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 Whidbey News Times
Island Heritage Network studies PBY history
By EILEEN
BROWN
Whidbey News Times Columnist
Sep 20 2008
The Island Heritage Network
will tour the PBY Memorial Foundation facility in Building 12
on the Seaplane Base starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24.
The mission of the Island County
Heritage Network is to encourage and support individuals, organizations
and groups that collect and preserve the unique and vibrant history
of Island County. Membership is open to individuals, organizations
and institutions associated with or actively involved in the
cultivation, preservation and conservation of Island County heritage
and history. Meetings are open to the public.
PBY Chairman Rick Rezabek said
progress made at the new site is largely thanks to the Navy;
Whidbey Moving and Storage who picked up display cases and tables
donated by Paul Allen in Seattle; city and Navy firefighters
who came in after hours to help them move from the old gas station;
the Whidbey Cruzers; and the VQ-1 World Watchers, led by PBY
member Navy Chief Craig Olson, who washed the windows.
Did you know the PBY Catalina
was the first airplane flown from the naval air station during
World War II? The PBY Memorial Foundation was organized to document
the impact of this aircraft and to educate the people of Oak
Harbor about its history.
It was from the steps of Building
12, the original Administration building, that Capt. Cyril Simard
read the orders on commissioning day, Sept. 21, 1942, thus setting
the watch.
Original aircraft parts, such
as a Pratt and Whitney 1830 engine, a wing tip float and the
skeleton of a rear half of a wing section are in the foyer. A
few steps up is a canteen with tables and chairs, a 1940 Wurlitzer
jukebox and a 1930 Sparton radio. The business office combines
the ship’s store and library.
The Island Heritage Association
will present a program, including a 30-minute DVD, “In Defense
of Our Nation,” take questions and give visitors a complete
tour. Displays are planned for individual rooms marked WWII,
Vietnam, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Retired Gunner’s Mate
Larry Blake saw service in Korea. He started a Challenge Coin
collection by donating his own coin inscribed with, “But
for freedom, not for freedom alone.” NAS commanding officer
Capt. Gerral David added his own coin to several on display.
For information, call Ron or
Ruth Hancock at 675-4086 or email randr.hancock@verizon.net.
Anyone visiting the PBY office should have their driver’s
license, proof of insurance and registration handy to show the
sentry at the gate. Visit www.islandhistory.org listed under
“links.”
Whidbey News Times Columnist
Eileen Brown can be reached at lifeonwhidbey@yahoo.com or 360-675-6611.
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By Tony Popp
NAS Public Affairs reporter
Thursday, July 24, 2008
How did an old PBY Catalina
engine found in Alabama end up at the Fleet Readiness Center
Northwest Support Equipment Division? It came by way of the PBY
Memorial Foundation in Oak Harbor.
“Alan Hodgkins, a local
aircraft restorer, had found the engine on eBay for us back in
October 2006,” said Win Stites, president of the foundation.
“It was located in Alabama and owned by a man and wife who
run a motorcycle business.”
The foundation paid $1,100
for the cutaway engine. The engine had been on public display
since April 2007 at the PBY Memorial Foundation’s office
at the old downtown Oak
Harbor gas station on Pioneer Way until the doors closed in December
2007 because of planned development of the site. Stites described
the cutaway training aid as a Pratt and Whitney 1830-92 engine,
saying it was probably used by the Naval Air Technical Training
Center Memphis to teach new Navy mechanics during WWII.
In anticipation of the PBY
Memorial Foundation re-opening its historical display at a new
location later this summer on the Seaplane Base, the engine is
getting a “makeover” by FRC Navy volunteers. “It
was a pile of rust when we got it,” said Aviation Support
Equipment Technician (AS) 2nd Class Alberto Leonardomercedes.
 AS1
Samnang Loeum, AS2 Terry Carmeans, AS2 Michael Harless and Leonardomercedes
have been working on the engine since last November as time permits.
“We have done lots of sanding, rust removal, corrosion control,
priming and painting,” said Leonardomercedes. Even the roll-away
stand it sits on will be sanded, primed and repainted.
These Sailors are doing their
part to preserve air station history. “It is gratifying
to see the interest today’s Sailors have in WWII aviation
history,” said Stites. “I truly feel that this history
will be preserved long after our generation is gone as exemplified
by the dedication of these Sailors.”
The first Patrol Bomber Consolidated
Aircraft landed at the Seaplane Base in December 1942. PBY aircrews
trained here to fly in the Aleutian Islands campaign, part of
Alaska, during World War II. A small Japanese force had occupied
the islands to prevent
possible U.S. attack across the Northern Pacific. Likewise, the
U.S. feared the islands would be used as Japanese bases to launch
aerial assaults along the West Coast.
Stites, himself a VP-91 PBY
veteran, once flew from Crescent Harbor in 1945. Having NAS Whidbey’s
Sailors get involved in the PBY Catalina makes him proud. “I
feel that NAS Whidbey’s aviation history is in good hands,”
said Stites. “With this kind of involvement by our current
Navy, this historical memorial can be perpetually maintained
and some day gain national recognition.”
Photo by Tony Popp
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Whidbey News Times
Sound Off: PBY Memorial gets big lift
Jul 03 2008
By Win Stites
Whoever said community spirit
is gone, needs to read this! The PBY Memorial Foundation, a non-profit
historical group established in 1998, recently made the big move
from its downtown location on 1081 SE Pioneer Way to their new
quarters, lock-stock and aircraft paraphernalia to Building 12
on the NAS seaplane base.
This was no small task and
with all of the files, artifacts, aviation parts, flight simulator,
and even a 1940?s working juke box, the assignment was an immense
one!
The files, books, uniforms,
documents and all small articles were packed and color coded,
thanks to our creative and industrious PBY Memorial staff. Then,
the word went out for the move. A truck suddenly appeared, then
a flatbed and a forklift arrived to pick up the 800-pound Pratt
and Whitney radial engine for delivery to AIMD for some clean-up
work.
With the manpower in place,
?the plan? was launched ? at both ends! First, the truck, donated
by Whidbey Island Movers, was packed with big articles including
office furniture, display cabinets, a propeller, book cases and
tables. It was filled to the brim. This scenario was repeated
for several trips to Building 12 where the other crew was there
to unload.
You could say it truly was
a joint effort by the Oak Harbor Fire Department personnel on
the loading end and the NAS Fire Department on the unloading
end. The crews all eagerly volunteered their muscles to the cause
of the mission, on their off-duty hours and break time.
We members of PBY Memorial
Foundation were overwhelmed by their dedication to the cause.
We couldn?t thank them enough, from the fire and battalion chiefs
down to the firefighter personnel. And a big ?thank you? to the
Whidbey Island Movers, who loaned the truck for all the time
needed to complete the move.
We would like to extend our
grateful thanks for the support from NAS Base Commander Capt.
Gerral David. Capt. David, himself a champion of naval aviation
history, helped spearhead our move to Building 12. Tentative
plans are to make it a center for NAS Whidbey aviation history.
We also want to recognize the
effort put forth by the NAS Public Works office that helped us
through the red tape over the last nine years. Building 12 was
the first administration building, and is itself, along with
other structures on the Seaplane Base, a piece of history. It
is where the ?watch was set? Sept. 21, 1942, and is listed on
the state historical register.
It certainly is true. The community
spirit is ?alive and well.?
Win Stites is president of
the PBY Memorial Foundation.
Whidbey News Times
Life on Whidbey:
History is only important if you don't record it
Jul 03 2008
Members of the PBY Memorial
Foundation were happy to see each other, upright and breathing,
as one said, at last week?s picnic at the home of ADOLPH and
DOLORES MEISCH. After all, Adolph was hospitalized in serious
condition a few months ago, which meant DONNA STITES handled
the phone tree with updates as Dolores kept watch by his side.
Some members may have health
challenges but for most, a fire still burns within when they
tell a newcomer stories of life here in the early 1940s. They
worked and lived aboard the Seaplane Base where PBYs would make
the ramp and be secured to pad eyes still in the asphalt.
I never tire of hearing their
stories about the PBYs flying to the Aleutians, the PBYs painted
pitch black, thus the name Black Cats, patrolling the South Pacific,
and tales such as one of two hapless sailors who hugged the shoreline
to head to town but had to face the sentry on their return. High
tide.
Small town boys stepped off
the bus at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, sea bags over their
shoulders and a set of orders in hand. Training would begin immediately
in the fight for the Aleutians.
Thirty of the original members
of the PBY Memorial Foundation have died since 2001, when they
began keeping track of such things. Their names are in a simple
wood frame in the foundation?s office downtown. Whether or not
they were wounded in action, taken prisoner in Vietnam or waited
at home for word about a plane lost in the mountains, they are
all national treasures.
SHORTY SCHLATTER left us in
August 2001; DOC STRADER lost his valiant fight in July 2003;
former Vietnam POW CMDR. ROGER LERSETH and historian DOROTHY
NEIL died in early 2004; BUD FISCHER and HANK BUDDY MOODY both
died in 2005; and ED SPROMBERG in May 2006.
They had one fervent wish:
to see the PBY Memorial Foundation survive and thrive. That?s
where you come in. You can help preserve history.
Civilians who love history,
servicemen and women especially from patrol squadrons and other
commands, and military spouses are all welcome.
Become a member. It only
costs $25 for individuals and $35 for family.
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By Tony Popp
NAS Public Affairs reporter
Thursday, October 2, 2008
It was 10 years ago that the
PBY Memorial Foundation was established in an effort to bring
a Catalina seaplane back to Oak Harbor and preserve its history.
Ironically, just two days after NAS Whidbey Island celebrated
its 66th birthday, the PBY Memorial Foundation marked its 10th
anniversary Sept. 23 with a luncheon celebration at the CPO Club.
Among the crowd of 100 people were guest speaker base NAS Whidbey
Commanding Officer, Capt. Gerral David, Oak Harbor Mayor Jim
Slowik and PBY president Win Stites, who once flew with Catalina
squadron VP-91 from NAS Whidbey Island in 1945.
 “The
first PBY landed here in December 1942 when Lieutenant J.A. Morrison
brought in the first Catalina, but had to land about five miles
out until a log boat could clear Crescent Harbor,” said
David. “This event may define the beginnings of naval history
at this air station, but it’s important to realize that
the mission of the base hasn’t really changed since the
1940s.” David added that today’s men and women are
still committed to protecting America’s freedoms and defending
the Constitution.
Stites was recognized as the
man who got the whole PBY endeavor rolling in Oak Harbor. David
read an excerpt from a 1998 “Crosswind,” predecessor
to the Northwest Navigator, that read: “Stites is a man
with a mission. He believes that the PBY Catalina deserves a
place of honor, something befitting an airplane with an illustrious
record of contributions to the success of major WWII naval battles
by locating enemy flotillas.” Stites felt Oak Harbor was
the ideal spot for a Catalina historic monument, where PBY’s
climbed the ramps to the old Seaplane Base. The ramps can still
be seen today jutting out into Crescent Harbor at the Navy Exchange
parking lot.
The PBY Foundation once set
up shop in downtown Oak Harbor at the old gas station on Pioneer
Way. The doors closed in December 2007 due to future development
of that property. As a result, the PBY group asked NAS Whidbey
Island to help find a suitable location. Coming full circle,
the PBY Foundation display is now in Building 12, the original
base administration building where Sailors stood on the steps
to commission the base on Sept. 21, 1942.
At the luncheon, Stites thanked
the many volunteers who helped make the move in just three days.
Among them were a VQ-1 crew headed by Senior Chief Craig Olson,
chief selectees, Navy and city fire fighters and the Whidbey
Cruisers. “It’s only right that we’re embarking
on a partnership to establish a place where everyone can come
to learn about the PBY and the legacy of the base,” said
David.
The command plans to expand
the display areas in the two-story building to incorporate all
base historical documents, pictures and memorabilia. And when
the foundation does find a PBY aircraft, it will go on static
display in the grass area near the old Laundromat which is earmarked
for demolition, thus giving everyone a perfect view of the aircraft
from the Maui Gate.
David told the audience he’s
continuing to work on base access issues to make the display
available to the general public without compromising force protection.
“I offer my congratulations to you all as you celebrate
your tenth anniversary,” David said in closing. “We
thank you for your dedication to carry on the rich legacy of
the people, the aircraft and the mission of not only the PBY
Catalina but the whole Naval Station
Whidbey Island.”
Currently the display is open
on Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in building 12. The foundation
hopes to open the doors on Saturdays as well, depending on more
volunteer help. The display is for young and old alike, with
aircraft models of every aircraft ever flown from NAS Whidbey,
a Catalina engine, vintage aircrew clothing, photos, PBY wing
and more. The display will eventually cover WWII, the Korean
and Vietnam conflicts and from 1975 to present.
Visitors can now visit an expanded
PBY Catalina display on Fridays at Building 12. Future exhibits
will feature NAS Whidbey's role in WWII, the Korean and Vietnam
conflicts and action seen from 1975 to the present
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