October 2004 Newsletter

MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Subic Bay Marines is to perpetuate memories of our duty in the Philippines and to foster camaraderie among Subic Bay Marines at an annual reunion. The Subic Bay Marines will serve as a role model for all Marines, past, present and future.

We will honor our commitment to this mission until there is no longer a Subic Bay Marine standing.

NEW PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Let me start by giving a hearty “OORAH” to Bill Brod, Dave Coe and their wives for doing such an outstanding job in arranging the 2004 reunion in Norfolk, VA. The side trips to Colonial Williamsburg, Camp Allen, the Norfolk Harbor Cruise, the MacArthur Museum, Norfolk Naval Base, Nauticus and the Battleship Wisconsin were both informative and fun. The food was great. But the highlight of every reunion is the banquet and this year was no exception. The items we auctioned off, along with the 50-50 raffle, brought in over $1,000.00 for the organization. Thanks to all for your generosity. It was good to see so many new faces, and I hope that they will continue to come to the reunions and support our organization. For me, the best part is always the camaraderie and good times shared by friends, old and new. I hope the new members felt the same warm welcome I felt at my first reunion in 2001. I want to take the time to wish George Lunt a speedy recovery, and let him know we had a hard time carrying on without him. We all thank George, as well as Ron Becker, for their years of service to the Subic Bay Marines as President and Vice President. And I want to thank everyone for the vote of confidence you have given me in choosing me as your new President. I will do my best to work hard on your behalf to move our organization forward. And now, on to Branson.

THE 12TH ANNUAL REUNION OF SUBIC BAY MARINES
was held from Wednesday September 29th through October 3rd, 2004 at the Hilton Norfolk Airport Hotel, Norfolk, VA.

Many thanks to Bill Brod and Dave Coe, the reunion coordinators. All was super and a good time was had by all. A number of attendees took advantage of the optional tour to Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown on Thursday. Friday was a very interesting tour of U. S. Marine Forces, Atlantic. Specifically, the Marine Corps Security Force Bn. Not only did we see some new and very interesting equipment and weapons available to this fast reaction force, we dined in the mess with the FAST troops. An interesting group of young men. We are in go hands. Saturday was the Spirit of Norfolk Harbor Cruise and a visit to theMacArthur Memorial. The optional tours were completed Sunday with a riding tour of the Norfolk Naval Base Tour and Battleship Wisconsin.

As usual, the Hospitality suite was an excellent place to visit, renew old acquaintances and make new friends, to tell lies and sea stories while enjoying a libation of your choice. The usual photo albums were viewed and those with digital cameras provided many photo exhibits on CD’s/laptop computers, of the March 2004 Subic trip and other photos of past reunions. The following Subic Bay Marines and their guests were in attendance Ken & Avelina Alley, 67-68 & 69-70, CA; Tony & TJ Amundsen, 60-62, CA; Fred Axthelm 57-58 & Betty Anderson, IN; Jim & Joan Bassett, 59-61, CA; Pat & Gloria Battinelli, 51-53, CT; Ron & Marcy Becker, 51-53, FL; Chuck & Zennie Bohn, 55-56 & 59-63, CA; Bill & Barbara Boots, 57-59, IA; Lou & Sally Bottino, 68-71, NC; Bill & Jean Brod, 53-54, CT; Bill & Pat Brown, 53-54, AZ; Jim & Margaret Byrum, 50-51, FL; George & Mary Checkers, 46+-48, CT; Dave & Eleanor Coe, 53-54, PA; Berl & Lilia Covington, 60-62, NC; Bob & Mary Crenshaw, 74-76, SC; Pete & Georgette Diaz, 45-47, FL; Dave & Nita Earley, 72-73, OH; Fred & Pat Eberhard, 60-61, NY; Walt & Nancy Ehrlich, 53-57 & 83, CA; Jim & Clara Elmore, 53-54, GA; Curtis & Bertha Erickson, 66-68, NC; Carl & Connie Frascona, 58-60, CT; Bill & Priscilla Frazier, 59-61, MO; Skip & Dolores Garrett, 52-55, GA; Billy & Helen Goodman, 45-47, MO; Mark & Diane Harrison, 72-73, NY; Jim & Leticia Hernandez, 69-70 & 71-72, CA; Bill Huggins 53-54, & Kay Brewton, FL; Stan Jones, 66-68, FL; John Laccinole, 56-57, CA; Duane & Joy Little, VA; Duane & Linda Magnan, 65-66, WA; Larry & Dorothy Mauro, 55-56, CA; Vern & Betty Pitts, 50-51, CO; Jerry & Etta Rice, 56-57, VA; Cletus & Ashley Ritenour, 55-56, VA; Dave Seiler, 59-61, FL; Margaret Slate 51-53, & Warren Slate, NC; Brian & Cathy Sommers, 78-81, PA; Jim Thomas, 63-65, WV; John Thomas, 70-73, FL; Dick & Audrey Velnetske, 50-51, WI; Chuck Vitek, 67-69, VA; John Walter, 66-68, MA; Bob & Ludy White, 76-77, IL; Marge Wilson 59-61, Richard & Susan Wilson, & Michael & Sandy Wilson, MD; Dick & Josephine Wolfe, 70-73, GA; and Steve & Marie Yagasits, 64-66 & 72-74, FL.

THE ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING
was held Saturday October 2, 2004, Vice President Ron Becker presiding. An election was held for officers with the follow results. Steve Yagasits was elected President, Chuck Vitek was elected Vice President,Jim Bassett was re-elected secretary, Larry Mauro was re-elected Treasurer, and Bill Huggins was elected Director at large.

Bill Huggins briefed on the plans for the Branson Reunion in 2005 and Jim Hernandez did the same for the 2006 reunion in San Diego. Discussion was held regarding the 2007 reunion to be held somewhere in the “east”. Bill Huggins and Peter Diaz will have info on several Florida sites for discussion and selection at the 2005 business meeting.

The following notice appeared in the last Newsletter and we got several responses. Please reread the following and if you can help in any way, PLEASE contact the Secretary.

A 60 year old Subic Bay Marine from Dec 65 thru Jun 67 advises he was exposed to Agent Orange, improperly stored. He now has cancer, has lost his right kidney, urethra, and part of his bladder. His claim with the VA has been denied. The VA claims no Agent Orange was stored on or at Subic Bay. If anyone receiving this notice has information about Agent Orange being stored on or at Subic Bay, please notify the Secretary as soon as possible and I shall transmit your address, e-mail, or whatever to the Marine that desperately wants to be in contact with you. Thanks.

TAPS
We regret to announce the death of the following Subic Bay Marines:

George B. Bell, 11-56/08-59, Colonel, Commanding Officer. Ret’d Col Bell of St Maries, ID died Dec 10, 2002. Sam Houston reported.
Charles Silver, 04-53/06-54, SSgt, Sep Gd Co – Ret’d CWO Silver of Sun City West, AZ died Aug 26, 2004. Bill Brown reported.
Randall W. Gravenor65, SSgt. Ret’d 1stLt Gravenor of Bogart, GA died Sep 11, 1992. Chuck Vitek reported.
Walter E. Bussey, 62, SgtMaj. Ret’d SgtMaj Bussey of Ruskin, FL died recently. Leatherneck & Fred Axthelm reported.
Francis E. Naeglen, 49, PFC.Mr Naeglen of Bristol, CT died October 2003. Daughter reported.
Mchael J. Bertini, 3-87/3-89, MSgt, “A” Co. Ret’d MSgt Bertini of Jacksonville, NC died Feb 21, 2004. Sister reported.
Gregorio Basco, 55-56, Sgt, HqCo. Ret’d SgtMaj died 9-15-04 in Oceanside, CA. Wife Margie reported.
Ben Brown, 45-47, PFC. Ret’d Capt, USMC died July 2003 in Rockville, MD. Peter Diaz reported.

Some of you may know Ret’d SgtMaj Chuck Bohn, 55-56 & 59-61. He spent some time in HqCo as a Sgt and then went to Clark AFB as Marine Liaison NCO. Heand his wife Zennie recently returned from Athens, Greece during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games where they played the proud grandparents to the hilt.

Actually, they might not have been quite so happy had their granddaughter, Natalie Coughlin, not qualified for the 2004 US Olympic Team and had she not won 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals, and one bronze medal. Natalie is a swimmer and a very good one. As a member of the Cal Berkeley swim team, one of the top 10 swimming programs in the country for the past 8 years, records are nothing new for her. Natalie has been setting records for years. She is the only woman in the world to have swum the 100m backstroke in under a minute, and she has done it three times. A shoulder injury kept her out of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. She was expected to win as many as six medals at the World Championships in Barcelona, but a viral infection made her feverish and nauseous most of the week. But, in 2004 she came on strong in Athens and won very big time as follows:

The Medals:    GOLD for the Woman’s 100m Backstroke.
                        GOLD for the Woman’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay – Natalie swam the first relay. The time for this Gold broke a 17 year record by the East Germans before drug testing!!
SILVER for the Woman’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay – Natalie swam the 2d relay.
SILVER for the Woman’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay – Natalie swam the 1^st relay.
BRONZE for the Woman’s 100m Freestyle.

To see more about Natalie and her swimming accomplishments, enter Natalie Coughlin in Google. Congratulations to Natalie, her proud parents, and her proud grandparentswho both spent time in Subic Bay.

Chuck & Zennie attended the reunion in Norfolk and when they left, they were going to Indianapolis to watch Natalie swim in the World Short Course Meet. We all wish her continuing Good Luck in her quest for more medals.


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If you have an e-mail address and received this Newsletter by U.S. Mail, the Secretary does not have a current e-mail address for you.

Your help is needed.Please take a moment and do the following:
If you have not already done so, PLEASE forward your e-mail address to jimsbm@cox.net

If you use “block sender”, etc, or other devices that will not let you receive e-mail, PLEASE put jimsbm@cox.net as a sender you will accept from.

PLEASE include jimsbm@cox.net in your Address Book to advise of address changes, etc.

SECRETARY NOTES
Good News. Chuck Vitek, our “finder” of lost Subic Bay Marines is back at work. Please check your old PCS orders or rosters from your PI tour and send them to him at 8184 Ships Curve Ln, Springfield, VA 22153-1833 or by e-mail at chuckvitek@cox.net.

Newsletter. We are still planning to send as many Newsletters by e-mail as possible. It is hoped that when we get this up and running, we can provide more info in a more timely basis. However, to work really well, we need your current e-mail addresses. If you got this by e-mail, we have it. Please keep us current on changes. If you got this Newsletter by mail, If you have an e-mail address, will you please forward your e-mail address to jimsbm@nctimes.net

Dues. Our dues year runs from January 1 to December 31. For those that say they don’t know when dues are due or otherwise procrastinate, this is probably the time. If you are philosophically opposed to paying dues, you may wish to make a voluntary contribution (to defray expenses for the web site, periodic Newsletters, etc., in lieu of dues). The Subic Bay Marines will appreciate it. Please send checks or money orders to: Subic Bay Marines, c/o Larry Mauro, Treasurer 4117 Knollglen Way, San Jose, CA 95118-1834.

THANKS to all who all who have paid dues or made a voluntary contribution during 2004!

E-mail. The new e-mail address for the Secretary or for regular Subic Bay Marines business is tjimsbm@cox.net. Please make a note of it. If you are sending an e-mail to the secretary, you could help considerably in trying to get through the; "pile of stuff"; by doing the following: PLEASE include (a) your name in addition to your e-mail address in the From line and use (b) SUBIC BAY MARINES in the subject line. Otherwise, it could easily just disappear into the trash bin, unread, as I do not open things anymore that I cannot readily identify
Job Opportunity.
The last Newsletter reported that after 8 years on the job, the Secretary of the Subic Bay Marines was looking forward to finding someone willing and able to take over the Secretary job. The response has been totally underwhelming. The job remains open and as previously stated; if anyone has any interest what so ever please, double please, contact the Secretary for additional info, etc.

SUBIC BAY MARINES WEB SITE
As noted before, our web site is a work in progress. We now have a new web master who is in the process of making some changes. We will have a “new look” we think you will like, we will have a Bulletin Board where the latest info will be posted (the first thing you heard in most units was “read the Bulletin Board daily”); and we should soon have the Subic Bay Marines roster on the web site also. Due to privacy and other considerations, your street address, telephone number and e-mail address will not be on the roster. If you see someone you know, and want to contact them, e-mail the Secretary at jimsbm@cox.net and you will be put in touch. Check it out. Remember, if you don’t have a computer, probably everybody has a local library that can get you on line with www.subicbaymarines.com. Check it out.Sign the Guest Book. Keep your eye on our web site. Changes are on the way!

We also wish to thank Lee Bliss 82-84, our former web master for all his efforts. As many of you know, he is a member of the Kansas National Guard, has been recalled to active duty and has made a number of trips to the Middle East. Thanks again Lee.

SUBIC BAY MARINES WEB SITE
Check it out. Sign the New Guest Book. Keep your eye on our web site. http://subicbaymarines.com. Changes are on the way!! Hopefully the entire roster will be available for you to research your Subic Bay friends.

SOMETHING NEW – CHECK IT OUT

To receive a copy of the "Subic Bay Marines Newsletter" by mail, contact: Mr. Jim Bassett 3417 Las Vegas Drive Oceanside, CA 92054-3830 Phone: (760) 757-3836 Jim Bassett.

If you have copies of the missing Newsletters, please send a copy to: Rick Reynolds, webmaster, (818) 700-8221 or email:webmaster