EXTRA, EXTRA, Read all about it...
The latest Perch Base Newsletter has hit the streets. Perch Base members should have received their copy via email, but the newsletter is also on the Perch Base website HERE.

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.

NAVY
Never Again Volunteer Yourself
Volunteers are needed for numerous positions at the USSVI National Convention in Tucson next August. Typical positions needed are members to collect admission tickets for the events or sell raffle tickets during the events. The events (such as the Welcome Aboard Reception) may last several hours, but the volunteer positions are only for one-hour each, so you can still participate during the events. Please review the list and pick a few empty green-shaded time intervals and volunteer to fill them.
Send your volunteer offers to ussvi.tucsonbase@gmail.com or webmaster@perch-base.org
The list of available volunteer positions is 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.

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 April 3, 1943, the USS Pickerel (SS-177), sailed off into history on her final and eternal patrol.
She was lost while on her 7th war patrol. She was lost off Honshū. The exact cause of her loss has never been determined, but her OP area contained numerous minefields.
74 men were lost.
"Sailors, rest your oars, we have the watch."
Visit the Perch Base Eternal Patrol page.

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.

ASSM Construction
At long last construction of the Arizona Silent Service Memorial (ASSM) is finally underway. The trapezoidal base and surfacing submarine modules are being built off site and will be transported to the memorial site for installation and finishing when the construction site at Wesley Bolin Plaza is ready.
The ASSM Foundation Committee had a site meeting with Sunland Asphalt & Const., and, Neil Urban from the Arizona Department of Administration on January 24, 2020. We reviewed our site plans which are 95% complete and Neil provided us some excellent feedback and we should be able to finetune our final plans and submit them to the state within the next two weeks. Once this is done, Neil said they should be able to turn it around and give us approval within two weeks. As soon as the ADOA gives us their approval, we want to have a Groundbreaking Ceremony. We must apply for a permit for this and all future events, which all need to be approved by the ADOA. All bureaucratic red tape but very necessary for the process.
Read more and see more pictures HERE.

Annual Awards Banquet
What happens to a styrofoam cup when you take it from sea level down to 16,400 feet below sea level? Les Parsons, CDR (ret), was the Keynote Speaker for our Annual Awards Banquet on January 11, 2020. He spoke of his experiences as Officer-In-Charge (OIC) of the deep submersible Trieste II.
Also, congratulations to Chuck Luna who received the "Sailor of the Year" award.
View more awards and pictures HERE.

Chuck Luna Visits Pearl Harbor
Perch Base USSVI Communications Officer Chuck Luna visited the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites with his wife, Laura, and mother-in-law, Gladys, over Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day 2019.
Chuck is also our Perch Base Newsletter Editor and Historian.
Generally, the photos include the USS Arizona (BB-39) Memorial, the USS Missouri (BB-36) Memorial, the USS Bowfin (SS-287), and the Pacific Aviation Museum.
Although the USS Bowfin submarine was open for tours, the Bowfin museum was closed. They are adding to it and when it reopens next year it will be the "Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum," not just the about the Bowfin.
View the pictures HERE.

Kenneth Meeks
Perch Base Member Ken Meeks, MMCS(SS) unexpectedly departed on Eternal Patrol on the evening of Friday, December 6, 2019.
Our condolences to his wife, Soon Young, his daughter, April, his son, Will, and the rest of the family.
The funeral chapel service was held at the Heritage Funeral Chapel at 12:30 PM on Tuesday, December 17 and burial service followed at 2:00 PM at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona.
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.

Perch Base attended the Pearl Harbor Day event on 12/07/2019 at the Wesley Bolin Plaza by the Arizona State Capitol to place wreaths during the ceremony.
We placed two wreaths. One for the WW2 Submarine Veterans and one for Perch Base.
View the pictures HERE.

Welcome Home!
Perch Base Life Member and Holland Club Member Don Unser and his wife, Marcia, recently returned from a tour of China. Note the Great Wall in the background of the picture.
Some of us joined the Navy and saw the world. The Unsers are on a second go-around.
They say they had a great time, but shied away from some occasional strange food and although there were some "normal" toilets, they weren't impressed with the common squatty potties. If you ever go to China, remember to carry your own toilet paper!
Don is our Perch Base Events Coordinator and Marcia is our Base Secretary.

Phoenix Veterans Day
Perch Base took the USS Phoenix float to the Phoenix, Arizona, Veterans Day Parade on Monday, November 11, 2019.
Bill and Carl still fit in their dress blues!
CAPT Pete Lumianski, USN(ret), one of the USS PHOENIX COLD WAR MONUMENT Board of Directors, "enlisted" a handful of teens to walk with us along the parade route and hand out flyers to install the USS Phoenix Sail and Rudder in the Steele Indian School Park.
View more details and pictures HERE.

Do We Have A Prayer? . . . YES!
Perch Base took the USS Phoenix float to the Black Canyon City Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, November 9, 2019.
Along the way, we stopped for pie and coffee at the Rock Springs Cafe. These GENTLEMEN from the Freedom Biker Outreach Motorcycle Ministry saw our group of Submarine Veterans and asked if they could say a prayer over us!
View more details and pictures at the Cafe and the Parade HERE.

Daisy Mountain (Anthem)
Perch Base took the USS Phoenix float to the Daisy Mountain (Anthem, AZ) Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, November 9, 2019.
18 members and family participated!
The parade route started at Memorial Drive adjacent to the Anthem Veterans Memorial. Each pillar represents one of the branches of the military and the sun lines up with the portals at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
View more details and pictures of the Parade HERE.

Veterans Heritage Project
Perch Base member Dick Noreika, Capt. USN (ret) encourages any submariners, but especially diesel boat sailors, to register for the Veterans Heritage Project. Many or our older sub sailors are sadly going on eternal patrol with stories that will be lost forever.
Contact Dick to get registered by emailing him at dicdic@msn.com, or snail mail to P.O. Box 5272, Carefree, AZ 85377-5272.
Students in the Veterans Heritage Project (formerly Arizona Heritage Project) from chapter schools have conducted nearly 1,000 interviews with veterans from World War I to Afghanistan. An important reason to collect these narratives is to preserve them for future generations with the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress in Washington DC, which has collected over 85,000 stories to date.

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."

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.