October 2009 NEWSLETTER
PLACE: THE SIZZLER,
PROGRAM: Bill
Drake-Council on Aging-Orange County
Our October program will feature Bill
Drake-Council on Aging-Orange County.
With all the news about changes
in health care, Bill can provide current information on all Medicare programs as
well as other concerns about aging.
This is important either for you or your parents/grandparents.
Chaplain’s Message
to the Members: “Lord,
if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive?
But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.” (Psalm
130:3-4 NLT translation) If we can
be of service to you, please give us a call.
Jim Howland and Hal Dixon
Commander’s Corner:
We had a great time with our Boys and Girls State and YEC kids.
I hope you saw the write up and pictures in the local papers.
- Veterans Day planning is going strong.
We had a joint committee meeting to nail down the last details.
We will meet again before the practice.
Also, we will be without the Buena Park cadets this year.
They don’t feel that they can get adequate transportation set up and have
some internal issues. We are very
disappointed and we hope they will be able to fix these issues prior to the
event. If not, we will go on with
four plus Cal State, Fullerton. -
Last month I sent the Dixons off to Texas for the winter.
Ha. Ha. They will be going
soon, but they are still here for a bit longer.
We sure appreciate the work Hal does as the assistant chaplain. The trip
they took, was a short one. We all
had a good laugh. - Local schools
are in full swing now and I hope to get the yearly education packets together
soon. - There are a lot of veteran
things happening in the news. Gov.
Schwarzenegger has declared March 30th
as “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.”
- The new GI Bill is slow in starting and having problems with paying
veterans. - For those of you that remember,
Mike Brady, one of our members, went
to Special Forces training almost two years ago.
After a few injuries, he has finished and back home.
Hopefully we will see him soon.
- The Post will be busy from now through February with events and
membership activities. Please renew
your membership. If you need
financial help, call Jim or me.
Membership certificates will be handed out in January.
Our Christmas meeting is always very special.
The Legion of California is setting up Legion Soccer.
They voted to explore soccer at the convention.
If you have any interest in coaching, call me and I’ll get you connected
with the right folks. I hope you
will find time to join us at a meeting soon.
We have a great time.
This month we transferred
James Sadler to
Post Everlasting.
If you have a 2010 card now and receive another
notice for renewal, give us a call.
It probably has been caused by the processing delay from Post to National, but
there is always a possibility that we made an error too.
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.
Upcoming Events: The
Post meetings are always on the second Tuesday of the month.
The officer meeting is the Wednesday prior to the meeting.
The next few monthly meetings are:
November 10, December 8 and January 12.
Please mark your calendars.
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.
Important Dates:
October 7, Officer Meeting
at Marilyn’s; October 12 Columbus
Day; October 13,
Post Meeting; October 24, United
Nations Day; October 27, Navy Day; October 31, Halloween.
Memory Lane Dates
October
3, Warsaw Rising Ends (1944), Battle at Bakhara Market/Mogadishu, Somalia
(1993); October 4, Battle of Germantown (1777), 1st WAC Training
Center For Regular Army Women Opened, Camp Lee, VA (1948);
October 5, Battle of Thames (1813), 1st Regular Navy
Women Recruits Reported to Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, IL (1948);
October 7, Battle of King’s Mountain
(1780), President Ford Signed PL-94-106, Allowing Women into Service Academies
(1975), Operation Enduring Freedom (Military Phase) Began (2001);
October 8, Battle of Perryville
(1862), Operation Jefferson Glenn (1971);
October 9, 1st Three Training Schools for Enlisted WAVES Opened
(1942), Invasion of North Korea (1950);
October 10, Siege of Savannah ends (1779);
October 11, Battle of Valcour Island
(1776); October 12, USS Cole Bombed
(2000); October 13, US Navy
Established (1775) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!, Battle of Queenston Heights (1812), Italy
Declares War on Germany (1943); October 14, Operation Showdown/Battle of Hill 598 (Sniper Ridge)
Began (1952); October 17, British
surrender at Saratoga (1777); October 18,
Women In Military Service for America Memorial Dedicated (1997);
October 19, British surrender at
Yorktown (1781), Battle of Cedar Creek (1864), WAVES and SPARs Opened to
African-American Women (1944); October 20,
MacArthur Returns to Philippines, Invasion of Leyte (1944), Korean War’s First
Airborne Operation (1950), WWII Ended Formally Between US and Germany (1951),
WAC Disestablished (1978); October 23,
Battle of El Alamein Began (1942), Battle for Leyte Gulf (1944), Battle of the
Ia Drang Valley Began (1965), Beirut Terrorist Attack (1983), US Forces invade
Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury) (Also listed on the 25th) (1983);
October 24, Naval Battle of Leyte
Gulf (1944); October 25, Operation
Urgent Fury (Grenada) (1983); October 27,
Navy Day, 1st Women Marines Reported to Camp Pendleton, CA (1943);
October 28, Battle of White Plains
(1776); October 29, Battle of Loc
Ninh Began (1967); October 31, USS
Reuben James Sunk by U-Boat (1941), Operation Rolling Thunder/Bombing of North
Vietnam Ended (1968).
Notes from September
Meeting.
Chaplain
Jim Howland led the annual ceremony
for Americans Veterans that are MIA/POW.
He drew everyone’s attention to a small table, set for one, located in
the front of the room. In a moving
ceremony, taps was played and a candle was lit to symbolically shine as a “light
of hope” to help illuminate they way home for all MIAs and POWs.
Commander Marilyn Harris
called up and introduced this year’s Youth
Environmental Conference (YEC) selectees that came from Fullerton Union High
School, Sunny Hills High School Troy
High School.
Lyndsay Hetrick
from
Fullerton Union High School commented
that she loved meeting US Forestry officials from Lake Tahoe and all attendees
enjoyed nature hikes that passed through beautiful forests and the opportunity
to see and hear wildlife off in the distance.
Sunny Hills - Leslie Rivas, and Troy - Youri
Park also attended. Students
commented that they took away from the conference a renewed excitement to make a
difference in the community, to better safeguard the environment, and to educate
fellow citizens on actions we can all take to help preserve our nation’s natural
resources.
Commander Harris
then introduced this years attendees to
Boy’s and Girl’s State.
Megan Smith, from Fullerton Union
High School, said that she really enjoyed campaigning and the close friendships
that she made at Girl’s State this year.
For Stephanie Eldridge from
Troy High School, and Amanda Wong
from Sunny Hills High school, highlights included discussions with other
students and the realization that all of the girls at Girls’ State had more in
common than they had differences.
They commented that all of the girls they met were patriotic and passionate
about America’s role in the world.
Adrian Flores, from Troy High School briefed the legion on how he
got “selected to serve as a Superior Court Judge” and that he enjoyed
participating in the process of democratic government.
Trent Reese from Fullerton
Union High School commented that he has been selected to attend the United
States Military Academy at West Point and that his experience at Boy’s State
will help him to understand how national policy is developed as he pursues a
military career. Parents of the attendees also commented on what a wonderful
opportunity the experience was for their children, how honored they were to be
with veterans, and how grateful they were on behalf of their children.
After attendees from the YEC, Boy’s State, and Girl’s State briefed the
legion on their experiences, George
Giokaris, the Superintendent of the Fullerton Joint Union High School
District, briefed the legion on all the great achievements that schools in the
district have accomplished during the last year.
The superintendent explained that 91% of all students in the district
pass the state’s exit exam, making it one of the highest performing districts in
the state.
Chaplain Jim Howland
updated post members on the status of
legionnaires that need support and prayers.
Service Officer Mike Hyland
briefed the post on an e-mail he received from Senator Barbara Boxer that stated
she is “very pleased to report that both President Obama’s budget proposal and
the budget resolution for fiscal year 2010 passed by congress contain no
increases in fees and copayments for TRICARE recipients.
Additionally, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has stated that the
Department of Defense (DOD) intends to fully fund military healthcare in the
fiscal year 2010 budget.” In closing,
Commander Marilyn Harris informed the Legion that Clarence Hill,
retired US Navy Captain, was elected as the new American Legion National
Commander on 27 August.