Yakima Base in the News

Editor's Note: I always like to pass along news about other Washington state bases. Here is an article about Yakima Base's work on their new float. Gary Brown,Yakima Base member who works on community outreach, said the article has helped them identify two potential members in Ellensburg. Be sure to click on the float photo to get a larger view of the float model.

Submarine vets' group works on model sub
From The Daily Record

The U.S. Navy submarine service veterans working on a submarine model/display for parades and other civic activities are, from left, Bill Richards, Selah; Bill Millard, Desert Aire; Mark DeLagasse, Naches; Rob Jacobson and Doug Dahlke, both of Yakima; and Don Rairdan and Gary Brown, both of Ellensburg.

The Central Washington chapter of U.S. Submarine Veterans, a national nonprofit military vets group, is working hard to complete a 16-foot-long model of a U.S. Navy fast-attack submarine to be used in community parades and other civic displays and exhibits, according to a news release.

Work is ongoing in a group members’ airplane hangar at Desert Aire.

Members plan to take it to parades from Ellensburg to Tri-Cities, with other communities likely to be included. Members of the group hail from Ellensburg, Selah, Desert Aire, Yakima, Naches, Kennewick, Prosser, Quincy, Roslyn, Tieton and Wenatchee. The membership of the Central Washington based-group ranges from men in their 80s who served on World War II diesel-powered submarines, to younger men who qualified on new, modern boats.

When completed it will be painted black and will have a bronze screw. Added will be lookouts and an Officer of the Deck on the bridge, electric running lights (red for portside, green for starboard, a stern light atop the rudder), and an electric screw that will actually turn. And, of course, a klaxon diving alarm — the familiar A-OOO-GAAAH horn you hear in submarine movies — will be part of the model.

The model is 22 inches in diameter, 16 feet long and the sail is 18 inches high. Modern submarines of the same design (called fast attack boats since they’re not missile subs) are about 360 feet long and 30 feet wide.

Ongoing purpose
The stated purpose of the sub vets’ group is to perpetuate the memory of their fellow shipmates who gave their lives in the pursuit of their duties while serving their country so that their dedication, deeds and supreme sacrifice will be a constant source of motivation toward greater accomplishments, and to pledge loyalty and patriotism to the United States of America and its Constitution, according to the news release.

“We also provide a way for all submariners to gather for mutual benefit and enjoyment,” said Gary Brown of Ellensburg, a group member who served on the USS Nautilus, the U.S. Navy’s first nuclear powered submarine. “Our common heritage as submariners is strengthened by camaraderie and we support a strong U.S. submarine force.”

The organization also engages in various projects and activities that bring about the perpetual remembrance of those shipmates who have given the supreme sacrifice. The organization endeavors to educate all third parties they come in contact with about the services the submarine service performed and how the sacrifices made possible the freedom and lifestyle that’s enjoyed today in the United States.