On 12 November 2020, Wittmer, Paul W. (SubvetPaul) died at home Below is from an email I received this morning (18 Nov. 2020) from Gary Wittmer. Apparently they sent it to all in Paul Wittmer's email address folder. Several years ago I did exchange emails with Paul. His
website is not directly accessible - but through the INTERNET ARCHIVE
it is. It seems his site is archived intact as all of his links that I
checked still work. There is so much history in there that perhaps USSVI
should look into saving it online. The archived URL is: https://web.archive.org/web/20020720014713/http://subvetpaul.com/" rel="nofollow - https://web.archive.org/web/20020720014713/http://subvetpaul.com/ Sid------------------------------------ Copy of Gary's email: On12 November 2020, Wittmer, Paul W. (SubvetPaul)
died at home as were his wishes. Survived by Eleanor, wife of 68 years,
3 children, 8 grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren. He was active
in two prominent Submarine Veteran organizations and served as a
commandant at least once. He wrote about all submarine veterans lost
during WWII making research trips to the National Archives for more than
30years. He was presented with awards as a master researcher from the
archives. He also published a compilation of stories from WWII crew
members about their war patrols, Big Anthology. These were stories
compiled over many years while he was editor of the Tinosa Blatt. His
final publication is Spyron. It features Kit Parsons of Philippine
guerrilla resistance fame. America's spy who set up the coastal watch,
supplied fighters using dedicated American subs, and rescued hundreds of
civilians from certain death by Japanese forces.
His
Honor flight took place a few years ago when he was still able to
stand. Recently he told me he could not count the number of depth charge
attacks his boat, the Tinosa, had been through. "Too many to count" he
said. In hindsight, 78 years of PTSD kept under wraps can explain a lot
for this family. Much of his military duty being sworn to secrecy, the
same was true of his personal life. He was one of the few Sailors chosen
for the prize crew to bring the captured Japanese Imperial-401 from
Tokyo to Honolulu. (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBx2Bu-jnOs" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBx2Bu-jnOs andalso a Japanese film interview)
He was a submarine escape instructor in the 300' water tower. He tested
the Navy's first re-breathers inthe Bahamas. Then, of course, there
were the stories of the doll from Japan and women in Perth, and
Honolulu. Paul eloped with Eleanor in 1950, but had a surprise wedding
ceremony at Good Shepherd Lutheran for their 50th wedding anniversary. He
was one of only two licensed professional engineers in the country who
were grandfathered in without needing to complete an engineering
bachelors degree, yet he spent years teaching new engineers how to do
their jobs. Paul was the lead engineer for the machines that made the
first version of plastic Coke bottles. It was big as a house and spit
out over 100 bottles per minute. He also worked for M&M candy
factory. I
remember the grocery bags of candy he brought home with errors or
blemishes on the packaging. I remember stories of a hunting trip deepthe
forests of Maine. I remember camping trips in the Smoky's in a big
surplus circus tent. I remember trips to fire Island Beach NY, and the
time his sky blue VW Karmann Ghia was stolen. I remember that Dad always
was deeply involved in one project or another. He made pastel
portraits that still hang on the wall,was very involved in photography
for a time, was an avid gardener,renovated a house in Connecticut, and
made jewelry and bola ties for many years. He even tried to learn how
to play the organ. We learned that he had no rhythm. He researched and
published the family genealogy back to the 13th century Holy Roman
Empire and collaborated with family in Germany and France who were doing
the same. Then there was a very large reunion in Baden-Württemberg. Now he has departed on his eternal patrol. Toattend the ZOOM internet services send an email to: mailto:martacarp5@aol.com" rel="nofollow - Service
will be informal with few family members in attendance. All are
welcome to join in the zoom remembrance to commence at 11am Central time
Saturday 21 November. A
reception, and procession from home to National Cemetery will beplanned
for when the weather is nice and the Pandemic is no longer a threat,
most likely in the Spring. Flowers may be sent to 17 Elannchester Dr, Manchester MO 63011.
In lieu of Flowers, donations to Eleanor's account may be made using google pay to mailto:garywittmer@gmail.com" rel="nofollow - garywittmer@gmail.com ,or 5623298103. All donations will default directly to Mom's account. Dad dedicated his life (and savings)
to researching and publishing his books. The books will remain
available. I will forward orders to the publisher accordingly. For any
of publications,Submarine Veterans Lost 6 Volume, 200 or less, Spyron
40 or less, andBig Anthology 40 or less please place your request to me
at mailto:garywittmer@gmail.com" rel="nofollow - garywittmer@gmail.com . If
you pre-pay, just let me know in your email. I say "orless" because the
price from the publisher goes down for multiple printings.
Gary Wittmer
------------- http://www.sid-hill.com/" rel="nofollow - North of Sevey Corners "Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences." ---Robert Louis Stevenson
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