Sons of The American Legion Detachment of Arizona Volume 7, Issue 6 December 2016/January 2017 In memory of Pearl Harbor...

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1 BLUE CAP NEWS Sons of The American Legion Detachment of Arizona Volume 7, Issue 6 December 2016/January 2017 In memory of Pearl Harbor......A faith based history Lesson As we approach the 75th anniversary of the attack at Pearl Harbor please consider the following, taken from Reflections on Pearl Harbor by Admiral Chester Nimitz. Sunday, December 7th, Admiral Chester Nimitz was attending a concert in Washington Inside this issue: Chaplains message...pgs 1 & 2 Area Vice Commanders...pg 2 Detachment Commander...pg 3 Adjutant...pgs 3 & 4 Fisher House...pg 4 Photos& More...pg 5 & 6 Detachment Officers...pg 7 Membership Report...pg 7 Membership Numbers...pg 8 Sons of The American Legion Detachment of Arizona 4701 N. 19th Ave Suite 200 Phoenix, AZ Phone: saladjutant@azlegion.org National Website: Website: D.C. He was paged and told there was a phone call for him. When he answered the phone, it was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the phone. He told Admiral Nimitz that he (Nimitz) would now be the Commander of the Pacific Fleet. Admiral Nimitz flew to Hawaii to assume command of the Pacific Fleet. He landed at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve, There was such a spirit of despair, dejection and defeat-- you would have thought the Japanese had already won the war. On Christmas Day, 1941, Adm. Nimitz was given a boat tour of the destruction wrought on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Big sunken battleships and navy vessels cluttered the waters everywhere you looked. As the tour boat returned to dock, the young helmsman of the boat asked, Well Admiral, what do you think after seeing all this destruction? Admiral Nimitz s reply shocked everyone within the sound of his voice. Admiral Nimitz said, The Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could ever make, or God was taking care of America. Which do you think it was? Shocked and surprised, the young helmsman asked, What do mean by saying the Japanese made the three biggest mistakes an attack force ever made? Nimitz explained: Mistake number one: The Japanese attacked on Sunday morning. Nine out of every ten crewmen of those ships were ashore on leave. If those same ships had been lured to sea and been sunk--we would have lost 38,000 men instead of 3,800. Mistake number two: When the Japanese saw all those battleships lined in a row, they got so carried away sinking those battleships, they never once bombed our dry docks opposite those ships. If they had destroyed our dry docks, we would have had to tow every one of those ships to America to be repaired. As it is now, the ships are in shallow water and can be raised. One tug can pull them over to the dry docks, and we can have them repaired and at sea by the time we could have towed them to America. And I already have crews ashore anxious to man those ships. Admiral Chester Nimitz...Continued on page 2

2 Page 2 Sons of The American Legion Detachment of Arizona Dec 2016 / Jan A faith based history Lesson Continued from front page... Mistake number three: Every drop of fuel in the Pacific theater of war is in top of the ground storage tanks five miles away over that hill. One attack plane could have strafed those tanks and destroyed our fuel supply. That s why I say the Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could make or God was taking care of America. Detachment Vice Commander, Area A Admiral Nimitz was able to see a silver lining in a situation and circumstance where everyone else saw only despair and defeatism. President Roosevelt had chosen the right man for the right job. We desperately needed a leader that could see silver linings in the midst of the clouds of dejection, despair and defeat. There is a reason that our national motto is IN GOD WE TRUST. Why have so many forgotten? For God and Country Jim Beischel - SAL Detachment Chaplain jrbeischel@yahoo.com Greetings brothers! There is a new Sheriff in town and he is coming for ya partner his name is. Jeff Frain, our newly elected National Commander of the SONS of The American Legion! Congratulations CMDR. Frain! So get ready folks the Knowledge is Power Tour is coming to you... be a superhero and sign up 3 American heroes today for the American legion family today! So let s make this work, encourage your squadrons to seek 3 VETERANS to join the American Legion at your POST, helping your POST to boost membership. Then your SAL Squadron would most likely be able to draw from one or all 3 new veteran members a new SAL member, whether it be a duel membership or their SON or GRANDSON. Squadron Officer Reports. where is yours? Not all of you have turned in your SORF for the new fiscal year of Please get them completed and sent into the Detachment Vice Commander, Area B Hello Fellow Sons. Well I have been a little busy delivering Area B membership cards and picking up their Squadrons Officer Report forms (SORF) for Squadrons #05, #12, #61, #134 and #138. I thank the Commanders and Adjutants for working with me on this matter. I have attended Squadrons meetings at #02, #29, #27, #39, #58 and #62. You are doing great job, thank you! Ok let s talk about Membership total membership for Area B was just fewer than 51 percent not bad! Detachment, as well please me a copy for my files to sal.az.vca2015@gmail.com Congratulations to the new Squadron 7 CMDR. Robert Craigen. Squadron 7 recently went through some personnel changes and Robert stepped up to the task. Detachment Officer Joe Roberts and myself visited POST 7 and attended a briefing with the new Squadron 7 Officers and they are off to a great start! Go get em men! Your Detachment Officers are here for you and we support your efforts! I m still in need of 3 squadrons that would be able to host one of the remaining 3 meetings, Dec 11, 2016 SUNDAY (2nd Quarter), February 19, 2017 SUNDAY (3rd Quarter) and May 21, 2017 SUNDAY (4th Quarter) let me know so I can get it up on the calendar! For God and Country! Matt Griffis, Detachment Vice Commander, Area A SAL.AZ.VCA2015@GMAIL.COM - (520) Our next target dates for squadrons are December 14, 2016 with a goal of 45% and January 19, 2017 with a goal of 60%. Our membership transmittals MUST be at Detachment Headquarters AT LEAST TWO DAYS PRIOR TO Target Dates. We need to make this happen! Thank you. THANK YOU Again! For God and Country, Petey Palandri, Detachment Vice Commander, Area B (602)

3 Volume 7, Issue 6 Sons of The American Legion Detachment of Arizona Page 3 Detachment Commander s message... Greetings Sons: I hope everyone is doing well. Fall Conference has come and gone and thanks to all our officers and chairman for their direct and to the point reports -- it made our meeting go very smooth and were able to get business done. Also, thanks to Chuck Treat and Joe Roberts for helping me with my first meeting. Membership is currently at and our next target date/goal is December 14 at 45% GOOD work guys! This is when it becomes harder to meet our goals. Keep up with the letters and phone calls, they do make a difference. I know you can do it! Now for an update on CWF Challenge: After Fall Conference, with Squadron 27 s matching funds challenge we (Arizona Detachment all) are at $68, Child Welfare Foundation is making headway, but the challenge still needs to match the remaining $20,000! Let s make sure we get that money for CWF. Find it match it and send it! Thanks for everyone who has donated so far. The Challenge and your efforts really makes a statement to all the other detachments. Thank you!! We will be heading to Hawaii Saturday, December 3, for the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. December 7th at 7:48 am we join the ceremonies honoring the survivors and remembering the attack, the day and those lost. It is a great honor to lay a wreath on the USS Arizona Memorial on behalf of our Detachment. Lots of pictures will follow on Facebook and on the website. Have a safe holiday. For God and Country Mike Bubba Talty, Detachment Commander miketalty@yahoo.com From the Adjutant s corner... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Greetings! The Detachment and the Department will host an open house on Saturday, January 7, The Open House will is from 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm, food is served Pot Luck style, so please come by and join with the entire Legion Family and remember to bring a side dish! Prior to the Open House, the Detachment Camp Out Committee and Chairman Tom Lucas will have a Camp Out Committee meeting starting at 11:00 am and running until all business is completed. Parking is at a premium during the Open House, if you are attending the Committee meeting, the parking spots are closer to the headquarters before 10:30 am. The agenda has not been set by the Chairman as of yet, we will traditionally discuss the day by day activities, meeting times, food service and who is doing what. This years Camp Out will be at Hualapai Mountain Park about 8 miles south of Kingman. Camp Out 2017 will be at Hualapai Mountain Park, Kingman, AZ on April 28, 29 & 30, Campsites for tents and RVs need to be registered with Detachment for any and all reduced rates afforded to us during Camp Out. Please help the Camp Out Chairman plan for another successful campout on the behalf of our Detachment Commander, Mike Talty. The registration form is available for download at Come prepared with questions AND answers. You may be asked on the behalf of your Squadron to perform some of the needs of Camp Out. The more Squadrons involved, the easier the workload for ALL Squadrons! Please find a Camp Out 2017 registration form included in this issue of the Blue Cap News. If you have had the opportunity to come by the Department Headquarters over the last month, you have probably noticed the furniture keeps moving around on a near daily basis. First, thanks to everyone for their patience with our construction congestion. It has not been an easy task adding new flooring to the headquarters offices while continuing the November workload, but it is overdue and this was the time of year to do it. When you come to open house, you see a big difference. The American Legion National Commander came to Arizona on visitation. What a whirlwind tour Breakfast at one Post, lunch at the next, Visiting the Phoenix Veterans Hospital, official visitations with selected elected officials, dinner at another Post, back to the hotel and the next day, it all starts again....continued on page 4

4 Page 4 Sons of The American Legion Detachment of Arizona Dec 2016 / Jan 2017 From the Adjutant s corner... Continued from page 4 While I know the National Commander, Charles Schmidt and his Aide, Dirk Levy are busy, don t forget what has to happen in the background: Each Post is busy preparing food and sprucing up their facility, the Department Staff are making changes and adjustments to the schedule daily to maximize the Commander s time in Arizona, and the Commander is always escorted with the Department Commander, Department Adjutant, NEC, Alternate NEC, and key District and Area Officers. In all, about 14 or more events in three and a half days. That takes planning and follow-up by everyone. Judging by the events I was able to attend: Great job Arizona! No downtime, well attended events and executed very well at every level. Just a reminder that you were caught in the act of excellence and we know and care about your efforts to that end. Thank you. So for the next bit of news: Pearl Harbor s 75th Anniversary is this December 7th. What do you and your Squadron have planned to commemorate and Remember Pearl Harbor? Commander Talty and Chaplain Beischel will join with National Commander Frain, and all of the National Vice Commanders for the Sons of The American Legion will be at Pearl Harbor on December 7th for the Ceremonies, to honor the survivors of Pearl Harbor and to remember with reverence the day that will live in infamy. Arizonans, Sons of Veterans, On the Veterans Front - Fisher House VAVS Joe Miller for Southern Arizona, partnered up with Sons of the American Legion Alternate National Executive Committee man Joe Roberts to present a much needed source of entertainment to our Local Fisher House here in Southern Arizona At the Request of Fisher House Manager Kelly Laurich, Joe Roberts, headed up a group from his place of work, who showed an interest in helping our Veterans. Southern Arizona, VAVS Rep. Joe Miller, who is an avid supporter of Fisher House set Joe Roberts up with the Materials he needed to Promote Fisher House at his place of work. Remembering on the 75th Anniversary Turning in membership and reaching your goals can be disappointing if you send in your membership too late for it to show on the Detachment and National reports. When you see the Membership dates and goals, PLEASE REMEMBER, that is the reporting date. Each Squadron has different circumstance and when you see the calendar dates for membership, pull out you calendar and adjust your transmittals dates to be included in the monthly reports! If you do not allow time for your membership to be processed, the results WILL NOT be reflected on the report. Membership dates for the next five months: December 14, goal is 45%; January 19, goal is 60%; February 8, goal is 75%, March 8, goal is 80% and April 12, goal is 90%. The Western Region Rendezvous will be held in Las Vegas on January 20 21, 2017 at the Tuscany Casino Resort Hotel. Reservations are closing very soon, please call and use reservation code 13L5F9. Like I said Deadline is within days of receiving this copy of the Blue Cap News, make your reservation BEFORE Christmas! That s all for now. Chuck Treat, Detachment Adjutant ChuckTreat@aol.com The group from his office, after seeing Joe`s presentation, considered this as a worthy cause and great way to serve our Veterans and their families in their greatest time of need. They raised $ and purchased the requested X-BOX Gaming System and a dozen games, along with a gift card to Walmart. These items were presented to the staff at Fisher House on Friday September 9th. Joe Miller, VAVS Representative-Southern Arizona Jpsc1971@comcast.net Pictured: VAVS Rep. Joe Miller, Assistant Fisher House MGR. Gus Soto and S.A.L. Alternate NEC. Joe Roberts

5 Volume 7, Issue 6 Sons of The American Legion Detachment of Arizona Page 5 Left photo: WOW...Sheila worked so hard she made her whole desk dissapear! Often the feeling of how to get it done was a lesser issue than hey...where d it go???? Well...the new flooring is in and things should make their way back to normal? Event Dates & Times Golf Tournament Friday, Feb 3 9:30am Starting Tee time is 10:00am More details available upon check-in at hotel; Meeting at the Golf Pro Shop next to Hotel Lobby at 9:30 am for foursome/golf cart assignment. Prime Rib Dinner Friday, Feb 3 4:30pm shuttle starts Prime Rib Dinner at Apache Post 27 Social hour 5:00pm to 6:00pm An evening honoring the Detachment Commander, Mike Bubba Talty, Shuttles to and from the Post and Hotel starting at 4:30pm until 10:30pm. Advance Dinner Ticket purchase with registration is $15 per person. Homecoming Dinner Saturday, Feb 4 5:00pm Dinner Buffet in the West Ball Room Social hour (in the Pavilion Room) 5:00pm Ballroom Seating 6:00pm Dinner Buffet open 6:00pm to 7:00pm Guest Speakers 7:00pm to 8:00pm After-Dinner Reception in the Courtyard from 8:00pm to 11:00pm Advance Dinner Ticket purchase required with registration, $45 per person. Events Registration Please register with the Homecoming Committee for the following events: Friday Evening at Apache Post 27 Dinner Name Ticket $15 $15 $15 $15 Totals 1 $ 0 Saturday Evening Homecoming The West Ballroom with Social Hour in the Pavilion leading to the Ballroom starting at 5:00pm and Dinner at 6:00pm. Name Totals 2 $ Right photo: Squadron 62 donates the Legion National Commander Charlie Schmidt s program, pictured is National CMDR Charlie Schmidt, Sq 62 Sgt-at-Arms AJ McMullan and Sq 62 CMDR Nolen McMullan Dinner Ticket $45 $45 $45 $45 Airlines and Airport Information From Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Rental Car Facility and the Arizona Golf Resort is 30 to 50 minutes, 26 miles East. Airlines serving Sky Harbor are: Air Canada, T 4 Alaska Airlines, T 2 American Airlines, T 4 British Airways, T 4 Delta Airlines, T 3 Frontier Airlines, T 3 Hawaiian Airlines, T 3 JetBlue Airways, T 3 Southwest Airlines, T 4 Spirit Airlines, T 2 Sun Country Air, T 2 United Airlines, T 2 From Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport and the Arizona Golf Resort is 18 to 25 minutes, 8 miles North. Airlines serving Gateway Airport are: Allegiant, Main Terminal Friday Golf Tournament Tournament entry fee is $50.00 per person Rental clubs are available at the Pro Shop, $30. Clubs may be prepaid with registration. Regular play available at $50 per person. Golfer s Tourn Rental Name Fee Clubs Totals Golf 3 $50 $30 q $50 $30 q $50 $30 q $50 $30 q $ $ TOTAL ALL $ 0 Hotel Reservations close on January 3, 2017, one month prior to Homecoming. Reservations: Group Reservation Code: 5896 Homecoming event registration and payment closes two weeks prior to Homecoming Weekend. Please add amounts for Totals 1, Totals 2 and Total Golf 3 for the full amount made payable to: Candidate SAL Commander Frain Please mail check and this completed form to: Detachment of Arizona HQ, Homecoming Commander Frain, 4701 N 19 Ave Suite 200, Phoenix, AZ

6 The 4th Annual S.A.L.GreatWesternRendezvous In Las Vegas January20-21,2017 Location: Tuscany Hotel Reservations: Use Code: 13L5F9 We Look Forward To Seeing You There!! Open House Please join us for the annual Open House at Department Headquarters on Saturday, January 7, Starting at 12:00 noon and ending by 5:00 pm. Pot Luck food served, bring some food and enjoy a lot of food and the company of Legion Family members! Parking space is limited. Please also note: The Detachment Camp Out meeting is scheduled for 11:00am start, prior to the Open House. Tom Lucas (Sq 29) is our 2017 Camp Out Chairman. Questions on the agenda or offers of help should be directed to Tom. See you there! THE AMERICAN LEGIONFAMILY National Commander Jeff Frain Calling all Super Heroes: The American Legion Family of the Department of Arizona Invites you to join us for a Homecoming Celebration Honoring National Commander Jeff Frain February 3, 4 & 5, 2017 Mesa, Arizona ARIZONA Golf Resort Hotel Reservations Reservations: Group Reservation Code: 5896 Group Name: SAL National Commander Homecoming Reservation rates close January 3, 2017 Hotel Main number: Please the Homecoming Committee for all questions at FrainHomecoming2017@yahoo.com or call or S Power Road Mesa, AZ Entrance is located on Broadway Road, East of Broadway-Power Road intersection

7 Volume 7, Issue 6 Sons of The American Legion Detachment of Arizona Page 7 Arizona continues to excel in membership... Hello again everyone, Arizona continues to excel in membership this year. Thanks to our hard working Blue Cappers, we were able to surpass our latest National target date of 35%. I m very happy to inform you that Arizona has shown what we re made of yet again. We were among 8 of the 10 Detachments in the Western Region that reached that goal, achieving %. Great job guys!! Keep it rolling through the holidays! It s going to get tougher as we go. I also want to remind everyone of National Commander Frain s membership theme to Be A Hero and Sign Up 3 American Heroes Today. Each of us has been challenged to recruit 3 new Legionnaires. This helps not only The American Legion to grow, but creates the possibility for increased membership in The American Legion Auxiliary and the Sons of The American Legion. Also, Individual Recruitment Pins are now available for signing up just 5 new S.A.L. members. Our latest conference call was very successful. But as always, we need more participation. I want to again encourage ALL squadrons to find at least one representative to attend. We all succeed together, and this is a great chance for us to stay in touch without being in the same room. Don t forget, we are still pushing for renewals. Keep the momentum going that we have begun. You are all doing a magnificent job! Keep up the good work and I hope to see you all soon! Joe Roberts, Membership Chairman azmembership@yahoo.com Officers & Committee Contact Information (July 2016) Title Name Home SQ Phone SAL Detachment/Department Headquarters SALadjutant@Azlegion.org Detachment Commander Mike Talty miketalty@yahoo.com Detachment Vice Commander, Area A Mathew Griffis sal.az.vca2015@gmail.com Detachment Vice Commander, Area B Pete Palandri s.a.l.petey@gmail.com Detachment Vice Commander, Area C Bobby Dumont AbleOne@npgcable.com National Executive Committeeman Bob Hath HathR@earthlink.net Alternate National Executive Committeeman Joe Roberts AZmembership@yahoo.com Chaplain Jim Beischel jrbeischel@yahoo.com Executive Board Member / Campout Committee Member Max Wood WOODgolfer2003@yahoo.com Executive Board Member / Campout Committee Member Dan Ashley POTATO480@live.com Executive Board Member / Campout Committee Member Ed Wallace edmarwallace@yahoo.com Executive Board Member / Campout Committee Member Ron Martin rmartin@al14.org Executive Board Member / Campout Committee Member Tom Lucas TTTbucket@msn.com Adjutant & Finance Officer Chuck Treat ChuckTreat@aol.com Judge Advocate Greg Mekula GMekula2@yahoo.com Blue Cap News is published every other month by the Sons of The American Legion, Detachment of Arizona. Squadrons are encouraged to share their success stories with the Detachment by sending stories to the Blue Cap News. Please your news copy to: BlueCapNews@aol.com If you have an event that you would like to promote with a flyer, please send 140 copies of your flyer for inclusion with the newsletter mailing. Separately send an with the flyer attached for inclusion with the Web edition. PDF s are requested, but we will work with you to get the word out! Please send the flyer as an attachment to your to: BlueCapNews@aol.com Next Deadline: January 15th, 2017 for the published issue : February March 2017 Issue

8 Detachment of Arizona Membership Report Squadron Area Goal + (-) As of November 28, 2016 % of Goal AREA A SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL Area Totals: , AREA B SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL Area Totals: , AREA % of Squadron Area Totals: Area ,672 Goal (-) Goal AREA AC SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL SAL Area Totals: , SAL Grand Totals: 6,742 3,261 6,674-3, Membership Target Dates Fiscal Year & Membership Year July 23, 2016 to July 19, 2017 Benchmark Date Squadron Detachment Percentage Wednesday, September 14, % Wednesday, October 12, % Tuesday, November 16, % Wednesday, December 14, % Thursday, January 19, % Wednesday, February 8, % Wednesday, March 8, % Wednesday, April 12, % Wednesday, May 10, % Wednesday, July 19, % End of Year Final Total Squadron #, % Goal is: and Members Paid Detachment % Goal is: and Members Paid SAL C Grand Totals: 6,742 3,261 6,674-3,