At the May Post meeting, Three of our four 2019
scholarship recipients were present. All three read their essays to the
assembled membership and were presented with certificates recognizing them as
the winners by scholarship chair Don Stapleton. This year’s scholarships
were presented in the names of and to honor Post members John Shelton and
Dan White. A fourth awardee was unable to attend.
The Awardees are shown in this photo, (left to
right) Ella Dahl of Kamiak H.S. , Carson Tessier of Edmonds- Woodway H.S.
and Natalie Whitlock, also of Edmonds Woodway. Not present was Ruth Berhane of
Scriber Lake H.S. Also shown are Commander-Elect Rose Gilliland, Sr. Vice
Commander Carl Kurfess, Guard and Honoree John Shelto and Scholarship
Chair Don Stapleton
Shelton at the Edmonds Woodway H.S. awards night with Carson Tessier
John Shelton enlisted in the
Marine Corps and was sent to Vietnam in 1959 where he served as a sniper.
He was severely wounded in Vietnam and has been confined to wheelchair
ever since. He went to UCLA and four years later emerged with a
baccalaureate degree in psychology going on to earn a masters degree and
ultimately a PhD in behavioral psychology. Dr Shelton had a long and
successful practice ministering to thousands of patients.
Dan White
Dan White is a Seattle (and Doe Bay, WA)
native. He joined the Army in 1946 and was part of occupation forces in
Korea. After he completed Field Artillery Officer Candidate School at Ft
Sill, OK and Airborne School, he served again in Korea. He became part of
the Army Reserve in 1953 and retired as a Colonel in 1989. Awards include
a Bronze Star for Meritorious Service and the Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf
Clusters. Dan received degrees from Western Washington Univ and the UW. He
was a teacher and college administrator.
Opening the event was the VFW and American Legion
color guard joined by Edmonds Scout units. The flag was raised by Post 66 Commander
Les Abel and Post 8870 Commander Mike Denton.
Olivia Olson, an Edmonds- Woodway High School graduate, returned
as a featured speaker, and once again recited her essay
from memory to the appreciative crowd. Olson, who just
finished her freshman year at the University of Southern California, has
been speaking at the Memorial Day ceremonies since she was an 8th
grader at Brier Terrace Middle School — the result of winning middle and high
school student essay contests sponsored by VFW Post 8870. “You are not
forgotten,” Olson began. “We remember your bravery. We honor your response
to our nation’s call to arms.”
Commander-Elect Rose Gilliland rings the bell as Commander Mike Denton reads the names of Snohomish Count POW/MIAs from all 20th Century wars.
Mayor David Earling also spoke on the topic
of remembrance of Prisoners of War and those missing in action. The White
table ceremony, focus of this year’s event honoring POW/MIAs was conducted
by Post 8870 Chaplain Dan Doyle.
Chris Edwards led the honor guard from the Washington National Guard.
We will be installing post officers for
the 2019-20 VFW year at the May Post meeting, reflecting the results of
elections held in April.
Our new leadership roster: •
Commander: Rose Gilliland Sr. Vice Commander: Carl Kurfess Jr. Vice Commander: Duane Bowman Quartermaster: Dennis Peterson Chaplain: Dan Doyle 1st Year Trustee: Jim Murdock 2nd Year Trustee: Kerry Watkins 3rd Year Trustee: Don Stapleton
Incoming Commander Gilliland reports the following in appointed positions:
Adjutant: Richard Simmons Service Officer: Don Whedon Judge Advocate: Jim Traner Surgeon: Charles Gaul Guard: John Shelton Officer of the Day: Jim Collins
We all are grateful to these our comrades
for their willingness to accept a leadership role and the accompanying
responsibility. Rose Gilliland, Duane Bowman and Jim Murdock &
Jim Traner are stepping into new positions, while the rest of the group
are continuing in positions held, in some cases, for a number of years. As
the public likes to say these days to us vets: “Thank you for your service”.
We have received word from our District & Department leadership that Edmonds Post 8870 has met the requirements for All-State Post for the current VFW year.
While Quartermaster Dennis Peterson and
Commander Mike Denton will wear the “White Hat”, it is worn in recognition
of all that has been accomplished by our entire membership in the past
year.
Ours is a busy post, with many members
participating in community service and keeping an eye out for new members
on a regular basis.
Particular thanks go out to Past Post and
District Commander Jim Traner for his guidance, District 1
staff, especially Commander Doug White, for special help and leadership
and our stalwart Quartermaster, Dennis Peterson.
As we approach the installation of our new Commander at the May
meeting, I want to thank all of you for the honor and privilege of serving
as your Commander for these past two years. It has been a busy time, has
passed swiftly and I have learned much.
At the District meeting of commanders recently, District 1
Commander Doug White told me that if he were not already a VFW member and
free to join any post he liked, he would probably choose 8870. He said
he very much enjoys visiting our post and finds our meetings among the
most enjoyable of the district. High praise indeed and it is you, our
members who deserve those accolades. Commander White has agreed to be our
installing officer at the May meeting. My most visible role going forward, will
be to continue to act as your newsletter editor.
As has been our longstanding practice, the Post will be
distributing poppies on Friday and Saturday, May 24 & 25 of Memorial
Day weekend. We will be at four locations: The QFC stores at Mukilteo
Speedway, Edmonds Westgate & West Lynnwood (196th & 76th) and at
the Fred Meyer at 164th and Alderwood Mall Blvd.(All of these locations
are Kroger Co. stores and we are grateful for their support. Other notable
grocery chains have turned us down in the past)
You can sign up any time on the Post website. Sign up sheets will also be available once again at the May Post meeting. This really needs to be an “All Hands Evolution” as we say in the USN, so please step up and take a couple of shifts. We very much need more help at the West Lynnwood QFC. If you have willing friends and family, we can use all the help we can get.
Poppy distribution is the sole source of funds for our Relief
Fund and we need lots of people handing out poppies and taking
money.
It is a fun and rewarding experience to honor our fallen as we
raise funds, with the added opportunity to hear donors’ stories of their
own or family members’ service and share our own.
In Flanders Fields the Poppies blow, among
the crosses, row on row…
Our incoming Commander, Rose Gilliland seems to be a bit camera
shy, despite being one of the more active members of our post for quite
some time, but we were able to dredge up this pic of her from the
presentation of a donation to one of our veterans homes in 2016.
For the past several years, she has been a valued member of our
Relief Committee, our Jr. Vice Commander and a faithful distributor of
poppies as well as just about everything else we do.
An Army Veteran of Desert Storm, she joined the Army in 1986
was stationed with B Co. 3/9th Aviation Regiment, Ft. Lewis, Wa. In 1989
she was sent to Korea to join 2nd Battalion 501st Avn Regiment at. Camp
Humphreys. Having left active service in 1990 Rose was recalled for Desert
Storm in 1991, again with B Co. 3/9th Aviation Regiment at Ft. Lewis. Rose
lives and works in Mukilteo.
She will be installed as Commander in ceremonies at the May
Post meeting.
At the April Post meeting, Casey Davis, Executive Director of
Edmonds Food Bank spoke to us about the Food Bank’s operations and it’s
potential impact on veterans in need.
The mission of the food bank, operating out of the Edmonds
United Methodist Church, is to provide, free of charge, fresh and
nutritious food to families needing help who are located in Edmonds
and in the surrounding communities of South Snohomish County.
Hunger affects many of us. One life transition – job loss
or change, health issue, family crisis, cuts in benefits – can make it so
we must choose between healthy food and other necessities. Often, we
just need a little assistance. The Carol Rowe Memorial Edmonds Food Bank
operates to provide that help. Open on Mondays & Tuesdays, 50
weeks a year.
Davis points out that Edmonds has the largest percentage of
veterans (11%) in its population of any city in Snohomish County, with far
more of them in need of some level of help than we might think.
Davis discussed with post members some ideas of the kind of assistance
VFW might offer to reach those veterans in need, such as having cover
wearing members as volunteers on food distribution days, holding regular
food donation drives, among others. We agreed that discussion among our
staff and membership is in order toward reaching out to veterans who might
be in need of food assistance.
“Today, war is a high-tech affair. The modern soldier
relies on advanced weapons and communications technology as
his essential support. But in World War II, soldiers relied on
an entirely different kind of support–a kind of support soldiers have
used since ancient times. Animals. Dogs, horses, and pigeons became World
War II soldiers’ best friends in battle, serving to carry weapons, wounded
men, and messages through artillery fire. In War Animals, bestselling
author Robin Hutton brings the animal heroes of World War II to vivid life
with the heroic true tales of: Famed pigeon G.I. Joe, who saved
an Italian village and British troops by flying 20 miles in
20 minutes to carry a message to Allied forces; Chips, a
German Shepherd trained as a sentry who attacked an Italian
machine gun team, sustaining powder burns and saving his handler’s
life; Bing, a paradog who jumped out of a plane on D-Day, landed in a
tree, and once on the ground helped his handlers locate the enemy. A
heartwarming and sometimes even hilarious history of bonafide heroes of
feather and fur, War Animals is a World War II story you’ve never read
before.”– Provided by publisher.
I found this book quite interesting, especially the War Dog
part. The US Army used dogs as sentry, scout dogs, sled and pack, mine
detection, and messenger dogs. The US Coast Guard used them mainly for
sentry duties, and the US Marines used them as scout dogs. Pigeons were used as
message carriers, horses and mules were used it the Italian theater,
carrying supplies up hills and mountains that vehicles could not
traverse.
The book also covers the British use of animals, especially
rescue dogs who located trapped civilians in bombed out buildings from
German bombing attacks. This book introduced me to the British People’s
Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) Dicken Medal which was awarded to some of
these outstanding animals.
In the efforts to bring awareness to the meaning of Memorial
Day, Ace Hardware is going to give away 1 million American stick flags.
VFW Posts, including Post 8870 are receiving these flags to place on
veterans’ graves.
Our thanks to Ace Hardware store and especially our
local Edmonds store.
