Mike Reagan will speaking at 3rd Place Books on November 13th at 7PM. As most of you know, Mike is a member of our Post and has drawn over 4,000 portraits of service members who have lost their lives in either Iraq or Afghanistan. We strongly support the Fallen Heroes Project and Mike.
Most VFW members simply attend their Post meeting and remain fairly oblivious to the hierarchy of VFW which is fine since our involvement is primarily in our local community. However, each Post is a member of a District. Post 8870 is a member of District 1 and Washington state has 16 Districts in total.
An oddity is that there is a District 17 but no District 8. The Districts are there simply to assist the Posts in their tasks. At the state level, the VFW organization is described as a “Department” and the District Commanders together with the Department line officers form a group known as the “Council of Administration” whose job it is to govern the state organization. Beyond the state level, you have a National organization made up of the various Department Commanders and line officers elected at the National Convention. Like the military, you work within your chain of command so a Post member who has a grievance about a Post Commander would first approach his Judge Advocate who in turn refers the issue to the District Commander. That’s a very quick description of the organizational chart.
Most of you missed it but for those Vietnam vets who did attend, it was an event you’ll never forget. All of the service branches were present and they were excellent hosts. Plus, it was just great being around so many veterans who served in Vietnam. General Barry McCaffrey was the keynote speaker and a veteran of Vietnam, serving three tours and the recipient of two Silver Stars, three Purple Hearts, and two Distinguished Service Crosses. I’m not sure you can find a better advocate of the Vietnam veteran than General McCaffrey. Personally, it was interesting going back to a place I had gone through Basic Training. The reception getting off the bus was a bit better this time.
At our November meeting, the Post charter was draped to honor the memory of Warren Eddy. Warren, who was a long standing member of Post #8870, served in the Army during WW II. Warren was raised in northern Minnesota and joined the Washington State National Guard unit upon moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1940. Soon after the unit was activated, Warren was selected to attend Officer Candidate School. After receiving his commission in 1942, he was assigned to a weapons battalion after which he boarded a ship headed for England. His battalion boarded LST’s on D-Day, and for the next three days, Warren and his men remained on the landing craft. Finally, on the morning of D-Day +4, they dry landed on Normandy Beach and headed inland.
While his unit’s mission was air defense, they were used primarily to provide ground support to the infantry. His battalion was assigned to the 29th Infantry Division. Shortly after arriving in France, Warren was ordered to reconnoiter a road to locate the enemy and assess its strength when the three soldiers were ambushed. For his action in returning his men to safety after being ambushed, Warren received a Bronze Star with a “V” device for Valor. Warren participated in combat operations as the Allied Forces chased the Germans back to Germany.
Upon his return home, Warren joined the Army Reserves and retired at the rank of Major. He and his wife, Sandra, were married for over 50 years, and they had two children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Warren, who died after a brief illness, was a Life Member of VFW.
I should say Congress eliminated military honors. Monthly, the National Guard, Post 1040’s Honor Guard, and a number of us meet at the cemetery to honor Snohomish County veterans who did not receive military honors at their funerals. The cutbacks in funding the military have taken their toll and it only figures that recognizing veterans would be the first item on the chopping block. It is said that the “willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive how the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”
Brian Sequin was our speaker at last month’s meeting. Brian is a member of VFW Post 1040 and has pretty much single-handedly resurrected the Puget Sound area (called a Hub) of Honor Flight. I should mention, however, that Fred Apgar has also been a team member of Brian’s. Honor Flight, for those who are not familiar with it, is a project to fly WWII veterans back to Washington D.C. to visit the WWII memorial as well as other veterans memorials. It is basically a three day trip, one to get there, one to sight see, and the return trip. We have sent several of our members on Honor Flights and other members have been “guardians”, individuals who assist the veterans in getting around and seeing to their needs. All of us in Post 8870 as well as the other Posts, would like to have every WWII veteran who wishes to go on an Honor Flight to have the opportunity. If you or someone you know wishes more information, you can contact the Post or go their website at http://www.honorflight.org/ for more in-formation.
What does that mean? It means that as a Post, we have committed to hold two functions each year in 2015-17 to recognize, thank and honor our Vietnam Veterans and their families. In return, the Department of Defense will provide us with a Commemoration flag and seal which we can use in any event we hold. We have already discussed with members of the Edmonds Cemetery board to recognize Vietnam veterans at next Memorial Day’s ceremony. As most of you know, there is a theme each year usually recognizing veterans and those who died in a particular war or a specific branch of service. We have suggested at the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Vietnam war it would be appropriate to recognize veterans and their families of that conflict. That would be one of the two events we are required to conduct. I am sure we could do something similar next Veterans Day as well. Also, we have a joint picnic each year with American Legion at the Edmonds park. That would be a great opportunity to invite our fellow citizens who served in Vietnam but haven’t wished to become a member of VFW to join us in fellowship. We will keep you posted.
Norm is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. He enlist-ed in the Navy at age 19 in November, 1942 and served until December, 1945. He served in the Pacific from mid-1944 until the end of WWII. He was a torpedo man and was based on both Guam and Saipan. He maintained and restocked torpedoes. He bivouacked with the Marines onshore. In civilian life he was an educator with a Masters in Education and a basketball coach. He coached at Ballard High School in the 1950’s and taught Chemistry. Norm was later Assistant Principal in Mountlake Terrace. Norm and Dorothy have been married for 70 years and have 2 children. They reside in Edmonds.
I want to wish each of you a Happy Thanksgiving. At my house, I’ll be sticking the bird on my Webber BBQ (charcoal only as I’m a purist), and thinking about some Thanksgivings a long time ago in a land far, far away. Unfortunately we still have troops in lands far, far away so keep them in your prayers.
Traci William, Department and National Chair of the VFW’s National Military Services (NMS) spoke to us about its four major programs; Operation Uplink, Military Assistance Program, Unmet Needs, and the VFW “Sport Clips Help a Hero Scholarship” program. All of these programs are designed to help our current military members or recently discharged veterans. Our Post gives generously to this fund and Traci was kind enough to travel from her home in Maple Valley to speak to us. If you would like further information, please go the www.VFW.org where you can get in depth information on each of the programs.
Just a gentle reminder that our Post meeting is now being held at the American Legion Hall at 117 6th Ave. South in Edmonds. Lunch is still being served. The Ladies Auxiliary will continue to meet at the Senior Center on the same day the Post meets.