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We've always appreciated Northwest Classic Boat Club events, but we've never been more proud to be members of the club than we were yesterday--not just boating for fun, but with a bit of purpose as we took war vets for boat rides in Tacoma.
The vets had a great time, and so did members who brought 12 or 13 classic boats and hosted soldiers from the Fort Lewis-McChord AFB Warrior Transition Battalion for a tour of the Foss Waterway Seaport's maritime museum; pizza lunch and boat rides up and down Tacoma waterways and out into Commencement Bay.
Our personal guest was Santiago, a career Army vet with 26 years of service, who emigrated to this country from Ecuador in 1972, enlisted in 1985 and over the years has served in a lot of places including Panama and Iraq...where his unit was involved, as Santiago said, in "pulling Saddam out of his hole." Santiago's home town is Chicago, but his wife will come to Tacoma next month for a visit, and when he retires from the Army he might settle in the Northwest. He had fun driving our old Bell Boy--a whole new experience for Santiago--and we sure appreciated an opportunity to honor his service in a small way.
Many thanks to Richard, Tim and Ingvar for pushing this idea from its inception during last November's annual club meeting. While going for a boat ride may not be a big deal in the life of a wounded vet, it was terrific to do something--anything--to thank those who have not only served, but paid a price while serving.
I'll post several strings of photos, starting here...
- Marty and Mo
The vets had a great time, and so did members who brought 12 or 13 classic boats and hosted soldiers from the Fort Lewis-McChord AFB Warrior Transition Battalion for a tour of the Foss Waterway Seaport's maritime museum; pizza lunch and boat rides up and down Tacoma waterways and out into Commencement Bay.
Our personal guest was Santiago, a career Army vet with 26 years of service, who emigrated to this country from Ecuador in 1972, enlisted in 1985 and over the years has served in a lot of places including Panama and Iraq...where his unit was involved, as Santiago said, in "pulling Saddam out of his hole." Santiago's home town is Chicago, but his wife will come to Tacoma next month for a visit, and when he retires from the Army he might settle in the Northwest. He had fun driving our old Bell Boy--a whole new experience for Santiago--and we sure appreciated an opportunity to honor his service in a small way.
Many thanks to Richard, Tim and Ingvar for pushing this idea from its inception during last November's annual club meeting. While going for a boat ride may not be a big deal in the life of a wounded vet, it was terrific to do something--anything--to thank those who have not only served, but paid a price while serving.
I'll post several strings of photos, starting here...
- Marty and Mo
We were truly the ones that benefited the most on this day at sea! Thanks so much to Richard, Invar, and Tim for planning such a great event.
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