COVERING WHIDBEY ISLAND’S NAVAL AIR STATION COMMUNITY
CROSSWIND Whidbey
VOLUME 1, NO. 26 | 23 SEPTEMBER 2011
www.whidbeycrosswind.com
Happy Birthday, NAS Whidbey Island!
Local man survives Reno air show crash By Kathy Reed
Whidbey Crosswind
Oak Harbor resident Ralph Corbin is lucky to be alive. Corbin, his son and his nephew had front row seats in the same VIP box as the former Bellingham couple killed last Friday when a World War II P-51 Mustang crashed at the
SEE CRASH | PAGE 5
Midshipman candidate Levi Ellis, left, and Culinary Specialist Seaman Jazmin Rodriguez help Naval Air Station Whidbey Island commanding officer, Capt. Jay Johnston cut a birthday cake Wednesday morning at the Admiral Nimitz HalI Galley in honor of the installation’s 69th birthday. NAS Whidbey was commissioned Sept. 21, 1942. Read more at www.whidbeycrosswind.com. KATHY REED/WHIDBEY CROSSWIND
Until they’re all home POW/MIA ceremony honors those still missing in action By K ATHY REED
T
Whidbey Crosswind
he rumbling of motorcycle engines signaled the start of a memorial service commemorating National POW/MIA Recognition Day last Friday on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island’s Seaplane Base. Hundreds of bikers, part of the Patriot Guard Riders, made their way up the hill to the POW/ MIA Sentinel Memorial Fountain, where the noon service was held. A modest crowd turned out for the
Lt. Cmdr. Brian Danielson addresses a crowd gathered on the NASWI Seaplane Base to commemorate National POW/MIA Recognition Day. KATHY REED/WHIDBEY CROSSWIND event, which opened with the presentation of colors, which included the POW/ MIA flag, by the Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps as an ensemble from the Oak Harbor High School Band played the National Anthem. Navy Chaplain Dan Link performed the invocation.
The service was led by Lt. Cmdr. Brian Danielson, a member of the National League of Families for POW/MIAs whose father, Air Force Capt. Ben Danielson, was missing in action for 38 years. “We spent a lot of time wondering,” he said. “We grew up very aware of the MIA/POW issue.” Danielson said the existence of the military’s Code of Conduct, an agreement all military members make with their country, explains why the POW/MIA issue is still relevant today. The code specifically addresses the conduct of service members if captured by the enemy. “That’s pretty powerful stuff,” Danielson said. “It’s the sacred contract that I would bet is resonating in the psyche of anyone in uniform today, or who has worn one.
SEE POW/MIA | PAGE 6
THIS EDITION VP-40 goes to Singapore for CARAT ....................pg. 2 Sarah Smiley: SpongeBob isn’t so bad ............pg. 2 Summit drives closer to veterans program....pg. 2 Patriot Guard honors those still missing ............pg. 7
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