December2007NEWSLETTER
PLACE:THESIZZLER,
NEW
PearlHarborDay(December7th)MemorialService:Wewillhaveabrieftimeofremembrancenearthememorial/flagpoleat
December11program.TheSunnyHillsHighSchoolsingerswillreturnandperformaselectionofholidaymusic.Theyweregreatlastyearandwelookforwardtotheirreturn.
ForthoselessFortunate. Pleasebringanynon-perishablefoodortoiletryitemsthatyoucansparefordonatingto
Commander’sClubMembersNeededWeareseekingatleasttwoadditionalmembers. Decemberisthelastmonthfora2007taxdeduction.Ifyou,orsomeoneyouknowisinterested,contactEdPaulat(714)871-2412.
OperationLandstuhlUpdate. AbigthankyoutoallwhorespondedtoJackiO’ssecondchallengetomatch$500ofadditionalcontributionssincetheSeptembermeeting. Wehavemetthechallenge. SpecialthankstoDon&CarolBankhead,Jeff&MarilynHarris,DonHitzeman,E.G.Holler,Mike&PatHyland,MilesKaspar,BarbaraKnapp,BillLittle,MichaelMarino,JohnMathews,Bucky&FelipaMaurin,HelenOrth,HaroldPlett,Carlyle&MarjorieRasmussen,WaltWitt,and2cashdonorsatourSeptembermeetingwhosenameswemissed. Sorry.AddJackiO’smatchandourtotalcontribution,thankstothefirsteffortis$4,200,over8percentofthenationalgoalof$50,000.GreatjobbyourPost! Thankstoeveryonefromboththefirstandsecondround.
PurpleHeartRecipients. ANationalPurpleHeartHallofHonorhabeenestablishedatNewWindsor,NYonthesamesiteasTheCantonment,Washington’slastwinterencampmentduringtheRevolutionaryWar.Itisabout60milesNorthofNewYorkCity. Itisveryimpressive. IfyouorafriendwhohasaPurpleHeartwouldliketoberegistered,contactAdjutantEdPaulat(714)871-2412foraformorifyouhaveInternet,gotowww.thepurpleheart.com. TheyarecompilingalistofPurpleHeartrecipientsandstories.
Chaplain’sMessage:“Andtheangelsaidtothem,“Donotbeafraid;forbehold,Ibringyougoodnewsofagreatjoywhichshallbeforallpeople;fortodayinthecityofDavidtherehasbeenbornforyouaSavior,whoisChristtheLord….” (Luke2:10-11NAS) Ifwecanbeofservicetoyou,pleasegiveusacall.JimHowlandandHalDixon.
NewMembers: IampleasedtoannouncethatChristopherNegreteandRonWildermuth,thespeakerfromlastmonth,havejoinedourPost. Welcome!
PostEverlasting:WetransferredDavidCranetoPostEverlasting.
Commander’sCorner:Fromourfamilytoyours,wewanttowishyouablessedholidayseason,safetravels,andmanyhappytimesnextyear. Wearetrulyblessedtohaveeachother. OurVeteransDayprogramwasterrific,Ihopeyouwereabletocomeandparticipate. Ithinkweendeduponchannels2,4,5,7,9,and11. Therewasalsonewspapercoverage. Abig“Thankyou”toallofthecommitteemembersandthesetuppeoplewhoworkedsohardtoputittogether. IdeliveredtheCertificatesofAppreciationfortheCityemployeestheTuesdaymeetingpriortoThanksgiving,someweregivenoutattheluncheon
followingtheceremony,somearetobedelivered,somewerehandedoutatourlastmeeting,andsomewillbepresentedatthisDecembermeeting. Noschoolrequestedclassroomvisitsthisyear,abitunusual. However,thebooksandCD’spurchasedfortheJointEducationProgramtargeting8thgradeand11thgradeclassrooms,weredelivered,andwehavealreadystartedtoget“ThankYou”notes. AroundthecorneraretheselectionsofBoysand
ContinuousMembershipCertificates: AtJanuary’smeeting,January8, wewillpassoutcertificatestothefollowingmembers. (Thecertificatesareawardedinfiveyearincrements. PleasetrytocomeifpossiblesothatwecanhonoryouforyourcontinuedservicetoboththeLegionandourNation. Ifyoucannotattendwewillsenditinthemailtoyou.) 5Years:MichaelBox,EdithBrandes,DavidHarris,OlivetteM.Hooks, RichardE.Reagh,HowardD.Wolf;10Years:JamesBranham,MinardC.Duncan,DonLilja,AndrewI.McTaggart,LarryW.Mick,ThomasOrtizJr.;15Years:JamesH.AshhurstIII,WilliamBarta,RonaldA.Leva,ThomasOrtiz,RobertF.Scott,ReeveThomas;20Years:RobertL.Ashley,ArthurG.Beale,HaroldG.Brock,ManuelBuchanan,WilliamC.Burns,ClarenceA.Butrum,RobertD.Clarke,JanG.Earnest,JohnGiddens,RolandM.Hyde,ArthurP.C.King,AnthonyJ.Mardulas,WilliamL.Morton,AllanJ.Olson,ArnoldE.Peterson,SamuelE.Post,RichardD.Tait,AlvinWebb;25Years:RussellR.Dickie,GeorgeA.Dipinto,JohnFloria,AllanS.Hirschbein,MD,LelandB.VanDeventer;30Years:GaryJ.Woodward;35Years:FrankMiraglia;40Years:WarrenHolmes;45Years:None;50Years:T.E.Dahlgren;55years:None;60Years:None.
Membershipdrivefor2008isongoing. 2ndNoticesformembershipweresentoutinOctober. IfyouwaituntilJanuarytopayyourduesyouwillhaveshutoffyourmagazinefromNationaluntilyourmembershipisprocessed. Asalways,pleasedonotpayasecondtimeifyouhavea2008cardinyourhand.
Membershiprostersareavailableforasmallchargetocoverreproduction. CallRichardWakefield. Wecansendoneinthemailforthoseunabletomakeittothemeetingsorhecanemailtherostertoyouatnocharge. Justasareminder,therostersareforpersonaluseonlyandshouldbedestroyedwhentheyaretoooldtobereliable.
TorequestyourDD-214,gototheNationalArchivesandRecordsAdministrationathttp://www.archives.gov/veterans/evetrecs/. Followtheinstructions. YoucanalsogetassistancefromtheVeteranServiceOffice. (714)567-7450. Needaroster,callRichWakefieldat(714)871-4743
Hospital/RehabilitationProgram. Pleasecontinuetobringthingstothemeetingsorcallme(Marilyn)orMike/PatHyland(996-8743)tocoordinateahomepickup. FormoreinformationaboutthisuniqueprojectsponsoredbyCloudbreakDevelopment,UC&UnitedStatesVeteransInitiative,Inc.(a501(c)(3)organization),call(562)499-6717orvisittheirwebsiteatwww.usvetsinc.org.
ImportantDates:December2,FirstDayofAdvent;December5,OfficerMeetingatMarilyn’s&Chanukah/Hanukkah;December7,NationalPearlHarborRemembranceDay/CeremonyatHillcrestPark10am;December10,HumanRightsDay;December11,PostMeeting;December15,BillofRightsDay;December22,FirstDayofWinter;December25,ChristmasDay;December26,Kwanzaa;December31,NewYear’sEve.
MemoryLaneDates: Nov30,Finnish-SovietWarBegan(1939);Dec2,FirstAtomicChainReactionAchieved(1943);Dec7,JapanBombedPearlHarbor)/NationalPearlHarborRemembranceDay(1941);Dec8,USandUKDeclaredWaronJapan(1941),JapaneseInvadeMalayaandThailand(1941);Dec9,OperationRestoreHopeBegan(Somalia)(1992);Dec10,JapaneseInvadePhilippines(1941),FiveNavyNursesTakenPrisonerbyJapaneseonGuam(1941),Wonsan-HungnamCampaignEnded(1950);Dec11,GermanyandItalyDeclareWaronUSandUSdeclareswaronGermanyandItaly(1941);Dec12,USArmyCavalryBranchestablished/BirthdayofUSArmyArmorBranch(1775);Dec13,FirstMusterofMassachusettsBayColonyMilitia/BirthdayofNationalGuard(1636),BattleofFredericksburg(1862);Dec14,JapanInvadedBurma(1941);Dec15,BattleofNashvillebegins(1864);Dec16,BattleofNashvilleends(1864);Ardennes-AlsaceCampaign/BattleoftheBulgeBegan(1944),OperationJointEndeavorBegan(Bosnia-Herzegovina)(1995)OperationDesertFoxBegan(Iraq)(1998);Dec18,OperationLinebackerII(ChristmasBombing)(1972);Dec19,OperationJointEndeavorEnded(Bosnia-Herzegovina)(1996);Dec20,WASPDisbanded(1944);OperationJustCauseBegan(Panama)(Alsolistedas17th)(1989),OperationJointEndeavorBegan(1995)(AlsolistedasDec16th);19/20,OperationJointEndeavorEnded(1996),OperationJointGuardBegan(Bosnia-Herzegovina)(1996),OperationDesertFoxEnded(Iraq)(1998);Dec21,UnionForcescaptureSavannah,ending“MarchtotheSea”(1864);Dec24,TreatyofGhentsigned,endingWarof1812(1814),USAFBeganStrikesonLaos(1964);Dec26,BattleofTrenton(1776),SiegeofBastogneBroken(1944);Dec29,FDRAnnouncesUSas“ArsenalofDemocracy”(1940);Dec30,FirstLibertyShipSSPatrickHenryinService(1941);Dec31,AmericanForcesassaultQuebecCity(1775),BattleofStonesRiver(Murfreesboro)begins(1862),NewGuineaCampaignends(1944),OfficialEndofWWII(1946).
NotesfromNovemberMeeting.RonWildermuthoftheOrangeCountyWaterDistrictoutlinedtheconcernsaboutfuturewateravailability. Hementionedthatastronautshavestatedtwothingsarevisiblewiththenakedeyefromspace;theGreatWallofChinaandthewatercanalsof
MinutesfortheOctobermeetingandfinancialreportwerereviewedandapprovedaspresented.ServiceOfficerMikeHylandreportedonalltheDisabilityincomeavailableandthecriteriatoqualify. Youcancall 1-800-827-1000orwww.va.gov.orMikeatthenumberontheletterhead. HistorianMikeBoxpresentedCommanderHarrisherCommander’sbookforthepastyear. Itisanexcellentworkandavailableatthemeetingtoreview.