Welcome
to springtime in the Ozarks. Here
are March’s Special Dates:
March 7 - Marti Gras
March 17 - St. Patrick’s Day
March 21 - First Day of Spring
We have now covered some
Leader’s of different branches of service in our previous issues, so let’s
concentrate on one of our most famous Generals from WWII - Douglas MacArthur.
Douglas
MacArthur lived his entire life, from cradle to grave, in the United States
Army. He spent his early years in remote sections of New Mexico, where his
father, Arthur MacArthur Jr., commanded an infantry company charged with
protecting settlers and railroad workers from the Indian "menace."
As a teenager, Arthur had served with distinction in the Union Army,
eventually earning the Congressional Medal of Honor for leading a courageous
assault up Missionary Ridge in Tennessee.
Seen through a boy's eyes, life at a place like Ft. Selden, New Mexico,
was heady stuff. "My first memory was the sound of bugles," Douglas
MacArthur recalled in his "Reminiscences." "It was here I
learned to ride and shoot even before I could read or write -- indeed, almost
before I could walk or talk."
Douglas, who had always been an
unremarkable student, first started to reveal his own intellectual gifts when
his father was posted to San Antonio, Texas, in 1893. There he attended the
West Texas Military Academy, thriving in an atmosphere, which combined
academics, religion, military discipline and Victorian social graces. By
virtue of his excellent record there, his family's political connections and
top scores on the qualifying exam, Douglas received an appointment to the
United States Military Academy at West Point in 1898. Over the next four
years, he would achieve one of the finest records in Academy history. General
Arthur MacArthur looked on proudly as his son graduated first in the class of
1903.
What became a lasting connection with the Philippines began with Douglas'
first assignment out of West Point, when the young Lieutenant sailed to the
islands to work with a corps of engineers.
One of Douglas's next assignments included service as an aide in
Theodore Roosevelt's White House. While
there he was taken under the wing of Chief of Staff Leonard Wood, (yes, as in
Fort Leonard Wood) a protégé of his father, and his career was again firmly
on track. Even though his record
to that point had been excellent, the First World War gave Douglas MacArthur
his first real measure of fame. Quickly
promoted to brigadier general, he helped lead the Rainbow Division through the
thick of the fighting in France. With
a flamboyant, romantic style matched only by real feats of courage on the
battlefield, MacArthur became the most decorated American soldier of the war.
While his peers were demoted to their pre-war ranks, MacArthur kept his
through a plum new assignment as Superintendent of West Point.
In 1930 MacArthur was promoted to 4
Star General and named Army Chief of Staff were he served until his first
retirement in 1937. In 1941 he
was recalled to active duty as “clouds of war” fell over Europe.
He became Commander of our forces in the Philippines where his vastly
outnumbered troops were forced to retreat to Australia and his famous “I
shall return” proclamation became our Pacific Theater battle cry.
In 1942 MacArthur was awarded the Congressional Metal of Honor (like
his father before him) and became “Supreme Allied 
Commander”
for the Pacific Theater (Eisenhower’s role in Europe).
He was the leader for all Allied forces in the Pacific and accepted the
Japanese surrender on the Battleship USS Missouri on September 2, 1945 ending
WWII in the Pacific. For the next
five (5) years he may
have had the most productive years of his illustrative carrier as he rebuilt
the Philippines and Japan from the horrors of the war.
He and his GHQ staff helped a devastated Japan rebuild itself,
institute a democratic government, and chart a course that has made it one of
the world's leading industrial powers.
(Continued on Page 3)
From
the Commander
I
hope nobody got into trouble for missing Valentines Day.
We had a great turn out, and I would like to thank the membership for
your support and participation at the party.
The band was great, (a little to loud for these old ears), but the
majority enjoyed them, and that’s what makes our Post the best.
March
is St. Patrick’s Day and we look forward to seeing more of you at the dance,
it will be in connection with the March birthdays.
Everyone with a birthday in March is invited to come celebrate your
birthday at the Post. We do this
for each month’s birthdays for all to enjoy.
Entertainment schedules these events.
Come on out and join us.
Right now we are in the PLANNING
STAGE for the 2nd ANNUAL REMEMBRANCE DAY, (May 21st) we need help in getting
this event, off the ground and ready to fly.
If you have any expertise or desire to help, we would appreciate you
volunteering. Sign up at the Post
or talk to Rick Stephens, Entertainment Chairman.
Sons and Auxiliary included. Remember
2004/2005 is WE not, you, I, or Me.
Phil Richardson
Ladies
Auxiliary
Well, already its March, my how time
flies when you are having fun. The
Ladies Auxiliary served 40 & 8 last month, thanks to all of you that
helped you did a great job. We
enjoyed having 40 & 8 in our house for Dinner.
Debbie Reed had surgery on the 26th
of January; we all hope she is doing OK.
Things will be somewhat slow this
month, Luanne will have surgery later in February and they doctor told her she
would not be able to dance for a while, but Luanne said that was OK since she
was never able to dance anyway. So
look out guys.
On February 12th we had a
great Valentine’s Day party with snacks and of course good music from the
band “Tripwire” it was great. They
were all good, but the drummer was something else.
Everyone had a good time. Merle
Best won the basket, I hope he gets all he will wish for.
Betty had a smile, Katrina & Richard was there & it was sure
nice to see her. We missed her.
It was a great time with plenty of smiles and some nice flowers.
On March 12th there will
be a pretty St. Pat’s Day doll raffled off.
Thanks to Peggy, she made it with love.
The doll is very pretty. On
March 26th it will be Easter Bunny time.
We will have crafts, games and an Easter egg hunt.
There will be tickets for your kids to have a chance to win a nice
bicycle. Age groups will be 0-3, 4-7, 8 & up. These are all nice looking rides, so get there at 1:00 PM
until 3:00 PM and get a ticket and win one of these good looking bicycles.
Lots of luck to all, but please ride the bicycles with safety in mind.
Luanne will be home and recovering
from her surgery and we wonder if the hospital and the nurses will be
recovered from her visit before the end of this month.
Well, we just keep rolling into the New Year, so until next time, I’m
out of here. Smile; say something
nice to everyone, every day.
Beverly Miller VP
Building
and Grounds
Several
projects are still in the nearing completion phase and should be finished
soon. Anyone with ideas or if you
would like to get involved please make plans to attend a Building &
Grounds Committee meeting. Your input and participation will be greatly
appreciated. The Building and
Grounds Committee will begin meeting at 11:00 AM on the 2nd and 4th
Saturday of each month starting March 12, 2005. This will better fit into everyone’s schedule.
Harvey Williams
Adjutant’s
Report
I’ll
be “short and sweet”, send in your money if you haven’t paid.
We are at 92% paid. If we
don’t receive your 2005 dues soon, this may be your last newsletter, so
please send in your dues and support your post.
J.C. Ponder
From your
Chaplain
This
has been a good first quarter for 2005. Not
much illness so far this year, Luanne is doing great with her implant, forgot
to mention in the last issue that it was a hip implant.
Gene Bettie has improved since his rotary cuff surgery and is now
having knee surgery. Pat reported
he is doing well and Pat is doing well after her wrist surgery.
Good to see Josephine walking on her own.
Here is something to think about,
every passing day is one thing that is gone forever, make sure it is one in
which you have done something for others especially those who cannot do for
themselves.
Remember our national leaders and our
men and women in the military especially our POW’s and MIA’s in your
prayers.
Bob Carroll
From
the Web
Mike
Chandler came up to me last week and said “man, I just got cable Internet
and our web site is fantastic. I found places I didn’t know was there until now”.
There are lots of places to explore on our web site and it really is
more fun if you have a “high speed” connection.
If you get an chance to surf our site on a broad band connection,
please do it, if not, take your time and start clicking.
Since Douglas MacArthur was our featured General for the month, check
out his poem “Duty, Honor, Country”, located at
http://www.post639.com/duty_honor_country.htm.
If anyone has any ideas about
additional pages for the web site, let me know.
See me or leave a note in the editor’s mailbox and I’ll get back to
you. From the Web, keep clicking
Bill Roark
Editorial:
What is your vision of what the
future holds for Post 639? If you
asked the original founders of our post what they envisioned 25 years ago,
would it be the reality of what our post has become in 2005?
Those questions were asked last May at the Remembrance Day celebration
and the founders said, “We never dreamed it would lead to this”.
In less than 25 years it has come from those humble beginnings to an
American Legion Post with over 25 acres of ground, a nice post meeting area
and bar, a ball field, 2 Vietnam era helicopters, a conning tower from a
nuclear submarine and a beautifully maintained memorial rose garden (thanks to
Sam). During that time we have
helped Veterans in many ways from “post combat stress” to getting VA
benefits they have earned. We
have helped support Veterans from the Veterans Home in Mt. Vernon by making
them part of our family. We have
supported school programs that emphasize patriotism and Americanism.
If that is what we have accomplished
in the past 25 years, what does the next 25 years hold for Post 639?
If this sounds like a challenge, it is.
Let your imagination run wild and try to conjure up what Post 639 will
look like in the year 2030. Your
vision may be in the form of an article for the newsletter, it may include
pictures or drawings or it might be in the form of a poem or short story.
Will our choppers still be in the same place or will we have more
exotic static displays? What will
our buildings look like in 25 years? What activities and events will we be promoting?
Everyone is invited to participate.
Turn in your ideas on what Post 639 will be in 2030 to Terry Rowley (t.w.rowley@att.net)
or put them in the Editor’s mailbox at the post.
Your ideas may end up in the Voice or on the web site, or “who knows
where”.
The
Veterans Voice
Page
3
(MacArthur from page 1)
With the outbreak of the Korean
conflict in June 1950, MacArthur was again called on to lead our forces,
meaning he became a hero in WWI, WWII and Korea which makes him unique because
of the span of almost 40 years of excellence of command.
But it was all to end prematurely in late 1951, not because of military
inability, but because of a political disagreement with then President Truman.
MacArthur found that Harry S. Truman was just as tough in that arena as
he was in the Military one and the President of the United States will always
trump any General no matter who or how good.
As the last great general of World War II to come home, MacArthur
received a hero's welcome.
True to his word, the old soldier
"faded away" from the public eye, living quietly in New York until
his death in 1964. While it's questionable whether his storied life ever
brought him complete satisfaction, one thing is clear: Douglas MacArthur had
more than fulfilled his self-imposed destiny of becoming one of history's
great men.
First
Congressional Metal of Honor Winner since 1993
SFC
Paul R. Smith, who spent his boyhood in Tampa, FL, became a man in the Army
and died outside Baghdad defending his outnumbered soldiers from an Iraqi
attack, will receive America's highest award for bravery.
President Bush will present the Medal
of Honor to Smith's wife, Birgit, and their children Jessica, 18, and David,
10, at a ceremony at the White House in March, the Pentagon informed Mrs.
Smith.
"We had faith he was going to
get it," Mrs. Smith said from her home in Holiday, "People know
what's he's done ... people know that to get a Medal of Honor you have to be a
special person or do something really great."
What Paul Smith did on April 4, 2003, was climb aboard an armored
vehicle and, manning a heavy machine gun, take it upon himself to cover the
withdrawal of his men from a suddenly vulnerable position. Smith was fatally
wounded by Iraqi fire, the only American to die in the engagement.
Since
the Civil War, just 3,439 men (and one woman) have received the Medal of
Honor. It recognizes only the most extreme examples of bravery - those
"above and beyond the call of duty."
That oft-heard phrase has a specific meaning: The medal cannot be given
to those who act under orders, no matter how heroic their actions. From World
War II until today, most of the men who received the medal died in the action
that led to their nomination. There
are only 129 living recipients of the CMA.
Smith is the first soldier from the
Iraq war to receive the medal, which had not previously been awarded since
1993.
Sgt. Smith volunteered to create a
holding pen inside a walled courtyard to house some Iraqi prisoners. Soon, Iraqi soldiers, numbering over 100, opened fire on
Smith's position. Smith was accompanied by only 16 men. Initially a Bradley assisted in holding back the Iraqi group,
but apparently was called away to another engagement. Smith could have ordered his men to withdraw but that would
have left his men and a medical aid station with 100 men at risk of being
killed or captured, so he manned a 50 Cal on an abandoned personnel carrier
and with the assistance of Pvt. Michael Seaman held of the attack. He went through several
boxes of ammunition until he had secured the area from the Iraqi’s attack
and as the battle was winding down, he was hit in the head and died before he
could be evacuated.
Sgt.
Matthew Keller was one of the men who fought with Smith in the courtyard.
"He put himself in front of his soldiers that day and we survived because
of his actions," Keller said Tuesday from Fort Stewart in Georgia.
"He was thinking my men are in trouble and I'm going to do what is
necessary to help them. He didn't care about his own safety."
Sgt Smith, RIP in Post
Everlasting!!!!
Together
Then,
Together Now!!!