News

July 4th Parade?

The Edmonds Chamber of Commerce announced that it will attempt to return the Edmonds Kind of 4th parade on Independence Day, based on sufficient participants and volunteers stepping up, as well as the necessary parade permit from the City of Edmonds. Start time is expected to be 12:00 noon. The Post is planning to participate as usual and we will assemble on 6th Avenue in front of the Legion Hall. Stay tuned for confirming emails with additional details. 

2018 Parade photos courtesy Edmond Beacon

June Post Meeting

On the usual third Wednesday evening, approximately ten of our members, plus distinguished guests, Past District 1 Commander Otis Wolfe and Elmer Johnson of Everett Post 2100, gathered at the Legion Hall for our monthly post meeting. Another half dozen members joined us in the Zoom format. We sincerely hope that more of our members will feel comfortable with returning soon, as we all get vaccinated. 

The main event of the evening was the installation of our new officers for VFW year 2021-22, who officially take office at the Department convention in late June. Past Commander Wolfe performed the installation. 

Your new officers : 
Commander: Carl Kurfess 
Sr. Vice : Duane Bowman 
Jr. Vice: Rose Gilliland 
Quartermaster: Dennis Peterson 
Chaplain: Dan Doyle 
1st Year Trustee: Kerry Watkins 
2nd Year Trustee: Donald Stapleton 
3rd Year Trustee: Mike Denton 
Adjutant: Nathan Wortinger 
Service Officer: Alden Gilliland 
Surgeon: (open) 
Judge Advocate: Jim Traner 
Guard: John Shelton 

New members joining 

Membership Chair Jim Traner announced four new members joining the Post, who we hope to have present for installation and introductions at the June and July meetings. They are John Nederlee, P. Philips (transferred from another post), Navy Korean War vet Richard Warbrouck and Retired Army Major Kacey Tourine. 

Memorial Day 2021

Abbreviated Poppy Drive – Dedication at The Plaza 

Memorial Day 2021

Once again Memorial Day was not quite our expected event. The Edmonds Cemetery Board conducted a drive through event and handed out poppies to those in attendance, during which they collected $ 140 for our Relief Fund. Many thanks to our friends on the Cemetery Board. 

In the afternoon of Memorial Day, the post held a brief ceremony at the Edmonds Veterans Plaza, attended mostly by members and their families The primary purpose was to dedicate a new group of memorial pavers to be installed near the information Kiosk at the southeast corner of the Plaza. (The City has yet to actually install these pavers due to COVID staffing issues) 

Memorial Day 2021

Colors were held, of course, and Chaplain Dan Doyle, after an introduction by Jim Traner, delivered a brief speech honoring our fallen comrades. 

Many thanks to Buglers Chris Edwards and Debbie Dawson for once again providing their excellent “echo” rendition of Taps, always a moving experience. 

Edmonds Veterans Plaza Kiosk

Posting Details for Your Memorial Items 

Edmonds Veterans Plaza Kiosk

Reminder 

You are reminded that The Edmonds Veterans Plaza kiosk is now loaded with the veterans’ basic information excerpted from the memorialized pavers and benches. Some of the veterans dedicated also have provided additional information and photos. You can go to the plaza and check to see if you, your friend or family member is showing up. The Memorial ID and the map on the screen can help users to locate their pavers, etc. 

The team will continue the effort to add more information and edit if needed. Please see the online version of the kiosk here (In other words, you can do the checking from your home remotely, too!): http://tribute-kiosk-software.com/ edmonds/ 

You are welcome to fill out one of the forms below. Or send the veterans’ information and photos to [email protected]. Also use the same email to correct the existing information on the kiosk. See the form below for what types of information we can use. Although ideal, it doesn’t have to be complete. 

Please select one of the Forms below and use its link. 

Form A: For those who have a Google account**. Only Google account holder can upload photos directly from the form. Prepare the photos (Read Photo Specification*) and start the form below. —> https://forms.gle/HXNLN8AoGuJWtW4G7 

Form B: For those who do not or wish to have a Google account. We will send a separate email requesting photos later. Please go ahead and fill the form below. —> https://forms.gle/1iqMkSoaPUHfzo8H9 

* Either way, you will be requested (but not required) to provide up to 2 photos. *Photo specification: Ideally optimized for 400w X 500h in pixels at 72 DPI and JPG (.jpg) format is preferred (up to 10 MB per photo in size allowed). You may want to start preparing them before you start filling the form. If you do not know how to do these, do not worry but go ahead and upload photos as they are. 

** To create free Google account: (If you use Gmail or Google Calendar, you already have a Google account.) You can create it by visiting: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/56256?hl=en

Poppies

Poppies

Jr. Vice Commander Duane Bowman, our poppy chair, arranged for a booth at the Edmonds Saturday Market on May 29 and with the assistance of Phil Sacks, Mike Denton, Dan Doyle, Carl Kurfess and Les Abel, collected $1395 while distributing poppies. Another $275 came in through our online donation page to ad a total of over $1600 to our to the Relief Fund for the five hour effort. 

Bowman has already been in touch with our usual grocery store locations for Veterans Day Poppy distribution, so we have high hopes of returning to our usual major fund raising effort in the fall of this year. Put it on your calendar. 

Poppies

Military Trivia

(in this case, Naval) 
by Carl Kurfess 

Military Trivia

Make a pass 

Flirtatious advance. 

When naval ships-of-the-line were sizing each other up they would quite often make a side-on pass, each wishing to size up the opposition. When the expression came ashore, it was used as a tentative approach to a member of the opposite sex to gauge the likely outcome of closer engagement. 

(For you detail sensitive types, the two ships at left would actually appear to be Frigates, smaller than Ships of the line. Your friendly sailor editor) 

Steer Clear of VA ‘Claim Sharks’

(from VFW Membership Dispatch) 

As the presence of unaccredited VA disability claim representatives continues to rise, the VFW wants to make sure veterans and dependents know their options when it comes to applying for earned VA benefits and disability compensation. Follow this link: to Find out how to protect yourself and veterans you know during the claims process.                          

Memorial Day Observance Slated

Memorial Day Observance Slated

Our usual Memorial Day observance at the Edmonds Memorial Cemetery will not be held this year because of COVID crowding concerns, but VFW Post 8870, with American Legion Post 66 will conduct a small Memorial Day Ceremony at the Edmonds Veterans Plaza at 1:00 pm on Monday, May 31. We will be recognizing the installation of sixteen new veterans’ pavers at the ceremony, perhaps including yours. Due to COVID restrictions, we are not advertising the ceremony to the general public, but only inviting our membership, friends and families. There will be a VFW honor guard and our Post Chaplain, Vietnam veteran Navy Corpsman Dan Doyle, who served with the Marines at the siege of Khe Sanh in 1968, will be our speaker. The ceremony will conclude with the playing of taps. 

The Edmonds Veterans plaza is located at 5th Ave. N. and Bell St, adjacent to the Edmonds Public Safety building. 

Post 8870 Announces 2021 Scholarship Winners

VFW Post 8870 awards scholarships annually to deserving local high school graduates. This spring, we are pleased to announce four winners of $ 1,500 scholarships, representing the four high schools in the Edmonds and Mukilteo School districts located in our Post service area. All are the children, or grandchildren of veterans or serving members of the armed forces. Applications are made available in the fall of each school year through the high school counseling offices. Winners were selected from among a group of 15 applicants, based on grades, demonstrated leadership, a record of community service and a 3-500 word essay on the topics “What freedom means to me” and “How our Constitution establishes and maintains a culture of freedom”. 

These scholarships are funded by donations received during our semi-annual distribution of “Buddy Poppies” at local stores around Memorial Day and Veterans Day each year. Generous donations received from friends of the Post in the absence of that activity during this past COVID year made up for much of the loss from cancellation of those events and allowed continued funding of scholarships and our other activities in support of veterans and our community. 

Congratulations to these four students! 

VFW Scholarship Essay

The Post Scholarship Committee chose one of the four winners’ essays to share with our membership as representative of the work of our applicants and winners. That essay follows. 

What freedom means to me and how our Constitution establishes and maintains a culture of freedom in our country 

by Taylor Schindler 

During this uncertain time we are living in, with the pandemic and the absurdly disrespectful events that occurred at the Capitol building on January 6 of this year, recognizing freedom is more important than ever. Growing up in a military family, I have been taught the importance of freedom, as well as respecting the grounds on which freedom is upheld. Freedom is fought for everyday by the brave men and women who risk their lives to protect ours. However, I often find that it’s taken for granted while the true definition of freedom gets twisted to one’s beliefs. To me, freedom is, first and foremost, being able to walk outside without fearing I might walk into a war zone, but it’s also much more than that. In today’s world, it’s important to recognize that freedom is having the right to speak your beliefs freely without fear of being reprimanded. When the First Amendment was adopted into the Constitution in 1791, it stated “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech…”. The moment this was placed into the Constitution, Americans had the eternal responsibility to uphold this amendment in order to keep the United States a place that respects and protects the government, the people that serve for the country and all citizens. However, it’s clear that many citizens forget to acknowledge the laws and amendments they swore to live by. 

Therefore, the Constitution provides the foundation and framework for freedom, but only we can maintain that freedom. Our adherence to the first amendment needs to take place in everyday things like listening to differing viewpoints with respect. After all, we pledge “one nation, under God” so it’s our responsibility to preserve the foundation on which this country was founded and ensure that we hold each other accountable to ourselves and God in respecting and following the Constitution. We need to work to respect, honor and protect our rights with the Constitution by voting, reading and being educated. By doing this, we can honorably recognize and protect our freedom without taking it for granted. 

My father and both grandpas (Michael Schindler- Naval Weapons Station in California/tour in Indian Ocean, Ronald Rapacz – Vietnam and George Reid – Vietnam) served in the US Navy. With their guidance, I have learned that it’s up to us to earn our freedom in any way we can, whether it’s serving to help those less fortunate than us, listening to differing opinions with respect, or becoming involved to better our communities, it is all important. My knowledge in this area has grown through my childhood as my dad works hard everyday with his non-profit organization Operation Military Family, as well as many other organizations and individuals, to ensure that our service men and women get the help they need when they come home from protecting our freedom. My immersion into this community has allowed me to realize that protecting our freedom deserves non-stop recognition.