Perch Base Submarine Veterans (USSVI) February 2026 Meeting included a presentation of the "Sailor of the Year" award to our Chief of the Boat (COB) Kirby Anderson. The award was announced at the Annual Awards Banquet on January 17, 2026, but Kirby was unable to attend because he was out-of-town on business. Congratulations to Kirby Anderson on this well-earned recognition.

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Perch Base Submarine Veterans (USSVI) February 2026 Meeting also included a presentation by Artist Steve Voita. Steve rode the USS Phoenix (SSN-702) as a civilian and created a painting (7 feet wide) that shows the bridge and sailplanes. Additionally, the painting includes the light cruiser USS Phoenix (CL-46), which survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and participated in World War II in the Pacific. She was later decommissioned on 3 July 1946 after WWII and then sold to Argentina on 9 April 1951. She was renamed ARA General Belgrano, and ultimately was sunk during the Falklands War in 1982 with the loss of 323 lives by the British nuclear-powered submarine HMS Conqueror, the only ship ever sunk in combat by a nuclear-powered submarine.
Steve's original painting hung on display in the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in 1989 as an "Exhibit Honoring Past and Present USS Phoenix Naval Ships and Crews" when the City of Phoenix adopted the USS Phoenix (SSN-702). The original painting was later removed from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and is now on display at the Pleasant Valley Veterans Retreat in Young, Arizona, east of Payson. A smaller copy of the painting is on display in our meeting room at Dillon’s KC BBQ Arrowhead, 20585 N 59th Ave, Glendale, AZ 85308.

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Perch Base Submarine Veterans (USSVI) February 2026 Meeting also included Vice Commander, Don Robertson's, presention " Initial Response Phase 1941 - 1942 (S-Boats & Fleet Boats)."
The presentation was sourced from a YouTube podcast by Seth Paridon, Bill Toti and Thomas Boulton Fargo, Admiral, USN, former USPACOM.

The following slides were presented by Don Robertson as a PowerPoint presentation.

As a final note, Webmaster Dan Marks commemorated that the Perch Base Submarine Veterans (USSVI) February 2026 Meeting was held on the 114th anniversary of Arizona's Statehood Day, February 14, 1912, by wearing a "Cac-Tie" to the meeting. A classic example that (this) Submariners have no shame!

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