USSVI USS Chicago Base Submarine Veterans

10/28/2026

USS Chicago Base, along with other area veterans, veterans' groups and interested people, participated in the October 20, 2026 Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery (ALNC) direct burial ceremony for unclaimed veteran remains. This is a quarterly ceremony held at ALNC. After the ceremony we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the Silver Dollar Restaurant in Elwood. Here are some photos from the event and at the restaurant.

10/05/2026

USS Chicago Base had an eventful meeting this past Saturday Oct. 3rd. We led off the meeting with our annual S-44 Ceremony. The World War Two submarine S-44 (SS-155) was the Submarine Veterans of World War Two (Illinois chapter) state submarine that they honored every year. Each states' chapter of that organization had one or two lost submarines that they honored. S-44 was lost on Oct. 7, 1943. USS Chicago Base is happy to carry on the tradition of performing this ceremony now that the Illinois chapter of the Submarine Veterans of World War Two can no longer do it. We'll hold another ceremony to honor S-44 at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery on Oct. 20th. Here's a link to a wikipedia page about S-44: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_S-44. Besides this ceremony three of our base members received awards. One of our new base members, Dennis Suda, became a member of the Holland Club. This signifies that it's been 50 years since he qualified in submarines. Also, two of our base members recently received awards at the annual USSVI convention in Corpus Christi, TX. Joe Tokarz received a Silver Anchor Award and Mitch Damian received a Meritorious Award. Finally, Mitch presented a $500 donation to base commander Brian Finks. This donation represented the proceeds from the August 22nd Car and Bike show that Mitch held at Connie's Pizza in Chicago. A Facebook post has already been made about the car show. Here're some pictures from the Oct. base meeting showing the tolling of the lost boats, and the awards presentations.

10/04/2026

USS Chicago Base members John Connon, Jim Daniels, John Tomzik and Dave Mills, who are also Chicago Griffin Museum of Science Industry volunteers, represented our base at the 2026 Columbian Ball at the museum yesterday Oct. 3rd. As submarine veterans they're particularly knowledgeable about the World War Two German submarine U-505 that's been on display at the museum since 1954. Their presence was requested by museum Deputy Director Matt Porth to enhance this years' Columbian Ball guest experience. Here're two photos of the group, along with Matt. The photos were taken near the submarine. If you're never visited the museum and seen this submarine it's worth the trip!

10/04/2026

USS Chicago Base member Mitch Damian organized and held his 2nd Annual Car and Bike Show at Connie’s Pizza, 2373 S. Archer Ave, Chicago, IL on August 22nd. Mitch holds these shows as a fund-raiser for USS Chicago Base. As can be seen from the many awesome photos in this post, his show was very successful. Also, USS Chicago Base member Gary Meyer won the Best Veterans Award for his beautiful car. The photo of Gary’s car and of Gary receiving his award from Mitch are mentioned in the comments for those specific photos. This event is just one of the many ways that Mitch has and still is helping out our base. Thank you, Mitch!

09/29/2026

USS Chicago Base participated in the 2026 Grundy County Corn Festival parade this past Sunday Sept. 27th. We had a very nice turnout of base members and also family. This parade is usually one of the best for us and once again it didn’t disappoint. The weather was awesome and the crowd along the route was very appreciative. After the parade we gathered at Turtles Tap in Morris for a very nice lunch. I’d like to thank our base members, visitors and family for showing up and spending their day with us. Here're some photos from the parade.

09/29/2026

On September 19th USS Chicago Base members attended the Celebration of Life for David A. Harris. Dave was a proud U.S. Navy Veteran. He was enlisted in the Navy from 1960-1963. He served on the USS Bugara SS-331 as a torpedoman 2nd class. Later in life, he enjoyed reconnecting with submarine veterans as an active member of USSVI-USS Chicago Base. Dave was an important and valued member of our base. He held several offices and most recently was the treasurer for our memorial committee. The memorial committee planned and had installed 3 memorials to honor the memory of the Manitowoc, WI submarines that were built there during World War Two. Dave will be missed. This photo was taken at his Celebration of Life.

09/15/2026

Several members of USS Chicago Base recently attended the 2026 United States Submarine Veterans Convention that was held in Corpus Christi, TX. This is an annual event that's held in different cities each year. Next year the convention will be held in Reno, NV. In 2028 it'll be held in Norfolk, VA. During every convention a "Tolling of the Lost Boats" ceremony is held to honor those submarines and their crews who were lost during peacetime and in war. Here's a link to a local Corpus Christi news story about the convention and specifically the "Tolling of the Lost Boats" ceremony that was held at that convention. Click on the link to watch the news story.

Hundreds of veterans gathered aboard the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi to honor those lost during the U.S. submarine program’s history.

08/06/2026

The Manitowoc, Wisconsin Shipbuilding Company built 28 Gato and Balao-class submarines for the U.S. Navy during World War II. They were some of the best submarines built during that time. When ready they performed trials on Lake Michigan. After commissioning they traveled the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans using a floating dry dock because of shallow water and bridge clearances. Four of those submarines were lost with all hands during the war. USS Chicago Base member Joe Tokarz presents the very interesting story of these submarines at various locations in our area. His most recent presentation was at the Morris, IL Public Library on July 14, 2026. Here's a link to a presentation that he made at the LaSalle, IL Public Library on Feb. 10, 2026.

During World War 2, twenty-eight submarines were built in Wisconsin...

07/15/2026

USS Chicago Base, along with other area veterans, veterans' groups and interested people, participated in the July 13, 2026 Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery (ALNC) direct burial ceremony for unclaimed veteran remains. This is a quarterly ceremony held at ALNC. After the ceremony we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the Silver Dollar Restaurant in Elwood. Here are some photos from the event.

07/14/2026

Our chief cook Bill Hoffman, received a Board of Directors award at the July 2026 USS Chicago Base meeting. Bill has been providing outstanding meals after our base meetings for a very long time. As we often say, "come for the meal and stay for the meeting". Thank you Bill for all you've done and continue to do for our base! It's very much appreciated.