VC-12 / VAW-12 Newsletter October 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 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. 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.
2009 Reunion in Dayton, OH was a great pleasure for the shipmates who came. The Air Force Museum there is truly a spectacle of American aviation. We had a private tour of the airplane they call an A1E but which we know as an AD5W “Guppy.” On the second day we were immersed in the saga of the Wright Brothers who were two most extraordinary men who truly deserve to be called the fathers of the airplane. Our excellent banquet speaker was Rick Riley, the chief of docents at the Air Force Museum who is, himself, a navy man. The ready room the hotel provided was a headquarters for renewing old friendships and recalling squadron memories.
Those attending were:
Allan L. Allridge from Virginia AE1 in 1966
Vincent L. Beaston and Sheryl from Pennsylvania ADR3 Wasp 1959-60
Dick Bray and Joyce from NY AT1 Saratoga 1959-60, Lake Champlain 1960 (re-elected to continue to be our CO)
Jim Campi and Claire from Pennsylvania, Forrestal 1960-1, Independence & Enterprise 1962
Ed Cercone and Elaine from Indiana AT3 Forrestal 1957, Wasp 1958
LCDR Joe Cullen now from NC with his brother, Chick. Pilot on Independence det of 1960
LCDR Lee Edmonston and Molly from Virginia, pilot on Randolph 1963, FDR 1963, Saratoga 1964
Randall Eidson and Frannie from nearby Springfield, OH ADR2 Lake Champlain 1960
CDR Dick Frederick and Patty NFO on Sara and Independence 1962-3
Dennis Gregor from Pennsylvania Saratoga 1958, Indy 1960-1
Jim Howard from Kansas Forrestal 62-3, Saratoga 63-4
Bob Howard and Carol from NY AT2 Saratoga 1960
(He and Dick Bray have been making calls on our impaired founder, Bob Marvin who lives in upstate NY and we all appreciate their devotion.)
Larry Jarvis from Washington ATR2 Randolph 65, America 66, Wasp 66-7
He laid claim to being the youngest present.
Senior CPO Bob Lehman and Janice from RI Saratoga 1959-60. He wore his uniform to the banquet with all those hash marks!
Tony Licalsi and Lorraine from Florida pilot Saratoga 1963-5 and later NWA
Don Lundberg from Pennsylvania with Jan Gregg (who is a master gardener) NAOC Lake Champ, Indy and Randolph 1959-61
Larry Martin from Virginia pilot Forrestal 1957-8
CAPT Dan Merkel from Ohio pilot America and Saratoga 1965-7
CDR Donald G. Moore and Elizabeth from Ohio, pilot America 1966
Chuck Pfeifer and Mildred from Pennsylvania pilot Midway 1955. He wore his LT uniform to the banquet but it was winter working greens. Since he was the senior officer attending in uniform, he dictated the uniform of the day, thus obviating the discussion between LT Smith (blues) and Chief Warrant officer Seykowski (whites) (grin.)
Frank Pollifrone and Diane from NY 1958
Bob Reutenauer and Kris from Florida AT Saratoga 1957-8
Ronald Schmidt and Charlene from Ohio pilot 1957-60 (Banquet only)
Joe Schneider from GA pilot Enterprise 1962, Forrestal 1964
Ben Schweining from Alabama AE3 FDR 1957, Saratoga 1958
CWO Ed Seykowski and Karen from Indiana, former CO of our reunion group, AT2 Lake Champ 1958-9, Essex 1960, Saratoga 1961
Billy Simpkins and daughter, Lauri, from Missouri, pilot Ticonderoga 1955
Roger Smith and Joan from Oregon pilot Randolph 1956, Saratoga 1957
John Sutch from KY ATR2 Randolph 1957, Leyte 1958
Robert Taylor and his son from Florida AC1 Coral Sea 52, Lake Champ 53
Paul Watkins and Milene from GA pilot Saratoga 1961-3, later Delta Airlines
Marshall Younts from Florida ADR1 Indy 1962
We have photos which I do not attach because so many of our recipients don’t have equipment that can receive them. Write to Dick Bray or me and we will e-mail you group and individual photos. We elected the incumbent officers after a plea for more to join the leadership group. Our support group continues to be Bob Reutenauer, Dick Frederick, Ed Seykowski, and Larry Martin. We stood for a moment of silence and thought for the memory of the late Speed Ritzmann who had been a faithful attendee at reunions and a member of our board. Our prayer goes out as well to the many men who served in VC-12 and VAW-12 who have taken the last cut.
There was vigorous discussion of possible sites for future reunions. No decision was taken. It is left in the hands of Dick Bray and his officers. San Antonio which was proposed a year ago is still possible. Chicago and the Great Lakes Naval Receiving Station were proposed. Rhode Island was sort of put on the back burner for when the Saratoga Museum ship is finally a reality—at least two years away. More enthusiasm was generated for Norfolk than any other site. Polly once again begged the assemblage to not consider Long Island, where he lives, lest we bring a hurricane to the area. Interested members are invited to communicate with Dick Bray. (address in the heading)
Note from Dick Bray:
From my perspective as chairman I think we had a very successful reunion in Dayton. Much of the credit should go to the Dayton Convention & Visitors Bureau and to the Holiday Inn and its staff.
I will be actively working on the location for next year’s reunion and hope to have a decision by year end. Any suggestions from members are welcome. We have kept the registration fee for the past six years at $100 per person but we will probably will have to increase it a bit next year as we had to cut into our surplus for the first time this year.
We are also open to suggestions on methods we could utilize to increase our reunion attendance. One of the best ways is for members to contact other members that they served with and urge them to attend.
LT Foster Hurley from Santa Fe NFO FDR 1966-7-8 was moved to write this poem
Hey, Doc:
I was moved to write the following after seeing the Intrepid return to its berth in NYC
Palmetto
Welcome home, Intrepid
snugly reberthed at west side piers
pausing to salute defunct towers
along her way
all hands on deck
tugs spraying fountains of tears
Refitted resplendent
and still displayed proud
in honored retirement
amongst her aged warriors my beloved e1b
from whose back i touched a cloud
Loyal workhorse
gawky comic Willie Fudd
purveyor of thankless
endless missions
watching patrolling extending radar horizons
black boxes in its blood
Never sexy nor heroic
largely taken for granted until
pitchblack pitching decks
under stormtossed emcon
bade chastened jet jocks
squawk timid
hello palmetto get me home
sudden trust in our radome
Cranking knobs on flickering
aps82 korean war vintage
hunched yellow grease pencil
notes dutiful each incoming blip
plot plot advance the cursor
set their station, monitor them
until cca brings them aboard ship.
roger ball ok3 attaboy e1b
Polly’s Granddaughter
We reported in the last newsletter on the exploits of Frank & Diane Pollifrone’s granddaughter, Rene Girard, age 16, in the rowing championships. They went all the way to the National championships and finished fifth.
Today (7/19/09) Renee & Lauren raced in the finals of the 2009 US Rowing Club National Championships, as one of the top boats in the nation, after a week of eliminations. They didn't medal; they came in fifth. Naturally the girls are disappointed, but we're proud they made it to the finals. They don't compete again till the fall. Renee will be a counselor at a diabetic camp & lifeguard at the swordfish club for the remainder of the summer. Also continue to check out colleges. Right now her interest is in the medical field & it must have a good rowing program, would like it to be in the northeast. We welcome any input. Thanks for all the support & good wishes.
Capt John Lavra
You might be interested in this site: nasgi.org Detroit Scroll down on the museum page, left column to FOTO, MUSKE-TARS, ALUMNI. On that page, scroll the right column to the JOHN LAVRA COLLECTION. Click on the small fotos for enlargement an' captions. I have to go to the "BACK" arrow to leave one foto an' go to the next one to keep from havin' to start all over again. At 83+yrs I'm not much for reunions anymore. Most of my friends an' close shipmates are gone; so I can't see drivin' 1,000 miles or so to meet with a bunch of strangers. My tour with VAW-12 was a rather short but enjoyable one. I had the FIP Prog on the FUDD at Pax Riv an' the Med cruise in INDEPENDENCE an' that was my tour.
GOD bless all Y'ALL,
Capt John John Lavra jlavra@earthlink.net
(If we hold another one in Virginia we must brace the Captain on the proximity to his home and make him “not a stranger anymore.” RGS)
Pete’s Model
LT Pete Weiland, Intrepid 1958 & 1960, received an AD5W model from his kids as a present. I have a photo for those interested. For those who want to know where to apply for one this is the address.
Motion Models Inc. 2141 N. University Drive #359 Coral Springs, Fl 33071-6134
800 866 3172
My son said it was not cheap but I did not ask how much it cost. I can say that they worked on it for several months. It is really a quality job.
Roger Smith rgs@coho.net
If you get this by post and have an e-mail address or can use a family member’s address, send me word, please.