Still Going Strong: Four-time National Chapter of the Year Charles S. Kettles Chapter 310 Continues to Grow

BY Paul Rogers

Charles S. Kettles Chapter 310 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is no stranger to VVA awards. It has been recognized as National Chapter of the Year four times, including last year at the Convention in New Orleans, where longtime member Tim Driscoll was honored with the VVA Veteran of the Year award.

“It’s always been a great honor to just be a member of this organization, never mind helping lead it,” said Driscoll, an Army veteran who is a director and past president of Chapter 310. “We feel good about our work. We do the hard things; we do the tough things; and we do the beautiful things. And we share with our community.”

Chapter 310 was founded in 1985 and renamed after the late Charles Kettles, a longstanding member and Medal of Honor recipient. Under its motto, “Never Again Shall a Vet Coming Home from Battle be Made to Feel Alone and Unappreciated,” the chapter is extremely active, including designing and funding the Washtenaw County Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Ypsilanti Township.

“It was about a $100,000 project in 1991,” said John Kinzinger, a charter chapter member who chaired the chapter’s memorial committee. “We met every week for two years—six guys (including future VVA President Jack McManus) who knew nothing about building memorials, raising money, or talking in public. About a week after the dedication, it was all paid off.”

Kinzinger wrote Sacrifices Not Forgotten … Brothers, Rest in Peace, which details the process of building the memorial and contains profiles of the seventy-six local men listed on the striking granite monument.

At a time when VVA chapters are facing the challenges of the dwindling Vietnam War veteran population, Chapter 310 has continued to grow. It currently has more than 220 members, including AVVA associates, with 30 to 40 people attending monthly meetings.

“Members will come if you identify something that they really want to accomplish,” said chapter Secretary Jon Luker, who also is a past president. “Veterans are mission focused, and so if your chapter can give your members a mission, they will come and they will execute.”

Chapter 310 meetings are welcoming gatherings that are open to anyone, and that have helped enmesh the chapter within the community and among the broader veteran community.

“We have Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and all kinds of wonderful community people that come in to be part of us, to get to know us, [and] so we can get to know them,” Driscoll said. “The chapter is healthy,” said Kinzinger. “One of the key things to our success is that we do not have a building with all the problems that go along with that.” Instead, the chapter meets in another local VSO’s building.

The chapter also runs informal meetups at a local coffee shop, which offer a comfortable opportunity for newcomers to get involved. “We tell people, ‘Please come out and see how we’re so open with each other,’ ” Driscoll said. “We’re having so much fun, and we’re sharing it with the community. There’s anywhere from about a dozen up to about thirty of us there. We’ve got generals; we’ve got colonels and privates; we’ve got specialists.”

Chapter 310 is also known for its many activities and initiatives. At a meeting in 1988, chapter members discussed what they wanted to be known for in the community. One member said that people thought of Vietnam veterans as a bunch of drug addicts and drunks. That inspired the chapter to support Dawn Farm, an Ann Arbor rehab treatment center, where the chapter has provided a Thanksgiving meal for residents ever since.

Members also participate in the county Honor Guard, and the chapter hosts annual Memorial and Veterans Day observances. Four times a year, chapter members visit the Ann Arbor VA to provide coffee and support to patients, in addition to bringing Christmas gifts, throwing a Halloween party, and offering year-round voluntary services. Chapter 310’s annual pig roast raises funds, elevates the visibility of Vietnam War veterans, and fosters support.

Marcin Szczepanski/www.marcinvisuals.com

Chapter 310 supports active-duty military personnel, sending more than 4,100 care packages to deployed troops over the years. When a local soldier lost both legs in Iraq, the chapter teamed with other area organizations and the community to raise more $200,000 to radically remodel his house to meet his needs.

Chapter 310’s professional and comprehensive 310 Dispatch newsletter has been recognized four times as VVA’s Chapter Newsletter of the Year and was also VVA’s 2017 E-Newsletter of the Year. The newsletter keeps members informed, connected, and actively involved.

“Veterans who don’t show up [at chapter meetings or events] have too much time to reflect on the difficulties that they have experienced and can get to be pretty pessimistic,” Jon Luker said. “When those same people get off the couch and come to VVA and have something that engages them, it helps all that other stuff go away and gets them excited about tomorrow.”

Chapter 310 has been increasingly focused on the future of its mission. Its core members strongly agree that the spirit of their endeavors can endure long after they and their Vietnam War comrades are gone.

“How do we as Vietnam veterans keep our promise to future veterans after we’re dead?” Luker asked. “We’re looking at ways to find, recruit, train, and equip our replacements. Figuring out how to do that is a monstrous challenge, but it’s one that we must accomplish while we still have time.”

“We have no intention of going away,” Tim Driscoll said. “We’re going to have to change and evolve but we’re incorporated, so whatever National or the [Michigan State Council] does, VVA 310 will still exist.”

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