USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans

07/13/2022

We’ve been working on a WWII Submarine Memorial in Joliet, Il. for a while. The foundation went in today. It will be several months before the granite memorial will be ready, but this is a great start. Many thanks to the City Manager, Mr James Capparelli and Mr Tom White from the Three Rivers Construction Alliance for making this happen.

06/27/2022

USS Chicago Base participated in the 2022 Carbon Hill Homecoming parade that was held June 26th. It was our 3rd parade of the year. The crowd was large and appreciative as usual, and the weather was great. Afterward we enjoyed lunch at a local establishment. Our last parade for 2022 will be the Grundy County Corn Festival Parade on October 2nd.

05/30/2022

USS Chicago Base submarine veterans volunteered at the 2022 Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery Memorial Day ceremony. It was the first Memorial Day ceremony at this cemetery since 2019. It was an awesome day, and it was good to be back. There was a large and appreciative crowd as is usual for these ceremonies. The cemetery had a very nice program; with band music, speeches, including by Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd, reenactors from wars going back to the revolution, a flyover by a WW II Grumman TBM Avenger, etc. We enjoyed lunch together after the ceremony at a local restaurant. It was a great way to honor our veterans and to celebrate Memorial Day.

05/18/2022

On May 15th of this year, Joe Tokarz, a USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans member, visited the SL-1 Memorial located west of Idaho Falls, ID. The two photos in this post show the memorial and another of Joe saluting it. This is what Joe said about the memorial: "May 30, 2022 is Memorial Day. On May 15, 2022, I visited America's newest Memorial - a most fitting remembrance to the soldiers and sailor who died at SL-1 January 3rd, 1961. When you look up from the plaque, you can almost see the SL-1 site. Thank you to DOE and INL for their support in making the SL-1 Memorial a reality. All gave some. Some gave all!" Note: Joe was instrumental in having this memorial installed. He had previously visited the area where SL-1 was located. He looked for a memorial to the SL-1 crew members who perished in an accident at the facility, and found nothing. He thought there should be a memorial. So, he contacted the DOE (Dept. of Energy) and INL (Idaho National Laboratory) and was able to accomplish this worthy task. Kudos to Joe for doing this. For those who don't know, SL-1 stands for Stationary Low-Power Reactor One. See this Wikipedia article about the reactor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SL-1.

05/02/2022

USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans participated in the 2022 New Lenox Loyalty Day parade yesterday, May 1st. It was unseasonably cool (no surprise) but we stayed dry. The crowd along the parade route was appreciative and larger than we expected, given the weather. Afterward the New Lenox VFW post served free hotdogs and beverages, as they've always done before. It was nice to get back to New Lenox for this parade. It was cancelled the past 2 years because of Covid.

04/08/2022

USS Chicago Base, along with other area veterans, veteran's groups and interested people, participated in the April 8th, 2022 Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery (ALNC) direct burial ceremony for unclaimed veteran remains. After the ceremony we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the Silver Dollar Restaurant in Elwood.

03/07/2022

USS Chicago Base participated in the Tinley Park Irish parade yesterday. It's our first parade for 2022. Here're a few photos from the parade. The day was kind of cold and very windy. But at least we didn't get snowed or rained on. The crowd along the route was very large and vocal. We appreciated that. After the parade we went to the Tinley Park VFW for some refreshments.

01/13/2022

USS Chicago Base, along with other area veterans, veteran's groups and interested people, participated in the Jan. 13th, 2022 Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery (ALNC) direct burial ceremony for unclaimed veteran remains. After the ceremony we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the Silver Dollar Restaurant in Elwood.

12/09/2021

USS Chicago Base had their monthly meeting and Christmas party at the Tinley Park, IL VFW on December 4th. We had a nice turnout, lots of good food provided by our own Chief Cook Barnacle Bill Hoffman, and great fun. Here're some photos from the party.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/26/2021

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

Now it's easier to send USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans a message.

10/15/2021

USS Chicago Base, along with other area veterans, veterans groups and interested people, participated in the Oct. 14th Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery (ALNC) direct burial ceremony for unclaimed veteran remains. After the ceremony we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the Silver Dollar Restaurant in Elwood.

08/26/2021

Shipmates!
Checkout the newest addition to my tap room. It's a 1/15 scale Balao Class submarine built be two members of USSVI Peoria Base. After some years of use, they could no longer store or use it. I'm happy and proud to give it a new home at Hickory Creek Brewing.
Cheers!

07/26/2021

USS Chicago Base, along with other area veterans, veterans groups and interested people, participated in the July 13th Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery (ALNC) direct burial ceremony for unclaimed veteran remains. Because of the Covid pandemic it's been more than a year since ALNC has held this ceremony. The next ceremony will be in October, assuming that the pandemic doesn't interfere. After the ceremony we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the Silver Dollar Restaurant in Elwood.

07/05/2021

USS Chicago Base participated in the 2021 Carbon Hill Homecoming parade which was held June 27th. It should've been our 3rd parade of the year but because of the Covid pandemic this was our first. It was a very good parade. The crowd was large and appreciative as usual and the weather cooperated for a change. Afterward we enjoyed lunch at a local establishment. Our last parade for 2021 will be the Grundy County Corn Festival Parade on September 26th.

05/27/2021

USS Chicago Base members John Connon and Don Schlegel participated in this event. John is shown on the right of the photo.

05/17/2021

Chicago Base visited Cantigny Park May 15, 2021. During our visit we toured the Visitors Center and the First Infantry Division Museum. Afterward we ate lunch at the Cantigny Golf Course restaurant. They have very nice gardens at Cantigny too but it was a rainy day so we didn't spend much time touring those. The Cantigny Park website is located at: https://cantigny.org/plan-your-visit/visitors-center/

05/03/2021

Dan Baxter received the Holland Club award from Commander John Connon at our May meeting. The Holland Club award signifies 50 years of submarine qualification.

04/07/2021

Here are photos from a USS Chicago Base road trip to visit Cleveland, OH from March 19th to the 21st. They met USS Cod Base members there, went out to eat with them, attended a Cod Base meeting, toured USS Cod, toured the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and toured the Liberty Aviation Museum on the return trip.

03/07/2021

These photos were taken at our March 2021 base meeting at the Tinley Park, IL VFW. Our base was formed March 2004 and we celebrate the event at the March meeting every year.

02/09/2021

These photos were taken at our Feb. 2021 meeting at the Tinley Park, IL VFW. The photos show Commander John Connon presenting a certificate to WW II veteran Jim Wilkins in honor of the 75th anniversary of his qualification in submarines.

09/29/2020

Here are photos taken at the World War II Submarine Memorial dedication ceremony held Sept. 19, 2020 in Morris, IL. This memorial honors the memory of the 28 submarines built at the Manitowoc, WI Shipbuilding Co. during World War II. These submarines were built in Manitowoc, tested on Lake Michigan, and when complete they transited the river system on a special barge from Chicago to New Orleans. They all passed Morris, IL during their journey. They then sailed via the Panama Canal and the Pacific Ocean to their wartime assignments. They were very well built submarines. Four of them were lost with all hands. USS Chicago Base submarine veterans worked with the City of Morris, Morris Mayor Dick Kopczick, and the Reeves Funeral Home, Morris, IL to accomplish this project. We'd also like to thank Morris VFW Post 6049 for their assistance during the ceremony and with the luncheon afterward. We'd like to thank everyone for their cooperation. Without their support we wouldn't have had this memorial project completed as fast as it was. USS Chicago Base is proud to honor the memory of the World War II submarines and crews that this memorial is dedicated to. We feel that Morris, IL is a fitting site for the memorial.

09/27/2020

Voted The Most Realistic American Submarine Movie

This film was made as a one hour primetime television special in 1986. The documentary won the blue ribbon at the American Film Festival and was voted the most realistic American submarine movie. It is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qt7dyhB-jg. Submarines and the life onboard submarines isn't usually depicted correctly by Hollywood. I believe all submarine veterans will agree that this is "how it was".

You can get this film here - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001LQL6A . I made this one hour primetime television special in 1986. At the time, it was a big deal ...

07/05/2020

New Lenox 4th of July Parade. USS Chicago Base participated in this parade. As can be seen from the photos we had a nice turnout. Afterwards we went to the Hickory Creek Brewing Company for a few beverages and food. It was a nice day. Hot but nice.

03/14/2020

USS Chicago Base participated in the 2020 Tinley Park Irish Parade. The weather was nice and the crowd was very large and vocal. We had a nice time. This is our first parade of the year. Our next parade will be May 3rd in New Lenox.

03/14/2020

USS Chicago Base held our March 16th anniversary meeting. We held a short meeting, a catered meal, and then finished the meeting. We had a nice turnout of Submarine Veterans as can be seen from the photos. Admiral Hyman G. Rickover Naval Academy cadets were our special guests at this meeting.