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This is the electronic version of the printed newsletter. The information contained within this E-Newsletter is the same as that contained within the printed newsletter. However, the format and layout will appear to be different and the electronic version can be updated as needed.
VFW Statement of Purpose: To preserve and strengthen comradeship among its members; to assist worthy comrades; to perpetuate the memory and history of our dead, and to assist their widows and orphans; to maintain true allegiance to the Government of the United States of America, fidelity to its Constitution and laws; to foster true patriotism; to maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom and to preserve and defend the United States from all her enemies, whomsoever. (Article 1 of VFW Constitution)
Commander's Corner
By Commander Roger Leger
I would like to thank all those individuals that have contributed to and helped bring this newsletter together. I hope that a monthly newsletter will not only keep the membership better informed about post activities, but will also encourage more active membership participation.
On Saturday, December 30th at 7 pm, we are proud to host an Appreciation Night for all returning Salem Area Veterans from Iraq and Afganistan. We encourage a great membership turnout in support of our returning vets.
I would like to wish all membership and their families a very happy and safe holiday season.
Messages From The Board of Directors
By President Jack Lyons
There will be a Membership and Board Meeting on December 13th at 7 pm. The Christmas Party and New Years Eve Party will be discussed. The Board is encouraging membership to show up for the meeting.
The January meeting is planned for January 15th at 7 pm.
The Board of Directors wishes all membership and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Have a safe holiday season.
Salem Veterans Services
By Jean-Guy Martineau
Happy Holidays from the Salem Veterans Services. If you are in need of any of our services, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Salem Veterans Services
Office Phone: 978 745-0883
Cell Phone: 978 375-9699
Location: 5 Broad Street, 3rd Floor, Council on Aging Building, Salem, MA.
Overseas Duty: Ray Martineau
Ray Martineau, son of Board Vice President, J.C. Martineau, will be returning home to his wife, children, family and friends by the end of the year (2006) from an overseas tour in the Middle East. We all look forward to his safe return.
Announcements
TOYS FOR TOTS - December 15th, 9-2 pm: The Marine Corp League is hosting Toys For Tots at the Salem High School. Gifts for boys and girls are needed for the socially disadvantaged children in Salem. Please give freely and help give these kids a nice holiday.
Witch City VFW Post #1524 provides American Flag disposal for used, worn, badly torn, soiled, or otherwise unusable flags that are no longer a fitting emblem for display. Please contact the post or bring your flag to the post and the post will dispose of you flag in the proper manner. 978-745-0010.
Community Announcements
Buddy Poppy cans are located on the canteen bar. Please give generously to help support veterans and their families. The VFW Buddy Poppy is assembled in Veterans Hospitals and Veterans Homes by disabled, needy and aging veterans across the country. The Buddy Poppies are distributed by VFW Posts and their Ladies Auxiliaries. The minimal assessment (cost of the Buddy Poppies) to VFW units provides compensation to the veterans who assemble the poppies, provides financial assistance in maintaining state and national veterans' rehabilitation and service programs and partially supports the VFW National Home for orphans and widows of our nation's veterans. Each VFW Post maintains a relief fund in which the net profits from the distribution of Buddy Poppies are placed. These funds are used to help needy veterans and their families.
Thank you to all those individuals who collected for the Poppy Drive!
Monthly Post Meetings
Check Announcements and Calendars for any scheduled changes. Note: The meeting in December has been changed to December 13th. See Board Messages above.
Canteen Announcements
By Manager William Harrison Jr.
A Friendly Reminder to All Membership: Annual membership fees are due to be paid by January 1st, 2007.
Monday: Noon - Midnight
Tuesday: Noon - Midnight
Wednesday: Noon - Midnight
Thursday: Noon - Midnight
Friday: Noon - Midnight
Saturday: 8 am - Midnight
Sunday: Noon - Midnight
VFW Social Activities
See Sign-up Sheets on Bulletin Board for attendance, potluck dish, and clean-up volunteering
VFW Regular Post Social Activities
Salem Veterans Council
By Commander Darrin Potorski
The Salem Veterans Council and the participating veterans organizations:Are pooling their financial resources to purchase a 60 inch LCD TV for the Bedford Veterans Hospital.
- Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Witch City Post #1524
- Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Chapter #84
- Polish League of American Veterans (PLAV) Post #55
- Marine Corp League
- 2nd Corp Cadets
The television was bought and delivered to the Bedford Veterans Hospital. The residents are excited about the television and are enjoying their new gift.
Ladies Auxiliary
By President Vinnie Cavanaugh
VFW Newsletter Editorial
By Leather Dupris, Web Tech
I have to admit, when Commander Roger Leger called me about doing a newsletter for the post, I was a bit nervous, but also excited. With some background in journalism, I know it will be a challenge and considerably more work than running a website, but one that I hope will be met with success. My goal is to be able to help by informing our VFW membership about veteran related news and post activities as well as bringing out more active membership participation and support, making a stronger, more unified post membership. I am looking forward to actively working with all post members and leaders as well as members of other community veterans organizations. This newletter will be the efforts of many people working together to make it happen.
Featured Veteran of the Month
This Month's Featured Veteran of the Month is:
William J. Harrison Jr.
Friends and associates often refer to him as Bill. We are proud to recognize and appreciate the dedicated service and contributions William J. Harrison Jr. has given our post over the many years he has been an active, untiring supporter of the Veterans of the United States and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post #1524.
William J. Harrison Jr. is a United States Navy Veteran and a Life Member of the VFW. William is a lifelong resident and native of Salem, Massachusetts and along with his lovely wife Kay have raised 3 children and are currently raising their grandson, Billy. He is presently the Canteen Manager of Witch City Post #1524 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
William J. Harrison Jr. is also a member of the American Legion Post #331 and a member of the Polish League of American Veterans (PLAV) Post #55.
Awards for Meritorious & Distinguished Services were presented to William J. Harrison Jr. from the City of Salem, Massachusetts as well as the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and the Massachusetts State Senate. Congressional Recognition was received from John Tierney, a member of Congress in Washington D.C. and the Department of Massachusetts Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The Salem Veterans Council Awards were bestowed upon William J. Harrison Jr. as Post Commander 2000-2004, All State Commander 2001-2004, District 10 Commander 2003-2004, All State District 10 Commander 2003-2004, and Salem Veterans Council Commander 2001-2005. William was named National Aide De Camp, by then National Commander John Fergess for the year 2004-2005 for outstanding service to the Veterans of Foreign Wars while serving as District 10 Commander for the Department of Massachusetts under State Commander Robert Vankirk.
William J. Harrison Jr. served aboard the USS ARD-18, a floating drydock in Gitrao Bay, Cuba. He served aboard the USS WACCAMAW A-109, a tanker in the Seventh Fleet.
"I will always work with and for the Veterans of this Country"...
Yours in Commradship, William J. Harrison Jr.
Health & Wellness News & Announcements
Obituary
No Obituary Announcements.
VFW State Announcements
VFW National Announcements
(From VFW HQ E-News)
VFW Commander Furious at 3 Republican Senators
WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2006 - "The national commander of the nation's largest organization of combat veterans is furious that three Republican senators are holding hostage the passage of key fiscal year 2007 funding bills that prevent the federal government from improving upon the programs and services it provides to America's veterans, service members and their families. Gary Kurpius, the commander-in-chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., said the actions this week by Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Jeff Sessions of Alabama were "nothing short of pure partisan politics and sheer arrogance towards the new Democrat- controlled 110th Congress."
At issue are spending bills that the administration and most in Congress want to pass this year before the 109th Congress ends. By holding up the process, the three senators are undercutting vital prosthetic and traumatic brain-injury research for returning troops, delaying staffing increases and infrastructure improvements within the Department of Veterans Affairs, and exacerbating an already out of control VA backlog that exceeds 820,000 claims. The government's fiscal year began October 1.
"There are 351,000 veterans in Oklahoma, 412,000 in South Carolina and 422,000 in Alabama who are going to be directly impacted by their senators who have put politics above their constituency," said Kurpius, a Vietnam veteran from Anchorage. "What occurred on November 7 was an exact reversal of what occurred in 1994 when Republicans swept control of both houses of Congress," he said. "These three senators obviously forgot that it is the will of the people that keeps them in office, not their political party." Kurpius is now calling on all veterans and service members to contact their U.S. senators to bring pressure upon Coburn, DeMint and Sessions before the 109th Congress adjourns next month. Contact your senator. "Our war is against an enemy that wants to destroy everything American; it is not a war between Republicans and Democrats," he said. "Our elected officials need to pass the budget and do the jobs they were elected to do. Supporting our veterans and those who serve in uniform are nonpartisan, nonnegotiable issues."
(From VFW HQ E-News)
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Dec. 11, 2006--The comments made by Cumberland, Md., Veterans of Foreign Wars Post Commander Colin Engelbach on last night’s CBS 60 Minutes show were personal and are not representative of the 2.4 million members of the VFW and its Auxiliaries. In the broadcast story, entitled “Exposing the Truth of Abu Ghraib,” Engelbach told 60 Minutes what townspeople were calling Army Reservist Joseph Darby, whose disclosure led to the investigation and punishment of fellow unit members who were abusing prisoners at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib Prison.
"He was a rat. He was a traitor. He let his unit down. He let his fellow soldiers down and the U.S. military. Basically he was no good," Engelbach said the townspeople were calling Darby. Asked by the reporter if he agreed with those statements, Engelbach said, "I agree that his actions that he did were no good and borderline traitor."
When the story of the prison abuse first became public, U.S. service personnel -- universally and immediately -- condemned the abhorrent actions of those responsible. The VFW agrees with that assessment by our military members and acknowledges that the events at Abu Ghraib Prison did much damage to how the U.S. is perceived around the world.
The military justice system and our military leaders have effectively addressed those who were involved with the unlawful acts, and the actions of a very few should not be allowed to distort the dedication, sacrifice and honorable service of the more than one million servicemembers serving today.
(From VFW HQ E-News)
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Dec. 7, 2006--Actor and host of the History Channel’s Mail Call, R. Lee Ermey, along with Missouri JROTC students from Wentworth Military Academy and Hickman Mills, are challenging high school JROTC students across the nation to join forces with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Foundation to raise funds for Unmet Needs, an emergency-assistance initiative created in 2004 with Vermont American Power Tool Accessories.
Ermey, called “The Gunny” by his ardent fans, is the official spokesperson for Unmet Needs and a staunch supporter of military families. Having visited the troops in Iraq and their families back home, Ermey has seen firsthand how extended deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan have created adverse situations for numerous military families, especially to families of Guard and Reservists. The Unmet Needs program helps these families with essential home and auto repairs, groceries, prescriptions, mortgages, rent and more.
“The families of deployed service men and women are suffering,” said the Marine Corp veteran. “This nation is at war, and we need to support our military personnel in every way we can. That includes making sure their families can pay their bills and meet unexpected needs. When a family is about to be evicted while its breadwinner is defending our country, well, that’s reprehensible,” Ermey said of the struggle facing some of the 700,000 spouses left behind when a member deploys.
Ermey added that the Unmet Needs initiative also would be a wonderful holiday gift to the troops and help make the holiday season brighter to those in dire need of help. Unmet Needs, which is executed in conjunction with the VFW Foundation, has distributed more than $1.2 million grants to more than 750 U.S. military families to date. The company’s seed money of $1.25 million to cover the administration of the program ensures that 100 percent of all subsequent donations to Unmet Needs goes directly to grant recipients.
Mike Gormalley, VFW Foundation senior director, praised Ermey and the Greater Kansas City JROTC students for their enthusiasm and support for VFW troop-support programs, emphasizing that there are more 450,000 cadets enrolled in JROTC programs nationwide.
“Ermey’s challenge could very well generate thousands of dollars," Gormalley added.
Early next year, VFW Foundation and Unmet Needs will be featured on ABC Family network in a segment on “Getting America Involved” as part of a series on Touching Hearts and Changing Lives.
Created as a not-for-profit organization, the VFW Foundation, based in Kansas City, Mo., depends on corporate and foundation dollars to build and grow its programs to improve the lives of military, veterans, families and the communities in which they live and work. The VFW Foundation recently received top ratings from two prestigious national organizations that study and evaluate charities all over the country. Charity Navigator rated the VFW Foundation a four out of a possible four stars indicating excellence in allocating and growing finances in the most fiscally responsible way possible. The Foundation also received a “Best In America” seal of approval recognition from the Independent Charities of America, one of only 1,500 awarded out of more than 50,000 charities in the U.S. for either meeting or exceeding the rigorous standards set by the National Council of Nonprofit Organizations.
With a legacy built on service and community, the VFW’s mandate of service honors the dead by helping the living For more than 100 years, the VFW’s success has been built on service and community via millions of volunteer hours, strong support of our country’s youth, patriotic education, youth scholarship, and unwavering services to the military, its veterans, and their families.
If you would like to help, please contact your local high school’s JROTC unit or visit Unmet Needs.
(From VFW HQ E-News)
SOMERS, N.Y., Nov. 7, 2006--It is one of the most meaningful gifts U.S. soldiers stationed overseas can receive: the chance to talk to their loved ones back home.
Now, The Pepsi Bottling Group Foundation The PBG Foundation) is giving that gift to deployed service members and hospitalized veterans - through the Veterans of Foreign Wars Operation Uplink program. The PBG Foundation is making a $20,000 donation to Operation Uplink on behalf of the company's more than 3,000 employees who are veterans.
The VFW's program provides individual calling cards to military personnel overseas and hospitalized veterans. The 5,000 soldiers who receive these cards will hear a message prior to each call telling them that their card was donated by The PBG Foundation on behalf of PBG's veterans. Funded solely by donations, Operation Uplink has distributed more than 8 million phone cards since its inception in 1996.
"We are thrilled that the VFW Foundation and Operation Uplink are the recipients of The Pepsi Bottling Group Foundation's benevolence," said Allen "Gunner" Kent, VFW adjutant general and president of the VFW Foundation. "What a wonderful Veterans Day tribute to our men and women in uniform. On behalf of all of our service members, I want to extend a heartfelt thanks to the men and women of PBG: By bridging the communication gap, The Pepsi Bottling Group has brought smiles and tears to thousands of those who serve."
"As we thought about the best way to celebrate this Veterans Day, we decided that giving our troops something our own PBG veterans would have appreciated when they were deployed - an opportunity to speak to their families more often - would be a great way to honor both groups," said Eric J. Foss, President and Chief Executive Officer of PBG. "Through this donation, we salute all service people and veterans for the sacrifice they are making, and have made, for our country."
The VFW receives countless e-mails from service members about the impact these calling cards has on them - and their colleagues. "The phone cards make all the difference in the lives of the troops here," wrote Rachel Eichenberger, who is stationed at Camp Lemonier in the African nation of Djibouti. "The other day I handed my last few out to personnel and it was like Christmas for them."
The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. is the world's largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages with operations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Turkey and Greece.
Operation Uplink
(From VFW HQ E-News)
Just in time for the holidays, the VFW National Home for Children will begin to put a generous gift to use by breaking ground for another new duplex to help care for families of our nation's veterans and active duty military.
At their recent meeting, the National Home's Board of Trustees authorized the new construction on the 629-acre campus. The project will be funded by a portion of the $3.5 million charitable donation that resulted from the 2006 Memorial Day Dealership Campaign conducted by the Buick-Pontiac-GMC Division of General Motors Corp.
(From VFW HQ E-News)
Tickets to the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl are available to any veteran desiring to attend the Dec. 23 football classic between the Universities of Tulsa and Utah at Amon Carter Stadium in Fort Worth.
(http://www.armedforcesbowl.com)
(From VFW HQ E-News)
VFW/Dell Computer Discount Program
The VFW and Dell have joined together to offer discounted computer systems to Posts, Departments, Members and Employees.
VFW Members/Employees:
If you are a member or an employee of the VFW, you may visit Dell's EPP (Employee Purchase Program) site, where you can custom build a computer system to suit your needs. The savings are already calculated for you, so get started on your new computer system today!
Members click here to visit the Dell EPP page.
To order by phone, please call 1-800-695-8133, and mention ID# PS30482412.
VFW Posts / Departments:
If you are a Post or Department, you may visit the Dell Premiere page, where you can select from a list of pre-selected systems, each configured to suit your Post/Department's needs. We have provided a "base" set of configurations, but each configuration can be upgraded, depending on your specific needs. You can also custom-build a system. All computer systems purchased through the Dell Premiere page come with 24/7 U.S.-based customer support!
Posts and Departments click here to visit the Dell Premiere page.
To order by phone, please call 1-866-746-4977, and mention ID# PS76832215.
*NOTE: Clicking on the links to the Dell website will open a new browser and take you to the Dell.com website.
The Dell logo is a trademark of Dell Computer Corporation.
Internet - Online Resources
www.moondragon.org/salem/vfw.html
Classified Ads
Contact: Leather Dupris at 978 744 5593.
Drop off address: 0 (Zero) Boardman Street, #1, Salem (across from the Salem Commons)If you would like to place a classified ad, become a business sponsor (with an ad placed in the newsletter), or submit news to the newletter,
Please contact:
Commander Roger Leger:
978 745-0010
Leather Dupris:
978 744-5583
VFW Email: vfw1524@aol.com
December is Universal Human Rights Month
Birth Stone: Turquoise
Birth Flower: Narcissus
Astrological Signs: Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21
Capricorn: December 22 - January 19
Sun Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat 1
AIDS Awareness Day
Friday Night Raffle
9:30 pm2
Karaoke Night
7 pm3 4 Full Moon 5 6 7
Pearl Harbor Day
Pool League
7 pm8
Friday Night Raffle
9:30 pm9
Karaoke Night
7 pm10
Human Rights Day11 12 13
Membership Meeting
7 pm14
Pool League
7 pm15
Hanukkah Begins
Toys For Tots
Salem H.S.
Friday Night Raffle
9:30 pm16
Chrismas Party
Yankee Gift Swap
7 pm17
500 Club Raffle
8 pm18 19 20
New Moon21
Winter Solstice
Yule Celebration
Pool League
7 pm22
First Day of Winter
Friday Night Raffle
9:30 pm23
Karaoke Night
7 pm24
Christmas Eve
VFW Closes
At 6 pm25
Christmas Day
VFW Closed26
Kwanzaa Begins27 28
Pool League
7 pm29
Friday Night Raffle
9:30 pm30
Returning Veteran Appreciation Night
7 pm31
New Years Eve Party
7pm
FYI: The precise moment of the 2006 solstice will be December 21, 2006 at 7:22 P.M. EST (Dec. 22, 00:22 UT). The winter solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. The sun appears at its lowest point in the sky, and its noontime elevation appears to be the same for several days before and after the solstice. The origin of the word solstice, which comes from Latin solstitium, from sol, "sun" and -stitium, "a stoppage." Following the winter solstice, the days grow longer, the nights shorter.
January is National Blood Donor Month
Birth Stone: Garnet
Birth Flower: Carnation, Snowdrop
Astrological Signs: Capricorn: December 22 - January 19
Aquarius: January 20 - February 18
Sun Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat 1
New Years Day2
VFW Annual
Membership
Fees are Due3
Full Moon4
Pool League
7 pm5
Friday Night Raffle
9:30 pm6
Karaoke Night
7 pm7 8 9 10
Save the Eagles Day11
Pool League
7 pm12
Friday Night Raffle
9:30 pm13
Karaoke Night
7 pm14 15
Monthly Membership Meeting
7 pm16 17
Ben Franklin's Birthday18
Pool League
7 pm19
New Moon
Friday Night Raffle
9:30 pm20
Karaoke Night
7pm21 22 23 24 25
Pool League
7 pm26
Friday Night Raffle
9:30 pm27
Karaoke Night
7 pm28
500 Club Raffle
8 pm29 30 31
Vfw1524@aol.com
Please, if you want your post to be listed on this website, email the webmistress at MoonDragon2@aol.com and put VFW Listing in the subject line.
This page updated December 29, 2006
Veteran-Related & Non-Veteran Links
Honoring American Veterans, Past & Present
Tricorn Donates a Portion of Each Commemorative Medal Sale to the
Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund
Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund
www.freedomalliance.org
If you are a visitor to Massachusetts (especially to the Boston Metro area) This is a humorous look at navigating and driving in the Boston region. Click below:
If you would like to visit the rest of my website, please feel free to click on these links:
(Has my Guestbook if you would like to leave a message.)
This webpage has been donated by MoonDragon Birthing Services and is maintained by the MoonDragon.org webmistress. If you have a webpage for your VFW post or other veterans-related website and you would like to be included in these links, please email me at moondragon2@aol.com. Upon receiving your email, I will be happy to visit your website to verify the link and view it and then, upon approval, will include a link. Please feel free to include a link for our webpage on your website.
WebPage Design & Maintenance By:
Leather Dupris
MoonDragon Birthing Services
0 (Zero) Boardman Street
Salem, MA 01970
978- 744-5583
Website: www.MoonDragon.org
