By Barbara Kyriakakis, OLLI E-News assistant editor IN 1941 JOE FULTON ENLISTED IN THE NAVY, taking basic training at the Norfolk Virginia Naval Air Station and rising to Aerographer’s Mate First Class during his four-year tour of duty. For those who don’t know, aerography is Navy jargon for meteorology. He and his squadron were shipped to Pearl Harbor in Jan 1942, one month after its bombing.
     Joe saw action on the USS Bismarck Sea (CVE-95), a light aircraft carrier patrolling in the Pacific. His main jobs were to advise the ship’s aircraft pilots of weather conditions aloft and to make sure the ship did not sail into a typhoon. In Nov 1944 he was transferred from the ship to the Naval Air Station on Manus Island near New Guinea. Three months later in Feb 1945 during the American assault on Iwo Jima, the Japanese sank Bismarck Sea. Two kamikaze planes slammed into the ship killing all of the sailors at Joe’s former battle station.
     The sinking of Bismarck Sea is written up in the recent book, Flags of Our Fathers. Joe considers his transfer from that ship the luckiest break of his life, especially at family gatherings when he scans the room with his children and grandchildren and realizes, but for that transfer, the room would be empty.
     Finding his knowledge of physics and his spatial intelligence limited and not conducive to his enjoying a career in weather and atmospheric conditions, Joe decided not to specialize in meteorology after the war. He looked elsewhere to fulfill his professional ambitions deciding on a career in economics. He attended New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science and majored in Economics and International Relations. His life as an economist with the Federal Government spanned 31 years.
     Joe has been a member of OLLI since 1998. He maintains that there is a similarity between economists and meteorologists: they are both "always wrong but never in doubt."

GIVE, AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE
By Elizabeth Crawford, OLLI E-News staff writer
AT A MAR 23 LUNCHEON at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Pat Cosslett suggested that the OLLI volunteers prove the truth of a statement by Winston Churchill: "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." The attendees have long known that service is its own reward and the key to more friends and more fun at OLLI. However, a celebration in their honor was a welcome treat.
     The Board of Directors prepared the lunch, and President Debbie Halverson commended the volunteers' generosity of spirit and pointed out how much higher the dues would be if OLLI had to pay staff to do all that the volunteers do. She gave each volunteer a personal note of thanks, a limited-edition bookmark designed by OLLI instructor Leonard Justinian, and a new nametag. 
     Valerie Braybrooke is the force behind the Nametag Beautification Project. A while back, she determined that her gardeners might have dirty knees, but they would have the best looking, individually designed, floral nametags. Jealousy abounded, and she was asked to design nametags for other volunteers. A small committee known as Manny and the Pasties assembled (pasted) the new nametags, which proclaim the volunteers' areas of service:

YELLOW -- Membership GREEN -- Special events ORANGE -- Liaisons RED -- Publications DARK BLUE -- Office helpers LIGHT BLUE -- Programs PINK -- Hospitality LAVENDER -- Miscellaneous

     During the luncheon, Jan Bohall and Michael Coyne were especially recognized -- Jan for her work on the catalog and Michael for his work on the Website and solving OLLI technical problems. Readers' Theater actors Charles Duggan, Eileen Duggan, Susanne Zumbro, and Gordon Canyock provided postprandial entertainment with two short comedies, "Fear of Flying" and "Welcome to Acceptance."
     To anyone who would like a more distinctive nametag and, most important, greater involvement with a superb group of people: email Debbie and offer to volunteer.

FANCY BADGES ADORN OUR VOLUNTEERS More about badges and bookmarks By Debbie Halverson, President AT LAST WEEK'S VOLUNTEER-APPRECIATION LUNCHEON, volunteers were given a package that included two items of particular interest: a new flashy badge and a specially designed bookmark.      Packages for those volunteers who were unable to attend can be picked up at the office at Tallwood, and Reston members will receive theirs at Lake Anne. Be sure also to ask for an OLLI-Vol lanyard if you don’t already have one.      The new badges were created in various colors, each color to designate what committee that member serves on. So you will see red, yellow, orange, blue, green and lavender badges with various decorations affixed.      The bookmark was especially designed for OLLI by Leonard Justinian who taught the beginner watercolor class in the winter term. This is a limited-edition bookmark and is numbered on the back. The artwork shows hot air balloons rising above a rural scene and the wording reads, "Your Service Elevates OLLI." This is a keepsake item that also has practical intent because OLLI members are a literate bunch and love their books.      Mark it well: we love our volunteers!

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