WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS SIGN?

 
What is wrong with this sign? It seems quite nice to our American Legion members at Leadbetter-Brinklow Post 486 in Minetto.


However, it seems that a few (very few) community members urged the Minetto Town Board to have the sign removed from our American Legion park by the Oswego River. 


The reason for erecting a sign was to let people know that we have an American Legion Post in Minetto and that we meet on a regular basis. Currently we are collecting signatures of community members in support of our sign to present to the town board at their convenience. 


Leadbetter-Brinklow Post 486 is one of the earliest posts formed in Oswego County and several Oswego County commanders have served from this post. At one time, the post had nearly 165 members and was very active in parades and community service. There was a local Sons of the American Legion group as well as an active Auxiliary unit. 


It seems like the community should be proud of our heritage but it doesn't appear that way at the present time. 


So you won't see our new sign in the park this summer until the powers that be decide that The American Legion is worthy of being recognized in Minetto by its residents. The sign is resting in a corner someplace hidden from the view of anyone passing through the village. We are still not visible to the outside world or new residents in town. Seems a shame, doesn't it?

BRONZE MEDALLIONS

Bronze medallions available for headstones
The American Legion - June 29, 2010

The Department of Veterans Affairs is offering bronze medallions to attach to existing, privately purchased headstones or markers, signifying a deceased's status as a Veteran. The new item can be furnished instead of a traditional government headstone or marker for veterans whose death occurred on or after Nov. 1, 1990, and whose grave in a private cemetery is marked with a privately purchased headstone or marker.

Under federal law, eligible veterans buried in a private cemetery are entitled to either a government-furnished grave marker or the new medallion, but not both. Veterans buried in a national or state veterans cemetery will receive a government headstone or marker of the standard design authorized at that cemetery.

The medallion is available in three sizes: 5 inches, 3 inches and 1 ½ inches in width. Each bronze medallion features the image of a folded burial flag adorned with laurels and is inscribed with the word "Veteran" at the top and the branch of service at the bottom.
Next of kin will receive the medallion, along with a kit that will allow the family or the staff of a private cemetery to affix the medallion to a headstone, grave marker, mausoleum or columbarium niche cover.

More information about VA-furnished headstones, markers and medallions can be found here.

VA is currently developing an application form for ordering the medallion. Until it is available, applicants may use the form for ordering government headstones and markers, VA Form 40-1330. Instructions on how to apply for a medallion are found here.

Veterans with a discharge issued under conditions other than dishonorable, their spouses and eligible dependent children can be buried in a VA national cemetery. Other burial benefits available for all eligible veterans, regardless of whether they are buried in a national cemetery or a private cemetery, include a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate, and a government headstone or grave marker.

The new medallions will be available only to veterans buried in private cemeteries without a government headstone or marker. Families of eligible decedents may also order a memorial headstone or marker when remains are not available for interment.

VA operates 131 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico, and 33 soldiers' lots and monument sites. More than 3 million Americans, including veterans of every war and conflict - from the Revolutionary War to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan - are buried in VA's national cemeteries on more than 19,000 acres.

Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery offices, from the VA Web site or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at (800) 827-1000.

OSWEGO COUNTY COMMANDER

OLDEST LIVING OSWEGO COUNTY COMMANDER

It was my great pleasure to install our oldest living past Oswego County Commander in his position as 2nd Vice Commander of Post 587 in Fulton recently. 

Homer Russell Smith Post 587 Commander

John Young (left) presents John McGraw with

his 60-year Membership Certificate

John McGraw received his 60-year continuous membership certificate from the national organization and was honored locally as Veteran of the Year. 

He served as Oswego County Commander in 1958 and still wears his Oswego County American Legion cap. We are proud of him in our county and wish him well in the coming year.

KOREAN WAR ANNIVERSARY

Korean War anniversary commemorated
The American Legion - June 24, 2010

Several members of Congress held a ceremony today at the Capitol to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War; participants included Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other members of Congress.
The 11 a.m. ceremony honored the sacrifices of American servicemembers who courageously fought to defend freedom and safeguard peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.
The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel and attacked the Republic of Korea. Two days later, President Harry Truman ordered U.S. forces to help South Korea. By the time a ceasefire was signed on July 27, 1963, American losses were 36,516 dead (including 2,830 non-combat deaths), 92,134 wounded, 8,176 missing in action, and 7,245 prisoners of war.

The American Legion Magazine

The Korean War at Sixty: Memories of shared sacrifice can and should sustain an alliance that remains in America’s best interests



Korean War commemoration events around the country:
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, is unveiling its renovated Korean War exhibit area today, and will host a free public Freedom's Call Military Tattoo featuring music, fireworks and flyovers on the grounds of the museum and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on June 25. A public memorial ceremony is scheduled for 5 p.m. June 26 at the Korean War Memorial in downtown Dayton.
www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/korea.asp


A planned 2010 groundbreaking for the Korean War National Museum in Springfield, Ill., was postponed due to the economic downturn and the museum's continuing financial problems. However, the Denis J. Healy Freedom Center, a 10,000-square-foot temporary exhibit, opened in downtown Springfield in 2009. Its displays and informational panels will eventually become part of the permanent facility.
www.kwnm.org

The Harry S. Truman Library & Museum in Independence, Mo., is holding a "Memories of Korea" exhibit running from March through December.
www.trumanlibrary.org

The Little Angels Children's Folk Ballet of Korea embarked this month on a 16-nation tour to honor the countries that sent troops to South Korea. Tour cities in the United States include Washington, Fort Benning, Ga., and Atlanta.
www.kw60project.com

STAR SPANGLED BANNER

Please take a few minutes and listen to the second verse of the Star Spangle Banner...never knew the words..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9_bP219ehQ&feature=youtu.be

VETERANS DAY RACE

1st ANNUAL VETERANS DAY RACE

Wounded Warrior 5K Run

Sunday, November 7, 2010

9:30 a.m.

to benefit:

Syracuse VA Medical Center

IraQ and Afghanistan Veterans Fund

AWARDS

Presented to the overall top male and female runners, and the top finishers in the following age groups:

14 and under

15 to 19

20 to 24

25 to 29

30 to 34

35 to 39

40 to 44

45 to 49

50 to 54

55 to 59

60 to 64

65 to 69

70 to 74

75 to 79

80 to 84

85 and over

Awards will be presented at WAVES on 202 Bennet Road right across from the start/finish line.

REFRESHMENTS

Following the race, bagels, apples, oranges, and hot chocolate will be among some of the refreshments available for all runners/walkers.

FabNine Incorporated

PO Box 856

Syracuse, NY 13209

phone 315-882-5893

E-mail: tom@fabnine.com

www.fabnine.com/Run.html

ENTRIES

$15.00 registration fee for entries received prior to the race and $20.00 registration fee for race day entries.

Wounded Warrior T-Shirts to ALL race participants.

Prizes and Gift Certificates will be pesented after Awards.

Please make checks payable to: FabNine Incorporated.

Send entry form and payment to:

FabNine Incorporated

PO Box 856

Syracuse, NY 13209

TIMES

Packet Pickup:   

     Saturday November 6, 2010 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at WAVES

on 202 Bennet Road, Camillus, NY 13031.

Race Day Registration and Packet Pickup:

Sunday November 7, 2010 from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. at WAVES

on 202 Bennet Road, Camillus, NY 13031.

Start Time:

      5K Race......Starts @ 9:30 a.m. 

 

 

 

JUNE MEETING 2010

June county meeting at Altmar with picnic at 6 PM; meeting at 8 PM. Committeemen set and meeting dates and places for 2010-2011 were set.

76 FREEDOM CAR

 Gear sidelines 76 Freedom Car at Pocono
By James V. Carroll - June 6, 2010

Jerick Johnson comes into the pits during the 

Messina Wildlife Management 200 at Pocono 

Raceway on Saturday. James V. Carroll

Driver Jerick Johnson retired The American Legion/David Law Firm 76 Freedom Car on the 35th lap of the Messina Wildlife Management 200 at Pocono Raceway on Saturday after a rear gear failure. His withdrawal from the ARCA Racing Series 80-lap event resulted in a 30th-place finish.

The Pocono weekend at the famed 2.5-mile triangle track at Long Pond, Pa., was more an exercise of experience for Johnson than it was of result. Driver and crew spent most of their 100-minute practice time Friday morning not on the track, but, rather in the garage struggling to locate a metallic rub and vibration. The problem eventually was traced to the drive shaft. Johnson ended up getting in only 18 practice laps, and his times were 28th fastest among 34 cars taking practice laps.

Johnson stepped up his pace during the one-lap qualification attempt - qualifying 25th fastest for a 13th-row spot in the 36-car starting field.

"We were never really in the chase for the lead," a disappointed Johnson said after he pulled his wounded car to the infield garage. "The car was not handling very well all weekend, but I believe we could have had a descent finish if the car hadn't broke."

The 76 Freedom Car Team Johnson Motorsports crew has little time to prepare for their next ARCA Racing Series event - the June 11 Racing for Wildlife 200 at Michigan International Speedway near Brooklyn, Mich.

The 200-mile, 100-lap race is scheduled to begin at 5:15 p.m., and will be televised live on SPEED.

WE NEED FLAGS!

6/11/2010 - - - 10:52 AM

The Convention Committee is asking for your help.

Remember "The Old Days" when the stage at convention would be a "Sea of Red, White, and Blue" with flags from all over New York State?.  Last year there were seven (7) flags on the stage.  As of today, Flag Registration Chairman Pat Becker has received five (5) registration forms!!!!!

This is the 90th Anniversary of the American Legion Auxiliary.  Help us to show our pride in our great organization by bringing your County and Unit flags to convention.  Let's again see that "Sea of Red, White, and Blue".

You have until July 1st till get your registration form to Pat Becker: 140 Peck Avenue - Syracuse NY 13206.  Spread the word.  Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Shelby Sobolowski, Convention Chairman

PAUSE FOR PLEDGE

Pause for the Pledge set for Monday
The American Legion - June 10, 2010

This Monday, on Flag Day, Americans across the country will pause to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The Pause for the Pledge, which occurs at 7 p.m. EDT, was started in 1980 by a small group of patriotic Baltimore business leaders. It has since evolved into a national event, with communities and organizations across the country conducting their own Pause for the Pledge.

The National Pause for the Pledge normally takes place at Fort McHenry in Maryland, but because of ongoing construction, this year's national ceremony will take place at Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville, Md.

FLAG DAY 2010

Celebrate Flag Day by Protecting Old Glory

By Clarence E. Hill

One sure way to light up The American Legion’s switchboards is for an overzealous homeowners association to ban the display of Old Glory within its community. While these disturbing incidents seem to be on the rise in recent years, I find it completely ironic that while a ban can exist on flying the flag of our country, no such ban is allowed to exist on desecrating it.

“Sorry, Mr. Veteran, you’re not allowed to fly the flag on your private property, but the Constitution says you can urinate on it, spit on it, and burn it all you want,” is what the government seems to be telling us.

The American Legion finds this unacceptable. In fact, for 21 years now, dating back to the Supreme Court’s flawed Texas v. Johnson decision, we’ve been pretty fired up about it. In that case, a narrow 5-4 majority ruled that flag desecration was permitted by the First Amendment. Essentially, a margin consisting of one Supreme Court Justice invalidated flag protection laws enacted by 48 states and the federal government. The high court removed from the people the right to protect their nation’s foremost symbol – a right that the people have enjoyed since the birth of this nation.

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist usually voted on opposite sides, but they were both right about flag desecration. “In my considered judgment, sanctioning the public desecration of the flag will tarnish its value – both for those who cherish the ideals for which it waves and for those who desire to don the robes of martyrdom by burning it” Stevens said. “That tarnish is not justified by the trivial burden on free expression occasioned by requiring that an available, alternative mode of expression – including uttering words critical of the flag … be employed.”

Rather than “free expression,” Rehnquist compared flag desecration to an “inarticulate grunt,” and wrote, “I cannot agree that the First Amendment invalidates the Act of Congress, and the laws of 48 of the 50 states, which make criminal the burning of the flag.”

Fortunately, there is something we can do about it. Measures sit in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives that would allow for a narrowly drawn constitutional amendment which would return to the people the right to protect Old Glory. It simply says “The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.”

Flag protection amendments have passed the House of Representative six times in the past, only to fall short of the necessary two-thirds supermajority required in the Senate. 

Flag Day during an election year represents the perfect opportunity to urge your congressional delegation to vote to protect our flag, the embodiment of what Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf called our “national identity.”

While the Constitution is supposed to protect us from the tyranny of the majority, a strong case can be made that protecting flag desecration as free speech represents a “tyranny of the minority.” Polls repeatedly show that Americans support this amendment. Fifty state legislatures have called for the amendment’s passage.  Overwhelming majorities in Congress have passed it in the past and the amendment fell only one vote short last time in the Senate. When is the last time that 66 percent of the Senate agreed on anything of substance?

Don’t be swayed by phony arguments about desecrating red, white and blue neckties, underwear or beach towels. These are not flags. Would anyone consider putting these items on the caskets of our fallen heroes? Would you run a scarf up a flagpole? The beauty of the flag amendment is its narrowness – it covers the flag, not its likenesses. It also covers “desecration,” not the respectful “burning” of it during its retirement, as opponents would have you believe.

The amendment is worth repeating:  “The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.”  Nothing more, nothing less.

By encouraging Congress to support House Joint Resolution 47 and Senate Joint Resolution 15, we can make the statement that our flag is important and that “We the people” matter.  You can reach your members of Congress by calling the U.S. Capitol, toll free, at 1-877-762-8762. It’s time to make somebody else’s switchboard light up.

Clarence E. Hill is national commander of the 2.5 million-member American Legion, the nation’s largest wartime veterans organization. A high resolution photo of Cmdr. Hill is available at www.legion.org.

A WEEK OF MEMORIES

A week of memories
By Steve B. Brooks - June 8, 2010

Rear Adm. Michele Howard thanks Post 2001 Commander 

Sean Powers, Post Adjutant Joel Viders and 

Department of New York Commander William R. Kearsing 

for their hospitality during Fleet Week. Steve Brooks

Derrick Johnson has made a career (21 years) in the U.S. Navy. Currently a master chief electronics technician, Johnson is stationed on the USS Iwo Jima and has traveled all over the world.

But one of Johnson's favorite docking destinations is New York City at the end of May. That's when the city opens up its arms, and hearts, to thousands of U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Marine personnel as part of Fleet Week. Fleet Week started in 1984, and allows servicemembers to tour the city as honored guests, while civilians get the opportunity to tour many of the ships.

American Legion Post 2001, whose home is on the USS Intrepid Air and Space Museum, is a big part of Fleet Week, hosting receptions and dinners, and providing tickets to various New York iconic activities such as Yankee games and Broadway shows.
For Johnson - a 15-year member of Legion Post 327 in Norfolk, Va. - 2010 was his fifth Fleet Week. On June 1, the final day of Fleet Week activities, Johnson joined 74 other Navy personnel and 15 Coast Guardsmen during Post 2001's NCO Reception at The Water Club restaurant along the East River.

"If our ship gets selected for Fleet Week, I get so excited," Johnson said. "This is the second time I've been to this event, and they really treat us well. What people do for us during Fleet Week shows us that people recognize what we're doing, and that they care about what we're doing. They're willing to open up their places of business to us and shell out some of their own money. It makes us feel like we're doing something - something good. And that the public sees we're doing something good."

Master Chief Machinery Repairman Rich Smith, stationed on the USS Philippine Sea, is coming up on the end of a 30-year Navy career, but this year was his first Fleet Week. He also attended Post 2001's NCO Reception.

"Seeing all of this gives each of our sailors a chance to see what we're fighting for," Smith said. "It's really been a great experience for me personally."

Later that evening, The Water Club hosted 75 officers from the Fleet Week ships at Post 2001's Commanding Officers Reception. Shrimp cocktail and fresh oysters, carved beef tenderloin, and an impressive array of meats and cheeses lined the serving tables, thanks in part to the generous donations of James G. Kennedy & Co., a multi-million dollar construction management and general contracting firm based in New York City. Roger M. Norton, CEO of the firm, is a past Post 2001 commander. Norton says Post 2001's involvement goes back much further than his tenure as CEO of the firm - back to when Post 2001 was known as Post 1870 and was based out of the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City.

James G. Kennedy & Co.'s founder, James G. Kennedy Sr., was also one of the founders of Post 1870. Kennedy's son and successor at the construction firm, James Kennedy Jr., also became heavily involved in the post, and Norton said through their various business contacts they were able to help the post prosper financially. Hosting the receptions during Fleet Week, Norton said, is simply a continuation of the Kennedy's involvement with the post.

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Michelle Howard, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 2, was one of the guests at the evening reception and took the time to publicly thank everyone involved with Fleet Week.

"We truly have a wonderful week. We literally have people coming up to us, patting us on the back. It's like coming home the first weekend of college and mom's taking care of you," Howard said. "Fleet Week has been that way, and it's because of every single one of you. You represent all of the citizens of New York and New Jersey. We get on the way tomorrow, but we take away terrific memories, and that's because of you."

VETERAN TO VETERAN

Veteran to veteran
World War II Navy combat veteran, honored on Legion float in Indianapolis parade, has a message for young veterans coming home with PTSD.
By Jeff Stoffer - June 1, 2010

World War II Navy veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor 

Paul Kennedy took a seat of honor on The American

Legion's Indy 500 Festival Parade float.

No one was talking about post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of Paul Kennedy’s medical discharge from the Navy near the end of World War II. Nearly four decades would pass before the condition would be defined, acknowledged and commonly diagnosed among combat veterans.

Kennedy, a signalman on a destroyer, had nearly been killed by a Japanese warplane at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He watched in horror as sailors aboard USS Oklahoma were propelled to their deaths when the first torpedo hit. He sailed in 28 round-trip convoys across the North Atlantic and helped escort landing craft crossing the English Channel into Normandy on D-Day, fully aware of the fate awaiting those who would storm the beaches. Kennedy was shot by an enemy submariner forced to surface right next to his ship. “The first guy to come out, came out with a machine gun and started strafing us,” the Legionnaire from Greenwood, Ind., explained. “I am standing up there, and I caught a little lead … it wasn’t serious, but it hit me. But that’s not what put me in the hospital. What put me in the hospital was PTSD.”

Kennedy, now 89, has spent nearly 70 years coming to terms with his combat experiences and helping other veterans get through theirs. “The way I got over it was talking about it with my fellow veterans,” said Kennedy, who joined Legionnaires from three other war eras on The American Legion’s float in the IPL 500 Festival Parade, part of the celebration surrounding the Indianapolis 500, last weekend.

Kennedy said it’s vital for veterans of different war periods to make connections, especially with those coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. He spends an hour every Tuesday evening in a “vet-to-vet” session of peer therapy which transcends the war eras. “We’ve got these young guys coming in now with a monkey on their back,” Kennedy explained. “I can tell them how to get rid of it. Others can, also. We’ve got several there from the Vietnam War – which was a terrible war. They know.”

Before climbing aboard the Legion float in the May 29 parade, Kennedy discussed his wartime experiences and the challenges he faced in the years that followed. Joining him on the float were Indiana Army National Guard Master Sgt. John Madden (whose wife and children make them a seven-Blue Star Family) along with sons Cayce and Tim; Vietnam War veteran Larry White of American Legion Post 500, in full Legion Riders regalia; and John Thomas, a Korean War veteran and adjutant of Post 249 in Indianapolis.
While waiting for the parade to start, Kennedy and others escaped the heat inside the Indiana National Guard Armory in downtown Indianapolis. There, the World War II veteran recollected some of the experiences that would shape the rest of his life. One – while serving on the USS Sacramento on Dec. 7, 1941 –  would alter the course of Western civilization.

“After I was relieved at 4 a.m., I stayed up and drank coffee until 5:30 with the fellow who relieved me. I was going to sleep all day Sunday. At about five minutes until 8, the alarm went off, and I thought it was a drill. I wrapped the pillow around my head. I thought, this is one drill I’m not going to. Half our crew was on liberty anyway.

“Then, a buddy of mine pulled me out of my bunk and he said, ‘Come on, Paul! The Japs are bombing the hell out of us. Get your gas mask and your helmet. Get to your battle station!’”

The first thing he saw after passing through the hatch, Kennedy said, was a Japanese torpedo plane directly overhead. “The pilot had his canopy back. He was looking down at me, and I was looking up at him, and I can remember his face clearly. He dropped that torpedo in the water and I watched it. It went across and hit the Oklahoma. There were three men on the side of the Oklahoma that were standing right above where the torpedo hit. They went flying up in the air like rag dolls, and back down into the water. I went on to my battle station.

“There were torpedo planes coming in left and right. We got hit with 350 planes, and every plane had either a 500-pound bomb or a torpedo. Each one of those battleships caught seven or eight torpedoes apiece. While they were doing that, these bombers were dropping bombs on everything. One bomb was meant for our ship but hit on a dock beside us.”

Kennedy soon had a brush with death. “I went up to my signal station, and there was a hoist on the tower – a flag hoist – so I’m busy running that flag up in the air, which is what I am supposed to do, and a Jap zero drops a 500-pound bomb on the Pennsylvania, which is in dry dock, which is where we were a week before, and immediately heads our way and starts strafing. I thought, ‘Do I want to get shot in the back or the belly?’ I elected to face him. I won’t tell you what I said. He missed me by an elbow length. He didn’t hit anyone on our ship. But from that time on, it was just chaotic.

“The Oklahoma was over on her side in 20 minutes. Those guys were scrambling for their lives. Guys were abandoning ship. So it was complete chaos. The first wave left, and we thought, ‘Well, it’s all over.’ And here the next wave came in. They continued to bomb and do damage, but the thing that really bothers me is these sailors were in the water – dead, in their white uniforms, in the oil, in the water – and the boats were picking them up. They would get a boatload of dead men, and some live guys, and these Jap planes would come down and strafe them. Absolutely defenseless. That hurt. That still bothers me today. It took me a long time to forgive the Japanese. I didn’t want to go to my grave hating anybody, so I forgive them.”

His experiences in the North Atlantic were similarly harrowing, including the machine-gun wound and the D-Day assault, before the weight of the war became too much to bear.
“I got to the point where I’d had it,” Kennedy explained. “I got to a point where I didn’t care about anything, anybody. I didn’t care who won the war. I was that bad. I got into the hospital, and I wouldn’t eat. They said, ‘We will force-feed you.’

“I said, ‘Go ahead – I don’t care.’ I didn’t want to go on liberty. I just wanted to get out. So they gave me a discharge and enough money to get home, and they said, ‘Don’t talk about it.’ That was the wrong thing. It took me a long time before I got over it.”

The only treatment that worked for him, he said, was talking about the experience with other veterans. A member of multiple veterans-service organizations, the Pearl Harbor survivor now embraces his wartime memories, one in particular:

“That night at Pearl – about midnight – the West Virginia was anchored right in front of the Arizona. The Arizona was burning and burning. Smoke was pouring off of it. The West Virginia’s flag was still up on her stern. From our perspective, it looked like the flag was right in the middle of the fire, the flame and the smoke. Today, when I hear “The Star-Spangled Banner,” I get a cold chill up my back because I can still see that site. It inspired all of us to see that flag still flying.”

BOYS STATE 2010

Annual Girls and Boys State Dinner was held on Sunday May16th at Cleveland Post 858. Some of those returning from last year's session are in the photo below. Many had other activities and could not be present this year.

 

BOYS STATE - CLASS OF 2009

From left to right: Oswego County Legion Commander Richard Palmer,

Alexander C. Archer, sponsor Central Square Post 915;

Quentin J. Halstead, sponsor USMC League, Pulaski,

Edward H. Hillenbrand, sponsor Oswego Co. Mutual Ins. Co., Parish,

Christopher J. Loran, sponsor Pulaski Post 358,

Erin A. Kinsella, sponsor Central Square Post 915,

James Wilson, sponsor Oswego Post 268,

James Ellis, Oswego County Boys State Chairman

BOYS STATE - CLASS OF 2010

New Haven Post 1532 and Mexico Post 384 - Marshall Hughes, Jake Sullivan, William Irwin

 

Cleveland Post 858 -  Ben Brookins - John Hudzina, Post Vice Commander

 

Central Square Post 915 - Ed Cook, Jake Steckel, 

Jake Hilton, Garrett Claffey, Robert Lyons.

 

Pulaski Sons of the American Legion - Marty Weigel, 

Jacob Halsey, Russ Fritz

Cleveland Post 858 - Jacob Martin, John Hudzina, Post VC

 

Pulaski Post 358 - Marty Weigel - Boys State Chairman, 

Carl Hurd, Omar Davis - Commander

 

Pulaski Post 358 - Marty Weigel - Boys State Chairman, 

Dylan Gilman, Omar Davis - Commander

 

Hannibal Post 1552 - Louis Gilbert, Tyler St. Onge, 

Greg Geisl, Anthony Nappa

 

Pulaski Post 358 - Marty Weigel - Boys State Chairman, 

Kirkland Nagy, Omar Davis - Commander

HOMELESS VETERANS

VA announces homeless veterans hotline
The American Legion - June 3, 2010

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced June 3 the establishment of a new telephone hotline, the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans, to provide emergency support and resources to homeless veterans. He made the announcement as he toured the facility at the VA medical center in Canandaigua.

Family members, workers at community agencies and non-VA providers also may call the hotline at (877) 424-3838 to find out about the many programs and services available to assist homeless veterans.

Well-trained expert responders will staff the hotline 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They will join other responders who staff VA's Suicide Prevention Hotline at Canandaigua. Responders are cross-trained to handle calls at either call center. While a responder will know which type of call is incoming, all veteran callers will be receive a brief suicide screening.

VA assistance is available for homeless veterans who may have mental-health issues, substance abuse, depression, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. The responders operating the new hotline will ensure veterans receive the help they need and deserve.

The hotline, which began service on March 1, has received 1,846 calls. Call volume is expected to grow as awareness of the service increases.

HAND SIGNAL

Hand signal to thank the military

A little something we all need to remember to  say,
Thank You!

This is pretty neat.....(30 second video) ...

Have you ever seen one of our military walking past you and wanted to convey to them your thanks, but weren't sure how or it felt awkward?

Recently, a gentleman from Seattle created a gesture which could be used and has started a movement to get the word out.

Please everybody take just a moment to watch.... The Gratitude Campaign; .......and then forward it to your friends! THEN START USING THE SIGN.

CLICK HERE
http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/shortmovie.php

VIETNAM WALL INFORMATION

Fellow VET's, especially Viet Nam era Veterans.  

Someone sent me the link below which is a virtual wall of all those lost during the Viet Nam war with the names, bio's and other information on our lost comrades. It is a very interesting link, and those us who served in that timeframe and lost friends or family can look them up on this site. 

Pass it on to other veterans who you think would like this.  First click on a state......then when it opens .........a city....then name.......then ...........it should show you a picture of the person or at least his bio and medals...... ......


Click here: The Virtual Wall® - Home of Record Index


or cut and copy the link below:

http://www.virtualwall.org/iStates.htm