Volume 11 Issue 11 VFW Post 7356 May 1, South Platte Memorial Post 7356 Monthly Newsletter Post Officers -

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1 Volume 10, Issue 3 South Platte Memorial Post 7356 Monthly Newsletter Commanders Corner September 1, 2011 The VFW Post and Ladies Auxiliary had election of officers on April 25, 2013 for the program year There will be a listing of the newly elected officers printed later in this newsletter. Remember they are install in May, be there. I strongly encourage everyone to support them for the New Program Year as they will need your help or will be asking for volunteers to help. We have an exceptional Post of volunteers and I ve always appreciated the help that I have had while I was Commander. We have a great opportunity in the month of May to do some great community service. We can help our Post during the Memorial Day weekend by volunteering to help distribute Buddy Poppies. We will need volunteers for May 24 through May 27 th at four different locations. The four stores that we will be manning are Wal- Mart, Hy-Vee on 64 th Street, Red-X and Corner Café. The signup sheets will be available at the Post on Saturday mornings or you can contact the Buddy Poppy chairman Ricky Butler at You will also be able to sign up on-line. The instructions and website will also be available in this newsletter. This is one of our best fundraiser opportunities that we have to raise money to support the Post. We recently lost our District 3 Commander Danny Gabriel on April 24, He had been our District 3 Commander for the last two years. He will deeply be missed. Please remember Commander Gabriel s family in your thoughts and prayers. His Memorial service was held on Tuesday, April 30. The District 3 meeting was held on April 28 th at the Saint Joseph VFW Post The new District Officers were elected and installed and will take their new positions on June 8, 2013 after the Department Officers are installed. At the District 3 meeting on April 28, 2013 I was presented with the traveling eagle trophy for the Post having the most members present at all four District 3 meetings this past year. We now get to keep the eagle trophy permanently. I wish to thank my line officers and other Post members who have attended the meetings. The eagle trophy will be on display at the Post. On May 14 th, we will be having our second Tuesday social dinner at Marty s Bar-B-Q located in the Picture Hills Shopping center at 6427 N. Cosby Ave., Kansas City, MO. Please join us on May 14 th for a great meal and social time. We will be meeting at the restaurant between 6 and 6:30 PM. John Bugg Commander I encourage all members to check out our Post s website; Post Officers - Commander John Bugg Judge Advocate.Larry Maher Sr. Vice Commander.John Hoffman Chaplain.Eugene Whitney Jr. Vice Commander Ricky Butler Surgeon.Mike Vogt Quartermaster.Thomas Winkelbauer year Trustee.Debra Anderson Adjutant...Robert Eckerle year Trustee...John Holton Post & District 3 VSIO.Philip Duncan year Trustee..T.J. Hainkel Page 1

2 Post Officers - Commander John Hoffman Judge Advocate.Larry Maher Sr. Vice Commander. Ricky Butler Chaplain.Eugene Whitney Jr. Vice Commander Ben Windsor Surgeon.Mike Vogt Quartermaster.Thomas Winkelbauer year Trustee.John Bugg Adjutant...Robert Eckerle year Trustee...Debra Anderson Post & District 3 VSIO.Philip Duncan year Trustee..John Holton Memorial Day Ceremony: In honor of former Post 4050 we will once again conduct the Memorial Day Ceremony at the North Kansas City Memorial Park located on the corner of East 23rd and Howell St. Across the street from the North Kansas City High School. This Ceremony will commence at 1:30 p.m. Memorial Day Buddy Poppy Distribution The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7356 will be conducting our "Buddy" Poppy campaign for Memorial Day weekend The dates are May 24, 25, 25 & 27, The times are noon until 6 pm on the 24th and 26th and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 25th and 27th. We will be working Hy-Vee on Barry Road, Corner Cafe, Red-X and Wal-Mart. Volunteers are needed to support this activity. Remember donations received goes to support our Veteran Service work, our youth scholarships, the VFW National Home for Children, and our active duty. Sign-up by stopping at the Post on Saturday morning or calling Ricky Butler at Or easier yet just go online to and register. Heart of America Stand Down Needs Your Help If you would like to help drop by items no later than May 25th to the Post and we will get the items delivered. Items that are requested are Men s new underwear/socks, women s new socks, bras, hose. Men and Women s t-shirts, shorts, sweatshirts/hoodies, professional clothes, work clothes and shoes. Hygiene items such as soap, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, body/hand lotion, disposable razors, shaving cream, combs, towels, deodorant, washcloths, tooth brush, tooth paste and dental floss. Children's items all sizes and items are also requested. Page 2

3 South Platte Memorial Post 7356 Ladies Auxiliary Newsletter Ladies: Elections are over and the new officers will be sworn into office at the May meeting. Your new officers for are: President: Cheryl Hainkel Sr. Vice: Burnell Duncan Jr. Vice: Bobbie Jordan Chaplain: Betty Gianessi Conductress: Crystal Deshaze Treasurer: Judith Green Guard: Michelle Mallory They are a fantastic slate of officers and will do a great job of leading us to bigger and better things in the coming year. A full slate of officers will appear in next month s newsletter. It is time for you to sign-up for Buddy Poppy distribution. We will be distributing poppies at HY-Vee on 64th St., Walmart, Red X and Corner Café during Memorial weekend. You can sign-up at breakfast Saturday morning or on line. We need everyone to participate. This is our big money raiser. With the money we raise, we are able to help veterans and their families. We will be meeting at Marty s Bar-B-Q on Tuesday, May 14th. We have a lot of fun as we have an opportunity to just socialize. Please plan to meet us there. The location is in the Picture Hills Shopping Center at 6427 N. Cosby Ave. Please join us between 6:00 and 6:30 P.M. On April 24th we said goodbye to a very wonderful man. Danny Gabriel served as the District 3 Commander for the years He always had a smile and witty remark. He will be greatly missed. Please remember his family. Cards can be sent to Margaret Gabriel 911 West Chestnut Savannah, MO Sharon Bugg President President: Sharon Bugg or sycbugg@kc.rr.com Senior Vice: Cheryl Hainkel or otterhalf@msn.com Jr. Vice: Bernell Duncan or philduncan@kc.rr.com Secretary: Linda Eckerle or lindae8110@aol.com Treasurer: Rosemary Nollette or kcrosecan@sbcglobal.net Conductress: Judith Greene or hwkeye@kc.rr.com Chaplain: Betty Gianessi or betty@gianessi.name Guard: Melvadeen Richardson or mar-rhr@prodigy.net 3 year Trustee: Betty Holton or bettyholton@kc.rr.com 2 year Trustee: Billy Clark or bilm@kc.rr.com 1 year Trustee: Betty Gianessi or betty@gianessi.name Page 3

4 VFW Golf Tournament The VFW Annual Golf Tournament is scheduled for Monday, July 29th, 2013 at the "Deuce" at the National Golf Club of Kansas City. It will be a "Four Person Scramble" format. An awards dinner will follow with a live and silent auction. We encourage golfers of all skill levels to join us. We are looking forward to a great day of fun in the sun, to honor the service of our Nation's Veterans! Single Entry Player $125 donation, Team of Four Players $400 donation. We are a 501c19 Charitable organization, so your donations are tax deductible. We ask that you add your shirt size to comments and remit your donations to VFW Post 7356, P.O. Box 12121, Parkville, Mo Team Sign-up Cutoff Date is Friday July 19th at NOON, Please call Jerry Felker at for team names and shirt sizes. DATE: 7/29/2013 (Mon 8:00AM - 4:00PM) LOCATION: National Golf Club signup online athttp:// Page 4

5 On March 20th, 2013 the Senate passed an amendment to the Defense Continuing Resolution,H.R. 933, that will reinstate the military Tuition Assistance, or TA, program under sequestration. The amendment, S. Amdt. 72, was introduced by Sens. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and championed by the VFW, American Legion and Student Veterans of America. The sculpture pictured here is real. As a part of the U.S. Army s Task Force Ironhorse, the 4th Infantry Division was deployed in Iraq for most of 2003, participated in the capture of Saddam Hussein in December 2003, and saw many of their comrades killed and wounded in the violence that followed the end of major combat operations. In mid- 2003, while the 4th Infantry Division was headquartered in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein s hometown, Command Sgt. Maj. Charles Fuss headed up a project to commemorate the unit s dead and conceived of a memorial featuring the figure of a forlorn soldier kneeling to morn before empty helmet, boots, and riffle with a young Iraqi girl comforting him. Needing a sculptor to carry out his vision, Sgt. Maj. Fuss and other Americans asked around for local talent, and an Iraqi contractor recommend a 27-year-old artist named Khalid Alussy to them. As it turned out, Mr. Alussy was one of several artisans who had worked on a pair of 50-fott bronze statues of Saddam Hussein on horseback that flanked the gateway on the main road into the presidential palace compound in Tikrit, the site of the 4th Infantry Division s temporary headquarters. Commissioned by 4th Infantry Division officers to fashion the memorial conceptualized by Sgt. Maj. Fuss, Khalid Alussy took the assignment for the payment of $8,000 for his labor. In July 2003, Army engineers blew up the two Saddam statues, cut them into pieces, melted them down, and delivered the bronze to Mr. Alussy s house. After four month s worth of night and weekend labor, Mr. Alussy completed his assignment, and the statute was installed in an entranceway inside the 4th Infantry Division s headquarters in Tikrit. In February 2004 the statute was flown to the 4th Infantry Division Museum at the unit s home base of Fort Hood, Texas. Newsletter Help Needed: Notice to all Officers and Chairs of Committee s. of VFW and Ladies Auxiliary We need your articles. Help us deliver a meaningful newsletter. Send your articles in preferably a Microsoft Word format to the editor Robert Eckerle at roberte201@sbcglobal.net no later than the day following our monthly meeting. Only exception to this is June of 2013 when the cut-off will be June 20th. Thank You Page 5

6 South Platte Memorial Post 7356 P.O. Box Tom Watson Parkway Parkville, MO Hall Rental - Contact Pete Lobdell at Cell The Pentagon announced April 15th that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has cancelled the creation of the Distinguished Warfare Medal, and instead will create a new device to affix to existing medals to properly recognize drone operators, cyber warriors and others who are making a tremendous realtime impact on battlefields far away. John E. Hamilton, national commander of the 2 millionmember Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. and its Auxiliaries, said the right decision was made. The VFW is appreciative of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for their review, and commends Secretary Hagel for taking this issue on so early in his tenure. This decision will clearly keep medals that can only be earned in combat in their high order of precedence, while providing proper recognition to all who support our warfighters regardless of their distance from the fight. Veterans Helping Veterans No One Does More for Veterans Calendar of Events The shape of the new device, the medals it can be affixed to, plus award eligibility, are expected to be determined within the next 90 days. May st - Loyalty Day 2nd - National Day of Prayer 2nd - Members Social 7 pm 6th - Nurses Day 8th - V-E Day Declared th - Members Social 7 pm 10th - Military Spouses Day 12th - Mothers Day (fly flag) 14th - Social Dinner 6 pm 15th - Peace Officers Memorial Day (fly flag half staff) 16th - Members Social 7 pm 18th - Armed Forced Day (fly flag) 23rd - VFW/Ladies Auxiliary Meeting 7 pm 27th - Memorial Day (fly flag half staff until noon) Memorial Day Ceremony North Kansas City 1:30 pm 30th - Members Social 7 pm Monthly Every Saturday Morning 7:30 to 10:00 a.m. Breakfast. Every Monday Night Civil Air Patrol 7-9 p.m. June th - Members Social 7 pm 6th - 9th Department Convention Springfield, MO 11th - Social Dinner - Annual Steak Out at Post 13th - Members Social 7 pm 14th - Flag Day (fly flag) 16th - Father s Day (fly flag) 20th - Members Social 7 pm 27th - VFW/Ladies Auxiliary Meeting 7 pm Veteran Service Information Officer Philip Duncan is available to assist any veteran with claims with the VA. If you have a concern, please contact him or stop by the Post on a Saturday morning, as the material is available for your review. Phil will gladly assist you with a referral form so a certified Veterans Service Officer from the VFW can Page 6 assist you with your claim.