Update on USS Clamagore Presevation

As many of you might remember, Seattle Base member Don Ulmer has been involved with an effort to preserve his old boat USS Clamagore (SS-343), which is a last surviving Guppy III submarine.
He passed along the following update and request.

All,

My old ship, USS Clamagore, now a historic landmark at Patriots Point, SC. has fallen on bad times. Unless major maintenance is undertaken, it looks like the wrecking yard is her next stop. A fast moving campaign is underway to move her to Knoxville, TN.

Funding is always a problem, but popularity diminishes it significantly. Businesses, political figures are influenced by the numbers of supportive people. A simple ‘Like’ on the webpage has more positive influence than one can imagine. You can help without spending a dime.

I would greatly appreciate your "Like” on our Facebook page, and forwarding this information to your friend and family with an encouraging endorsement.

Best and many thanks,
Don

The group trying to move the boat has also formed a 501(c)(3) organization and can accept tax deductible donations for the effort. You can find out more about the organization at their website, http://clamagore.org.

Please take a moment to have a look at how you can help preserve this historic ship and don't forget to like the Friends of Clamagore Facebook page.

In Memoriam - Nan Abbott

It is with deep sadness that we pass along the news that Nanette Abbott, wife of Seattle Base member Larry Abbott, passed away on Sunday, July 19, 2015.

Larry and Nan Abbott at the 2014 Holiday Luncheon

Nan was born on May 10, 1938, in Spooner to Arthur and Lucille Lager. She graduated from Spooner High School in 1956, and married Jerry Sorensen, also from Spooner. They had two children, Deb and Jeff. In June of 1979, Nan married Larry Abbott.

Nan had a career with the Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace, Washington, Police/Fire Department until her retirement in 1993. After retirement, Nan and Larry enjoyed their winters in Yuma, Arizona, up until the last few years.

Nan will be remembered for her generosity, love of fine art, good music, dancing, reading, and good food, but mostly she will be remembered for the love and pride she had for her children and grandchildren.

Please keep Larry and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

July 2015 Meeting Notes

We started the July meeting started off with Tolling the Boats lost in July and a remembrance for base members who have recently gone on Eternal Patrol, followed by birthday wishes for our members, officer reports, and introductions.

Old and New Business:
Smokey Point Rest Stop Fund Raiser – We manned the coffee booth at the Smokey Point Rest Stop on July 1st through the 3rd, and even with the hot weather we were able to bring in a little over $500 in donations. This event continues to bring in funds for other Base activities. Thanks to Steve Shelton and everyone else that participated in the event.

Kirkland Independence Day Parade – We had a great time in Kirkland on July 4. Be sure to have a look at the pictures from that day.

Tolling the Boats Ceremony – The Tolling the Boats ceremony and picnic are set for Saturday August 15 at the Kirkland Marina Park. Set up will start at 10:00 AM. The picnic will start between 11:30 and 12:00. The Tolling the Boats ceremony will start at 1:15 PM. The featured speaker will be Washington State Representative, Submariner, and fellow Seattle Base member Chad Magendanz. All submariners, family, and friends are invited to attend. We expect it to be a great day and look forward to seeing you there.

August Meeting Cancellation – Due to the Tolling the Boats ceremony, we will not be having a business meeting in August. Our next meeting will be on September 16, 2015.

Base Float Move – After the Tolling ceremony we will be moving the float and shelter to Arlene Ritzhaupt’s property. Later in the August we will be putting together a work party to help level the area and set up the shelter in the new location.

Trip to Portland – On Saturday September 5 Seattle Base is planning an outing to the Veterans Museum in Chehalis and then continuing on to Portland to see Blueback. The details are still being worked out, but we expect the cost of travel and admissions to be around $30.00 per person. If you want to get your name on the list, please contact Pat Householder at householderp@comcast.net with your name and phone number. It should be a really fun time and we hope you can make the trip with us. Note that this was originally listed on the Base Activities Calendar for August 29.

New Meeting Location Needed – We have been informed that VFW Post 2295 is going to start charging $65 per hour to rent the meeting hall. While this cost is not out of line with typical hall rentals, it is really too much for our organization to pay on an on-going basis. Because of this we are looking for new meeting venues and potential sponsors for our group. If you have any suggestions for meeting locations or contacts that would be willing to sponsor Seattle Base, please contact Base Commander Dick Gonzalez at 425-228-6327.

Binnacle List:

• Larry Abbott’s wife Nan is in the hospital. Please keep Larry and Nan in your thoughts and we will pass along more information as we find out. 
• Roy Burt is still recovering from his motorcycle accident and really appreciates all the good thoughts from his fellow SubVets. 

July Program: 
Our presentation was a tour of the USS Pampanito (SS-383) by Keith Watson. Keith started out with a short history of USS Pampanito and the U.S. military presence in the San Francisco Bay area. He went on to talk about how the sub became a museum ship and a major tourist attraction in San Francisco with over 110,000 visitors per year. After talking about the history, Keith started a photo tour of the boat. As he showed different pictures he asked members of the audience to identify the location of the picture and the items shown. It was interesting to hear the comments about the different gear and which boat had what gear. Everyone had a good time talking about the familiar and not-so-familiar parts of a modified Fleet boat.

Keith is rewarded for his fine presentation with a box of See's Candies

If you weren’t able to attend the meeting or just want to see more of Pampanito, you can go through a virtual tour of the sub at their website: http://www.maritime.org/tour/index.php

July 2015 Meeting Reminder

The next Seattle Base meeting is this coming Wednesday, July 15. We will meet at VFW Post #2995 (4330 148th Ave N.E., Redmond WA 98052). Social hour starts at 6 PM with business meeting at 7PM.

Come join us as we will have lots to talk about culminating with a fine presentation by own shipmate Keith Watson. Keith intends to take us back over 72 years in time to look at the USS Pampanito (SS-383) and her history in the great city of San Francisco.

USS Pampanito, with SS Jeremiah O'Brien moored astern (Wikipedia)

Keith will have over 100 photos of Fleet boats to share with us and since he qualified on the USS Wahoo, a Tang class boat, he hopes some of us can identify some of the compartments and equipment.

We hope you can attend, as Keith's presentation is sure to please.

2015 Kirkland Independence Day Parade Photos

It was a hot, sunny day for the 2015 Kirkland Independence Day Parade. We had a good turnout of submarine veterans, including the Silent Service Motorcycle Club (SSMC), and their families. As usual, the city of Kirkland did a nice job with the parade and all the festivities for celebrating Independence Day. Veterans were presented with a boutonniere and we had some pizza and other treats before the parade. The parade route was lined with a large and enthusiastic crowd. We all had a good time at the parade.

Here are some photos from before and during the parade.

Seattle Base members Doug Gilman, Bill Giese, Dave Schueler, Doug Abramson, Steve Benn, and Earl Greening

More members keeping cool: back row - Jim Harper, Ralph Sterley, Lynda and Steve Shelton, and Schell Harmon, front row Keith and Judy Watson, Fran and Dick Gonzalez, and Pierre Bruneau

The Silent Service Motorcycle Club (SSMC) parked before the parade

Veterans keeping cool by Heritage Hall

Schell and Av Harmon grab some pizza

Jerry Gerten and Sue enjoying lunch

Jay Davis keeping cool

Ralph Sterley, Andrea Geisler, and Dave Schueler

All the veterans gather at Heritage Hall for a group photo

Seattle Base USSVI and SSMC members pose for a group photo

With lunch and the group photos out of the way, it was time to get ready for the parade

Bob Opple talked Fran Gonzalez into riding with him in his sidecar (Bill Thompson made sure to get in the background on this photo).

The parade kicked off with a fly-over by a B-25, F-6 Hellcat, and T-6 Texan trainer

Doug Abramson carries the flag to lead the SubVets

Bill Giese, Earl Greening, Ralph Sterley, and Scott Milne carried the banners

The float had a number of riders and Doug Gilman handed out buttons

Schell Harmon and Pierre Bruneau man the starboard side of the float

Jim Harper tows the float with Jay Davis and Judy Watson

Larry Abbot, Keith Watson, and Dick Gonzalez cover the port side of the float

The Silent Service Motorcycle Club followed the float with Steve Benn in the lead

Followed by Bob's bike and sidecar

And then Jerry and Bill

We were able to find a little shade along the parade route, but it was pretty warm out

We all had a good time at the parade and we're looking forward to next year's parade.

July - August 2015 Dolphin Brotherhood Posted

The July - August issue of the Dolphin Brotherhood has been posted to the Seattle Base website.

This issue has information about the upcoming Kirkland Independence Day Parade and Tolling the Boats ceremony, along with the usual base news, and other submarine related articles.

Seattle Base float at the 2014 Tolling the Boats Ceremony

Hardcopies of the newsletter are in the mail. I hope you all enjoy it.

As always, don't forget to check back here on the blog for base updates and other articles of interest. You can find old issues of the newsletter at: Dolphin Brotherhood Archives, which is also a link on the right side of the blog.

Dave Schueler
Seattle Base Newsletter Editor