November 2009 NEWSLETTER
PLACE: THE SIZZLER,
PROGRAM: Peter
Small, Impersonator
Our November program will feature Peter Small,
who impersonates many of our historic
presidents. For us, he will do Harry
S. Truman, who took office upon FDR’s death and had to make the difficult
choices of using the atomic bomb, desegregating the Armed Forces and committing
U. S. Forces to assist Korea. This
will be a most entertaining meeting and we encourage you to attend with your
spouse or significant other, kids and grandkids, neighbors and friends.
Chaplain’s Message to the Members:
“Work hard so God can approve you.
Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly
explains the word of truth.” (II
Timothy 2:15, NLT translation) If I
can be of service to you, please give me a call.
Jim Howland (Hal is in Texas for
the winter)
Commander’s Corner:
1)
Planning for November 11th, our
Veterans Day celebration is almost completed.
There will be 400-500 high school JROTC cadets and Fullerton High School
will help us out with the band component.
Cal State, Fullerton ROTC will provide a color guard and student leader.
If you want to walk in the parade, be at the Fullerton Museum Plaza
before the parade starts at 10:30.
The ceremony is at Hillcrest Park at 11am.
There are a limited amount of seats in vehicles.
The National Guard Recruiters are working this for us.
If you need to ride instead of walking, be at the Park at 10am to load
up.
2) We are working on a special
Christmas party in the first part of
December. If you are interested
in attending, please call me and I will pass on your information.
3) George Miller is planning a special Holiday meeting for the
December meeting. The
Sunny Hills Choral group will be
back. You don’t want to miss it!
4)
Continuous Membership Certificates (5
year intervals) will be presented in January.
5) If you are interested in
possibly moving into the new veterans’ home in Lancaster, please call directly
to the admissions office at (661) 477-5829.
The new center, The William J. “Pete” Knight Veterans Home of
California-Lancaster, is located at 45221 30th Street West,
Lancaster, CA 93536. Information for
this center and other veterans’ benefits, visit the CDVA website
at
www.cdva.ca.gov.
6) Sober and transitional living
information in Los Angeles can be accessed by calling (323) 293-9545.
There are 32 centers listed currently.
Also check out the services available through the Villages at Cabrillo
listed further down in this letter.
7) Traumatic Brain
Injury (TBI) is becoming a much larger problem with today’s veterans.
But older veterans can also have trouble later on with old or forgotten
head injuries. Exposure to blasts,
gunshot wounds and shrapnel, falls, and motor vehicle accidents can cause injury
to the brain. Recent research shows
that old injuries can still be a source of problems, even decades later.
Check with the VA for more information or the internet for the latest
information on TBI. 8) The Education Program is running a little late.
More on that later.
Knott’s Berry Farm is honoring veterans again this year by offering free admission to the
Park. The special admission includes
free admission for the veteran and a guest.
Up to six more people can attend for $15 each.
The dates of veteran special rates are November 1 through Thanksgiving
Day. Bring your ID card, DD214, VA
hospital card or discharge papers with you to the ticket office. (There are many
eating establishments offering veterans specials on Veterans Day, too many to
name here. We usually discuss these
in our meetings.)
Membership drive for 2010 is
ongoing and there are problems.
There are huge delays at the National level.
I got a second notice as well as many of you.
I have checked with Department (state level) and memberships have been
processed through them to National.
Having said that, problems will occur if you delay until January to pay your
dues. Your magazine from
National will shut of until your membership is processed.
Please do not pay a second time if
you have a 2010 card in your hand.
Call one of us to check if you are concerned.
For those with internet
access at home or at the city library, all of our newsletters and meeting and
event pictures are available for viewing at our web page.
(Fullertonpost142.com)
Thanks go to Richard Wakefield and Mike
Box for keeping our web page updated with great stuff.
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 duty, Guard and Reserve and their families can call
24/7 for help of all kinds. Their
slogan is “You name it. We can
help.”
To request your DD-214, go
to the National Archives and Records Administration at
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/evetrecs/.
Follow the instructions. You
can also get assistance from the Veteran Service Office.
If you are 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
If you reside outside of Orange County, call your County offices to find
the Veterans Service Office location nearest you.
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. (Villages at Cabrillo)
Important Dates: November 1,
Daylight Saving Time Ends (Set Clock Back One
Hour); November 4, Officer Meeting at
Marilyn’s; November 10, Post Meeting (Happy Birthday Marines); November 11,
Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony, 10:30-12:00 noon; November 17, Special
Election for Assembly seat; November 26, Thanksgiving Day.
Memory Lane Dates: Nov 1, Northernmost US Action of Korean War (1950); Nov 2, Operation Urgent Fury Ended (Grenada) (1983); Nov 3, Battle of Dak To Began (1967); Nov 4, St. Clair’s Defeat (1791), US Neutrality (cash and carry) Act Passed (1939); Nov 6, Roosevelt Wins Fourth Term (1944), Legislation Passed Authorizing the Women’s Memorial (1986); Nov 7, Battle of Tippecanoe (1811); Nov 8, Operation Torch, Allies Land in Algeria and French Morocco (1942), 60 Army Nurses Landed in North Africa (1942), First All-Jet Combat in History (1950), President Johnson Signed PL 90-130 Ending Quotas and Grade Ceilings for Servicewomen (1967); Nov 10, US Marine Corps Established (1775) (Happy Birthday Marines!), 1st Enlisted Women Sworn into the Regular Marine Corps (1948); Nov 11, Battle of Crysler’s Farm (1813), Meuse-Argonne Campaign ends/Signing of WWI Armistice (1918)/ Veterans Day; Nov 14, Battle of Ia Drang Valley begins (1965), Nov 17, Tunisia Campaign begins (1942); Nov 18, Battle of Ia Drang Valley ends (1965); Nov 20, US Marines Land on Tarawa (1943); Nov 21, Operation Urgent Fury ends (1983); Nov 23, Battle of Chattanooga begins (1863), Women’s Reserve of the US Coast Guard (SPARs) Established (1942); Nov 25, Battle of Peleiu Ended (1944); Nov 27, Battle of Chattanooga ends (1863), Battle of the Chosin Reservoir Began (1950); Nov 28, Shenandoah Campaign ends (1864); November 30, Battle of Franklin, TN (1864); Finnish-Soviet War Began (1939).
Notes from October Meeting:
Commander Marilyn Harris called the
meeting to order.
2nd VC George Miller introduced
Bill Darke from the Council on Aging for Orange County.
Mr. Bill Darke explained that the council was established in 1973 by a
private non-profit corporation to serve the needs of aging citizens and the
mission of the Council on Aging is to “promote the independence, health, and
dignity of older adults through compassion, education, and advocacy.”
This mission is achieved by providing advice on financial and medical
concerns, visiting those in need of a friend, providing Medicare counseling help
resolving issues concerning medical care and lastly by providing support, as
well as advocating on behalf, of deserving residents of long-term care
facilities. Every month the Council
meets to discuss the medical and health care needs of aging citizens.
The Council is located at 1971 East 4th Street, Suite 200 in
Santa Ana, and meetings take place on the last Wednesday (6:30-8:30 PM) and the
last Saturday (10:00 AM – NOON) every month.
To call and confirm meeting dates and times, Mr. Darke recommends that
you call (714) 560-0424 or (800) 434-0222 before you travel to Santa Ana.
Service Officer Mike Hyland
briefed the post on pending legislation that impacts veterans and he reported
that both Senator Boxer and Senator Feinstein support legislation that contain.
Mike Hyland also encourage all legionnaires and their families to
participate in the upcoming census so that accurate reports can be tallied.
Commander Harris also
solicited input for this year’s Christmas party.
Proposed date for the party is
Saturday, 12 December.