January 2016 Meeting Notes

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

Storekeeper Ralph Sterley reminded everyone that the 2016 USSVI calendars are available for $10.95. Be sure to get your copy soon so that you can enjoy it for all twelve months! He also had copies of Don Ulmer’s new book “Beyond Silent Battleground”, but quickly sold out of the copies. We should have more books soon.

We also want to remind everyone that annual memberships ran out at the end of 2015 and Seattle Base and USSVI National dues for 2016 are due.

Old and New Business 
Base Elections – Outgoing Base Commander Dick Gonzalez thanked all of us for the support he has received over his tenure. He let us know how important member participation is in the running of the base and reminded us of the recent closing of South Sound Base due to that lack of participation. He also spoke about the need for members to step forward to fill leadership roles for Seattle Base.

Our current Treasurer, Jim Harper, and Secretary, Bill Giese, have agreed to stay on in their positions. However, no one has stepped forward to take on the positions of Base Commander and Sr. Vice Commander. Both are positions that are vital to the normal operations of Seattle Base.

Because there is no one to fill the Base Commander and Sr. Vice Commander positions, there might not be a meeting in February. There was some discussion about having past-Base Commanders rotate through running meetings until a new commander can be found, but that is not a long-term option. There will be a special meeting of the current and out-going officers to discuss the options moving forward.

The precarious a position this puts Seattle Base in cannot be emphasized enough. Members are welcome, and encouraged, to help resolve this situation.

Base Emails – We did a quick check to make sure everyone that wants email notifications about USSVI and Seattle Base news and announcements are getting the emails. If you are not getting base emails, but would like to, please contact Karl ‘Dutch’ Krompholz. You can find his contact information in the POC section of the Seattle Base Information page. 

2016 Seattle Base Calendar – We are pulling together all the important dates for the 2016 Seattle Base Calendar. If you have any events, or even suggestions for event, you would like to have added to the calendar, please contact Pat Householder. You can find contact information for Pat on the Seattle Base Information page.

January Program 
Our program for the evening was a presentation by Harvey Hawks, an education docent at the Seattle Museum of Flight and former Boeing engineer, on the Tuskegee Airmen.

Harvey Hawks answering some questions

Harvey started out discussing the Civilian Pilot Training program and the origins of the Tuskegee Experiment. He talked about the challenges faced by African-Americans in the military in the early 1940s. He covered the organization of the 99th Fighter Squadron, the slow addition of pilots and crews as the programs got up to speed and their deployment to the North Africa in 1943.

The squadron proved its value in combat in North Africa and the Italian campaign. As more pilots became available, the unit was expanded to form the 332nd Fighter Group with four squadrons. The squadrons conducted both ground support and bomber escort missions. They had a good reputation for protecting bombers. During the 179 escort mission flown, only 27 bombers were lost to the enemy (compared to an average of 46 bomber lost for other 15th Air Force fighter groups). However, no Tuskegee Airmen pilot was ever recognized as a fighter ace. Harvey spoke about the wartime exploits of the group and told about Seattle native Sam Bruce, the namesake of the local Seattle Tuskegee Airmen chapter.

After World War 2 the returning pilots and crew were not treated well, but their efforts helped lead to an integrated military in 1948. They also went on to pave the way for younger African-Americans, not just in the military, but also in businesses such as the airlines and Boeing.

We presented Harvey with a certificate of appreciation with a photo of the submarine on which Harvey's son qualified

It was a great program covering the history of an important and, until recently, forgotten group of men.