Ballard Eagleson Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3063
"No One Does More for Veterans"
The Post 3063 Honor Guard, consisting of Joe Fitzgerald, Bill Hoeller and Harold Rodenberger, participated in the Wreaths Across America ceremony near the flagpole at Lakeview Cemetery in Seattle on Dec. 17, 2016. After the wreaths were placed honoring the five services, POW/MIA and Merchant Marines, the post Honor Guard fired three volleys honoring the veterans.
Bill Griffith was in charge of the ceremony at Lakeview, as he has been for the past four years.
UW Libraries held an open house at Allen Library on Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11, in conjunction with the current World War I-themed exhibit, “Washington on the Western Front: At Home and Over There.” The event opened with a color guard from Ballard Eagleson VFW Post 3063.
The exhibit features photographs, diaries, newspapers, letters and ephemera from the World War I era. Notes with the exhibit discuss how the UW responded to the war with the formation of a hospital, ambulance unit and training camp. About 4,000 students, staff, faculty and alumni served, 58 of whom lost their lives in what was at the time called “The War to End All Wars.”
For more information about the exhibit, go to http://tinyurl.com/jskm6gc.
Gail Engler, Robert White, and Chuck Tuft distribute Buddy Poppies at QFC on Holman Road Nov. 11, 2016. Robert joined Post 3063 Nov. 10 and volunteered right away to help! According to VFW.org, “Before Memorial Day in 1922, we conducted our first poppy distribution, becoming the first veterans’ organization to organize a nationwide distribution. The poppy soon was adopted as the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, as it remains today.”
By Alyson M. Teeter
Post 3063 members, friends, and family gathered with some of the post’s World War II veterans to honor their service at the post’s monthly social on Nov. 17, 2016.
Five of the post’s 14 living World War II veterans, along with two World War II veteran guests, were present at the 
ceremony. Members included Oscar Borchelt, Genaro Garcia, Herbert Leake, Al Linden, and Orville Mall, and the two guests were Richard Smith and Kristian Nielsen.
During the course of the night, members and guests mingled, recounted war stories, dined, and then participated in the recognition program. Commander Nestor Tamayao started the program with welcoming remarks and the Pledge of Allegiance.
“Freedom isn’t free and what you did kept our freedom,” said Commander Tamayao. “Our thanks extends from the World War II veterans to all veterans. Thank you to those attending.”
Commander Tamayao also noted that his father was a survivor of the Bataan Death March so he especially understood how important it was to recognize their sacrifices.
Certificates that featured an illustration of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., and membership longevity pins were presented to every World War II veteran in attendance.
Post 3063 Chaplain Bill Griffith then narrated a slideshow that included photos provided by the veterans and a historical overview of World War II.
“’Old soldiers never die, they just fade away,’” Chaplain Griffith said, recounting General Douglas MacArthur’s famous quote. “The VFW doesn’t want our veterans to fade away. But we noticed that World War II veterans weren’t attending meetings anymore.”
He went on to explain that they hoped to devise a program to track veterans closer. Part of this effort was the nexus for creating the night’s recognition program.
After the slideshow, the night ended with group photos, words of gratitude, and farewells. These veterans will not be forgotten.
We recently received an email from local writer and Ballard High School graduate, Jerry E. Smith, who is researching and writing a book on the eighteen (now nineteen) students from Ballard High School who were killed in Vietnam. A ceremony to add Doug Zeller to the Vietnam Memorial Plaque is scheduled Nov. 10, 4 p.m. at Ballard High School. The following is an excerpt from that email.
I contacted Ballard High School Principal Keven Wynkoop and asked him whether there were a list or roster of the Ballard High School students killed in Vietnam. Keven photographed the Vietnam Memorial Plaque which is on display in the school and emailed me the photographs showing the names of the eighteen men whom had been killed. Three of them were boys I had personally known. Thus the “The Ballard Eighteen” began. I spent hours of research at the Ballard High School Library, the Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington, online with the Texas Tech University Vietnam Archives, and many other online sites, telephone calls, and emails searching for and contacting family members of the “Eighteen.”
By the beginning of 2016 I thought that I was close to being finished and decided to do a final edit with each of the families of the “Eighteen,” giving them an opportunity to review and fact-check my work. While I was at the home of Tom and Dianne Riordan they said that they thought that student Doug Zeller was killed in Vietnam. I explained that Doug was not listed on the Vietnam Memorial Plaque, so he must have survived. I promised them that I would do some additional research on Doug Zeller and find out what had happened to him.
Unfortunately, I learned that Doug Zeller was indeed killed in Vietnam but not listed on the Ballard High School Vietnam Memorial Plaque. So “The Ballard Eighteen” became “The Ballard Nineteen.”