July - August 2016 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 Kirkland Independence Day Parade, other upcoming Seattle Base events, an article on the possible discovery of USS Herring, along with the usual submarine related articles.

Hardcopies of the newsletter are going out today. I hope you all enjoy it.

Additionally, here are a couple photos of the float at the Cruzin to Colby car show over Memorial Day weekend. 

Side view of the float

A bow shot with the Bowfin model all decked out with flags

As always, don't forget to check back here 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

June 2016 Meeting Notes

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

 Remember that July and August are busy months, so be sure to review the Seattle Base Activities Calendar to see what is coming up.

Old and New Business 
Bangor Tour – We were reminded that the Bangor Submarine Base tour is full and that it was rescheduled for Thursday, June 30 2016 due to the change of command at the base.

Base Officers – We were also reminded that Seattle Base still needs someone to step forward for the Sr. Vice Commander position and a Tolling ceremony coordinator. John Roberts was holding both these positions, but is moving to Texas and will not be able to continue in either position. These are important positions and you will not have support from current base officers, but also past base officers and many other members.

USSVI National Elections –The latest issue of The American Submariner has the paper ballot for USSVI National elections. Please be sure to fill out your ballot and mail it in before August 10, 2016. If you prefer to fill out the ballot online, it will be available on the USSVI website after June 21. 

Seattle Base Float Diving Alarm Replacement – Jim Harper let us know that the diving alarm for the float has finally given out. We discussed purchasing a replacement, but decided to table the issue while we investigate prices and alternatives for the replacement.

Kirkland Independence Day Parade – The Kirkland parade will be on Monday July 4. The city will start closing the parade route and putting up detours around 9:30. The parade will start at 12:00 (following a Children’s parade at 11:30). We will have more information about the parade soon.

Smokey Point Event Reminder - Steve Shelton had sign-up sheets for the Smokey Point Rest Stop Event, which will happen on July 22-25 (Friday 2 PM until Monday 1:30 PM) at the southbound rest area. We can use all the volunteers we can get to help out manning the coffee both and to provide cookies or other goodies for the booth (note that donations for cookies are always welcome). The sign-up sheets will be available at the next meeting too, but contact Steve as soon as you can if you are interested in helping out.

Tolling the Boats Ceremony – The 2016 Tolling the Boats ceremony will be on August 20 at Kirkland Marina Park. We will have more information available at the next meeting.

June Program 

Bob's Razorback presentation

Our planned speaker had to cancel due to an illness and we hope to reschedule him soon. In his place Bob Opple stepped up with a short program.

Bob started off with a short recap of his recent trip across the country as part of the 2016 Run to the Wall motorcycle ride. You can see some photos from Bob’s trip on his blog and he promised to put together a presentation for the group later this year.

Bob then gave a presentation on returning the USS Razorback to the United States after she completed her service with the Turkish Navy. He started out with his involvement in kicking off the process of returning the sub. He talked about the challenges of finding a new home for the boat and getting support from the U.S. and Turkish governments. These challenges were multiplied due to issues between the U.S. and Turkish governments around the invasion of Iraq. Bob went on to talk about the trip across the Mediterranean and Atlantic. Then about the extra work needed to transport the sub up the Mississippi and on the Little Rock, Arkansas. Razorback now resides at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum with the Pearl Harbor survivor tug USS Hoga, giving visitors a view of the start and end of World War 2. The museum also has memorials for USS Snook (SS-279) and USS Scorpion (SSN-589).

Special thanks to Bob for providing a great presentation on short notice.

Good of the Order 
The B-Girls (Barbel, Bonefish, and Blueback) Reunion is tentatively planned for May 10 – 14, 2017 in Mobile Alabama at the Holiday Inn Downtown in the historic district.

June 2016 Meeting Reminder

The next Seattle Base meeting is this coming Wednesday, June 15, 2016. 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 7 PM.

Our guest speaker will be Mark Holmes. We know you will want to hear from this amazing gentleman who has a keen love of oceanography and submarines.

Mark served on the USS Current (ARS-22) from 1960-3 and had some remarkable experiences that influenced his life’s work. In June 1960 he participated in the raising one of the five Japanese midget subs that participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

While in the reserves he graduated in the School of Oceanography and is now a Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington and “College of the Environment” and “School of Oceanography”.

Sea Cliff being raised out the water by her support ship

In his teaching career he has made dives on the DSV-3 Turtle and DSV-4 Sea Cliff to depths of 3,000 meters (10,826 feet).

We know you will enjoy and appreciate his vast knowledge of submersibles and oceanography in general.

Don’t miss this meeting and please bring a friend or prospective member.

June Updates

With Summer getting underway, here are a few updates from Seattle Base and local area.

 

Bangor Tour Full
Dick Gonzalez reports that the Bangor tour is full and no additional applications can be accepted. It should be a fun trip.

National Office Manager Looking for a Member to Assist 
USSVI National Office Manager Fred Borgmann is in search of a volunteer to to spend 2 hours a week at his office in Silverdale. The job is for mailing out letters to members for various reasons (such as new membership cards, thank you notes, etc.) under Fred's guidance. It is rewarding and keeps you up to date on current events. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Fred telephone: 360-337-2978 and email: ussvi@telebyte.net

Bangor Flag Retirement Ceremony 
An invitation to attend the Trident Training Facility's Flag Day Ceremony at Deterrent Park on Monday, June 13th at 1300 has been extended to Submarine Veterans. They have plenty of flags to retire but would love to have as many guests as possible. Please contact Chief Parker if you are interested or have any questions.
ETC Parker
Flag Day Ceremony POC
Trident Training Facility Bangor
360-315-2702

Western Region Director Elections 
The USSVI elections are coming up later this year and Jim Denzien, Sr., asked us to post his candidacy announcement for the for Western Regional Director position. Please take a few moements to read through it.

If you’re in Western District 1, I hope you already know me. I’m Jim Denzien, District Commander since September 2013. If you don’t know me, I’m asking for your support and your vote to move up to Western Region Director in this year’s election.

So what would I do as your Regional Director? I have learned how to support our members. This means listening to my shipmates and having the knowledge on how to work with the USSVI National organization to get their problems solved.

So, in addition to my service as a District Commander, what experience and background would I bring to the job as your Regional Director?

I joined USSVI in 2001 as one of the founding members of South Florida Base in Boynton Beach, FL. After moving to Arizona in 2003, I joined Perch Base in Phoenix and was elected Base Treasurer. Soon after I became a Life Member of USSVI. When some of our Base members who lived far north of the Phoenix area needed relief from the long travel for meetings and events, I joined with others in forming a new Base, Gudgeon, in Prescott Valley, AZ. I’m proud to be plank owner there too.

With Perch Base, I have served the members in various positions including Secretary, Treasurer and Vice Commander culminating in being Base Commander of Perch Base for four years. I have been honored as the Perch Base Member of the Year in 2007 and received the National Robert Link Award in 2014.

What will my shipmates of the Western Region get if I’m elected? First and foremost, I will provide first class representation for all members of the Western Region at the National level. I will firmly support USSVI’s Constitution and Bylaws and support our National officers in conducting the business of USSVI. I will always be available to the District Commanders in the Western Region for guidance as required in the performance of their duties.

But most important, I am a firm believer in communication in plain straight forward language between the National level and each USSVI member. That would be my number one job; your voice in running your organization, United States Submarine Veterans, Inc.

James R. (Jim) Denzien, Sr.