Three Veterans of our Club shared their military experiences with our members on Friday, November 12th. From left to right: Loren Hole, Jim Steinruck and Senator Steve Hobbs in honor of the Veterans Day observance.
Loren Hole, our 96-year-old active Club Member served in the Coast Guard during WWII. One of the few new members in the Coast Guard who knew Morse Code. Loren enjoyed the 12 am to 4 am shift because he got to sleep in in the morning. Served on one ship until the WWII ended in August 1945. Loren served on the USS Amethyst which was built in 1933 as the Samona II yacht by Craig Shipyards in Long Beach, California. The Coast Guard acquired the ship in November 1940. On the table was Loren's military uniform. A photo of the USS Amethyst is below.
Steinruck, was in the ROTC at Eastern Washington State College (now University) graduated and was commissioned a 2nd LT in 1974. Jim served in the military retiring in 1995 after 21 years of service. The funniest story was parachute training in 1974 because he was deadly afraid of heights and the first jump was the worst he had ever seen. The third jump was good.
Senator Steve Hobbs will be sworn in on November 22nd as the new Secretary of State. replacing Kim Wyman, who leaves for a position in the Biden Administration. Steve has been the Chair of the powerful Senate Transportation Committee. Steve is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the Washington Army National Guard. Steve wanted to join the army when he was a mere 17. Mother declined but his father who was in a messy divorce with his mother approved, and he was off to the beginning of his military service. Steve proudly served in Kosovo and Iraq.
Steve received his Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Washington Evans School in 1994.
To keep the vote count, correct as the new Secretary of State, our President Reshal presented Steve with an Abacus which is a counting frame and can be used as a calculating tool.