Eternal Patrol: Ben Harrison

Seattle Base and Holland Club member Ben Harrison departed on Eternal Patrol on January 21, 2018.

Ben was born on Aug 15, 1925 in Rochester WA. He was one of 12 children born to Max and Blanche Couture. He was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. He volunteered for the Navy and served aboard submarines during WWII and again in the Korean War. Ben qualified on USS Piranha (SS-389) and also served on USS Parche (SS-384), USS Steelhead (SS-280), USS Cabezon (SS-334), and USS Pilotfish (SS-386). He was very proud of his service to his country.

In 1954, his service in the Korean War ended, and he met his future wife Doris Eash in the Ambassadors Club at University Presbyterian Church. Doris and Ben married June 20, 1962. Following his military service, he attended the University of Washington School of Forestry, receiving his S.S. in 1966. His love of trees and the environment is his legacy. He was a kind, gentle man, an environmentalist of the first order. The forests of Western Washington will miss his expertise and care. He spent many years working with Weyerhaeuser in Federal Way, supporting and planting the forests in the Snoqualmie National Forest.

After retirement, Ben worked as a private contractor helping individual owners manage their timber. His love of photography often saw him with his camera around his neck, at the ready to catch the scenes of nature. Ben belonged to the Society of American Foresters, was very active in the Snoqualmie Falls Forest Theatre and served as President, and he was a member of the University Presbyterian Church. He was a long-time supporter of the University of Washington and a Husky Alumni Club member, holding season tickets for many years of cheering the Huskies. Survivors include his wife of 55 1/2 years, many family and friends, and many trees in the forest.

A memorial service will be held at Flintofts Issaquah Funeral Home on February 3 at 11:00. Following the service, there will be a gathering for family and friends. Friends are invited to view photos, get directions and share memories at www.FLINTOFTS.com.

Remembrances and gifts can be sent in honor of Benjamin Harrison to UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Box 355055, Seattle, WA 98195-5055.

Sailor, Rest Your Oar

January 2018 Meeting Notes

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

We followed that up with the Officer Reports and then moved to elections for the Base.

Seattle Base Elections – We had one change from the previously posted list of nominees. Lois Mezek changed from co-Secretary to Treasurer. Since there were no opposing nominations, the new officers were elected by acclamation. Western District 4 Commander Jim DeMott was on hand to swear-in the new officers.

Swearing in the new Seattle Base officers

Please welcome our new slate of officers and committee chairs.

• Base Commander – Ric Hedman 
• Sr Vice Commander – Larry Abbott 
• Jr Vice Commander – Earl Greening 
• Secretary – Bill Giese 
• Treasurer – Lois Mezek 
• Chief of the Boat – Ralph Sterley 
• Base Chaplin – Andrea Geisler 
• Storekeeper – Ralph Sterley 
• Newsletter Editor/Webmaster – Dave Schueler 

We want to thank Al Smith for his work as Base Commander. We also want to say a special thanks to Jim Harper, who has finally been replaced as Treasurer. With the elections out of the way, Ric stepped took over the meeting as the new Base Commander.

New Base Commander - Ric Hedman

Old and New Business: 
 Membership Dues – As we start the new year, we want to remind you that National USSVI and Seattle Base annual dues are due. Please be sure to get your renewals to Treasurer Lois Mezek. 

Holiday Luncheon – We had a quick recap of the Holiday Luncheon (you can see photos here). It was announced that Kerry Ryan will take over planning for the 2018 event.

2018 Activities Calendar – We are looking for things to do as a base in 2018. We plan to attend the usual local parades and we are looking at adding a picnic and other events. If you have suggestions for something, please bring it up at the next meeting or contact one of the officers.

2018 USSVI National Convention – The 2018 National Convention is a Caribbean cruise on October 21 – 28, departing from Fort Lauderdale, FL. Be sure to check the convention website for more details, including the list of boat reunions.

February Meeting – We are planning something special for the ladies for our February meeting. Be sure to watch your email and check the blog for more information.

Smokey Point Event – Steve Shelton let us know that our slot for Smokey Point will be at the beginning of June and we will have the north-bound rest stop. We will have further announcements at future meetings and on the blog. 

Good of the Order:
Jim DeMott reminded us that about the USSVI Western Regional Roundup on April 23 – 27, 2018 in Las Vegas. You can see more about the event at their website; registration has not been set up yet, but you can check out the events.

Dave Schueler passed along information about a new submarine book, called Poopie Suits and Cowboy Boots, with all proceeds going to the Charitable Fund Scholarship Fund.

Dick Gonzalez showed off a laser-cut wood plaque at the meeting. The plaque was may by Richard Del Missier and he is selling similar plaques for $75. He can also personalize plaques. If you have something special in mind and to get in touch with Richard, send me an email and I will give you his contact number.

Dick's laser-cut plaque

We hope to see you at the next meeting.

New Submarine Book with proceeds going to Scholarship Fund

We wanted to pass along information about a new book by Frank Hood, Vice Commander of Marblehead Base, called: Poopie Suits and Cowboy Boots - Tales of a Submarine Officer During the Height of the Cold War

Here a brief introduction from Frank;

Most sub vets would agree that civilians have no idea what we went through, what we endured. To increase understanding, my brother and I have written a book about day-to-day life aboard a US Navy submarine.

Fellow sub vets will enjoy reading it, because the book’s details will take them back to their days on the boat and the funny stories add spice. It is also written in language that civilians will understand, so once a vet has read it, he can pass it on to his children. So they can understand what he went through.

We have designated that all proceeds from book sales should go to the USSVI Scholarship Fund - to help kids and grand-kids of our Brothers of the Phin.

Straight Board,
Frank Hood

Frank has allowed us to post Chapter 11 here for your perusal, so you can see what is in the book.

There are a couple easy ways to order the book:
First, from Blurb.com, where you can order the book in soft-cover or hard-cover or as an e-book. The e-book page also lets you read the first 115 pages of the book.

Second, from Amazon.com, where you can get the book for your Kindle or Kindle app. The Amazon version is also available through Amazon Smile, for those of you that have set up a charity to receive funds from your purchases (if you haven't set this up yet, you can designate US Submarine Veterans Charitable Foundation as your charity).

We hope you will consider purchasing a copy and supporting the USSVI Scholarship Fund. 

January 2018 Meeting Reminder

The next Seattle Base meeting is this coming Wednesday, January 17, 2018. We will meet at VFW Post #2995 (4330 148th Ave N.E., Redmond WA 98052). Social hour starts at 6PM with business meeting at 7PM.

Elections for the Seattle Base 2018-19 officers will be held at the meeting. We also expect to be talking over plans for 2018 and we really want to get input from all our members on upcoming events and items for the year.

Don't forget that we have 2018 USSVI calendars for sale too. You can get your copy at the meeting.

We hope to see you at the meeting!

January - February 2018 Dolphin Brotherhood Posted

The January – February 2018 issue of the Dolphin Brotherhood has been posted to the Seattle Base website.

Don't forget to pick up your 2018 USSVI calendar at the next meeting!

This issue has photos from the Auburn Veterans Day Parade and the Seattle Base Holiday Luncheon, articles about two recently discovered lost submarines, along with other submarine related articles.

Hardcopies will be mailed out later this week.

I hope you all enjoy the newsletter. As always, remember to check back here for base updates and other articles of interest.

We hope to see you at the January meeting.

Dave Schueler
Seattle USSVI Base Newsletter Editor