. December 6, 2010 Volume 77, No. 20. Christmas Party

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1 . The Champaign EXCHANGER Unity for Service. December 6, 2010 Volume 77, No. 20 Football Guessing Contest has a winner. See page 9. Deadline for Christmas Party reservations are Thursday. New cartoon of the week. Christmas Party Tuesday December 14 at Kennedy s at Stone Creek Doris Miller is the first African American to receive the Navy Cross (posthumously). Japanese invade Pearl Harbor on 7 December National Convention info. Illini earn trip to bowl game. Remember our Veterans 13 December 2010 No Noon Meeting Christmas Party 6:00 Social Time 6:30 Dinner Cost - $32.00 Entertainment Urbana H.S. Honors String Quartet Exchangite of the Year Award Bring your donation checks made out to the Eastern Illinois Food Bank Next Noon Meeting December 20

2 20 December 2010 Last Luncheon of the Year & Board Meeting This will be a fun meeting to end a very successful Champaign Exchange year. The December board meeting will immediately follow lunch. 25 December 2010 Christmas Day Merry Christmas I hope everyone has a wonderful time with their family and friends today. 27 December 2010 No Noon Meeting Happy Holidays Keeping with tradition there s no meeting between Christmas & New Years. 3 January 2011 No Noon Meeting Happy New Year This is the last break before we jump into a very busy schedule through June. 10 January 2011 Salvation Army Leadership This will be our first noon meeting in the New Year after our 2-week hiatus. Our speakers will be Kristie & Michael Fuqua from the Champaign Salvation Army. 17 January 2011 No Noon Meeting Martin Luther King Holiday There will not be a noon luncheon meeting this Monday due to the Holiday. 24 January 2011 Program to be Announced & Board Meeting There will be a program this week and it will be followed by the board meeting. 21 February 2011 No Noon Meeting President s Day Holiday There will not be a noon meeting this Monday because it s the President s Day Holiday. The next meeting will be on February 28.

3 Coming Events 27 March TH Anniversary of National Exchange Founded on 27 March 1911 in Detroit, Michigan by Charles A. Berkey, the National Exchange Club celebrates a Century of Service to our Nation on this date. Our club plans on holding a special celebration luncheon. Our plans will be announced later this year. March/April 2011 Annual Firefighter of the Year Award Police Officer of the Year Award This will be our 35th year to honor a member of Champaign s finest, the Champaign Firefighters and Police Officers. June th Lincolnland District Convention Rock Island Holiday Inn The convention will be at the Holiday Inn in Rock Island. The Quad Cities Exchange Club is the host club & home club of District President Kathy Johnson. I ll have more details after the first of the year. Rock Island Holiday Inn Rock Island Holiday Inn 4 July 2011 GiveAKidAFlagToWave Program This will be our 26th year that we will be passing out American Flags to the kids along the parade route. This is a fun program for both the Champaign and Urbana Exchange members who participate each year. 6-9 July 2011 National Exchange Convention at the Detroit GM Renaissance Center Detroit Renaissance GM Renaissance Center Center This should be one of the best and most exciting National Conventions ever! I don t know how you can top the chance to attend the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the founding of the National Exchange Club. The headquarters has a wonderful convention planned and every Exchangite should make plans to attend if at all possible. Nancy and I are definitely planning to attend and we d be really disappointed if we didn t have a back seat full with Champaign Exchangites. Now for the good news the convention will be a lot less expensive than last year s in Palm Springs, CA, and a lot easier to get to also. Rooms are $122 for a single, double or triple. The central tower is 73 stories high with some magnificent views of Detroit, Windsor, Canada and the Detroit River. There are four movie theatres in the Renaissance Center along with a GM Showroom and Shopping Mall. Mark your calendar now and plan to attend.

4 6 December 2010 Meeting Invocation - Richard Adkins Pledge of Allegiance - Wally Lehman. Attendance - 8 Exchangites & 0 Guests Attendance Drawing - $20.00 Richard Adkins (Donated to Exchanger) Winter is definitely here as there was 9 inches of snow on the ground and very cold outside. Because of the weather we only had 8 brave Exchangites in attendance. It was great to have Richard Adkins with us again today. National Service Award Oscars Arrive President Williams was pleased to announce that the patches and Oscars for earning the National Service Award had arrived. Everyone present received their Oscar and the members not present can pick theirs up at the next meeting they attend. We qualified for the National Service Award by September 30, the first club in the Lincolnland District to do so and one of only 18 out of the 800 Exchange Clubs in the Nation to earn theirs by September 30. Football Guessing Contest Down To Last Weekend The Football Guessing Contest finally has a winner after 13 weeks of stiff competition and Tom Williams came out on top. Tom had 94 points and he was followed by Wally Lehman with 88, Frank Scantlebury 85, Thomas Williams 79, and Bill Dieker with 77. Consistency was Tom s secret as he only had one week with less than a 7 out of 10 correct choices. The only perfect 10 scores were recorded on the first week of the contest. The scores tended to get lower as the weeks went on, the upsets came in, and school s natural rivalry games took place. The contest winner wins a trip to the Illini s bowl game, but the winner has chosen not to go to the game. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs declaration of War

5 The start of the War of the Pacific Today the speaker was President Tom Williams and the topic of his presentation was Remembering Pearl Harbor and the War in the Pacific. He dedicated the presentation to the members of our club who have served in our Nation s military. The members of our club who are veterans are: Richard Adkins, Bill Dieker, Don Kruse, Merle Dunn, and Wally Lehman. If I left someone out I apologize. The talk included a PowerPoint presentation with 150 photos from 7 Dec as well as other related material. On 7 December 1941, the Japanese sprang a devastating surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. Six Japanese aircraft carriers, the largest naval force ever assembled up to that time, approached Hawaii and launched in three waves a total of 423 fighters and torpedo bombers on Pearl Harbor and the United States Pacific Naval Fleet. The only positive thing to happen that fateful day was the fact that our aircraft carriers were not in port and thus spared destruction. This unwarranted attack caused the single largest loss of American lives in one day until We suffered a total of 2,404 killed (including 67 civilians) and 1,178 wounded. The Japanese lost 55 men plus 9 midget submarine crews of two. We had 94 Navy and 65 Army aircraft destroyed, 5 of 8 battleships were sunk or badly damaged, and we lost 3/4 of our battle force stationed in Pearl Harbor at that time. The very next day President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke to a joint session of Congress of the United States after which the Senate unanimously voted for a declaration of war and the House voted for war by 388 to 1. Three days later Japan's allies, Germany & Italy, both declared war on the United States. Congress responded immediately by declaring war. Thus the European and Southeast Asian wars had become a global conflict with the Axis Powers; Japan, Germany, Italy and others, aligned against the Allied Powers; America, Britain, Soviet Russia & others. Epilogue - Messages intercepted on December 3rd and 4th weren't translated until December 10, The messages showed Tokyo asking for information concerning Pearl Harbor. Japan had no reason to ask for this information, unless it planned to use it to attack ships in the harbor. If translated sooner, these messages would have warned the U.S. of the imminent attack. Rescuing survivors near the U.S.S. West Virginia during the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor. In the 44 months of war that will follow, the U.S. Navy will sink every one of the Japanese aircraft carriers, battleships, and cruisers in this strike force. And when Japan signs the surrender document on September 2, 1945, among the U.S. warships in Tokyo Bay will be a victim of the attack, the U.S.S. West Virginia.

6 Before the attack on Pearl Harbor Map showing route the Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor. The carriers were 230 miles north of Oahu. Planes at Hickam Field on Ford Island before the air strike. Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku carried the taskforce commander Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. Hickam Field planes after air strike. Japanese Zeros preparing to take off. One of the 68 civilian casualties. View of Pearl Harbor just 6 weeks before the Japanese air strike. This casualty has 90% of his body covered with third and fourth degree burns from the burning oil.

7 Wreckage of the U.S.S. Downes U.S.S. Shaw Explodes U.S.S. Arizona Explodes U.S.S. Oklahoma Capsizes John W. Finn, with his wife, Alice, was awarded the Medal of Honor during ceremonies at Pearl Harbor in John Finn was the only Medal of Honor recipient for action in combat. He died in May 2010 at the age of 100 years. The other 14 recipients received their medals for rescue attempts during the catastrophe, many posthumously. Destroyed Army Aircraft at Wheeler Field

8 Pearl Harbor Medal of Honor Recipients Japanese surrender on board the U.S.S. Missouri ending the War of the Pacific U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor Mervyn Sharp Bennion * John William Finn Francis Charles Flaherty * Samuel Glenn Fuqua Edwin Joseph Hill * Herbert Charpoit Jones * Issac Campbell Kidd * Jackson Charles Pharris Thomas James Reeve * Donald Kirby Ross Robert R. Scott * Peter Tomich * Franklin Van Valkenburgh * James Richard Ward * Cassin Young * Awarded Posthumously Pearl Harbor Today

9 Final Football Guessing Contest Results Name Gross Net Tom Williams Wally Lehman Frank Scantlebury Thomas Williams Bill Dieker Nancy Williams Christine Felty Don Kruse Dottie Mikucki Anne Johnston Gross Total before dropping lowest score. Net After dropping lowest weekly score (shown in Green). Donations $2.00 $1.00 $10.00 $4.00 $1.00 $2.00 $10.00 $1.00 $$$ Green Box News Notes $$$ Richard Adkins Because my youngest daughter (Leslie) is returning to Illinois from Colorado to attend Columbia School of Art in Chicago in Bill Dieker Because the snow is okay, but now let it warm up; also we need to extend our appreciation to Tom for his diligence in leading us this past year. Christine Felty Because my husband Harold Felty, along with 3 brothers and 2 sisters (Nursing Corps), served during WWII. (Editor s note Christine gave a lot of information about her relatives who served during WWII that I didn t have space to print. Hopeful we can get to them at a later date.) Wally Lehman $3.00 for Exchanger expenses and $1.00 for a trip to Belize and Guatemala on the 14th so I will see everyone on January 10th. Frank Scantlebury Because I am looking for some warm weather. Nancy Williams In honor of our speaker Tom and for the beauty of the snowy landscape. Tom Williams In honor of our club s veterans and all veterans, the Illini earning a trip to a bowl game, and the great Illini basketball wins over North Carolina and Gonzaga last week. Thomas Williams For the Illinois basketball victory and good Fisher Girls bball games last week.

10 Exchange, America's Premier Service Club, working to make our communities better places to live. The Exchange Club of Champaign, Illinois 1812 Coventry Drive Champaign, IL Phone: (217) President: Tom Williams President-Elect: Cheryl Stewart Secretary/Treasurer: Nancy Williams Editor: Ton Williams Exchange Covenant of Service Accepting the divine privilege of single and collective responsibility as life s noblest gift, I covenant with my fellow Exchangites: To consecrate my best energies to the uplifting of Social, Religious, Political and Business ideals; To discharge the debt I owe to those of high and low estate who have served and sacrificed that the heritage of American citizenship might be mine; To honor and respect law, to serve my fellowmen, and to uphold the ideals and institutions of my Country; To implant the life-giving, society-building spirit of Service and Comradeship in my social and business relationships; To serve in Unity with those seeking better conditions, better understandings, and greater opportunities for all. Directors: Bill Dieker Anne Johnston Wally Lehman Frank Scantlebury Jim Stewart Thomas Williams Editor: Tom Williams tw1812@aol.com Meeting Time & Location: Every Monday at 12:00 Noon O Charley s Restaurant 730 W. Town Center Blvd. Champaign, IL O Charley s Child Abuse Prevention - Americanism - Community Service - Service to Youth Exchange Club of Champaign Coventry Drive Champaign, IL Exchange, America's Premier Service Club, working to make our communities better places to live.