W1DV David A. Vittum Phelps, NY QCWA # 18455

I grew up in the Finger Lakes region of upstate NY, and was first licensed with the novice callsign WV2JTU in 1959. Following college (Hamilton College, Clinton, NY) and grad school (State University of NY at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY) I was commissioned in the U. S. Navy in 1969. I spent the next 27 years in the nuclear submarine service - 20 on active duty, and 7 in senior management (GM-15) civil service jobs for USN. I was on both the missile boats (Polaris/Poseidon SSBNs) as well as the fast attack "hunter killers" (SSNs)

In 1996 I was ordained and my wife Jean and I started a second career (pastor/missionary). We lived for 4 years in the Philippines, during which time we made eleven ministry trips to Cambodia. In 2000 we were reassigned to the Central African Republic. There - with the callsign TL8DV - I was the only active cw operator in the country.

Civil war broke out in the C. A. R. in October 2002, forcing us to return to the USA. After a year on the pastoral staff of our sending church (in Maryland), we resigned from the mission and moved permanently to the small village in upstate NY where we grew up and attended high school together in the 1960s. I am the Associate Pastor at Calvary Chapel - Seneca Falls (NY); lead community Bible studies; and make several international ministry short-term mission trips each year.

One of my other interests is music. I was trained in oboe and double reed instruments at Julliard School of Music (NYC) and Eastman School of Music (Rochester, NY). I am a handbell director, tenor soloist, and have conducted international voice choirs in southeast Asia.

Except for MARS ssb nets, CW operations account for all my activity. I am a life member of ARRL, life member of QCWA, First Class CW Operators Club (FOC)#1785, and Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) #1433T (Tribune #7). I am active in Navy MARS as NNN0GKV (My last duty in civil service for the navy was as Program Director ("Chief"), MARS - NNN0ASA). I make several short-term mission trips each year (Panama, Uganda, Cambodia, Philippines, Central African Republic) and generally take along my old IC-706 and a chunk of wire ....

See you on the bands - semper cw! [[Ephesians 2:8-9]]

May 04, 2015