Dedication Ceremony Date April 4, 2004
The USS Nathanael Greene Memorial Dedication and Reunion weekend, hosted by the Ozark-Runner Base of the USSVI Springfield, Missouri, is now over and in the history books.
The weekend kicked off early as nearly 200 former shipmates of the USS Nathanael Greene gathered together at the Lamplighter Convention Center in Springfield, Missouri. The American Legion Post 639 added to the festive weekend on Friday Night by hosting a port call in honor of the USS Nathanael Greene crew and families. The Smoking Guns Band entertained the group and sea stories flew well into the wee hours of the night.
Early Saturday morning found members of the Ozark-Runners out at the Memorial busy setting up chairs, pitching dining canopies for booths, testing microphones and overseeing the details to make sure the ceremony went smoothly. The ships bell manned by former Nathanael Greene Chief of the Boat MTCS Ken Lamine (Gold Crew 71-74) rang out in the crisp cool Ozark Mountain morning air signifying the official start of the ceremony. Master of Ceremonies and Ozark-Runner Treasurer Garth Greene called the ceremony to order by announcing the Posting of Colors presented by the Greater Ozarks Chapter of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets. Musical guests included singer Luanne Turner and former Porter Waggoner/Dolly Parton guitarist Speedy Haworth and friends. They performed their renditions of the songs “America” and the “Navy Hymn.”
Mayor Protem Ralph Manley presented a proclamation proclaiming April 3rd as official USS Nathanael Greene Day in Greene County. Ozark-Runner Base shipmate John Middlemas carried out the ceremonial sprinkling of water collected from the seven seas signifying the U.S. Submarine Force’s command of the world’s oceans. The retiring of the colors by the Naval Sea Cadets brought to a close the ceremony.
Saturday Night at a banquet held at the Lamplighter, Nathanael Greene and Ozark Runner crewmembers present witnessed the passing of the original brow canvas from the Commissioning Chief Of The Boat Clyde Reeves to Ken Lamine signified the passing of the torch. Limited edition hand painted portraits of their qualifying boats were presented to Ozark-Runner Base Commander Chuck Shepherd and Base Treasurer Garth Greene by Tom Carr and John Trubee of the Nathanael Greene Reunion Committee in recognition of all of their hard work and efforts to make possible the memorable weekend for all.
The weekend closed as it should with good food, great companionship and lots of sea stories. This was the first ever reunion of the USS Nathanael Greene but those present vowed it would not be the last as the crew officially elected Tom Carr and John Trubee as the Nathanael Greene Reunion Committee chairpersons.
Memorial Timeline
The fund drive is completed and we have ordered the monument! Garth and I went to the Monument company a few weeks ago and approved the final draft. It's really going to look great!
To make matters even better I have been contacted by a former shipmate of the "Nasty Nat" by the name of Willie Quales and he wants to check into having the Nathanael Greene reunion here in Springfield, Missouri and time it around our dedication ceremony.
I told Willie that I thought it would be a wonderful idea and I will do everything in my power to make it a memorable reunion for you all!
I have some good ideas including a good old fashioned Missouri Bar-B-Que. We are also 30 minutes from Branson, Missouri and for you outdoorsmen we have the world headquarters of "Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World" here in Springfield.
The monument should be finished in January but my plan is to hold the dedication in March or April to take advantage of the weather and spring foliage here, not to mention the great fishing here in the spring! Plus that will give us the time to plan a really good time for your reunion.
Stay tuned for further developments!
Shipmates, as you can see we've done it. Thanks to everyone who contributed money, time and support. There is a little more to be done though, some money in the kitty for goundskeeping would be nice. We have a big push to put us over the top this month, which includes a couple of raffles for some fine prizes. (see below)
We have two Raffles to raise money for the Nathanael Greene Memorial Fund. Tickets will be on sale throughout the month of November with the drawing held on December 7, 2003.
Tickets will be available at all Ozark-Runner functions including the upcoming Veterans Day Parade and bi-monthly meeting to follow. For those of you not available to attend but want to enter don't fear!
For those of you that live out of town, Raffle #1 would be a great vacation in the beautiful Ozark Mountains. Raffle #2 would be shipped to your house and would make a great Christmas gift for the submarine lover in your house.
Tickets are only $3.00 each or both raffles for $5.00. For your entries please send appropriate total along with handy order form to the address listed at the bottom of the order form...
A very special thanks goes out to our newest donors John and Cecilia Middlemas who donated $100 each. We are now within $300 of our goal!
Just a reminder we will be marching in the Springfield Veterans Day Parade Saturday November 8th. I hope to have a good Ozark-Runner turnout to support this worthwhile event. The Parade starts around 0930-1000.
Lastly we have a new picture in our Nasty Nat collection sent to me by John Trubee.Check it out!
We are now less than $500 dollars away from our goal of $2200 for the Memorial. Let's make a big last push to get this done. It would also be nice to have a few hundred dollars in the fund for grounds keeping and maintenance.
The Ozark-Runner Community Garage Sale held at the American Legion Post this last Thurs and Fri was officially a huge success! We managed to raise nearly $500 and pushed our total to $1239.75!!!
Reminder: For anyone donating cash ask them to make checks payable to the Ozark-Runner Base Sub Vets Memorial and assure them that every penny will be used for the Memorial. Any funds raised above and beyond the cost of the memorial will be used for landscaping and maintenance purposes. We would like to shoot for a completion date of Memorial Day at which time a Memorial Ceremony will be scheduled for commission of the monument.
The inscription on the Monument will be as follows:
“This memorial is dedicated to all U.S. submarine sailors, both living and deceased, that dare to “Take Her Deep” and especially to those submariners that manned the Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine USS Nathanael Greene (SSBN 636)”
Anyone interested in making a personal donation can contact our Memorial Chairman Garth Greene at 417-888-3086. All donations are welcome and appreciated. Thank you in advance for all you efforts,
Nathanael Greene Picture Page
Location Where Monument Will Be Erected
Plaque At Nathanael Greene Park
Nasty Nat Pearl Harbor 1975
Greene Sail Located In Florida
Nasty Nat Surface Launch 1971
License Plate Picture Gil Shaddock
Garage Sale: C.O and Garth workin' hard
Garage Sale: John and his new Toy.
Garage Sale: Lots of good stuff!
Sent by John Trubee
List of Major Donars
