USS Flasher SSN 613 Reunion

See Dutch's flick here · that stuff I kept


      
      
		
		
			
				
					
						
							
								
									
									
										
											
												 
												
												
												
												PRESIDENT SIGNS VETERANS' 
												EMERGENCY CARE FAIRNESS ACT
												
												
												
												Chairman Akaka introduced Senate 
												bill to cover gaps in emergency 
												care for veterans with limited 
												insurance
												
												
												WASHINGTON, D.C. - 
												Senate Veterans' Affairs 
												Committee Chairman Daniel K. 
												Akaka (D-HI) today praised 
												President Barack Obama's signing 
												of the Veterans' Emergency 
												Care Fairness Act of 2009. 
												
												
												
												"For veterans with limited 
												insurance, a trip to the 
												emergency room should not result 
												in financial ruin," 
												said Chairman Akaka, who
												
												introduced the bill in the 
												Senate last year.  "With this 
												new law, VA will be positioned 
												to help veterans who are 
												enrolled in VA care whose 
												insurance does not cover the 
												full cost of emergency 
												treatment."  
												
												
												The Veterans' Emergency Care 
												Fairness Act, signed into law by 
												President Obama last night, will 
												enable the Department of 
												Veterans Affairs to reimburse 
												veterans enrolled in VA health 
												care for the remaining cost of 
												emergency treatment if the 
												veteran has outside insurance 
												that only covers part of the 
												cost.  Previously, VA could 
												reimburse veterans or pay 
												outside hospitals directly only 
												if a veteran has no outside 
												health insurance.     
												
												
												
												In addition to reimbursing 
												veterans for emergency care in 
												the future, the bill allows the 
												Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 
												provide retroactive 
												reimbursements for care received 
												prior to the passage of this 
												bill.  Akaka has received 
												correspondence from veterans who 
												were unable to receive financial 
												assistance under the previous 
												rules, and plans to share their 
												information with Secretary 
												Shinseki.  
												
												
												The Congressional Budget Office 
												estimates that this legislation 
												will cover approximately 700 
												future claims per year and as 
												many as 2,000 veterans 
												retroactively.  
												

												 
										
									
									
								
							
      
      						
							Silent 
							Service MC,,,, 1st Gator Chapter first ride
							
							Today the "1st Gator" 
							Chapter went on out first official ride.  Four 
							members attended and one guest.  A little cool for 
							Florida at about 60 degrees and very windy.  With 
							the wind chill it was a brisk 57 degrees.  Burr.  We 
							had a great time and stopped at a local watering 
							hole (Shuckers Raw Bar) for a cold beverage and some 
							Oysters.  Good food and a great time was had by 
							all.  

							

 
							
							 
							
							 
							
							 
							
							 
							
							 
							
							 
							
							 
							
							From Left to right:

							

							Ken Bazan - Road Captain

							Frank Reno - President

							Ivan Joslin - Vice President

							Rod Johnson - Secretary

							

							Our next ride is scheduled for Sunday 14 March.  We 
							will meet at the Perfect Spot Restaurant which is 
							located at the Deland Airport.  We will meet at 
							noon, have lunch, watch the skydivers and then go 
							for a ride.  

							

							Frank
      
							
							
							The Greatest 
							Generation
							
							Strategy Page, 
							February 1, 2010
						
						The U.S. Navy has retired 
						the USS Los Angeles (SSN 688). This was 
						the lead ship of the Los Angeles class nuclear attack 
						submarine (SSN). The Los Angeles entered service in 
						1976. It is one of three classes of SSNs in American 
						service, and was the backbone of the American SSN force 
						during the last years of the Cold War. The mainstay of 
						the American submarine force is still the Los Angeles 
						class. Sixty-two of these submarines were built, 44 of 
						which remain in front-line service, making it probably 
						the largest class of nuclear submarines that will ever 
						be built. 
						
						With four 21-inch 
						(533-millimeter) torpedo tubes, it carries twenty-six 
						weapons. These would be either the Mk 48 torpedo (50 
						kilometer range), the UGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile 
						(130 kilometer range), or the BGM-109 Tomahawk (3,100 
						kilometer range). The last 31 Los Angeles-class SSNs add 
						the Mk 45 vertical-launch system (VLS), which carries 
						another twelve Tomahawks, making them closer to 
						guided-missile submarines (SSGN). It could launch cruise 
						missiles or Harpoon anti-ship missile The sub had a top 
						speed of over nearly 60 kilometers an hour and is 
						believed capable of diving to 300 meters. The boat 
						normally carried a crew of 129. The basic design 
						underwent several changes as more boats were built. The 
						final 23 built were so different that they were referred 
						to as 688i class boats. 
						
						The United States deploys 
						two other classes. The Seawolf-class of nuclear attack 
						submarines stopped at three from a planned class of 
						twenty-nine. The Seawolf was designed as a 
						super-submarine, designed to fight the Soviet Navy at 
						its height. Carrying fifty weapons, and with eight 
						26-inch (660-millimeter) torpedo tubes, the Seawolf was 
						designed for maximum performance. It delivered, posting 
						a top speed of 35 knots – and remaining much quieter 
						than the Los Angeles-class submarines. Reportedly, it is 
						quieter at twenty-five knots than the Los Angeles-class 
						submarines are at pierside. With the cutback of the 
						Seawolf to three ships, the Navy has gone with the 
						Virginia-class submarine. Less-capable than the Seawolf 
						(it is much like the Los Angeles-class attack subs, but 
						with a lot of the more-advanced systems from the Seawolf-class 
						subs, particularly the quieting and sonar systems), it 
						was supposed to be less expensive. The Virginia-class 
						submarines are estimated to have a unit cost of $2.1 
						billion, but found a way to get the first six built for 
						a total cost of $8.7 billion ($1.45 billion each). Like 
						the Los Angeles-class, the Virginia-class submarines 
						will be improved as the class is built.
						
						Officials in the city of 
						Los Angeles are discussing the possibility of taking the 
						submarine Los Angeles and using it as a museum ship in 
						the city it was named after. This would happen after all 
						armaments and classified military equipment was removed. 
						One additional item would not come with the Los Angeles. 
						That is the cribbage board used by ace World War II.
						 
      
      					
						
						Navy Confirms Sunken Sub In 
						Balabac Strait Is USS 
						Flier
						
						From Commander, 
						Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs
						
						
						(PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii)
						–Commander, Submarine 
						Forces Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC), Rear Adm. Douglas 
						McAneny announced today that a sunken vessel located in 
						the Balabac Strait area of the Philippines is in fact 
						the World War II submarine USS Flier (SS 250). 
						
						

						“I am honored to announce that, with video evidence and 
						information provided by a team from YAP Films and 
						assistance from the Naval History and Heritage Command, 
						USS Flier has been located,” said McAneny.  “We hope 
						this announcement will provide some closure to the 
						families of the 78 crewmen lost when Flier struck a mine 
						in 1944.”
						
						

						USS Flier, a 1525-ton Gato class submarine built at 
						Groton, Connecticut, was commissioned in mid-October 
						1943. She departed from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for her 
						first war patrol in January 1944.  While entering the 
						harbor at Midway Island during a storm, she went aground 
						and was seriously damaged.
						
						The damaged submarine was 
						towed back to Pearl Harbor and finally reached the Mare 
						Island Navy Yard, California, where she was repaired. 
						 Flier made another start on her first war patrol in May 
						1944, heading from Pearl Harbor to the waters off Luzon. 
						While en route on 4 June she attacked and sank the 
						transport Hakusan Maru. On June 13, she attacked a 
						Japanese convoy off Subic Bay, receiving a depth 
						charging in return, and on June 22-23, hit another 
						convoy off Mindoro, apparently damaging one or more 
						ships.

						

						In early August 1944 Flier left Fremantle, Australia, 
						for her second war patrol. On 13 August, while 
						transiting shallow water to enter the South China Sea, 
						she struck a mine and quickly sank. Fourteen of 86 
						crewmen escaped, but only eight survived the subsequent 
						long swim to reach shore. After making their way by raft 
						to Palawan and being protected by local people and a 
						group of guerrillas, at the end of the month they were 
						evacuated by the submarine USS Redfin (SS-272).

						

						The last surviving crew member of Flier, Ens. Al 
						Jacobson, never gave up the search for his lost 
						shipmates.  Sadly, Jacobson passed away in 2008, but his 
						family was determined to continue the search.  The 
						family provided notes and research to the production 
						company YAP Films, which investigates nautical 
						mysteries, and Jacobson’s son Steve and grandson Nelson 
						participated in the search. 

						

						“After my father retired in 1990, he became very active 
						in the quest to understand more of what happened,” said 
						Steve Jacobson.  “He put together as much information as 
						he could from naval records of the investigation and put 
						together charts of where he believed Flier was.  We 
						provided YAP Films with everything my father had 
						collected.”   

						

						In the spring of 2009, with the aid of the Jacobson 
						family, the team from YAP Films located wreckage of a 
						submarine in the area that USS Flier was lost.  Father 
						and son divers Mike and Warren Fletcher of the 
						television show “Dive Detectives” captured the first 
						views of the sunken submarine in more than 64 years.  
						YAP Films provided the Naval History and Heritage 
						Command with footage taken in the Balabac Strait to aid 
						in the identification. 

						

						"The Flier discovery presented the Dive Detectives with 
						one of our most challenging dives,” said Warren 
						Fletcher.  “At a depth of 330 feet there is little 
						margin for error.  As my father and I descended into the 
						dark blue water, the unmistakable shape of a Gato-class 
						submarine came into view.  That moment made all of the 
						hard work and danger pale in comparison with the feeling 
						of pride it gave me to know that the Flier and her crew 
						will not be forgotten." 

						

						With the information provided by YAP Films, COMSUBPAC 
						and the Naval History and Heritage Command examined the 
						evidence and historical records and determined that the 
						submarine found at the reported position could only be 
						USS Flier.  No Japanese or U.S. submarine other than 
						Flier was ever reported lost in the area, and the gun 
						mount and radar antenna clearly identifiable in the 
						video matched historical photographs of USS Flier.  
						Additional identifiable characteristics of the hull 
						indicated that the wreck is indeed a Gato-class 
						submarine.  These factors taken together led COMSUBPAC 
						and the Naval History and Heritage Center to conclude 
						that the wreck found by YAP Films could only be that of 
						USS Flier. 

						

						"The Flier was found because all the right people came 
						together for all the right reasons,” said Mike Fletcher. 
						 “But mostly the Flier was found because of the love a 
						family has for their dad." 

						

						“It was a pretty emotional experience,” said Jacobson.  
						“Although I was really confident of the position, you 
						still don’t know.  Literally, it was exactly at the 
						coordinates he said it would be.  It is tremendous 
						closure and I wish that my dad could have experienced 
						this.”

						

						Former Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet 
						Admiral Chester Nimitz once said, “When I assumed 
						command of the Pacific Fleet on 31 December 1941 our 
						submarines were already operating against the enemy, the 
						only units of the Fleet that could come to grips with 
						the Japanese for months to come.  It was to the 
						Submarine Force that I looked to carry the load until 
						our great industrial activity could produce the weapons 
						we so sorely needed to carry the war to the enemy.  It 
						is to the everlasting honor and glory of our submarine 
						personnel that they never failed us in our days of great 
						peril.”  

						

						By the end of World War II, submarines had made more 
						than 1,600 war patrols. Pacific Fleet submarines like 
						Flier accounted for more than half of all enemy shipping 
						sunk during the war.  The cost of this success was 
						heavy: 52 U.S. Pacific Fleet submarines were lost, and 
						more than 3,500 submariners remain on “eternal patrol.”
      
      					
					
					
					
					January 7, 2010
					
					USS 
					Flasher SSN 613 Reunion
					
						
						
						
						
						Dates: May 12-16 2010
					
						
						
						
						Place: Seattle Washington
					
						
						
						
						Hotel: Courtyard by Marriott in Tukwila WA
					
						
						
						
						           16038 West Valley Highway
					
						
						
						
						           Tukwila, WA 98188
					
						
						
						
						           Phone 425-255-0300
					
						
						
						
						           Rate $94/night 
					
					
						
						
						
						            Be sure to mention Flasher Reunion to 
						receive our rate.
					
						
							
							
							Proposed 
							Activities
							
						
						
							
							
								
								
								
								Wednesday, May 12th
							
							
							
								
								
								
								Arrivals, Meet in Hospitality Room
							
						
						
							
							
								
								
								
								Thursday, May 13th
							
							
							
								
								
								
								Sub Tour, BBQ at Adm. Bacon’s
							
						
						
							
							
								
								
								
								Friday May, 14th
							
							
							
								
								
								
								Assoc. Meeting AM, self tours, and Pizza and 
								Raffles in PM
							
						
						
							
							
								
								
								
								Saturday May, 15th
							
							
							
								
								
								
								Memorial Service AM, self tours, and Dinner in 
								PM, Guest Speaker Roger Bacon
							
						
						
							
							
								
								
								
								Sunday, May 16th
							
							
							
								
								
								
								Make turns for home.
							
						
					
					
						
						
						
						Greetings Flasher people, Soul Pig here. I know everyone 
						is anxious for details of the next Flasher reunion. I 
						apologize for any delay but I have been trying to wrap 
						up some loose ends. I believe we are close enough to 
						send this letter. A registration form is 
						attached. We have some added fees as we will be hiring a 
						bus for transportation to the base and Admiral Bacon’s 
						house.
					
						
						
						
						The Courtyard by Marriott has a free shuttle from and to 
						the SeaTac airport and within a three mile radius. You 
						have to call and register yourself at the hotel at $94 a 
						night. We no longer have the luxury of free beer so 
						maybe bring a little, I’ll bring some and I believe Dale 
						Gleave offered to bring beer even if he has to use 
						Mule’s money. The hotel policy is no alcohol in the 
						hospitality room but we will be on a don’t know, don’t 
						tell basis. Discretion is of utmost importance.
					
						
						
						
						Our Saturday night dinner will be at our hotel. The 
						dinner is not formal. I have asked Roger Bacon to say a 
						few words about his time as CO of Flasher, he was my 
						last CO.
					
						
						
						
						Friday Morning we will hold our Flasher Association 
						meeting in the hospitality room. We will be voting on 
						association officers and the 2012 Reunion site. This 
						cycle we will be in the Midwest and in 2014 we will be 
						back on the east coast then back to the west coast in 
						2016. To facilitate voting I am offering three sites for 
						2012. Look these up to prepare to vote.
					
						
						
						
						Branson, 
						Missouri, very reunion friendly and now have an airport 
						
						
						
						
						St. Louis 
						Missouri, Lots to do and see “Gateway to the West” 
						
						
						
						
						Dupage County, 
						Illinois, close to Chicago Illinois, variety of things 
						to do and see. 
					
					
						
						
						
						If any one has any raffle items to donate they are 
						always appreciated. We use the raffle money to maintain 
						our association funds for stamps, pizzas, raffle items, 
						etc. Raffle items can be anything and not just Flasher 
						or Navy items. Bring them to the reunion or send them to 
						me.
					
						
						
						
						If there are any questions do not hesitate to write, 
						call or e-mail me. I am anxious once again to see old 
						friends and meet new ones. If you are in contact with 
						any Flasher sailors regardless of what years share this 
						information with them and send me their contact info.
					
						
						
						
						COB Larry Weinfurter AKA Hot Dog has Flasher ball caps 
						for $12.
					
						
						
						
						Ken Tupman (Soul Pig) Flasher 1969-1973 EM1 (SS)
					
						
						
						
						1516 Sun Ridge Dr.
					
						
						
						
						Bourbonnais, 
						IL 60914
					
						
						
						
						Home Phone: 815 936 9318
					
						
						
						
						Cell Phone: 815 383 7897
					
						
						
						
						Tuppy613@aol.com
						 
				
			
      
			
				
					
						
							
								
									
										
											
												
													
														
															
																
																	
																	
																		
																		
																		
																		The VA 
																		has 
																		issued 
																		their 
																		Compensation 
																		and 
																		Pension 
																		Service 
																		Bulletin 
																		for 
																		January 
																		2010.
																		

																		
																		
																		
																		Included 
																		in the 
																		bulletin 
																		is a 
																		list of 
																		ships / 
																		boats 
																		that 
																		qualify 
																		for 
																		presumptive 
																		herbicide 
																		exposure.

																		

																		"If a 
																		Veteran's 
																		service 
																		aboard 
																		one of 
																		these 
																		ships 
																		can be 
																		confirmed 
																		... then 
																		exposure 
																		to 
																		herbicide 
																		agents 
																		can be 
																		presumed
																		
																		without 
																		further 
																		development."

																		

																		-----------------------------------------------------------------------
																		
																		
																		
																		
																		Policy 
																		(211)
																		
																		
																		
																		
																		Information 
																		on 
																		Vietnam 
																		Naval 
																		Operations
																		
																		
																		
																		
																		Compensation 
																		and 
																		Pension 
																		(C&P) 
																		Service 
																		has

																		initiated 
																		a 
																		program 
																		to 
																		collect 
																		data on 
																		Vietnam

																		naval 
																		operations 
																		for the 
																		purpose 
																		of 
																		providing

																		regional 
																		offices 
																		with 
																		information 
																		to 
																		assist 
																		with

																		development 
																		in Haas 
																		related 
																		disability 
																		claims

																		based on 
																		herbicide 
																		exposure 
																		from 
																		Navy

																		Veterans. 
																		To date, 
																		we have 
																		received 
																		verification

																		from 
																		various 
																		sources 
																		showing 
																		that a 
																		number 
																		of

																		offshore 
																		“blue 
																		water” 
																		naval 
																		vessels 
																		conducted

																		operations 
																		on the 
																		inland 
																		“brown 
																		water” 
																		rivers

																		and 
																		delta 
																		areas of 
																		Vietnam. 
																		We have 
																		also

																		identified 
																		certain 
																		vessel 
																		types 
																		that 
																		operated

																		primarily 
																		or 
																		exclusively 
																		on the 
																		inland

																		waterways. 
																		The 
																		ships 
																		and 
																		dates of 
																		inland

																		waterway 
																		service 
																		are 
																		listed 
																		below. 
																		If a

																		Veteran’s 
																		service 
																		aboard 
																		one of 
																		these 
																		ships 
																		can

																		be 
																		confirmed 
																		through 
																		military 
																		records 
																		during 
																		the

																		time 
																		frames 
																		specified, 
																		then 
																		exposure 
																		to 
																		herbicide

																		agents 
																		can be 
																		presumed 
																		without 
																		further

																		development.
																		
																		
																		
																		
																		All 
																		vessels 
																		of 
																		Inshore 
																		Fire 
																		Support 
																		[IFS]

																		Division 
																		93 
																		during 
																		their 
																		entire 
																		Vietnam 
																		tour

																		USS 
																		Carronade 
																		(IFS 1)

																		USS 
																		Clarion 
																		River (LSMR 
																		409) 
																		[Landing 
																		Ship,

																		Medium, 
																		Rocket]

																		USS 
																		Francis 
																		River (LSMR 
																		525)

																		USS 
																		White 
																		River (LSMR 
																		536)
																		
																		
																		
																		
																		All 
																		vessels 
																		with the 
																		designation 
																		LST 
																		[Landing

																		Ship, 
																		Tank] 
																		during 
																		their 
																		entire 
																		tour

																		[WWII 
																		ships 
																		converted 
																		to 
																		transport 
																		supplies 
																		on

																		rivers 
																		and 
																		serve as 
																		barracks 
																		for 
																		brown 
																		water

																		Mobile 
																		Riverine 
																		Forces]
																		
																		 
																		
																		
																		
																		All 
																		vessels 
																		with the 
																		designation 
																		LCVP 
																		[Landing

																		Craft, 
																		Vehicle, 
																		Personnel] 
																		during 
																		their 
																		entire

																		tour
																		
																		
																		
																		
																		All 
																		vessels 
																		with the 
																		designation 
																		PCF 
																		[Patrol

																		Craft, 
																		Fast] 
																		during 
																		their 
																		entire 
																		tour

																		[Also 
																		called 
																		Swift 
																		Boats, 
																		operating 
																		for 
																		enemy

																		interdiction 
																		on close 
																		coastal 
																		waters]
																		
																		
																		
																		
																		All 
																		vessels 
																		with the 
																		designation 
																		PBR 
																		[Patrol

																		Boat, 
																		River] 
																		during 
																		their 
																		entire 
																		tour

																		[Also 
																		called 
																		River 
																		Patrol 
																		Boats as 
																		part of 
																		the

																		Mobile 
																		Riverine 
																		Forces 
																		operating 
																		on 
																		inland

																		waterways 
																		and 
																		featured 
																		in the 
																		Vietnam 
																		film

																		“Apocalypse 
																		Now”]
																		
																		
																		
																		
																		USS 
																		Ingersoll 
																		(DD-652) 
																		[Destroyer] 
																		[Operated

																		on 
																		Saigon 
																		River, 
																		October 
																		24-25, 
																		1965]
																		
																		
																		
																		
																		USS 
																		Mansfield 
																		(DD-728) 
																		[Destroyer] 
																		[Operated

																		on 
																		Saigon 
																		River 
																		August 
																		8-19, 
																		1967 and

																		December 
																		21-24, 
																		1968]
																		
																		
																		
																		
																		USS 
																		Richard 
																		E. Kraus 
																		(DD-849) 
																		[Destroyer]

																		[Operated 
																		on 
																		coastal 
																		inlet 
																		north of 
																		Da Nang,

																		June 
																		2-5, 
																		1966, 
																		protecting 
																		Marines 
																		holding 
																		a

																		bridge]
																		
																		
																		
																		
																		USS 
																		Basilone 
																		(DD-824) 
																		[Destroyer] 
																		[Operated

																		on 
																		Saigon 
																		River, 
																		May 
																		24-25, 
																		1966]
																		
																		 
																		
																		
																		
																		USS 
																		Hamner 
																		(DD-718) 
																		[Destroyer] 
																		[Operated

																		on Song 
																		Lon Tao 
																		and Long 
																		Song Tao 
																		Rivers,

																		August 
																		15-September 
																		1, 1966]
																		
																		 
																		
																		
																		
																		USS 
																		Conway 
																		(DD-507) 
																		[Destroyer] 
																		[Operated

																		on 
																		Saigon 
																		River, 
																		early 
																		August 
																		1966]
																		
																		 
																		
																		
																		
																		USS 
																		Fiske 
																		(DD-842) 
																		[Destroyer] 
																		[Operated 
																		on

																		Mekong 
																		River, 
																		June 
																		16-21, 
																		1966]
																		
																		 
																		
																		
																		
																		USS 
																		Black 
																		(DD-666) 
																		[Destroyer] 
																		[Operated 
																		on

																		Saigon 
																		River, 
																		July 
																		13-19, 
																		1966]
																		
																		 
																		
																		
																		
																		USS 
																		Providence 
																		(CLG-6) 
																		[Cruiser, 
																		Light,

																		Guided 
																		Missile] 
																		[Operated 
																		on 
																		Saigon 
																		River 3

																		days 
																		during 
																		January 
																		1964]
																		
																		
																		
																		
																		USS 
																		Mahan 
																		(DLG-11) 
																		[Guided 
																		Missile 
																		Frigate]

																		[Operated 
																		on 
																		Saigon 
																		River 
																		October 
																		24-28, 
																		1964]
																		
																		
																		
																		
																		USS 
																		Okanogan 
																		(APA-220) 
																		[Attack 
																		Transport]

																		[Operated 
																		on 
																		Saigon 
																		River 
																		July 
																		22-23, 
																		29-30,

																		1968 and 
																		August 
																		5-6, 
																		1968]
																		
																		
																		
																		
																		USS 
																		Niagara 
																		Falls 
																		(AFS-3) 
																		[Combat 
																		Stores

																		Ship] 
																		[Unloaded 
																		supplies 
																		on 
																		Saigon 
																		River 
																		and

																		Cam Rahn 
																		Bay, 
																		April 
																		22-25, 
																		1968
																		
									
      																

																	
																
															
														
													
												
											
										
									
								
							
						
					
				
			
		
			
				
					
					

					
					free hit counters

USS Flasher SSN 613 Reunion

Proposed Activities