VC-12 / VAW-12 Newsletter July 2009
Website: www.vc12vaw12.org All the old newsletters are there;
Members list: www.vc12vaw12.org/members/members.html
Contact me for rosters of the detachments you were on. We are continually adding to this database. (rgs@coho.net)
We are now at over 2000 members and know of 800 deceased men in addition.
Chairman: Richard Bray 765 Hosmer Rd Churchville, NY 14428 585-538-4252 Cell: 585-576-0595 leighbray@hotmail.com
Past Chairman: Edward Seykowski 607 N 70 E Valparaiso, IN 46383 219-462-3636 edseykow@juno.com FAX 219-462-2168
Treasurer, Scribe & Membership Chairman for dues:
Roger G. Smith, MD Office: 561 SE Oak St Hillsboro, OR 97123
Home: 34464 SW Firdale Rd Cornelius, OR 97113 503-628-2229 home; FAX 503-693-9109; Cell 503-407-8436 rgs@coho.net
Dues are $10 a year for those who get the newsletter by post. New Year starts at the reunion. Send in your dues now or e-mail me for a status report on your account.
Many who get the newsletter by e-mail offer dues and we are grateful. We send e-mail newsletter to all who wish to see it, regardless.
We are 2000 members. There are a lot of people we have still not found.
We have listed groups by detachments. Send me your request and I'll share your detachment list with you so you can contact the guys you want to meet at reunion. Tell us who you remember and let us help you find him/them. We have too many new contacts since the 2008 reunion to list them all. We have many incomplete detachment rosters. Send for yours and help me complete the lists. I call a lot of guys who have no interest, but if their old buddies call them, that may be a different matter. Our membership continues to grow. We have found people through the Navy Memorial Foundation and Military.Com.
People who send me old newsletters from the squadron and old orders, social notes, watch bills, cruise book lists and rapid recall bills have been very helpful.
Every once in a while I find a new member referred from a member who recalls where his old buddy is now.
Surprisingly few men that I have heard of have taken the roster of their cruise and made calls to old friends. That is another way to improve the list. Many of those rosters have names with incomplete addresses. Studying them may yield clues to where they may be now—wives’ names, birthdates or birth years, hometowns etc may be very helpful in finding men with more common names. Let’s have some stories of contacts made among old shipmates.
2009 Reunion will be in Dayton, OH
Time: Thursday afternoon Sept. 17 through Sunday morning Sept. 20.
Place: Holiday Inn Dayton North, 2301 Wagner Ford Road, Dayton, Ohio, 45414,
Phone: 937-278-4871, Room Rate $85 plus tax
Contact: Dick Bray, 585-576-0595, leighbray@hotmail.com
The hotel is located at 2301 Wagner Ford Road which is at exit 57B on I75. The reunion will run from Thursday afternoon Sept. 17th to Sunday morning Sept. 20th.
Reservations at the hotel can be made by calling the hotel at 1-937-278-4871. Identify yourself as a member of the VC-12/VAW-12 reunion group. The room rate is $85 plus taxes. This rate is good from Wednesday night Sept. 16th through Sunday night Sept. 20th. The room allotment is protected until 30 days prior to reunion which is about August 17th so make your reservations early.
You can also make reservations by accessing a WEB site that we have set up for our reunion. If you wish to make reservations for nights prior to the 16th of Sept. or after the 20th you will have to call the hotel directly. The WEB site address is:
http://events.ichotelsgroup.com/DPRD-7NWUTL/DAYNO/website/
The registration fee will be $100 per person ($200 per couple). The fee covers:
* Overhead costs
* Snacks, sodas and coffee in the Ready room
* Welcome Reception Thursday evening with Buffet
& cash bar
* Banquet Saturday evening– cash bar
* Breakfast buffet in the hotel Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings
Engraved name badges/city shingles must be ordered through Dick Bray prior to the reunion.
A 2" by 3" engraved members badge can be ordered for $9, a 1" by 3" guest badge can be ordered for $8 and a 1/2" by 3" city shingle can be ordered for $4 each. Contact Dick so that the correct information will be engraved. Dick can send a picture of the engraved badges if anyone wants to see them before ordering. Badges/city shingles can be prepaid with reunion registration or paid at sign in.
We can acquire city shingles for past reunions. If you attended any past reunions and desire a city shingle or shingles let us know which ones.
To attend the reunion here are the necessary steps.
Make hotel reservations at 1-937-278-4871 or Go to WEB site: http://events.ichotelsgroup.com/DPRD-7NWUTL/DAYNO/website/
* Contact Dick Bray at leighbray@hotmail.com or rbray1@rochester.rr.com phone 585-576-0595
Provide me with:
Names(s) and number attending plus contact information
Tour desires if any:
A1-E viewing at AF museum Friday @ 8 am
Dayton museum tour Saturday
Banquet dinner choice Saturday
New York Strip Sirloin or Grilled Breast of chicken Honey Dijon Glaze
Badges choice:
Engraved/Hand Written City shingles
Make check payable to VC-12/VAW-12 and send to
Dick Bray 765 Hosmer Road Churchville, NY, 14428
2009 VC-12/VAW-12 Reunion Schedule
Rowing Championships
Frank & Diane Pollifrone’s granddaughter, Renee Girard and her partner Lauren Woodhul, both age 16, have been competing this spring and summer versus increasingly stiff competition in pair sculls rowing events. They are from East Moriches, NY and are still in high school. They won the Junior 2x NY state scholastic doubles on May 10 in Saratoga. Competing in the US Youth nationals on Lake Harsha near Cincinnati 6/12-14 they qualified for the nationals. On Melton Lake near Oak Ridge, TN July 15-18 they finished 5th in the finals of the US Rowing Club national championships. They’ll be back!
I can’t send color pictures and stories to this list because a number of recipients don’t have equipment to receive them, but I’ll send to any who ask. rgs@coho.net
Bombing Derby
Have you been told of the time that a Willy Fudd crew won a bombing derby while on Saratoga? True story!! One of the crew members, if I remember correctly, was Al Davis, who resides in Williamsburg, VA.
I can only tell you what I heard (and remember) about the bombing derby as I was not there. Seems that the Airwing was conducting a SINKEX and none of the tactical aircraft were hitting the target. On a lark, the Willy Fudd crew flew over the target ship with the rear hatch open, and one of the crew dropped a MK-76 practice bomb and scored a hit. When they returned to home base after the cruise they were presented with a MK-76 bomb painted in the detachments burgundy color and an inscription in white paint naming them the Airwing bombing derby champs. Al could probably confirm or correct the story. I was not there when the bomb was dropped, but I did see the award bomb.
CDR Rich Minter
Centennial of Naval Aviation
On 8 May 1911, Captain Washington Irving Chambers, United States Navy, officer in charge of aviation, prepared the requisition for the Navy’s first aircraft to be purchased from aviator and inventor Glenn H. Curtiss. After 97 years, Naval Aviation has grown from a tactical afterthought and support capability to a primary instrument of our national security.
From the Curtiss A-1 Triad, to the F/A-18 Super Hornet, from the USS Langley (CV 1) to the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), Naval Aviation has scored an impressive list of achievements in peace and war. The first crossing of the Atlantic by air, victory at the Battle of Midway, and the first American in space, to name a few, put Naval Aviation at the forefront of our national destiny. The Centennial of Naval Aviation kicks off January of 2011, and continues as a year-long celebration with a variety of events worldwide! Visit local aviation museums – enjoying
past and present Naval Aviation culture, view the educational displays, and help us to honor the men and women who forged Naval Aviation into the military might it is today! Enjoy many events scheduled throughout 2011 including air shows, flyovers, special demonstrations, static displays and industry booths. For the latest information, rich culture and educational materials, visit the Commander of Naval Air Force’s website at http://www.cnaf.navy.mil/centennial/.
This is the first of a number of periodic newsletters that will be issued by Commander, Naval Air Forces as the Centennial year of 2011 approaches. Here’s what is inside Volume 1, Issue 1!
- 2011 National Event Schedule- Squadrons in Profile- Profiles in Courage- Centennial Force Leadership