Yearly Archive: 2013

On Tuesday, July 16, members of our Post participated in a memorial service that provided military honors to deceased veterans who had not received such honors at the time of their death.  Chris Edwards, who serves as our Senior Vice Commander, organized the detail which featured two more of our members, Oleg Chudak and Glenn Jones.  They are all members of the 81^st Combat Team of the Washington State National Guard.  The ceremony was held at Edmonds Cemetery and honored a WW II veteran.    Just a note to our members, if you known of someone who is a deceased veteran and did not receive a flag at their funeral, let us know if they wish to attend one of the services in the future.  So many families don’t realize their loved ones are eligible to receive this honor.

VFW Post 8870 participated in the festivities Tuesday, July 30th by presenting the colors and having a bean bag toss for the little kids and a spin the wheel (thanks to Post 1561 who lent us the wheel) for the bigger kids.  It was a great way of helping in the community and letting them see VFW.

District 1’s School of Instruction will be held on August 17th at the Alderwood Boys and Girls Club.  If you are a committee chair or Officer of the Post, you are urged to attend the School.  We will try to keep it informative and on point.  If you are new to VFW it will be an opportunity to become familiar with the various programs the VFW sponsors.  There will be a brown bag (you bring your own) lunch at noon and the School will begin at 1:00PM.  Soft drinks will be provided by the District Commander, namely me.

Ok Comrades—bring your check books or cash to the next meeting if you intend to go to the Aquasox game on August 17th.  This is VFW day at the park and your family is invited to attend.  Tickets are $7 (you procrastinators missed the $10 seats).  We have a bunch of folks showing up from the other Posts in the District so it should be a fun evening.    Remember, there is a fireworks show after the game so you kids or grandkids would love the opportunity to see them.  Since we are running out of time, let me know if you want tickets by contacting:

 [email protected]

I suspect a lot of us are already American Legion members.  For those of you who are not, please consider it.  In our small community, the VFW and American Legion team up in virtually all the community events from Edmonds Night Out to the 4th of July Parade.  For the American Legion to thrive, it needs new blood.  Their meeting takes place on the third Monday of the month at 6PM in the Senior Center’s library room.  Come by on June 17th and consider a membership.

Also, consider joining those veteran’s organizations you may be eligible to join such as the Vietnam Veterans of America.  The more voices we have representing us the better off we will be.

On Monday, July 22, the Metropolitan King County Council sponsored a recognition ceremony commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice. There were some 15 Korean War Veterans in attendance, representing the more than 55,000 Korean War veterans in Washington State.

Included were Post 8870 members Jim Adams and Jim Blossey. Chaplain Rock Roth, a Viet Nam veteran, was also in attendance. Blossey was one of four Korean War vets singled out to receive a medal from Korean Consul Song Young Wan, proclaiming them “Ambassadors for Peace.”

Sponsoring King County councilmember Rod Dembowski said, “Although the war is often referred to as the “Forgotten War,” the impact of the service of the men and women who fought is felt throughout [our area]. In part, thanks to these brave men and women’s service, [we are] now home to a thriving Korean American population.”

We have a number of members in addition to Jim who are veterans of the Korean War.  At the next meeting, please take the time to thank those veterans for their service.  They call the Korean War “The Forgotten War” but it is neither forgotten by those whose served there or by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) who seeks to recover the remains of the 8,177 service members missing in action there and where it is believed that 2,000 soldiers are buried in the Korean Demilitarized Zone alone.  Even though the Armistice was signed 60 years ago, this war won’t end until we recover our dead and insure that the North Koreans are no longer a threat to South Korea or the US.

We will be lining up for the parade at 6th and Main at 11:30AM and stepping off at 12:00.  For those of you who have never participated, you should.  I have never heard one complaint about having 10 or 15,000 bystanders cheer as we go by.  I think its is also important to know it isn’t an ego trip for the VFW, but it is our responsibility to lead the parade with the colors of our Country.  Hopefully, we will have enough vehicles for those unable to walk, and if not, we will be able to ride on the Chamber of Commerce’s float.  Be forewarned, the parking is limited and you may want to arrive early.  Better yet, park at the City Park at Third and Pine and walk to the parade if you are able.  Our own Erv Schmidt will be the Grand Marshall of the parade,

We will be having our annual picnic at the Park immediately following the parade.  All VFW and American Legion members and their Auxiliary members are encouraged to attend as well as children and grandchildren.

It was a long night at the hearing held on June 26th to consider the naming of a small park adjacent to Highway 104.  VFW and American Legion had urged the Planning Board to recommend to the City Council that the park be named Veterans Memorial Park or, alternatively, Veterans Park.  A number of our members attended the meeting wearing their covers.  We had organized a petition drive to have Edmonds residents support our endeavor, and I believe we were successful in that effort.  However, there was no accounting for the number of letters submitted to the Parks Department.  To our amazement and disappointment, the Board chose an alternative name, an individual who recently passed away.  Like Harry Potter’s nemesis, Lord Voldemard, his name will never be mentioned or written in this newsletter.  Had there been good justifications on the part of the Commission, their refusal to honor our request would have been somewhat palatable.  They felt the veterans deserved a “grander park” – we simply wanted our patch in Edmonds.  They said there was no parking—there is parking within 100 feet on the street.  They said it was too noisy-I’ve got news for the Planning Board that every veteran has dealt with noise and if I want silence while I’m in the park, I’ll turn off the hearing aids.  They said we already had two parks in Edmonds; the stone tablet in front of the Museum (soon to be moved to storage), and Memorial Park which is the island outside City Hall dedicated to our sister city Hekinan, Japan.  Great parks for recognizing veterans.  They said ferry traffic folks use the park for a dog run; nope—there is an area on the north end completely separate from where our memorial would be placed.  Finally, not one single member had taken the opportunity to view the park and the director of the Parks Department scrambled to find it on Google Earth.   So guess what folks, we now get to wait and see what “grander park” is in our future.  Edmonds is already 124 years old without a veterans park so don’t hold your breath.

At our June 14 Post meeting, which happened to fall on Flag Day, Post # 8870 donated two flags to the Edmonds Senior Center.  Farrell Fleming, the Director of the Senior Center, accepted an American flag and a POW/MIA flag to replace the Center’s two tattered flags.  In addition to celebrating Flag Day, the gift was an expression of thanks to the Edmonds Senior Center for allowing us to use the facility as our “home” for the past several years.

Flag Day celebrates the official symbol of the United States; our Stars and Stripes.  Our nation’s flag was first celebrated by Congress on June 14, 1777, and from that day forward, June 14 has become known as Flag Day.  Interestingly, the American flag is older that the Union Jack of Great Britain and the tri-color flag of France.