February Meeting Notes

Editor’s Note: Check the full Seattle Base Meeting Minutes for complete details on the items below.

We started off the February meeting with Tolling the Boats lost in February, followed by birthday wishes for our members. We followed that up with the Officer Reports and introductions.

Old and New Business
Base Updates – Reminder that we are still looking for someone to fill the Base Secretary position. Please contact any of the Base officers if you are interested in being the Secretary. We also got an update on Earl G (Jr Vice Commander), who is recovering from triple-bypass surgery.

Base Float Update - We were informed that the Base Float survived the recent Winter storms thanks to replacing the roof on it’s shelter. However, we were informed that we need to find a new place to store the supporting equipment (flags, bunting, signs, etc.). Some suggestion will be offered at our next base meeting, but feel free to contact the base officers with your ideas.

Kaps for Kids Update - Kerry gave us a preliminary report on our Kap for Kids program saying that Seattle Children’s Orthopedic Hospital has instituted some new policies that limits what charitable organizations, such as ours, can do with their patients. However, we did discuss options which included, but not limited to, purchasing caps with the dolphin logo and certificates of Honorary Submariners or special comfort blankets (different sizes for the various recipient ages), etc. Kerry is doing a little more research on our options. Also he indicated that he would check with other children care centers (hospitals) to see if they had similar policies as Seattle Children’s Orthopedic Hospital.

USSVI National Awards - We were reminded that nominations for USSVI National awards opened in February and that members should take the time look into this. It was recommended that we should consider nominating Base Commander Ric for the Ben Bastura Historical Achievement award for his work on the Pig Boats website. You can download a copy of the Awards Manual, with information on the nomination process on the USSVI website.

February Program
The program for the evening was Show and Tell by the membership.

Don U brought to our attention to a special bottle of wine. The wine was presented to his old Skipper to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a rescue at sea during World War II by one of the airman that was rescued. The skipper was not really a drinker, so the bottle was subsequently passed onto Don for safe-keeping.

Don shows off the wine bottle

Dick G spoke about a recent presentation he did for some Cub Scouts and showed the Thank You card they gave him. He also talked about the involvement by the Seattle Base with the Boy Scouts and Eagle Scouts presentation when he was Base Commander.

Dick telling us how smart the Cub Scouts are

Larry A showed pictures of his boat the USS Salmon (SSR-573) and told of his being transferred to it from sub school, going thru the Panama Canal, and what he was charged with when becoming a Shellback as the boat crossed the equator.

Larry and hie boat photos

Bill L talked about how he became a member of the base because he wrote the book “Beneath the Surface” about submarines that were built in Seattle. We have a copy of the book in the Base Library and you can still purchase a copy online.

Bill with a copy of his book

Doug A told a story about when Redfish pulled into Acapulco and they did a "celebrity cruise" with Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, and Jimmy Dean. Doug shared how Jimmy Dean came back to maneuvering to sit with the crew and told them all how he wanted to shoot a torpedo.

Doug talking about meeting Jimmy Dean

Ric H showed the us his original qualification card from the Flasher and went through the various sections on learning the boat. He also showed a copy of qualification guide book that was given to him after he had qualified, which was very different than his qualification card.

Ric and his original qualification card

We all had a good time hearing stories about the various show and tell items.

Good of the order:
Submarine book author Rick Campbell, a retired submariner, will be at the Kitsap Mall Barnes and Noble to sign copies of his latest submarine book “Treason” on Saturday, March 30. The signing will be followed by a release party at the Yacht Club Broiler. You can see more about Risk's books on his website.

We were reminded that the United State Submarine Service is celebrating it’s 119 birthday in 2019. We were asked to think about doing a celebration of some kind. We talk about this again at the next meeting, so bring your ideas!

We added a new book to the Base Library (you can see the full list at the link) - The book, Operation Drumbeat, covers the German submarine offensive on the east coast at the start of 1942.