COVERING PUGET SOUND NAVAL NEWS FOR BREMERTON | BANGOR | KEYPORT
Kitsap
VOLUME 1, NO. 37 | 9 DECEMBER 2011
www.kitsapnavynews.com
Kitsap 9/11 Memorial redesign, smaller in scale By KRISTIN OKINAKA kokinaka@soundpublishing.com
In terms of the newest rendition of a proposed Kitsap 9/11 Memorial design, maybe less is more. It’s also what the public has been asking for. Members of the Kitsap 9/11 Memorial Committee presented the updated design concept of the memorial to a great American tragedy Tuesday at the Bremerton Parks and
SEE MEMORIAL | PAGE 10
THIS EDITION Frank Chebetar, a former USS Phelps Sailor who survived the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, salutes while being introduced during a Pearl Harbor memorial ceremony at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story. Memorial events commemorated the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor were held at Navy installations around the globe Wednesday. U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS MARIA RACHEL D. MELCH
Submariners keep org. numbers high as others shrink With low retention rates in veterans and survivors groups, U.S. Submarine Veterans Bremerton Base is thriving By JJ SWANSON jswanson@soundpublishing.com
While veterans associations are shuttering doors because of low
membership rates and aging members, the U.S. Submarine Veterans of Bremerton’s numbers are stable and its members are actually getting younger. As the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor passed Wednesday, it was marked by the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association announcment that it was closing shop due to low membership. In addition, the Submarine Veterans of World War II, from which the U.S. Submarine Veterans later sprang, announced that it will disband in Sept. 2012 for similar reasons. Veterans’ association groups across the nation struggle with retention rates and inevitable aging of members, according to Fred Borgmann, national office Manager for U.S. Submarine Veterans.
“The Pearl Harbor disbanding was inevitable. You can’t keep having meetings without people,” said Borgmann. Much like Pearl Harbor survivors, other World War II veterans are a “dying breed,” according to Don Bassler, webmaster and former commander of the Bremerton chapter. The war-specific veterans organizations are made up of members in their upper 80s who don’t have the energy to continue the work, according to Borgmann. And then there is no one to take the torch, he said. “I see their point of view, wanting to only have members to represent a specific part of history that they are trying to preserve,” said Borgmann.
SEE SUBMARINERS | PAGE 8
Survivor recounts Pearl Harbor ...................pg. 2 “All volunteer,” not what it seems ....................pg. 4 Navy biofuel bash set for Hawaii next year ... pg. 5 Medusa fixed what war broke .................. pg. 11