JULY-AUGUST NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 The Star Spangled Banner Chapter BALTIMORE Find us at StarSpan.org JULY-AUGUST NEWSLETTER OUR CHAPTER WILL RECEIVE FIVE-STAR LEVEL OF EXCELLENCE AWARD! BATTLE OF BALTIMORE TOUR A GREAT OUTING FIFTY YEARS AGO, OUR CHAPTER BEGINNINGS (Part 2) NOMINATIONS & VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT FOR MAJ. GEN JOSEPH LYNCH, USAF (Ret.) of MOAA at SEPTEMBER MEETING FIVE STAR LEVEL OF EXCELLENCE AWARD For an outstanding level of performance in calendar year 2013, the Star Spangled Banner Chapter will receive MOAA s Five Star Level of Excellence Award. A streamer with five stars for our chapter flag will be presented at the National Conference of MOAA in Arlington, VA, at the awards dinner on Monday evening, October 27, at the Pentagon Sheraton Hotel. NOMINATIONS and VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for all offices, board, and committee chairs Terms are up for all positions this year. We need to fill President, First VP, Second VP, Secretary, Treasurer, a Board Representative from each service, and committee chairs for Legislative Affairs, Personal Affairs, Veterans Transition Assistance, Membership, and ROTC Support. Raise your own hand and/or suggest nominations to COL Tom Seybold, tkseybold@hotmail; or CAPT Mike DeHaemer, mike.dehaemer@gmail.com. The Nominating Committee will contact all interested parties. CHAPTER EVENT CALENDAR SEPT. 23, 2014 Tuesday, 6 p.m. Dinner meeting at Canton Dockside Restaurant, 3301 Boston Street, Baltimore, MD Maj. Gen. Joseph Lynch, guest speaker, to present Fiftieth Anniversary Certificate. Reservations see flyer at end of newsletter. NOV. 18, 2014 Tuesday, 6 p.m. Star Spangled Banner Chapter s 50 th Anniversary Banquet. Guest of honor and speaker will be Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, USA (Ret.), former Chief of the National Guard Bureau, President of the Maryland Military History Museum. 1

2 JUNE EVENT REPORT --- Tour of the Battle of Baltimore, September 12, 1814 On a delightful, sunny Saturday, June 7, members and guests of the Star Spangled Banner Chapter and the Susquehanna Chapter spent the day in an engaging and educational tour that traced the path of the invading British army. From the mouth of the Patapsco River at Fort Howard until the remains of the earthworks and artillery line at Hampstead Hill, Patterson Park, our guide Glenn Williams turned back the clock and made the events of 1814 come back to life. We learned the leaders personalities --- both the British officers and the Baltimore defenders. We saw the British strategy to combine the use of their fleet and their army to destroy Baltimore, and we gained admiration for the foresight of Baltimore s city leaders and the willing patriotism of the citizen defenders. We had lunch at Cactus Willy s in Dundalk (not available to redcoats) as we went by bus visiting sites along the North Point to Baltimore road. Many compliments were given to Glenn Williams, U.S. Army Historian from Fort McNair, and COL Randy Everett, USA (Ret.), Chapter 2 nd Vice President, who assisted in the narrative and was the tour organizer. Imagine 100 ships, tall sails reaching ten stories, thousands of redcoats landing. Battle Acre in 1814 and Gaining appreciation for the defense of Baltimore by the Fifth Regiment of Maryland Militia. Patterson Park. Left is School Children of Baltimore Memorial of 1914, commemorating the Star Spangled Banner. Center is Hampstead Hill line of defense, where British decided to withdraw. Randy Everett and Glenn Williams enjoy presentation of bust of Francis Scott Key. MORE PHOTOS of June battlefield tour are at the end of the electronic version of this newsletter, found also at StarSpan.org. 2

3 LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS REPORT: CAPT Bud Wanner, USPHS (Ret.) Liaison, Over this summer the Maryland Retired Veterans Task Force (MRVTF) of our state MOAA Council has been meeting with the staff of the Maryland State Comptroller to review and update the 2003 study on the impact of income tax relief for military pensions. The General Assembly ordered the 2003 study and has used the same report, unchanged for the past decade, as the basis for consideration of tax exemption to military pensions. Results have been less than a major success. MRVTF and the Comptroller Staff expect that current facts will present a more convincing position. We believe that eliminating the income tax on pensions will improve the desire of retired military to remain in Maryland and that overall there will be significant economic advantage, as well as the advantage of gaining more capable and willing community leaders. The draft of the updated study will be available to the MOAA State Council this month. The final report will be forwarded to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee to bolster the veterans position in the 2015 session of the state legislature. There is hope (that if he is elected Governor) Anthony Brown will support the retired pension relief, since he has been recorded on several occasions in his campaign to promise positive action. HAVE LUNCH WITH YOUR SENATORS AND CONGRESSMAN This will be the Fourth Annual Maryland MOAA Council Congressional Luncheon. We do this to honor our legislators for support of our uniformed services and to show that there is significant voter interest among our state s military. As in past years, we hope to fill the meeting room with more than a hundred military, spouses, and friends. Date: Thursday, 11 September 2014 Location: Room 2168 Rayburn Building Time: 1130 to about Cost: $38.00 per person. Information: Reservation: Make check to Star Spangled Banner Chapter, send to CAPT Charles Wanner, USPHS (Ret.) 8209 Parkway Road, Clear Water Beach, MD MOAA Helps Win for Student Vets Over half of the states require veterans to establish residency, which can take 6 months to a year, before the vet is eligible for in-state tuition at state colleges. New Federal legislation alleviates that problem for veterans and their dependents. The VA will now reimburse the cost of schooling at the in-state rate for all veterans using GI Bill benefits at any public college or university, regardless of where the veteran resides. A provision included in legislation to address the backlog in VA facilities requires states to accept the in-state reimbursement rate for all student veterans as a condition of maintaining VA approval of coursework. Many states require transitioning veterans to meet strict residency requirements before they can be considered in-state residents. The law-change mandates the in-state rate for all student veterans using either the Post-9/11 or the Montgomery GI Bill at two- and four-year public colleges or universities. Dependents using Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits under the transferability program are also eligible for the in-state rate for three years after their sponsor s discharge. MOAA strongly supported the underlying in-state tuition legislation, H.R. 357 (Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla.) and S. 257 (Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark.), and is grateful for their leadership and support for our nation s veterans and their families. 3

4 A STORY I GOTTA TELL!! USS OHIO (SSGN 726) underway in Puget Sound In the spring of 1987, as Commanding Officer of the Navy ROTC at Rensselaer, I was privileged to hand commissions to approximately 30 new Naval Ensigns and Marine Corps 2 nd Lieutenants. Twenty-seven years and a few months later, Judy and I had the wonderful experience of attending the retirement ceremony and departure from command of one of those officers---capt George Norman, USN. George is the terrific looking, and beaming career submarine officer in the photo. He had command of the USS Maine (SSBN 741) several years ago. After a tour with the Joint Staff, he was assigned to command the USS OHIO, recently converted from a Trident ballistic missile submarine to a multiple mission submarine---surveillance, Seal Team/diver operations, cruise missiles, torpedoes etc. George made her ready and took OHIO to sea in support of the Pacific Fleet. The ceremonies took place at the Trident Training Facility, Bangor, Washington, on a ceremonial platform that is the sail and deck of the decommissioned ballistic missile submarine USS Woodrow Wilson (SSBN 624). Picture, if you will, 50 state flags flying, music from the Northwest Navy Band, side boys and piping of the principals across the quarter deck. My name was mentioned by the admiral representing the sub force! An experience to cherish and a joy to be remembered! Mike September 10-16, 2014 Fireworks: Inner Harbor & Fort McHenry Blue Angels Show: rehearsal on Friday, shows on Saturday and Sunday Events all over the Baltimore Area See schedules at StarSpangled200.com FIFTY YEARS AGO ***Early history of the Star Spangled Banner Chapter ***Part 2 By Maj Dick Martiny, USA, author of Military Beginnings: Early Development of American and Maryland Forces, which may be found on amazon.com. The officer slate for 1966, proposed in November 1965, included some new and/or renamed positions and some new officers, both old and new faces. BG Catron was replaced as President by the former 1 st VP, Col Blakely. It is possible that BG Catron was in ill health because Col Blakely had represented him and 4

5 run most of 1965 s meetings of the Board and General Membership. The Vice Presidents went from 2 to 3, with LTC Slaughter, former 2 nd VP, as senior VP; Col Stegner, former Membership Chair, as VP for Membership; and COL Foote, member of the original Board, as VP for Programs and Publicity. Col Brundick, CDR Baughman and MAJ Katowski continued as Treasurer, Secretary and Assistant Secretary, respectively. The Board also changed. Col McGrayne and LTC Garrett remained. COL Foote and WO Trattler were replaced by MAJ W. W. Thomas, USAF (ret) and LTC Bernard Kuder, USAR (ret). In 1967 LTC Slaughter moved from Senior VP to President, replacing Col Blakely. Col Foote became Senior VP and he was replaced as VP for Programs and Publicity by Col Frank Milani, USA (ret). LTC Kuder and MAJ Thomas remained on the Board. COL McGrayne and LTC Garrett were replaced by BG Catron, surfacing again, and CDR A. E. De Pra, USCG (ret). In February 1970 changes were proposed to the Constitution and Bylaws. The most significant was the elimination of a $1 per member annual contribution to the MROA to assist the state in organizing and financing new chapters statewide. In 1969 TROA had initiated a program of regional representatives in each state to recruit and organize new chapters. This eliminated the need for the Chapter s contributions. It became discretionary on the part of the Board. Since it had represented 25% of the Chapter s anticipated annual dues income, it allowed the dues to remain at $4.00 per year, the same amount since the Chapter s founding. The officer titles and structure were also changed. The officers now consisted of: President, 1 st and 2 nd Vice Presidents (reverting to the original number and titles), Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer, Judge Advocate (subsequently Legal Officer), Custodian of Permanent records (subsequently also Historian), and Chaplain. Standing Committees were designated: Membership, Legislative, Survivor Benefits, Programs and Publicity, Reservations, Sick and Welfare, Auditing, and Nominating (to be appointed NLT 1 October each year.). Meetings were held regularly and frequently in the early years of the Chapter. Initially, Board and/or General Meetings were held almost monthly. In February 1974 the Bylaws were amended to eliminate the January meeting due to inclement weather. In the future Chapter meetings would be held on the 4 th Tuesday of March, May, September, and November. The initial membership, on October 21, 1964, was 36, those of the 44 present who had filled out and signed membership applications. They were: CDR Arden E. Baughman, USN; COL Eugene Blakely, Jr., AUS; COL Leroy Brundick, AUS; BG Thomas B. Catron, USA; COL Daniel M. Chesterton, II, USA; Commodore Milton R. Daniels, USCG; LTC William J. Darcough., AUS; LTC James H. Davis, AUS; CDR A. E. Del Pra, USCG; LTC Albert F. Drake, ASUS; COL Raymond A. Egner, AUS; COL Donald C. Foote, USA; COL Alfred M. Fort, USA, MAJ Donald M. Hoischer, Sr., USAF; CPT Howard R. Hair, AUS; LTC Robert D. Hodge, AUS; COL George M. Hunt, AUS; COL Charles J. Jeffus, AUS; MAJ Eva Katowski, ANC; COL Donald McGrayne, USA; 1LT William J. Palm, AUS; CPT David R. Phoebus, USNR; CPT William E. Pratt, USCG; LTC Floyd A. Rice, USAF; COL Ford Richardson, USA; LTC Charles L. Ringgold, AUS; LTC Fred J. Ritter, USAR; CPT Jacob V. Safer, MC AUS; COL Lloyd E. Stegner, AUS; LCDR Daniel J. Strauss, USN; LCDR Noble L. Taber, USN; WO Abraham Trattler, USCG; and CPT Richard MacC. Walsh, Jr., USA. Membership quickly grew. At the January Board meeting membership had increased in 2 ½ months to 75. On 26 January Col Wellington B. Searless was recognized as the 100 th member. At the end of February it had risen to 139; by March to 148 and by April to

6 In April 1967 the Board extended associate membership in the Chapter to wives and widows of current members. A women s auxiliary had been considered and rejected. TROA was requested to recognize the associates. However, regardless of the outcome of the request, the Chapter would proceed to take the ladies in. As previously noted, full membership was open to female officers and warrants. The associates dues were set at $1.00, while the full members dues remained at $4.00. Both rates remained the same through Membership increased to over 300 in the early 1970s with an annual ratio of 2 to 1 officer members to associate wives/widows. As the seventies progressed membership began to decline slightly and the Chapter was dealing with regular nonpayment of dues. A policy was established and enforced that nonpayment would result in being dropped from the roles. This happened regularly on an annual basis. However, later in the decade, membership rebounded, and by March 1976 the Chapter had over 400 officer and associate members. Despite their apparent strong membership, the leadership was concerned about finding new members and asked for assistance in doing so at a General Meeting in January They were concerned because TROA was no longer providing lists of new retirees in the Chapter s area. This omission was eventually rectified. As a sign of General Meeting costs, after 23 years at one price, in 1987 annual dues were increased to $6.00 for officer members and $3.00 for associates. They remained at this level at least through October Membership started to fall again in the 1980s with 140 officer members and 130 associates in The decline accelerated and was attributed to an aging membership with increased mortality, and a lessening of interest among younger military retirees who were still in the workforce. By 31 August 1994 strength was down to 100 members and 92 associates. A decade later, in 2004, total membership stood at 89, officer, associate, and honorary members. As indicative of the overall diminution of the Chapter, for there were 12 officer positions and 9 Board members. For 2004 there were 5 officer positions and 3 Board members. Although obviously much lower than previously, 2004 represented a resurgence for the Chapter. After the original 14 March 1966 charter had lapsed, the Chapter reincorporated in On 27 September 2002 the Chapter was reincorporated as the Baltimore area Military Officers Association (BMOA). When TROA changed its name to MOAA, a new charter was granted on January 1, This was followed on 6 January 2003 by the IRS issuance of a letter of exemption for the Chapter as a 501(c)(19) nonprofit, exempt from federal income taxes. VISIT YOUR LEGISLATORS THIS MONTH (while they are in recess and in home districts) MOAA suggests a push on these three key issues and provides single sheet talking points at Also specific links below Provide Servicemembers with the Pay They ve Earned (PDF) Don t Reverse Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) Improvements (PDF) Reject TRICARE Pharmacy Fee Increases (PDF) 6

7 3301 Boston Street, Baltimore, MD, MOAA GENERAL COUNSEL and CORPORATE SECRETARY Maj. Gen. Joseph Lynch, USAF (Ret) Guest Speaker On behalf of National MOAA, Maj. Gen. Lynch will present the Fiftieth Anniversary Certificate to our chapter. As guest speaker he will update us on issues o For MOAA, the organization o For protection of benefits o For national defense o For service members and families Maj. Gen. Lynch is a 1969 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute. He entered active duty in the Air Force in 1972 following graduation from law school at Emory University in Georgia. He served 10 years on active duty as a judge advocate followed by 22 years in the Air Force Reserve. His final Air Force assignment was mobilization assistant to the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force while serving in the Air Force Reserve. His civilian position was assistant general counsel (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) for the Department of the Navy, a career senior executive service position (Level 5). Maj. Gen. Lynch joined the MOAA staff in As the corporate secretary, he supports the board of directors and performs other duties associated with the operation of a large corporation. As the general counsel, he advises the board of directors, president, and staff and directs MOAA's legal affairs. RESERVATION REQUIRED. Clip or provide the information on the Reservation Form on next page. Please mail to arrive by September 16, Chapter members, MOAA members, spouses, and guests are invited at $30 per person. Fixed Price Menu. See menu on registration form. Order when you are seated at table. Cash bar with complimentary non- alcoholic beverages.. 7

8 CHAPTER DINNER MEETING, SEPTEMBER 23 (Continued) FOR INFORMATION and/or last minute reservations: COL Jim Shelley, ; or MAJ Russell Allen, MEETING will be in the Hamilton Room, Canton Dockside Restaurant, 3301 Boston Street, Baltimore, MD 21224, Ample parking on the street or in the lot. MEETING AGENDA 1800 Social hour, cocktails. Cash bar. Complimentary sodas, ice tea, coffee Meeting call to order. Pledge of Allegiance. Brief reports and business meeting Invocation. Dinner Presentation of Fiftieth Anniversary Certificate. Maj. Gen. Lynch Speaks. Q&A Final remarks. Adjourn RESERVATIONS FOR MEETING AT CANTON DOCKSIDE RESTAURANT, SEPT. 23 FIXED PRICE $30 per person. CASH BAR, complimentary soft drinks Name Guest Names Your to receive confirmation Total number for reservation Check Amount Add $5.00 or $10.00 for the MOAA Scholarship Fund Make check to The Star Spangled Banner Chapter and send with your name and guest(s) names to: COL James Shelley, USA 142 Glyndon Trace Drive Reistertown, MD, MENU Salad or Soup: House or Classic Caesar or Crab Soup Entrée Selection: New York Strip Crab Cake Shrimp and Crab Marinara Chicken Parmesan Dessert, Coffee, Tea CASH BAR. Complimentary soda, ice tea, coffee. The Star Spangled Banner Chapter Newsletter Production Newsletter and Archives online: President, CAPT Mike DeHaemer USN (Ret) Editor and Producer, CDR Wally Dann (Ret) Distribution, LtCol: Charles R. Meyer USAF (Ret) The STAR SPANGLED BANNER CHAPTER 8

9 PHOTO GALLERY: JUNE 7, 2014 British came ashore here.. Along North Point Rd. In the skirmish Maj. Gen. Ross, commander of the British force, received his mortal wound. Fifth Regiment, Sept. 12, 1814 Battle Acre in June 2014 Church on the battlefield 9

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