Category: History

Quartermaster’s Update (October 2020)

By Harold Rodenberger


What a summer it’s been! Pestilence, fire, smoke, it seems almost Biblical. No swarms of locusts or floods yet, but the year’s not over. The fires and smoke have gone, but the pestilence remains, and will for who knows how long. Mask up, wash up and space out. Best practices for you and your fellow humans.


The highlight of the summer quarter was our fundraiser. As of this writing, the net gain to our Relief Fund is approximately $4,350. We are still receiving donations so I don’t know what the final figure will be. Whatever it is, it will be much appreciated by the needy recipients of our Relief Fund donations. Many thanks to all of you who contributed items for the auction; those who purchased items from the auction; Chef Kay and helpers; all those who helped put on and serve the spaghetti dinner; and the drivers who delivered to our members who were unable to attend.

This year, in nursing homes and hospitals across the country, the disabled veterans who normally assemble our VFW Buddy Poppies have been unable to do so. As a result, VFW Posts throughout America have been asked to help out by assembling Buddy Poppies. To encourage participation, we will earn $0.02 for our Relief Fund for each poppy assembled. If you would like to help out, please email me at [email protected] or call or text 206-972-2135 and I’ll get you started.


Our Post has mementos of past events that need to be preserved for future generations of members, ergo we need a person (Post Historian) who is interested in organizing, documenting and posting photographs and documents to the online History Room on our website. If you would like to help out in this way, please contact me, and let’s get important post history preserved.


This year disabled veterans, Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war, and primary caregivers for qualified veterans were added to the list of patrons at the military exchanges and commissaries. If you have a Veteran Health identification Card (VHIC), you can shop there. If you qualify but have no ID card, you can apply for one at https://www.va.gov/healthbenefits/vhic.


At some time, we all did our patriotic duty by serving in a war zone, defending our country and its allies. Soon it will be time to do our patriotic duty again. In this year’s general election, we will be choosing our leaders from local city, county and state officials all the way up to members of congress and the president. The right to vote is embedded in our constitution and is a patriotic duty of all Americans. Exercise your rights and vote! You can check your voter registration info at voter.votewa.gov.

Wreaths Across America: Remember – Honor – Teach

One man’s annual tribute to our veterans inspired a legion of volunteers who gave rise to the Wreaths Across America of today.

 

By Joe Fitzgerald, Post 3063 Color/Honor Guard Captain 

 

Merrill Worcester owner of Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington Maine was a 12 year old paper boy for the Bangor Daily News, when he won a trip to Washington, D.C and to Arlington National Cemetery, which left an indelible impression on him that followed him throughout his life and successful business career.

 
In 1992 his wreath company found that they had a surplus of wreaths left over from the holidays. Remembering his boyhood experience at Arlington he realized he had an opportunity to honor our country’s veterans. With the help from Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, arrangements were made for his wreaths to be placed at Arlington National Cemetery in one of the older sections of the cemetery that had been receiving fewer visitors with each passing year.

 
As plans were under way, a number of other organizations stepped up to help, including a trucking company as well as local volunteers, and the American Legion and VFW posts who helped with decorating and laying the wreaths that included a special ceremony and wreath placed at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

 
The annual event went on quietly for several years until 2005 when a photo of the stones at Arlington adorned with the wreaths and covered in snow circulated around the internet.

 
Suddenly, the project received national attention. Thousands of requests poured in from all over the country from people wanting to help with Arlington, to emulate the Arlington project at their own National and State cemeteries, or to simply share their stories and thank Merrill for honoring our nation’s heroes.

 
It soon became obvious that the interest in honoring our fallen veterans was bigger than Arlington and bigger than this one company.

 
In 2007, the Worcester family along with veterans and other groups who had been helping with this annual ceremony — formed Wreaths Across America — a non profit organization formed to continue expanding this effort.

 
Their mission: REMEMBER…. our fallen U.S.veterans,
HONOR……… those who serve, TEACH……….. our children the value of freedom.

 
In 2008, the U.S. Congress unanimously voted Dec. 13 as Wreaths Across America day with the actual ceremony to be conducted each year on either the 2nd or 3rd Saturday in December. The number of participating locations had grown to over 300 involving hundreds of volunteers laying more than 105,000 wreaths!

 
Today, there are now more than 2,100 WAA ceremonies conducted across America and Puerto Rico, at sea and abroad assisted by various firms, civic organizations, and thousands of volunteers who lay several hundred thousand Wreaths.

 
Note: Dec 19, 2020, there will be more than 230,000 remembrance wreaths laid at Arlington National Cemetery alone!

 

BALLARD EAGELSON Post 3063 and the WAA
December 2015, several members our post joined with members of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) to conduct the Wreaths Across America ceremony at Lake View Cemetery in the Capital Hill area of Seattle.

 

This ceremony occurs at the base of the cemetery’s U.S. Flag pole situated on a knoll where 7 stands are mounted in a semi-circle to hold a special WAA remembrance wreath for each of the 5 branches of the U.S. Military, the Merchant Marines, and for all MIA/POW. This ceremony begins at 1200 noon at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. with all 1600 locations around the world simultaneously conducting the same ceremony at the same time.

 
December 2016 Post 3063 formed an Honor Guard Rifle team. This was the first year we conducted a three gun rifle salute as part of the ceremony at Lake View cemetery.

 
December 2017 – The Honor Guard was expanded to include a Color Guard as well, and a bugler to play taps at the ceremonies conclusion. Also added to the WAA ceremony is a two person Honor Guard salute as each Wreath is brought forward and posted on its respective stand.

 

The Ballard Eagleson Post 3063 Color/Honor Guard conducts various memorial and flag ceremonies throughout the year. With each new year comes additional requests for our participation and as such we are in constant need of additional members to join us and be a part of this rewarding experience. Anyone interested in becoming a member of this team can contact either me, or our Post Quartermaster Harold Rodenberger.

 

salute
Honor guard members salute the SAR rep who placed the POW/MIA wreath during the ceremony.

taps
Pam Wolfe, an Army veteran and current employee at Merrill Gardens Senior Living, played Taps after the honor guard performed a three-volley salute.

Post 3063 Honor Guard members (left to right): Harold Rodenberger, Bryce White, Bill Griffith, Dan Stokke and Joe Fitzgerald.

Raffle Prize Gifted to Former Vietnam POW

War spoon
From Comrade Bill Griffith:
“…at lunch I presented to Bill Wilson the spoon I won at our Post 3063 fundraiser. The spoon was made from aluminum that fell from the sky over Laos. Bill contributed to this collection until his F111 was shot down over Hanoi and he spent the rest of the war in prison. Thanks go to Russ Seelig for bringing this spoon home from Laos and donating it to the raffle. Bill Wilson really enjoyed getting it.” Read more about Bill Wilson’s story here.

 

 

Ballard 19 Author Publishes New Book About Local OIF Hero

Valor in IraqThe Post 3063 Adjutant received a tip from local writer of the “The Ballard 19”, Jerry Smith, that he recently published a book called “Valor in Iraq.” It documents the story of a 2003 Ballard High School graduate, Daniel Chavez, who died fighting for his country in Iraq.

 

Here’s a link to an article about the book, which is available on Amazon.

 

All proceeds go to the Daniel Chavez Scholarship at Ballard High School.