THE ONE MC
United States Submarine Veterans, Inc. Northern Virginia Base
Volume 8, Issue 6 PRIDE RUNS DEEP October 2003
http://www.aaaspec.com/norvasubvets.htm
OUR CREED
“To perpetuate the memory of our shipmates who gave their lives in pursuit of their duties while serving their country. That their dedication, deeds and supreme sacrifice be a constant source of motivation towards greater accomplishments. Pledge loyalty and patriotism to the United States Government.”
Wardroom
Commander
Tim Shannon
Phone (703) 836-3251
e-Mail:
Vice Commander
Ray Stone
Phone: (703) 913-9843
e-Mail:
Secretary
Tom Perrault
Phone: (703) 902-7192 (Office)
Phone: (703) 359-2852 (Home)
Cell: (703) 217-6894
e-Mail:
Treasurer
Bill Kreher
Phone (703) 534-1972
e-Mail:
Chaplain
Al Friedrich
Phone (703) 370-4496
Storekeeper & Veterans Affairs Officer
Lou Maruzo
Phone (540) 727-7610
e-Mail:
Chief of the Boat (COB)
Robert “Dex” Armstrong
Phone: 703-921-0067
Base Commanders Log
Base Commander has nothing to repot this month except don’t forget our Meeting on November 8 at 1030 hours. Our guest speaker will be SUBLANT Force Master Chief Don Kultti. Also we will have our first Annual Chili cookoff. Come join us and bring you favorite Chile.
Green Board,
Tim
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THE ONE MC
United States Submarine Veterans, Inc. Northern Virginia Base
Boats Lost in October
Ø USS 0-5 (SS-66), 29 Oct 1923, loss of 3 men when sunk after collision with SS Ababgarez off Panama Canal. TM2(SS) Henry Berault received the Medal of Honor for his heroic deeds.
Ø USS S-44 (SS-155), 7 Oct 43, loss of 54 men when sunk by surface craft off Paramachura, Kuriles. 2 men survived were taken POW.
Ø USS Wahoo (SS-238), 11 Oct 43, loss of 80 men during Japanese air and surface attack in La Perouse Strait Northern Japan.
Ø USS Dorado (SS-248), loss of 76 men by an air attack in SW Atlantic.
Ø USS Darter (SS-227), 24 Oct 44, when grounded on Bombay Shoal off Palawan then was destroyed. All crew rescued by USS Dace.
Ø USS Seawolf (SS-197), 30 Oct 44, loss of 82 crew and 17 Army. Mistaken for Japanese submarine and sunk by friendly destroyers north of Moratai, Rep. Of Philipines.
Ø USS Shark (SS-314), 24 Oct 44, loss of 90 men, sunk by Japanese surface craft in channel midway between Haunan and Baslin channel.
Ø USS Tang (SS-306), 25 Oct 44, loss of 78 men when sunk by her own torpedo in north end of Formosa Strait. 9 taken POW. Commanding Officer Richard O’Kane received Medal of Honor.
Ø USS Escolar (SS-294), 17 Oct 44, loss of 82 men by possible Japanese mind in Yellow Sea.
Sailors Rest your Oars
Meeting Notes – October 2003
The Base Commander opened the meeting at approximately 10:30 AM at the. Because of the special nature of this meeting, normal business meeting procedures were limited.
Members in attendance were: Dex Armstrong, Al Friedrich, Lou Maruzo, Benny Parker, Tom Perrault, Willie Petruy, Rod Puffer, Mark Riethmeier, Art Rosen, Tim Shannon, Art Smith, Ray Stone, Mike White, Ron Williams.
Chaplain Al Friedrich gave the invocation and the Base Commander read the list of Boats Lost in the Month of October. A moment of silence for those shipmates lost during the month of September was observed.
The Base Historian then read a brief history of USS Dorado (SS-248) and what is known of the ship’s loss and last patrol.
The Chief of the Boat “COB” Dex Armstrong led the all hands in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Base Secretary provided a brief summary of the minutes of the September meeting. A motion was made to accept the minutes as provided in the September ONE MC. The motion was seconded and minutes approved.
The Base Treasurer was not available to discuss the current reports. However, based upon the accuracy of the reports submitted a motion was made to accept the reports. The motion was seconded and Treasurer’s report approved.
Discussion was held regarding the status of the following old business items:
· Update on USS POMPON
· The Base School Project
· The excellent September meeting covering the history of John Holland and the follow-on cookout, Ron thanks!
Discussion was held regarding the status of the following new business items:
· Base dues for 2004 and the opportunity to be included in the raffle for a free year’s base membership
· Nominations for all Base Officers will be entered at the November Meeting. Voting will be open between 8 – 29 November. All votes should be sent to the Base Secretary. Specific instructions will be provided by separate correspondence.
· November meeting will include SUBLANT Force Master Chief Don Kultti presentation on current and projected Submarine Force status.
· A motion was made and seconded to have a “Chili Cook-Off” following Master Chief Kultti’s presentation. All hands present voted “YES!” All cooks get started on your chili and bring the pots in for all hands to enjoy. Use creative names for your chili e.g. for diesel boater’s “Snorkel Flame-out Chili” for nuke’s “Reactor Scram Chili”!
· Additional topics were only briefly mentioned in preparation for the COB’s presentation on the Navy and Merchant Marine Memorial.
· Video tape of the September meeting with Benny Parker’s induction in to the Holland Club and “John Holland’s Presentation” will be made available by Ray Stone on DVD.
· Other items discussed included the next National Convention in Saratoga, NY; SubVets Pin, USSVI Web Site and Magazine. Note: A motion was made to purchase the new SubVets Pin for sale in the Base. Motion was seconded and approved.
Base Storekeeper: A source for the USSVI vest obtained is Bob DeVore. It is high quality with a base cost of $70.00, USSVI emblem, personal name, boat names and hull numbers are extra. Bob DeVore can be reached at 502-538-7853. His address is:
Bob DeVore,
1361 Streuger Lane
Mt. Washington, KY 40047
e-mail: Bobdevore74&hotmail.com
Excellent shirts, cups and lots of quality items including Dolphins and Strategic Deterrent Patrol Pin Carved Wooden Wall Plaques (20, 24 or 31inch) are also available through our Base Storekeeper.
The Submarine Ship’s Store,
301 Whitworth Dr.
Culpepper, VA 22701
Phone: (540) 727-7610
Fax: (800) 227-3099
Lou Maruzo
e-Mail:
Binnacle List: Please keep the following in your prayers.
· Art Esposito
· Ray Gillan
· Hap Fairchild
· Bill Kreher’s Dad
· Jane Gonzalez
Birthdays For The Months Of, October
James Bryant / 2 OctoberEva Poblete / 2 October
Joni Haggard / 13 October
Mike Kwiecien / 13 October
Margaret Hollar / 19 October
JoAnne Kelch / 22 October
John W. Wiles / 23 October
Lisa Capaci / 25 October
Lou Maruzo / 28 October
Louise Decker / 28 October
Submarine Events for October
October 12, 1900 / USS Holland (SS-1), the former Holland VI is commissioned.1916 / USS Skipjack (SS-24) is the first U.S. submarine to cross the Atlantic under her own power.
October 27, 1933 / The Washington Navy Yard makes 20 sets of steel, echo ranging equipment, a major development in SONAR technology.
1935 / The importance of Submarine operations in the Pacific, Caribbean, and the South Atlantic leads the Navy Department to install the first submarine air conditioning system on board USS Cuttlefish (SS-171), in spite of space constraints.
USS O-5 (SS 66)
October 18, 1923 - 2 Men Lost
USSO-5 (SS-66) was lost on 18 October 1923 with the loss of 2 men when it was sunk after collision with SS ABAGAREZ (United Fruit Co.) off Panama Canal.
· Keel laid down by Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA, December 8, 1916;
· Launched: November 11, 1917; Sponsored by Mrs. Frank T. Cable;
· Commissioned: June 8, 1918 with Lt George A. Trevor in command;
· Decommissioned: January 29, 1921;
· Recommissioned: June 3, 1921;
· Sunk October 18, 1923;
· Struck from the Navy List April 28, 1924;
· Raised and sold for scrapping December 12, 1924
During the final months of WWI, USS O-5 (SS-66) operated along the Atlantic coast and patrolled from Cape Cod, MA, to Key West, FL. She departed Newport, RI, 3 November with a 20-sub contingent bound for European waters; however hostilities had ceased before the vessels reached the Azores.
After the Armistice, O-5 operated out of the Submarine School at New London, CT, until 1923. O-5 then sailed to Coco Solo, Canal Zone, for a brief tour. On 18 October 1923, as O-5 entered Limon Bay, preparatory to transiting the Canal, she was rammed by United Fruit steamer Abagarez and sank in less than a minute, with the loss of 2 men.
Struck from the Navy List 28 April 1924, she was sold as a hulk to R.K. Morris, Balboa, Canal Zone 12 December 1924.
From the Northern Virginia Base Wardroom
Hoping you have a safe and fun Halloween. Don’t do to much trick or drinking.
The Cob’s Presentation
We are gathered here in what I have always considered on of the most serene and appropriate locations for a Naval and Maritime Service Memorial. Fitting because it is within the sight of both water and our Seat of Government, and a stones throw away from the pinnacle of our Naval Leadership.
The sight of this “restless wave” with a flight of gulls is appropriate to the culture of this great nation. It is not the kind of militaristic sanctuary that you find in all other parts of the world, no muscular grimacing Bluejackets poised to meet an invisible foe. No captured naval hardware, and no gallant Admiral representing some heralded long ago “ass kicking”.
Just things, just a monumental representation of memories all sailors have … the lazy flight of gulls … the motion of the sea and the sunrise and sunset of each passing day.
This is a location, unfortunately know to too few … that is the proper place for the men who were once lads, who loved their boats and shipmates to pause and reflect on those gallant sailors whose reward for their love of country led them to eternal repose at the bottom of the sea they loved.
We know … we know far better than those who never served inside steel hulls or heard the flap of a nylon ensign on a salt air breeze.
The men we honor here could have been any one of us for the unforgiving sea can call her mariners at any time and does not confine her human harvest to periods of combat.
I would commend the inscription on the backside of this monument to you. One reading will make the purpose of this memorial clear to you.
It is my personal hope that each of you will take from this place an enduring memory of this location. I would hope that you would take time to return with loved ones, possibly out of town visitors to reflect on the debt each of us owes to this fine gentlemen represented collectively here.
Some have forgotten what they did and they did it. Some, in a rush to embrace our former adversaries have tucked the record of their various accomplishments and the nobility of their loss and sacrifice in out of the way corners of our national memory.
We here must pledge ourselves to never forget them or the level of evil and criminal hatred they fought and subdued. The world … all men and women who daily fill their lungs with the air of freedom that their sacrifice made available to conquered nations, must never forget the debt owed whose officers, rag hats, Blue Jackets, able seamen, mates and assorted swabbies celebrated here.
The echoes of their bragging, singing and laughter has long since died in the silent halls of time. But they are still with us, in every thread of a peacoat, …. Every hull rivet of an American fighting ship … every set of initials scratched on the inside of a tin can gun tub … every beer glass ring a sailor leaves on the bar of a gin mill in far off places.
They will live among their down line salt water warrior descendents for as long as our ships put to sea to in harms way to protect the United States of America.
Those assembled here today, I give you the National Navy and Merchant Marine Memorial.
Dex
Note: Further information on the monument can be found in the following website:
http://www/dcmilitary.com/army/pentagram/archives/aug28/pt_e82898.html
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