W6TQF – About our station call sign

W6TQF was the call sign of Gerald O. Martin.  Gerry was an ARES® member from Concrete, WA and died at the age of 64 while on duty reporting the eruption of Mt St Helens on May 18, 1980.  His tactical call sign was “Coldwater 2”.  His last transmission was “Gentlemen, the camper and car that’s sitting over to the south of me is covered. It’s going to hit me, too.”.

We chose to take Gerry’s call sign as our own to memorialize his making the ultimate sacrifice on that catastrophic day in Skamania County.  Gerry’s life was one of service prior to this.  He was a retired U.S. Navy radioman serving in both WW2 and Korea.

To listen to a recording of Gerry’s last transmission during the eruption, please click here.