This is a recurring column that highlights the 2021-2022 post officers.
What is your military background?
My military service is backwards to nearly everyone else: I was in private practice for 22 years, and then joined the Air Force at age 52. Accidentally, I became a flight surgeon, that got me deployed to Iraq, and led to another residency in Aerospace Medicine. Which then led to 3 more deployments: Korea, Iraq again, and Kyrgyzstan. My role as Aerospace Medicine specialist meant I flew and took care of air crews, but it also put me overseeing shop safety and public health on the base, which put me in an experienced role when Covid arrived – having dealt with SARS1, MERS, Swine Flu/N1H1, and Ebola already.
Tell us about your position and what you hope to accomplish during your term.
I’m still trying to decide my role with the Post. I’ve enjoyed contributing to the newsletter, particularly trying to translate what is going on with Covid. I can offer medical advice to members and fellow board members as we negotiate these times where the goal posts seem to keep moving. My goal is still to meet people, and hopefully we will be able to do more in-person functions in the future as vaccination of the members increases.
How long have you belonged to Post 3063 and did you previously serve in an officer position?
I joined the VFW less than 2 years ago after I retired from the Air Force and moved to Seattle. My intent was to try to meet people, but then Covid hit. I was asked to be Post Surgeon, which is fun for some as I really am a surgeon.
Please note! Our meeting on 10/7/21 will be conducted on Zoom only. Zoom connect info is elsewhere in this paper and on our website.
Our Spaghetti Feed Fundraiser will be conducted in person unless there is a change in guidance from Gov. Inslee or King County. Only vaccinated will be allowed to attend in person.
There are two events to remember this month.
First, our shredder truck date is 10/19/21. We are working with a new company this year. The truck will be in our parking lot sometime between 0900-1200 on that Tuesday. You are welcome to bring your shred papers to the post that morning and wait for the truck to arrive so you can watch the shredder gobble up your papers. Or, if you don’t need to see the actual shredding, you can bring your papers to the post during normal office hours and we will lock them in the Arms Room until shredding time. When the truck arrives, we’ll take your papers, along with ours and others, to the truck and make sure they are properly shredded. Even though the truck is less expensive, donations are requested to offset the cost.
The second, and more important, event this month is our annual Spaghetti Feed Fundraiser with raffle and online auction. This is our one big fundraiser for the year so it is important that all of our members support it by buying tickets and helping out in person, if possible.
We need prizes for the auction and raffle. If you can solicit or donate a prize, please bring it to the post so we can photograph and post it to the auction site.
Tickets are available at the office during normal office hours, and at the auction website https://www.biddingowl.com/auction/rtickets.cfm?auctionid=22225 If you are going to buy online, the easiest way is to go to our website: vfwseattle.org and click on the link in the first line to go to the ticket selling location.
We will be conducting the raffle at the post after dinner. The online auction will be via BiddingOwl at the website shown above. The online auction starts at noon on 10/21 and ends at 8 p.m. on Sunday 10/24. You are welcome to go to the site early and review items beginning as soon as we get photographs posted, hopefully 10/3/21.
In addition to coming up with prizes and selling tickets, we also need help at the hall from a couple days prior and especially on the day of the raffle. Please call Russ Seelig (206-423-1150) or myself (206-972-2135) If you are available to help.
Comrades, I know this must feel a bit like Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day movie but we must keep our collective heads up and continue moving forward. This second dose of Covid-19 masking will pass too.
In the meantime, however, we must continue with the masking in accordance with the mandated state requirements. Who knows if this will be short lived or not, but erring on the side of caution, it was determined that it was best for the September Post Business Meeting to be a Zoom only meeting. The Oct. 7 business meeting will also be via Zoom ONLY. The login information will be the same as it has been all along. This return to Zoom only will be assessed from month-to-month. We will return to the in-person business meetings as soon as it is possible to do so.
Keep the heart unwrinkled and remember, “Don’t worry about a thing, ‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right!”
Last year our National Convention was attended via Zoom only. This year in August, Commander Joe Fitzgerald and I went to Kansas City to attend the 122nd VFW National Convention. Because of the continuing dangers from Covid-19, it was a “business only” convention with no Health Fair, Patriotic Parade or hospitality rooms. In accordance with local guidance, effective Monday, August 2nd we all wore masks inside.
On Saturday and Sunday, Joe and I registered and then attended various classes on recruiting, local Service Officer procedures, and Veterans and Military Services. We also visited the VFW Store to order our All-American caps.
Monday, the ceremonies included a welcome and congratulatory speech from our C-in-C Hal Roesch, and a ten-minute video presentation by President Biden. VFW National Home’s Buddy Poppy Child, 7-year-old Aurora, surprised me by giving a speech that would have been a credit to a teenager. She then was escorted by members of the National Honor Guard as she circulated around the hall collecting donations for the National Home.
Honors were given to departments, districts and posts who achieved various “Legacy Membership” status, “Triple-Crown” winners, and All-American winners at all levels. Our post was awarded All-American status for 2020-2021.
Monday afternoon and Tuesday, we conducted important business, discussing and voting on various resolutions proposed by posts worldwide and by our national representatives.
Some resolutions were of a “housekeeping” nature. Several dealt with the definition of “quorum” and in most cases those were approved to include electronic participation (Zoom or similar) where all participants could have simultaneous communication.
Resolutions B-20 and M-9 were approved. They deleted the entire old Article IX from the Bylaws and Manual of Procedure and substituted new sections dealing with discipline.
Resolutions R-1 and R-2 in the Commemorative Tributes Section of the Ritual, added Oct 23rd – Beirut Bombing and March 29th – National Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day.
We approved Resolution 201 “BE IT RESOLVED, that the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States does commit itself to the ideals of diversity and rejects bigotry of all kinds so as to strengthen the bonds of our great organization.”
Resolution 405 was approved to urge DOD to become more aggressive in its prevention efforts to reduce sexual assault and harassment, to provide victims with proper medical and mental health care, to aggressively investigate every reported incident and punish attackers as appropriate, to stop all retribution and retaliation, and to provide scrutiny to the military justice process.
Resolutions 407 was approved to support legislation for the full concurrent receipt of military retirement pay and VA disability compensation without offset and regardless of rating percentage.
Resolutions 408, 409 and 410 were approved, as they have been for many years, to support ROC Taiwan, Republic of Korea and the Country of Israel.
Resolution 413, which our post approved and forwarded to District 2 for their approval, was approved at District and at our state levels and approved by the convention. It urges the President of the United States and the U.S. Congress to recognize the contributions of Afghan and Iraqi Combat Interpreter Immigrants who stood shoulder to shoulder with, assisted and protected U.S. military service members, U.S. diplomats and government agents, non-governmental organizations, and media organizations during U.S. involvement in those countries.
Resolution 414 respectfully requests the Secretary of the Navy to name a future Naval vessel after the only Philippine Medal of Honor winner, Telesforo Trinidad.
There were approximately 35 resolutions approved that dealt with Dept of VA laws, policy and procedure and laws providing rehabilitation benefits for veterans, and also resolutions pertaining to veterans’ employment, civil service and housing problems
On Tuesday, many awards were given to VFW national officers, checks were delivered by corporate sponsor representatives and the Convention elected and installed officers for the ensuing year. Supreme Commander of the Military Order of the Cootie Darin Combs presented a $43,000 check to Chief Roesch for a new snow plow at the VFW National Home in Eaton Rapids, Mich. Combs said Cootie membership increased by 105 percent this year, the largest increase since the organization began keeping records.
If you are interested in learning more details of the business conducted by our governing body, please go to the national website (vfw.org) click on “Media and Events” followed by a click on “National Convention” where you’ll find a streaming option or you can review the press releases.
