THE VETERAN’S VOICE

Volume 24 Issue 5                  www.post639.com                                           May 2004

May 5, 2004               Cinco de Mayo

May  9, 2004              Mother’s Day

May  22, 2004            Remembrance Day

May  31, 2004            Memorial Day

May is a very special month because it brings the green of spring to Springfield.  The trees are now in full leaf, the flowers are blooming, the grass is growing, baseball is starting, the golf course is green and the birds are singing.  We’ll forget about mowing the grass and the pollen causing allergies to flare since spring is a positive time of the year.  There are many events and celebrations during the month of May.

Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day, but a celebration of a battle when about 5,000 Mestizo and Zapotec Indians defeated Napoleon’s Army on May 5, 1862.  There’s probably a joke at the expense of the French Army, but we’ll not go there.

There has almost always been a spring celebration honoring mothers that goes back to ancient Greece, but modern Mother’s Day started out as an English Celebration called “Mothering Sunday”.  The Christian Church took on a celebration honoring “Mother Church” and eventually the two became one event.  In the United States Mother’s Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to The Battle Hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace.  In 1911 ministers, businessmen and politicians requested establishing Mother’s Day as an official holiday.  In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson made the official announcement proclaiming Mother’s Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2^nd Sunday of May.

Post 639 is celebrating a very special event this month on May 22.  Remembrance Day is going to be a combination of honoring the “Founders” of our post, along with events designed to be just plain fun.  We will be having bands, displays, rides and games, along with good food and drinks.  Be sure to read more detail in Commander Walker’s message on page 2 and visit our web site at www.post639.com for up to date information on the event.

All Veterans and their families have a very special interest in the final holiday during the month of May. Memorial Day is much more than a three-day weekend that marks the beginning of summer. To many people, especially the nation's thousands of combat veterans, this day, which has a history stretching back all the way to the Civil War, is an important reminder of those who died in the service of their country.  In the spring of 1866, Henry C. Wells, a druggist in the village of Waterloo, NY, suggested that decorating their graves should honor the patriots who had died in the Civil War. General John B. Murray, Seneca County Clerk, embraced the idea and a committee was formed to plan a day devoted to honoring those veterans that had died. Townspeople made wreaths, crosses and bouquets for each veteran's grave. The village was decorated with flags at half-mast. On May 5 of that year, a processional was held to the town's cemeteries, led by veterans. The town observed this day of remembrance on May 5 of the following year as well.

Decoration Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan in his General Order # 11, and was first observed officially on May 30, 1868.  In 1882 the name was changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day, and soldiers who had died in all other wars were also honored.  In 1971 Memorial Day was declared a national holiday to be held on the last Monday in May.

 

In keeping with our veterans tradition we should take a moment to honor a very special individual that decided after the events of September 11, 2001 to give up his celebrity status and give something back to our great country.  Here is the news bulletin from ESPN’s web site:

“Former NFL defensive back Pat Tillman was killed in action while serving as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, ABC NEWS reported Friday.
Tillman, age 27, played four seasons for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals as a safety after starring at Arizona State University. In May of 2002, Pat announced his intentions to join the Army, turning down a $3.6 million contract offer in the process.  Both he and his brother Kevin, a former minor league baseball prospect in the Cleveland Indians organization, committed to three-year military terms, landing spots with the elite U.S. Army Rangers. The two served in the Middle East as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.”

   
Pat Tillman

TAPS

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lakes, from the hills, from the skies,
All is well, safely rest.
God is nigh.
Then good night, peaceful night,
Till the light of the dawn shineth bright,
God is near, do not fear
Friend, good night.

Page 2                                                                           The Veteran’s Voice 

From the Commander

I want to dedicate this month’s message to a very important event that is taking place next month on Saturday May 22^nd.  Some of you have heard about it, but probably don’t know just how large it us going to be. 

The Remembrance Day Celebration will be an all day affair starting at 10:00 AM.  I would greatly appreciate if every member would attend it.  It will be open to all veterans and the general public.

Early that morning there will be a dedication ceremony for the Founding Members of Post 639.  “The Hill” behind our post where the picnic tables are located will be dedicated to the men that founded the post 23 years ago.  KKLH will be onsite doing a live remote broadcast.  Dr. Bob, host of the Sunday Blues Show on KKLH, will be taking greetings and dedications from family members of our troops overseas.  The messages are edited and played on his show the following day, and then tapes of the show will be sent to the person overseas that received the dedication.

We have four bands scheduled to play that day.  There will be live music from 11:00 AM – 11:00 Pm by Kenny Walker and “The Night Hawks”, “Redneck Rockers”, “Rockin’ Ls”, and “Smokin’ Guns”.  We will have live karaoke inside.

The Military museum will be here, Armed Forces recruiters will also have spots set up and we are hoping to have a “Hum-Vee” on display and a helicopter land on the hill in the front of the post.

There will be a beer truck outside with plenty of cold draft beer, and a full service bar inside if you are 21 years old and have proper ID.  We will also have other vendors (Schwans Ice Cream Truck) and we are working on some additional ones to serve you.  There will be other food catered and also soft drinks available outside and inside.

We will have activities for children including an obstacle course, “water war” with squirt guns and some skill games as well.  We will also have fun events scheduled for older children as well.

I have been asked if guests will be allowed that day.  “YES” they will, bring as many as you want.  It will be an “open event” for the entire community.  As you can see, this is a large celebration and will be a lot of fun.

We are finalizing the plans and they will be posted on our website at www.post639.com, just click on the red “Remembrance Day” on the main page and it will take you to up to date information.  If you haven’t visited our website that Bill Roark set up, you are really missing something, take time to visit it.

We are going to have a “clean-up day” of our grounds on Saturday May 15.  We would appreciate all the help we can get that day to get ready for our Remembrance Day Celebration.  We also have a sign up list at the bar for volunteers to help us May 22nd with security, parking and everything else that will be going on that day.  Please sign up even if you can only spare an hour or two, it will really be appreciated.  Hope to see all of you on May 22^nd.

 

Burman Walker

Ladies Auxiliary News

We are having elections in June.  Please attend the next two meetings so that you’ll know the candidates.  The list of candidates is on the board in the lounge.  If you would like to run for office, contact Connie Compton from the nominating committee to sign up.

Our Easter Party was a huge success!  We had 32 kids that had a lot of fun even though it was a rainy day.  Our golden Egg winners were Hayden Pierce, 21 month old – Stan Harness, 1 year old – Cheyenne Seals, 6 years old – Zack Orchard, 8 years old – Travis Gonzales, 8 years old – Sarah Wingo, 14 years old. 

Our bicycle winners are Taylor Laffoon, girls 4 to 7 – Tyler Hagerman, boys 4 to 7 – Bethany Baldwin, girls 8 + - Travis Gonzales, boys 8 +. 

The wagon winners were Hunter Gonzales (boys) and De Amber McGowan (girls).

We need to also remember that our support for the Legion, the veterans in Mount Vernon and the kids are the most important parts of being in the Ladies Auxiliary. 

We will soon have a quilt to raffle or auction off.  This quilt is from the “quilts with love” ladies in Republic who are sending homemade quilts overseas.  These quilts are hand pieced and quilted.  All money that is raised will be sent back to these ladies to help with their expenses.  It’s important not to forget that these ladies are sending quilts every month to those needing them and most of expenses comes out of their pockets, so let’s try and help them help our kids overseas.

Don’t forget about the big post party and celebration the 22^nd of May.  We need women as well as the men volunteers to make this a great event.  Have a great month and don’t forget our basket to mail a package overseas and remember our sons and daughters in harms way overseas in your prayers.

 Kim Boler

 From your Chaplain

May brings us two special events – Mothers Day, May 9^th and Memorial Day, May 31^st.

There are some of us that our Mother’s are no longer with us.  There will be a vacant spot in our hearts this day.  Those of you that still have your Mother cherish this day.  Send her a card, make a phone call or take her to dinner.  I know she will appreciate this very much.

On Memorial Day first and foremost remember our military, the men and women over seas in harms way and the ones stationed here in the United States.  They need our prayers and support more than ever.  Our nation is at a major crossroad and our leaders need some almighty guidance now?

The Veterans Voice                                                                                 Page 3

Here is a prayer; I hope all of you will read this on Memorial Day:

“Our Father in Heaven our true Commander in Chief – protect this great nation upon which Thou hast showered Thy blessings without number.  Do Lord, set right that which is wrong, and bring together what is divided that we may live together under one glorious flag with charity towards all and with malice towards none in a spirit of unity and a bond of peace.

We are grateful for Thy help in days past.  We humbly ask Thee to be with us still as we face the problems of the present and the difficulties on the uncertain future.  Amen”

We would also like to express our condolences to the Phillips family for the loss of Doris Phillips, who passed away March 14^th at Cox South after a long illness.

Bob Carroll

From the Web

Please remember our new web site address is www.post639.com.  Make sure you set up your favorites in your web browser with this new address.  If you try and use the old address you may or may not be able to get to the web site.  We finally have Post Everlasting up and running.  Hopefully you will like the graphics and the audio files.  Please, if you have biographical information about someone that is listed on the Post Everlasting page, email that information along with any pictures you might have to everlasting@post639.com and we will set up a separate page for that person’s information.  If you don’t have digital pictures, you can leave pictures and the write up with Angel at the bar or any Post 639 officer.  Speaking of audio files, we now have sound on most of the pages on the web.  They will only play one time through each time you access one of the pages with the audio files, so don’t worry, it will stop by itself.  Please check on the events page for up to date information on activities involving the post, especially the Remembrance Day celebration on Saturday May 22, 2004.  We will continually update the site with the latest information and schedules for events and activities planned for that day. 

The web is pretty well established at this point and finally we will be adding the “site map” that will make access to the page you are looking for a little easier.  The link will be located on the bottom of the main page and will allow direct access to most of the pages and information. 

Our involvement with our American Legion Baseball team from Willard is really starting to work out for everyone.  The team is committed to assisting Post 639 with our activities and we have a standing invitation to come to the ballpark and watch our team plan.  There is no entry fee for Post 639 members, just show your membership card for admittance.  They have also agreed to assist us with any fund-raising activities involving Post 639.  Please check the web site (marked “Baseball Team”) for complete information on the Willard team, including rosters, schedules and other team related information.  It will be updated during the year as the information and pictures become available. 

We now have Web TV with Internet access available for our members at the Post.  This will also give Post 639 the availability of having email for our post officers and for the post in general.  We will have unlimited access to the Internet via Web TV or by one of the computers in the post offices.  Well, Burman told me he would do damage to my head with a pool cue if I didn’t keep this short, so from the web, keep clicking.

Bill Roark

Adjutant’s Report

Well April is almost over and we still have 122 members that have not renewed their 2004 memberships, yet.  If you do not renew by the first of June, our by laws require that we drop you from our roster and you will no longer receive the newsletter.  As a courtesy to those that are unaware of their membership status, we have listed those that need to renew on the back of this month’s calendar.  The 2005 membership cards will be available the middle of June, so make sure you are up to date with 2004.  Don’t forget elections for our Post Officers are in June, so make sure you show up and vote for your E-Board.  If you don’t like who is running for a particular office, put your name on the list.  Good luck to all that are running.

 Mark Reed

Bingo Report

Bingo is doing well, but of coarse we could, as always use more help.  On a better note, another bingo game in town (I’m not going to say any names) has tried everything they can to hurt our Friday night Bingo, but it has not worked very well since our crowds are still there and increasing every week.  Let them play all the games they want; it is only hurting them, not us.  A really big thank you to all that help every Friday night.

Mark Reed

Eulogy for a Veteran

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the Gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the mornings hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight,
I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there, I did not die.

-Author Unknown

 Together Then,

      Together Now

Page 4                                                                                   The Veteran’s Voice

The Veteran’s Voice

Vietnam War Memorial

American Legion Post 639

2660 South Scenic

Springfield, MO 65807

417-882-8639