GOLD COUNTRY BASE. Gold Country Base Very Well Represented our National Convention.

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1 GOLD COUNTRY BASE August 2016 VOL MMXVI Issue 8 Our purpose is "Perpetuate the memory of our shipmates who gave their lives in the pursuit of their duties while serving their country. That their dedication, deeds and supreme sacrifice be a constant source of motivation toward greater accomplishments. Pledge loyalty and patriotism to the United States of America and its Constitution. Gold Country Base Very Well Represented our National Convention. Our Float which was on display in the main meeting room for the whole week was the Celebrity of the Show with a constant stream of Sub Vets admiring it with their cameras in hand. BC Pete Juhos received Robert Link National Commander s Award USSVI version of a Letter of Commendation from the National Commander. Clear the Baffles won 1 st place in our class as well as Overall Newsletter of the Year awards. The Base received the Golden Anchor Award for Base Development. Presented to one Base in each class that best demonstrated a leading role in recruiting and maintaining membership. Next Meeting August 27, hrs Meeting Starts 1300 hrs Folsom Veterans Hall 1300 Forrest Street Folsom, CA First Call to Morning Chow Monday September Brookfield's Sunrise Blvd & Hwy 50 in Rancho Cordova Inside Page 2- Commander s Corner Page 3- Officers Country Page 4 Lost Boats - August Page 5- Birthdays, Lighter Side Page 6- Booster Club, VA Information Page 7- July Minutes Page 8- Who We Are Page 9- News From National Page 10 Master Mariner Award Nomination Page 11 - Navy JROTC Page 1 Master Mariner Award Nomination Submission Deadline October 31 st Nominees will be members in good standing; who have, by his or her personal individual effort and participation during the preceding year (or years) have demonstrably contributed to the advancement and embodiment of the Gold Country Base and the USSVI creed and purposes. More Information contact Awards Chair Regy Bronner regybear@aol.com (916) (See Nomination Form on Page 10) 27 August: Navy JROTC visit to the Base meeting. (see history on page 11) 11 September: Nevada City Constitution Day Parade. (I will forward line up information as soon as I receive it) 31 October: Master Mariner Award Nomination Submission Deadline

2 Shipmates, Shortly after I completed last months Commanders Corner, I received word of two Dolphin Base shipmates heading out on Eternal Patrol: ENC(SS) William Vincent departed on 6/27/2016 and Past Base Commander ASC(SS) Clyde Cash Best departed on 7/9/2016. As DC, I attended funeral services on 7/20/16 in San Jose, CA with a generous measure of Dolphin & Mare Island shipmates, and presented the USSVI Eternal Patrol certificate to his family. Shipmates, Rest your Oars!! We Have the Watch!! At our Base meeting, I had the COB toll the bell an additional time for our shipmates on Eternal Patrol, calling each of them out. The Folsom Veterans Hall was a cool escape from the blazing summer heat. The eboard meeting had a full agenda. The Base Bylaws amendment has been approved by the District Commander, and is online at the Base website: Of the many updates, we ll offer Base Life Membership to Primary members. Please contact Membership Chair Tim Spoon for details. The election cycle for Base Commander & Base Secretary is near; a candidate for BC has been identified, and I m hoping Bill Hunt will be nominated and re-elected as Secretary. Check out Article X of our Bylaws. I appointed Max Schell (yes, he s changed addresses to Sacramento) as our liaison to the Titan Battalion NJROTC unit at Luther-Burbank High School. The NJROTC Cadets are scheduled to attend our August Base meeting to receive our bi-annual financial support, so let s show them our appreciation! During the July 4 th parade operational & safety issues on the submarine float-trailer were identified. The eboard prioritized options and voted unanimously to fund changing to diamond plate decking affixed with bolts, correct hydraulic jack release, retractable legs for trailer stability, and attachments for banners. We re seeking a resource to preserve & protect the decking material with a coating like Rhino-Liner or equal. Please reach out to your network(s) for either a low-cost option or donation to our veteran group. Our newsletter is an excellent advertising platform with broad readership. USSVI National Elections are open until 8/10/2016. Proposed amendments to the USSVI Constitution and two candidates for Western Region Director need review and ballot cast. I appeal to you; either go online to and log in and vote online; or utilize the paper ballot in the last edition of the American Submariner, and mail it to Tom Conlon, USSVI Election 8 Davis Ave, Harrison, NJ Our Base has 111 members, of which only 22 have cast ballots. Do the math: 19.8%. Let s aim for 50%. At mid-year, it s time to bring the Awards Committee online in search of the 2016 Master Mariner. Vice Commander Regy Bronner is the committee chair, previous awardees the selection committee. Its presentation will be at our Annual Holiday Dinner, so it s time to plan for that too. Since we filled the veterans hall to capacity. The Base discussed and voted to empower the eboard to select an offsite venue with a maximum per person cost of $50 (last year we paid $35/person, so we have a range to work with). A count of hands selected Dec 10 th, (Dec 3 rd is a back up). Should personal finances limit desired attendance, please let me know via phone or ; a few angels identified assistance. My fiancée Debbie offered to assist me in site location and negotiating a deal to be communicated to the eboard. Pride Runs Deep! Pete Juhos, Base Commander Page 2

3 Page 3 Kam Tour Part 3 Topside Both of the dry-dock shelters were open and we got to look in both. They were full of equipment for the SEALS. That was the tour but the Senior Chief we first met came off the boat and we talked for a good 15 minutes or more. I had been overwhelmed by the attention I had received on board. Lila has mentioned many times since; that the crew just wanted to see what kind of wheel chair I was using. Since I was old enough to have been a grandfather to most of them. We were now free and with our visitor pass we drove all over Sub Base. First we went to Beeman s Center for lunch. Then looking at all the boats that were in. Next to the WWII Memorial and then I climbed all over the old Parche sail despite the sign that said NO! What a day! In Christ, Howard Grover, Chaplin My thanks to Les; because he submitted his bio, we have a Who We Are page this month. I want to thank the members that have sent their Bio s. I really believe that this has been a great feature to help us get to know each other better. So if you have not done so yet please sit down, write it up and it to me jbarrywy@aol.com. It does not need to be in story form, I can do that part if you want me to. The national convention was great Bravo Zula to our sister Base (Corvina) for a job well done. I am very proud that Clear the Baffles won both 1st place in our division (Bases with 100 to 150 members) and the award for the Overall Newsletter of the Year I take great pride in the work I do to produce our Newsletter and can t wait to bring the award plaque to our next meeting to show it off and put it on our victory wall. This month at our base meeting we will be joined by members of the NJROTC unit that we support so I thought it would be a good time to write a history of our relationship with this for amazing group. (see page 11) Barry Wyatt, Editor/PAO First of all, I'd like to issue a sincere thanks to those who helped in the making it possible in having the sub float at the convention. Don Bell for towing it to, and Warren Wiederhoeft for towing it back. Having the float at the convention was the highlight of it's career. One would think it was a celebrity for the number of photographs taken of it. For me, it made all the blood, sweat, and tears over the last four years worthwhile. Also those members who helped set it up and take it down. I speak for Jerry also, I'm sure he would have been proud also. I enjoyed the convention as a whole, met members that I have not seen in decades. The information gained overall was valuable. I even brought home some Benjamin's. The resort was great, as were it's staff, which made it even more enjoyable. Thing's to think about on the base level the rest of this year. What can each of us do to make our base better. Harry Beach, Chief of the Boat "The 2017 USSVI Calendar will be available at the September meeting. The theme is "Classes of Submarines through History". Last Chance for you to your own Submarine Ink Pen? Stop by the Storekeeper table and check out this new item". If you need a new Boat specific hat or Boat patch stop by the table and check out my catalogue from the National Storekeeper. I have a newly designed Dolphin necktie for sale as well as Base logo coffee cups. Tim Spoon, Treasurer, Storekeeper, Membership

4 August USS Bullhead (SS-332) Lost on August 6,1945 with the loss of 84 crew members in the Lombok Strait while on her 3rd war patrol when sunk by a depth charge dropped by a Japanese Army p lane. Bullhead was the last submarine lost during WWII. USS Flier (SS-250) Lost on August 13,1944, with the loss of 78 crew members while on her 2nd war patrol. Flier was transiting on the surface when she was rocked by a massive explosion (probably a mine) and sank within less than a minute. 13 survivors, some injured, made it into the water and swam to shore. 8 survived and 6 days later friendly natives guided them to a Coast Watcher USS S-39 (SS-144) Lost on August 13,1942 after grounding on a reef south of Rossel Island while on her 3rd war patrol. The entire crew was able to get off and rescued by the HMAS Katoomba. USS Harder (SS-257) Lost on August 24,1944 with the loss of 79 crew members from a depth charge attack by a minesweeper near Bataan while on her 6th war patrol. Harder had won a Presidential Unit Citation for her first 5 war patrols and CDR Dealey was awarded the USS Cochino (SS-345) Lost on August 26, 1949 after being jolted by a violent polar gale off Norway caused an electrical fire and battery explosion that generated hydrogen and chlorine gasses. In extremely bad weather, men of Cochino and Tusk (SS-426) fought to save the submarine for 14 hours. After a 2nd battery explosion, Abandon Ship was ordered and Cochino sank. Tusk's crew rescued all Page 4

5 August Birthdays Jack Everett Mike McCoy Ric Reineman Ajax Smith Gary Thomas Gene Ratto Jerry Ellis A retired Submarine Sailor is 86 years old and loves to fish. He was sitting in his boat the other day when he heard a voice say, "Pick me up." He looked around and couldn't see any one. He thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice say again, "Pick me up." He looked in the water and there, floating on the top was a frog. The sailor said, "Are you talking to me?" The frog said, "Yes, I'm talking to you. Pick me up. Then, kiss me and I'll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. I'll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous because you will have me as your bride. I will be yours forever and do anything you want anytime you want me to The old sailor looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully, and placed it in his front breast pocket. Then the frog said, "What, are you nuts? Didn't you hear what I said? I said kiss me and I will be yours forever." He opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said, "Nah, at my age I'd rather have a talking frog." Gold Country Base Officers Base Commander Pete Juhos (916) dsv3.ss1@gmail.com Vice Commander Regy Bronner (916) regybear@aol.com Secretary Bill Hunt (916) bikerbill@sbcglobal.net Treasurer Tim Spoon (916) spoont3@aol.com Membership, Storekeeper & POC Tim Spoon (916) spoont3@aol.com Chaplain Howard Grover (209) hgrover@jps.net Chief of the Boat (COB) Harry Beach (530) Hbeachcp@aol.com Historian Warren Wiederhoeft (916) Warrenw599@comcast.net Newsletter Editor & PAO J. Barry Wyatt (916) jbarrywy@aol.com Web-Master Rick Reineman rick@reineman.com Holland Club Commander Pat Noone (916) patgrandpa@yahoo.com Eagle Scout Coordinator Gill Miller (916) gemcap646@ranchomurieta.org Awards Chairman Regy Bronner (209) regybear@aol.com Base Photographer Roger Paul (916) rapaulplus@msn.com District 5 Commander Pete Juhos (916) Western Region Director Robert J. Bissonnette (619) Rjbissonnette2011@gmail.com Page 5

6 Gold Country Base would not be able to continue to operate without the generous contribution from those Members, Wives and Friends who donate to Thank you Charles Almgren** Ed Alves** Bill Anderson Harry Beach Don Bell Wane Bellows Bill Bergstrom** Anita Bronner** Regy Bronner** Steve Buchroeder Harvey Canter Don Carman Don Carter** Dennis Cline Fred Dalbello Mike Daly Larry Davis** Mike Delleney Frank Elliott Jack Everett Harold Fisher** Bob Foerst** Jim Foster Howard Grover** Bill Hunt Tony Jacobs Burna Jameson Leslie Jamison Pete Juhos** John Kuester Richard Larson Alvin Lehman Steve Loomis Roger Lemon James Maclean** Jim Mahon** George Mathies** Mike McCoy Rev.Douglas McCready Chuck McKinley** Jerry Mitchell** George Miyao** Tom Moniz Tim Morris Pat Noone Paul Osborn Roger Paul Rick Reineman Max Rhinehart Bernie & Evelyn Ritscher Ron Rule** Joe Ryan** Lon Schmidt** Tim Spoon** Leonard Stefanelli Fred Stiesberg** Warren Wiederhoeft** Roy Wilhite Larry Williams** Ernie Woods** Randall Woolley David Worth Barry Wyatt** Frank Ziegelmann The VA is not only for health care but pays Compensation for conditions now that can be presumed to have started with an injury on active duty. While those listed are based on incidents that happened on land similar incidents have happened aboard ships. Such as falls, explosions, and fires. It is worth the time to consult with a DAV, VFW, or County Veterans Service Rep to find out if your injury does. Disabilities List: Service- Connected Conditions You ve probably wondered from time-totime what kind of disability warrants compensation from Veterans Affairs (VA). It s probably crossed your mind if any of your service-related accidents, or injuries, could possibly qualify for VA compensation, especially, if you have an ongoing ailment that requires medical attention. Injuries sustained during PT oftentimes get worse over time, and require constant medical attention. For example, if you ever twisted an ankle during PT, and the minor injury caused you to end up on quarters for a few days, and the injury was documented in your service medical records, you could possibly qualify for VA compensation today. Especially, if the injury has resulted in an arthritic ankle. Next Month A list of some of the disabilities that veterans have received compensation. Page 6

7 Gold Country Base Meeting Minutes Date, July 23, 2016 CALL TO ORDER: Meeting called to 13:02 by two alarms from the diving klaxon. Base Commander Pete Juhos read the USSVI Creed and Purpose and led the Pledge of Allegiance. INVOCATION: Base Chaplain Howard Grover gave the Invocation. TOLLING THE BELL: The Lost Boats for the month of July were read by the BC and Chief of the Boat Harry Beach tolled the bell for each Lost Boat; one additional toll was added in memory of our shipmates Cash Best and William Vincent and those on Eternal Patrol. MEMBER INTRODUCTION: There were 26 members and 1 guest in attendance. FORMAL REPORTS: TREASURER / MEMBERSHIP: Base Treasurer Tim Spoon reports the books are in balance. Gold Country Base does not publicly release financial information in the Newsletter. Any Base member can request a report from Base Treasurer via . Gold Country Base membership: 111 members in good standing. PAO / NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Barry Wyatt reported the following: USSVI Convention in Reno is fast approaching. Registration can be found at the USSVI website. The base will participate in the Constitution Day Parade, Sept. 11, in Yuba City. Luther Burbank High JROTC will perform at the August Meeting. The base will participate in the Elk Grove Veterans Day Parade this year. HOLLAND CLUB CHAIR: Pat Noone had nothing new to report. EAGLE SCOUT CHAIR: Gil Miller had nothing new to report CHAPLAIN REPORT / BINNACLE LIST: Chaplain Howard Grover had nothing new to report. OLD BUSINESS: Charter Day BBQ was held in lieu of the June monthly meeting. Base Bylaw review is complete. The revisions were ratified by the eboard and the bylaws will be published on the Base website. NEW BUSINESS Reggie Bronner was asked to explore nominations for this year s Master Mariner. Dates were proposed for this year s Holiday Dinner on Dec. 3rd, 10th, 17 th. Members decided that Dec. 10 th would be optimal. Location is yet to be determined. The Kap(SS) for Kid(SS) program is looking for a Chairperson. GOOD OF THE ORDER/COMMUNICATIONS: Discussions were held by the eboard regarding storage and insurance for the Base Float. Jerry Wentland proposed several improvements to the float. Max Schell volunteered to coordinate the interactions with the Burbank JROTC. Barry Wyatt has expressed interest in succeeding Pete Juhos as Base Commander. Base Booster received donations from Warren Wiederhoeft, Rick Reineman and Pete Juhos. Tom Rumsey won the 50/50 raffle. First Call to Morning Chow: 0930 August Denny s located at Sunrise Blvd. & Hwy 80 Next Base Meeting: August 27, 2016 MEETING ADJOURNMENT: Base Chaplin gave a closing prayer. Chief of the Boat surfaced the 1407 hrs. Submitted by Bill Hunt, Base Secretary Page 7

8 Les Mouse Jamison, STS2 (SS) qualified aboard the USS Greenfish SS-351 in I joined the USS Greenfish in Japan and we conducted a couple of West Pac s with a number of trips to the Vietnam waters. We were home ported in Pearl Harbor and then headed to Hunter s Point in San Francisco, Ca. While we were in the shipyards I was required to visit the Horse and Cow where I drank my dolphins. We relocated the USS Greenfish SS-351 to the east coast with a trip through the canal. We conducted a number of North Atlantic runs, Med Sea runs along a few Caribbean runs before I got out in I was married to Penny in 1974 and we have a daughter Nicole Demakas living in Rocklin, California, and a son Derek Jamison living in Chicago. We have four grandchildren Cassady, Dakota, Jack, and Kira. I graduated from Cleveland State University ( ) with a BA in accounting. I worked in the plastic industry and managed a number of plants at numerous locations including in Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic. I worked the last 10 years in Orlando as a Quality Manager in a plastic bottle plant and my wife worked at Disneyworld. I retired in April last year and relocated to Rocklin, Ca. along with my father-in-law Stanley Rasch (Korean War Vet). Page 8

9 My Last POC! Shipmates, This will be my last POC as National Commander. It has been an Honor and a Privilege to have served you as National Commander for the past 2 years. I have served USSVI as a District Commander, 2 term National Secretary, 2 term National Junior Vice Commander and as a one term National Commander. I would like to thank all of you for your support over these many years and I look forward to completing my service to USSVI as IPNC. After that I will become Al Singleman Jr. Regular Member and you will find me on my boat, the Blue Dolphin, during the spring, summer and fall months. I have made a lot of new friends and shipmates during my time serving USSVI and I tried very hard to improve USSVI and leave it in a better state than when I started. USSVI will be in great hands with John Markiewicz as National Commander and with the new E-Board. I have enjoyed my time in the many positions that I have served you and hope to see you again at future conventions and USSVI events. I wish all of you the best and good health. Pride Runs deep, Al Singleman, Jr NC 2016 Election Results and Stats are now posted on the USSVI Website. Shipmates, The 2016 Election Results along with the Base, District and Regional voting stats are now posted on the USSVI website under Documents/Organization on pages 2 and 3. Voter turnout Nationally was about 14% with one Region only doing 5.6%. We need to do better than this in the next election cycle. I would like to thank those members who took the time and interest in USSVI by voting in this year s election. BZ to all that voted! Pride Runs Deep, Al Singleman, Jr. NC 2016 USSVI NATIONAL ELECTIONS RESULTS National Commander John F. Markiewicz (Unopposed) 1411 votes 94% ELECTED Write-in votes 34 votes 2% National Senior Vice-Commander Wayne Standerfer (Unopposed) 1414 votes 95% ELECTED Write-in votes 28 votes 2% National Junior Vice-Commander William Andrea (Unopposed) 1414 votes 95% ELECTED Write-in votes 23 votes 2% National Treasurer Paul Hiser (Unopposed) 1414 votes 95% ELECTED Write-in votes 19 votes 1% National Secretary Raymond Paul Wewers (Unopposed) 1398 votes 94% ELECTED Write-in votes 27 votes 2% TOTAL VOTES ALL CANDIDATES 1495 Western Region Robert J.Bissonnette 239 votes 54% ELECTED James R. Denzien Sr 203 votes 46% Page 9

10 Master Mariner Award Nomination The Master Mariner award is presented to a Gold Country Base crewmember who meets the following requirements; Nominees will be members in good standing; who have, by his or her personal individual effort and participation during the preceding year (or years) have demonstrably contributed to the advancement and embodiment of the Gold Country Base, and the USSVI creed and purposes; by his or her dedicated service and support to the same, and to his or her fellow submarine veterans and associated members exemplifying the meaning and spirit of the word Shipmate. Factors to be considered in nominating and assessing members for the Master Mariner and Base Commander s Commendation must take into consideration their demonstrable achievement in: Good Character. Provides a model for others based on personal involvement in Base activities, including attracting and mentoring new members. Required dues paid on time; attends regularly scheduled Base meetings. Performed assigned duties in such a manner as to positively reflect on the Gold Country Base, and USSVI, with the general public. Performed one or more specific difficult tasks in the minds of the membership which are considered above and beyond. Please complete and submit the information below to the Awards Committee Chair, Regy Bronner, at regybear@aol.com prior to the submission deadline of October 31 st. Award will be presented at the Annual Christmas Dinner. Date (Please Print) Nominee Name Nominated by Reason for the Nomination (If additional room is needed please use the back side of this sheet.) Page 10

11 The history of our support for the Titan Battalion Navy Junior ROTC unit located at Burbank High School. In 2012 members of our base began an effort to expand our reach into the community by finding a youth group that we can support. We located a Sea Scout group in West Sacramento, then met with their advisors and toured their facility s. For several reasons this did not feel like a good match for our group. Next I reached out to the local U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps program but was never able to get a response so we kept looking. Finally, we discovered the NJROTC Unit at Burbank High Scholl and I invited them to participate as part of the color guard at our December 7 th Pearl Harbor Memorial ceremony. Their participation along with that of Max Shells NJROTC unit form Soledad High School and Cadets from the local Civil Air Patrol Squadron not only added structure and color but also created a formal military feel to our event. At our base meeting in January 2013 our members voted to support the Titan Battalion financially with a commitment of $1000 per year donation to be distributed in $500 semi-annual payments. The funds would be raised by passing the hat at base meetings. Since that time, we have continued to meet that obligation and the bond between our members and this amazing group has continue to grow. Under the leadership of Commander Tom Jones USN (Ret) and in one of the most economically depressed neighborhoods of our area almost 200 young men and women participate in this program annually. There is no doubt that the members of our base take great pride in knowing that our donations are going to a program that not only benefits our community today but helps to produce a path to keep our country strong in the future. It is my belief that our support of the Titan Battalion and its members is one of the most important functions we do as a group. Last year Commander Jones asked if we would be able to participate as a volunteer force in their annual Drill Meet. After meeting with Tom and his staff at the High School to do a walk-through I presented this request at the next meeting and our Gold Country Base members showed up in force to help. We staffed the front gate, worked in the snack bar and participated in the opening ceremonies. It is my hope that our members will support this event again this year with the same enthusiasm. With the potential of my responsibilities for the base increasing in the near future I asked Max Shell if he be willing to relieve me and take on the responsibility as liaison to this group. Max said yes and Pete made it official. Max is the perfect member of our base for this job and I know his energy and enthusiasm will keep our relationship with the Navy JROTC steaming full speed ahead. Page 11