The Puget Sound Veterans’ Monthly | February 2015

SERVING WHIDBEY ISLAND’S VETERANS, RETIRED MILITARY PERSONNEL AND FAMILIES

CrosswindWhidbey

T

Welcome home

Senior chief surprises son with visit z pg. 5

By JANIS REID

Pilots and staff from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station had a bird’s-eye view of the Legion of Boom last month before the Seawawks’ epic win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game.

“It was amazing,” said Lt. Cole Heller, pilot of the MH-60 Seahawk helicopter that flew over Century Link Field. “A pretty rare experi-ence for a helicopter.

“It was something else.”

Heller said the timing of the flyer, which included two EA-18G Growlers and the Seahawk, couldn’t have been timed better as the three

aircraft flew right over the Hawk’s Nest just as the fire-works stopped.

“You could hear the crowd get way louder,” said Heller, a Whidbey Island native and lifelong Seahawks fan.

Although he grew up and attended college in Florida, Growler pilot Lt. Matt O’Donnell has been a long-time Mariners fan because of Ken Griffey Jr. and other Seattle baseball legends. By extension, O’Donnell said he’s always loved Seattle and all its teams.

“I’ve visited Seattle over the years and I’ve always loved this city,” O’Donnell said. “Even when it’s gloomy Seattle weather, I love it.”

Now stationed at NAS Whidbey, O’Donnell can be now participate as a full-blown Seahawks fan.

The flyover, he said, was “a little nerve-wracking” because of Seattle’s busy air-space and eye-level skyscrap-ers.

Ultimately, O’Donnell said the maneuvers are some-thing they do every day and were completed successfully.

“Overall it was very cool,” O’Donnell said. “It was a great way to show the com-munity and the nation what we can do up here.”

Well-known for it’s 110-plus decibel levels, the Growler may have given the crowd noise a run for

its money. Crowd levels have been recorded as high as 137.6 decibels, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

The Seahawks fan base took the Guinness World Record for crowd noise in December 2013 in a game against the New Orleans Saints with a crowd of 68,387 contributing to the effort. The title is now held by Kansas City Chiefs fans, who broke the record in September with a reading of 142.2 decibels.

On game day, the Growler orbited overwater between Bainbridge Island and Seattle at low altitude for approxi-mately 20 minutes prior to overf lying Century Link Field for the start of the game.

Routing was coordinat-ed with Seattle Air Traffic Control and the FAA to avoid interfering with air traffic into SeaTac and Boeing Airfield. All three air-craft were piloted by sailors stationed at NAS Whidbey.

The Growlers hail from

two different Electronic Attack Squadrons, VAQ-130s Zappers and the Patriots of VAQ-140. NAS Whidbey Island is the home base for all of the U.S. mili-tary operational Growlers, the U.S. military’s primary electronic attack jet aircraft.

The Seahawk helicop-ter is from NAS Whidbey Island’s Search and Rescue unit, which conducted 35 res-cue, medical evacuation and search missions that saved 47 lives in the local area last year.

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Contributed photoAn MH-60S Knighthawk, attached to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, carries the National Ensign over Century Link Field in Seattle after the national anthem at the NFC Championship game Jan. 18.

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VOL. 3, NO. 22

By RON NEWBERRY

There’s something about a smoky scent that appeals to Barbara Bennett’s senses and soul.

Working in the barbecue busi-ness, Bennett finds the smell ines-capable, sticking to her clothes, hands and hair.

But to Bennett, the scent is a sweet reminder of her family’s liveli-hood, looks of customer satisfaction and her roots growing up in the country of a small town in Florida.

“There’s something comforting about it,” she said.

Bennett spent 12 years as a mess management specialist in the U.S. Navy and went to college along with her husband, Fred, to earn two-year culinary arts degrees.

Even though they’re both classi-cally trained, the couple has built a mobile catering business in Oak Harbor centered on Southern-style foods that were a rich part of their upbringing.

Barbara and Fred Bennett are entering their 10th year as owners of ShoNuff Foods, which has served Whidbey Island at farmers mar-kets, festivals, weddings and other catered events since 2006.

“From day one, there was just no doubt,” Fred said of the focus on what he calls “authentic Southern goodness.

“Because our passion is soul food, we would rather take the soul food, the barbecue and such, and really — for a lack of a better term — what we say in the South, ‘put our foot up in it’ to make sure you remember it.”

The journey has been a long one and at times a test of wills and patience.

A food business was the couple’s dream and was the most attractive option to earn a living after Barbara left the Navy in 2006.

“As a cook, especially here in the Northwest, unless you get a dream job, not too many people pay you what you’re supposed to be paid, no matter the education,” Fred said. “I got sick and tired of $10 an hour.”

Still, it’s only been in recent months that Fred hasn’t had to hold down a second job, sometimes even a third, to help provide for the fam-ily, which includes two kids, during the slow times of the year.

“This is one of the first years where we’ve been gainfully employed in the beginning of the year,” Barbara said. “Believe it or not, the catering has not been bar-becue.”

ShoNuff Foods is at its busi-est during the spring and summer months, peaking in August when the community’s demand for barbe-cue such as beef brisket, pulled pork sandwiches and ribs is at its peak.

Things typically slow down from October through April, causing the business to shift into catering mode, serving to private homes,

office parties, weddings and other events. The menu changes dramati-cally during that time, too, as the Bennetts use their culinary training and past restaurant experience to cook up a variety of dishes.

In recent weeks, they prepared for clients root beer–glazed chicken and braised beef tri-tip to go along with mashed potatoes, gravy and glazed carrots.

“We haven’t done barbecue the last few months,” Barbara said.

The business operates out of a tall storage building on Oak Street, not far from Goldie Road and near Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

In the summer months, a barbe-cue pit is rolled outside and Fred lights up oak and mesquite wood to bring out the smoky aroma to draw in the lunch clientele.

“We tend to go overboard for the military,” Fred said. “That’s some-thing near and dear to both of us with her being a veteran. I come from a military family.”

The process has been one of care-

ful “baby steps,” Barbara said, with an inventory that now includes an 18-foot-long barbecue pit nick-named the “torpedo” and a mobile kitchen inside a shiny red trailer.

The operation started out just selling baked goods, a passion Barbara picked up from her grand-mother, then moved onto barbe-cue cuisine, debuting with a 4-foot smoker at the Kingston Farmers Market in April of 2005.

“This is definitely something that you can’t just wake up one day and say you want to do it,” Barbara said. “If you don’t really enjoy it, you can burn out real easily. You’re either designed for it or you’re not.”

The Bennett family works together as a team, including the children, Deandre, 14, and Tamara, 12.

Fred and Barbara have been mar-ried for 17 years and both grew up in Brooksville, Fla., before the Navy brought them to Oak Harbor.

“I can praise God,” Fred said. “We mostly have good days as far as

between me and her without argu-ing or fighting.

“For us, having our faith, having our family, that’s the thing that makes it worth it for me personally. I can’t imagine working with any-body else. For as much as I get on her nerves, and for as much as she gets on my nerves, to roll over and always see her, for me personally, it makes it worthwhile. I’m just as happy as can be.”

Warmer temperatures and sun-shine also tend to bring a smile to Fred’s face.

The festival season gets going with a traditional appearance at Holland Happening in late April. Weekly showings at the Oak Harbor Farmers Market start in May.

“It has been a privilege to work with and watch this business grow over the last five years,” said Peg Tennant, manager of the Oak Harbor and Coupeville farmers markets.

“Farmers markets are often busi-ness incubators — a place to solidify experience, hone skills and refine operations. And when the owners of the business are personable, flexible and have a great sense of humor, it’s a win-win all the way around.

“The whole Bennett family con-tinues to be a gift to our local mar-kets and community.”

And Barbara and Fred Bennett, who are both in their late-30s, don’t plan to go anywhere any time soon.

They want to continue to improve their business and continue to get the word out to the community.

“We’ve both had friends who started businesses and you see them lose the business,” Fred said. “That’s something we just don’t want to experience.

“A lot of people don’t know we’ve been around for so long. We’ve been here a solid decade.

“We’re here to stay. At the same time, we’re very cautious with the moves and steps that we take.”

n To learn more about ShoNuff Foods, go to the website at www.shonufffoods.com

Couple serves up Southern comfort food

Ron Newberry photo Fred and Barbara Bennett, who grew up in the same small town in Florida and have been married for 17 years, are celebrating their 10th year in business with SnoNuff Foods, an Oak Harbor-based mobile catering company. They came to Oak Harbor after Barbara Bennett was stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

Navy veteran and her husband love what they do with their own mobile catering business

By KELLY PANTOLEON

Therapy dog trainer Joy Thompson and her dog Sailor graduated Jan. 18.

Sailor is a therapy dog with Summit Assistance Dogs, a nonprofit organization that provides mobility, hearing and professional therapy dogs to people living with disabili-ties or those needing comfort. The organization used to be in Anacortes but is in the process of moving to North Whidbey.

And while the group has done limited work with the military in the past, that’s likely to change in the future. Sue Meinzinger, founder of Summit, said she hopes to work with veterans and their families.

“We would like to get the word out that we are there,” she said. “We would like to provide that service.”

Summit trains two types of dogs. Some are service dogs that are trained and then placed in a home with some-one who needs assistance. Others, like Sailor, are therapy dogs.

As Meinzinger explained, therapy dogs are for emotion-al needs and service dogs are usually for mobility and hear-ing assistance. Training for both types of canine assistants takes about two years.

Therapy dogs are different

from service dogs in that they don’t get special privileges Thompson said.

“With service dogs, they go everywhere with you,” she said.

Therapy dogs can only go places they’ve been invited, like schools or support groups. Sailor became a therapy dog instead of a service dog because he has severe allergies.

According to Meinzinger, the training process goes like this: Summit gets a dog through a breeder or a litter the organization has bred itself; the dog goes to a vol-unteer foster home for six to eight months, like Sailor did with Thompson; some dogs then go to training at places like Monroe Correctional Complex, where carefully screened and selected inmates train with some of the dogs alongside a Summit trainer; then the dog comes back and finishes training with staff trainers at Summit and gets placed in a home.

Thompson has had two therapy dogs in the past, including Clancy, who is now just a pet dog.

Before Clancy retired, Thompson took him places like a special ed reading class at Olympic View Elementary in Oak Harbor. Thompson said Sailor will also probably do sessions with children.

“Sailor has a particu-lar affinity for children,” Thompson said.

Thompson also said she would like to do military events.

“I think that would be a wonderful thing to do,” she said.

Thompson’s husband is retired Navy reserves and her father is retired Army reserves.

The training program she went through, which lasted two years, required at-home training in addition to train-ing at a facility.

Luckily, Thompson’s hus-band helped with the train-ing.

“He’s in love with Sailor,” she said.

Puppy trainers follow strict

protocol when the dog is with them at home, like not swing-ing the front door open and letting the dog run out when it’s time for a walk.

Meinzinger has had a lot of experience with training. She trained dogs in California and then worked in Arizona before moving to Washington.

Dogs are taught to be obe-dient pets for about three years before going into service and therapy training.

Meinzinger said in her 20s she was in a relationship with someone who was paraplegic and she learned a great deal about the challenges people with disabilities face. Years later, she saw a program about service dogs on TV and start-ed to learn more about them.

“I saw the opportunity to

help people with disabilities, and that was very rewarding to me,” she said.

In the past 15 years, Meinzinger said she’s been a foster parent to 15 to 20 dogs a year. She usually has at least a couple dogs at a time from Summit that stay with her at any point in their training process.

Meinzinger said one of the greatest needs the program has is for foster homes.

“We rely on many volun-teers who foster our dogs,” she said.

She said it’s a great way to have a dog for a shorter period of time instead of having a dog for a lifetime, especially for members of the military who move often.

Currently, Summit does not provide service dogs to help people living with post-traumatic stress disorder.

But Meinzinger said Summit is looking to get involved with the military community in other ways. The program has done educa-tion outreach like taking ther-apy dogs to the commissary and handing out literature for people to learn more about therapy and service dogs.

And while plans to train dogs for PTSD assistance aren’t in Summit’s immedi-ate future, the program even-tually may offer that. But Meinzinger said the program has always accepted members of the military whose primary disability is mobility or hear-ing.

Right now, Meinzinger would like to get involved with veterans and the military community on a visitational basis or getting involved with members of the military who would like to help train ser-vice and therapy dogs.

Meinzinger said a dog like Thompson’s Sailor would be available for events like sup-port groups, picnics and a variety of other outings.

In addition to Thompson, Meinzinger said a woman on South Whidbey went through the Summit training program; she uses a therapy dog in the mental health ser-vices that she provides.

Thompson said the goal is to provide highly trained service and therapy dogs to anyone in need.

“I’ve seen firsthand the joy people have when you visit them with a therapy dog,” she said.

For more information about volunteering with Summit or placing a request for a therapy dog session, visit www.summitdogs.org or email info@summitdogs.org

Assistance dog group looks to veterans

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Sailor recently graduated from training to become a therapy dog. He is owned by Joy Thompson of Whidbey Island.

By MICHELLE BEAHM

“I missed you, buddy.”

Elijah Wynn, an

eighth-grader at Oak Harbor Middle School, wasn’t expecting to hear those words at school.

And especially not from his father, a Navy senior chief who’s been stationed in Bahrain since August 2014.

Accompanied by TV and newspaper reporters, Navy Senior Chief Eric Wynn gave his 13-year-old son the sur-prise of a lifetime on Jan. 20.

Eric previously tried to get back to Oak Harbor for a visit in November, when his son Kyle was born, and in December for Christmas, but both of those visits fell through.

Then he was told Jan. 8, his wife Abigail’s birthday, that he’d get to go home later than month.

“I called her on her birth-day to let her know,” Eric said. “It’s not just my son who was very excited, her as well. She said it’s the best birthday pres-ent she’s ever received.”

Then he colluded with Abigail and his ex-wife Chastity, Elijah’s mom, to surprise his son at school.

“I don’t surprise him very often because he actually doesn’t like surprises,” Eric said of his son, before the big reveal. “He doesn’t show a lot of emotions because he’s so used to me being gone, but I can imagine that today’s just going to be very special.”

When he finally saw his dad, Elijah looked awe struck for a moment before moving in for a hug.

“I was pretty amazed,” he said, “because I haven’t seen him in a while, and I missed him.”

He said he enjoyed the surprise “probably more than anything.”

“He’s my biggest fan, and

I’m his hero, and that’s what dads are supposed to be,” Eric said. “I felt it was very impor-tant for me to put this secret surprise on. He’s been waiting a long time to see me.”

Eric arrived in Seattle Saturday, Jan. 17, where he was greeted by Abigail and their two children, 2-year-old Sophie and 2-month-old Kyle. The four of them stayed in Seattle until Monday, when they returned to Oak Harbor. Eric laid low, not leaving the house until the surprise reunion with his son Tuesday.

“He got to bond with his newborn, and now it’s all three of them, so it’s like, here, here are the kids,” Abigail said. “Enjoy it.”

Tuesday was the first time all three of his children were together, since Elijah was staying with his mom during Eric’s deployment.

“It was very hard (to keep the secret) because Elijah is very nosy,” Chastity Wynn joked. “But he never knew that I talked to his dad that day.”

Eric is attached to a Navy riverine group charged with making sure high-valued assets traveling along rivers in the Middle East make it to their destination safely. Home for only two weeks, Eric will be back in Bahrain this month for another eight months.

When he returns to Oak Harbor in September, he plans to retire.

“That’s all I get, 13 days, but I gotta make the most of

it,” he said. “I wish I could have more, but … I don’t have that opportunity. When I come home in September, I’ll have all the time in the world.”

Eric got the chance to watch Elijah play a basketball game with his middle school team Tuesday. Other than that, all Elijah said he wanted to do with his dad was, “see him.”

“It took me a minute,” Elijah said of when his dad first walked into his class-room, “then I kind of adjust-ed. I’m glad that he’s back.”

“It’s difficult,” said Eric of being away from his family, “except for what we do over

there is extremely important for us. It’s hard, it really is. It’s really difficult because the kids sometimes just don’t understand why we’re doing what we’re doing.

“Moments like this is what reiterates to them that hey, we are here. We are a part of your lives, even if we’re not physi-cally here. We are in spirit, and when we have the oppor-tunity to visit, we do.”

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Home from deployment, father surprises son

Michelle Beahm photoHome from deployment, Navy Senior Chief Eric Wynn surprises his son Elijah at Oak Harbor Middle School last week. Below, Wynn holds his daughter, Sophie.

By GENE BERG

Don Wollett was a World War II veteran and longtime resident of Whidbey Island. Because I volunteer at the Whidbey Veterans Resource Center, a member of our church introduced us. I vis-ited him weekly for several years to share our war stories for mutual pleasure.

Don grew up in Peoria, Ill. As a boy, he had a best friend who was Jewish. This friend told the story of Nazi officers coming to an uncle’s Berlin home in the night and taking him away, never to return. Moved by this story, Don joined the Navy, went to offi-cer candidate training and studied celestial navigation at Northwestern University. At age 23, he was the com-mander of a small ship during WWII, doing convoy escort duty in the Caribbean.

Of his Gulf of Mexico

duty, he says, “The German subs just had their way with shipping. They could pick us off at will almost. They sank over 450 vessels off the U.S. coast in one year. [ I checked. It was 1942.] So we started traveling in convoys. Then all of a sudden the subs were gone. Almost none in the Gulf of Mexico. I don’t know what happened.”

I explained to him that their secure communications system, code named Enigma by the Allies, was broken and now the subs could be hunted and destroyed. The subs had to pull back closer to Germany because that was

the German priority and so many subs had been sunk. This was amazing news to Don.

Don’s ship, SC511 (Subchaser 511), was made of wood. They were called the “splinter f leet.” The Subchaser was the smallest commissioned warship of the U.S. Navy during World Wars I and II. At times, the ship would list 42 degrees from side to side. They thought of it as home and were very fond of it.

It was armed with a 40 millimeter gun and eight Hedgehog projectiles. The Hedgehog was a mortar-like weapon with a range of about 250 yards, often launched in a 24 round pattern to arrive simultaneously and donate on impact. The advantage of the Hedgehog was that it did not interfere with sonar-like depth charges. The USS England sank six Japanese

subs in a matter of days with the Hedgehog in May 1944.

“Once a sailor got some booze aboard and was drunk. He met me in the gangway and said, ‘I am gonna kill you, Wollett.’ I talked him into going to his bunk and sleep-ing it off. Much later this same sailor called my mother and said he had changed his mind — Lieutenant Wollett was okay and he was not going to kill him.”

Made of wood, the Subchaser was less vulner-able to magnetic mines. But the real reason wood was used was that when the U.S. Navy was virtually destroyed at Pearl Harbor and the Philippines, all the large boatyards were busy building aircraft carriers and destroy-ers, so smaller and lower pri-ority anti-submarine ships were built in small boatyards that were not already under contract.

“The Subchaser’s range was limited by drinkable water for the crew, limited to probably three or four days. Also, fuel limited us, but that was secondary.”

I asked, “You escorted con-voys. Couldn’t you download fuel and water from them?” Don replied, “The convoys wanted to maintain speed and they did not want to be slowed down by us.” With limited water, no one could shower. No one could wash clothes, either, so they called themselves the “Dirty Shirt Fleet.”

In the Gulf of Mexico, a convoy of 35 to 40 ships were typically escorted by five Subchasers. The leader of this assembly was the com-modore. On one occasion the commodore announced a change in course. Don com-puted the new course and realized it would put the con-voy at risk. He was confident in his navigation skills, so he suggested to the commo-

dore that it might have been computed incorrectly and a different course be consid-ered, a course that Don had computed.

The commodore inquired just who he was. The com-modore explained carefully that he, the commodore, had responsibility for the full convoy and the Subchaser’s responsibility was just for the security of the convoy. But by the rules of operation, the commodore was expected to follow the Subchaser’s course. So the commodore agreed, and they did follow Don’s course. Don says, “For two days I was worried that I might be responsible for running this whole convoy aground. At the time I was a two-stripe lieutenant.”

Don Wollett died in September 2014 at age 95.

Berg is a veteran and volun-teer writer with the Whidbey Veterans Resource Center.

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632-7243Pastor Greg Adkins

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Vacation Bible School, Seasonal Hours Changes, Daycare Updates, Special

Holiday Presentations, and more.

Only $10.00/monthFor A Single Size Ad.

Please call 360-675-6611

To advertise, contact Teri Mendiola at 360-675-6611 · Only $10.00/month for a single size ad.

Veteran recalls WWII service on Subchaser

The commissary on Seaplane Base will celebrate “Heart Healthy Month” in February.

In addition to offering sav-ings on Valentine’s Day sweets, the commissary also will have natural and organic food prod-ucts throughout the store as well as a wide variety of bottled water, sports drinks and vita-mins at huge savings.

“It’s Your Choice, Make It Healthy’ is our slogan,” said Tracie Russ, the Defense Commissary Agency’s director of sales. “And we make it easy for customers to shop healthy, eat healthy and be healthy.”

Commissaries offer mili-tary patrons fresh produce and meats available at competitive prices along with other grocery items.

On the website, shoppers can find more coupons, specials, promotions, sales and healthy recipes available under the header “shopping” and “exclu-sive savings.”

“Now is the best time to get fit and healthy,” Russ said. “It’s a new year, and the commissary can help you keep your health-related New Year’s resolutions. Treat your heart well. Start by eating more fresh fruits and veg-etables and lean meats. Then try taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator, or park your car much farther away from your work location. We’ll see you at the commissary, because you know it’s worth the trip.”

More information can be found at www.commissaries.com

Commissary to offer ‘Heart Month’ savings

The January edition of Whidbey Crosswind incor-rectly stated a program Wendy Wasik participated in during her military career.

She was a part of the Phoenix Crossflow program.

We regret the error.

CORRECTION

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5 | W H I D B E Y C R O S S W I N D | 7

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Found

I f you are missing or have found a stray cat or dog on Whidbey Island p lease contact WAIF Animal Shelter to file a los t o r found repor t . WAIF can be reached at either (360) 678-8900 ext. 1100 or (360) 321- WAIF (9243) ext. 1100.

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Business Opportunities

For Lease, Iconic Bailey’s Corner Store,

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Professional ServicesAttorney, Legal Services

Notice to ContractorsWashington State Law

(RCW 18.27.100)requires that all adver- tisements for construc- tion related services in- clude the contractor’s current depar tment of Labor and Indust r ies registration number in the advertisement.Failure to obtain a certifi- cate of registration from L&I or show the registra- tion number in all adver- tising will result in a fine up to $5000 against the unregistered contractor.For more information, call Labor and Industries Special ty Compliance Services Division at

1-800-647-0982or check L&Is internet site at www.lni.wa.gov

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Whidbey Pearl Harbor vet visits Hawaiian battleground

Contributed photosAbove, Harold Johnson, a Whidbey resident and veteran of the USS Oklahoma, signs a history book for a young man during a Pearl Harbor remembrance event in December in Hawaii. Clockwise, Johnson sits near the USS Oklahoma memo-rial; Johnson signs a copy of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer printed the day after the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor; Johnson as a young sailor.A lifelong Oak Harbor resident, Johnson is one of the last few survivors of Pearl Harbor still alive in the North Puget Sound area. A founding member of the North Cascade Chapter of the Pearl Harbor’s Association, Johnson has seen a number of his fellow survivors pass just in the last year.