Alvin pilot Valentine Wilson sits atop the research submarine, shown in its earliest incarnation in 1966 (the external shape and design have been altered a bit over the years). After Wilson came back from a trip to the Bahamas sporting a red beret, the hats were adopted as a badge of camaraderie among the members of the Alvin group.(Photo courtesy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Archives)
Hi Daan,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Eva Wilson and I am the granddaughter of Valentine Wilson. How nice it was to find this picture and explanation of the red berets! (Of course, I've heard a lot about the red berets from family--what a hoot my grandpa Val was..)
Hi Eva,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your reaction - great!
If you have any stories about the red berets to share, I would love to hear from you! (Great material for The Beret Book I am presently working on...).
I remember Val very well, but not from WHOI. I knew him as Val the very active golfer at the base golf course at Otis AFB/Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod. I knew he worked at WHOI, but I didn’t know about his distinguished career as a submariner during WW2.
ReplyDelete