Category: Commentary

Commander Tamayao’s Farewell Note

As the old adage says: “All good things must come to an end.”  There is an end to everything, to good things as well.  That sums up how I feel about my period in office as Post 3063 Commander.

 

During my tenure, I have experienced many “good things.”  It was rewarding to see participation and involvement of comrades in various activities, events, meetings and socials throughout my time of command.  The House Committee met and worked hard to make sure the post operated with fiscal responsibility.  Quartermaster Harold Rodenberger worked tirelessly to ensure many requirements were met and ensured that the post was sufficient with day-to-day tasks.  The Color Guard participated in events that not only fulfilled requests, but also brought favorable publicity of our post.  Editor Alyson Teeter-Baker continues to put together a high caliber newsletter which enhances communication to the membership.  There is increased member participation in District 2 meetings, Department VFW workshops and training and attendance at state and national conventions.  All of this shows how involved and active our post is.

 

There were others who forwarded reports to Department Headquarters and made sure certain requirements were met.  We achieved over 100 percent membership. These contributed to the post receiving White Hat status for the post commander and quartermaster, the second consecutive time this has happened since last year.  My thanks to those involved.

 

While the “fun” of being your commander comes to an end, it is not the end of things facing the post.  Membership continues to be paramount.  We need to continually achieve 100 percent membership to mitigate losses due to normal attrition.  We should ensure help for veterans, be it through visits at area facilities, at our post, or through services such as with comrade Gail Engler, post service officer.  We need to continue efforts to attract younger eligible veterans to join.  In addition to becoming active members, they can be leaders for the future.  Our post’s infrastructure needs addressing and it is essential that our financial resources remain strong.  The membership will eventually have to determine the best courses to take regarding these matters.

 

As I leave, incoming Commander Pete Krawitz will be faced with various issues that were not resolved or completed within my 12-month tenure as commander.  However, I am confident of his capabilities and his military and civilian backgrounds will help the post continue as a vibrant and active post.  I wish him well with his new position.

 

Yes, all good things do come to an end; but that does not mean the end of my involvement with our post or the VFW.  There are many things yet to accomplish and I intend to continue to be involved.  It has been an honor to serve as Ballard Eagleson Post 3063 Commander.  Thank you for this wonderful and fulfilling opportunity.

 

Yours in Comradeship,

Nestor Tamayao

 

Quartermaster’s Update (June 2017)

By Harold Rodenberger

 

I’m writing this update from the east coast of our amazing country, where my wife, Ikuko, and I are visiting our younger son and his wife in North Carolina.

 

For those of you who travel, it’s no secret, but it always reassures me to travel to widely separated parts of our country and our world and observe yet again that people are pretty much the same wherever they live.

 

Here in Durham, there are friendly faces, distracted faces and faces racked by some private pain. There are young people, and those not so young, walking along oblivious to their surroundings while absorbed in private communication on their handheld device. As we approached a store yesterday, a gentleman smiled and held the door for my wife and me. He didn’t ask our political party, religion or economic status, he was simply one human being courteous to others.

 

Sometimes in our world of instant news, alarmist headlines and finger pointing journalism where people are put into buckets labeled “Democrat, Republican; Jew, Gentile; rich, poor; Northerner, Southerner; good, bad,” I need to be reminded that people are people no matter external conditions.

 

All of this reminds me that the people in our own post and auxiliary are great people. We come from different walks of life, have different occupations, ages and beliefs and we have fought in or supported loved ones who have fought in different wars, yet we all have joined in the goals of the VFW to support our troops, help those who have served and to further patriotism and community service.

 

Just as when I travel, I’m reassured by people right here in our post who, despite surface differences, are uniformly friendly and willing to help. This month I’d like to choose two out of the many and thank Kay and Russ Seelig for all they do to help our post.

 

Five or six years ago we were introduced to Kay’s famous spaghetti at a fund raiser put on for service dogs. Russ beat the bushes for supporters and Kay cooked. It was very successful and with the help of other post members, raised over five thousand dollars for a worthy cause. Since then they have been instrumental in putting on more fund raisers and for the past few months have been putting on the dinners at our post socials.

 

For those of you who are not regular attendees at our socials, the menus are enticing and the camaraderie embracing so plan to attend and enjoy a night out with friends right here at our post social. Speaking of socials and spaghetti, again this month, by popular request, we’ll have Kay’s spaghetti.

 

Flag Day is June 14. Remember to fly your flag. We’ll have a flag retirement ceremony in the post parking lot at noon.

 

We’ll be leaving NC soon to head back home. I will remember the storefront gentleman for his courtesy and thank the rest of the NC people we’ve met for their reminder that down deep we are all the same.

 

Thanks to each one of you for being in our post. With your help our post is making good headway in our mission to help members, veterans, their families and our community.

 

Quartermaster’s Update (May 2017)

By Harold Rodenberger

 

Our recent warmer weather has accelerated my feeling of renewal that happens every spring.

 

The older I get the more I appreciate the sense of renewal that happens this time of year. When I was younger, the days rolled by one by one, weeks took a full week to pass and tomorrows seemed endless.

 

Now, as the passing days, weeks and months total nearly four score years of living on this earth, my days spin by quickly. Sunday barely gets going before Saturday pops up and the months pass like weeks did in years past.

 

I think the apparent speed is caused by accumulating memories that blend current observations with the old. I seldom see a genuinely new thing unless I search for it. The temptation is to go with the same old emotions, fit new sights into the old and categorize the passing scene as, “the same old, same old.” Only if I set out to find a new shape, color or idea nearly hidden in the smoke screen of old memories can I find something that stimulates a new question or thought.

 

Not saying that old memories are bad, just that they should be used with discretion. As I get older I find refuge in some of those old memories of gentler and happier times when time passed slower and multiple blinking, beeping, speaking and vibrating electronic things weren’t competing for my attention.

 

This time of year brings renewal to our VFW Post as well. Joint installation of our new officers and those of our Auxiliary will be held this Thursday, 5/4/17, with our Department Junior Vice Commander, Linda Fairbank, presiding. Linda will be installed as our VFW Department Senior Vice Commander next month at our state convention.

 

Our Post Honor Guard Captain and Chief Librarian, Bill Hoeller, finds it necessary to step down to take care of pressing family matters. Bill has done a wonderful job but must move on and he will be sorely missed.

 

Joe Fitzgerald is stepping into the position of Honor Guard Captain. We receive requests for our honor guard to perform, especially graveside or memorial services, but we need more people to field a proper team even when some members have other commitments. If you are interested in serving on our honor guard, please contact Joe at 206-777-5364 or [email protected].

 

We are looking for someone to serve as our post librarian. Since we have an honor system library, the duties are not time consuming. If you have an interest in books and would like to maintain our library, please let me know.

 

This month we will visit the VA Hospital to host a bingo night on May 23, 2017 and again on Memorial Day when we will visit with and hand out goodies to patients.

 

Remember, “new” is a big part of “reNEWal.”  Sometimes I am reluctant to step out of my daily routine but I need to “embrace renewal,” not only of the natural world around me, but also of the brain. If I let them, new sights and changing scenes can bring new thoughts and memories, rejuvenating a tired old brain and getting our new VFW year off to a running start.

From the Commander (May 2017)

By Nestor Tamayao

 

I bet many of you are thinking what I am – “It’s May already!”  The post will be busy this month with installation of newly elected officers, the Social and Memorial Day activities.  For me, May also marks the fact that my tenure as your commander is coming to a close next month.

 

While many equate May to the Memorial Day holiday, for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, there is a day that has significance as it was the VFW that had it recognized.  That day is May 1st, Loyalty Day.  The day provides an opportunity for all American citizens to reaffirm their loyalty.  Patriotic rallies, parades, public meetings, school programs and other activities are some examples that show citizens’ patriotism and loyalty to our government.

 

Loyalty Day’s roots are not recent.  The idea to hold patriotic rallies started in 1930 to offset the Communist rallies that were held on May Day.  The VFW’s involvement began with the adoption of a resolution at the VFW National Convention in 1949 to make May 1 as Loyalty Day.  In 1954, the resolution was introduced in Congress and approved in 1955.  It was officially recognized with the adoption of Public Law 529 in 1958.

 

Memorial Day gives the opportunity to honor the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.  It was known first as Decoration Day as the day graves of fallen Civil War soldiers were decorated.  The name Memorial Day came into use in 1882.  The name was declared by federal law in 1967.  Some confuse Memorial Day with Veterans Day.  While Memorial Day remembers those who died while serving, Veterans Day honors everyone who has served in the armed services.

 

The month of May provides citizens the opportunities to participate in activities that reflect continuing loyalty to America and honoring those who gave their lives to maintain our cherished freedoms.   If you are not able to attend an organized activity on Memorial Day, you can pause for a moment of silence at 3:00 p.m. on that day to honor those who have died in service to the nation, as The National Moment of Remembrance Act of 2000 encourages.

VFW Supports World War I Centennial Activities

By Brian Duffy, VFW Commander-in-Chief

 

April marks the 100th Anniversary of the United States’ entrance into World War I. This is a very solemn reminder of the more than 100,000 U.S. Troops who sacrificed so others might live in peace. The VFW has joined other veteran service organizations in supporting the World War One Centennial Commission’s efforts to honor the heroism of those Americans who served and to commemorate the centennial of this global event. The official launch of events by the Commission is scheduled for April 6 at the World War I Memorial in Kansas City, Mo., a little more than a mile from the VFW National Headquarters.

 

The public programs and events hosted by the Centennial Commission are scheduled throughout the year at venues across the country, culminating with the dedication of the National World War I Memorial in Washington D.C.’s Pershing Park. There also will be events planned overseas to honor U.S. veterans. I will have the opportunity to visit the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial located just outside Paris in Marnes-la-Coquette in April. The Memorial commemorates the courage and the sacrifice of the American pilots who came to France before April 1917 to fight with the French military, collectively called the “Lafayette Flying Corps.” It also honors the longstanding friendship between France and the United States, where each has come to the other’s assistance in defending liberty and freedom.

 

The VFW has a proud history of supporting veterans of every era, and those of WWI are no exception. Following the Great War, VFW played a significant role in ensuring WWI veterans received the benefits they earned. The support the VFW provided in pursuing legislation securing the WWI bonus was the turning point in its history.

 

In 1927, the VFW maintained a membership of only 60,000 and was described at the time as “an organization not sufficiently large enough to make it a vital factor in public sentiment” by members of the House Committee on World War Veteran Legislation. But by 1936, its membership soared to more than 300,000. This was attributed to its incredible efforts in proposing and continuing to push controversial legislation that demanded full and immediate payment in cash for the World War I bonus.

 

By Jan. 22, 1936, at the height of the depression and after numerous vetoes by several presidents, the bonus was granted. At 1.3 million-strong, we continue our WWI veteran support legacy by continuing to stand up for veterans and their benefits. VFW’s many programs and initiatives have made it one of the top veteran service organization in the U.S.