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Chaplain’s Column—Rock Roth

Quang Nguyen, Creative Director/Founder Caddis Advertising, LLC, was asked to speak on his experience of coming to America and what it means. He spoke the following at Prescott Valley, AZ, Freedom Rally, in dedication to all Vietnam Veterans.

35 years ago, if you were to tell me that I am going to stand up here speaking to a couple thousand patriots, in English, I’d laugh at you. Man, every morning I wake up thanking God for putting me and my family in the greatest country on earth.  I just want you all to know that the American dream does exist and I am living the American dream. I was asked to speak to you about my experience as a first generation Vietnamese-American, but I’d rather speak to you as an American.  If you hadn’t noticed, I am not white and I feel pretty comfortable with my people.I am a proud US citizen and here is my proof. It took me 8 years to get it, waiting in endless lines, but I got it, and I am very proud of it.  I still remember the images of the Tet offensive in 1968, I was six years old. Now you might want to question how a 6-year-old boy could re member anything. Trust me, those images can never be erased. I can’t even imagine what it was like for young American soldiers;10,000 miles away from home, fighting on my behalf.  35 years ago, I left South Vietnam for political asylum. The war had ended. At the age of 13, I left with the understanding that I may or may not ever get to see my siblings or parents again. I was one of the first lucky 100,000 Vietnamese allowed to come to the US. Somehow, my family and I were reunited 5 months later, amazingly, in California. It was a miracle from God.  If you haven’t heard lately that this is the greatest country on earth, I am telling you that right now. It was the freedom and the opportunities presented to me that put me here with all of you tonight. I also remember the barriers that I had to overcome every step of the way. My high school counselor told me that I cannot make it to college due to my poor communication skills. I proved him wrong. I finished college. You see, all you have to do is to give this little boy an opportunity and encourage him to take and run with it. Well, I took the opportunity and here I am.  This person standing tonight in front of you could not exist under a socialist/communist environment. By the way, if you think socialism is the way to go, I am sure many people here will chip in to get you a one-way ticket out of here. And if you didn’t know, the only difference between socialism and communism is an AK-47 aimed at your head. That was my experience.  In 1982, I stood with a thousand new immigrants, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and listening to the National Anthem for the first time as an American. To this day, I can’t re member anything sweeter and more patriotic than that moment in my life.  Fast forwarding, somehow I finished high school, finished college, and like any other goofball 21 year old kid, I was having a great time with my life. I had a nice job and a nice apartment in Southern California. In some way and somehow, I had forgotten how I got here and why I was here.  One day I was at a gas station, I saw a veteran pumping gas on the other side of the island. I don’t know what made me do it, but I walked over and asked if he had served in Vietnam. He smiled and said yes. I shook and held his hand. The grown man began to well up. I walked away as fast as I could and at that very moment, I was emotionally rocked. This was a profound moment in my life. I knew something had to change in my life. It was time for me to learn how to be a good citizen. It was time for me to give back.  You see, America is not just a place on the map, it isn’t just a physical location. It is an ideal, a concept. And if you are an American, you must understand the concept, you must accept this concept, and most importantly, you have to fight and defend this concept. This is about Freedom and not free stuff. And that is why I am standing up here.  Brothers and sisters, to be a real American, the very least you must do is to learn English and understand it well. In my humble opinion, you cannot be a faithful patriotic citizen if you can’t speak the language of the country you live in. Take this document of 46 pages – last I looked on the Internet, there wasn’t a Vietnamese translation of the US Constitution. It took me a long time to get to the point of being able to converse and until this day, I still struggle to come up with the right words. It’s not easy, but if it’s too easy, it’s not worth doing.  Before I knew this 46-page document, I learned of the 500,000 Americans who fought for this little boy. I learned of the 58,000 names scribed on the black wall at the Vietnam Memorial. You are my heroes. You are my founders.  At this time, I would like to ask all the Vietnam veterans to please stand. I thank you for my life. I thank you for your sacrifices, and I thank you for giving me the freedom and liberty I have today. I now ask all veterans, firefighters, and police officers, to please stand. On behalf of all first generation immigrants, I thank you for your services and may God bless you all.

The Last Word—Commander’s Column by Fred Apgar

Several months ago, the VFW Magazine had a lengthy article that discussed the children that fought in the Civil War.  Incredibly, some boys, as young as 12 and 13 years of age, engaged in combat operations, many of whom were killed.  Of course, we have all heard stories or perhaps had first-hand accounts of men who lied about their age to enlist in the Armed Forces during World War II.  I wondered if the same may have true for the Vietnam War.

Depending on which search engine one uses, an inquiry will produced anywhere from 14 to 19 million references to “underage boys in Armed Forces”.  Several sources revealed some sobering statistics regarding the names that appear on The Wall.

Underage boys successfully entered the military during the Vietnam War, although the exact number of underage soldiers cannot be determined.  However, the names of five soldiers who were 16 years of age appear on The Wall.  The youngest American serviceman who was killed in action during the Vietnam War was Dan Bullock who was 15 years old.  Dan was born in North Carolina but moved to Brooklyn, New York at the age of 13 when his mother died.  A year later, he altered his birth certificate and enlisted in the Marine Corps.  As a member of Platoon 3039, he graduated from boot camp in December 1968.  Dan arrived in Vietnam in May 1969 and was assigned as a rifleman in 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division.  He was stationed at An Hoa Combat Base.  Just three weeks after arriving in Vietnam, during an NVA night attack on his base camp, 15 year old Dan Bullock was killed by small arms fire while making ammunition run to resupply his beleaguered unit.

Thankfully, a search for underage boys successfully joining the Armed Forces since the Vietnam War has not produced any results.  We can only hope that procedures have been put into place that will preclude this from ever happening again.

The views expressed in this column are solely those of the Commander and do not represent those of VFW Post #8870, its membership, or VFW.  

Veterans to be Honored: Nov. ’13

Each month there is a memorial service for veterans who passed away and didn’t have a funeral with military honors.  Family members may wish to attend the service should they so desire. Read more About Military Funeral Honors

Deceased Veterans to be Honored this Month
Veteran’s Memorial Tribute names for Edmonds Memorial Cemetery at 1000 on Tuesday, November 26th, 2013

Last Name First Name Middle Name
ALEXANDER
V LYNN
ANDERSON
ROBERT CASEY
ARMSTRONG
BENNY GENE
BARKER
BERYL JEFFERS
BEECHAM
MICHAEL JOSEPH
BERGSTROM
THOMAS R
BOGART
FRED MAISH
BOHAG
CARRAM C
CARBAJAL
JOE
CARIASO
ROLANDO BANGIT
CARTER
MICHAEL LOUIS
CAVE
JACK CAMERON
COLEMAN
MERLE JAMES
CREHAN
JAMES JOSEPH
CRYMES
GARY KEITH
DEMPSEY
EUGENE FRANCIS
DEPATIE
RAYMOND AVILA
DICK
WILLIAM HUNTER
DODGION
ORLIN ARMER
DUDEY
KARL FREDERICK
DUFFY
ARTHUR LEO
EDWARDS
ALLAN ROBERT
FENNELL
CARLTON DEWAYNE
FOSTER
ROBIN NILES
GEORGE
JAMES MAC
GLEASON
KENNETH LEROY
GORDON
DOREEN BEATRICE
GREGSON
JOHN
GROSS
HOWARD RABUN
HADDY
RICHARD ALFRED
HAMMOND
THOMAS LYNN
HARRINGTON
RAYMOND STANFORD
HARRISON
WILBERT AUGUST
HEGRE
SANDRA LEE
HIKES
ERNEST LEON
HILL
PATRICK RAY
HILL
JAMES PATRICK
HOLMES
MARK MATTHEW
HOWTON
GLEN WILSON
HUDDLE
MATTHEW CLARK
HUDEN
THOMAS JOHN
HUFF
CLIFFORD GALE
HUNDLEY
ROBERT GENE
KING
ROBERT BRUCE
KRONFUS
ARLAN HENRY
LIND
JOHN GUNNAR
LOWENTHAL
CARL LEWIS
LYNN
PATRICIA LYNN
MACKENZIE
DOUGAL JAMES
MAIN
CLARENCE CHARLES
MARANG
CHARLES ALVIN
MASTERJOHN
EUGENE LORENZ
MASUDA
GEORGE YUTA
MCCLAY
CHARLES MICHAEL
MERRIGAN
DAWN LOUISE
MISIUK
ALFREDO
MOEN
JACK PAIGE
MOORHOUSE
GEORGE EDWARD
MORAN
JOHN MELVIN
NELSON
EDWIN NORMAN
NEWTON
TIMOTHY ARTHUR
PACK
JAMES DAVID
PERKINS
MARVIN LYLE
PETERSON
WILLIAM EDWARD
PHILLIPS
GARY KENNETH
POIER
ARTHUR BURKE
PURFEERST
ROBERT GEORGE
QUAST
WARREN HENRY
QUIGLEY
THOMAS LESTER
ROE
JESS E
ROLLINS
THOMAS FRANK
ROTH
ZANE WALTER
ROUNDS
RONALD WAYNE
RULE
JOSEPH SAMUEL
SANCHEZ
ROBERT RICHARD
SANDBERG
CLYDE G
SANDERS
JAMES VERNAL
SATO
TADAMICHI
SCHROEDER
ARTHUR WILLIAM
SHAFER
DWAYNE CLAUDE
SHEPHERD
LESLIE ELWOOD
SMITH
PATRICIA ANN
SMITH
ROBERT BRUCE
SMITH
FRANKLIN LAVON
SNOW
GLENN HOWARD
SPENCER
LEON DEVERE
STAR
ALVIN LOUIS
STOGSDILL
RICHARD LYNN
STULTS
LAWRENCE OLIVER
SVENNING
ARVILLE NORMAN
THOMPSON
ARTHUR
VENEMA
GEORGE JUNIOR
VISSER
JAY HOWARD
WALLINE
CHARLES MICHAEL
WARDEN
KATHLEEN ELIZABETH
WEIDING
KENNETH DEWEY
WEIDLING
FREDERICK M
WHEAT
BUD WESLEY
WHITE
JAMES RALPH
WYATT
CECIL RAY

About Military Funeral Honors

The rendering of Military Funeral Honors is a ceremony representing the Nation’s deep gratitude to those, in times of war and peace, who have faithfully defended our country.  This ceremonial paying of respect is the final demonstration a grateful nation can provide to our veteran’s family.

Every veteran; Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman, and Coast Guardsman are entitled to their proper Military Funeral Honors performed by uniformed members of the Armed Forces.

Military members in the following categories are eligible for military funeral honors: military personnel on active duty; former military members who served on active duty and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable; members of the Selected Reserve; former members of the Selected Reserve who served at least one term of enlistment or period of initial obligated service and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable; and former members of the Selected Reserve who were discharged due to a service related disability.

The preferred method for verifying eligibility is the DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty.  If the DD Form 214 is not available, any discharge document showing other than dishonorable service can be used.  Members of the Selected Reserve may not have a DD 214 unless they were mobilized under federal orders.  A service member’s DD 214 may be obtained by sending a request to the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO.

Families of eligible veterans may request funeral honors through their local funeral director.  The funeral director will contact the appropriate Military Service to arrange for the funeral honors detail.  For families that are not using a funeral director, contact the appropriate Military Service Coordinator.

Military units will provide, at a minimum, a two-person detail to present the core elements of the Funeral Honors Ceremony.  These elements include the playing of Taps, the folding of a burial flag and the flag presentation.  Under certain circumstances a rifle detail and pallbearers may be provided.

The Army National Guard is the only military component that regularly renders honors to all branches of service throughout Washington State.  They are frequently accompanied by honor guards and rifle parties from local Veteran’s Service Organizations such as the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.

Contact information for the Washington Army National Guard Military Funeral Honors can be found at http://washingtonarmyguard.org/honorguard/.

More information, as well as a list of Military Service Coordinators can be found at https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/mfh.

U.S. Army Recognizes Mike Reagan by Fred M. Apgar

U.S. Army Recognizes Mike Reagan

On Friday, August 16, 2013, the Army’s 3D Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Battalion observed its return from Afghanistan with a traditional homecoming banquet.  The mission of the Battalion, which is home based at Ft. Lewis, is to disarm conventional and unconventional (biological, chemical, and improvised) explosive devices.  Obviously, this is extremely dangerous work, and the Battalion suffered numerous casualties during its most recent deployment.  The banquet was hosted by Lt. Col. Frank Davis, Battalion Commander, and the keynote speaker for the event was Mike Reagan, a member of VFW Post #8870.

After Mike had concluded his remarks, Lt. Col. Davis presented him with a plaque to express the grateful appreciation of the Battalion for the numerous portraits Mike had drawn for its deceased members.  In addition, Lt. Col. Davis surprised Mike when he read the following proclamation: “From the Department of the Army, Mr. Michael Reagan is presented with the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal for his meritorious volunteer service as the Fallen Heroes Project artist.  His dedication to duty and commitment to the soldiers proved essential to honoring our Fallen Heroes.  Mr. Reagan’s actions reflect great credit upon himself, the 3D Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion, the 71st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group, and the United States Army.”

Post Honors Coast Guard

Coast Guard

At our August meeting, the Post honored the Coast Guard as it celebrated its 223rd birthday on August 4.  The Coast Guard is unique among the uniformed services.  It has a maritime and military mission and is charged with enforcing maritime law in both domestic and international waters.  During peacetime, the Coast Guard is under control of Homeland Security and authority for the service is transferred to the Department of the Navy during time of war.

As has become Post tradition, we honor each military branch during the month of its birthday by singing its hymn.  To lead us in singing the Coast Guard Hymn, “Semper Paratus” (Ever Faithful), a retired veteran of the Coast Guard, Ken Armstong, was invited to attend our meeting.  Ken is the City Manager of the City of Mill Creek.  His family has strong ties to military service.  His father was a retired pilot in the Air Force pilot, and numerous other family members served in other branches.

Burial at Sea

We often have folks contact us through our website, but last month we got a request that was a bit out of the ordinary. A lady contacted us asking if we could provide a bugler to play Taps while her Father’s ash-es were scattered in Puget Sound from a Washington State ferry. Her Father had been a Marine and one of the “Chosen Few”. Chris Edwards, our Senior Vice, boarded the ferry and provided Taps. Interestingly, I was dining at Arnies on the deck when the Ferry stopped mid-channel and blew its horn 3 times. Everyone stopped eating thinking a disaster was unfolding until I told them it was ok, it was just a burial at sea.

School of Instruction—District Commander Jim Traner

The District’s School of Instruction was held on August 17th.  All the Posts were represented while we went over the latest information from National and Department.  Linda Fairbank, membership chairman for the west side of the State came and spoke about the latest changes regarding increased dues, length of memberships and the opportunities we have signing up members and having continuous members pay their dues prior to January 1st.  In essence, someone paying today is actually paying through December 31, 2014 while someone paying in 2014 will have their membership expire on the same date in 2015.  It’s a great time to join VFW and get 16 months of membership for the price of one year.  With memberships expiring throughout the year, our Quartermasters and membership chairs will have their work cut out for them over the next year or so until everyone is on the same page.  This is also an excellent time to have members convert their memberships to a Life membership and we will be preaching that to the choir throughout the year.

We also covered a number of other VFW programs but let me point out that all this information is available at www.vfw.org.  Simply go the website and spend some time reviewing the information available there.  Also, you will find resources for Commanders and Quartermasters.  I was disappointed in not having any new members attend.  The crusty old hands have heard most of it already but the newer members would have been exposed to a lot of programs conducted by the VFW that they might not be familiar or know that they even exist.

Christmas Party

I know, it’s 80 degrees outside and Christmas is 4 months away.  However, mark your calendars for December 14th at 1PM when the American Legion Post 66 and VFW Post 8870 will have a combined Christmas party at the Senior Center.  Since we bring toys (for the Holly House) and canned food (for the Food Bank), you can start squirreling away both in anticipation.

Post Offers Assistance

Post Offers Assistance

Thanks to the untiring efforts of our Service Officer, Don Whedon, our Post continues to provide assistance to veterans who find themselves in a position where they need some assistance.  In addition to providing financial assistance to veterans in need, Don provides assistance in the filing of claims for those eligible for benefits from the Veterans Association as well as claims for medals to which veterans have earned.

Recently, thanks to Dons’ efforts, the Post provided a clothes dryer to the family of Joe Zahara.  Joe is a decorated Marine who served in Vietnam and has plans to join our Post.  The clothes dryer was provided at discount by Lowe’s.  In addition to a discounted price to veterans, Lowe’s also assumes the cost of state tax.

If any member of our Post has a question regarding your benefits, or if you know of a veteran who needs assistance, you are encouraged to contact Don (425-218-0034 or [email protected]).