May Meeting Notes

During our June meeting we will be inducting 14 of our members into the Holland Club. Be sure to come to the meeting and congratulate them on achieving this milestone. This year's inductees are: Charles Blain, John Bush, James Davis, Bill Godfrey, Robert Haslan, Robert Lange, Gary Ness, Kingsley Parker, Don Ross, Don Sass, Robert Shirer, Ron Thody, Art Thompson, and Lee Trunkhill.

Jim from VFW Post 2995 stopped by to let us know that the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall is coming to the Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Bellevue July 1 - 4. The VFW Posts in the area are helping out with this and they will be looking for volunteers to help set up the exhibit and to help out while it is here. An e-mail will be going out soon providing more details on how you can help out.

Upcoming Events:
Here is a reminder of some of the upcoming events, be sure to mark them down on your calendar.

Tahoma National Cemetery Memorial Day Program - Monday May 30 at 1 PM. Note the time change for the program. The event will be at the flagpole assembly area. The keynote speakers are retired Lt. Cmdr. Bob O’Neal and Don Murphy, Director Memorial Program Services, Washington D.C. The program will last about an hour. Remember that parking is a premium and you might want to show up early.

Cruzin' To Colby car show - Doug Abramson, Jim Harper, and Bill Giese will be participating in the upcoming "Cruizin' To Colby" car show on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30. We hope to have our submarine float there. Doug let us know that there are already 325 cars registered for the show.

Smokey Point Rest Stop Event - This is set for June 10, 11, 12, and 13 at the Smokey Point (North) rest stop. Steve Shelton has the sign-up board ready. We hope that you will sign up for a shift during the four-day event. If you can't take on a shift, you can still help out by providing cookies and other snacks. Please contact Steve to volunteer or for more information.

Kirkland Independence Day Parade - On July 4, we are planning on marching in the parade with the float and the Silent Service Motorcycle Club. We've been doing this for several years and always have a good time.

Tolling of the Boat Ceremony - The ceremony is set for August 20 at the Kirkland Marina Park Pavilion. We are planning on a picnic before the ceremony and hope to have the Navy Band in attendance. Be sure to mark the date on your calendar!

USSVI National Convention - The national convention is set for September 5 - 11 in Springfield/Branson Missouri. You can find out more information on the convention website at: www.ussvispringfieldmo.com.

Tahoma National Cemetery Veterans Day Program - This program will happen on Friday, November 11.

Auburn Veterans Day Parade - This is set for Saturday, November 12. We are planning on marching in the parade with the base float, other submariners from the region, and the Silent Service Motorcycle Club.

2011 Christmas Luncheon - We have reserved the Seattle Yacht Club on Saturday, December 17 for our luncheon.

Base Raffle:
We want to remind you about the Seattle Base raffle. The raffle prize is a highly detailed, three-dimensional, submarine cutaway plaque. The winner can choose the submarine class displayed on the plaque, the current options are a Gato (SS-212), Balao (SS-285), Tench (SS-417), or Lafayette (SSBN-616). The company is working on other classes, so there might be more choices at raffle time. Raffle tickets cost $5 and the drawing will be held at the Tolling of the Boats Ceremony on Saturday, August 20. You do not need to be present to win, so be sure to pass this information along to anyone that might be interested in one of these beautiful cutaways. (Click on the photos to see a larger view)

Gato Class

Balao Class

Tench Class

Lafayette Class

 Binnacle List Updates:
Ted Taylor - Ted wanted to let us know that he is still "alive and looking down at the grass." Ted is on oxygen and has been keeping busy planning his memorial service. He would love to hear from his USSVI shipmates.

Bill Godfrey - Bill is having some liver and kidney issues.

Bruce Fisher - Bruce is still undergoing treatment for diabetic neuropathy on his foot.

Andrea Geisler - Andrea had a bit of a set back with her eye recovery. There is a small cyst forming in her eye that is causing problems.

May Presentation:
Our May presentation was by Capt. Angus McDonald on his book discussing the loss of USS Scorpion (SSN-589). He started off by talking about some of the other books on Scorpion's loss and giving his thoughts on their conclusions. These stories were what really spurred Angus to do his own research, write an article for the Naval Institute Proceedings magazine, and finally his own book.

After this introduction, he gave us the background on his own involvement in the incident. Angus was at the Pentagon at the time and assisted Dr. John Craven during his investigation. Angus discussed the different information and methods used to track down and eventually find the site of Scorpion's final resting place. He also discussed how he constructed his own theory about Scorpion's loss and the threads he tied together, all of which is covered in his book "The Scorpion Story: How She Was Lost."

Capt. Angus McDonald talking the battery on Mk 37 torpedoes

 After this initial presentation, Angus opened up the floor to questions from the meeting attendees. We asked many questions, getting Angus to further expand his ideas. It was an interesting presentation about an event that is still a sore subject for many submariners.

After the presentation, Angus sold and signed copies of his book. If you would like to purchase the book, each copy costs $25.00 and you can get them by contacting Capt. McDonald by e-mail or regular mail at:E-mail: CAKMcDonald@aol.com
Regular Mail:
Capt. Angus McDonald
PO Box 3331
Bellevue, WA 98009-3331