June 2018 Meeting Notes

We started the June meeting with a visit from the VFW Post #2995 Commander. He told us about their upcoming efforts to support the troops and asked for help on these projects. You can expect emails about the upcoming projects.

We then moved to Tolling the Boats lost in June, followed by birthday wishes for our members. We followed that up with the Officer Reports and then the annual Holland Club inductions.

2018 Holland Club Inductions
This year Seattle Base added six new Holland Club members: John German - not present (USS Kamehameha), Bill Giese (USS Blueback), Earl Greening (USS Blueback), Scott Milne (USS Daniel Webster), Ken Murray (USS Theodore Roosevelt), and Steve Shelton (USS Razorback). 

Group photo of our Holland Club Inductees

The Holland Club is named after John P. Holland, designer of the first US Navy submarine. It is an exclusive group within the US Submarine Veterans organization, where the core requirement for eligibility is the designation “qualified in submarines” for a minimum of fifty years.

Bill Giese qualified on USS Blueback

Earl Greening qualified on USS Blueback

Scott Milne qualified on USS Daniel Webster

Ken Murray qualified on USS Theodore Roosevelt

Steve Shelton qualified on USS Razorback

Each new inductee received a certificate, card, patch, and challenge coin. Congratulations to all our new inductees.

Old and New Business:
Cabela’s Tulalip Armed Forces Day and Smokey Point Rest Stop Event Recap – We received a short update on our two events in May. Both events were successful and, together with the event in March, raised over $1,500 for Seattle Base. We’ll be looking at ways to use the donations for future Base events. So, if you have some suggestions for things to do, be sure to bring them up at a future meeting.

Kirkland Independence Day Parade – Once again, we are planning on participating in the Kirkland parade on the 4th of July. Parade plans are similar to previous years. We will meet near Kirkland’s Heritage Hall in the morning. The Kirkland Police will begin blocking roads near the parade route around 9:30, so you will need to be there early or come in from the north. Lunch will be served around 11:00 and the parade will start at Noon. Check the blog and newsletter for more details. We hope to see you there.

Summertime Base Picnic – We are planning our picnic for Seattle Base members, families, and friends on Saturday, July 21 at Al Smith’s place in east Kent. There will be grills and you should bring a main course for you and your guest, along with a potluck dish to share. We will have more information on this as we get closer to the date.

Seattle Base Tolling the Boats Ceremony Reminder – The Tolling of Boats will be held on August 18 at Kirkland Marina Park. We will start the ceremony at 10:30 AM and must be finished and all cleaned up by 2:30 PM, so that we don’t interfere with another event.

American Submarines Throw Raffle – Don’t forget about the raffle for the American Submarine. Raffle tickets are on sale now and will be sold throughout the year. The drawing will be done at the Holiday Luncheon on December 8. Raffle tickets cost $1 per ticket.

June Program:
Our program was a presentation by Brian Seguin of Puget Sound Honor Flights.

The Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. They transport veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – World War II survivors, along with those other veterans who may be terminally ill. Brian gave us some background on the organization and showed a video of a recent Honor Flight trip.

Brian talking about the Honor Flight network

The 3-day trip takes veterans to Washington DC to visit the World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War memorials. Along with trips to Arlington National Cemetery and other memorials in the area. They normally plan four trips per year. Brian gave us more information on how veterans can apply for the trips and how to volunteer to help out.

After the presentation, Seattle Base donated $400 to help support the organization.

Good of the Order:
John Baker’s memorial service is planned for Monday, July 9 at 2 PM at Tahoma National Cemetery. You can find more information at this blog post and we will post a reminder as we get closer to the event.

We hope to see you at the Kirkland Independence Day parade.