WINTER 2022 NEWS

Need a booster vaccine?

Searching for a Covid booster? Use a vaccine locator. All you need to do is put in your zip code and it will show places near you. 

The Last Resort Fire Department Needs our Help

Galen Thomaier E18 SFD retired in1993, has been the Official Historian of the Seattle Fire Department for 32 years. He and his dad and brother started collecting SFD fire trucks years ago and formed the Last Resort Fire Department, a 501" c" 3 nonprofit organization. To keep the collection and their museum at the Seattle Fire Department headquarters operating costs over $15,000 per year to maintain. They have depended on the Seattle Shares and the Combined Charities program for much of their funding. Then in 2019, when the City stopped the program, that left them with no funding source. So they need funding right now because they have been without funding for over a year. If you have a PayPal account, you can make a monthly or one-time donation on their website (www.lastresortfd.org ). Monthly would be best because they would have a steady stream of funds they can depend on. You can also send a check directly to the Last Resort Fire Department: 1433 NW 51 St. Seattle, WA. 98107. All donations to the Last Resort Fire Department are tax-deductible. Jerry Rogers and Frank Harshfield donated $200. If people could match that, it would be great, but any amount would be welcome. Jerry reminds us that the Last Resort Fire Department has a long history of representing our department's history. In my case, I might be a little late because my Grandfather Frank Harshfield, SFD Fire Marshal, retired in 1937 and then was the Chief of plant protection in WWII at Boeing. I would like to honor him. 

If you have questions, call me. Frank Harshfield (360) 387-1600

Letters from WWII Veterans

After December 7, 1941, I joined the State Guard to help protect the City of Seattle from Japan. Then, the draft came up. In October of 1942, I joined the Naval Reserve. I spent the first two years working in the engine shop at Pier 41 in Seattle. In 1944, the Navy came out with a directive that all shore-side personnel would be sent overseas to finish the war with Japan. I was sent to New Caledonia, where I picked up my sub chaser, a 110-foot wooden vessel. We ended up with the U.S. Navy fleet heading for Okinawa. Sunday, Easter morning 1945, at 4 AM, we hoisted the flag for the invasion to start at Blue Beach on Okinawa. I was in those waters until the end of the War. I was called back into active service during the Korean War as I was in the Naval Reserve. We escorted five LST’s with troops to occupy Korea. Following the War, I married Pat. Being in the Navy Reserve, I got called back and sent to the Naval Reserve Fleet at Tongue Point, Oregon. I spent 14 months there, leading a crew activating the main engines on any of the ships in the mothball fleet. My wife and I are enjoying our retirement years in our home in the warm beach area.

-Robert Watson

Are you a veteran? Share your story with us and it may be featured in an upcoming newsletter.