Volume 1, Issue 26

December 2013

Special points
of interest:

Adamante Semper Parato

VP-2
The Neptune

VP 2 Association
Reunion

A Message from the President

Tour Descriptions

Most of you know that Im a pretty laid-back kind of guy. Things that arent painted yellow
dont usually get me excited. But, Lois and I are really looking forward to the VP-2 reunion
in Charleston. Weve never been there, but weve heard how beautiful the city is, and were
reading about all there is to do there. Did you know that the Confederacy built a submarine
for use during the Civil War? That was over 150 years ago, and that was the first submarine
ever to sink a ship. In its lifetime, the submarine H. L. Hunley sank three times, killing all
aboard all three times. In its third sinking, the Hunley was lost and not discovered until
1995 at the bottom of the Charleston outer harbor. Scientists spent five years figuring out
how to raise the Hunley without damaging it. In 2000, the Hunley was salvaged and
brought ashore for examination. The Hunley is still being studied by scientists, but is available for viewing on the weekends. That is just one of the great tours that our hosts, Jim
Welch and Vic Gulliver are arranging for us during our reunion. There is a lot more about
the reunion further back in this Newsletter.

VP 2 Temporary
Sea Duty
Aircraft Patrol
Weve Got Your
Number
Treasurers Notes
Chaplains Corner
Just for Laughs
Reunion and Hotel
Registration
Information

Officers
President
Floyd D. Palmer
st

1 VP
Dino Vlahakis
2nd VP
Jim Welch
Director
Vic Gulliver
Director
Milt DeBuhr
Director
Arley Hamilton
Secretary/
Treasurer Doug Donohue

Every year since I first joined the VP-2 Association, we have added new members to our
ranks. That is really remarkable considering that VP-2 stopped producing veterans of the
squadron in 1969 when the squadron was disestablished. We welcomed two new members
in the last issue of our Newsletter, and we have a new one to announce now. Member #598,
Gary Kapke (58-60) is looking forward to joining us in Charleston. If you know the
names and last known locations of any VP-2 veterans, pass that info to Bob Champoux, and
let his membership committee start a search. Bobs contact info can be found on the last
page of this Newsletter.
At the Charleston reunion, well be holding elections for the Associations Executive Board.
Our bylaws state that board members serve fouryear terms. All of our current board members will have served at least four years by 2014. Some board members may wish to stay in
office, but incumbents would be required to run for election again if someone else chooses
to run for their position. Between now and then, be thinking about how you might contribute a little time and energy to our Association. Nobody gets paid. Its all volunteer work,
but our Association doesnt function without dedicated volunteers.
As we approach the holiday season, we need to remember all those who serve in our nations military, many of whom will spend the season on duty, away from home and family.
We remember from our days in the military what it was like to be thousands of miles from
home during the holidays. We are especially thankful for those who volunteer to serve in
our military. It is gratifying that our military is so dedicated to keeping our country safe in
these difficult times. We hope that all of our service men and women have a safe and happy
holiday season, and that those now serving overseas will return to us soon.
Lois and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Floyd Palmer, President, Patrol Squadron Two Association

VP-2
Page 2

VP-2 Association ReunionCharleston, South Carolina

October 30 November 3, 2014
The 16th VP-2 Association Reunion will be held in Charleston, S.C.
Weve never met in Charleston before, but it is surprising that we
havent since this city has so much to offer. Charleston was recently named the Top City in the U.S.A. according to Conde Nast
Traveler Readers Choice Awards. The award was based on Atmosphere and Ambiance, Culture and Sites, Friendliness, Lodging,
Restaurants and Shopping all the things that interest us when we
travel to a reunion. Several of our Association members have mentioned their intention to arrive in Charleston early or to stay late to
see and do all that Charleston offers.
Weve picked out a luxury hotel for our base of operations. The Crowne Plaza hotel in North Charleston is
the only four diamond hotel in the area. It has all the conveniences we always look for at our reunions.
Were working hard to make this our best reunion ever.
Your hosts and reunion chairpersons are Jim and Pat Welch and Vic and Pat Gulliver.
REUNION ITINERARY: (Some work still in progress) Note that we cannot publish tour prices yet since
the 2014 prices were not yet available when this Newsletter went to print. All tour information including
prices, schedules and sign up instructions will be contained in our June 2014 Newsletter. We expect an August 1, 2014 deadline for tour selections and payments.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Hotel check-in/Reunion registration

Welcome Reception including buffet dinner

Friday, October 31, 2014

Womens meet and greet gathering

Association business meeting
Charleston historic city bus tour.
Lunch and shopping on our own in the Old Market Square
A visit to the formal parade of cadets at the Citadel
Open evening

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Boone Hall plantation tour

Lunch on our own in the city
Fort Sumter guided cruise/tour.
Open evening

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Religious Service led by our own Doug Millar

Patriots Point Maritime Museum tour with lunch at the
CPO Mess on the USS Yorktown
Tour of the H.L. Hunley Confederate submarine
Evening farewell banquet

Monday, November 3, 2014

Hotel check-out in am.

Volume 1, Issue 26
Page 3

Tour Descriptions
Fridays tour is a guided historic bus tour of the city with a stop at
the Citadel to witness their afternoon formal parade of cadets.
There will be time to have lunch and shop on our own in the Old
Market Square.
Saturdays tour takes us to the Boone Hall plantation, where we can
witness the famous Avenue of Oaks and explore all that the Boone
Hall plantation and gardens have to offer. We can learn of the Gullah culture through one-of-a-kind live presentations, and visit the
black history in America exhibit on display in nine original slave
cabins. We can tour the plantation home and take a tram tour across
the entire plantation, which has been the setting for many television
shows and movies. This is the most photographed plantation in the
country. Our bus will take us to downtown Charleston, where we
will be free to have lunch on our own and/or shop. In the afternoon,
we will board a boat for a two hour tour to Fort Sumter where the
first shots of the Civil War were fired. This is a half-hour boat
cruise to and from the Fort, plus a one hour tour of the Fort and its
museum.
Sundays tour takes us to Patriots Point, home of the largest naval
and maritime museum in the world. Visit the carrier USS Yorktown, the submarine USS Clamagore and the destroyer USS Laffey.
See the collection of war planes on the flight deck and hangar deck
of the Yorktown. See the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum
with interactive exhibits, and a mock-up of a Vietnam era naval
support base. Well have lunch at the CPO Mess aboard the Yorktown before departing to see the H.L. Hunley Confederate submarine exhibit at the old Charleston naval base. Well be back at our
hotel in time to freshen up for our Sunday night farewell banquet.
SIGN UP FOR THE REUNION:
The cost of attending the reunion is $125. per person (exclusive, of
course, of hotel cost). Were asking members to submit a nonrefundable deposit of $30. per person by April 1, 2014 with the remainder due by August 1, 2014. The reunion deposit by April gives
us the approximate attendance information to make interim arrangements with the hotel. You may also pay the full $125 registration
fee by April 1st, which is refundable up until August 1, 2014.
Fill out and mail the registration form in this Newsletter along with
your check made payable to VP-2 Association. Your registration
form goes to Vic Gulliver at 1900 Franklin Dr., Glenview, IL
60026-1076. The registration form can also be printed from the VP
-2 website at www.patron2.com.

VP-2
Page 4

VP-2 Temporary Sea Duty

October 2013

Location: Barcelona Spain & Western Med

America is the only

country where a
significant proportion
of the population
believes that
professional wrestling
is real but the moon
landing was faked.
~David Letterman

Based on orders to return to temporary

duty at sea, Arley Hamilton, Mike OGara, and Jim Welch, along with their mates rushed to Barcelona Spain to help out
as ordered. Upon arrival in Barcelona
they found that the orders had been issued many, many years ago, but were
lost in the squadron mail. It turned out
that Hemingway had returned to the
states to write another book, Franco was
dead, and the war had been over a long,
long time.

AND A GOOD TIME

WAS HAD BY ALL!

The only reason they

say 'Women and
children first' is to test
the strength of the
lifeboats.
~ Jean Kerr
I've been married to a
communist and a
fascist, and neither
would take out the
garbage
~Zsa Zsa Gabor
You know you're a
redneck if your home
has wheels and your
car doesn't.
~ Jeff Foxworthy
America is so
advanced that even
the chairs are electric.
~ Doug Hamwell

Adapting to the changed situation, these

three courageous airmen ( seamen ?)
quickly signed on to the good ship
Celebrity Equinox seeking to provide
help to any port in need. They checked
Nice, France; Livorno, Rome, Naples, and
Venice, Italy as well as Kotor, Montenegro, and Dubrovnik, Croatia. Once satisfied that the western med was secure, they
returned to Barcelona and flew home to
the USA knowing that VP-2 squadron
mates had once again stepped forward as
needed.

Rub-A-Dub-Dub three men who

dont know where they are!
Arley Hamilton, Jim Welch
and Mike OGara

Patrol Aircraft Weve Got Your Number By Vic Gulliver

The Navy has introduced the P-8A Poseidon into the fleet as a replacement for
the venerable P3C Orion. But where did
the designation P-8 come from? During
World War II, our patrol forces flew the
PV-1, PV-2, PBY, PBM and PB4Y aircraft. In those designations, the P
stood for Patrol, the B stood for
Bomber, the V stood for Lockheed,
which was then Lockheed-Vega, the
M stood for Martin, and the Y stood
for Consolidated. But, now, aircraft designations are all different. Right after
WWII, we had the P2V, which many of
us flew. P2V: the second patrol plane
built by Lockheed? But, Lockheed had
built the PV-1 and PV-2! So, the P2V
wasnt the second patrol plane built by
Lockheed. Then we had the P3A, P3B

and P3C. But wait. Why did we have all

those P-3s when the Navy already had
introduced the P4M Mercator, the P5M
Marlin and the P6M SeaMaster? Why
did we go back to P3? Better yet, why
had we skipped P3 when the P4, P5 and
P6 were introduced? So, now we have
the P-8A. Was there ever a P-7? I dont
remember it. Im so confused.

Volume 1, Issue 26
Page 5

Treasurer's
Notes

TAKE NOTE..
The association's newsletter is
available on the website.
With the increasing costs of
postage and printing in mind, I
encourage members to avail
themselves of this option;
where one has the choice of
reading it online, or printing
their own copy for perusing in
the comfort of their favorite
chair.
Please advise if you would
rather download the newsletter
from the website than receive a
hard copy delivered by the
post office.

From Doug Donohue

Many thanks to those who have made
their dues donations for the current dues
period. Dues status information is on the
label of this newsletter, and on the roster
page of the website.
The treasury balance remains in excellent
shape with very low direct operating expenses, and the benefit of in kind donations. This year, for the third time, we
have received a donation of $1,000 from
the Lennart Erickson Foundation. There
has been no response to my inquiries to
find the connection of Lennart Erickson
to Patrol Squadron Two.
Please enlighten me if able.
Our MOAA scholarship recipients for
this school year are Brittany Wetherill, in
her senior year, majoring in English at
Nyack College, and Marissa Mueller,
majoring in Biology at Appalachian State
University. Each will receive a $5000
loan and a $500 grant.
Please maintain current contact information with the association by providing
updates of address, phone and email
changes to me either by email or mail.

When a man opens a

car door for his wife,
it's either a new car
or a new wife.
~ Prince Philip
A computer once
beat me at chess, but
it was no match for
me at kickboxing.
~ Emo Philips.
Wood burns faster
when you have to cut
and chop it yourself.
~ Harrison Ford
Lawyers believe a
man is innocent until
proven broke.
~ Robin Hall
Kill one man and
you're a murderer,
kill a million and
you're a conqueror.
~ Jean Rostand.

A photo from 1989. Here are two VP-2 Association members: Dave Bowen (L) and
Frank Orr in the cockpit of their Northwest Airlines Boeing 747. They dont look
much different today.

We are here on earth

to do good unto
others. What the
others are here for, I
have no idea.
~ WH Auden

VP-2
Page 6

Chaplains Corner by Doug Millar

Trust Him
today. We may
not have
tomorrow. And
while you are
doing so have
a wonderful
Christmas!
Looking to
Share
Information
in the
VP 2 Neptune
Newsletter?

If any of our
members
would like to
contribute
news, thoughts,
experiences, etc.,
please email:
Floyd D. Palmer
at:
Floydp@palmerbus
service.com

Recently my wife and I were returning

home through the Seattle airport.
Leaving the plane ahead of us was a
father traveling with his little boy who
looked to be about 3 years old. As we
all walked out of the jet way I noticed
the little boy looking around at what, to
him, must have seemed a group of giants. He was walking with his hand in
his dad's hand and was surrounded by a
host of tall adults all about three
times his height. It could have been
very frightening to him but he appeared to be totally comfortable, while
frequently looking up through big blue
eyes at his dad and holding very tightly
to his dad's hand. The little guy had
complete confidence that his dad
would take care of him and not let him
be trampled by the crowd. Trust! The
lad had trust in his father.
Trust. Webster defines it as "assured
reliance on another's integrity, veracity,
and justice." It is a word that we still
use frequently in our society but a concept that we often find difficult to rely
on. This is particularly true in our relationship to others. We live in a time
when our leaders often tell us what
they think we want to hear whether it
is true or not. Journalists tell us that a
high percentage of marriages today
have at least one partner who has been
unfaithful to the other. We regularly
see celebrities breaking contracts early
in order to go with a better offer. Often
we find lying to be acceptable just because it is convenient. These kinds of
facts have made it very difficult to trust
others.
So how can we learn to trust again?
The secret is in placing our trust in
someone or something that is trustworthy. The Bible tells us that we should
trust God. It tells us in Psalm 52:8 that
we can trust Him to be a "refuge." In

Psalm 3:5 it tells us to trust Him and He

will "make our paths straight." I Timothy
1:15 tells us to trust Jesus Christ as our
savior because He came "into the world to
save sinners." I Peter 5:7 tells us that He
"cares" for us. Luke 18:27 tells us that He
is able to do anything for us because
"nothing is impossible" with God. John
3:16 tells us that He loves us so much that
He sent His only Son, Christ, to die for
the forgiveness of our sins - so that we
might have "eternal life" with Him. And
1 John 1:9 tells us that no matter how bad
or sinful we may be, if we are willing to
confess our sins to Him He is "faithful
to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from
all unrighteousness."
The trouble with trusting someone (or
something) is that we have to start by
showing faith in that person (or thing.)
With the passage of time that person
proves themself to be trustworthy of our
faith and trusting then becomes easier and
easier to do. In Romans 9:33 we read,
"He who believes in Him (God/Christ)
will not be disappointed." That is a great
promise!
Trust Him today. We may not have tomorrow. And while you are doing so
have a wonderful Christmas!

In Memoriam
We have learned of the loss of the following association members since our June
'13 newsletter:
Arthur "Earl" Norton, Jr.
(46-50) (Jun 2013)
Jim Lotzgesell
(50-51) (Jun 2013)
If you know of the passing of any of our
former VP-2 personnel, please advise
Doug
Donohue
by
email
at
nvsoar@charter.net

Volume 1, Issue 26
Page 7

VP-2 Association Officers & Appointments

President

Floyd D. Palmer
213 Woodhill Court, Mankato, MN 56001
507-327-6761, 507-388-2059 (Fax)
floydp@palmerbusservice.com

1st Vice President

Dino Vlahakis
54 Westview Lane, Lebanon, NH 03766
603-448-3729 cgv601@comcast.net

2nd Vice President

Reunion Coordinator

Jim Welch
8601 Terrell Dr., North Richland Hills, TX 76182
817-788-2204 japwelch751@gmail.com

Secretary/Treasurer
Website Coordinator

Doug Donohue
PO Box 2894, Gardnerville, NV 89410
775-781-3737 nvsoar@charter.net

Director/Ships Store
Reunion Coordinator

Vic Gulliver
1900 Franklin Drive, Glenview, IL 60026
847-296-6907 vicgulliver@comcast.net

Director

Milt DeBuhr
171 Humbug Road, Yreka, CA 96097
530-841-0805 miltdebuhr@att.net

Director

Arley Hamilton
101 Burgess Avenue, Rochester, MA 02770
508-763-8434 hamilton.arley3@verizon.net

Association Chaplain

Doug Millar
12515 Maple Street, Leavenworth, WA 98826
509-548-3154 dna@dnamillar.com

Association Historian

Skip Forseth
2319 Brewster, Redwood City, CA 94062
650-365-2806
p2flyer@pacbell.net

Association Parliamentarian

Bob Bender
197 Mill Pond Drive, Middleville, MI 49333
616-450-6790
bobender@yahoo.com

Membership Chairman

Bob Champoux
286 145th Place SE, Bellevue, WA 98007
425-502-9883
rchampoux@comcast.net

In hotel rooms I
worry. I can't be the
only guy who sits on
the furniture naked.
~ Jonathan Katz
If life were fair Elvis
would still be alive
today and all the
impersonators would
be dead.
~ Johnny Carson
Home
cooking. Where
many a man thinks
his wife is.
~ Jimmy Durante
As I hurtled through
space, one thought
kept crossing my
mind - every part of
this rocket was
supplied by the lowest
bidder.
~ John Glenn
If toast always lands
butter-side down, and
cats always land on
their feet, what
happens if you strap
toast on the back of
a cat?
~ Steven Wright

Adamante Semper Parato

A Word of Warning

By Vic Gulliver

Some of you may be asking why this issue of the VP-2 Newsletter was a little late getting into the mail this year. Its a
long story, but it had to do with the idea that we would use a professional reunion planner to do much of the work in
planning for our reunion in Charleston, SC. Those who attended the reunion in Fort Worth heard a presentation by a reunion planner who told us of all the wonderful things that a planner could do for us. At that reunion, we voted to go to
Charleston in 2014 even though we had no volunteers from that city to host a reunion. Our vote was largely based on the
idea that we could hire a reunion planner to do most of the work. In fact, after exploring the presentations of three different reunion planning firms, we hired the firm owned by the man who lectured us in Fort Worth. What a mistake that
was.
Our decision to hire that firm was based on their promises to perform certain functions that they later could not or would
not perform. When confronted with their violations and misrepresentations of our contract, their owner unilaterally cancelled the contract in November. We could have brought a lawsuit for nonperformance against that firm, but it would
have been more trouble than it was worth since we had not yet paid them for anything. But, they did waste nearly a year
of our time.
So, now, Jim and Pat Welch and Vic and Pat Gulliver are the official hosts of the Charleston reunion. We have rewritten
all the information and instructions for the reunion that appear in this Newsletter. And, without a reunion planner to do
all the work we were hoping they would do, were looking for some volunteers to help us with the various tasks of running a reunion. In particular, well be looking for help at the registration desk on the first day, in the Ready Room in
shifts each day, maybe counting heads on the tour buses, shopping in North Charleston for items needed in the Ready
Room, and taking photographs of our activities.
If you belong to other organizations that may be considering the use of a professional reunion planner, be aware that
some planners are undoubtedly better than others.

Patrol Squadron Two Association

PO Box 2894
Gardnerville, NV 89410

Were on the Web

http://www.patron2.com/

The Crown Plaza Hotel, North Charleston, SC

The hotel is located near the Charleston Airport Convention Center and adjacent to the Tanger Outlet
Mall at 4381 Tanger Outlet Blvd, North Charleston, SC 29418.
Phone: 843-744-4422.

Fax: 843-744-4472

Website: www.crownplaza.com/charlestonsc

Hotel reservations are the responsibility of each member and can be made by calling the hotels local
reservation phone number: 866-358-6255. Be sure to mention that you are attending the VP-2 reunion
to get our lower room rate. Hotel reservations will be taken until September 30, 2014. After that time,
reservations at our agreed rate will only be taken on a space available basis.
Our room rate is $112 per night (single or double) plus state taxes, and can be extended at this rate three
days before and three days after our reunion based on room availability. This rate includes a full buffet
breakfast (for two guests per room) served each day, Friday through Monday, in our Ready Room.

Other Amenities:

Hotel check-in at 4:00 pm. Check-out time is 11:00 am.

The hotel has its own restaurant, bar, fitness center, ATM, and outdoor swimming pool.

The hotel is within a short walking distance of the Tanger Outlet Mall, which contains many
outlet stores and fast-food restaurants. Other restaurants are also nearby.

Hotel restaurant and bar offer a 10% discount to VP-2 during the reunion.

Complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport via hotel van. On arrival at the airport,
call 1-843-744-4422 for pickup.

Complimentary hotel van service within 5 miles of the hotel.

Hotel van round-trip service to downtown is offered for $10 per person. Advanced sign-up is
required. This service will be offered three times per day and is scheduled by the hotel.

Complimentary hotel parking.

Complimentary Wireless Internet service.

Suites are available to VP-2 reunion members at the discounted rate of $152.

Cancellation Policy: There is no charge for room cancellations made more than 24 hours in
advance. Cancellations made less than 24 hours prior to 4:00 pm on arrival day will require a
cancellation fee equal to the first nights room plus tax.

2014 Mail-In Reunion Registration Form

VP-2 Reunion Charleston, SC
October 30 November 3, 2014
Use this Form to mail-in your registration with a check.
[ ]

I am enclosing a non-refundable check for $30.00 per person as a deposit. I understand

that the remaining full payment of $95.00 per person will be due on or before August 1,
2014.
OR

[ ]

I am enclosing the full $125.00 per person now. This full payment is refundable if
registration is cancelled before August 1, 2014.

VP-2 Association Member: ______________________________________________________

Years in VP-2: ______ to _______
Accompanying spouse or partner: ________________________________________________
Mailing Address: _____________________________________________________________
Email Address: ______________________________Phone:___________________________

If you need a new VP-2 Reunion badge, write name here________________________

If your spouse/partner needs a Reunion badge, write name here___________________
Note: The cost of new badges and city bars is included in the registration fee.
Dont forget to make your separate reservation at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, North
Charleston. Do it now before all of our reserved rooms sell out. The hotel will allot us
extra rooms based on availability. See the hotel reservation instructions elsewhere in this
Newsletter.
Mail this completed form along with your check made out to VP-2 Association and send
it to Vic Gulliver at 1900 Franklin Dr., Glenview, IL 60026-1076
If you have any questions about the reunion, call Jim Welch at 817-788-2204 or
email Jim at japwelch751@gmail.com, or email Vic Gulliver at
vicgulliver@comcast.net.