Category: Volunteering

Quartermaster’s Update (July 2018)

By Harold Rodenberger

 

Having recently returned from taxing my body physically while climbing in the Himalayas, it’s back to taxing my brain while serving as your post quartermaster.

 

Those of you who followed along on my blog are aware of the rigors entailed in climbing to Everest base camp. If you didn’t follow my reports, I can assure you that it was one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever faced.

 

While the trekking pretty much was a solitary quest, the tasks and burdens of quartermaster are shared by many of you. Our Commander and Adjutant have picked up parts of the load, many volunteers have stepped up to share the day-to-day jobs that need to be done to keep our post operating. All of you, whether sharing a word of encouragement, signing up a new member or renewing your own membership early, have helped keep our post alive and growing.

 

At the recent Washington State VFW Convention in Bremerton, Commander Pete and myself were awarded white hats as All State Commander and Quartermaster. These honors reflect well on us, but, to continue the trekking comparison, they reflect the great job you, as members and volunteers, have done to keep the heart of this post throbbing and its blood pumping.

 

This month marks the beginning of the new VFW year. Again, we are starting from ground zero to help veterans and their families in our post, in our community and wherever we find them.

 

As veterans of foreign wars ourselves, we are uniquely positioned to reach out to our fellow veterans of all generations. Having been there we alone can understand their problems and their achievements.

 

To get this new year of to a good start, please keep an eye out for new recruits to our post. Invite them to join with our veterans in comradeship and a community effort to help themselves and others in an ever-widening circle of influence.

 

Finally, as the year progresses, please help us get the credit we are due for helping in our community by reporting any of the good things you do. We are making the feeder forms easier to send in and, if each us could find the time to complete the report we will help our post, state and national organization get the credit we deserve as Veterans Helping Veterans.

Helping with Bingo

Volunteers from Post 3063 teamed up with Ballard Eagleson VFW Auxiliary Post 3063 and VFW Post 3436 (Issaquah / Mt. Si) on May 22, 2018 to put on bingo night for patients at the Seattle VA Medical Center. Volunteers ran the bingo machine and provided food and prizes to patients.

 

Volunteers at Bingo Night.Volunteers at Bingo Night.
Volunteers at Bingo Night.
Auxiliary President Donna Limric calls out bingo numbers.
Auxiliary President Donna Limric calls out bingo numbers.

Quartermaster’s Update (April 2018)

By Harold Rodenberger

 

Every year we observe milestones along the way to a new VFW year. Last month we had first nominations for office. During the business meeting later this week we will elect officers for the coming year. During the May meeting, those officers will be installed. After the new State Commander is installed near the end of our annual state convention, our new officers will take on their new roles and the new VFW year will begin.

 

As the days grow longer and the weather warms, we will be scheduling flag retirement ceremonies, shredder truck visits and cleanup days around our post. Memorial Day is coming and with it we will have our usual Buddy Poppy distribution teams working around our neighborhood. Every year we participate in the Memorial Day celebrations at local cemeteries. Please let one of our officers or myself know if you would like to join in any of these events.

 

All year, but especially as our year draws down, we are reminded that new members are critical to the life of our post. Every year we lose some who pass on to their reward, those who move to different parts of the country and others who simply move on to other pursuits and let their memberships lapse. For our post to replace those losses and grow we need to replace the losses and generate a few extra for good measure.

 

Please see if you can find a new member among your friends and acquaintances. Sometimes all it takes is to ask a potential new member to join. The critical part is asking. If they aren’t asked most people will never join.

 

They call it “March Madness” but the participating teams can’t be mad. They must be talented and skillful at what they do but, at this level, they also must be well disciplined team players who share a goal and work hard to achieve that goal. Every year, it seems that we hear about less talented teams winning because they play better as a TEAM.

 

Just like a basketball team, a successful VFW Post survives on teamwork. It takes many people doing their part for any post to thrive. Our post is blessed with many hard working volunteers who fill the officer positions and others who serve on committees, help with the Honor/Color Guard, help with hall setup and cleanup and otherwise play key roles on our team.

 

Here’s a big Thank You to those who help make the train run and the post grow.

From the Commander (April 2018)

By Pete Krawitz

 

As discussed during our March business meeting, I recently had the privilege of meeting with Arni Thomson and Brian Dodd, from Ballard Elks Lodge 827. Brian and Arni are working on a very ambitious project in hopes to pay tribute to some of the 4.7 million U.S. service members that served in WWI. Arni and Brian are embarking on a journey to catalog the names and burial sites of any known WWI veterans. Don’t we have a government agency for that? Well, I was surprised to learn that there isn’t an official list of U.S. service members who lost their lives in WWI. Additionally, finding said service information from the U.S. National Personnel Records agency is extremely difficult, if not impossible. A large amount of WWI veteran records were lost in the 1973 fire at the U.S. National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.

 

November 11, 2018, will mark the 100th Anniversary of the end of World War I (WWI). As many of you know, Ballard-Eagleson Post 3063 was named to honor local UW alum, Lt. James Eagleson, of the US Army’s 69th Coast Artillery Corps. Nearly 5 million Americans served in WWI with approximately, 116,516 never making it home. Lt Eagleson was one of those 116,516. He died of Pneumonia on his journey back from France. Sadly, just as many service members succumbed to disease during and shortly after the war (~63,114) compared to actual combat (~53,402). It’s sad to think that some of these names have been forgotten in many hometowns across America. This is where Brian and Arni have stepped in.

 

So far, Arni and Brian have walked through Ft. Lawton Cemetery and photographed 135 headstones identifying WWI veterans, and they have created an alphabetized database with date of birth, date of death, branch of service and designation of WWI service. They have also embarked on similar activities at private and public cemeteries in Alaska.

 

There are a few other cemeteries in the Seattle Area that Arni and Brian would like to survey. This is a big undertaking. As such, they have reached out to Post 3063 to see if we would be interested in assisting with this project. Ultimately, Brian and Arni would like to add to the database and eventually provide it to the WWI Centennial Commission. They hope that the idea will catch on and other VFW posts will join in and help spread the word.

 

I’m very inspired by what Arni and Brian are trying to do and would very much like to assist them in any way we can. Perhaps we can even consider a joint project with Boy Scout Troop 80? We will be talking about this project some more during our April business meeting. If you have any interest in this project and would like to lead or assist in some way, please come on out to the meeting on Thursday, April 5 at 7 p.m. Alternatively, please send me an e-mail to [email protected].

 

Yours in Comradeship

Seven Post Honor Guard Members Participate in Wreaths Across America Ceremony

By Joe Fitzgerald

 

Seven members of the Post 3063 Honor Guard participated in the Wreaths Across America (WAA) Memorial Service at Lakeview Cemetery on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 9 a.m. WAA is conducted on National Wreaths Across America Day every December at 1,400 locations throughout the U.S., at sea, and abroad.

 

It has been sponsored by the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) at that Lakeview Cemetery the past several years. The service starts at Arlington National Cemetery at noon (eastern) and is conducted simultaneously at every national cemetery across the country in addition to any other cemetery that has servicemen and women buried or interned and wants to participate. Various volunteers from “service type” organizations typically organize this ceremony at the various cemeteries throughout the country with participation of current or past members of the military.

From left to right: Anthony Rose, Dan Stokke, Norm Limric, Joe Fitzgerald, Harold Rodenberger, and Bill Griffith participate in the Dec. 16 Wreaths Across America Memorial Service at Lakeview Cemetery in Seattle.
From left to right: Anthony Rose, Dan Stokke, Norm Limric, Joe Fitzgerald, Harold Rodenberger, and Bill Griffith participate in the Dec. 16 Wreaths Across America Memorial Service at Lakeview Cemetery in Seattle.

 

Our connection to this cemetery has been through Comrade Bill Griffith who is a of the local SAR chapter. He asked us to participate last year, which was Post 3063 Honor Guard’s very first event. We did a three gun salute at a very cold, quick, and simple ceremony.

 

This year we had enough advanced notice (and more honor guard members) to conduct a larger ceremony.

 

It started with a salute to the Colors and the Pledge of Allegiance by the Honor Guard, followed by opening remarks by SAR, and then the Laying of the Wreaths.

 

A remembrance wreath was laid for members of each branch of the Armed forces, the Merchant Marines, and POW/MIA – a total of seven wreaths.

 

As each wreath was brought forward and the branch represented was announced, the bearer stepped between two Honor Guards (Bill Griffith and Harold Rodenberger), who then rendered a hand salute as the wreath was laid at the base of the pole flying the American Flag. Each of the seven wreaths was presented in the same way except for a special moment for the POW/MIA.

 

At the conclusion of the wreath laying, the Honor Guard rifle detail (Anthony Rose, Dan Stokke and Norm Limric) conducted a three-volley rifle salute.

 

Taps was then played by Barry Roberts who is a member of Buglers Across America.

 

Closing remarks by SAR concluded the ceremony.

 

Color Guard Captain Joe Fitzgerald assisted SAR President Dan Keen with developing the program and called out the various commands throughout the ceremony. Comrade Tiffany Cavin was the honor guard’s photographer.