Bob Lents
"Honor Quilt"
Our Perch Base USSVI Holland Club and Life Member Bob Lents was awarded an Honor Quilt on December 17, 2019. Shipmate Robert C. "Bob" Lents, believed to be the sole surviving member of the crew of USS PERCH (SS-176), our Perch Base namesake, is 98 years old! The USS Perch was forced to scuttle herself after being mortally wounded in a depth charge attack. All crew members were picked up by the Japanese, and sent to Prisoner of War camps. Six crew members of USS Perch (SS-176) died as Prisoners of War. Bob lives at the Arkansas State Veterans Home at Fayetteville, AR, and was accompanied by the Snook Base USSVI membership for the presentation.
The quilt was sewn by Ms. Carolyn Grimes of West Virginia and presented by Ms. Susan Richmond, the Northwest Arkansas Coordinator.
See more pictures HERE.

USS Dorado
"Launching Ceremony"
Our Perch Base USSVI Life Member Captain Dick Noreika, USN (ret.) was moving from Phoenix, AZ, to Groton, CT and donated a USS Dorado (SS-248) Launching Ceremony Decanter to the Perch Base.
Sadly, after sea trials, the USS Dorado (SS-248) sailed from New London, Connecticut, on 6 October 1943 for the Panama Canal Zone. She did not arrive. Probable cause was a sinking by friendly aircraft thinking her a German U-boat.
Perch Base contacted the Dorado USSVI Base Commander Bob Fugit in Kansas. We realized that they might have a great interest in the decanter from their namesake boat on Eternal Patrol.
Read more and see more pictures HERE.

GROUNDBREAKING SPECIAL
The Arizona Silent Service Memorial (ASSM) is currently running an ASSM "Groundbreaking Special". These coins are now available to purchase for $20.00 each which includes shipping and handling anywhere in the U.S. They make great gifts for friends, family, and shipmates.
You can get yours today by visiting ASSM website and ordering at www.arizonasilentservicememorial.org. Be sure to include your shipping address.
One final note. The ASSM will be commencing onsite memorial construction at Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza the first week of August. If you have not ordered your personalized Memorial Paver, you need to do so now. The deadline for placing Memorial Paver orders is July 17, 2020. Visit the ASSM website for details.

Lest we forget to perpetuate the memory of our shipmates who gave their lives in the pursuit of their duties while serving their country. . .
76 years ago, on July 4, 1944, the USS S-28 (SS-133), sailed off into history on her final and eternal patrol.
Following a Hawaii overhaul S-28, on 3 July 1944, began training operations off Oahu. The antisubmarine warfare exercises continued into the evening of 4 July. As evening began contact between her and surface ships became sporadic and, at 18:20, the last, brief contact with S-28 was made and lost. All attempts to establish communications failed and a thorough search of the area failed to locate the submarine. A Court of Inquiry was unable to determine the cause of the loss of S-28.
49 men were lost.
"Sailors, rest your oars, we have the watch."
Visit the Perch Base Eternal Patrol page.

Captain Brad Veek Eternal Patrol
Perch Base Holland Club and Life Member Cdr. Eugene Bradford (Brad) Veek (USN, ret) departed on Eternal Patrol on June 16, 2020.
Our condolences to his brother Ed Veek, daughter Joan Weisenstein and the rest of the family.
Captain Veek was a dual member with Perch Base and primary member and Plankowner of Gudgeon base. He previously served as Gudgeon Base Eagle Scout Chair, Base Chaplain, Base Librarian, Base Treasurer, Base Storekeeper and Base Vice Commander.
Services have not been announced.
View the full Eternal Patrol Notice HERE.
SAILOR, REST YOUR OAR! YOUR WATCH HAS ENDED.
Your Brothers of the 'Phin Have the Watch.
Fair Winds and Following Seas, Shipmate.

ASSM One (Major) Step Closer!
The Arizona Silent Service Memorial completed an important step toward reality. The Arizona Department of Administration, the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission, and State of Arizona approved the engineering and code reviews submitted earlier this year.
The next step will be to have a construction planning meeting in the near future to put together a construction timeline. Previous discussions with the State of Arizona determined that placement at Wesley Bolin Plaza in front of the Capital Building would only be permitted while the State House and Senate are out of session. The Legislature adjourned on May 26 for the remainder of the year, which should permit construction to start anytime soon and might be completed in time to dedicate the Memorial near Veterans Day.
Read more and see more pictures HERE.

James W. Newman Eternal Patrol
Perch Base Plankowner, Holland Club and Life Member James (Jim) W. Newman departed on Eternal Patrol on May 28, 2020.
Our condolences to his wife Carolyn, son James S. Newman and the rest of the family.
Jim was a Plankowner member of the Perch Base USSVI and our first Base Commander. He also served many years as our Base Historian, as Western Regional Director in 1999, and has always been a substantial financial contributor to the Perch Base.
Jim Newman's Eternal Patrol Service was held Thursday, June 4, at 1:00 PM at the Phoenix Memorial Park & Mortuary.
View the full Eternal Patrol Notice HERE.
SAILOR, REST YOUR OAR! YOUR WATCH HAS ENDED.
Your Brothers of the 'Phin Have the Watch.
Fair Winds and Following Seas, Shipmate.

Eldon Hartman Eternal Patrol
Perch Base Holland Club and Life Member Eldon Hartman departed on Eternal Patrol on May 22, 2020.
Our condolences to his his wife, Jo; his daughters and sons-in-law, Cathy and Doug Laflan, Connie and Jim Walden, and Cindy Foster; 32 grandchildren; 41 great-grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends.
Eldon served on the USS Chivo (SS-341) from 1949 to 1950 and then on the USS Queenfish (SS-393) from 1952 to 1954, qualifying in 1953. He was in the U.S. Navy from 1949 to 1954 and discharged as a Fireman, FN(SS) having served in Japan, Hawaii, and in the Korean War.
Services were held on May 30, 2020 in Creighton, Nebraska.
View the full Eternal Patrol Notice HERE.
SAILOR, REST YOUR OAR! YOUR WATCH HAS ENDED.
Your Brothers of the 'Phin Have the Watch.
Fair Winds and Following Seas, Shipmate.

Tolling of the Boats
As you may have seen in Flash Traffic #5-4-2020, Public Events were not permitted at the National Cemetery of Arizona on Memorial Day. This included our Perch Base Tolling of the Boats Ceremony at the Mark 18 torpedo monument placed by the United States Submarine Veterans of World War 2.
This is the most important event each year for Perch Base to "perpetuate the memory of our shipmates."
BUT HAVE NO FEAR, WE HAD THE CEREMONY!
Your Webmaster, Perch Base Life Member Dan Marks, conducted a Tolling of the Boats Ceremony online and posted it to our Facebook Group and YouTube for all to see!
The Perch Base Arizona Submarine Veterans "Tolling of the Boats" ceremony can be viewed HERE on YouTube.

HAPPY 56th BIRTHDAY
The United States Submarine Veterans, Inc., USSVI, was chartered 55 years ago on May 22, 1964.

2020 USSVI Convention Cancelled
In light of the current national pandemic emergency, the USSVI board of directors has voted to cancel the 2020 National Convention in Tuscon. This convention will be rescheduled for August 2023.
The BOD felt a number of uncontrollable circumstances made having the convention not in the best interest of the organization.
If you are due a refund for your convention registration, please give the convention committee time to issue checks and get those refunds in the mail.
Please address any questions or concerns to Jon Jaques, the National Senior Vice Commander, via email at jjaques@bellsouth.net.

COVID-19 Flyover
Perch Base USSVI Life Member and Webmaster Dan Marks viewed the May 1, 2020, Flyover to honor Arizona’s front line COVID-19 responders.
"We are honored to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the healthcare workers, first responders, military members and other essential personnel who are working on the front lines to combat the coronavirus," said Brig. Gen. Todd Canterbury, 56th Fighter Wing commander. "We want everyone to be able to look up from their homes and enjoy the display of American airpower, resolve and pride while keeping frontline responders in their hearts."
A formation of 15 aircraft, including seven F-35A Lightning IIs and seven F-16 Fighting Falcons flying out of Luke Air Force Base and one KC-135 from the 161st ARW (Air Refueling Wing) conducted the flyover.
View more photos of the Flyover HERE.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
The “Submarine Force Birthday” is April 11. Holland VI was purchased by the U.S. government for the sum of $150,000 on 11 April 1900 from John Phillip Holland's Holland Torpedo Boat Company. She was considered to be the first truly successful craft of her type. Holland VI was modified after her christening, and was renamed USS Holland (SS-1) when she was commissioned. The United States Government soon ordered more submarines from Holland's company, which became the Electric Boat company. These boats were to be known as the Plunger class. These became America's first fleet of underwater naval vessels.
Some Submariners consider April 11 to be "Wear Your Dolphins to Work Day."

USS Arizona Memorial
At Salt River Fields
Perch Base USSVI Life Member and Webmaster Dan Marks visited the new USS Arizona (BB-39) Memorial Gardens at the Salt River Fields. The memorial was opened with a dedication ceremony on Friday, February 21, 2020.
View more photos of the memorial HERE.

ADM Archie Clemins, USN (Ret.)
Some of you may have served with Admiral Archie Clemins. It is with deep regret that we inform you of the passing of Admiral Archie Ray Clemins, U.S. Navy (Retired) on 14 March 2020 at age 76. Admiral Clemins entered the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps in September 1962 and served as a submarine officer, retiring in 1999 as the Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Feet.
He served as the Executive Officer on submarine USS PARCHE (SSN-683,) and his commands included submarine USS POGY (SSN-647,) Submarine Group SEVEN, Training Command Pacific, and SEVENTH Fleet, for operations which earned two Presidential Unit Citations and two Navy Unit Commendations.
View the Eternal Patrol Notice HERE.
SAILOR, REST YOUR OAR! YOUR WATCH HAS ENDED.
Your Brothers of the 'Phin Have the Watch.
Fair Winds and Following Seas, Shipmate.

New Officers Installed
Congratulations to our Base Officers that were installed at the March 2020 meeting.
George Woods was reelected as Base Vice Commander and is shown in the upper photo being installed by Vic Van Horn, the District WD1 Commander.
Joe Trotter was appointed Base Treasurer and is shown in the lower photo being installed by Vic Van Horn, the District WD1 Commander. Joe is taking over the Base Treasurer position from Dave Heighway, our previous Base Treasurer since June 2015. Thanks to Dave for his participation as Base Treasurer for the past 5 years.
View more photos of the installation ceremony HERE.

We Trained For This!
With all the recent activity and cancellations as a result of the Corona Virus, this speaks for itself!

Rogers Ranch School
Perch Base took the USS Phoenix to a static display at the Rogers Ranch Elementary School on March 6, 2020, in Laveen for their "Read Across America Day."
The students enjoyed the presentation and had lots of good questions.
The teachers and administrators were very pleased that we came.
We were so busy with the kids that I forgot to take more pictures!

Herb Herman
It is with a sad heart that I report that Shipmate Herb Herman went on Eternal Patrol at 12:30 AM this morning [March 1, 2020] according to his son Craig.
Our condolences to Craig and the rest of the family.
Herb will be cremated and interned at the national cemetery at a later date. We will issue a Flash Traffic when we have more information.
View the Eternal Patrol Notice HERE.
SAILOR, REST YOUR OAR! YOUR WATCH HAS ENDED.
Your Brothers of the 'Phin Have the Watch.
Fair Winds and Following Seas, Shipmate.

USS Bugara
"Change of Command"
Perch Base Submarine Veterans (USSVI) Webmaster and Life Member Dan Marks presented a painting to Chuck Bishop of the USS Bugara (SS-331), his qual boat, on February 7, 2020.
I guess you could call it a "Change of Command" ceremony.
Dan won the painting as the high (and only) bidder at the live auction during the Western Regional Roundup in Laughlin, NV, in March, 2019. Upon the discovery that Chuck, a Life Member at the White Mountain Base, qualified on the USS Bugara in 1961, Dan offered the painting to Chuck, who was honored to "give it a good home."
Read more and see more pictures HERE.

Laveen Parade
Eleven Perch Base members participated on February 1, 2020 in the 20th Annual Laveen Community Parade.
This picture displays some of the Perch Base members posed with the Parade Grand Marshals from the Laveen Lions Club.
This year's theme was "Getting Stronger Every Day."
64 entries participated in the parade. The base was awarded First Place in the Motor Vehicle Group.
See more pictures HERE.

Déjà vu all over again
When was the last time you used a sextant? The Perch Base Life Member & Webmaster, Dan Marks, was frustrated that he never gets to see the Anthem Veterans Memorial when it is lined up with the Great Seal every November 11 at 11:11:11 AM because we are always participating in the Phoenix Veterans Day Parade when the solar alignment occurs.
But have you ever considered that the same solar alignment repeats for any solar position twice a year, except the summer and winter solstices? So the Webmaster put on his Quartermaster hat (he happens to be a nuke ET) and determined the sun’s azimuth and elevation at 11:11:11 AM on Veterans Day, then went to the astronomical tables and determined the other date to achieve the same solar position is January 30th at approximately 11:40 AM (January 31 in a leap year).
Read more and see more pictures HERE.

WANT TO CARPOOL?
NEED A RIDE?
The image, above, shows that we have members all over metropolitan Phoenix. Left-click on the image for a larger view. If you are a Perch Base member and would like to consider carpooling, you are willing to pickup another member, or you need a ride to meetings or events, send an email to the webmaster at webmaster@perch-base.org.
The Board of Directors will attempt to match you with another nearby member who has similarly asked to carpool, or is willing to pickup another member. The Board will then provide the name, email, and phone number to the interested members that can then get in touch with each other to make specific arrangements. We are not publicly posting names or personal information to maintain privacy.
Keep in mind that if you wait until the last minute to request a match-up for a particular event, we may not be able to respond in time.

JOIN US AT A MEETING.
We meet the second Saturday of every month at 1200 hours (noon if you’ve been out a while) at Dillon's Restaurant, 20585 North 59th Ave, Glendale, AZ 85308-6821 (Left-click address, or the map above, for a Google map to Dillon's.) Come at 1100 for time to "socialize."
NOTE: Several recent meetings have been cancelled due to the coronavirus. Check our SAILING ORDERS page before "dropping in" on a meeting!

BOAT SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM
The purpose of the Boat Sponsorship Program (BSP) is to make the active duty submarine force members aware of USSVI and provide them with information about our activities through sponsorship of the American Submariner to the various Submarine related organizations. After all, these force members represent the future core membership of USSVI.
Perch Base is a sponsor, but did you know that individual members may sponsor each Fast Attack Submarine and/or each crew of the Boomers? Magazines are also sent to VA hospitals, NROTC units, schools and other places. The cost is $30 per year for a total of 12 magazines (three each of the four annual volumes.)
Our Perch Base Life Member Vic Van Horn is the USSVI BSP Program Manager. Let’s make Vic proud. Check your copy of the American Submariner to sign up for the program.

Lt. (jg) George Herbert Walker Bush
In the upper picture, above, the crew of the USS Finback (SS-230) rescues downed pilot, Lieutenant Bush of Torpedo Squadron 51 on September 2, 1944 after Japanese antiaircraft defense shot down his torpedo bomber between the northeastern end of Minami Jima and the southern tip of Chichi Jima. (Left-click the picture to enlarge.)
In the bottom picture, Rescued pilots and the crew and officers of the Finback. Lt. (jg) George Herbert Walker Bush is second from the left in the front row.
Bush, and 4 other rescued aviators remained on the Finback as "guests" while she tracked and attacked convoys, endured depth charges from Japanese escort ships, and sank two ships (an oiler and small cargo ship). The five ended their stay on the Finback on Midway Island on September 29, after 29 days aboard the submarine (and crossing the international date line).
Read more about how the submarine service performed "Lifeguard Duty" during WW2 in the National Archives HERE.