Seals (BUD/S) program testing,
about a 73 percent success rate.
Historically, only about 30 percent
of candidates entering the program
ultimately become Navy SEALs,
according to service statistics.
Days after the picnic, the council learned of the death in action in
Afghanistan of Special Warfare
Operator Chief Petty Officer Brian
R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Conn., a
graduate of the SEAL/EOD mentoring program. Bill enlisted in the
Navy in 2001 and was designated a
SEAL in 2003. He was among 30
troops killed Aug. 6 when their
CH- 47 Chinook helicopter was
shot down in Afghanistan. Bisset
was a speaker at Bill’s memorial
service Aug. 19 at Stamford’s St.
Cecilia Church.
Ceremony Marks
Dedication of Stamps
Honoring Merchant Marine
Members of the Pacific Merchant
Marine Council in San Francisco
took part in a First Day of Issue
Ceremony July 28 in Sacramento to
mark the U.S. Postal Service’s issue of
a set of “Forever” stamps commemorating the U.S. Merchant Marine.
Council President Phelps
Hobart and council member Ken
Blue, who is president of the
Sacramento Merchant Marine Association, joined Sacramento
Postmaster Jeff Lelevich and retired
Merchant Mariner William Fairchild in a ceremony to unveil a
poster depicting the stamps that feature a clipper ship, an auxiliary
steamship, a Liberty ship and a container ship. The event was held at
the Merchant Marine Monument
and was well attended by Navy
Leaguers, Merchant Marine veterans
and the public, according to Hobart.
The U.S. Postal Service officially
introduced the stamps that day in a
dedication ceremony at the U.S.
Merchant Marine Academy in Kings
Point, New York. Among those taking part in the dedication ceremony
From the left, retired Merchant
Mariner William Fairchild, Phelps
Hobart, Ken Blue and Sacramento
Postmaster Jeff Lelevich unveil a
poster depicting stamps honoring the
U.S. Merchant Marine that were
issued July 28 by the U.S. Postal Service. The First Day of Issue Ceremony
was held at the Merchant Marine
Monument in Sacramento, Calif.
at the Merchant Marine Academy
were David T. Matsuda, administrator, U.S. Maritime Administration;
Rear Adm. Philip H. Greene Jr.,
superintendent, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy; and Capt. Eric York
Wallischeck, chief of staff, U.S.
Merchant Marine Academy.
The Postal Service is issuing 60
million of the stamps, which were
created by illustrator Dennis Lyall
or Norwalk, Conn., under the art
direction of Carl T. Herrman of
North Las Vegas, Nev.
Detroit Councils
Host Luncheons
For Navy Week
The two Detroit Navy League
Councils helped contribute to the
success of Detroit Navy Week, July
18-24. On July 22, Al Brata, president of the Metropolitan Detroit
Council, hosted a luncheon for Rear
Adm. John “Chris” Sadler, commander, Naval Air Forces Reserve,
and deputy commander, Naval Air
Forces, in celebration of the 100th
anniversary of naval aviation.
About 55 people attended the
luncheon at the Detroit Yacht
Club, including many Navy Lea-
guers and their guests, Navy per-
sonnel and Sea Cadets. Brata, and
his wife, Toula; Bobby Ferguson,
Great Lakes Region president, and
his wife, Charlene; and Jerry
Moskwa, Michigan Area president,
and his wife, Shirley, welcomed
Sadler aboard.
Richmond Council
Coordinates Display
Of Hornet Model
The Richmond Council was a key
sponsor and coordinator of the dis-
play of a large-scale model of a his-
toric sloop-of-war, USS Hornet, at
the Virginia War Memorial in
Norfolk July 30 through Aug. 12.
