GUPPY III, Sturgeon, Los Angeles, and Lafayette class submarines.

A GUPPY III cutaway

Seattle Base Member Activities Ideas – We are looking into planning several base activities for the year. First up, we are looking at a tour of the Museum of Flight Restoration Center in Everett with a pre-tour breakfast at Jimmy Jacks on Saturday, April 11. Watch for an email and separate blog post for more information on this.

We would like to take a group trip to Portland to see the submarine Blueback at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. We are looking at a trip in late July or early September. If you would be interested in this, be sure to let one of the Base Officers know.

Also, as mentioned at a previous meeting, we are also looking at alternative dates and locations for our monthly business meetings.

March Program:
Our March program was by World War II Army Air Corps veteran and French Legion of Honor recipient JW Roundhill. JW started out by reminding us of some of the similarities between submarines and airplanes, such as small, tight-knit crews and that even when part of a larger organization, you are mostly on your own. He then went on to talk about his life and experiences during World War II.

JW Roundhill

JW was born to English parents in Seattle in 1923, but when he was 10 years old the family returned to England. JW began working in an RAF factory at 16 and later transferred to the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943. He initially worked as a liaison delivering reconnaissance photos taken by operatives in France to the 8th Air Force headquarters, but he wanted to be more involved in the war effort. So he transferred to the 379 Bomb Group as an aircraft identification instructor, but he soon volunteered to act as a replacement gunner for the B-17 bombers. As a replacement gunner, JW would be assigned to a bomber that was missing a gunner, so he didn’t spend too much time with a single crew or plane. His first mission was on February 20, 1944. His fifth mission was the first daylight raid on Berlin by American bombers on March 6, 1944. JW went on to complete 32 missions and on later missions he acted as the bomb toggler to release bombs from his plane.

A map showing the location of JW's 32 missions

In addition to stories about his actions during World War II, JW told us about a trip he had taken to France long after the war. He recounted a story about staying in Paris and meeting up with members of the French Resistance. On the same trip he had the chance to visit several of the cities that were targets of bombing missions he was on, including one that was bombed on D-Day. He talked about always wondering what happened to the target towns and how he was happy to have gotten the opportunity to see them and talk with the people there.

It is always great to hear stories from our World War II veterans and we appreciate and salute their service. After the presentation, Base Commander Dick Gonzalez presented JW with a copy of Don Ulmer's latest book and a certificate of appreciation from Seattle Base.

Base Commander Dick Gonzalez presents JW Roundhill with a book and certificate

There was also cake to share.

JW helps cut the cake

In support of the Army Air Corps, base member Patti Lynn also brought along a shadow box with medals her father earned during World War II.

Medals earned by Patti Lynn's father

Good of the Order: 

Reminder of upcoming events – Seattle Base has signed up for covering the Smokey Point Rest Stop on July 1, 2, and 3. Steve Shelton will have sign-up sheets to cover shifts soon. Also, be sure to mark August 15 on your calendars for the annual Tolling the Boats memorial ceremony.

Lois Mezek will be accepting worn out flags to be disposed of on June 14th, which is Flag Day. If you have an old flag that is ready for retirement, please bring it to a meeting.

Binnacle List: Pierre Bruneau is back from his rehab and we hope to see him at our meeting soon.