2021 4th Quarter Hoosier Legionnaire

Legionnaires Convene for the first time in over two years Back In The Saddle

At the first American Legion National Convention since August 2019, Hoosier Legionnaires joined Indiana Legion Commander Mark Gullion for dinner and a night of renewing friendships. “I think it’s fantastic, we haven’t done it for a couple years and now everybody’s having a ball. We just needed to get back together and get away from the coronavirus; it’s great,” said Commander Gullion.

The recent pandemic prevented Legionnaires from gathering en masse at National Convention the past two years, and since the commander’s dinner party was also canceled during that time, Gullion opted for an elaborate western style themed evening for the delegates. “We missed last year, and we missed a lot of conferences and conventions, and now we’re all back together renewing old friendships and making new ones.” The guests were enjoying their time together so much, that they couldn’t keep it to themselves. “People are just coming up to me talking about this party. Everybody was waiting to do something and [now] we’re back together and hopefully back to the norm,” Commander Gullion said.

Following drinks, dinner, and dancing, the group moved from the banquet hall to a circular rodeo arena that was just a few steps away from the hall. Guests were greeted by a 6-piece mariachi band as they took their seats.

With the sun setting, Commander Gullion made his entrance into the arena on horseback, flanked by ladies on horses wearing light pink sombreros and matching bright colored dresses with detailed embroidery in the shape of flowers covering most of the dress.

For the next hour, guests were entertained by a bull-rider and displays of charreada, a competitive sport similar to rodeo. Charreada is the national sport of Mexico and comes from a long tradition

of practices used on the haciendas of old Mexico.

The evening culminated in a group event where previously chosen Legionnaires were brought into the arena for competitions that brought laughs and smiles from observers. A total of six delegates – three at a time- who were not prepared to be called upon, were timed as they tried to rope a calf and put a pair

cause there was a pile of horse manure in the middle of the arena that you wanted to avoid,” said 9th District Commander Tina Wallace.

Six new unwitting participants were called on to milk two goats. The group to fill a plastic cup with goats’ milk first, won, with the losing group selecting one participant to drink the cup of milk provided by the winners. Interim Adjutant Hugh Dagley gulped down the goat’s milk, saying later that “well if it wasn’t for the goat poop in the cup, I’d have been fine.”

of underwear on its hind legs. “Dave [Miller], myself, and Ben Olson went out there and put a pair of what looked like smiley face bloomers or boxers onto a calf, and it was quite interesting be-

Being together again as a Legion Family stood out to American Legion Auxiliary member Katie Cooper. “To be here in person is joyous. I like seeing the faces on the veterans, because everyone is lit up and their faces say ‘oh it’s so good to see you’.” Cooper also enjoys seeing the thousands of Legionnaire’s around downtown Phoenix “It feels great, to see the smiles. And even though I don’t know them, I was like ‘how are you doing’ and they just responded back with ‘oh hey, how are you doing’ and it was

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The American Legion Family answers the USO call

By: Anna Toomey

A call came out that two of our Indiana USO Centers, at the airport and at Camp Atterbury was in need of replenishing supplies after taking on the troops returning from Afghanistan.

The call was made to the American Legion Auxiliary the week of their Fall Conference and the donations came flooding in from across the state.

On Friday, September 24, 2021 with the assistance of The American Legion department vehicle and Legionnaires with Auxiliary members, over $4,000 of food was delivered to the airport USO center. Enough goods to

On Friday, September 24, 2021 with the assistance of The American Legion department vehicle and Legionnaires with Auxiliary members, over $4,000 of food was delivered to the airport USO center.

require several trips on a large cart were delivered to the USO. There were veterans that were waiting for connecting flights that seen the USO volunteers looking for carts to unload the van and these veterans graciously stepped up to help the unloading process. They shared their stories of tours from Iraq to Vietnam and how grateful they were to all the USO’s that they visited across the country.

President Rose Ann Dzieglowicz collected $4,000 from Auxiliary members during the Fall Conference and will present the donation to the USO at Camp Atterbury to assist their needs.

“To be here in person is joyous.

I like seeing the faces on the veterans, because everyone is lit up and their faces say ‘oh it’s so good to see you’.”

- Katie Cooper

Commander Mark Gullion enters the arena on horseback to start off the evening’s entertainment of Charreada and bull-riding.

Beech Grove American Legion Post 276 does everything right

From blood drives to bell ringing, the members of American Legion Post 276 in Beech Grove have shown what it takes to be exemplary leaders in their community.

The post has seen it’s membership go from under 300 members to over 400 members in the last four years, all while serving the community it calls home on the far south side of Indianapolis.

Originally chartered in 1938 with WWI veterans, it’s been an anchor on Main Street since 1954. The post has had 52 commanders throughout the years, and is currently under the stewardship of Mike Steigerwald. Its members have taken an active role in their community. The most recent activ-

BACK IN THE SADDLE

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ity that they participated in was a blood drive. The successful blood drive garnered 30 units of blood for Versiti Blood Center. On the day of the blood drive the post also hosted a craft fair, with the Auxiliary having two tables and raising almost $700 split between a donation to Operation Comfort Warrior and the Post Renovation fund. The Legion also had a large used flat screen TV that was donated and was given a chance to win in a drawing to all who participated in the blood drive.

Some of the other activities that the post participates in within the community are the Memorial Day Ceremony that is hosted by Beech Grove in Sarah T Bolton Park at their Veteran’s Me-

just like seeing a friend even though I didn’t even know who they were.”

For some, the night of laughter, singing, and a shared meal, provided the opportunity to reconnect with friends and forget about the time lost over the last two years. Tina Wallace compares that feeling to her experience in the military. “I’ve always believed the Marine Corps is just a family that has spread

morial. They also place the flags at several cemeteries in the area on Memorial Day weekend. The post also presents the colors at the at the 4th of July fireworks hosted in the same park. They also have the honor to lead off the Beech Grove Fall Festival parade every year with a presentation of the colors. The Legion donates large flags for several locations in the city. The post also participates with the city and presents the colors at their Veteran’s Day ceremony.

The Son’s of the American Legion also hosts a Veteran’s Day dinner at the post for their member’s and also Veterans within the community.

Another of the community organizations that the post supports is the Salva-

out, because you’re going to see someone at one base, and they may leave before you, or you may leave before them, but sure enough you’re going to meet up two bases later. That’s the same way with convention. You might not see them but once a year at National, and you’re then able to pick up as if you just left yesterday and have that connection.”

tion Army, this is the third year that we have rung the bells for the Salvation Army, we also had a sock and undergarment drive for the Salvation Army ARC. We also sponsor Beech Grove Girls Softball League and Beech Grove Bowl’s Special Rollers League.

They also are the charter sponsor of an active BSA troop. Troop 108 itself supports the American Legion by maintaining the flower bed and also assisted in the scraping of the building for the repainting that will be done this spring. The Legion likewise made a contribution for their Scout Dollars fund and assisted in their canned food drives.

During the ongoing pandemic, the post did several

Buddy Check’s, calling all of their members and the members of the national holding post that lived in the area. Groceries were delivered and yards were cut as a result of doing this membership check.

In addition to this partial list of activities, the post also has some more fun activities. Being in Indiana, they have started playing euchre on Monday and Tuesday nights. We have also had a chili cook off and the Murat Highlanders Bagpipe Band came in during St Patty’s Day weekend. The Post has also been part of the Tyler’s Pub Crawl for Suicide Prevention for the last three years. From community service to camaraderie, the future’s looking bright in Beech Grove.

American Legion, Department of Indiana delegates and their spouses enjoy a night at the rodeo.

From left to right (L-R): Ben Olsen (District 11 Commander), Joe Allen (Post 1st Vice Commander), Mike Steigerwald (Post Commander), Stephen Vaughn (Post Chaplain), Gene Stash (Post Veteran Service Officer)

Betty Slagle

Joy Miller

Paul Steward

Teresa Miller

Mary Lou Melton

Jacki Hill

Gina Owens

Karen Lowe

Ron Byrley

Auxiliary President Rose Ann Dzieglowicz applauds Commander Gullion as he enters the arena on horseback.

A professional bull-rider performs for delegates during the commander’s dinner party event.

Ladies wearing light pink sombreros and matching bright colored dresses with embroidered flowers showcase their horse riding abilities.

Department interim adjutant Hugh Dagley holds up an empty cup of milk after drinking the combined efforts of both teams during the goat milking competition.

A five-piece mariachi band entertains guests as they enter the rodeo arena at the start of the event.

Detachment Adjutant Steven Tansel ropes a calf at the commander’s dinner party event.

By: Paul Norton

L

eading H oosier L egionnaire L etters

Mark Gullion

DEPARTMENT COMMANDER

What can I say? I was elected Commander to the best department in the American Legion on July the 10th and have not slowed down, nor do I want too, since that day. What an honor.

My first act as Commander was throwing out the first pitch at this years Legion Baseball tournament in Kokomo, and I wish I could have watched more of the games, but what I saw was very impressive. I attended the opening day and the graduation of the Indiana Youth Cadet Law Enforcement Academy at Anderson University, and presented their certificates with my pin to each graduate.

After not having a National Convention last year due to COVID-19, this year’s National Convention in Phoenix was a great success. The general session provided good information as did the all-committee meeting. The Department

party was a blast with great food and a rodeo. I’m sure a lot of people thought me riding a horse was humorous, and I’m sure it was, but the goat milking contest and the calf roping events were my favorite part.

The 9/11 Remembrance Day event exceeded all expectation. The ride consisted of over 500 vehicles riding together, downtown to the Indiana 9/11 Memorial. The ceremony downtown at the 9/11 Memorial with Vice President Pence and Governor Holcomb addressing the audience was great. Special thanks to Post 64 for hosting the after party.

This event raised over $80,000.00 with $50,000.00 of that coming from the 1994 Harley Davison Raffle. The bike was donated to us by Legionnaire Kenny Cooper of Post 64. The bike was delivered to Operation Combat Bikersavers in Crown Point, Indiana who then refurbished it. The clearcoat on the new paint included dust from the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. The drawing for the bike was at the Fall Conference and was won by SAL member Jamie France of North Webster.

Thank you to everyone who entered. After an email from our National Commander about the damage caused by Hurricane Ida in Louisiana, I decided that the Department of Indiana needed to help our fellow Legionnaires in that area. With the help of our Communications Director Josh Marshall the Department raised over $10,000.00 in four days. This money came from the Auxiliary, Sons, and other private donors. Josh contacted Lowes on the east side of Indianapolis and was able to purchase $10.000.00 worth of wheelbarrows, rakes, shovels, crowbars, blowers, axes, batteries, bleach, toilet paper and totes, atcost. On the 13th of September Josh and I drove a 26-foot U-Haul packed full of relief items to Louisiana. After dropping the items off in Baton Rouge we then drove through a topical storm to Houma, Louisiana where we observed firsthand the devastation that Ida had caused. Words cannot describe the damage we saw and the anguish we observed in the faces of the Legionnaires we met. I

want to personally thanks each and every one of you that donated to this effort.

The National Commander Paul Dillard visited us for the Fall Conference. The Department leadership took the Commander on a tour to Indianapolis Motor Speedway where we were treated to a tour of the largest sporting venue in the world. There was an excellent lunch at Speedway Post 500 before traveling to Camp Atterbury to learn more about, and to observe, the thousands of Afghanistan refugees awaiting resettlement into the United States.

We visited Franklin Post 205 for dinner, and then the next day we toured Muscatatuck Urban Training Center where we observed this one-of-a-kind training facility.

On Saturday, Commander Dillard addressed our general session and assisted in presenting Edward Harris Jr. with a well-deserved Distinguished Service Award, his Past National Chaplin cover, and pin. The Commander departed, leaving us with a lot of knowledge and new membership ideas.

Bold Predictions Usher in the Future, Redone Orientation.

HUGH DAGLEY

DEPARTMENT ADJUTANT

In my previous article, published in the August issue of the Hoosier Legionnaire, I predicted a “return to normal” for the Department of Indiana by this time this year. It was a bold prediction, and a challenging one to achieve. But because of our leadership, our members, and our headquarters staff, it became a reality. Consider that since last summer, we have:

• Conducted the Law Enforcement Cadet Academy.

• Held the Fall Conference.

• Participated in National’s Membership Workshops.

• Conducted New Officer

• Sent a full delegation to the National Convention. Completed a major ALRled fund-raiser for the 9/11 Memorial in downtown Indianapolis and launched a 500-motorcycle motorcade to mark the occasion.

• Delivered more than $10,000 in material aide to our comrades in Hurricane-stricken Department of Louisiana.

Participated in POWMIA and Veterans Day Ceremonies.

• Carried out the first District Membership Revitalization Drive-around. Hosted a visit by the National Commander and National Vice Commander.

We have completed the restructuring of the headquarters data and communications systems, as well.

Those who contact the department by phone will note

that dedicated lines for the Legion, the Auxiliary and SAL have been activated, and a building-wide – live -- receptionist will direct your call to the appropriate office and staff member.

The data system upgrade resulted in secure access to our files and records via new servers and data hosting on the Cloud, which has resulted in rapid research and response to our members’ inquiries and requests.

In October, we launched a quarterly newsletter distributed to the department’s more than 370 posts. This newsletter is designed to alert post officers to deadlines for required reports and information – and more importantly, directs post officers to the specific location of the forms on the Department’s website.

The Department Service Office now offers veterans claims assistance and consultation in a newly re-

furbished and convenient location in the former headquarters building at 777 North Meridian Street in Indianapolis. This newly designated ‘Indiana Veterans Center’ also houses the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs, and a variety of other veterans’ service organizations.

This is just the beginning. During the next few months we will host National Vice Commander Jerry Wilson on a second membership tour, this one in the southern districts of the Department. We will return the Mid-winter conference, set for January 13-16, 2022, to a training conference, featuring presentations by the Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Charitable Gaming Commission and the IRS, along with a special Post Adjutant’s Seminar, featuring information on myLegion.org, forms and reports, veterans’ finan-

As far as the Department goes, we have done a lot of work there too. We now have a full dedicated and hard-working staff. A receptionist has been added to the staff to answer our phone calls. Hugh Dagley has agreed to stay with us as Department Adjutant until next year’s convention, and we are in the process of interviewing applicants for the Adjutant position. As of this writing we have had eight people apply, and interviews began on October 19th.

Without the staff that we have in place today none of the above would have occurred. I what to thank each staff member publicly for a JOB WELL DONE.

As you can see it’s been very busy and a lot has been accomplished. I would like to close by thanking each of you for your confidence. We have a lot of work ahead of us and with your help we will continue to be the best Department in the American Legion.

God Bless the American Legion and God Bless the United States of America

cial assistance programs, navigating the Department website, and other useful information.

Committees normally scheduled for the Mid-Winter Conference have been asked to consider cancelling non-essential meetings, so time slots and meeting space can be allocated to these special sessions. Many have agreed to do so; committee members should contact their chairpersons for information.

As you read this, the Christmas and New Years Holidays will either be upon us or behind us. The same holds true for what we have planned for the Department of Indiana. Either way, we have much to rejoice in. All of us at the Department Headquarters wish you all a Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years.

L eading H oosier L egionnaire L etters

Rob Burkhart NORTHERN VICE COMMANDER

Greetings from the North. I would like to start off by thanking all the posts and districts that I have visited for their wonderful hospitality.

If you need information on the Buddy Check program you can check out https://www.legion. org/buddycheck. On that page is a “Tools” button that will provide you with several options of documents to download. These buddy checks don’t need to be done at the post. Fourth district does their monthly buddy checks at different locations each month.

We are about 5 months out from when our Firefighter, EMS, Law Enforcement Office, and Service member of the year nominees will be due at Department Headquarters. It is not too early to start working on these. I recently stopped by one of my local fire stations and the Fire Chief was extremely happy with the prospect of nominating his firefighters for the recognition. If you are looking for a law enforcement officer, don’t forget about the State Police Troopers. All state police posts have selected their Troopers of the Year and would be happy to recommend them for our LEO of the Year. Whoever you nominate please nominate someone. They all deserve our thanks.

As the trees start changing colors and we move into the holiday season I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and a very Joyous and wonderful Christmas.

Laurie Bowman MEMBERSHIP CHAIRPERSON

Boy does time fly by. We have already completed the first quarter of our membership year and it has been a whirlwind. Visiting with the posts and districts has been an exciting and eye-opening experience. We have so many great posts and Legionnaires in our midst, and we appreciate all you do not only for your post and your members, but your communities, children, families and all our veterans.

Our membership is what defines us as the greatest veteran’s organization in the world, and that is why we need each and every one of you to renew today. We also need to be asking those that we see every day wearing military apparel, veteran’s license plates or any type of patriotic items to join, by explaining what The American Legion, our programs, our veterans assistance and what your post/ district is all about.

Let’s all continue to work membership by contacting our current members and reconnecting with the 20192021 unrenewed members. These calls or visits can start as a Buddy Check to ensure all our members and former members are doing well and offer our assistance if need

daily, weekly, monthly so our members know we are looking out for them and their needs. Reconnecting with 2019-2021 unrenewed members is very important to find out why they haven’t renewed and ask them to come back because we need each and every one of them. Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small tasks. Work your membership rosters by involving all our volunteers.

Don’t forget about our 10-year discounted membership of $350.00 which will guarantee the dues of $35.00 for ten years. Dues have not been raised since 2016 so a raise in dues is imminent within the next few years. If they cannot afford it at this time, it might be time for them to start saving $35.00 a month for 10 months so they can sign up for the 10-year membership next year. It is much cheaper than the paid up for life (PUFL) membership offered by National.

Revitalizations are in full swing; we need your full participation so we can get these members that are in the 777 holding post into an active post. You would be amazed how easy it is to get these members into an active post. They are grateful that you took the time to call them to follow up on their membership. The quicker we contact them and get them into our active posts, the more likely they are to get involved. Wel

Legion Family today. Congratulations to District 2 Commander Mitch Mullins and his entire team for finishing in 1st place at our Fall Conference. Also, congratulations to Commander David Miller for being the first Department of Indiana American Legion District Commander of the month winner for August 2021. David received a $50.00 gift card and a big thanks from Commander Gullion for a job well done. Let the competition begin for all District Commanders to get the next awards. Keep visiting your posts, do drive arounds and get involved in all the post activities, show your members you care about what they are doing at their post. We also will have Vice Commanders of the Quarter. The winner for the fall conference will be announced at the mid-winter conference.

Don’t forget about the Legion Insurance Trust (LIT). It’s a FREE $1,000 accidental death policy each member is entitled to if they keep their membership current. If you are on Legion business and an accident happens, your family would be entitled to $5,000. If you keep your dues current and pay by Dec 31st you will stay enrolled in the program. If you need to find out if you are still enrolled call 1-800-235-6943 or go to the website TheLIT.com. This is an important perk for all Legion, SAL and

Don’t forget to honor our comrades on Veterans Day. Show your appreciation for all that they sacrificed. Happy Veterans Day to all of you and thank you for your service to our great country.

We are entering our holiday season so have a safe, healthy and happy time with your family and friends. Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa and Happy New Year. We also have the Marine Corp birthday on Nov 10; the National Guard birthday on December 13th and of course Pearl Harbor Day on Dec 7th.

Keep in mind that just because we haven’t done it before doesn’t mean we can’t do it now. We need your thoughts and ideas of how to increase our membership numbers and get new members to join our ranks so we can stay the strongest voice for all veterans.

Just remember you are never too old to set another goal or make a change for the betterment of The American Legion.

In closing, I look forward to attending your meetings and visiting with as many of you as possible. Stay active, healthy and involved in The American Legion. YOU are what keeps The American Legion strong. God bless you, your family, our nation and The Ameri

FROM THE DISTRICT COMMANDERS

In error, the following two District Commander reports were not published in the last issue of the Hoosier Legionnaire. We apologize to District 11 and District 9 for the mistake.

Tina Wallace

9th District Commander

Greetings to my fellow Legionnaires from the 9th District. We just celebrated the 102nd Department Convention and it was a blast. I want to take a moment to thank all my fellow 9th District Legionnaires for having faith in me to be their 9th District Commander for the year 2021-2022. I look forward to working with this amazing group of Veterans and accomplishing wonderful things within our communities.

I want to say congratulations to Milton Howard, from Post 337 in Sunman, on becoming the Department Finance Officer for 2021-2024. We know that he will do a great job because he has been the 9th District Finance Officer for a few years and has been great for us. Congrats to the Educator of the Year from the 9th District awardees sponsored by Post 185: High School was Valarie Smith, Elementary was Marlene Jones. District and state winner for Middle School was Casie Jessop. Also, I want to say congratulations to Post 464 for 73 consecutive years of attaining an all-time high in membership award they received at the Convention. Having nine, 50 continuous year

National Convention in Phoenix, AZ this year and meeting Legionnaires from all around the world. Have a great day and best wishes to my fellow District Commanders for a successful

Greetings to my fellow Legionnaires! Our State of Indiana Department Convention is behind us now and we have set out on a new 2021-2022 Legion Year. I want to thank my 11th District members for the confidence they have placed in me to serve as their Commander. We have a large job ahead of us to recover from the impact of the health challenges from the last year, and I know the 11th District is up to the task and we will have a good time together.

We have many exciting events for which to look forward, and the first one is the 9/11/21 Memorial Ride. Our volunteers intend to make this event a great success. In addition, the one thousand 9/11/21 Signs are almost completely sold out and we are eager to contribute to the Department Commander Mark Gullion’s project for funds to expand the 911 Memorial in Indianapolis, IN.

As I visit each post at the start of this membership year, we are discussing projects to bring back all the members who did not renew last year. The first one is to

September is Suicide Awareness Month. We, collectively, need to stay in contact with veterans who are severely challenged with issues from PTSD to economic, homelessness and relationship issues. Being an active listener and guiding those in need to seek help is crucial. One step is the Veterans Crisis Line (1800-273-8255). Put this number as a favorite on your cell phone today. Another resource is the nearest VA center to get help. You can find the list of area locations and other public resources at www.veteranscrisisline.net.

Involvement in our community is another opportunity that we have again as schools open back up. The first ones are the Flag Education and Testing Program along with the Americanism Testing Program. We need to reach out to schools when they return in August to get involved with them again. We also need to publicize the Oratorical Contest. The first District competition begins in January and participants need to refine their presentations well before then. I invite you to contact me if you have any questions about getting started. Let’s have some fun this year!

Kevin Urbanczyk 1ST DISTRICT COMMANDER

Greetings from the First District. As the days get shorter and colder, I hope everyone is staying warm! Fall conference has passed, and it was a good one. We discussed many things, including membership. We now have better insight into what the commander and the membership chairman are looking for this year. We also learned about, and were able to participate in the meet and greet for the State Commander, his team, and the National Vice Commander from Ohio. Their first stop here in the first district was Post 369, where we had dinner. Then on to Post 80 for breakfast. Their last stop was Post 66 for lunch. I would like to thank those from those posts who helped with the meet and greet. Because of your help the event was a great success.

I wanted to take a moment to remind you about performing Buddy Checks. As seasons change and holidays roll around, let’s be sure to check in with our members and make sure they are doing okay.

Also, let’s keep it going with the membership drive. Our numbers are low, but I know we can do it. With us coming back from the year that we’ve had I think we’re heading in the right direction, but I see it’s also going to be a slow process to get back to something that is considered normal. First District: I know you can do it with membership.

I have attended a few events and posts meetings and I have a few more on my calendar. It was great to see everyone. For the meetings I’ll be attending soon, I look forward to seeing you!

That’s it for now. I hope you and your families have a good Thanksgiving! I’ll be thinking of you all during this holiday season. I’ll see you in the new year with midwinter conference coming up in January.

Rob Kelley 3RD DISTRICT COMMANDER

Ladies and Gentlemen

As everyone has seen, we are lagging behind from where we were last year. We need to pick up the pace on getting renewals in. Please do not hold cards. As soon as you process them, they need to either get them transmitted via “mylegion. org” or by regular paper transmittals. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

We just had the Department Commanders drive around on Friday, Oct 29. I would like to personally thank the members of River Park Post 303 and Bristol Post 143. I was told by numerous members of the travelling party that they greatly appreciated the reception that they received from both Posts. The National Vice Commander for our area was also part of the

group and his main emphasis was on contacting those members who have not renewed in the past couple of years. We were informed that if a member who has not renewed within the past couple of years does renew, somehow that member will retain their continuous years membership. I am not certain how that will work but it is a goal to reach for. This is also a good time to do a “Buddy Check”. See how that former member is getting along and see if they need any assistance.

Along with that, I have printouts for Post 777 members for certain towns and cities that I can email to you. You can reach out to those members and give them a call to see if they want to transfer to a local post. If they do so, all you need to do for this to happen is to send an email to Laurie Bowman with a list containing the members name, member number and which Post they want to be transferred to. That is all it takes.

Something that has been brought to my attention

younger veterans to visit?

Mitch Mullins

2nd DISTRICT COMMANDER

Greetings from the 2nd District. A lot has happened since my first article. The farmers are well into the fall harvest and most likely finished. The Legion has had two major meetings, The National Convention and The Fall Conferences. I was fortunate to be able to attend the National Convention. Contrary to a lot of public opinion it is not all about parties and pats on the back. I had the opportunity to attend classes that were presented by leaders in their respective fields. I used this opportunity to further my knowledge of the American Legion and their programs. I now have more tools and resources to help the 2nd District to reach our goals not only in membership and in promoting our programs. The inaugural issue of the department quarterly newsletter came out. Though brief in size it contained

is that if for some reason you must go an emergency room for treatment (after hours and on weekends), you need to call (844) 7427842. Below is an email that I received from my provider at the St. Joe VA center regarding a recent visit I had to make to a local ER.

“I also want to make sure you called the 72-hour notification hotline. This is the number that needs to be called by the veteran to start the billing process if you are wanting the VA to review and cover the cost. If you used an outside insurance, there is no need to call.

The number is: 844 724 7842. This number needs to be called with-in three days of going to the ER. If you were not aware of this number, it is a good one to keep in your phone or billfold. It is nationwide and can be called even if you had to go to the ER on vacation, out of state.”

I was not aware of this and promised to pass this along to the members. Now that that is out of

a lot of information about membership, communications, reminder about reestablishing relationships with our schools, and some other changes coming to the Department. Looking a little closer to home in the district, we have our 1st revitalization scheduled for 20th of November at Post 492 West Lafayette, In. This part of our game plan to be at 90+ % by the end of the calendar year. Our Vice Commanders have all been trained in MyLegion. org and are assisting their assigned Posts to get back online and start proactively managing the Post membership. We are working to make sure all our Post Officers have all the tools and training to succeed in their positions, to mentor their successors, and grow the membership of the American Legion.

Until next time may God Bless and Guide our Nation, The American Legion, and keep us all in his heart. Please remember 1-800273-8255 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline if you know a vet in trouble please make the call.

the way, I would like to encourage everyone to get out to your local Posts and visit them to see what is going on. A lot of Posts are hosting dinners, feather parties, weekly progressive drawings, and a whole lot more, so many that I can’t either remember them all. By the time this comes out in the “Hoosier Legionnaire,” Halloween and Veteran’s Day have passed. Many Posts will have hosted both kids’ parties and adult Halloween parties. I hope everyone had a scary fun time. With Veterans Day, it is a time to remember our brothers and sisters who are still around with us and keeping alight the fires of freedom, justice, and democracy.

Middlebury Post 210 will be having (will have had) a ceremony on November 13 marking 100 years of existence. I think that is remarkable. If you haven’t been to Post 210, you should go. It is a beautiful facility. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

6th

Linn Hutchison

DISTRICT COMMANDER

Hello Legion Family

It has been a very busy couple of months with training sessions in August at Fort Harrison and Revitalization training at Post 64 in September. It was also an enjoyable and informative week in Phoenix during the National Convention and our fall conference at Marriot east in Indianapolis. Thanks to all that donated food or helped set up, clean up, and worked the hospitality room.

I have made a few post visits, but I need to pick up the pace to get around the district. I do want to thank the posts that we visited for all their hospitality. Post 48 in Rockville, Post 58 in Greencastle and Post 104 Terre Haute. We also had a trip to Post 172 in Jasonville to meet up with Department Vice-Commander Bruce Curry.

We all have copies of our membership goals for the year and with the latest update that came out on October 2nd, it shows we have a little more work to do to meet our next target date goals. We may have more to do, but I still would like to give a big hand out to our membership people and vice-commanders. I know it has been difficult using MyLegion.org, but I know we will get better. I appreciate everything you do.

I’d like to shout out to a couple of posts who celebrated their 100-year anniversary. Post 331 in Brownsburg celebrated 100-years in September and Post 341 in Cicero celebrated in October.

The 6th District will have its first membership Revitalization on October 9, at Post 113 Lebanon from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. It will take everyone’s effort to be successful.

I know that some may not be able to stay all day, but if you can help only for a couple of hours that would be appreciated. So come on over to Lebanon.

4TH DISTRICT COMMANDER

Every day, every meeting, the topic of membership and recruiting our younger veterans comes up. Why? Are they so different from us? Us “seasoned” veterans? What is it they did or saw that makes them so different? And why do we spend millions of dollars to find out what we already know? The answer is easier than you ever imagined, but more difficult to accomplish. Go to a local Post that is thriving and find out their secret, the key is that our younger veterans are embraced. They are asked, what the Post can do for them. Our younger Veterans have families, but most homes require a dual income to make ends meet. Does your Post offer changing tables in all bathrooms?

Does your Post have babysitting availability during Post Meeting times. Does your Post have an activity area for the children of our

Does your Post have computer or gaming areas where our veterans can go? Does your Post Commander, and their officers sit at the bar rail, or are they the first people to get up and greet a new Veteran and thank them for their service? Does the jukebox play music from Papa Roach and the warrior poet Eminem?

Ask yourself, why is the single fastest growing program in the American Legion our own Buddy Check?

Because our younger veterans get it, they understand what it means when their battle buddy survives the battles but losses the war at home. They understand “I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut. My weakness is that I care too much, and my scars remind me that the past is real. I tear my heart open just to feel.” In the 4th we have a District wide Buddy Check that happens every month. Our at risk Veterans have come to expect to hear from one of their peers each month.

If you care about OUR AMERICAN LEGION, you must be part of the

solution. There is no more time for wringing our hands at the Post while we bury another brother or sister at loved everything that the Legion stands for. At our last 4th District meeting at Post 296, we had a very special guest. A WW2 veteran who was being awarded his 76 year membership certificate, the Department Commanders Coin, a letter of recognition from the Department and the French government’s highest award the Legion d’honeur. It was a true honor to be in the presence of a genuine war hero. Our District ALR, had its Fallen Riders program and a week later, and Post 330’s riders presented a $1000 check to the Veterans Shrine and the district riders are backing that up with another $500 later this month. The 4th District ALR accounted for almost 40% of the participants in the 9/11 ride. Post 82 and Post 157 hosted the Commander’s caravan and our revitalization was a great success. We sent a handwritten welcome letter to everyone who transferred from 777. District

officers have been to every Auxiliary and SAL district meeting. Our 4th District Camaro has been to baseball and football games, meeting and car shows, and been to multiple sponsors locations. We had the honor of helping to lead the Veterans Day parade in Fort Wayne and being the keynote speaker. And of course, I would be remiss if I did not thank everyone who made the fall conference hospitality room a success, especially my Buddy Check Babes!

In closing thank you to every person in the Fabulous 4th District, your sup port and dedication has made our first months to gether a huge success. I especially would like to recognize The Honorable Don Dapp who has been the advisor to the District SAL for almost 30 years. He is stepping away, guidance and expertise will be missed. May this spe cial time of the year give us cause to be thankful to God and his many blessings.

For God and Country

Executive vice-commander Judy Pearson is working on our first drive around to be scheduled for Saturday, October 23rd. She is lining up five or six posts to visit and pick up membership cards. She should have information out soon.

The pandemic is all but over, and we need to get out and push the American Legion Programs. We have 44 posts in the district and each post has a school, a police department, a fire department, an active-duty member, reservist and or a National Guard member and etc. Get the word out so we can make a showing at the next convention.

In closing the holiday season is just around the corner. I’d like to wish everyone a

DAVE MILLER

FROM THE DISTRICT COMMANDERS

Lonnie Boyce 7TH DISTRICT COMMANDER

I would like to congratulate Post 224 Dugger for achieving 104.35% membership goal for 2021. Keep up the outstanding work and don’t rest as there are still more great people wanting to become Legion members. Also, congratulations go out to Post 51 Owensville, Post 194 Haubstadt, Post 1919 Greenwood, Post 245 Elnora, Post 479 Lyons, Post 398 Carlisle, Post 462 Sommerville and Post 22 Linton for achieving this month’s

commander’s membership goal quota. All received another entry in the chance to win $1,000.00 at department convention. Franklin Post 205 is back open; good luck. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone during these troubling times but especially for two key people in the 7th District. Vice Commander Ron Henry of Post 285 Spencer just got out of Bloomington Hospital after a 40 day stay and has been transferred to Grand Valley Rehabilitation facility for another 30 days. Also, past department commander and 7th District southern membership chair James May is dealing with some family health procedures. Keep doing those

Tina Wallace

9th District Commander

Greetings to my fellow Legionnaires from the 9th District. I want to take a moment to thank all my fellow 9th District Legionnaires, and I look forward to working with this amazing group of veterans and accomplishing wonderful things within our communities.

I want to say congratu-

lations to Milton Howard, from Post 337 in Sunman, on becoming the Department Finance Officer for 2021-2024. We know that he will do a great job because he has been the 9th District Finance Officer, and has served us well.

Congrats to the Educator of the Year recipients from the 9th District which were sponsored by Post 185. The High School Educator was Valarie Smith and Elementary Educator was Marlene Jones. The District and State winner for Middle School Educator was Casie Jessop.

rial Expansion with the sale of 1,700 of the 911 signs came from Rees Morgan.

Buddy Checks and supporting all The Legion programs. Stay safe and hope to see you at the Mid Winter Conference. Also I would like to thank Mooresville Post 103, Princeton Post 25, Lyons Post 25 and Worthington Post 106 for hosting the district meetings this year and our next district meeting is November 7th at Post 172 Jasonville. Special shout out to southern vice commander Steven Barnett for his visit to the Fighting 7th at the district meeting in Lyons.

Kevin Brinksneader 8TH DISTRICT COMMANDER

Greetings from “The Great 8th”. The year is flying by. As of this writing, Thanksgiving came and went. Christmas is a few weeks out. We had our Post Revitalization on November 4th, 5th and 6th. I am planning another Post Revitalization after the first of the year.

The annual auction was held at Elberfeld Post 351 to generate money for the department commander’s and department president’s

al Convention.

Also, I want to say congratulations to Post 464 for 73 consecutive years for obtaining the all-time high membership award they received at the Convention. Currently they have nine, 50 continuous year members and one, 75 continuous year member, helps achieve that goal. Keep up the good work! The National Convention in Phoenix was an amazing time. This was my first National Convention and I learned so much from my fellow Legionnaires. I encourage every Legionnaire to go to at least one Nation-

parking garage downtown.

After Convention, I hit the ground running. Our District had a training session at Post 89 in Seymour, and good information was passed along. Then it was time for the Fall Conference, and the General Session had National Commander Paul Dillard and Past National Chaplain Harris as guests. WOW!

I want to brag about the 9th District for a minute. We have posts that will make you laugh with a comedy show or cornhole tournaments. We have posts that honor our POW/MIA with

24/7/365.

projects. There is still a lot of work to do. We still need to focus on MEMBERSHIP which is the LIFE BLOOD of our organization. We need to check and work on expired members to find out Why they didn’t renew. Programs is another point we need to work on. The more we get the word out about The American Legion Programs involving the community it could help in increasing our membership. I am proud to announce, we had two American Legion Riders Chapters added to the 8th District, Winslow Post 115 and Tell City Post 213. Thank you for the hard work.

a reading of their names, honor our fallen with a Legion Rider escort, and others honor our wounded with prayers, cards, and an outpouring of donations. We have posts that donate to their local schools to assist the teachers for classroom supplies. We have Legion Riders that show up at Zero Dark Thirty to remember the fallen on 9/11. I cannot be prouder and more humbled by those men and women that serve in The American Legion, Department of Indiana, 9th District.

Ben Olsen

11th DISTRICT COMMANDER

The first quarter of this Legion Year was filled with activities, and the 11th District rose to the occasion in support of Department Commander Mark Gullion.

The first was raising $12,327 after an additional $410 was received from Rees Morgan and three other signs sales. The idea for using 9/11 Remembrance signs for the Commander’s project for the 911 Memo-

Starting with the state convention, this was a combined effort of the entire American Legion Family throughout the State of Indiana.

Next up was the extensive support by the 11th District for the 911 Memorial Remembrance Event.

The 11th District volunteers packed the bags to hand out at registration. We were also at Department Headquarters for the day of the ride, directing traffic for parking, manning the registration tables, serving a light lunch and directing traffic at the

Finally, Post 64 conducted the after-party for the participants to attend after the ceremonies downtown at the Indiana 9/11 Memorial. All of the 11th District really stepped up to help make this event a success.

As events unfolded in Afghanistan in August and September, there was a dramatic increase in veteran suicides nationally. The 11th District PR Chair, Paul Norton, worked with both print and television media in getting articles and media spots out about Veterans Suicides that were spiking nationally and how to get help for our veterans

When Hurricane Ida battered Louisiana, Department of Indiana Commander Mark Gullion asked for support to take relief supplies to the hardest hit areas. District 11 donated $2,000 to this relief effort for our State Commander to personally deliver supplies in Louisiana.

While much has been accomplished by the 11th District in the first quarter, we have much more to do to continue the mission of our organization. The 4th Grade Flag Education Program, the Americanism testing and oratorical contest need to be brought to

our local schools. In addition, we have Public Safety Awards, Teacher-of-theYear Awards and Armed Service Awards that need attention to submit after the first of the year.

We also need to approach every Legionnaire at every post who did not renew in the last two challenging years and make the case that they are needed to make our American Legion Family vibrant for the future. Let’s also keep focused on staying connected to veterans with Buddy Checks as the year progresses.

eading H oosier L egionnaire L etters

their sacrifices and losses.

NORRIS KEIRN DEPARTMENT CHAPLAIN

I just purchased my tickets for our Post’s New Year’s Eve party. Our stateside family will gather for Thanksgiving and birthday celebrations on November 24. Advent readings for the church are prepared and ready to begin on November 28 as well as the Christ Candle on Christmas Eve with Holy Communion. Packages and presents are accumulating for Christmas -- weeks of celebrations, gatherings and special worship experiences lie ahead.

My Jewish friends will

celebrate Hanukah as we begin Advent. I participated in this each year as a staff prison chaplain. It speaks deeply to my Jewish heritage. My ancestors changed their religion and the spelling of their name on the boat coming over to America -- as did many.

Regardless of our origins, family histories and faith, this time of year is marked with travel, family and friendship gatherings. With the anticipated lifting of COVID-19 restrictions by our Governor, this could well prove to be an exceptional year! I am however, in a mood of reflection as we enter another season of festivities.

On Veterans Day as my wife led the POW/MIA service at the Post, I focused

on the phrase, “The glass is inverted, as they cannot toast.” That took me be back over a half a century, as I began to reflect on those comrades who gave all. I remember a quarter of a century ago when I laid to rest the re-patriated remains of a Marine who became MIA and presumed dead while I was in Vietnam. I can still see his mother at the service with her arms covered with prayer bracelets of remembrance with her son’s name. While Marines don’t cry, that remembrance caused a salt mist to accumulate in my eyes.

I contemplate our young veterans who witnessed and experienced the ripping away of our support and defense of a free Afghanistan and it’s fall this year, and all

I think about the refugees being assimilated into our society yet separated half a world away from their family and the lives they had known.

Being a Chaplain and a member of our Post Color Guard, I am aware of the fading away of many of our veterans as our veteran population continues to shrink.

As we gather around our tables this holiday season many will experience the loss of loved ones. This is especially true of spouses and family members left behind. We can laugh at one second and cry or be silent at another.

Yet, the good news is that this is a season of hope! We celebrate with family and friends because those sacri-

fices in our past have given us something to hope for in the future! Our gatherings often bring new friends, new families and new life. We have faith and hope in a God whose love has carried us though the past and prepares a future for each of us.

May your memories of our Legion Family’s past be rich and fulfilling, and may you hope for a future that will unfold with great gratification in the year to come.

The new year started off at a fast pace with the entire American Legion Family attending the National Convention in Phoenix, Arizona. The weather in Phoenix was hot, but the excitement in the convention hall was electric, since it was the first time in two years the ALA was together in one room. It was wonderful to finally celebrate the 100th birthday of the American Legion Auxiliary in person even though it was a year later! Then it was home in time to attend the Popcorn Festival in Valparaiso in the Second District. I truly enjoyed the parade and the warm hospitality as we visited with everyone.

The American Legion Auxiliary Department of Indiana Fall Conference was held September 17th through the 19th. During

the Opening Session we were honored to recognize our special guest for the weekend, our own Denise Delaney-Wrolen, National Central Division Vice President, who brought greetings from the National Organization. We also recognized National Vice President Vickie Koutz who will serve as the National President for 2022-2023. During our dinner on Saturday evening we were honored to have American Legion Department Commander Mark Gullion and Sons of the American Legion Commander Dennis Budd attend and bring remarks. I believe they enjoyed the meal and the fun entertainment which followed!

The members of the ALA Department of Indiana “ROSE” to the occasion to help our troops returning from Afghanistan. The USO sent us a letter the week before Fall Conference requesting donations since they had depleted their supplies. The volume of the troops returning and going to camp Atterbury,

and those going through the USO at the airport was overwhelming. Over $8,000 was donated to supply our troops with goods and snacks. A big “thank you” to the American Legion Department of Indiana for lending us the use of their van to aid in delivering the donations. What an awesome effort in such a short time! Commander Gullion requested assistance to help those who had been affected by hurricane Ida in Louisiana. The ALA Department of Indiana contributed $2,500 to the cause to help them with the cleanup process. Thank you to all who were willing to reach out and help on such short notice.

I was very excited to receive an invitation along with the Department Officers to join Department Commander Mark Gullion and National Commander Paul Dillard as we toured Muscatatuck, a 1,000-acre urban training facility near Butlerville, Indiana. It is the Department of Defense’s largest facility of its type

which train military, police and other private contractors to defend the homeland and win peace. We felt very honored to spend the day with the National Commander. I was also honored to bring greetings to the American Legion Fall Conference on behalf of all of our members the same weekend.

The American Legion Auxiliary National President’s Homecoming in Covington, Kentucky was held October 8th through the 10th. Many members of the Indiana American Legion Family were in attendance. What a wonderful time as we toured many of the sights and visited several posts. After the completion of the Homecoming the first ever ALA National President’s Retreat was held. It was a very informative meeting and enjoyable getting to know the other Department Presidents. We all shared ideas and it was interesting to learn how other Departments function and how National supports us.

VA Disability Compensation Claims –Knowing When and When Not to File

By John Hickey

A few veterans, and most all veterans service officers, understand the basic rules for filing VA disability compensation claims:

(1) A veteran must file a claim within one year following his or her active duty discharge for VA to award service connection retroactive from the day following the veteran’s discharge from active duty, and (2) If a veteran files a claim more than one year following his or her active duty discharge, VA can only grant benefits from the date of the claim. Not knowing

grant benefits retroactively from the date of its receipt of the Intent to File notice. A recently changed regulation requires VA to use the “Intent to File” notice as a place holder for both original claims and supplemental (re-filed) claims.

Before filing to reopen a claim, veterans also need to know their service-connected compensation ratings are not protected by law from reduction until the rating has been in effect for 20 years or more. This also includes ratings assigned “permanency,” since, for VA purposes, permanency only means VA

tion rating effective from the date of the evidence confirming the worsening condition; however, VA will grant the increase only from the date of the claim if the veteran waits more than one year from when the service-connected disability became worse.

Veterans should also know that when a service-connected condition causes another condition or worsens a non-service-connected condition, VA could grant secondary service connection but, usually, only if a claim is filed. For instance, veterans may file for

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31NIV

On October 27th through October 30th my Membership Chair Connie Banks and I were invited to travel with Commander Gullion and National Vice Commander Jerry Wilson on a membership drive around throughout Districts 1 through 5. What a great time meeting with our members, collecting membership and spreading the word that membership is everyone’s job. Don’t forget to check on members who have not paid in a year or two, see how they are doing and ask them to rejoin. Please don’t hold on to membership and send them in regularly. As the holidays quickly approach, I ask you to “Remember Our Service to Veterans Every Day” and pray for our brave men and women serving in harm’s way around the world, that they stay safe and return to their families soon. Thank you for all you do for our veterans, military and their families. Happy Holidays!

vice connected for a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may not want to ask for service connection of another mental health disorder if the other mental health disorder did not have its onset during the veteran’s active-duty service. Not only would VA likely deny service connection for the other mental health condition, but VA might also propose a rating reduction for the PTSD by concluding that evidence shows the veteran’s mental health symptoms are mostly associated with the non-serviceconnected mental health condition

Rose Ann Dzieglowicz ALA PRESIDENT

post everlasting for membership year 2020-2021

POST 353

Albert Hughes

Donald Nixon

John Norris

Michael Witt

POST 354

Charles Haskins

James Whitlock

POST 355

Leslie Clark

George Cravens

Robert Dancey

Donald Ernst

David Estell

George Mennel

Kenneth Winecoff

POST 356

William Cook

Kenneth Depoy

POST 357

Guy Cressy

Norbert Drzazgowski

Richard Gorney

Charles Hurley

Stanley Jurek

Joseph Kernan

John Kloski

Richard Latson

Stanley Nawrocki

Jerome Otolski

John Oxian

Richard Ruszkowski

Guy Stancati

Julius Szabo

Daniel Tafelski

POST 359

Thomas Mayberry

John Ross

POST 365

Ted Arnett

James Baugh

John Kidder

Mike Kochanowski

Stephen Rudynski

POST 366

Dennis Kerstiens

Donald Muth

Eugene Stein

John Wittman

POST 368

G Wilkins

POST 369

Armond Berard

Harold Broertjes

Lawrence Devore

Ronald Frey

Eugene Hanyzewski

Edwin Lebryk

Richard Lemos

David Mell

Charles Moya

Stanley Oboy

Joseph Rizzardo

Peter Wayne

POST 370

Jerry Alexander

POST 377

Steven Gaskill

POST 381

Darwin Boyles

Kenneth Buckmaster

Lewie Slone

POST 384

Jerry Erisman

Howard Jackson

POST 385

Dale Lichtenbarger

Ray Sutherlin

POST 387

John Cheney

Dennis Crouse

POST 391

Donald Box

Michael Wilson

POST 398

James Johnson

Ingbal Shahid

James Whatley

POST 399

Joseph Walters

POST 400

Eugene Eggleston

POST 402

Charles Amiss

Roger Helton

Charles Signs

Dorlan Wagner

Otto Wolfe

POST 403

Ronald Bailey

William Homan

POST 408

John Masters

POST 409

Thomas Hamilton

Pete Maxfield

James Newville

John Steinbeck

Richard Sterling

Jon Uhrick

POST 410

Russell Byrkett

John Spitznogle

Robert Turner

POST 413

H Eugene Halcomb

Guy Seele

POST 414

Danny Walden

POST 415

William Gifford

POST 418

Allen Henry

Samuel Kirkpatrick

Walter Smith

POST 420

Gregory Galligher

Norbert Molthan

POST 423

Edwin Boknecht

Robert Carns

Gordon Willms

POST 424

William Erwin

Jeffrey Kreft

Michael Young

POST 428

Larry Baker

Walter Barr

POST 430

Paul Hayden

Joseph Skora

Doyle Witwer

POST 434

Alfred Herbst

James Hopper

Arthur Kidder

Delmon Lindsey

POST 437

Robert Ingram

Donald Lephart

Larry Weems

POST 438

Barbara Purvis

Ellanor Vice

POST 440

John Bigbie

Frederick Boissy

Theodore Devries

Julian Echterling

George Hopkins

Robert Hudgins

Richard Kritlow

Howard Schulze

POST 444

Alan Meyer

POST 446

Paul Friend

John Moore

Alton Sneed

POST 450

Clifford Buskirk

Ronald Tincher

POST 451

Raymond Williams

POST 452

Paul Kraus

POST 454

Dorothy Pavlakovic

POST 463

Roger Garrison

POST 464

John Boerger

Donald Brown

Russell Eckstein

Richard Schuman

Walter Schuman

Earl Stenger

Kenneth Tompkins

Tony Walker

Alvin Werner

William White

Earl Wilhelm

John Wuestefeld

POST 468

James Moore

POST 469

Carrol Smith

POST 470

Thomas Harper

POST 476

Robert Bowers

POST 479

Kevin Vaughn

POST 484

Stephen Hire

POST 485

Walter Abatie

John Finley

POST 492

Gerald Barrett

Phillip Brockman

Charles Ervin

Robert Foster

Duane Gross

Phillip Hammond

Damon Kelsey

Ronald Kidd

Terry Lannen

John Link

Floyd Logsdon

Donald Miller

Jimmie Miller

Larry Morris

Joseph Rickard

Mark Rukavina

James Wolf

POST 493

Eugene Betz

POST 495

Charles Johnson

Terrence Johnson

Donald Pickens

Petro Tom

POST 497

Robert Mathioudakis

Paul Meyers

POST 499

Paul Echlin

Donald Stearns

POST 500

Charles Comer

J Eiteljorge

Russell Haines

Jack Kesler

Adam Krivoshia

William Marvel

Terry Perkins

Donald Reinbold

John Roach

Harold Rowbotham

Delmer Stephens

Mac Trusnik

Robert Tucker

Charles Wittchow

POST 502

Rudolph Dawson

Gerald Dennis

Charles Fitzgerald

Lawrence Kimmel

Cecil Leffert

William Pardee

Bruce Ripple

POST 507

Clayton Addington

Lowell Fraze

Paul Frontz

Herbert James

Lowell Mock

POST 508

Thomas Burns

Al Pena

Manuel Sanchez

Felix Torres

POST 510

Russell Bailey

David Fentz

Bruce Fitzgerald

John Jones

James Whitaker

POST 701

Don Lott

Thomas Pry

Herman Trass

POST 702

Stephen Fredericks

POST 703

Devon Birk

James Kilbourne

Albert Krouser

POST 704

Edwin Leonard

POST 705

Paul Bowman

Jim Ellis

Robert Gibbs

Gary Miller

Daniel Sommers

Wayne Wright

POST 707

Richard Howk

Rex Stiffler

Joe Wright

POST 709

Billy Montgomery

POST 710

Garrett Ramsey

James Small

POST 711

Columbus Abbott

Everett Allen

Donald Batrich

William Nason

Jim Otto

POST 777

William Billerman

Peter Gomez

Lloyd Hawn

John Hill

Paul Jones

Fred McClish

James Rady

Robert Reemer

Jack Riner

Dennis Todd

John Vanpatten

Booker Washington

POST 777

James Andrews

Keith Bean

Jack Blinn

Chester Bruner

Bobby Bryant

Robert Clay

David Ellis

William Gilvin

Richard Grams

Willard Harmon

Matthew Jakubczyk

Raymond Lear

James Locke

Gary Marchal

Larry McBride

Archer Moore

Donald Potts

Eric Rieke

Mel Robinson

Walter Rumple

James Shippey

Ronald Terrell

Donald Thompson

Robert Usselman

James Wainscott

Jacob Wiebers

Cud Willis

DEPARTMENT COMMISSION REPORTS

Internal Affairs Commission

3 awards. Last year we had too few candidates.

ed by Dec.

BOB OETH

Commission Chairman

AL RIDERS: Ronnie Patton, Chairman. There were no minutes from this meeting reported.

COMMUNITY IN-

VOLVEMENT: Michael Wooden, Chairman opened meeting at 1030 hrs. in Salon D There were 13 members present, 3 absent, 5th District not represented Minutes from the previous meeting were read and approved.

There being no old business and under new business there was a discussion on the 11th Districts Suicide Awareness program on the media TV and radio. This Committee will not meet at our next Conference and the meeting was closed at 1050 hrs.

CONVENTION CON-

TESTS: Bill Long, Chairman. Did not meet.

FF/EMS/L&O

AWARDS: Nick Nicholoff, Chairman opened meeting and the discussion was all about every District Chairperson make a 100% effort getting candidates for

LEGISLATION: Kenneth Copper, Chairman. Meeting was opened, minutes from the last meeting were approved. There were 4 members and 3 guest and 7 absent.

The committee discussed the Big Four Legislative Priorities for 2022. The AMVETS has left the Big Four and the National Guard Association of Indiana is a new member. It was expressed that everyone should get to know your State Legislators and keep them aware of the Veteran’s needs. Meeting was closed a 1250 hrs.

MEMBERSHIP: Laurie Bowman, Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 1500 with the saluting of the colors.

Audrey Copeland was invited to speak and answer any questions the body had about mylegion & card processing. She addressed all the issues they had & took a list of things with her to get the answer to or to make changes/adjustments.

The roll call was held with 22 present & 3 excused. Membership is 54.58%.

The early bird cutoff was extended to this report so all Post that earned the award would receive it. Initial revitalizations have started & are scheduled to be complet-

Commander Gullion addressed the body and informed them that the first Commanders Caravan would start on Oct. 27th in the first District & he will get the info out immediately. It will also be posted to the membership tab on the Department website.

The first District Commander of the month was Commander David Miller, 4th District.

POST EDUCATION:

Ron Byrley, Chairman, open meeting at 1300 hrs. with 15 members present. Minutes from last meeting were approved. The committee then discussed the purpose of this committee, to include identifying Post that were in trouble and needs help with training. Training at District meeting with District Vice Commanders so they can go out and train the Post that they are assigned to. All Post need to have a book with all program Chairpersons listed so if some calls or comes to the Post needing information about programs it is available. This same information needs to be on legion .org.

Meeting adjourned at 1355.

PUBLIC RELATIONS: Roger Hilligoss, Chairman, opened meeting at 1400 and had 13 members answer roll

call and there 5 absent. The only business was a discussion on bring in someone at Mid-winter Conference to have training on preparing good press releases.

RELIGIOUS EMPHASIS: Norris Keirn, Chairman, Meeting was opened in Salon B at 1100.

Ten District chairman answered roll with one absent. A discussion of the history of the Chaplin and their duties at all levels of the American Legion. The meeting concluded with a question and answer period with Department Chaplin Norris Keirn. Committee will meet at the Mid- Winter Conference.

YOUTH CADET LAW ENFORCEMENT ACAD-

EMY: Ron Patterson, Chairman held his meeting in Salon A at 1030. There were 14 members present and 6 absent. Ron Byrley talked about the importance of Legion Family members to come to the camp and check it and get involved.

Other topics discussed (1) having orientation meetings conducted by each District. (2) Forming an Alumni group for former Cadets. (3) Junior Shooting Sports will be added to the academy this year. (4) Doing a better job at capturing the events happening at the camp by way of a drone. (5)

The Legion will take over the drill and ceremony part of the camp this year. (6) A tentative date for Law Cadet Camp 2022, July 17 - July 23. (7) Having a going away party for SGT. Elwood. (8) Recruiting more Cadets for this program by contacting the career centers. Also the program needs more counselors and more Legion Family members to show up for graduation. (9) Set a goal of 70 to 75 Cadets for this years camp. (10) SAL is interested in helping in all ways of the program.

The meeting was then adjourned at 1105.

DEPARTMENT LE-

GION COLLAGE: Richard Brown, Chairman. Meeting was opened at 1100 in Salon D, 13 members present with 2 absent, there was 1 guest.

The only business was the first session of The Department of Indiana Legion Collage is to be held from 1000 Wednesday of Spring Conference to 1400 Friday of the Spring Conference. Meeting was then adjourned.

This completes the meeting of the Internal Affairs Committee. Chairman Bob Oeth ask that all reports be prepared legibly or by email to boboeth70@yahoo.com

RON HOAKS

Commission Chairman

The commission met at 4:00 p.m. on October 2, 2021, in Salon A of the Marriott East Hotel during the Fall Conference. Chairman Ron Hoaks opened the meeting in proper form. Roll call was conducted, and all were present. The following reports were given by the respective committee chairpersons.

General Hospital Meeting was opened by Chairperson Rex Ikemire at 1:00 p.m. on October 2, 2021 in Salon D. Roll call was conducted, 37 members were present, 9 were absent and 1 guest was present.

Previous minutes were read and accepted. There were no resolutions or additional requests for funding. Meeting adjourned.

Homeless Veteran Meeting was opened by Chairperson Ann Adcook at 1:00 p.m. on October 2, 2021 in Salon B. Roll call was conducted, 8 members were present, 3 were absent and 3 guests were present.

Previous minutes were read and accepted. The following motions were made

1. Investigate need for emergency weekend funding through HVAF for veterans moving into temporary or permanent housing but in need of housing until the move. HVAF to handle statewide emergency fund. Possible resolution and

gram dates passed.

Motions to send District winner tests and essays to be scored to District Chairperson before Mid-Winter Conference passed.

next conference.

2. Investigate Camp Camby for possible statewide support for female veteran’s families.

3. Investigate fund raising activities at District levels.

4. Motion passed to contribute to the following two facilities from homeless vet committee funds

a. Hope House, Richmond, IN $1,000

b. Genesis, Richmond, IN $500 There were no resolutions or additional requests for funding. Meeting adjourned.

Nursing Home Meeting was opened by Chairperson James Grauvogi at 2:00 p.m. on October 2, 2021 in Salon C. Roll call was conducted, 13 members were present, 1 was absent

trict Chairperson per Rob Burkhart. Motion to have District Dates turned in no later Nov. 15, 2021, Richard Culp 2nd passed list of high schools in state.

and 3 guests were present. Previous minutes were read and accepted.

There were no resolutions or additional requests for funding. Meeting adjourned.

Indiana Veteran’s Home Meeting was opened by Chairperson Jack Platt at 10:30 a.m. on October 2, 2021 in Salon E. Roll call was conducted, all members were present and 8 guests. Previous minutes were read and accepted.

Motion was approved to buy fishing shed to store poles for $4,300.

There was a motion to purchase 3 ice and water machines for $3,966.

There were no resolutions or additional requests for funding. Meeting adjourned.

Employment

Meeting was opened by Chairperson Willy Parks at

12:00 p.m. on October 2, 2021 in Salon E. Roll call was conducted, 9 members were present, 2 absent. Previous minutes were read and accepted.

Employment awards were discussed. There were no resolutions or additional requests for funding. Meeting was adjourned.

Veterans Assistance

Meeting was opened by Chairperson Bob Rettig at 1:00 p.m. on October 2, 2021 in Salon C. Roll call was conducted, 14 members were present, 5 were absent and 1 guest present. Previous minutes were read and accepted.

There were no resolutions or additional requests for funding. Meeting was adjourned.

ent, 7 absent, 3rd & 5th not represented

Motion made (A) Both paper and online tests must be protected by a Legionnaire. All paper tests whether used or not will be controlled and returned to department A&G committee after grading. All online tests will be conducted in groups within normal school hours. Exceptions may be cause for excluding tests.

Minutes from previous conference not present. Adjourned: 3:53pm

FLAG EDUCATION: 2:00pm Marriott Salon E

13 present, 2 absent, 6 guests, All Districts present.

Motions to accept pro-

Discussed better participation of posts, better advertising program to schools, and advertising in papers online and radio.

Committee will meet at next conference for 1.5 hours. 20 people anticipated.

ORATORICAL COMMITTEE:

12:00pm Marriott Salon B

Meeting opened in proper form by Chairman James Grauvogl. Roll call disclosed 15 members present, 3 guests and 3 absent.

Old Business: overview of contest for new chairpersons. Motion to accept minutes from previous conference were not available.

New Business: dates for district needed. Email to Butch or James Grauvogl. Commander spoke to group. Need link for background checks sent to Dis-

Oratorical committee will meet at next conference for 1 hour. Meeting closed @ 12:56pm

HBS ENROLLMENT:

12:00PM Marriott E, Salon C Secretary Bob Oeth, District 7th District not represented. Old Business: covered online process. Minutes from previous conference had no minutes in packet.

HBS enrollment will meet at next conference for 1 hour anticipated # of people 30. Will need lectern projector screen and Wi-Fi

BOY SCOUTS: 1:00pm Marriott E, Salon 8 Meeting opened in proper form by Chairman Stan Gatewood. There were 13 present, 3 guests and 2 absent.

Old Business: pen design to be at Mid-Winter

conference and voted on. Minutes to previous conference were accepted as read. Schedule handed out for time frame scout committee. Time to judge will be March 5th. Motion to table name change of committee till winter conference. Committee will meet at next conference for 1 hour. Meeting adjourned in proper fashion.

ALCEW / IVETS:

12:00pm

Location Salon D

All Chairman & Districts present. No guests were present. Minutes of previous meeting not available. Finance Report CEW $129,037.97, Scholarship $144,719.13, Foundation $79,112.58, IVETS $93,901.32. Motion to accept finance from previous conference passed. Commanders Rep Jordan spoke on ad house committees of 5 members to oversee and report to full committee. Motion to make emergency @ meeting permanent passed. Commander Guillion spoke

about IDVA funds for vets available. Finance committee to allow ALCEW to fund IVH replacement flags from foundation money passed. Committee will meet at next conference for 1 hour. 40 people anticipated and lectern. Meeting adjourned by Chairman Conners @ 12:58pm

JSSP: met in Salon 6 @ 10:45am

Meeting opened in proper form by Chairman Scoggins. All were present except 1st District. Minutes not available from previous conference. Discussed shooting activities, but greatest need is to promote the program. Conducted open house in Salon 6 with complete display of equipment. Committee will meet at next conference for ½ hour. Adjourned at 11:30, Open House 11:30am to 4:00pm.

RICK HUDSON Commission Chairman

McClure WWII 76 year member

By: David Miller

Not so long ago WWII veterans came to everyone’s District meetings. They came because the had done it for decades, and they came to see old friends. But today, WWII veterans are not coming to meetings, either because they are no longer with us, or are physically unable. That is why last Thursday the 4th of November was so special.

The 4th District, Department of Indiana was the host for a very special evening for a even more special veteran. Norvin D. McClure is the kind of quiet gentleman you would hope lives next door. But his soft hands and gentle temperament do not share the evils of war that he went through long ago. McClure, 97 never shared much with his daughter Linda, an Auxiliary member at Post 296 in Fort Wayne. Linda Minnick was quoted as sharing, “All he’d say was it was a bad experience and he wouldn’t want to do it again.”

On November 13th McClure along with his children will travel to Camp Shelby, Mississippi where he will formally be awarded the French Legion d’honeur, or Legion of Honor. The medal is France’s highest honor given to veterans and civilians who have

great deeds for the country. Interesting that the award was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802. His application for the award was approved by French President Emmanuel Macron.

McClure was assigned to the U. S. Army’s Headquarters and Service Company, 265th Engineer Battalion, 65th Infantry Division. Where he spent his time disarming boobie traps and land mines. His expertise in all things mechanical, was put to the test when he and a group of soldiers were given orders to commander a boat and rescue fellow soldiers from the Mainz River. While repairing the engine, an explosion, probably from a boobie trap, cause him to lose hearing in one ear. McClure was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal, and a host of other medals including the World War II Victory Medal.

“It is special to have a World War II veteran attend to a District meeting. It is unique to have that person be a 76 year member of the American Legion. But it humbling to have that member be a genuine war hero.” Norvin McClure was introduced by Post 296 Commander Mike Davis. He was given his 76 year membership award by the Commander of his home Post 82 Alan Schuette, he also received a special citation from the Department of Indiana and the Commander’s coin, by Northern Vice Commander’s Burkhart and Magyar.

As District Commander, I had a truly unique position to watch all of this happen. After the applause and the awards Norvin quietly sat back down and I watched him slip back to the older gentleman as he rolled the coin around in his hands.