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SOUTH POTOMAC PILOTSOUTH POTOMAC PILOTJune 19, 2015

NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY SOUTH POTOMAC DEFENSE COMMUNITY

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Capt. Brian Durant,left, Naval Surface WarfareCenter Dahlgren Division(NSWCDD) commandingofficer, presents the Merito-rious Service Medal certifi-cate to Cmdr. Shawn Cow-an, NSWCDD senior militarydeputy for human systemsengineering during Cow-an’s retirement ceremonyJune 5 at the Aegis Trainingand Readiness Center au-ditorium. The naval flightofficer served aboard USSEnterprise (CVN 65), USS

Nimitz (CVN 69), USS JohnC. Stennis (CVN 74), USSRonald Reagan (DVN 76),and USS Carl Vinson (CVN70) throughout his 22-yearNaval career. Cowen - whoreported to the NSWCDDHuman Systems Integra-tion (HSI) Branch in April2012 - crafted and led teamscomprising military, gov-ernment, and contractorhuman systems engineersto provide HSI support forseven acquisition projects.“As the HSI lead on Navy,

DoD, and other federalagency acquisition projects,he ensured his team provid-ed unrivaled HSI expertisein human factors engineer-ing, manpower, personnel,training, safety, personnelsurvivability, habitabil-ity, and occupational healthhazards,” said Durant. “Hisin-depth expertise withNavy surface and aviationwarfare and maintenancepractices provided keen in-sight to numerous acquisi-tion programs.”

NSWCDD HSI Senior Military Deputy Retires

U.S. Navy photo by Ryan DeShazo/Released

By Jeron Hayes

The stagewas set for a nos-talgic trip. Photos of Boom-town showed on the screen.The dulcet tones of GlennMiller played in the back-ground. Comfortable couch-es filled the stage. Slowly thecrowd of over 100 attendeesfiled in to the University ofMary Washington DahlgrenCampus auditorium with onemission - to hear and sharestories from the past.

The event, held June 11,was the first in a series by ofevents by the Dahlgren Heri-tage Museum honoring the70th anniversary of the endof World War II. The topic,“Boomtown - The War YearsGrow the Base,” told the storyof life on the base as WorldWar II ended. Boomtownrefers to an housing area onbase, now the site of AegisTraining and Readiness Cen-ter and other commands, thatserved as quarters for baseemployees during the 50s.

The museum assembleda panel of participants thatwent all the way back to1916, two years before thebase opened. Ed Jones,president of the DahlgrenHeritage Foundation andan 18-year resident of Dahl-gren, moderated the panelthat included Ann Swope, aformer Chief of Staff for Na-val Surface Warfare Dahl-gren Division; Elizabeth Lee,

president of the DahlgrenHistorical Society; Ira andGladys West, retired baseemployees; and Walter Ma-son, who at age 98 was twoyears old when Dahlgrenfired its first shot. Masonwas accompanied by his sonBernie on the stage.

Jones opened the eve-ning with a reminder thatthe base would turn 100 injust three more years. Thefirst shot, fired in October1918, was fired by a gun“that remains on base today,which is pretty remarkable,”said Jones. One by one heintroduced panel membersand asked them to sharetheir memories.

Lee shared photos ofKing George County fromthe World War II era. She

was born and raised on afarm in the area and talkedabout the vast expanse offarm land throughout thecounty.

“I was the girl runningbarefoot through the freshlyplowed dirt,” Lee said. “Thearea was very rural withlots of agriculture, not likeit is now.” She added thatfishermen rounded out theeconomy for the area. Shedescribed how a handful ofstores served the area, in-cluding what is now knownas the dilapidated “MonsterMansion” onRt. 3 nearwherethe current King George PostOffice is located.

Lee included in her pre-sentation a photo of the Na-val Ordnance Research Cal-culator, the first computer

on base. “When the warhappened, the base gearedup for it. The base definitelygrew,” said Lee.

Ira and Gladys Westcame to Dahlgren to pursuenew careers. Residents ofKing George County sincethe 50’s, the Wests both gotcalls to come to Dahlgren forjob interviews.

“I looked on a map,” saidIra West, a mathematician,“and there was no Dahl-gren.” Finally finding the lo-cation, he took a Greyhoundbus from Richmond to Fred-ericksburg after being toldthere would be another busat Fredericksburg to takehim to Dahlgren. When hearrived, there was no con-tinuing bus. “I was able toget a cab,” said West. “We

drove through fields to gethere, and I ended up beingvery late for my interview. Iwondered what in the worldI’d done.” West wasn’t com-fortable with how thingswent and headed homethinking he wouldn’t receivean offer. But a few weekslater, he was asked to re-turn and work for the base.“When I came for my firstday of work, I got here a dayearly,” West told an amusedcrowd. As an employee, helived in a dorm “for a rea-sonable price. It was a goodplace to be,” said West.

His wife Gladys began hercareer as a school teacher inSussex. After leaving teach-ing and returning to college,she received a call to comefor an interview at Dahlgrenbut, not finding it on themap and then getting direc-tions to the base, “I turnedit down. It was too far fromhome,” said West, who grewup in Dinwiddie County.But the base persisted, soWest gave in and came foran interview. Once hiredas a computer programmer,she also moved into the em-ployee dorm, on the sidethat housed females. Sheand Ira met, married andthen settled in King GeorgeCounty. This was a “high-light” that Ira failed to men-tion while telling his story.

Boomtown Discussion Draws Crowdfor Dahlgren Museum Speaker Series

See Boomtown, Page 7

Photo courtesy of Mele Richardson

A panel of former Dahlgren employees and residents talk about life on thebase during World War II during a panel discussion at the University of MaryWashington Dahlgren Campus on June 11, the first of series of history-themed events organized by the Dahlgren Heritage Museum.

2 Friday, June 19, 2015The South Potomac Pilot

Congratulations Class of 2015

Susanne AdamsChristendomCollege

Bachelor ofArts, English Literature

Daughter ofRobert Adams

Cara Brooke AlbrittainLa Plata High School

Plans to attendWofford CollegeDaughter ofTomAlbrittain

Feline AgwumezieTuskegee UniversityMasters, Electrical

EngineeringEmployed byNSWCDD, G33

Donald Alex Barnes IVCulinary Institute

of VirginiaSon of Donald Barnes

andDestiney Barnes

Michelle BezerediGermanna

Community CollegeAssociates,

Criminal JusticeDaughter of

Kathi Bezeredi

Jermon BookerKing George High School

Plans to attendFull Sail UniversitySon of KimBooker

Hannah BowersSweet Briar CollegeBachelor of Science,

EngineeringDaughter ofChris Bowers

EmileeMarie BrancheauKingGeorgeHighSchool

Plans to attendOldDominionUniversity

Daughter ofJeff Brancheau

Jay Allen BranemRappahannockHigh School

Plans to attendWoodrowWilson College

Son of Patience King

Hikenna BransonMonroe Bay Christian

Academy; Plans to enlistin the US Air Force

Daughter ofHoward Branson

Nicole BremKing George High SchoolPlans to attend Randolph

MaconCollegeDaughter ofSharon Brem

EboniMonet BrownJamesMonroeHigh

School; Plans to attendGer-mannaCommunity College;Daughter of Anthony and

LindaBrown

EricM. BrownAmerican

Military UniversityBachelor of Arts,General Studies

Employed by 614th AirOperations Center

Linda BrownNaval Post

Graduate SchoolMasters, Cost

Estimation and AnalysisEmployed byNSWCDDW11

Kali Y. CampbellLa Plata High School

Plans to attend Collegeof SouthernMaryland

Daughter ofLynne Campbell

Meagan CampbellLa Plata High School

Plans to attendLynchburg College

Daughter ofLynne Campbell

Shannon CarpenterRegent UniversitySchool of LawJuris DoctorDaughter of

Mark Carpenter

Sarah CastroUniversity of MarylandBachelor of Science,Civil Engineering

Daughter ofMatthewCastro

Symone A. ChaseVirginia CommonwealthUniversity; Bachelorof Science, CriminalJustice, Homeland

Security & EmergencyManagementDaughter ofRoger Chase

Nadia SchreeseCobey

Calvert County HighSchool; Plans toattend College ofSouthernMarylandDaughter of Denise

Cobey-Warren

Justin CourtneyStafford High School

Plans to attendCulinary Institute

of AmericaSon of

Stacia Courtney

Chase CowanKing GeorgeHigh School

Plans to attend EmbryRiddle Aeronautical

UniversitySon of ShawnCowan

EricaM. CoxUniversity ofOklahoma

Masters, HumanRelationsDaughter of

Christine Joseph

Aaron CroppKing GeorgeHigh School

Son of Trisha Cropp

Michael DrescherVirginia Tech

Masters, ComputerEngineering

Son of Linda Drescher

Friday, June 19, 2015 3The South Potomac Pilot


BryanMark ElamVirginia Tech

Bachelorof Science,Mechanical EngineeringSon of Kenneth Elam

Emily FeldmanTowson University

Masters of EducationDaughter of Jim Feldman

Laura FilkoskiMasters in Education,Special Education

Universityof MaryWashington

Daughter ofButch Filkoski

Benjamin ForestKecoughtan High School

Plans to attendLynchburg CollegeSon of Vivian Forest

KatelynMichelleFortune-Mehl

Ohio State UniversityBachelor of

Science, Nursing;Daughter of Mark Fortune

and Stepdaughterof MikeMehl

Jared GambleUS Army Boot Camp

Son of Elanaand Kenneth Gamble

Collin Irvin GarnettMassaponax High School

Plans to attendGermanna

Community CollegeSon of DonnaGarnett

Curtis Earl GarnettVirginia Tech

Bachelor of Science,Wildlife Sciencesand Forestry

Son of DonnaGarnett

Alexis GordonWashington & Lee

High SchoolPlans to attend JamesMadison University

Daughter ofDontina Gordon

Kenley GreenKing George High SchoolPlans to attend JamesMadison University

Daughter ofDebbie Shelkey-Lawson

Charlotte Gregg HorneRandolphMaconCollegeBachelor of Arts Degree,Political Science and

Communication StudiesDaughter of

AndrewHorne

KeyawnaC. GriffithUniversity of Maryland

Bachelor of Arts,Criminology andCriminal Justice

Daughter of Lisa Griffith

Daniel GriggKing George High

SchoolPlans to attendVirginia Tech

Son of Betty andRandy Grigg

Sarah Grigg RolphUniversity of Florida

Master of FineArts, Poetry

Daughter of Betty andRandy Grigg

Tyler GriggUniversity of VirginiaBachelor of Science,

Mechanical Engineering;Employed byNSWCDDG81;Son of Betty andRandyGrigg

Haley HancockCollege of SouthernMaryland; Associates,General Studies/Arts

& SciencesDaughter of

Sheila Hancock

Dondre’ HarrisEssex High SchoolPlans to attendFairmont State

UniversitySon of Jodi Harris

Elijah Frezell HarveyKing GeorgeHigh School

Son ofVeronica S.Harvey

Alexandra L. HastingsVirginiaMilitary

Institute; Bachelor ofArts, Modern Languages

and Cultures; Com-missioned into the U.S.Army as 2nd LieutenantDaughter of Robert C.

Hastings, Jr.

Emily Palmer HellerEugene Lang Collegeof Liberal Arts at TheNewSchool; Bachelorof Arts, Social Inquiry

Daughter ofFrederick Heller

Christopher HogueUniversity of MarylandBaltimore County

Bachelor of Science,Visual Arts

Son of Gary A. Hogue

DarionKeyonna HolmesJamesMonroeHigh SchoolDaughter of

De’Atra Holmes

JessicaCharlotte Hoover

College of William andMary; Bachelor of Arts,Music and Theatre

Daughter ofSteven Hoover

Ehnde’ LaurynHowardCourtlandHighSchool

Plans to attendGermannaCommunity

CollegeDaughter of

TabithaHoward

Jordan HowellsHenry E. Lackey High

SchoolPlans to attend

College of SouthernMaryland

Son of Katie Howells

Brenndan JackoLa Plata High School

Plans to attendMcDaniel College

Daughter ofJulie Jacko



Charmaine B. JacksonGeorgeMason UniversityBachelor of Science,Public Administration

Daughter ofCheyenne D. Jackson

Zachary David JohnsonKing George High School

Plans to attendShenandoah UniversitySon of Kimberly Johnson

Joanna JourdanUniversity of Mary

WashingtonBachelor of Arts, HistoricPreservation and History

Employedby NSWCDD 1033

Alya C. KassemLa Plata High SchoolPlans to attend Collegeof SouthernMaryland

Daughter ofChristine Carpenter

Jennifer KauUniversity of Notre Dame

Bachelor of ArtsDaughter of Brian and

Deanna Kau

Nathan KendrickKing George High School

Plans to attendVirginia TechSon of Paula

and Gary Kendrick

Menyon KeysUniversity of MarylandMasters, BusinessManagementDaughter ofKim Pinkney

Alexander LateulereHenry E. Lackey HighSchool; Plans to attendUniversity of MarylandBaltimore County

Son ofMichael Lateulere

Eileen Renae LawsonUniversity of Mary

WashingtonBachelor of Arts,

SociologyDaughter of DebbieShelkey-Lawson

Christian LeighNorth StaffordHigh School

Plans to attendBrigham

Young UniversitySon of Matthew Leigh

ShearlChristine LeVere

Bridgewater CollegeBachelor of Science,Information Systems

ManagementDaughter of Carolyn

Dudley

Ashlyn LivermanLa Plata High SchoolPlans to attend Col-lege of Southern

Maryland Daughterof Tony and Christina

Liverman

Jennifer M. LouieJamesMadison

UniversityBachelor of Science,Health SciencesDaughter ofCheck Louie

TimothyW. LouieJamesMadison

UniversityBachelor

of Science, GeologySon of Check Louie

Nathanial LydickKing George HighSchool; Associates

Degree, RappahannockCommunity CollegePlans to attend Univer-

sity of OklahomaSon of Ed Lydick

StephanieMaddoxUniversity of Baltimore

School of LawJuris Doctorate

DegreeDaughter of

PennyMaddox

Meahsha T. MakleMorgan State

University, Bachelor ofScience, Transporta-

tion SystemsDaughter of

ChristineMakle

Jeffrey P. McAteerRiverbend High School

Plans to attendUniversity of Mary

WashingtonSon of

William V. McAteer

LauraMcKinnonLiberty University

Masters of BusinessAdministrationDaughter ofEdMcKinnon

ShyriceMitchellSiena CollegeBachelor

of Science, BiologyDaughter

of Sharon Cooper

Joel T. MorrissettVirginia Tech

Bachelor of Science,MechanicalEngineering

Son of Jill Morrissett,JWAC and

JimMorrissett

JennyMottCollege of Southern

MarylandAssociates, Nursing

Daughter ofChristineMott

Chad HarrisonMyersBachelor of Arts,

Political Science andInternational StudiesTowson UniversitySon of Bonnieand RonMyers

Melissa NelsonLa Plata High SchoolPlans to attend PennState University

Daughterof Jean

and David Nelson

Caitie B. O’DonnellNorth Point High School;

Plans to attend;Clemson UniversityDaughter of Amy

and Chris O’Donnell

Nicole PangilinanOhio State UniversityBachelor of Science,Chemical Engineering

Daughterof Gerry Pangilinan

Carolyn E. LouieCourtland High School

Plans to attendUniversity of Virginia

Daughter ofCheck Louie



Charles “Chuck” PasoldKing George High School

Plans to attendChristopher Newport

UniversitySon of Terry

and Emily Pasold

Brooke PayneColonial Beach High

School; Plans to attendChristopher Newport

UniversityDaughter ofShelly Payne

Breonna R. PoseyHenry E. LackeyHigh School

Plans to attend Collegeof SouthernMaryland

Daughter ofShelly Posey

WadeM. ReynoldsCaroline High School

Plans to attendSt. Augustine’s University

Son ofLucy Reynolds

Anna RinkoKing George High SchoolPlans to attend University

of MaryWashingtonDaughter ofJohn Rinko

RaymondMatthewRison

GeorgeWashingtonUniversity; Masters of Sci-ence, Information Systems

and TechnologyGrandson of

WilliamM. Rison, Sr.

PaigeMarie RobertsonCourtland High School

Plans to attendLongwood University

Daughter ofMerritt Hepinstall

Nicholas E. RomanHenry E. Lackey HighSchool, Plans toattend College ofSouthernMarylandSon of Nancy Roman

Blake P. ShawLongwood UniversityBachelor of Arts,Political Science

Son of Melissa Shaw

Steven Ray SinklerUS Army Basic andAdvanced TrainingSon of Lynn Sinkler

KarahM. SizemoreStafford High School

Plans to attendCampbell UniversityDaughter of Karen andMichael Sizemore

Trevor Samuel SmithStafford High School

Plans to attendVirginiaMilitary

InstituteSon of

Charles S. Smith

Anthony SposatoMassaponaxHigh School

Plans to attend VirginiaMilitary Institute

Son of Joe Sposato

Cody Ryan St. ClairSt. Mary’s Ryken HighSchool; Plans to attendStony Brook University

Honors CollegeSon of

Waunitta St. Clair

Kirsten StaplesKing George High

SchoolPlans to attend OldDominion UniversityDaughter of Candi

Staples

Mary Elizabeth StilesUniversity of Maryland

Bachelor ofScience, Dietetics

Daughterof Stephen N. Stiles

Nicole StraughanVirginia Tech

Bachelor of Science,Biology

Daughter ofDebby Straughan

Katelyn SutkowskiJamesMadison

UniversityBachelor of Science,

NursingDaughter of Janice and

Kaz Sutkowski

Kelly Jean TaylorJohn Paul the Great

High SchoolPlans to attendGeorge

Mason UniversityGoddaughter ofMary Zickafoose

Jacob D. TrittKing GeorgeHigh School

Plans to attend VirginiaCommonwealth

UniversitySon of Ben Tritt

Justin D. WaltonHenry E. LackeyHigh School

Plans to attendTowson UniversitySon of JasonWalton

Clinton A. “Trey”Watson, III

Washington & LeeHigh School

Plans to attendGermanna

Community CollegeSon of Bonnie andClintonWatson, Jr.

Bruce BernardWebb IIRiverbend High School

Plans to attendUniversity of Virginia

Son of Bruceand Hattie Webb

Jennifer MaeWilloughby

Washington and LeeHigh School

Plans to attendRappahannock

Community CollegeDaughter of

CoryWilloughby

Charlotte Taft WilsonPalmBeach AtlanticUniversity, Lloyd L.Gregory Schoolof Pharmacy

Doctor of PharmacyDaughter ofRobert L. Taft

Julie WiltLongwood UniversityBachelors, Business

AdministrationDaughter ofSusanWilt

JustinWoodKing George High

SchoolPlans to attend OldDominion University

Son ofBetty SaundersWood


By John JoyceNSWCDD CorporateCommunications

A human resources special-ist was honored for achieve-ments impacting Navy personaland enhancing technical mis-sions, the Naval Surface War-fare Center Dahlgren Division(NSWCDD) announced June 10.

NSWCDD Workforce Infor-mation Lead Donna Rylandreceived the 2015 Naval SeaSystems Command (NAVSEA)Warfare Center (WFC) HumanResources Division award -called the “The Philip HeilerAward for Human ResourcesExcellence” - during the WFCWorkforce Council meeting inPanama City last month.

“The Phil Heiler award is sig-

nificant because it recognizesHR professionals, like Donna,who through their technicalexcellence and dedication havemade an extraordinary contri-bution to the Warfare CenterEnterprise,” said Julie Schnei-der, NSWCDD Human Resourc-es Policy, Planning and AnalysisBranch Head. “The award isparticularly meaningful to theDahlgren HR team because itwas named in memory of ourformer HR Director, who wasone of the founding membersof the Workforce Council.”

The award - granted to oneWarfare Center HR employee orgroup annually - recognizes out-standing accomplishments thatresults in: developing or improv-ing a human resources productor process; furthering the state-of-the-art within the human re-

sources discipline; or makingsignificant contributions thatenhance the missions of the sup-ported technical organization.

“It is quite an honor to re-ceive this award - especiallysince it was named in honor ofa former NSWCDD Human Re-sources Director I worked withfor many years,” said Ryland.“Serving the Warfare Center En-terprise, I have worked with Hu-man Resource members acrossall of the Warfare Centers andthe Office of Civilian HumanResources. That experience hashelped me gain insight to stan-dard HR systems and best prac-tices to better serve our WarfareCenter community.”

Ryland was recognized forher unwavering commitment toproviding Dahlgren Division andthe Warfare Center community

at large with the highest qualityworkforce information products,services and technical solutionswhich support the entire talentmanagement life cycle.

“Her career-long commit-ment to customer service excel-lence consistently sets a highstandard for others in the HRcommunity to emulate and istruly representative of the cus-tomer service values for whichMr. Heiler so strongly advocat-ed,” the award citation states.

“I have been very fortunate tohave worked alongside knowl-edgeable and skilled Human Re-sources professionals within theDahlgren Division,” said Ryland.“Many took me under their wing,sharing their knowledge and tal-ents, and teaching me the valueof contributing to the larger team.Through their guidance, I learned

the value of putting customer ser-vice first and delivering the high-est quality products and servicespossible regardless of the chal-lenges.”

The NSWCDD Human Re-sources Department mission is torecruit the best and brightest em-ployees toDahlgren, and todevel-op and support them throughouttheir career life cycles.

NSWCDD, a NAVSEA warfarecenter division, is a premier re-search and development centerthat serves as a specialty sitefor weapon system integration.The command’s unique abilityto rapidly introduce new tech-nology into complex warfight-ing systems is based on its long-standing competencies in sci-ence and technology, researchand development, and test andevaluation.

NSWCDD Human Resources Specialist Wins AnnualNAVSEA Warfare Center Human Resources Award


“You can reach Ira at thelocal motel for the next fewdays,” joked Jones about theforgotten story.

Ann Swope followed herhusband from South Caro-lina to Dahlgren. She cameon the condition that it wasa short-term plan. At the be-ginning of her career, Swopealso worked a few days aweek at the now-closedNavybase in White Oak, Md. “Ikept trying to convince himto move up to Silver Spring,”Swope told the crowd. Shewasn’t fond of Dahlgren atfirst. Each year, he’d ask foran extension, until finallythe couple settled in Colo-nial Beach and worked ex-clusively at Dahlgren. “Afterfive years I was all in,” saidSwope. “It’s a great placeto work and a great place toraise a family. “

Swope spoke of the senseof community and together-ness of those that workedand lived in the area. Shesaid the biggest change shesaw during her tenure onbase was the change to baseaccess after 9/11. “Before,Dahlgren was a gatheringplace. We attended manyparties and wedding recep-tions on base. The publiccould come on and use fa-cilities.” Security restric-tions have since closed the

base’s gates and limitedaccess to facilities to onlythose that have base access.

The star of the eveningwas Walter Mason. Mason,who will turn 99 in Septem-ber, grew up just outsidethe base and was a base em-ployee for many years. Itis not his career, however,for which he is notorious.Jones asked him if he re-membered the day the HarryNice Bridge was dedicatedin 1940. Mason said yes, heremembered it well. Jonesasked him to elaborate.

Mason advised he hadjust started working at thebase. It was a Friday after-noon and his car had brokendown and needed a part.He and his flight instructordecided to take a Piper Cuband fly to Fredericksburg topick up the part. As they as-cended from the runway atDahlgren and surveyed thearea below, they noticed thelarge crowd gathered on theMaryland side of the bridgefor the dedication ceremo-ny. Mason’s instructor sud-denly had an idea.

“Do you want to seemore of it?” the instruc-tor asked Mason, referringto the bridge. “Sure,” saidMason.

“So he got up just highenough and swooped downunder the bridge. He wentback up and made a doglegturn and said ok, you havethe controls, it’s your turn.”Mason executed the move

perfectly, flying under thebridge from the oppositeside. Satisfied with theirmaneuvers, the two madetheir way to Fredericksburg.

Over the laughter ofthe audience, Jones askedMason if he thought aboutwhat he’d done. “I did,”said Mason. “I hid for mostof the weekend.” WhenMason returned to work onMonday, “a high rankingDahlgren official came overto me with the newspaper.He said, ‘do you know any-thing about this?’ [I] hesi-tated and said, ‘Well no, Idon’t.’” In the end, Masonsaid he was told not to wor-ry about it.

“We probably shouldn’t

have done it, but we did,”said Mason.

Mason shared otherstories about growingup near the base. Therewere few roads to Freder-icksburg, and a trip theremeant crossing streamsand waterways. “Whenwomen went to town,they’d take a box of hom-ing pigeons with them,”said Mason. “If they be-came stuck in a stream amile from home, they’dsend home one pigeon. Ifthey were two miles out,they’d send two pigeons.They needed someone toknow where they were tocome and help them.” Hedescribed a slow and easy

pace at Dahlgren untilWorld War II began.

When the panel finished,the audience asked ques-tions and shared stories.One attendee reminded thecrowd that the base had ablimp station in the 1940s.A blimp was kept on site incase German submarinescame up the Potomac Rivertrying to reach Washington.

Another resident sharedthat base police used to standpatrols on the Nice Bridge forthe same reason. She saidherparents, when they arrivedhome from work, would fillcontainers with water andride their bikes to the bridgeto provide the watchstanderswith a drink.

Jones, who helped foundDahlgren Museum, said histime on base “were the bestyears of my life. I have somany wonderful memoriesof my time at Dahlgren.”He thanked the Universityof Mary Washington Dahl-gren Campus for being suchgreat hosts for the event andreminded attendees the mu-seum would return to thecollege on August 11 for thenext speaker series event.

Dahlgren Museum is lo-cated at 3540 James Madi-son Parkway in King George.To learn more about themuseum, to become a mu-seum member or to make adonation, visit www.dahl-grenmuseum.org.

Boomtown:Continued from page 1

Base Happenings,MWR Highlights and Community Notes

will return next week.

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