USS JAMES K. POLK SSBN/SSN 645 Veterans Association

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During the Jimmy K.'s illustrious 33 year career she was home to many submariners. Her missions were diverse and ever-changing over her many years of service. Her young crews, from the first sea trials to her final cruise, continually brought merit upon the ship, the fleet, and the nation they served.

Named after the 11th President of The United States the USS James K. Polk was commissioned as SSBN 645 on April 16, 1966 as one of the 41 for Freedom boomers. She finished her long and colorful career as a SPECOPS boat having undergone a conversion and recommissioning as SSN 645 in the early 1990s. She was as the next to the last of the original 41 for Freedom boomers to be removed from service. You can read more of her service in the Ship's History section.

The USS James K. Polk Veterans Association is a chartered and incorporated non-profit 501(c) (19) organization organized exclusively and specifically for the pleasure, recreation, and fellowship of the men who served aboard the United States submarine USS James K. Polk (SSBN/SSN 645) and their families.

All Hands -

Because of the excellent stewardship of our association's money by shipmate Wallstreet Walt Drawl and the generosity of our membership, we will have a fair amount of money fall into our chartered requirement for charitable donation. Command has researched and evaluated several potential distribution profiles. We have narrowed it down to two that we want to put in front of the membership for a vote at the next JKPVA business meeting. Click Here to read, print or download a PDF copy of these proposals.

Please review these proposals and discuss them with our shipmates prior to the 2009 business meeting at the reunion and be ready to vote for one or the other.

Keep the bubble,
Bodega Bob, CO

Important All Hands Notice
USS James K. Polk SSBN/SSN 645 Museum Project

The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in New Mexico has acquired the Jimmy K sail for incorporation into a display on its museum grounds. The museum, a congressionally charted Smithsonian Institute affiliate, has asked the help of the USS James K. Polk Veterans Association in raising the money necessary to transport and refurbish the sail and develop this memorial. We have agreed.

To this end we have begun collecting tax-deductible contributions for the project. We are acting as the primary collection point for these contributions. 100% of the collected funds will be disbursed to the museum for this specific project.

The primary fund raising will be thru the sale of engraved bricks at $100 per unit. These bricks can be engraved with your name & dates of service, purchased as a gift for a favored shipmate, engraved as a memorial to a shipmate on eternal patrol or just about any other thing you want. The bricks will be used to outline the submarine-shaped memorial.

We are asking not only for your support and contributions but for your activism as well. Please give generously but also be aggressive in spreading the word to other Jimmy K shipmates and to the submarine community at large. Together we can be a powerful force in helping to get this valuable Cold War memorial erected.

On behalf of your command team who has been working for the past year to put this program together, I thank you in advance for your kind and generous assistance.

Bodega Bob Homme (SS)
CO, JKPVA

[Click Here to Contribute]