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Who We Are And What We Do |
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Who We Are And What We Do |
The ANA Patriot Squadron originated
in November 1992 when several members of the Association of Naval Aviation (the larger National group) living in
the Boston area who were interested in preserving the legacy of NAS Squantum and NAS South
Weymouth decided to form a local ANA affiliate, which is known as a "squadron".
The Association of Naval Aviation is a national advocacy group for all aviation forces in
the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard. The Association of Naval Aviation's mission is to educate the general
public about the overall military status of the United States, to encourage widespread
interest as to the importance of naval aviation in the defense of the United States and
its allies, to stimulate the collection, preservation, and display of historical material
concerning the history of naval aviation, and to encourage scientific and technical
development of naval aviation. The ANA Patriot Squadron is a not-for-profit
organization as defined in section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code.
The ANA Patriot Squadron maintains the Shea Memorial Grove on at Union Point (formerly
Southfield), a new mixed-use commercial/industrial/residential community presently under
construction on the site of former NAS South Weymouth in the city of Weymouth, MA. The
Shea Memorial Grove was created by CAPT Robert A. Duetsch and the NAS South Weymouth
Public Works Department's SeaBees just before the base was decommissioned in 1997.
It is dedicated to the memory of the 32 Congressional Medal of Honor recipients from
Norfolk and Plymouth county in Massachusetts. The Shea Memorial Grove is named for
CDR John J. "Jack" Shea, USNR, the dynamic and popular executive officer at NRAB
Squantum throughout the 1930s who was killed in action when the aircraft carrier U.S.S.
Wasp was sunk off the Solomon Islands on September 15, 1942. The Shea Memorial Grove
features a tree for each Medal of Honor recipient, park benches, and an actual Douglas
A-4B Skyhawk attack aircraft that was based at NAS South Weymouth and flown by the Navy
and Marine Corps Reserve during the 1960s.
The ANA Patriot Squadron is also working to establish a permanent museum, the Shea Naval
Aviation Museum, dedicated to preserving the history and traditions of NAS Squantum and
NAS South Weymouth at Union Point. The group had previously operated the museum from
temporary quarters in the former Navy Shea Fitness Center building. However, the
museum is presently closed pending relocation to permanent quarters at Union Point at some
point in the near future. Check back here from time to time as we will post updated
information as this situation evolves.
