July
2008 NEWSLETTER
PLACE: THE
SIZZLER, 1401 N. HARBOR BLVD.
We will also recognize our
Legionnaire of the Year.
Take Me Out
To The Ball Game:
Don Dutton,
our Special Events
Coordinator, has coordinated a “Legion Night Out” for
Friday, July 11th, 7:05pm,
to watch the Orange County Flyers (formerly the Fullerton Flyers) baseball game.
Our group ticket rate will be $6 per ticket.
The last day to make your reservation and purchase tickets for the game
will be July 8th at the
July meeting.
Memorial Day
Thanks:
A big thanks to all who participated from Friday through Wednesday to
make the Memorial Day ceremony a huge success.
Because of the need to go to press by the 3rd week of the
month, we were not able to include this recognition in the June Newsletter.
Thanks to Mike Albertson, Bruce
and Sandy Anderson, Don Bankhead, Al Blake, Mike Box, Buck Catlin, Minard
Duncan, Don Dutton, Jeff, Marilyn and Katie Harris, Bill and Marilou Hessen,
Warren and LaVerne Holmes, Jim Howland, Mike Hyland, Miles Kaspar, Steve Lyon,
John Mathews, Larry Mendenhall, Kendall Neisess, Ed and Pansy Paul, Eddie
Piechocinski, Neil Reich, Richard Wakefield, Alan Wiles, Andrew Wiles.
If we missed someone, please let us know.
Chaplain’s
Message to the Members:
“It is possible to give freely and become more
wealthy; but those who are stingy will lose everything, The generous prosper and
are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
(Proverbs 11:24-25, NLT translation)
If we can be of service to you, please give us a call.
Jim Howland and Hal Dixon
This month we transferred two members to
Post Everlasting: Russell Ball and Herb
Forte.
Commander’s
Corner:
Our last meeting
was SRO.
About 100 of you and your family members came to hear
Leon Leyson speak about his
extraordinary life. He is a
remarkable man and we are glad to have him back as a member of our Post.
The Orange County Flyers gave us a free ball game on June 19th.
The Flyers whomped the Yuma team and they are playing quite well this
season. As I write this, the Boys
State participants are in Sacramento.
The girls are back in Claremont for Girls State.
The American Legion State Convention is underway in Bakersfield.
When everyone gets home from the convention we will get the new 2009
cards to distribute. Renewal notices
(sent out by higher headquarters) will start arriving at your house beginning in
July. Please consider renewing early
as it prevents further notices and reduces confusion.
I don’t know how many notices they will send this year.
If you wait until January, your magazine will stop before you can mail
the renewal in. As we begin our new
year I hope that you will find an opportunity to participate.
Our activities are both rewarding and worthwhile.
We have a unique and special Post filled with great people.
Bring your special someone too.
Come and enjoy some time together.
Thanks again for a great 2007/8.
I look forward to a productive and fun 2008/9.
The 2008
membership drive will conclude by the end of June and the 2009 renewal drive
will begin 1 July. If you have not
paid your dues, you need to send it in ASAP.
If you pay for 2009 without paying for 2008, your Continuous Years will
start at one (1) year again.
“Army Seeking DNA: The Army is hoping to collect DNA samples from more than 6,300 families to identify missing soldiers from World War II, Korea and Vietnam, according to the American Forces Press Service. Mitochondrial DNA is passed through the maternal line, so the Army must locate eligible donors from the mother’s side of the missing soldiers’ families. The
samples are collected through an oral swab kit that
is mailed to the donor. The Army has
a record of missing soldiers’ next of kin from personnel files, but the lapsed
time has made it difficult to track down current
information on family members.
Interested families of missing soldiers, or anyone who knows of a family
with a missing soldier, should contact the Past Conflict Repatriation Branch by
calling 1-800-892-2490 or sending an e-mail to
tapscper@conus.army.mil.” (Army
Times, March 31, 2008)
Please jot this
number down in case someone you know needs it. 800-342-9647 or
www.militaryonesource.com.
It is the number that all active service members can call
24/7 for help of all kinds. Their
slogan is “You name it. We can
help.”
Upcoming
Events: The officer’s meeting is
always the Wednesday prior to the Post meeting and the Post meetings are always
on the second Tuesday. Need a Roster or DD-214. Call the Post (714) 871-2412
Not sure what you or your family is entitled to, please call the
Veterans Service Office to
talk to a claims officer. (714) 567-7450
Hospital/Rehabilitation Program.
Please continue to bring things to the meetings or call
Mike and Pat Hyland (996-8743) to
coordinate a home pick up. For more
information about this unique project sponsored by Cloudbreak Development, UC &
United States Veterans Initiative, Inc. (a 501(c)(3) organization), call (562)
499-6717 or visit their web site at www.usvetsinc.org.
Memory Lane
Dates:
June 22,
Germany Invades
Russia (1941), Pledge of Allegiance Recognized by Congress (1942), GI Bill
Signed Into Law (1944), Women In Military Service For America Memorial
Groundbreaking (1995), June 23, Last
Confederate Forces surrender (1865); June
24, Berlin Airlift begins (1948);
June 25, North Korea Invades
South Korea/Korean War Began (1950); June
28, Battle of Monmouth (1778), Chemical Corps Established (1918);
June 29, First US Ground Forces Arrived in Korea (1950).
July 1,
Battle of Gettysburg begins (1863), Battle of San Juan Hill (1898),
Women’s Army Corps (WAAC) & USPHS Cadet Nurse Corps Established (1943), Borneo
Campaign Ended Unopposed (1945), US Air Force Nurse Corps Established (1949),
Military Intelligence Branch Established (1962), Siege of Fire Base Ripcord
Began (1970); July 2,
Bugle Call “Taps” Composed During the Civil War (1862), US Army Air Corps
Established (1926), Korean War’s Only US Sea Battle (1950), Operation Buffalo
Began (1967); July 3, Quebec Campaign
ends (1776), Battle of Gettysburg ends (1863);
July 4,
Independence Day, Vicksburg
falls to Union Forces (1863), Philippine Insurrection is declared over (1920),
Operation Mike I Ended (1945); July 5,
Battle of Chippewa (1814), Operation Husky (1943);
First combat of American ground forces in Korea (Task Force Smith)
(1950), Battle of Osan (1950); July 7, US Troops Relieve British
Troops in Iceland (1941), 1st Enlisted Woman Sworn into the Regular
Navy (1948); July 8, First WAAC
Enlisted in the Regular Army & Air Force (1948);
July 9, Allied Forces invade Sicily
(1943), Battle of Minh Thanh Road (1966);
July 10, Battle of Britain Began (1940), Allies Land on Sicily (1943)/
Operation Husky (See also July 5)(1943), Korean War Truce Talks Began (1951);
July 11,
US Army occupation forces leave Germany (1923), US Air Force Academy
Dedicated (1955); July 12, Congress
Created Medal of Honor (1862); July 13,
American forces reach Tientsin (China Relief Expedition) (1900), Battle at Kum
River Began (1950), Battle of Kumsong River Salient Began (1953);
July 14, First WAC Unit Landed at
Normandy (1944); July 16, First
Atomic Bomb Exploded (1945), Operation Kingfischer Began (1967);
July 17, Battle for Old Baldy Began
(1952); Battle of Taejon Began (Also listed July 19)(1950);
July 18, Aisne-Marne Campaign begins
(1918); July 19, Battle of Taejon
Began (1950); July 20, First Enlisted
WAACs Arrived for Training, Fort Des Moines, IA (1942), Attempt on Adolf
Hitler’s Life (1944); July 24, Final
US Ground Combat of Korean War Began (1953), Operation Provide Comfort Ended
(1991); July 25, Battle of Lundy’s
Lane (1814), Battle of the Little Big Horn begins (1876), Mussolini Arrested
(1943), Allies break out of Normandy (1944);
July 26, Battle of the Little Big Horn ends (1876), US Freezes
Japanese Assets in US (1941), President Truman Signed Executive Order #9981
Ending Racial Segregation in the Services (1948);
July 27, Army Medical Department Established (1775), Japanese Occupy
French Indo-China (1941), National Korean War Veterans’ Armistice Day/Korean War
Ended (1953); July 28/9, WWI Began
(1914); July 29,
Army Chaplain Corps and Judge Advocate General Corps Established (1775);
July 30, US Navy WAVES Established
(1942); July 31, Army Transportation
Corps Established (1942).
Notes from June Meeting.
The meeting was called to order by
Commander Marilyn Harris at 7:00 p.m.
Our largest attendance ever was there to hear our guest speaker,
Leon Leyson. As a 9-year old boy in
Krakow, Poland, Leon and his family became part of
Schindler’s List. His
family was part of the Jewish ghetto in that city.
He described how the slow process of control began.
First the Jews were told to stay off the park benches, then to stay out
of the parks. Then to stop going to
the schools, then to stay off the streetcars.
Then they were herded into the ghetto with the 12-foot walls and limited
access with passes. Having survived
similar conditions in WWI, his Mom and Dad thought this would be temporary and
end when the war was over.
Fortunately, his Dad was a skilled tool and die maker and got to work in
Schindler’s glass factory. Leon
survived many close calls and the Nazi’s killed two of his brothers.
One was in a similar incident that you may remember from the movie where
Schindler was at the train looking for Stern, his accountant.
He told Leon’s brother he could get him off the train but the brother
would not leave his girl friend.
Like many others he went on to the extermination camps.
Schindler’s efforts saved over 1,200 people who went on to have families
and live productive lives. Leon and
his Mom and Dad came to the US. He
served in the US Army in Korea, went to Cal State Los Angeles and taught at
Huntington Park High School for 39 years.
He said Schindler is a hero as defined by Joseph Campbell, “a ordinary
human being who does the best of things in the worst of times”.
When Schindler came to the US 20 years later, he recognized Leon right
away, showing what a brilliant man he was.
Leon’s remarkable story of
survival is one that needs to be heard and we are very proud to have him as a
member of our Post. He was given a
standing ovation by all. For a more complete account of Leon’s story go to
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/thisweek/2008/04/14_schindler_leyson.asp
- 26k
Adjutant Paul
then presented a Certificate of Appreciation signed by the National Commander to
Jackie Orzechowski, “Jacki O”, for
her efforts in raising funds for Operation Landstuhl last fall.
Jackie provided $1,500 in matching funds and the Post raised $3,000, all
of which went to provide personal items to the wounded troops evacuated to
Landstuhl, Germany. What made this
award significant was as it was the first time in Paul’s 23 years in the
American Legion he had seen a National award given to a civilian.
Minutes for the May meeting and financial report were
reviewed and approved as presented.
Commander
Harris
presented certificates to all the Post members and family that participated in
Memorial Day.
Chaplain Jim Howland provided an update of those needing good
thoughts. Member
Herb Forte passed away and his service will be on Monday, June 16.
Commander Harris thanked all that
served and appreciated the confidence in electing her to a fourth term as
Commander.
Past Commander
Walt Witt
conducted installation for the 2008-2009 officers.
See list on Left Margin of Newsletter.