July Meeting Minutes

We started the July meeting with introductions followed by the Tolling of the Boats for July, birthday wishes for our members, and officer reports.

Old and New Business 
Float Appreciation - Base Commander Doug Abramson gave gift certificates to Jim Harper and Karl 'Dutch' Krompholz (Dutch was not in attendance and Jim will give him his gift certificate) for all their work getting the base float back into parade shape. It took a lot of work and they did a great job on the new trailer and float. BRAVO ZULU to Jim and Dutch. (Note: after the presentation Doug gave the bill for the gift certificates to Treasurer Jim Harper).

Doug thanks Jim for all the work he and Dutch did on the float.

Independence Day Parade Recap - We shared a few stories from the Kirkland parade and Jim Harper had pictures to show. Don't forget you can see pictures here on the blog. It was a great event and Bob Opple has invited the organizers for the veteran's portion of the parade to the Tolling of the Boats ceremony in August.

Smokey Point Rest Stop Event Recap - This year's event happened at the start of the week, so we didn't get the normal traffic at the rest stop. We did earn around $435 this year (that's after expenses). Thanks to Steve Shelton for organizing the event and to all the volunteers that helped out.

USSVI Memorial Plaque - Pat Householder reminded us that the USSVI plaque is set to be dedicated in 2014 at the Navy Memorial in Washington D.C. for the 50th anniversary of USSVI. USSVI is still looking for donations to cover the cost of the plaque and the Seattle Base will match donations (up to $250 total). Additionally, members that donation $125 or more will receive a replica plaque, pictured below, that is similar to the one being installed at the Navy Memorial.

Replica memorial plaque

Save the Clamagore - As many of you may have heard, the museum at Patriot's Point in South Carolina does not have enough funds to do maintenance on the Clamagore. If money cannot be raised for the work, the Clamagore will probably end up on the scrap heap or as a artificial reef. The Clamagore Veterans Association is working to get donations to fix up the boat. They think they will need around 3 million dollars for all the work and to set up a maintenance fund. Please think about donating to fund.

USS Clamagore at Patriot's Point

You can donate at the website http://www.savetheclamagore.com/ or by sending your donation by check or money order to:
Save The Clamagore
c/o George Bass
110 River Birch Drive
Salisbury, NC 28146.

Tom Rice Memorial - On August 8 at 1:00 PM, Tom Rice's family and friends will be gathering to spread his ashes at the Sol Duc River bridge north of Forks. If you are interested in attending or would like more information, contact Jim Harper at 425-357-6485.

New Book from Don Ulmer - Seattle Base member Don Ulmer has come out with a new book titled "Ensure Plausible Deniability" continuing the story of his previous submarine books. Base Storekeeper Bill Geise will have copies of the book for sale in the ship's store for $15.00, with a portion of the price going to the base treasury.

Don Ulmer's new book

2013 Calendars - The USSVI 2013 calendars are available for ordering. The calendar, titled "The Victors", honors the World War II U.S. submariners and their boats. You can order your copy directly from the USSVI National Storekeeper or get a copy when they come in to the Seattle Base ship's store.

USSVI National Elections - Don't forget to get your votes in for the 2012 USSVI National Elections. You can vote online through the USSVI National website or by paper with the ballot in the American Submariner Magazine. We had paper ballots available at the meeting and can bring more for the August meeting. Ballots must be received by August 31, 2012.

Seattle Base COB Ralph Sterley casts his ballot

Upcoming Events 

Lockwood Chapter Picnic - The Submarine Veterans of World War II Lockwood Chapter is having a picnic at VFW Post 2995 on Wednesday August 8 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Everyone is invited to attend.

Tolling of the Boats – The Tolling of the Boats ceremony is set for Saturday, August 18 at the Kirkland Marina Pavilion. We are planning on grilling burgers before the ceremony and everyone is invited to attend. Be sure to invite your family and friends to this important memorial ceremony. Lunch will start around 11:30 with the tolling ceremony planned for around 1:00.

 Navy Birthday Celebration - VFW Post 2995 is planning to have a dinner to celebrate the Navy's Birthday on October 13 and they have invited us to join them. We will have more information about event as it gets closer.

Holiday Luncheon - We will have our annual Holiday Luncheon at the Seattle Yacht Club on Saturday, December 15. Be sure to mark the date on your calendar. It is always a fun time and this will probably be the last year we will be at the Seattle Yacht Club.

July Presentation 
The July program was a presentation by Ric Hedman on the USS O-2, which is the submarine featured on the Dolphin insignia.

O-2 being launched at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

Ric related how the O-2 was the only U.S. Navy submarine completely built in Bremerton. The O-class submarines had many improvements compared to earlier submarine classes and continued to serve as training boats during the early part of WWII. The O-2 is a historic Washington state boat and we discussed adopting the boat as the Seattle Base boat. Let us know what you think about the idea of adopting the O-2 (Note: USS Bonefish was assigned as the Washington state memorial boat and we will continue to share it as the memorial boat with the other Washington state bases).