Whidbey Crosswind, August 30, 2019

Whidbey Crosswind The Puget Sound Veterans’ Monthly | September 2019

Moon mission Whidbey man reflects on Apollo career ❚ pg. 3

SERVING WHIDBEY ISLAND’S VETERANS, ACTIVE DUTY AND RETIRED MILITARY PERSONNEL AND THEIR FAMILIES

Supporting NAS Whidbey

Photos by Laura Guido/Whidbey News Group

Navy supporters wave their signs at passing cars on Highway 20 in Oak Harbor the afternoon of Saturday, Aug. 17. See the story on page A4.

Bob and Clair Eberle came from La Conner to support the “We Love the Navy Rally” Saturday, Aug. 17, in Oak Harbor. The rally was held as a show of support for Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

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People with Alzheimer’s can still enjoy having visitors

Don’t let Dementia or Alzheimer’s rob you of pleasant visits with your friend or family member. It takes a little practice but it’s entirely possible to experience rewarding visits and have a rewarding conversation with them. Here are a few simple tips from the Alzheimer’s Association to help improve your next visit.

Limit visitors to 1 or 2 people at a time.

Too many people can be overwhelming.

Schedule visits for the time of day when your older adult is usually at their best.

Minimize distractions by keeping the environment calm and quiet. Turn off the TV or loud music and ask any non-visitors to go to another room.

Keep your tone and body language friendly and positive.

Don’t speak too loudly.

Make eye contact and stay at their eye level.

Introduce yourself even if you’re sure they must know you. “Hi Grandma, I’m Joe, your grandson.”

Speak slowly and in short sentences with only one idea per sentence. For example: “Hi Mary. I’m Jane, your friend.” or “What a beautiful day. The sunshine is nice, isn’t it?” or “Tell me about your daughter.”

Give them extra time to speak or answer questions, don’t rush the conversation.

Use open-ended questions because there are no right or wrong answers.

Be ok with sitting together in silence. They may enjoy that just as much as talking.

• Follow their lead, don’t force conversation topics or activities.

• Validate their feelings. Allow them to express sadness, fear, or anger.

• Enter their reality. Go with the fl ow of the conversation even if they talk about things that aren’t true or don’t make sense.

• Share and discuss memories of the past.

They’re more likely to remember things from long ago.

• Come prepared with an activity, like something to read out loud, a photo album to look at, or some of their favorite music to listen to.

• Give hugs, gentle touches, or massage arms or shoulders if the person gives permission and enjoys it.

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DON’T • Say “do you remember?” This can cause anger or embarrassment.

• Argue. If they say something that’s not correct, just let it go.

• Point out mistakes. It just makes them feel badly and doesn’t help the conversation.

• Assume they don’t remember anything.

Many people have moments of clarity.

• Take mean or nasty things they say personally. The disease may twist their words or make them react badly out of confusion, fear, or anger.

• Talk down to them. They aren’t children and you should show the proper respect.

• Talk about them with other people as if they’re not there.

Apollo alumnus celebrates 50th anniversary of lunar landing recommended for the lunar program after the aircraft company won a contract from NASA. The new company was named Grumman Aerospace Corp.

By LAURA GUIDO

N

lguido@whidbeynewsgroup.com

ot many people can say astronaut Alan Shepard checked out their wife.

North Whidbey resident Joe Farina can. It’s one of the hundreds of stories he collected during his long career.

“Look at her,” Farina said, pointing to a photo of himself and his wife posing with the famous American astronaut.

“He wasn’t looking at me!”

Farina is a down-to-Earth guy, but his work was anything but. The former member of the launch team for Apollo missions recently returned to Whidbey Island from the 50th anniversary

“‘What do I know about space?’” Farina recalled asking his manager at the time. “‘What do they know about space?’” he said his superior responded.

At this point, Farina was in his early 20s and a newlywed and had to tell his wife Carole that he’d been selected. That moment presented itself when the couple was caught in a snowstorm in upstate New York. He asked how’d she feel about moving to Florida, and she replied, “I’d go tomorrow.”

Photos by Laura Guido/Whidbey News Group

North Whidbey resident Joe Farina stands among some of his awards from his long career. One of the plaques was awarded to him from NASA for his work. celebration of the first moon neath the Saturn V rocket. 18-year-old began his first in which he “beat metal” by landing at the Kennedy His out-of-this-world day at Grumman Aircraft day and took classes at night.

Space Center, where he career trajectory began in Engineering Corporation He must have impressed wined and dined with a select 1963 on the day of his high on Long Island. He entered at least one of his managgroup of individuals under- school graduation, when the an apprenticeship program ers, because Farina was

Farina arrived at the Kennedy Space Center for the first time in January 1968; he was 22 years old.

From that moment, he felt the pressure as the country’s fate in the space race rested with him and the thouSEE APOLLO, PAGE 4

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APOLLO

Navy supporters rally in response to lawsuit

CONTINUED FROM page 3 sands of others employed in the Apollo program.

By LAURA GUIDO

The Russians were ahead and the threat of KGB operatives gaining intelligence on NASA’s progress was constantly present — at least that’s what Farina and the others were told at orientation.

lguido@whidbeynewsgroup.com

Farina gave logistical support for the lunar module launch team.

He ensured every critical part had spares available and if something went wrong, he personally delivered the part to the correct engineer for failure analysis.

Sometimes those engineers were located far away, and he wasn’t allowed to let the package with the parts leave his sight, he said.

The job was tough on his home life. Farina spoke admiringly of his late wife, who endured long periods of time without her husband with little or no explanation.

Often, he’d leave for a trip and wasn’t allowed to tell her where he was going or for how long.

Sometimes, the best she got was a daily phone call to let her know he was all right.

His willingness to volunteer for tasks others didn’t want to do earned him a reputation.

“I think NASA saw that

Farina retired after working 53 years with Northrop Grumman on projects such as the lunar module.

I never used the word ‘no,’” Farina said. “I don’t think it was in my vocabulary.”

Later on in the Apollo program, his eagerness to go above and beyond helped earn him the Space Flight Awareness Award, one of the highest presented to employees “for their dedication to quality work and flight safety,” according to NASA’s website.

As Farina talked about his time with the space program and his accomplishments, he emphasized the importance of everyone working on the mission and their commitment.

“You can’t put a man on the moon without a great

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team of people,” he said.

The culmination of long nights, fraught family lives and super secrecy finally happened on July 16, 1969.

Farina, his wife, his sister and his sister’s children sat in the stands at the obligatory three-mile distance from the launch pad.

Four days later, Farina’s team’s work was put to the ultimate test. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin entered the the lunar module (called LM, pronounced Lem) and the two began their descent to the moon’s surface. The Eagle landed, and Armstrong took his small step.

Farina stayed with the Apollo program for the remaining launches. His varied career included many stops until he landed on Whidbey Island in 1974 for what was supposed to be a two-year assignment.

He retired from what’s now called Northrop Grumman in 2017 after 53 years with the company.

He lives in a home near Deception Pass State Park with plaques, certificates and art from his time with the space program. He even has a large Lego replica of the Saturn V rocket built for him by his grandkids.

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He’s “honored and humbled” by his career legacy, he said.

“It just has been a great ride.”

More than 100 people gathered Saturday, Aug. 17 to declare their support for the Navy on Whidbey Island.

The rally was organized in response to the state Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit over the impacts of increased EA-18G Growler training activity on the island.

The crowd gathered on both sides of State Highway 20 and West Pioneer Way in Oak Harbor. They waved American flags and signs with sayings such as, “honk if you love jet noise” or “jets=jobs.”

Many of those present said they saw Ferguson’s lawsuit as a direct attack on the Navy and an attempt to curtail activity at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

“He’s not representing all of us, as he stated,” said organizer Morgan Cooper.

Cooper, a Freeland resident, is a member of the Rotary Club of Oak Harbor. She said Ferguson visited the club two weeks before the lawsuit was announced and didn’t mention it.

In the lawsuit, the attorney general’s office argues that the Navy violated the National Environmental Policy Act and Administrative Procedure act by not properly monitoring the impact the expanded training with Growlers will have on human health, the environment and historic resources.

“The Navy has an

Photo by Laura Guido/Whidbey News Group

Paul Patterson, foreground, waves as cars pass by during a rally to support the Navy. important job, and it’s critical that their pilots and crews have the opportunity to train,” Ferguson said in a statement. “That does not relieve the federal government of its obligation to follow the law and avoid unnecessary harm to our health and natural resources.”

Ferguson contends the Navy ignored input during the environmental impact statement (or EIS) process, during which the state Department of Health provided information about the health impacts of noise similar to that of the jets. In the lawsuit, he is asking a judge to order the Navy to redo its assessment of impacts.

Oak Harbor Mayor Bob Severns; state Sen. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor; and Rep. Norma Smith, R-Clinton, are critical of the lawsuit, argu-

ing it does not represent the majority of Whidbey Island residents.

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Arlington, said in July that he included provisions in the House National Defense Authorization Act to conduct real-time noise monitoring around Navy installations, make noise mitigation available for residents near bases and provide funding for engine noise reduction research.

Participants from off island joined the rally after hearing about it on a conservative Seattle radio show.

Bob Eberle, of La Conner, said he thought it was his “patriotic duty” to attend Saturday. Paul Patterson of Anacortes said, as an Army veteran, he felt compelled to take part as well.

National Night Out At right, Master-atArms First Class Nick Fortune gives instruction during a takedown demonstration Tuesday, Aug. 6, during National Night Out at Fort Nugent Park.

The annual event promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie.

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From Orion to Poseidon for VP-46

BY MICHAEL STRAWN

VP-46 PAO

In May 2019, the Grey Knights of Patrol Squadron 46 began transitioning from the P-3C Orion to the P-8A Poseidon.

Since the 1960s, VP-46 has flown the P-3C in various military conflicts and myriad locations around the world. The Navy is in the midst of transforming maritime patrol aviation, and now the time has come for the squadron to launch a new chapter in its history.

From the start of transition in May, the Grey Knights have maintained a focused dedication to learning their new platform. The squadron is setting a strong foundation of knowledge early which will prove to be key to their continued success as they prepared to embark on the next proud chapter of their storied legacy.

As they completed phase one of transition training at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and traveled to Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida, where they are currently in phase two, VP-46 has continued to surpass all training expectations.

While in Jacksonville, VP-46 is receiving handson training from the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance’s Fleet Replacement Squadron, VP-30.

Maintainers and aircrew all must complete the transition syllabus prior to safely operating and conducting flight operations with a P-8A. The time window allotted the squadron to complete the syllabus is compressed, and the Grey Knights have diligently maximized every minute of quality instruction that has been afforded them.

In a few short months, VP-46 will be ready to return to operational service as the U.S. Navy’s newest P-8A Poseidon Squadron.

Patrol Squadron 46’s history is replete with a culture of excellence in naval service. The squadron has participated in every major U.S. military conflict since its inception back in 1931, and it has constantly maintained the highest standards of service.

All of the accolades received by the squadron are due to the outstanding

contributions which have been made each and every day by the men and women who continue to work with determination, pride and professionalism while in transition.

The Grey Knights are proud of their Naval legacy, honoring the past, leading the present, forging the

future and living up to its status as “the oldest and the best.”

VP-46 is steadfast on mastering new technology in the P-8A Poseidon, propelling the squadron into the future while continuing to set the standard for the maritime patrol and reconnaissance community.

Photo provided

P-8A Poseidon and P-3C Orion in flight.

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Oak Harbor native serves as member of ‘Silent Service’

By LT. COURTNEY PRIZER,

Eccleston said.

Being stationed in Pearl Harbor, often referred to as the gateway to the Pacific in defense circles, means Eccleston is serving in a part of the world taking on a new importance in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.

“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”

The Navy has been pivotal in helping maintain peace and stability in the Pacific region for decades. The Pacific is home to more than 50 percent of the world’s population, many of the world’s largest and smallest economies, several of the world’s largest militaries and many U.S. allies.

The U.S. Pacific Fleet is the world’s largest fleet command, encompassing 100 million square miles, nearly half the Earth’s surface, from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle and from the West Coast of the United States into the Indian Ocean.

As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Eccleston and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes, one that will provide a critical component of the Navy the nation needs.

“Serving in the Navy means I have the opportunity to give back and serve my country,” Eccleston added.

Navy Office of Community Outreach

M

odern attack submarines are the most technologically advanced and capable undersea warfighters in the world.

Operating these highly complex submarines requires sailors from the U.S. Navy’s submarine community, also known as the ‘Silent Service.’

Petty Officer 2nd Class Gage Eccleston, a 2015 Oak Harbor High School graduate and native of Oak Harbor, works as a Navy machinist’s mate (nuclear) serving aboard USS Cheyenne, one of the world’s most advanced nuclear-powered submarines, homeported at Joint Base Pearl HarborHickam, Hawaii.

Eccleston credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Oak harbor.

“I learned what it was like to work my way up from the bottom, and those first life experiences are helping me today,” said Eccleston.

“My basketball coach influenced me to join the Navy because I appreciated his morals and loved his stories of adventure.”

As a Navy machinist’s mate (nuclear), Eccleston is responsible for maintaining the engine room equipment on board the submarine.

Jobs are highly varied aboard the submarine. Approximately 130 sailors make up the submarine’s crew, doing everything from handling weapons to maintaining nuclear reactors.

Attack submarines are designed to hunt

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist First Class David Finley

Petty Officer 2nd Class Gage Eccleston, a 2015 Oak Harbor High School graduate and native of Oak Harbor. down and destroy enemy submarines and to learn how everything on the ship works surface ships; strike targets ashore with and how to respond in emergencies to cruise missiles; carry and deliver Navy become “qualified in submarines” and earn SEALs; carry out intelligence, surveillance the right to wear the coveted gold or silver and reconnaissance missions; and engage in dolphins on their uniform. mine warfare. Their primary tactical advanThough there are many ways for sailors tage is stealth, operating undetected under to earn distinction in their command, comthe sea for long periods of time. munity and career, Eccleston is most proud Because of the demanding environment of completing the technical school required aboard submarines, personnel are accepted to serve in his current job. only after rigorous testing and observation.

“I am very proud to have qualified for Submariners are some of the most highly additional responsibilities and to be suctrained and skilled people in the Navy. ceeding in submarine life in general,” Regardless of their specialty, everyone has

Come Worship With Us!

Whidbey Island CHURCH DIRECTORY To promote your religious services in the Whidbey News-Times and South Whidbey Record, please call 360-675-6611.

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Concordia Lutheran Church

St. Hubert Catholic Church 804 Third Street, Langley 360-221-5383

Masses: Saturday 5:00pm Sunday 8:00am and 10:30am Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri. 8:15am Wednesday 10:30am Fr. Rick Spicer, pastor E-mail sthubert@whidbey.com www.sthubertchurch.org

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Worship Services..........8 & 10:30 am Sunday School ........................9:15 am Nursery Available Sunday Evening Prayer 6:30 PM at St. Mary Catholic Church in Coupeville Jeffrey Spencer, Lead Pastor Pastor Marc Stroud, Associate Pastor

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Unity of Whidbey Sunday Service Times 8:30 & 10:30 AM Nursery and Children’s Church available in both services 5373 Maxwelton Rd, Langley 360.221.1656 www.swagchurch.com

Home of Island Christian Academy

5671 Crawford Rd, in Langley, just off Hwy 525 www.unityofwhidbey.org We welcome you to our Sunday Worship Celebration at 10AM. Potluck on the first Sunday of the month. While Unity is considered practical Christianity, we embrace many of the sacred teachings throughout the world. Join us for supportive and inclusive spiritual community.

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Navy SAR rescues two near Glacier Peak Once the patient was ready for transport, the SAR crew hoisted the injured hiker and the two crewmembers aboard the helicopter.

On Sunday, the crew located the second individual on a barren ridgeline at an elevation of approximately 6,400 feet around 3 p.m.

During this rescue, the helicopter landed south of the injured hiker and dispatched two crewmembers to assist her.

After providing medical assistance on scene, the crewmembers

A Search and Rescue (SAR) team from Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island rescued a male hiker with an injured ankle near Glacier Peak the evening of Thursday, Aug. 1, and a female hiker with a head injury on Sunday, Aug. 4.

On Thursday, the SAR crew arrived at the patient’s location near Glacier Peak at an elevation of about 5,400 feet by 7:45 p.m.

Two crewmembers rappelled from the helicopter to prep the patient.

helped her to the aircraft.

The SAR crews transported both patients to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The Navy SAR unit operates three MH-60S helicopters from NAS Whidbey Island as search and rescue/medical evacuation (SAR/ MEDEVAC) platforms for the EA-18G aircraft as well as other squadrons and personnel assigned to the installation.

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A Search and Rescue team from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island rescued three climbers near Eldorado Peak the evening of Aug. 14.

A call came to the SAR crew at approximately 8:15 p.m. to rescue three male climbers after two of them fell approximately 60 feet down steep, loose terrain during a buddy rappel.

The SAR crew found the climbers on a ledge

near an elevation of 6,600 feet. A SAR crew member rappelled down to the climbers, who were then hoisted aboard the SAR helicopter. All three hikers were transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

NAS Whidbey Island’s SAR has conducted 27 missions throughout Washington state this year, including seven searches, 11 rescues and nine medical evacuations.

SAR rescues hiker from Mount Stuart

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A search-and-rescue team from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island rescued an injured female hiker on Mount Stuart Sunday, July 28.

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Veterans’ stories: ‘Months of routine and moments of terror’

Military experiences will be preserved for all time, thanks to Library of Congress history project

By JULIE MUHLSTEIN

O The Everett Herald

tis Wolfe and Bradley Andrews served in the U.S. military during the same war. Both Vietnam veterans shared vastly different memories on Monday, Aug. 19.

“I loved my career, my active career,” said Wolfe, 66, commander of VFW Post 921 in Snohomish.

He served aboard the USS Sterett near the end of the Vietnam War. “I saw a lot of the world I never would have seen without the Navy,” he said.

Andrews, 69, was certain he’d soon be drafted when he joined the Army in 1968 after graduating from high school on Vashon Island. He trained at Fort Ord, Calif., with its gun range near the ocean. Soon, orders came for Vietnam. He spent time at Quan Loi, what U.S. forces called LZ Andy.

“Vietnam, it was death and move on,” said the Lynnwood man, whose long hair is now gray.

Raised during the Cold War, Andrews said, “I didn’t like communism.”

He feels he did his job during that unpopular war but is haunted by it. “I watched a Chinook heli-

copter fall apart in midair.

Five guys died,” he said.

In the Army, “they never said, ‘This may come back on you.’”

Wolfe and Andrews were among about 15 people interviewed at the Everett Public Library as part of the Veterans History Project. A program of the Library of Congress, the oral history effort was created by Congress in 2000.

Interviewers have heard and recorded stories of veterans and Gold Star families in all 50 states, culling more than 100,000 collections, some with photos and diaries. Many are available online.

Karen Lloyd, director of the Veterans History Project, and Andrew Huber, liaison specialist with the program, were at the library. But many interviewers were teens in uniform — members of the Civil Air Patrol’s Overlake Composite Squadron, based in Redmond.

Wolfe, though, told his story to U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, who represents Washington’s 1st Congressional District.

“Thanks to those who shared their stories and for sacrifices you’ve made for our country,” the Democratic congress-

woman tweeted after interviewing Wolfe.

The Snohomish VFW leader, a hull tech in the Navy, told DelBene he was the second in his family to serve during the Vietnam War. His sister, 74-year-old Darlene Harrington, was an Army nurse. She was in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive.

Those attacks by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters in early 1968 took a heavy toll on U.S. forces.

“She saw too much,” Wolfe said of his sister.

Describing his shipboard duty, some of it just after a peace agreement was signed in 1973, Wolfe said he experienced “months of routine and moments of terror.” At one point, his ship was dead in the water seven miles off Haiphong Harbor. “I didn’t find out until 40 years later that they were shooting at us,” he said.

DelBene asked about Vietnam veterans having “a hard time coming back.”

Photos by Dan Bates / The Everett Herald

In a quiet room at the Everett Public Library, Vietnam War veteran Bradley Andrews, 69, begins telling his story to two young Civil Air Patrol members. disabilities.

Jay Bonner, 61, walked into the Everett library’s

quiet room and put his Seabees cap on the table, then sat down for his talk with 15-year-old Randolph

Halim. The Everett man explained to the teen that SEE STORIES, PAGE 11

“I got spit on at SeaTac,” Wolfe said, but added “people have a right to think and speak and do what they do.”

Today, with the VFW, Wolfe serves through Operation Ramp It Up, installing ramps at the homes of veterans and their family members with

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Otis Wolfe, (left), who served aboard a Navy ship during the Vietnam War, tells his story to Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, who was watching him on a live recording on an iPad Mini, as summer intern Kyra Shelton and Benjamin Studley listen and assist. Studley is DelBene’s veterans liaison.

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WAR

War. One picture shows Heartbreak Ridge, the site of severe fighting north of the 38th Parallel.

CONTINUED FROM A9 the Seabees are “the construction part of the Navy — I didn’t go on a ship.”

A retired middle school teacher, White lives in Redmond but spent years in the Edmonds area. In Korea, he flew a modified Cessna called an L-19. His duties involved adjusting artillery. Back home, he and his wife raised four boys. He earned two degrees, stayed in the reserves and retired as a colonel.

During training in Mississippi, he learned to operate forklifts, dump trucks and such. “The hardest part was driving a stick shift,” said Bonner, and his teen interviewer quipped “I’ve never driven a stick shift.”

Bonner talked of being deployed in the early 1990s during Operation Desert Shield, which became Desert Storm. At the Navy base on Subic Bay in the Philippines, he missed the birth of his fourth child. On Guam, he loaded bombs onto ships — and remembers writing notes on those bombs to the Iraqi president, saying “Here’s to you, Saddam.”

A high point of Bonner’s service was being posted for two years at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland. He

White’s advice to young people? “Learn responsibility, be honest and do a good job.”

At the Everett Public Library, Vietnam War veteran Bradley Andrews, 69, tells his story to Civil Air Patrol members Zachary Colburn, 14 (foreground), and Kenneth Butcher, 15, who record his image and voice on an iPod. was there in 1978 when President Jimmy Carter witnessed the signing of historic peace accords

by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. He saw them from a distance.

He attended church with President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter. And once, while out for a run, he found himself jogging between the president and the Secret Service detail.

Bonner, who said the military taught him to be “a better person,” believes all young people should serve for two years, boys especially. “People know I have a military background,” he said. “It’s just who I am.”

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At 90, Dan White was one of the oldest interviewees. He enlisted in the Army in 1946, served nearly two years, and was called back in 1950.

He and his wife, Carol, brought photos from his duty in the Korean

Involved with VFW Post 8870 in Edmonds, White said he’d been asked for years to share his story. He’s glad other veterans are telling theirs, and that the Library of Congress will preserve those stories for future generations.

“It’s good — if people are honest with them,” White said.

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