Author Archive: Editor

Post Provides Training for Girl Scout Troop

Post Provides Training for Girl Scout Troop

On Sunday, January 13, members of Post #8870 presented an educational experience for the members of a local Girl Scout Troop.  At the invitation of one of the Troop’s leaders, Elena Gordon, Commander Fred Apgar and Officer of the Day Jim Collins spoke to the girls about the symbolism of the American flag, flag etiquette, and explained the flag folding ceremony that is performed at the funerals of veterans.

Thanks to the arrangements made by Senior Vice Commander Chris Edwards, two members of the Washington Army National Guard Honor Guard (WAARNG) Program attended the session and provided important information regarding the flag folding ceremony.  Sgt. Ray Hayes and Sgt. Misty McFarlane demonstrated the ceremony, while Jim Collins explained the meaning of each of the thirteen folds.  Following a question and answer period, members of the Girl Scout Troop were given the opportunity practice the flag folding ceremony under the guidance of the two members of the Army National Guard.  VFW Post # 8870 is indebted to the WAARNG and the State Coordinator, Mr. Charles Einarson, for making members of his Honor Guard available to the Post and the Girl Scout Troop.

Helping the Post by Paying your Dues

This is a blatant plea for everyone who is a continuous member to pay their dues.  Dues are $25 for a year and while you are not officially delinquent (and no longer a VFW member) until the end of the year, you would make life much easier on Quartermaster Tom and Commander Fred if you would drop a check in the mail.  If you are unable to pay your dues due to financial difficulty, let the QM know and we will make allowances for your circumstances.  Also, students and active duty members of the military are exempt from dues.  Also, consider a Life Membership if you are a continuous member.  Dues are going to be increasing and it’s a great opportunity to support VFW and remove the burden from your Post to send out reminder notices each year.  Please consider it seriously.

The Last Word—Commander’s Column

In last month’s newsletter, I shared with you my thoughts and feelings regarding the recent resignation of David Petraeus, subsequent to the revelation of his extra-marital affair.  Sadly, his egregious behavior is just another example of unethical conduct by more than just a few field grade and general officers.  No doubt, all professions have its share of miscreants, but for me, the misdeeds of high ranking military officers are magnified because the military is an institution based on virtue, ethics, and long standing values.  Consider the following:

  • Gen. Kip Ward was recently stripped of a fourth star amid allegations he spent thousands of government dollars on personal luxury travel;
  • Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair is under investigation for forcing subordinates into having sex;
  • Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly is being forced into retirement for bullying staff;
  • Gen. Stanley McChrystal was forced to retire because of ethical lapses and criticizing the White House;
  • Gen. John Allen has been caught up in the Petraeus scandal;
  • Col. James Johnson III was recently convicted of fraud and bigamy;
  • Col Avanulas Smiley was relieved of duty because of an adulterous affair; and
  • Over the last few years, at least 20 Navy officers were relieved of command, many for personal conduct.

This is a disturbing trend that erodes public confidence in our military leaders and most certainly negatively affects the morale of junior officers and enlisted personnel.  Last month, the Pentagon launched a sweeping review into the misconduct of senior officers.  The Defense Department’s Inspector General indicates that the number of substantiated allegations of wrongdoing by senior officers has risen steadily in recent years.  In fact, the rise has been so dramatic, that the IG has had to hire additional investigators.  It is hoped that the Pentagon review will shed some light on the causative factors for this rise in misconduct.

A fear of mine is that such behavior might be systemic and represents a reflection of how the values of our society have deteriorated, and we have come to accept a “new normal” as it pertains to ethical behavior.

What We Did for Christmas

A lot of you are unable to make the meetings and we often forget to point out all the things we do in this newsletter (more than there is room to fit in).  This year, our Relief Fund bought $3,500 in gift cards.  There were distributed to the Veterans Home in Orting ($1,000), the Veterans Home in Retsil ($1,000), and the Chaplains offices at Coast Guard District 13, Joint Base Lewis McChord, and Naval Station Everett ($500 each).  We helped a lot of needy veterans and active military families.  Thanks to everyone who helped with Poppies which provided the funds.

Joint Legion VFW Christmas Party

We had a great time at the joint Legion VFW Christmas party.  We had approximately 65 folks show up including some spouses and children.  A special thanks to John Bustard’s son who cooked the turkey and Fred Apgar for bringing the ham.  We certainly had a lot more food than we needed.  Unfortunately a number of members didn’t make the luncheon which was a shame.  It was nice to kick back and find out how things were going with old friends.  A special thanks to Carl Kurfess for brewing up a lot of small bottles of liqueur which we raffled off (I didn’t know officers knew how to make bootleg liquor).  We also raffle a few bottles of wine that Mike and Cheryl Reagan donated and we raised some funds for our Relief Fund with the proceeds.  In addition, we all brought toys and non-perishable food items which went to the Holly House and food bank, respectively.  I delivered the toys on Sunday morning and several hundred folks were already in line so the need was great.

District 1 Raffle

The District will be raffling a 46” HDTV  to support the District’s effort in assisting Posts in membership drives, providing awards for District winners of the Youth Essays, Patriot’s Pen, and Voice of Democracy as well as Teacher and Safety Officer awards.  The tickets are $5.00 each and the drawing will be held January 29th at the Everett Post’s meeting.  That will give you a couple of days to get your new TV set up to watch the Super Bowl on February 3rd.

Donations are Deductible

Why not consider a year end donation to our Post?  It’s deductible for income tax purposes (assuming you itemized) and you know where your funds are going.  Our Relief Fund has zero overhead other than buying Poppies which are made by veterans.  Just something to consider, but don’t wait too long.

Student Essay Winners—Fred Apgar

Student Essay Winners—Fred Apgar

At its December 14, 2012 meeting, VFW Post #8870 recognized several area students who participated in the Annual National VFW Essay contest. The Post’s student essay competition is coordinated by James “Rock” Roth who also serves as our Post Chaplain (shown above with Youth Essay participants).

The theme for this year’s Youth Essay contest was “How Do I Show My Love For My Country?”  The contest is open to elementary school students in grades 3, 4, and 5, and this year’s winning essay was submitted by Elijah Pfeifer, a fifth grade student at Mukilteo Elementary School.  Elijah was presented with a $100 scholarship from the Post.  Ms. Sue Idso, is Elijah’s teacher, and she encouraged her entire class to enter the student essay program.  Prior to the presentation of awards, Ms. Idso’s students led the Post members and guests in the Pledge of Allegiance and treated everyone to a wonderful recitation of the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States.

The Patriot’s Pen essay contest is open for middle school students in grades 6, 7, and 8, and the theme for this year’s contest was “What I Would Tell America’s Founding Fathers”.  The winning entry was submitted by Olivia Olson, a seventh grade student at Brier Terrace Middle School, and she also received a $100 scholarship.    Olivia’s teacher is Ms. Ruth Brick who is a former State of Washington VFW Middle School Teacher of the Year.

Three Runners-Up in the Patriot Pen competition were announced by Chaplain Roth, and they were all students from Ms. Idso’s class.  They are Georgia Duke, Ashley Gray, and Grace Koball, each of whom received a $50 scholarship.  Receiving Honorable Mention certificates were fifth graders Elizabeth Crocco, Nicole Faller, Eliza Kirk, Gabrielle Richardson, and Allison Woodbury.

The two winning entries have been forwarded to Washington State VFW for consideration at the district and state levels.  More information about our Post’s activities and programs can be obtained by visiting our web site at www.vfw8870.org

Erv Schmidt—Featured Speaker at Naval Station Everett—Dec. 7th

Long time member of Post # 8870 and Pearl Harbor survivor, Erv Schmidt, was the featured speaker at the Naval Station Everett Pearl Harbor Remembrance.  The ceremony, which commemorated the 71st Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, was conducted on December 7, 2012 in the Commons.  After introductory remarks by Base Commander Captain Michael Coury, Erv was introduced to the large gathering that included two other Pearl Harbor survivors, several WW II veterans, numerous descendants of servicemen and women who had been stationed at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack, and many officers and enlisted personnel from Naval Station Everett.    Erv provided those in attendance with a riveting account of the moments just prior to the attack and the actions he took once he and his shipmates knew they were under attack.  Erv had been assigned to the battleship USS California and had participated in numerous training cruises prior to that fateful day.   When the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred at a few minutes before 8:00 AM on December 7, 1941, Erv was several levels below the main deck, getting ready to go to church, when the first of two torpedoes struck the California.  One of Erv’s bunk mates was killed instantly by the blast.  Dazed by the attack, Erv and several of his bunk mates tried to make their way to their battle stations.  They were overcome by smoke and fumes on the second deck, and survived only because shipmates carried them to the main deck where the fresh air revived them.  After a second torpedo struck, the ship began to list and the Captain issued the order to abandon ship.  Erv was on the main deck and chose to remain on the ship with three of his shipmates, who could not swim.  They were the only remaining personnel on the ship, and they manned a 50 cal. anti-aircraft gun to fire at the attacking Japanese planes.  Late in the afternoon, Erv and his three friends were evacuated and shortly thereafter, the USS California sunk.  Of the 1500 men assigned to the USS California, over 200 of them were killed in the attack.  Three days after the attack, Erv was reassigned to a heavy cruiser, the USS Chicago and the ship immediately left Pearl Harbor to serve as reinforcement to the Australian and New Zealand forces in the vicinity of the Coral Sea

Long time member of Post # 8870 and Pearl Harbor survivor, Erv Schmidt, was the featured speaker at the Naval Station Everett Pearl Harbor Remembrance.  The ceremony, which commemorated the 71st Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, was conducted on December 7, 2012 in the Commons.  After introductory remarks by Base Commander Captain Michael Coury, Erv was introduced to the large gathering that included two other Pearl Harbor survivors, several WW II veterans, numerous descendants of servicemen and women who had been stationed at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack, and many officers and enlisted personnel from Naval Station Everett.

Erv provided those in attendance with a riveting account of the moments just prior to the attack and the actions he took once he and his shipmates knew they were under attack.  Erv had been assigned to the battleship USS California and had participated in numerous training cruises prior to that fateful day.

When the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred at a few minutes before 8:00 AM on December 7, 1941, Erv was several levels below the main deck, getting ready to go to church, when the first of two torpedoes struck the California.  One of Erv’s bunk mates was killed instantly by the blast.  Dazed by the attack, Erv and several of his bunk mates tried to make their way to their battle stations.  They were overcome by smoke and fumes on the second deck, and survived only because shipmates carried them to the main deck where the fresh air revived them.  After a second torpedo struck, the ship began to list and the Captain issued the order to abandon ship.

Erv was on the main deck and chose to remain on the ship with three of his shipmates, who could not swim.  They were the only remaining personnel on the ship, and they manned a 50 cal. anti-aircraft gun to fire at the attacking Japanese planes.  Late in the afternoon, Erv and his three friends were evacuated and shortly thereafter, the USS California sunk.  Of the 1500 men assigned to the USS California, over 200 of them were killed in the attack.  Three days after the attack, Erv was reassigned to a heavy cruiser, the USS Chicago and the ship immediately left Pearl Harbor to serve as reinforcement to the Australian and New Zealand forces in the vicinity of the Coral Sea.

New Members

Mick Wheeler

Charles “Mick” Wheeler

Mick is an Army veteran of Vietnam. Originally from Foxboro, Mass, he enlisted there in Sept, 1967. His 4th day in country 1968 with the 1st Calvary Division,  he was sent to Khe Sanh where he spent 3 months in a bunker interrogating prisoners and getting shelled. He extended his tour twice for 6 months each. He served as a Huey helicopter door gunner and later as a crew chief on a light observation helicopter. His awards include the Bronze Star and Air Medal. Mick is a member of DAV. Mick was a truck driver for 32 years before retiring. He and Jill reside in Edmonds and have 6 children, 10 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

 

Mark Williams

Mark Williams

Mark is a Life Member and Marine transferring from Mercer Island Post 5760. Mark is a Seattle native. He’s a retired USMC Major, having served 1966-86. He had two tours in Vietnam flying both fixed-wing and a Cobra gunship. Decorations include Navy Commendation with Combat V and 16 Air Medals. He has degrees from UW and USC. He is active in the A-4 Skyhawk Association. He and wife Jacqueline reside in Edmonds.

District Meeting—January 5th

Just a note to mark your calendars for the 5th of January when the District meeting will recognize the various student essay winners and teachers of the year.  Our Post will be co-hosting the meeting with Post 1040 and we will need members at the Alderwood Boys and Girls Club by 10:45AM to set up for the meeting and to tear down afterwards.  For you old timers who have attended this in the past, please be advised we will begin the awards ceremony during lunch (approximately 12:30) and have a short District meeting following the award ceremony.  This should expedite the meeting.

This is also a great opportunity to support our student winners.  Let’s all find a kid and sit with them during the luncheon and make them feel welcome.