Membership Notes

	Richmond, Indiana, Chapter 777 A Park For All Veterans
	Dave Bradley: A Lifelong Commitment To Service
	David Grossi and the Bonita Springs Veterans Memorial

IN SERVICE

On November 11 at 11 a.m. Baltimore, Maryland, Chapter 451 held its annual Veterans Day ceremony at the Maryland Vietnam Veterans Memorial. More than one hundred people attended. Retired Army Col. Richard E. Krauss, Jr., delivered the keynote speech. The Chapter honor guard was joined by units from the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Dundalk High School Junior ROTC. (For photos, go to facebook.vvaveteran.org)

Members of Bluffton, Indiana, Chapter 698 recently joined members of the Nottingham Township Volunteer Fire Department and other volunteers as they cleaned up and restored Blaxsom Cemetery in southern Wells County. The group spruced up the unkempt cemetery and replaced many grave markers and headstones. Heavy equipment was required to reset some markers and to clear out tree stumps. Chapter 698 also provided lunches. Blaxsom Cemetery is named for a local Civil War veteran who is buried there. (See facebook.vvaveteran.org)

Thomas P. Coughlin Chapter 72 in Brooklyn, New York, held its 30th anniversary dinner dance in November, raising some $5,000 for Chapter projects. On hand were VVA National President John Rowan, New York State Council President Ned Foote and VVA Board member Pat Toro, among many others. The Chapter donated $500 to Team Rubicon, a disaster response organization made up primarily of veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq, which helped many New Yorkers following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.

Houston, Texas, San Jacinto Chapter 343 member Stephen Brady represented the Chapter at the 16th annual Houston Area Military Retiree Appreciation Day held in October at the Texas Air National Guard’s Ellington Field. More than a hundred retirees visited the VVA booth that Brady manned. “The majority of interest,” he said, “was directed to the ‘Service-Connected Disability Compensation for Exposure to Agent Orange’ booklet and to The Wall book. Questions pertaining to VA claims were directed to VA service reps and the Texas Veterans Commission, who were at the event.”

Dean K. Phillips Memorial Chapter 227 in Arlington, Virginia, held a 27th birthday celebration at the Chapter’s October membership meeting. There was a large turnout that included several prospective Vietnam veteran members. The Chapter earlier in the year donated $500 to the American Gold Star Mothers.

Peter Galgano, Jr., a member of Greater Hartford Chapter 120, was inducted into the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame on November 28, along with eleven other veterans who have made significant contributions to their local communities. Among other things, Galgano was cited for his work with the Marine Corps League’s Military Funeral Honors Detail and Wake Service and for a memorial video he recently completed for Gold Star families of Connecticut troops who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Fast-growing Chapter 1036 in The Villages, Florida, the largest chapter in the state, was the subject of a laudatory article in November in the local Daily Sun newspaper. “Whether through community service, outreach or numerous other ways, the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1036 of The Villages is among the leaders in the way it assists veterans,” the article noted. Also in November, the Chapter held the first of what will be an annual Veterans Concert at the Church on the Square in The Villages, a large retirement community in Central Florida. More than seven hundred attended the event, a fundraiser for the Chapter’s activities.

Leon Meidam and Jake Paltzer, members of Appleton, Wisconsin, Chapter 351, took part in the Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremonies held in September at Lawrence University in Appleton by Boy Scout Troop 57, which is sponsored by the Chapter. Three members of the troop achieved the rank of Eagle Scout that evening.

Members of Rochester, New York, Chapter 20, including Chapter President Valentino Gatto, recently delivered 450 comfort items to the Canandaigua VA Medical Center. The items, which were donated through the Chapter by Sam’s Club, included shampoo, skin lotion, soap, t-shirts, hats, and socks.

The fourth annual VVA Golf Outing held in September by Quad Cities Chapter 299 in Rock Island, Illinois, was very successful. The Chapter had fifty hole sponsors and thirty-five teams at the event, which includes the work of many volunteers. The Chapter netted about $8,700, which will be used to underwrite its year-round community charitable efforts, including the holiday gift basket program.

Fresno, California, Chapter 933 adopted a portion of the city’s Woodward Park in 2012, making two clean-up visits a month to the Lakeview Shelter section of the park, which is adjacent to a stone marker honoring those who died in the Vietnam War. “This particular spot is especially important to us,” said Chapter President Stephen Doak, who coordinates the Chapter’s Adopt-a-Park program. It’s “the spot where we hold a sunrise service on Memorial Day and a place where many of us go to seek solitude and peace.”

The Michael J. Novosel M.O.H. Capitol Chapter 542 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, sponsored an event on October 13 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War and to celebrate the 237th birthday of the U.S. Navy. The event began with a musical introduction by the Susquehanna High School Band, followed by a low-altitude flyover of a C5 Galaxy. Chapter First Vice President Allen Welch introduced Chieu Van Le, also a Chapter member and a former pilot in the Vietnamese Air Force. Chieu became a U.S. citizen and joined the Pennsylvania National Guard. The keynote speaker was retired Navy pilot Charlie Plumb, who was a POW in North Vietnam for more than six years. (For photos, go to facebook.vvaveteran.org)

Retired Army Gen. Claude Kicklighter, the head of the Vietnam War 50th Anniversary Commemoration Committee, presented three Vietnam War commemoration flags in Alabama on November 13. One was given to Gov. Robert Bentley, marking the fact that Alabama was the first state to become a commemorative sponsor. The Alabama State Council also received a flag in recognition of signing on as a commemorative sponsor. Gen. Kicklighter also presented a flag to Huntsville, Alabama, Chapter 1067. The Chapter was “the first veterans organization in the state to become a commemorative sponsor,” Chapter President Warren Harmon said. In October, Gen. Kicklighter presented a commemorative flag to VVA President John Rowan in Silver Spring during the Board of Directors meeting. (See facebook.vvaveteran.org)

Detroit, Michigan, Chapter 9 recently made several end-of-year donations to worthy nonprofits in the city. The Chapter gave $500 each to the Detroit Vet Center, the Old Newsboys’ Good Fellow Fund of Detroit, the Neighborhood Service Organization of Detroit, the Kyle “Brother Joe” Hicks Street Mission, and the Piquette Square housing project for homeless veterans.

Roy C. White Memorial Chapter 393 at the Jefferson City Correctional Center in Jefferson, Missouri, presented the Mike Shearin Award at the Chapter’s annual banquet in November to FBI Special Agent Fred Whitehurst, a Vietnam veteran, in recognition of his “continuing efforts to make the public aware of the extent to which fraudulent forensic science is being used to convict people in courtrooms,” said Chapter member Paul Ferguson.

Mitch Carte, a member of Hico, West Virginia, Chapter 860, was recently honored at the Beckley, W.Va., Vet Center by a large group of fellow veterans in recognition of his long and hard work helping veterans and their families with VA benefits. He received a statue of a soldier made out of coal.

Five days before Christmas, members and their families of Jefferson Park, Illinois, Chapter 242 paid a visit to the Chicago-area Hines VA Hospital. They brought shirts, t-shirts, socks, issues of The VVA Veteran, and Christmas cards with gift cards for the hospital’s canteen. The group included Al Huntgenzer, Al Gordon, John and Pattie Adres, Carlos Saladino, Ken Heinmen, Pat O’Brien, Bob Lammie, Kevin Calkins, Bob Leary, Tom Telkas, and Roger McGill.

VETS CONNECT

The Louisville, Kentucky, Kentuckiana Chapter 454 Color Guard took part in ceremonies honoring World War II veterans on October 6 and October 27 at Louisville International Airport. On each occasion, the Color Guard was part of the flag line greeting about a hundred World War II veterans upon their return from a day-long trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the World War II Memorial. The event is sponsored by the nonprofit Honor Flight organization. The Chapter Color Guard members who took part were Ed Woodrick, Larry Westerfield, Bob Keller, and Jacqui Rector. Teresa Rupp, Mike Settles, Ron and Margaret Eberle, Darrel Martin, and Greg and Wynella Bethards were also in the flag lines.

Charleston, South Carolina, Chapter 780 members Allen James and James Gregory honored the World War II veterans who defended America against the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor by tossing a wreath from the hanger deck of the U.S.S. Yorktown into Charleston Harbor on December 7, the 71st anniversary of the attack that brought the United States into World War II.

MEMORIALS

St. Tammany Chapter 697 in Slidell, Louisiana, was the driving force behind the Vietnam Veterans Monument that was dedicated on Veterans Day at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Slidell. The stone monument features the VVA logo above the words, “Vietnam Veterans of America Memorial,” as well as the five service logos, a map of Vietnam, and the POW/MIA logo. “This project was a total team effort,” said Chapter President Alton Rock. “We’re not going to stop working now that this memorial is finished. There is a lot more work to do for our veterans.”

SCHOLARSHIPS

The recipients of this year’s Sacramento Valley, California, Chapter 500 annual $500 college scholarships were Teryn Caruso, Kimberly Schmidt, and Austin McKinley. The winners were chosen by the Chapter Scholarship Committee of Ted Adams, Easy Smith, and Robert Ryan.