On Friday, August 20, Sweden resident Jack Tangen was elected as the National Commander of the Navy Seabee Veterans Association (NSVA) in Biloxi, Mississippi.
The U.S. Navy Seabees were founded on March 5, 1942 as a result of the WWII need to provide skilled craftsmen to build and repair forward combat installations necessary to help the war effort and defend themselves from the enemy. The Seabees built airstrips, fuel depots, hospitals, barracks, deep water ports, dry docks, anything given to them, using ingenuity and skill, usually in record time. Their motto was “The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer.” The NSVA was formed by Seabee Veterans shortly after the war ended in 1946. This year the NSVA celebrates 75 years of unbroken dedication to our communities and nation.
Jack joined the U.S. Navy in 1961 while in high school. He was stationed in Davisville, Rhode Island, assigned to Mobile Construction Battalion 7. His first deployment was to Guantanamo Naval Base, Cuba, at the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis, followed by deployments to Puerto Rico and Vieques Island.
He returned to Brockport upon completion of his military service, taking a position as maintenance electrician at Bausch & Lomb before moving to a similar position with the Eastman Kodak Company in 1969.
Jack joined the NSVA in 2004 with the creation of NSVA Island X-12 in Rochester. He has held the offices of Commander, Secretary, and Treasurer in Island X-12 and in the Department of New York. Jack’s most recent positions were at the National level as Chief Editor of the NSVA CAN DO magazine and the NSVA website. He also donates his time working and maintaining the Seabee Memorial Monument in North Tonawanda.
Jack said, “It was a great honor to be elected the National Commander of the NSVA. I feel my experience in assisting, supporting, and providing direction while in other capacities in the NSVA has provided me with invaluable experience from which to draw from and effectively to deliver the results needed to guide the NSVA forward.”
Jack is a longtime Sweden resident, having raised his family there with his wife, Donna. They have three daughters who all graduated from Brockport High School, Laurie Burns, Karen Menser, and Jackie Smith. Laurie and Karen followed their father’s path by joining the U.S. Navy out of high school. Jack retired from the Kodak Elmgrove plant in 2001 after 32 years and continued to work at the site for another 13 years. He then went on to drive bus for Brockport Central Schools. Jack is also a member of the Brockport Lions Club.
Any veteran that was or is a Seabee or was attached to the Bureau of Yards and Docks may join the NSVA. Additional information is available on at www.nsva.org.
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