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Plankowner
Posts: 9164
Location: Upper lefthand corner of the map. | Subject: Got thinking about this...
... having just past my 50 year mark and joined the Holland Club, got me thinking. That the very first Holland Club member could not have been until very late 1950 or 1951 the soonest!!!! Only 67 years ago!!! I know two USS Holland SS-1 crew members were still alive in 1947. Just trivia.... |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 619
| Subject: RE: Got thinking about this...
USSVI was created by Joe Negri in Groton when the only subvet organization was SVWWII and I think you had to have made a war patrol in WWII to be eligible for full, not associate, membership. Joe formed an organization, USSVI, where everyone qualified in subs could be a full member.USSVI was formed somewhere around 1946.
Back in the early 70's we formed the NJ base at the Ling site. The WWIIers who had a base there too, and were more numerous then us then deprecatingly called us "INC's". Anyway, they're gone and we're still here, which was Joe's intent, that is to form a lasting organization and not a last man standing club.
The oldest member of USSVI that I know of was Harold Minnich who retired CWO right after the war. He didn't qualify for SVWWII since he never made a war patrol but ran the radio shop in Panama for the entire war.
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Plankowner
Posts: 9164
Location: Upper lefthand corner of the map. | Subject: RE: Got thinking about this...
While in New Construction at EB I remember someone, no idea who, asking me if I would be interested in joining USSVI. That was circa 1965/6. I declined. Little did I know I would later join and end up being a "base officer" 
Seattle base had a member, Tom Rice, now deceased, who had qualified on the S-32 in 1935. He retired after 30 as a full Cdr.
We still have a number of WW II vets 4 of who were just at our recent Tolling of the Boats. All in their 90's now.
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1268
Location: Hopewell Junction NY | Subject: RE: Got thinking about this...
AtoZ - 2017-08-28 10:20 PMUSSVI was created by Joe Negri in Groton when the only subvet organization was SVWWII and I think you had to have made a war patrol in WWII to be eligible for full, not associate, membership. Joe formed an organization, USSVI, where everyone qualified in subs could be a full member.USSVI was formed somewhere around 1946. Back in the early 70's we formed the NJ base at the Ling site. The WWIIers who had a base there too, and were more numerous then us then deprecatingly called us "INC's". Anyway, they're gone and we're still here, which was Joe's intent, that is to form a lasting organization and not a last man standing club.The oldest member of USSVI that I know of was <B>Harold Minnich</B> who retired CWO right after the war. He didn't qualify for SVWWII since he never made a war patrol but ran the radio shop in Panama for the entire war.
"MR. Minnich" was a Scoutmaster, along with my father, in River Edge NJ where I grew up. I was also school-friends with his son, Harold, Jr. who used to show me B&W photos of submarines from his father's collection. He also had some gruesome photos of Japanese executing Chinese that stuck in my memory for some time. |
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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 2672
Location: New Jersey | Subject: Paint scrapers
Steve,About 6 years before I landed in the N jersey base, I visited the Ling and was told I could join, but could only be an associate, (or words to that affect) and that they were always in the "market " for paint scrapers & compartment cleaners. I said see ya later pal. I would assume that may have been one of the WWll vets. |
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Plankowner
Posts: 9164
Location: Upper lefthand corner of the map. | Subject: RE: Paint scrapers
Yeah, there was a lot of that going around I hear.
We still had WW II vets aboard Flasher in the 60's and they said the only difference between what we did and and them was we didn't fire torpedoes. The patrols were just as intense. Most of us didn't know since we didn't know how WW II patrols went. We just thought "this was normal". |
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1268
Location: Hopewell Junction NY | Subject: RE: Paint scrapers
Runner485 - 2017-08-29 11:07 AMSteve, About 6 years before I landed in the N jersey base, I visited the Ling and was told I could join, but could only be an associate, (or words to that affect) and that they were always in the "market " for paint scrapers & compartment cleaners. I said see ya later pal. I would assume that may have been one of the WWll vets.
You are probably correct.
My 1st connection was to a USSVWWII Chapter and they were conducting a picnic that I was all pumped up to attend. They seemed less than thrilled when they saw I was a generation younger than them.
They wanted to commemorate their gathering by having a group photo taken of the event for publication in POLARIS.
Guess who was handed the camera? |
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Got thinking about this...
