June 2015 Meeting Notes

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

Old and New Business: 
Base Events – We talked about the events that had happened since the last meeting, including Armed Forces Day at Cabela’s, Memorial Day at Tahoma National Cemetery, the Cruzin to Colby Car Show, and Flag Day at Bass Pro Shop. We were able to take in over $700 in donations at the Cabela’s, Cruzin to Colby, and Bass Pro Shop events, so the treasury is feeling better.

The Smokey Point Rest Stop fund raiser on July 1st through the 3rd will be our next event. We will post a list of the shifts everyone has signed up for, but be sure to contact Steve Shelton if you want to join us at Smokey Point.

Remember to check the Base Activities Calendar page for more upcoming events.

Seattle Base and SSMC members at the 2014 Kirkland Independence Day Parade

Kirkland Independence Day Parade – Once again, Seattle Base and the Silent Service Motorcycle Club will be at the Kirkland Independence Day Parade. You should have gotten an email with the initial information and we will post a reminder here on the blog. We will meet at Heritage Hall at Lake Ave West in downtown Kirkland around 9:30. The city will start closing down streets near the parade route around 9:30. The parade organizers will have pizza available for us. The kid’s parade starts at 11:30 and the main parade starts at 12:00. We hope to see you at this fun community event.

Base Float Update – We will be moving the float and shelter to Arlene Ritzhaupt property sometime after the Tolling ceremony in August. We will be asking for volunteers to help level the area and set up the shelter in the new location at that time.

June Program: 
Our speaker for June was Charles Smith. Charles was a Naval Aviator who flew the Lockheed P-3 Orion in PATRON 10 and also had responsibilities for the Trident C-4 missile recovery and range accuracy testing program from Cape Canaveral. Charles also spent some familiarization time sailing aboard USS Trepang (SSN-674), USS Turner Joy (DD-951), and several other Navy ships during overseas deployments. Following a distinguished Naval Career, he retired in 1982 as a LCDR. He has been a docent at the Museum of Flight since 2007 and was one of the first docents at the LeMay “America’s Auto Museum” in Tacoma.

Charles Smith talking about Eddie Rickenbacker

Charles presentation was about the life of Eddie Rickenbacker. He started out with Rickenbacker’s family and early childhood in Columbus Ohio. He went on to talk about Eddie’s aptitude for engines and cars that led him to become a race car driver. Before World War I Rickenbacker participated in four Indianapolis 500 races, along with numerous other racing events around the US and Europe.

When the US entered World War I in 1917, Eddie volunteered for the Army and to be a pilot. He was assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron and would eventually become its commanding officer. During the war he was credited with 26 victories, the most of any American pilot until late in World War II.

After the war, Eddie went back to the automotive industry, but kept a hand in aviation too. He started his own motor company in 1920 and in 1927 purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which he owned until 1945. In the mid-30s, Eddie purchased Eastern Airlines and oversaw many radical changes in the field of commercial aviation.

During World War II Rickenbacker was involved with the Army and State Department. While working for the Army his B-17 was forced to ditch and spent 24 days at sea in life rafts in the Pacific. After his rescue he went to the Soviet Union and other Allied countries to help out with the war effort.

After World War II “Captain Eddie” continued to run Eastern Airlines and became a well-known public speaker. Rickenbacker died in 1973 while on a trip to Switzerland.

We thank Charles for the detailed and interesting program on the life of an American hero.

Base Commander Dick Gonzalez presents Charles Smith with a Certificate of Appreciation (with USS Trepang on the certificate)

Good of the Order: 
Binnacle List: 

• Horton and Lei Lah Smith are currently both going through physical rehabilitation. They are not seeing visitors at this time, but hope to join us for the Tolling the Boats ceremony in August. 
• Roy Burt took a spill on his motorcycle during a recent SSMC ride. He is currently recovering and starting his own rehabilitation. He isn’t taking visitors right now, but would love to get phone calls of encouragement. 

Seattle Base Raffle – After the meeting we drew the winning ticket for the Seattle Base Raffle. The winner is Bremerton Base member Ray Pitts. Congratulations to Ray and BZ to Pat Householder for organizing this fund raising event for us.