21st district veterans day 2016

21ST DISTRICT

LEGION

NAIRE

RIVERSIDE COUNTY AMERICAN LEGION

VETERANS DAY 2016

“Putting the Fight in the Fighting 21st District - Audacity, Audacity, always Audacity!”

COMMANDER’S MESSAGE Thank you to all my legionnaires for giving me this opportunity to be your commander again for the greatest district in the Department of California, the “Fighting 21st.”

Novomber 11th is upon us again and we must never forget why we Edward Romero joined the american legion, it is to serve our veterans and to help an anyway we can. We as a free nation must never forget those veterans that cannot share this day with us because they gave thier lives so that we can continue to be a free nation. As you go about your day on veterans day, say a prayer for our fallen veterans and for our troops serving and protecting us. Once again thank you for the opportunity to serve you my brothers and sisters... Happy veterans day and welcome home!

FOR GOD AND COUNTRY Edward Romero District 21 Commander

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE I would like to Thank all my District 21 Auxiliary members for electing me with the Honor of being your Auxiliary President.

This year our Department President Wendy has chosen a nautical theme “ Serving Our Veterans From Sea To Shining Sea.” Each district will be named after a ship Susan Romero therefore District 21 will be known as the: “U.S.S. RIVERSIDE ANCHORS AWAY.” As the Great Team that we are, I know we will have an awesome year. With Veterans Day soon approaching, Let Us Remember Our Men and Women in uniform, Past, Present, and Future, that we shall renew our National Promise to fulfill our sacred obligation to our Veterans and their Families who have sacrificed so much so we can live free. May God Bless Our Veterans and we thank you for your service.

PLUS INSIDE...

Horse Therapy Progam...Page 6

Constitution Day.......... Page 10

Tale of Two Brothers.... Page 14

FOR GOD AND COUNTRY Susan Romero District 21 Auxiliary President

Heroes Organization.... Page 22

A Very Special thank you to California American Legion Press Association Member John Ellis.

Without John’s help this Veterans Day Edition would not have been possible.

Easing PTSD................. Page 29

21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE

21ST DISTRICT OFFICERS 2016 - 2017 Commander Edward Romero, Post 742 (951) 531-5202 • Lorgal34@yahoo.com

JOIN US AT POST 53 2nd Saturday Each Month Public Breakfast 7:30 – 10 a.m.

1st Vice Commander Marquis T. Palmer, Post 79 (951) 850–7211 • americanpalmer@gmail.com 2nd Vice Commander Jim Bieger, Post 595 (909) 731-0787 • jimbieger@yahoo.com

124 North Ramona Street Cost is $7.00 Per Person Post 53 thanks you for your patronage!

3rd Vice Commander David Poplin, Post 852 (949) 702–1902 • legionpest@gmail.com Adjutant Ed Vondra, Post 519 (760) 409-7812 • e.vondra@yahoo.com Asst. Adjutant Harold Waltz, Post 519 (760) 774-5481 • bwaltz@dc.rr.com Finance Officer Joanne Evans, Post 595 (951) 657–8704 • cdfpio@verizon.net Sergeant at Arms Larry Hernandez, Post 742 (909) 342-3989 • hernandezlarryj@gmail.com E–Board East Steve Waggoner, Post 739 (760) 969-0035 • drhook@dc.rr.com

President Susan Romero, Unit 742 (951) 565-7407 • sqcabrera@aol.com

Constitution & Bylaws Marge Rye, Unit 289 (951) 712-7849 • margelegaux@aol.com

E-Board Central Mike Weir, Post 595 (951) 634-2823 • maaphotos@hotmail.com

1st Vice President Cathaleen McCoy, Unit 53 (951) 282-9938 • cathaleen59@aol.com cathaleen74@aol.com

E-Board West Chindo Muro, Post 742 (951) 735–0222 • cfmuro@gmail.com

2nd Vice President Brenda Wardrip, Unit 200 (951) 579-7031 • bwardrip3@aol.com

Girls State Leslie Vondra, Unit 519 (760) 534-7665 • lesliev36@yahoo.com

Secretary Mary Ryser, Unit 739 (760) 289-8320 • vfw3699@live.com

Junior Activities Angela Nieto, Unit 742 (951) 833-4553 • dinky6girls@gmail.com

Treasurer Rennee Raymond, Unit 79 (951) 534-8108 • grammadolly@gmail.com

Legislative Joanne Evans, Unit 595 (951) 657-8704 • cdfpio@verizon.com

Chaplain Alma Jarquin, Unit 53 (951) 927-0113 • amungula11@aol.com

Membership Cathaleen McCoy, Unit 53 (951) 282-9938 • cathaleen59@aol.com

Historian Jeri Johnston, Unit 52 (951) 929-8656 • calgirljeri@yahoo.com

National Security Brenda Wardrip, Unit 200 (951) 570-7031 • bwardrip3@aol.com

Americanism Dianne Yegge, Unit 79 (951) 452-9087 • 5dnyegge@gmail.com

Past Pres. Parley Judy Bendzala, Unit 79 (951) 293-6962 • Bendzala65@gmail.com

Auxiliary Emergency Fund Genny Eastman, Unit 289 (909) 226-9135 • gennyeastman@yahoo.com

Poppy Brenda Wardrip, Unit 200 (951) 570-7031

Chaplain Richard Cortez, Post 742 (951) 858-9021 • athleticslegacy@aol.com Judge Advocate Herman Granados, Post 739 (760) 574–6076 • drhook@dc.rr.com Asst. Judge Advocate John Lea, Post 519 (760) 902-6653 • jlea605@aol.com Service Officer Tracy Palmer, Post 79 (951) 850-7211 • americanpalmer@gmail.com Jr. Past Commander Eddie ‘Deno’ Blankenship, Post 79 (951) 660-4888 • Denohd69@att.net Public Relations Joanne Evans, Post 595 (951) 657–8704 • cdfpio@verizon.net Steering Committee John Lea; Jim Bieger Resolutions Committee Harold Waltz; Herman Granados; Bernie Foley Finance Committee Joanne Evans; Edward Vondra Audit Committee Jim Bieger; Marquis Palmer Trial Board Joanne Evans; Herman Granados; Harold Waltz 2

21ST AUXILIARY OFFICERS

Children & Youth Stella Avina, Unit 742 (928) 649-3027 • avinahotgram@aol.com Community Service Theresa Woods, Unit 574 (951) 509-5065 • theresawoodzz@gmail.com

Education Jennifer Bieger, Unit 595 (909) 731-0789

Public Relations Stella Avina, Unit 742 (928) 649-3027 • avinahotgram@aol.com Resolutions Marge Rye, Unit 289 (951) 712-7849 • margelegaux@aol.com Vet Affairs & Rehab Mary Ryser, Unit 739 (760) 289-8320 • vfw3699@live.com

Serving Riverside County

TAKE ACTION!

House Votes This Week On Appeals Modernization Contact Your Representative This week, the House of Representatives will vote on a bill that seeks to improve accountability at the VA and reform the VA’s disability benefits appeals process – a top priority for The American Legion and many veterans’ service organizations.

H.R. 5620, the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act, sponsored by House VA Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, is the first one to include crucial appeals reform to come up for a vote in either chamber.

Getting this bill through the House and over to the Senate is the first step in getting a final appeals reform bill done.

Modernizing VA’s archaic appeals process is of the utmost priority. Over the past year, The American Legion has engaged in discussions with VA leadership, VSO’s, and private attorneys to improve the claims and appeals process. It proved to be a daunting task to restructure a system that’s existed since before World War II; but together, we helped create a structure that will expedite decisions while providing greater ownership and alternatives to veterans electing to appeal their claims while maintaining the original effective date.

Please tell Congress you expect both parties to work together responsibly to pass legislation which includes a simple and fair appeals process that provides veterans and their families their earned benefits in a timely manner.

Go to the link below, or scan the QR code and send a prepared message to Congress.

http://bit.do/SignNow

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21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE

A CALL FOR SUPPORT

DISTRICT 21 POSTS E–BOARD EAST Post 53 Harold W. Highland, Hemet Post 428 San Gorgonio Pass, Banning Post 519 Owen Coffman, Palm Springs Post 739 Herman Granados, Indio Post 800 Idyllwild, Idyllwild Post 848 San Jacinto, San Jacinto E–BOARD CENTRAL Post 53 Harold W. Highland, Hemet Post 200 Lynn Mort, Lake Elsinore Post 595 Perris, Perris Post 574 Morrison Memorial, Moreno Valley Post 852 Temecula/Murrieta Valley E–BOARD WEST Post 79 Fairmont Park, Riverside Post 216 William H. Jameson Jr., Corona Post 289 Carl R. Meairs, Riverside Post 328 Norco, Norco Post 500 Mira Loma, Jurupa Valley Post 742 Joe Dominguez, Corona

MEDIA ADDRESSES 21st District www.caldistrict21.org District 21, Post Websites Post 53, Hemet www.alpost53.org Post 79, (Fairmont Park) Riverside www.americanlegionpost79riverside.com Post 200, Lake Elsinore www.legionpost200.org Post 328, Norco www.americanlegionpost328.org Post 500, Mira Loma www.miralomapost500.org Post 519, Palm Springs www.americanlegionpalmsprings.org Post 848, San Jacinto http.legionpost848.org/Join.htm Post 852, Temecula/Murrieta www.al852tmv.org 4

Belated Recognition of Vietnam Veterans As DOD Observes 50th Anniversary of Vietnam War

BY REES LLOYD

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Maj. Gen. Patrick H. Brady (USA, ret.), who received the Medal of Honor as a “Dust Off” medivac pilot in Vietnam and is considered America’s most decorated living veteran, has issued a call to all veterans, and all Americans, to belatedly recognize and honor “America’s most reviled and neglected veterans—the Vietnam veteran,” by urging Congress to adopt the “Dust Off Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act (S. 2268 in the Senate, H.R. 5299 in the House).

“Amazingly, no individual veteran or unit has received a Congressional Gold Medal specifically for service in Vietnam.” Gen. Brady writes. “Yet Vietnam may be the only war we ever fought in which the heroism of the American soldier was accompanied by humanitarianism unmatched in the annals of warfare. And the humanitarianism took place during the heat of battle. The GI fixed as he fought, he cured and educated and built in the middle of the battle. What other Army has ever done that? Humanitarianism was American’s great victory in Vietnam.”

In recognition of that, Senators John Cornyn (RTX) and Joe Manchin (W.Va), and House Members David Reichert (R-WA) and Derek Kilmer (D-WA), are co-sponsoring the “Dust Off Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Medal Act” (S. 2268; H.R. 5299).

The belated “Dust Off” Gold Medal Act is strongly supported by the nation’s largest veterans service organizations, including The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AmVets, The Association of the U.S. Army, Army Aviation Assn., and others.

The American Legion National Executive Committee voted in May to adopt Resolution 33, calling “upon the United States Congress to award to all Dust Off personnel who served in the Vietnam War the Congressional Gold Medal.

Delegates to the American Legion Department

of California Convention 2016, June 24-26, votes this week to adopt a resolution calling on California’s two Senators and all House members to vote for passage of the “Dust Off” Gold Medal Act. The “Dust Off” medivac rescues were extremely dangerous duty, with an estimated “1-in-3 chance of being wounded or killed.” The “Dust Off” Gold Metal Act notes, among many other things about Dust Off crews, that the Dust Off 54th Detachment, received: one Medal of Honor, one Distinguished Flying Cross, 14 Silver Stars, 26 Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Bronze Stars for valor, four Air Medals for valor, four Soldier’s Medals and 26 Purple Hearts. (A copy of S.228 is attached.)

“General Creighton Abrams, Army Chief of Staff, Supreme Commander of all forces in Vietnam, singled out the Dust Off crews as the prototype of the Vietnam warrior,” Gen. Brady notes, quoting Abrams’ tribute: “‘A special word about the Dust Offs…Courage above and beyond the call of duty’s sort of routine to them. It was a daily thing, part of the way they lived. That’s the great part and it meant so much to every last man who served there.

Whether he ever got hurt or not, he knew Dust Off was there. It was a great thing for our people. ‘” Gen. Brady, who flew over 2,500 combat reduce missions in two tours, tells the story of the “Dust Off” crews heroism, and humanitarianism, in his book, co-authored with his combat veteran daughter, Capt. Meghan Brady Smith (USA, ret.; Bronze Star, Iraq): “Dead Men Flying: Victory in Vietnam —The Legend of Dust Off, America’s Battlefield Angels.” (WND Books) Gen Brady’s emphasis in the book is the untold story of the unprecedented humanitarianism, as well as heroism, of Vietnam veterans generally in the midst of war, of which Dust Off crews are emblematic.

(Continued on page 5)

Serving Riverside County

(Continued from page 4) “Spearheading the humanitarianism efforts were the Dust Off crews, the most dangerous of all aviation missions, which rescued some one million souls, men, women, children, enemy as well as friendly. Any American who visits Vietnam today will see the fruits of the GI’s charity to those people,” writes Gen. Brady.

“As the Department of Defense observes the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War, we have—for the first time—a bill in both houses of Congress, with bipartisan sponsorship, recognizing Vietnam veterans by award of a Congressional Gold Medal, S:2268 and H.R.5299,” Gen. Brady writes. “This effort has the support of every major Veteran’s organization in America. I urge all veterans, all Americans, to urge their Senators and House Members to co-sponsor this Congressional Gold Medal for America’s most mistreated veterans—the Vietnam Veterans.”

THE AMERICAN LEGION RESOLUTION Whereas, by Resolution No. 33, “Congressional Gold Medals for Vietnam War Dust Off Crews,” it was “Resolved, by the National Executive Committee of The American Legion in regular meeting assembled at Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 4-5, 2016, That The American Legion calls upon the United States Congress to award to all Dust Off personnel who served in the Vietnam War the Congressional Gold Medal;” and,

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Whereas, the “Dust Off Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act,” S.2268, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R. Tex.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), and H.R. 5299, sponsored by Rep. David Reichert (R-WA) and Rep. Derek Kilmer (DWA), has been introduced in the U.S. Senate and House respectively; and, Whereas, in addition to The American Legion, said bills are supported by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, AmVets, Association of the U.S. Army, the Army Aviation Assn. of America, the Dustoff Association, the Vietnam Dust Off Assn., and by, among others, Maj. Gen. Patrick H. Brady (USA, ret.), who received the Medal of Honor as a Dust Off medevac helicopter pilot in Vietnam, and is today considered the most decorated living veteran. Gen. Brady, who is also the author of “Dead Men Flying: The Legend of Dust Off—America’s Battlefield Angels,” was for ten years the leader of the Legion’s “Citizens Flag Alliance, and was honored by the Department of California Convention in 2007; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, That the American Legion Department of California, meeting in Convention on June 24-26, 2016, in Fresno, supports Congressional adoption of the “Dust Off Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act,” S. 2268, and H.R. 5299, and calls on California’s two Senators to support S. 2268 in the Senate, and all members of the Congressional delegation to support passage of H.R. 5299 in the House.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Department Adjutant is instructed to send this resolution to both California Senators and every California Member of the House.

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21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE

HORSE-THERAPY PROGRAM Helping Riverside County Veterans Cope With Stress, Crises

Angie Sheer, the group’s founder, said horses sense anxiety and stress. Learning to communicate with a horse and gain its trust helps participants develop self-control, understand their own issues and learn skills to help them deal with people. Recently, McDaniel worked with a buckskin quarter horse named Heidi at the Buffalo Meadows Ranch near Redlands, home to Equus Medendi. As McDaniel approached Heidi and encouraged her to move in one direction, she turned and moved away in another.

“Arrgh,” McDaniel muttered, taking a deep breath as Sheer urged him to release his tension.

“It’s not until you try to talk to a horse that you realize how stressed you are,” McDaniel said.

For decades, Mike McDaniel’s alcohol use and post-traumatic stress stole many of the pleasures most people get from everyday life. He made missteps at work, withdrew from friends and often simply gave up as he cycled from disappointment to disappointment.

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“Self-defeat is part of the nature of the disease,” he said. “Do not enter situations that have risk, because you will get hurt.”

But McDaniel’s hope for a better life is growing because of an equine therapy program made possible through the Riverside County Department of Veterans Services and funded under a grant from California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet).

“I run around looking for the horse in everybody,” he said.

During non-riding therapy sessions involving horses – large, powerful and intuitive animals – participants rely largely on non-verbal skills to communicate. The process helps them learn to manage stress and anger, strengthen coping skills, and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. Equus Medendi, Latin for horse healing, is a non-profit group that has provided services in the Inland Empire since 2009. The CalVet grant is expected help 40 Riverside County veterans and their families through June 30.

Grant Gautsche, director of the county’s Department of Veterans Services, said the group offers help and hope to Riverside County veterans who are struggling.

“Veterans sacrificed for our country and they deserve all the support we can provide to them and their families,” Gautsche said.

As he relaxed, man and horse started communicating better and moved in unison, with Heidi first trotting in one direction and then reversing course at his signal. After a few minutes together, McDaniel strode in step with Heidi at his side then wrapped an arm around her neck while the horse nuzzled against him.

McDaniel says Equus Medendi has helped him continue his sobriety and find the confidence to enjoy simple things, like meeting old friends at his recent 40th high school reunion. He was surprised when a former classmate recounted in detail how McDaniel’s father always had been so nice.

More cognizant now of issues and burdens in himself and others, McDaniel realized the reason for his friend’s clear recollections: “He didn’t have a father.”

Insight also has helped make McDaniel happier and it has become easier to talk with people. After many years as a construction supervisor, McDaniel is eager as well as nervous about starting a new career as a peer counselor.

(Continued on page 7) DISTRICT 21 POST SOCIAL FEEDS

Post 53, Hemet Facebook: American Legion Hemet Post 53

Post 800,

Idyllwild Facebook: American Legion Post 800 Idyllwild, CA

Post 289, Riverside Facebook: American Legion Post 289

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Post 848,

San Jacinto

Post 739, Indio Facebook: Indio American Legion Post

Facebook: American Legion Post 848

Post 595, Perris Facebook: American Legion Perris Post 595

Temecula/Murrieta Valley

Post 852 Facebook: American Legion Post 852 Temecula/Murrieta, CA

Serving Riverside County

(Continued from page 6)

“I’m finding Mike,” he said, tears welling up in his eyes. “Maybe this is it – finally.”

The seven-week therapy program consists of sessions held once a week. Members of the media are welcome to learn more about the program and interviews with participants can be arranged.

For more information, please contact Sheer at (951) 941-0056 or the Riverside County Department of Veteran Services at (951) 965-3060.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians honors the 21st District American Legion members representing 19 posts in Riverside County.

Thank you for your dedication and service to our country.

www.ag uacaliente-nsn.gov

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21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE

THUNDERCLAP FOR VETERANS

BY CHARLIE SCHMIDT, NATIONAL COMMANDER

It’s an honor and a pleasure to serve as your new American Legion National Commander. As an organization, we have many priorities, but today I am writing to enlist your support for the highest priority for our future: MEMBERSHIP. Every American Legion post faces membership challenges, but we must connect with veterans on a level that we all share – a desire to serve. Whether it is as a community volunteer, at church or with a little league team – service is at the core of every veteran. For many of our veterans, it’s a challenge to find a place that provides the same sense of accomplishment or mission fulfillment that they had while wearing the uniform. That place can be The American Legion. Specifically, it can be your post.

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So today, I am asking you to take a pledge and encourage all the members in your post to join you in recruiting one new member. If each of us does this, we could double the size of The American Legion. By Sept. 16th – the date The American Legion received its federal charter nearly a century ago – signify your pledge by becoming a part of my Thunderclap.

Choose to Make a Difference

What’s Thunderclap?

Thunderclap is a tool that allows thousands of people to share the same message at exactly the same time. People sign up on theThunderclap website and give permission to share a single message on Facebook and Twitter at a specified time.

Ours is located here: #JointheForce Thunderclap Website

Every day, we help save lives.

Volunteering at LifeStream combines commitment, heart and inspiration for a rewarding experience.

If you and enough others support our Thunderclap, we will reach thousands of people and let everyone know that a ‘Legion’ of veterans working together is a force to be reckoned with!

Our voice is strong, but it can be stronger. We are making an impact, but we can always do more. The only way we can make major differences for individuals, communities, our states and nation is to work together.

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Please use social media to spread the word. We want all veterans to use the hashtag #JointheForce and make our American Legion bigger, stronger and better able to achieve our mission!

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Serving Riverside County

JUST A COMMON SOLDIER (A Soldier Died Today)

BY A. LAWRENCE VAINCOURT

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast, And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done, In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

And tho’ sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke, All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.

But we’ll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away, And the world’s a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife, For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.

Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way, And the world won’t note his passing, though a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state, While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young, But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife, Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

California Baptist University is profoundly grateful to the men and women who have worn the uniform in the service of the United States of America.

A politician’s stipend and the style in which he lives Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.

While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all, Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.

It’s so easy to forget them for it was so long ago, That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys, Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand, Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?

Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin, But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier’s part Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor while he’s here to hear the praise, Then at least let’s give him homage at the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say, Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.

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21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE

CONSTITUTION DAY SEPT. 17, 1787: CAN IT SURVIVE IN 2016?

BY REES LLOYD / WWW.NEWSWITHVIEWS.COM

The question facing America as the Constitutional Convention deliberated from May to September, 1787, was what kind of country the Founding Fathers would create for the nation which had won its freedom in a war of independence from England from 1775 until the Treaty of Paris in 1883, led by Commander-in-Chief and later President General George Washington, then and now the Greatest American.

The answer in 1787 was a constitutional republic of limited central (or “federal”) government restrained in its authority to certain enumerated powers. Authority for governance except for matters expressly enumerated as held by the central government was to remain with the states and “the people,” as would be expressly commanded by the Ninth and Tenth Amendments which would follow with the adoption of the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791.

The question facing America on September 17, 2016, is whether Americans can keep the free constitutional republic of limited central government powers created under the leadership of the Founding Fathers.

Or, whether America shall continue to be transformed under the leadership of self-declared liberal “Progressives” headed by President and Commander-in-Chief Barack Hussein Obama.

These liberal “Progressives” have declared since the time of Woodrow Wilson that the Constitution is an “outdated 18th Century document,” useful for its time but not this time.

Therefore our Constitution should be discarded and replaced in the 21st Century by their “progressive” ideology of an “Administrative State” in which an elite ruling class of political and academic “experts” heading central (federal) government bureaucracies will create an American utopia, from food stamps to foreign policy.

An indication of the liberal “progressives” success in transforming American from the vision of the Founding Fathers into their own liberal “progressive” vision of a soft totalitarian state led by “experts,” i.e., themselves, is that few American children in government schools dominated by liberal “progressive” teachers and education bureaucrats, will be taught of the historic importance of September 17, 1787, for our nation, and for the world.

On September 17, 1787, after weeks of often bitter debate by delegates of the States gathered at the Constitutional Convention at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Constitution of the United States, beginning with the words, “We, the People,” was signed by thirty-nine of the fifty-five delegates. The world was changed forever as America began its ‘great experiment’ in self-government.

Never before had a constitution been established in the name of “the People” of a nation, rather than by and in the name of a monarch, a state, or other governmental power. Many of the most erudite thinkers of the so-called “Age of Enlightenment,” did not believe that a constitutional republic of limited government “by, for, and of the people” could survive in a broad land containing a large and diverse population. America is still an ongoing experiment in liberty.

The Constitutional Convention had commenced on May 14, 1787, with a challenge to the conscience and integrity of delegates by George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army which had won the Revolutionary war.

Washington, then and now the model American patriot, was elected President of the Constitutional Convention by unanimous vote.

“If to please the people, we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterward defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest

can repair; the event is in the Hand of God,” said Washington, who would later become the First President of the United States and be regarded as “the Father of his country.”

The delegates were learned American patriots who had studied history deeply to meet the task of creating a constitution fit for a free people. Thomas Jefferson, who authored the Declaration of Independence but did not participate in the Constitutional Convention because he was in Paris representing the United States, wrote of the delegates with utmost respect as “a gathering of demigods.”

The Constitution the framers wrought in the name of “We, the People,” was one creating a government of expressly limited powers – a limited federal government, not a national government of self-expanding powers.

The subsequently adopted “Bill of Rights,” contained in the First Ten Amendments, for which the efforts of James Madison earned him recognition as “the Father of the Constitution,” begin with five words limiting powers of the federal government over the people: “Congress shall make no law…,” respecting an establishment of religion nor abridging the fundamental rights of free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, of press, of assembly, of petition for redress of grievance.”

These are rights which the Founding Fathers believed Americans were “endowed by their Creator,” as expressed in the Declaration of Independence.

That is, the Founders believed these were natural rights, rights granted by the “hand of God, not the hand of a generous government.,” as the late President John F. Kennedy would express it.

no law…” by mandating that the people and the states retained all rights not enumerated as possessed by the central government.

Never before in history had “We, the people,” had their natural rights so expressly protected by a constitution so expressly limiting the government as to its powers. By changing the relationship of the people and their government, limiting the power of government and making the retained rights of the people superior, the Founding Fathers changed the world. Ever after, the people of the world who have dreamed of the freedoms of Americans, have looked to the values expressed in the American Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution, as a model for liberty in a constitutional republic.

The framers of the Constitution, the Founding Fathers of America, were faced with a great challenge, and they met it. The Constitution which they framed was finally ratified by all states

by January 10, 1791. It has now endured for 226 years since it was signed on Sept. 17, 1787.

“What kind of government have you given us, Mr. Franklin,” an American woman asked Founding Father Benjamin Franklin at the close of the convention.

“A republic, Madam,” Ben Franklin replied. “If you can keep it.” That, the keeping of the free constitutional republic that the Founding Fathers bequeathed to us, is our challenge.

We owe a great debt to all those Founding Fathers and other Americans who came before us who preserved our freedom. We pay that debt by what we do to preserve freedom for those Americans who will come after us.

The Ninth and Tenth Amendments reinforced the words “Congress shall make

Note: This Constitution Day essay originally appeared, in slightly different form, in Rees Lloyd’s column on NewsWithViews.com. For more of Rees Lloyd’s columns, go to www.NewsWithViews.com.

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FOR GOD AND COUNTRY FOREVER; SURRENDER TO TYRANNY—NEVER!

Serving Riverside County EVENING OF REMEMBRANCE September 30th saw a number of luminaries attend a special Evening of Remembrance for 9/11, POW/MIA’s and Suicide & Mental Health Awareness Month. The Commemoration Dinner, held at the Performing Arts Center in Indio, was co-hosted by Herman Granados American Legion Post 739 and Bill Huntington Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3699.

This Veterans Day, may we recommit ourselves to those ideals that so many have fought to preserve and protect.

May we stand behind those brave men and women who risk their lives so that we may live, honoring their unmatched courage with unyielding respect and gratitude.

(L to R ) VFW District 3 Auxiliary President Brenda Wardrip, Post 739 Commander Steve Waggoner, American Legion Post 739 & VFW Post 3699 Auxiliary President Mary Ryser, Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz’s Field Representative Elena Kim, VFW Post 3699 Commander Jim Hawks, District 21 Auxiliary President Susan Romero and District 21 Commander Eddie Romero and Indio Mayor Glenn Miller.

RALPH DUARTE HONORED

Happy Veterans Day. RICHARD D. ROTH, Maj. Gen., USAF (Ret.) Senator, 31st District 3737 Main Street, Suite 104, Riverside, CA 92501 Phone: (951) 680-6750 Fax: (951) 680-6757 E-mail: senator.roth@senate.ca.gov sen.ca.gov/roth facebook.com/majgen.roth twitter.com/generalroth

Indio American Legion member and army veteran Ralph Duarte (L) was honored in Sacramento as 2016 California 56th Assembly District Veteran of the Year for his selfless work with Veterans Services by Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia Looking on (center) is Ralph’s wife Rachel.

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21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE

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Serving Riverside County POST 739

FREE d e t t i m d n Veterans a Music - Food - Wine & Beer Garde

Live Rock -

Country

★★ Bring your Lawn Chairs! ★★

Veterans Day

3rd Annual

November 11, 2016 2:00 - 10:00 pm

At Galway Downs in Temecula Featuring The Inland All-Star Band, The Phoenix Patriot Band,Slow Traffic, Michael Thomas and Friends, Tim Walsh, JD Priest, Tim Moyer, Tom Bray and many more!

Galway Downs

38801 Los Corralitos Road Temecula, CA 92592

Temecula Military: FREE

ManzanitaRanch.org

N

s ba llo Ca s

Lo

Butterfield Stage

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit human service agency.

Pauba Rd

Margarita Rd

Where the Horses are the Therapy.

15 Ynez Rd

Indio Post 739 is selling tickets for the December 7th Quilt Drawing. The magnificent handmade, custom quilt was donated to the Legion by the Auxiliary as a fundraiser for their Fix-the-Roof campaign.

$20 adults $10 age 12-17 $5 Parking 38801 Los Corralitos Road * Bring your chairs, Temecula, CA 92592 blankets



Benefits the Mission of:

Rancho California Rd

GALWAY DOWNS os

Los Corralit

Rt 79 So/ Temecula Parkway

POST 739

HALLMARK Palm Springs L.P. Independent and

Assisted Living Community Luxurious studios or one bedroom apartments, all with kitchenettes, 24-hour staffing and a licensed vocational nurse. Exciting and stimulating activity programs and many more amenities.

It’s a great day at any Post when a local restaurant donates free grub.

Thanks to Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in La Quinta, Indio Post 739’s Helen and Floyd Constant had reason to be all smiles during one really great evening when Dickey’s provided a sampling of their great fare!

344 North Sunrise Way, Palm Springs (between Amado and Alejo)

760-322-3955 Visit us at: www.hallmarkpalmsprings.com

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21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE INDIO, CA –

The story goes all the way back to one Tomasa Hernandez, a 23-year old Mexican immigrant who paid 6-cents to cross the border wth her two daughters Francis and Juanita in 1888. Years later, Juanita ended up marrying an hombre by the name of Herman Granados.

Herman and Juanita, in turn, had two sons, Refugio and Herman. Each of who ended up joining the U.S. military. Refugio enlisted in the Navy at the age of 14 while Herman elected to enter the Army following graduation from Coachella Valley High school.

One son would go on to continue the Granados lineage while the other would pay the ultimate price in service of his country.

A TALE OF TWO BROTHERS The Naming of an American Legion Post

BY JOHN ELLIS, ED.D.

14

Herman was declared Missing in Action when the Japanese bombed Manila’s Nichols Field on Dec. 8th, 1941. At the age of 21, he became the first casualty of the Pacific Theater from the Coachella Valley. Yet, his memory is carried on when, in 1947, Indio’s American Legion Post 739 was named in his honor.

The surviving son, Refugio, went on to marry Lucy Ramirez. They, in turn, became parents of two boys, Herman and Edward, each of who eventually joined the military as well.

Serving Riverside County

Herman joined the Air Force in March of 1962. Following basic training, he attended Aircraft Refueling School, after which he was assigned to Korea where he served 14 months.

Following his discharge, Herman eventually teamed up with his Dad, Refugio’s, trucking business, mainly hauling farm produce. It was a job from which he eventually retired. And now? Along with Legion activities, he teaches English as a Second Language.

Edward (“Eddie”), on the other hand, joined the Army in 1962 and attended both Artillery and Jump Schools before serving with the 101st Airborne in Vietnam. Upon completion of his tour of duty, Eddie returned to the desert where he became a meat cutter, coached softball, helped his brother and Dad with the family business, worked for a local waste management company and taught truck driving.

Today, both Herman and Eddie are members of Post 739 where Herman has dedicated himself to serving veterans while Eddie has been equally active in the Coachella Valley Airborne Association.

It’s a Granados family legacy of which Matriarch Tomasa would, no doubt, be proud this Veteran’s Day, happily saying, “¡Dios bendiga a América!” ...

“God bless America!”

Supporting our Local Whether we are helping to bring a new life into the world, caring for a broken bone, offering hope to cancer patients, or mending a broken heart, Riverside Community Hospital continues to provide dependable healthcare services to families throughout the Inland Empire Region. We are not your ordinary community hospital and patients no longer have to drive miles away for advanced medical procedures. Over the last decade, our hospital has evolved and grown with the generations and continues to expand our services to meet the needs of a growing community. With our current $315 million campus expansion project and investments in some of the latest, advanced technology, RCH has what it takes to care for the whole family.

Providing Healthcare You and Your Family Can Depend on When You Need it the Most.

Veterans

Specialty Services You Can Depend on: • Women’s and Children’s Services • Level ll NICU and 24/7 Emergency Transport Team • Advanced Primary Stroke Center • Cardiovascular Care • Orthopedic Surgery • Kidney, Pancreas and Living Donor Transplants • Cancer Treatment including da Vinci Surgical Procedures and CyberKnife Treatments • NeuroSurgery

4445 Magnolia Avenue • Riverside, CA 92501 For a Physician Referral call (951) 788-3463 www.RiversideCommunityHospital.com

• Surgical Weight Loss Center • Inland Empire’s Largest Emergency Facility

15

21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE

COMBAT VETERANS FOR CONGRESS Embedded Integrity

The above listed Mission Statement outlines the principals upon which the Combat Veterans For Congress PAC was co-founded in August 2009 by Congressman Barry Goldwater (Ret) and Capt Joseph R. John, USN/ FBI (Ret). Its purpose is to endorse fiscally conservative Combat Veterans For Congress who would work to rein in the out of control spending by irresponsible members of Congress, will protect the freedoms provided to American citizens in the US Bill of Rights and the US Constitution, and Combat Veterans who previously demonstrated their willingness to “Go Into Harm’s Way” to protect and defend teammates engaged in combat.

erans For Congress from 16 states were endorsed to run in their primaries, and 21 elected Combat Veterans For Congress from 16 states were re-endorsed totaling 45 endorsements in 2014; the 2 US Senators were not up for re-election. Of the remaining 43 endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress, 31 won their primary elections. In the 2014 General Election, one new Senator was elected from Arkansas, increasing to 3, the number of Combat Veterans For Congress serving in the US Senate, 3 new Congressmen were elected, 14 Congressmen were re-elected, resulting in 20 Combat Veterans For Congress from 15 states elected to 114th Congress.

The PAC is a stand-alone organization, and has no affiliation with any political party; it seeks out Combat Veterans to run for Congress, and after they agree to endorse the above listed Mission Statement, a background investigation is completed on a potential candidate. In order to be endorsed, the Combat Veteran is further evaluated to ensure they manifest the intelligence, common sense, integrity, honesty, and willingness to govern in accordance with the precepts laid down in the US Constitution.

For the 2016 general election, to date, 32 Combat Veterans from 17 states have been interviewed to April 2016; a new slate of 9 Combat Veterans For Congress from 6 states have been endorsed, and 21 elected Combat Veterans For Congress from 16 states were re-endorsed; a total of 30 Combat Veterans For Congress have been endorsed from 20 states to run in 2016.

Over a 7 ½ year period, from 2009 to 2016, 403 Combat Veterans from 50 states were interviewed and 105 were endorsed and 71 of them won their primary elections; 28 endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress from 19 states have served in Congress. In the 2010 mid-term election, 163 Combat Veterans were interviewed, 46 Combat Veterans For Congress from 35 states were endorsed to run for Congress. During the 2010 primary season, 27 of the 46 endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress in 19 states won their primary races, and 12 of the 27 Combat Veterans For Congress who won their primary races were subsequently elected to Congress (2 US Senators and 10 US Congressmen from 10 states).

In 2012 primary season, 93 Combat Veterans from 43 states were interviewed, 51 Combat Veterans For Congress from 25 states were endorsed, the 2 endorsed US Senators were not up for re-election. Of the remaining 49 endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress, 37 won their primary races or were endorsed by their party, and 17 of the 37 Combat Veterans For Congress were elected to the House of Representatives.

In the 2014 mid-term election, 81 Combat Veterans from 41 stares were interviewed, 24 new Combat Vet-

The photos and bios of the 21 elected Combat Veterans For Congress from 16 states, and the 9 newly endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress from 6 states, who are seeking their election to Congress in 2016 are posted on the Endorsements page of the Web site.

The photos and bios for 76 endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress from 35 states, who previously ran for election are listed on the Alumni page of our Web site.

The Alumni page of the Web site includes 6 endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress who were elected to Congress and have since retired or were elected to other offices in their states, and 70 endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress who did not win in their primary or general Congressional elections.

Conservatives, Independents, and Republicans have been endorsed in the last 3 Congressional races; Democratic candidates have been reluctant to provide us with their views on major issues like the 106 endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress have done, and/or they have also been reluctant to endorse the Mission Statement of the Combat Veterans For Congress PAC, which all endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress must do, as a first step, in order to obtain an endorsement. We will continue to recruit, investigate the backgrounds, endorse, and campaign for a new slate of Combat Veterans For Congress who will be running for Congress in the 2016 general election.

30 Combat Veterans For Congress in 20 States... Embedded Integrity Senator Thomas B. Cotton Cpt-USA, Esq. (R-AR-Senate) tomcotton.com Senator John McCain Capt-USN, USNA ’58, (R-AZ-Senate) countryfirstpac.com Senator Mark S. Kirk Cdr-USNR (R-IL-Senate) kirkforsenate.com Cong Duncan D. Hunter Maj-USMCR (R-CA-50) hunterforcongress.com Cong Steve Pearce Capt-USAF (R-NM-2) peopleforpearce.com Cong Michael Coffman Maj-USMC (Ret) (R-CO-6) coffmanforcongress.com Cong John P. Kline Col-USMC (Ret) (R-MN-2) klineforcongress.com Cong Chris Gibson Col-USA (Ret) (R-NY-19) chrisgibsonforcongress.com Cong Steve Stivers Lt. Col-USANG (R-OH-15) stivers4congress.com Cong Adam Kinzinger Maj-AFNG (R-IL-11) electadam.com Cong Joe Heck BGen-USAR (MC) (R-NV-Senate) heck4nevada.us Cong Jeff J. Denham SSgt-USAF (R-CA-10) DenhamForCongress.com

(Continued on page 21) 16

Serving Riverside County

Advancing Therapeutics, Improving Lives.

For more than 25 years, Gilead has worked to develop medicines that address areas of unmet medical need for people around the world.

Our portfolio of medicines and pipeline of investigational drugs include treatments for HIV/AIDS, liver diseases, cancer, inflammatory and respiratory diseases and cardiovascular conditions.

Every day we strive to transform and simplify care for people with life-threatening illnesses.

GILEAD SALUTES ALL OF THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVE OUR COUNTRY AND PROTECT US EVERY DAY.

For more information, please visit www.gilead.com. © 2016 Gilead Sciences, Inc.

17

21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE DISTRICT 21 HONORED

On this Veterans Day, we honor and celebrate the service of all U.S. military veterans. To all veterans and active-duty soldiers, we thank you for your outstanding bravery and sacrifice.

CAPITOL OFFICE P.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA 94249-0061 (916) 319-2061 Fax (916) 319-2161

Commander Edward Romero and District Auxiliary President Susan Romero

Commander Edward Romero

Storm Mascot Thunder entertaining the crowd.

District 21 Commander Edward Romero, District 21 Auxiliary President Susan Romero and Granddaughter Junior Auxiliary Emarie Maciel

On August 21, 2016 District 21 was recognized at the Storm Stadium in Elsinore.

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JOSE MEDINA ASSEMBLYMEMBER 61ST AD

DISTRICT OFFICE 1223 University Ave., Ste. 230 Riverside, CA 92507 (951) 369-6644 Fax (951) 369-0366

Serving Riverside County (Continued from page 16) Cong Paul Cook Col-USMC (Ret) (R-CA-8) joinpaulcook.com

Maj Cristov Dosev USMCR (R-FL-1) CrisDosevforCongress.com

Cong Scott G. Perry Col/PA-ARNG (R-PA-4) patriotsforperry.com

Lt (jg) James E. Banks USNR (R-IN-3) jimbanks.us

Cong Brad Wenstrup Lt Col-USAR (MC) (R-OH-2) usabrad.com Cong James Bridenstine Lcdr-USNR (R-OK-1) jimbridenstine.com Cong Ron DeSantis Lcdr-USNR (JAGC) (R-FL-Senate) voteron2012.com Cong Ryan Zinke Cdr-USN (Ret) (SEAL) (R-MT-1) www.ryanzinke.com Cong Lee M. Zeldin Maj-USAR (JAG) (R-NY-1) zeldinforcongress.com Cong Steve Russell USA (Ret) (Ranger) (R-OK-5) steverussellforcongress.com Cong Trent Kelly Col-MSARNG (R-MS-1) kellyformississipps.com Cong Paul C. Broun MD, CDR-USNR (MC) (Ret)(R-GA-9) paulbroun.com Sgt Maj Juan M. Hidalgo Jr., USMC (Ret) (R-CA-51) hidalgoforcongress.com SSgt David E. Vogt, III USMC (R-MD-6) VogtForCongress.com BGen Mark Bircher ‘76, USMC (Ret) Esq.(R-FL-13) markbircher.com Col Robert L. Maness USAF (Ret) (R-LA-Senate) robmaness.com Col Gregory G. Raths USMC (Ret)(R-CA-45) GregRaths.com Lcdr Paul Chabot USNR (R-CA-31) PaulChabot.com

Three major fundraising events have been held to introduce the endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress to the national press corps. The first event was held in Malibu in February 2010 and Col Buzz Aldrin, USMA’51, USAF (Ret) PhD, (Apollo XI Astronaut) was the highlighted guest of honor. In October 2010 the second event was held on Harbor Island in San Diego and the keynote speaker was Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. In September 2014 the third event was held in Mission Valley, San Diego; Dinesh D’Souza was the keynote speaker with presentations from Texas Governor Rick Perry, Pat Boone, and KABC National Radio-Talk Show Host Larry Elder.

The Endorsee of PAC page of the Web site lists over 500 famous Americans, celebrities, business & industry leaders, military personnel, Veterans, show business personalities, press & media personnel, Radio and TV personalities, Political Organizations, Members of previous Administrations, US Senators, US Congressmen, Law Enforcement Officers, Flag & General Officers, elected state and local officials, doctors, lawyers, West Point Alumni, Naval Academy Alumni, Air Force Academy Alumni, Merchant Marine Academy Alumni, PACs, Foundations, Vietnam POWs, Medal of Honor recipients, Tea Party Organizations, etc. who have endorsed the Combat Veterans For Congress PAC and its Mission Statement.

The Board of Directors, listed below, bios and photos are posted on the Leadership Page of the Web site. Among the members of the Board of Directors are Actress/ Singer Connie Stevens, two Congressmen, an Admiral, a Major General, three Navy Captains (one is a Navy SEAL, another is a Trustee of the US Naval Academy Foundation, a third is Former FBI), the Past National Commander of the America Legion, a distinguished Green Beret Officer, a CIA Senior Operations Officer, a world famous businessmen, and other well respected Americans Patriots. The Treasurer is a wellknown attorney who is the recipient of the Buckley Leadership Award, and the Senior Advisor to the Board is a well know mem-

ber of the Reagan administration and a Vietnam POW. Combat Veterans For Congress PAC Board of Directors: Congressman Barry M. Goldwater (Ret) The Goldwater Talpin Group Phoenix, AZ Congressman Robert R. Simmons (Ret) (Col-USAR/CIA/Ret) Stonington, CT Rear Admiral Edward S. McGinley ’61, USN (Ret), Blue Ridge Summit, PA MajGen Carroll D. Childers USA (Ranger) (Ret), Fredricksburg, VA Capt R. Buddy Wellborn ’59, N*, USN (Ret), Trustee US Naval Academy Foundation Dickinson, TX Capt Joseph R. John ’62, USN/FBI (Ret), President/CEO JRJ And Associates, Inc., San Diego, CA Capt Larry W. Bailey USN (SEAL) (Ret) Special Operations Speaks Chocowinity, NC Michael J. Kazanjian (USN) Chairman, Kazanjian Bros, Inc. Beverly Hills, CA Connie Stevens Producer, Business Executive Actress, Singer Holmby Hills, CA Joseph J. Frank (USA) Past National Commander of the American Legion St. Louis, MO Senior Operations Officer Gary Berntsen USAF/CIA, Security Consultant Apollo Beach, FL Former Captain Don Bendell USA (Green Beret) Best-Selling Author Pueblo West, CO Amy South, PAC Secretary IT Director and Bookkeeper Ventura, CA

PAC Attorney and Treasurer Dan Backer, Esq. PAC Counsel DB Capital Strategies Alexandria, VA Senior Advisor to the Board of Directors: Hon Orson Swindle, III Past Federal Trade Commissioner Lt Col-USMC(Ret) (POW) Alexandria, VA We will continue to present the truth on vital issues of importance to the Republic and to the American people that the left of center liberal media establishment continues to intentionally misrepresent or ignore. We will call attention of the American Citizens, whenever the Rule of Law and/or the US Constitution is violated by the administration or members of Congress, and will actively recruit a new slate of Combat Veterans For Congress to run for the US Senate and the US House of Representatives. The elected Combat Veterans For Congress will continue to honor their sacred oath they swore to uphold, when they were inducted into the US Armed Forces, raised their right hand, and swore to protect and defend the US Constitution. The Combat Veterans For Congress will endeavor to rein in the out of control spending by irresponsible members of Congress to avoid the fiscal cliff facing the Republic, and will protect the freedoms provided to us and our posterity by the Founding Fathers in the US Bill of Rights.

We encourage all American citizens to endorse our efforts to protect the Republic, financially support the Combat Veterans For Congress, and to forward our E-mails to those in your address book who will support our efforts to protect and defend the US Constitution. The endorsed Combat Veterans For Congress, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable “to The United States of America” for an amount “up to and including their lives”; they deserve the support of the American voters.

Combat Veterans For Congress PAC 2307 Fenton Parkway Suite 107-184 San Diego, CA 92108 Fax: (619) 220-0109

19

21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE

LEE WALKER Korean War Veteran Lee Walker Honored

by L.A. County Board of Supervisors on Motion of Supervisor Mike Antonovich

On the 66th Anniversary year of the Korean War, often called the “Forgotten War,” L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, himself an Army Veteran, moved to honor all Korean War veterans by honoring one of them who is still very active serving America— Lee Walker, a stalwart member of the American Legion Riverside Post 79 and its Robert J. “Uncle Bobby” Castillo Honor Detail, Team 12, at Riverside National Cemetery.

20

Serving Riverside County

In 1949, Lee Walker, 17, joined the Army. He volunteered for combat duty in the Korean War, serving in the Heavy Mortar Company, 34th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry division. He was still on the line when the cease fire was called on July 27, 1953. He continued to serve in Korea after the cease fire through 1954, stationed at the still dangerous 38th Parallel, the dividing line between North and South Korea. After eight years of active duty service, he left the Army with the rank of Sgt. First Class.

Now 84, Lee Walker has been honored by the Veterans Administration for the hundreds of hours he has served on Post 79’s “Uncle Bobby” Castillo Honor Detail at RNC. He can be found every first and third Tuesday at RNC, performing between six and ten dignified military services for our fallen comrades that each deserves for honorable service to the nation. You’ll see him ramrod straight at attention, holding his near 10-lb M-1 rifle before him at present arms without a quiver, often in 100-degree-plus temperatures.

Since Tuesday was a “duty day” for the Honor Detail, he appeared at the honors ceremony in L.A. in his Post 79 Honor Detail uniform, accompanied by his daughter, Debbie Fogarty and granddaughter Shawna Lee. (See the ceremony photos below with Supervisor Antonovich, and a very beautiful, loving tribute to Lee by his granddaughter Shawna.)

A proud but humble man, Walker said he was accepting the honor in a representative capacity to honor all Korean War veterans, and “to honor all those still on duty at the 38th Parallel.”

“That man is great, and he alone, who serves a cause not his own, for neither praise nor wealth. Content to know, and be unknown, whole within himself,” wrote the Welsh poet Owen Meredith in his poem “The Great Man.” By that measure, Lee Walker, like so many veterans of the Korean War and all the wars, is, truly, a great man, veteran, patriot, American.

By Rees Lloyd, proudly a comrade of Lee Walker, and with him a member of the Post 79 Robert J. “ Uncle Bobby Castillo Honor Detail.

LOVE ALWAYS your Shawna Lee

I’ve heard your stories about the Korean War a million times growing up but NEVER like I heard it today! You’re amazing grandpa! You’ve always been a BIG man in my eyes! A tough one! Today... I melted! It was extremely hard to stand ground without crying! I cried because I’m proud! I cried because of everything you’ve done and been through! I cried because you are nothing short of extraordinary! I fixed your collar today when I realized it needed to be put in place... I cried doing that. It reminded me of being little and the things you did for me growing up! Always taken us kids to church and making sure everything was in place and we were ready. There are just not enough words to say how much I love you! I am so PROUD of you and everything you have done! It was an honor to be at your side today and experience this recognition with you!

You’re amazing grandpa! Absolutely HANDS DOWN amazing! You’ve done it Grandpa! You’re one BAD ASS Special kind of man! (I say that with pride) each and everyone of us grandkids love everything about you! You looked handsome today and you’ve made everyone proud!!! Here’s to you grandpa!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

Love ALWAYS your Shawna Lee

PROUD TO SUPPORT THE

American Legion and Veterans OF RIVERSIDE COUNTY

12721 Moreno Beach | Riverside, CA | (951) 242-1185 21

21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE 3RD ANNUAL

HEROES ORGANIZATION

The Phoenix Patriot Band will be one of the acts performing at the Annual Concert for Heroes. The PPB is the official rock band arm of the National Phoenix Foundation for Veterans. The band is located in Temecula and helps veterans find purpose through playing music. Shown in front is the Darrin Isham, USN SEAL Master Chief (Ret.)/Music Program Manager. PHOENIX PATRIOT FOUNDATION TEMECULA, CA – The Third Annual Concert for Heroes will again be held on Veterans Day at Galway Downs on November 11. 23 volunteers began meeting in August to complete the planning and execution of the concert.

The Manzanita Ranch Inc. is a non-profit human service agency dedicated to serving the needs of veterans by using horses for therapy.

“The Concert for Heroes is now an established annual event, said Johnny Roberts,” ranch director, “we are so proud to be part of our community’s Veterans Day celebration. Folks will have all week to visit the Field of Honor in Murrieta, come down and watch the Veterans Day parade, also in Murrieta; but then come to Galway Downs and celebrate our veterans with our veterans at Galway Downs for what many say is the best concert of the year.”

There will be a few changes this year. Galway Downs has added a new venue to the property. The concert will be held in the new grass covered outdoor amphitheater. There will be two alternating stages in the amphitheater and another stage in the new Carriage House.

Everyone involved in the Concert for Heroes is a volunteer, including the bands. Last year we had 126 musicians show up to play for the veterans on Veterans Day. This year, members of the music division of the Phoenix Patriot Foundation, are part of the organizing committee and their band will be featured at the concert.

Many of the musicians who have played at the first two Concerts for Heroes have already committed to this year’s show. This is the show they all look forward to. Typically these musicians compete for play dates around So Cal. On Veterans Day, they come together for a cause they all believe in and they really enjoy being with each other making amazing music and atmosphere.

(Continued from page 23) 22

Serving Riverside County (Continued from page 22) We at the Manzanita Ranch are proud of this special event. We are committed to producing the show on Veterans Day. Our ranch horses ride in the Murrieta Veterans Day Parade, then head to the concert at Galway Downs; our understanding is that many families also attend the parade first then come join us for a full day celebration of our veterans and their many sacrifices.

Veterans and active duty military will be admitted FREE. General admission for age 16 and over is $20, age 10-16 is $5 and youth under age 10 free. Tickets can be purchased online at www.manzanitaranch.org and at the gate. Bring your lawn chairs! Sponsorships for this highly visible event are still available.

Galway Downs, located at 38800 Los Corralitos Rd near wine country in Temecula, is the perfect venue for the Concert for Heroes.

Galway Downs is a premiere equestrian facility. All proceeds from the Concert for Heroes will be used to support the horses that serve the veterans in the Manzanita Ranch’s, One Good Day Project.

For additional information contact: Johnny Roberts, Johnny@Manzanitaranch.org.

To learn more about the mission of The Manzanita Ranch, visit the website: www.Manzanitaranch.org.

The “One Good Day Project” is the primary mission of the Manzanita Ranch. It is designed as a day away with the horses for stress relief. From petting, and grooming to riding on the famous Pacific Crest Trail, the horses are available to meet a wide range of needs in a quiet atmosphere.

We serve one client or a specified group of veterans at a time. To schedule a day at the ranch, contact Ranch Director Johnny Roberts at (909) 816-9450.

The ranch is located in Anza, just east of Temecula.

At risk youth are one of the groups served by the horses at the Manzanita Ranch.

Veterans with PTSD are the primary recipients of time at the ranch. There are no costs to veterans and clients at the ranch. The ranch is managed 100% by volunteers and all fundraising goes to the care of the horses who provide the therapy.

PALM SPRINGS AIR MUSEUM 745 N. Gene Autry Trail | Palm Springs, CA 92262 | (760) 778-6262

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21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE

TAKING CARE OF OUR OWN

Veterans!

Thank you

Darren Huscher | Trace Comfort Specialist™ Ph: 951.789.4148 | Fax: 951.789.0955 7899 Mission Grove Parkway, Ste. D • Riverside, CA 92508 HushAir@aol.com • HushAir.com Lic. 630899

Taking care of our own - visiting one of their comrades in the hospital - Don Esquibel who had knee replacement surgery - is (l to r standing) Indio Post 739 Historian John Ellis, Honor Guard Captain Juan T. Martinez and Chaplian Tommy Madrid.

24

Serving Riverside County AMERICAN LEGION

HONORS LOCAL STUDENT FOR PLAYING TAPS Band Director Guy Lake, requesting permission to make the presentation in front of Ryan’s fellow band mates during one of their practices. Three members of the Honor Guard made the presentation: Army veterans Martinez, and Tommy Madrid and Marine Corps veteran John Ellis. On hand, were Principal Robert Hicks along with Ryan’s folks, grandmothers and a television cameraman who filmed footage for a news segment on both local CBS and ABC stations later that evening.

“What made it all the more special,” says Martinez, “is that it was a total surprise to Ryan. He didn’t know it was coming at all. It was a great moment!”

Indio’s Herman Granados American Legion Post 739 Honor Guard is at the ready when called upon to play homage to fellow veterans who have passed. Aside from a 7-man 3-volley rifle salute, Taps are played as well. “We usually have one of our members prepared to render Taps on a bugle,” says Honor Guard Captain Juan T. Marinez. Lately, however, we’ve encountered Ryan Arthur, a Palm Desert High School Marching Band member present playing Taps.”

Ryan, it seems, took it upon himself to volunteer his talent as a way he could pay homage to those who wore a uniform and serve their country, including members of his own family.

“We decided it would be a nice gesture to give Ryan a special Certificate of Appreciation for going above and beyond the call of duty,” adds Martinez. And so, the Honor Guard Contacted band

The History of Taps The 24-note melancholy bugle call known as “Taps” is thought to be a revision of a French bugle signal, called “tattoo,” that notified soldiers to cease an evening’s drinking and return to their garrisons. It was sounded an hour before the final bugle call to end the day by extinguishing fires and lights. The last five measures of the tattoo resemble taps.

The word “taps” is an alteration of the obsolete word “taptoo,” derived from the Dutch “taptoe.”

Taptoe was the command — “Tap toe!” — to shut (“toe to”) the “tap” of a keg. The revision that gave us present-day Taps was made during America’s Civil War by Union Gen. Daniel Adams Butterfield, heading a brigade camped at Harrison Landing, Va., near Richmond.

Up to that time, the U.S. Army’s infantry call to end the day was the French final call, “L’Extinction des feux.”

Gen. Butterfield decided the “lights out” music was too formal to signal the day’s end. One day in July 1862 he recalled the tattoo music and hummed a version of it to an aide, who wrote it down in music.

Butterfield then asked the brigade bugler, Oliver

W. Norton, to play the notes and, after listening, lengthened and shortened them while keeping his original melody.

He ordered Norton to play this new call at the end of each day thereafter, instead of the regulation call. The music was heard and appreciated by other brigades, who asked for copies and adopted this bugle call. It was even adopted by Confederate buglers.

This music was made the official Army bugle call after the war, but not given the name “Taps” until 1874.

The first time Taps was played at a military funeral may also have been in Virginia soon after Butterfield composed it. Union Capt.

John Tidball, head of an artillery battery, ordered it played for the burial of a cannoneer killed in action. Not wanting to reveal the battery’s position in the woods to the enemy nearby, Tidball substituted taps for the traditional three rifle volleys fired over the grave. Taps was played at the funeral of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson 10 months after it was composed. Army infantry regulations by 1891 required taps to be played at military funeral ceremonies.

Taps now is played by the military at burial and memorial services, to accompany the lowering of the flag and to signal the “lights out” command at day’s end.*

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25

21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE

HE-E-E-E-E-E-EY PANCHO! 26-year Legionnaire - PUFL - Legion Rider

BY JOHN ELLIS, ED.D.

“Ocra, summer squash, Italian squash, black-eyed peas and green beans! Yep! That’s what I remember,” says Javier “Pancho” Villarreal, recalling his childhood on an East Valley farm. “I had 2 brothers and 4 sisters,” he adds “and we all worked on the farm. It’s what a kid did in those days.”

All that hard manual labor paid off in time for young Pancho (a pet name he acquired after being baptized “Francisco”) with strong physical endurance. At Coachella Valley High School, (CVHS) he was the fastest mile runner at 4 minutes and 47-seconds and completed the 26mile marathon in 2 hours and 36 minutes!

It was during this time that he spent 4 years in the CVHS Cadet Corps, being promoted to Captain and serving as Commander his senior year.

Upon graduating in 1969, Pancho married his high school sweetheart, enrolled in College of the Desert and was awarded a $250 scholarship with which to buy books and supplies by Herman Granados American Legion Post 739 in Indio!

It was recognition well placed, as evidenced when Pancho’s natural leadership skills led to his forming a C.O.D. cross country team as a student coach while also serving as an assistant track and field coach at CVHS.

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Six months later, he joined the National Guard because, as he says, “it was something I’d planned on doing all along while going to school, and when a couple of my friends signed up, the timing just seemed right.”

In 1978, he found himself posted to Grafanwohr, Germany with the 3rd Armor Division and over the years rose from gunner, loader, and driver, to Tank Commander, eventually retiring as a Company 1st Sergeant in 1991.

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Basic training at Ft. Knox in Texas was followed by Advanced Infantry Training with M48 and M60 tanks, after which he returned to Company C, First Battalion, 185th Armor in Indio.

In honor of their service, our 7 week program is free of charge for Veterans and their families.

program is free of charge for Veterans and their families.

We are in Redlands and serve San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

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In honor of their service, our 7 week program is free of charge for Veterans and their families.

We are in Redlands and serve San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Serving Riverside County Upon earning an Associate degree, Pancho worked part time for a local hospital as a purchasing and receiving clerk to support his new bride and their young daughter. But, six years and a second daughter later, the marriage was history. “It just happens,” Pancho says with a shrug, “when you get married too young.”

After graduation, he worked as an assistant manager for a local department store before being hired on at the Coachella Valley Water District where he retired as Supervisor of the Collection System after 31 years.

Along the way, though (1976), he went to get a haircut and, as he says with a laugh, “using a bit of Army ingenuity, I ended up marrying the stylist!”

“It was, of course an ideal match,” he adds, “since Angie and I both had two kids at the time from previous marriages.” Now, with eight grandkids and three great grandkids, family gatherings are quite an event at the Villarreal household!

Pancho is a 26 year Paid-Up-For-Life Legion Member, and a Founding Member of Post 739’s Legion Rider Chapter where he serves as Sergeant-at-Arms.

“How could I not join the American Legion?”

Pancho asks. They believed in me when I was young and, now? They’ve provided an opportunity for me to give back to others.”

Giving back is one of the things Pancho has mastered over the years, beginning in high school when he first started donating blood.

It’s something he continues to this day, giving three units of platelets every two weeks to help cancer patients.

Whether looking back or looking forward, it’s a life well lived, one which Pancho’s late father, John and mother, Francis, and the whole Villarreal clan (as well as his American Legion “family”) can be proud.

PERRIS POST 595 WILL HOST A LUNCH Wednesday, December 14, 2016 Starting at 11 a.m. for

NATIONAL COMMANDER CHARLES E. SCHMIDT Donation $8 Reservations are required no later December 8, 2016 Limited seating for 70 (Reservations Only Please) Contact Joanne Evans (951) 657-8704 Checks should remade out to Joanne Evans and mailed to 470 North A Street, Perris CA 92570 Lunch will be sandwiches and salads; ice tea and coffee available Dessert

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21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE SEPT. 10TH BBQ

Jim Bob Thompson giving us our instruction before our day begins

Patsy Thompson and District Commander Edward Romero Photo Bombed by Maggie Trejo

Jim Bob Thompson

Maggie Trejo

Nancy and District 21 Auxiliary President Susan Romero

Commander Edward Romero

E Clampus Vitus

On September 10th, 2016, District 21 Commander Edward Romero , District 21 Auxiliary President Susan Romero along with Post and Units 742, 289, 328 and E Clampus Vitus. We were given the honor again to cook for this yearly event. Between us all we cooked a total of 10,000 hamburgers and hotdogs for the Veterans and their families. We also had the honor to meet a Documented Original TUSKEGEE Airman.

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Serving Riverside County

EASING PTSD

American Legion Pushes to Ease Marijuana Restrictions to Treat PTSD The American Legion took a position on medical marijuana for the first time last week, arguing that veterans ‘have a right to anything that may help them.’

The group’s new policy platform comes amid greater medical understanding and scientific research in recent years on the causes and consequences of traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Faced with stark numbers of brain trauma and psychological distress cases among combat veterans, the nation’s largest active veteran’s organization has thrown its weight behind the growing movement to push for relaxing federal restrictions on marijuana.

WHY LAW AND ORDER MATTERS TODAY

BY ANNE MARIE WALKER

Ruben Rasso served Riverside County as a deputy sheriff for nearly 30 years. Now he’s being honored for recognizing law enforcement efforts.

Rasso, the law and order Chairman for the American Legion District 21, was feted June 24 at the California American Legion Convention in Fresno with the Walter Knott Law and order Perpetual Trophy.

On April 23, American Legion Post 79 hosted a law and order dinner at Fairmount Park in Riverside, honoring 16 law enforcement personnel. They included the California Highway Patrol-Riverside Area, the Corona Police Department, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and the Riverside Police Department.

The event – the first that Rasso organized – also recognized representatives from the offices of State Senator Richard Roth, D-Riverside; Assemblyman Jose Medina, D-Riverside; and Assemblyman Eric Linder, R-Corona.

For these efforts, Rasso was chosen for the trophy named after Walter Knott, the founder of Knott’s Berry Farm and a supporter of law enforcement. Rasso

will keep the trophy for one year until the next voting process begins.

Rasso said that he felt, “honored by man and blessed by God.” He also referred to the recent police shootings in San Diego, Dallas, and Baton Rouge and claimed the importance of reminding Americans of how law enforcement members constantly risk their lives to protect our liberty.

The award will bring to mind to all citizens that law enforcement does matter, it is important, and that without it criminals will run rampant.

The American Legion, the nation’s largest wartime veterans organization, took a position on medical marijuana for the first time last week. At its national convention, it passed a resolution calling on Congress to amend its laws to “at a minimum... recognize cannabis as a drug with potential medical value.”

Marijuana is currently classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as a Schedule 1 drug, putting it alongside drugs such as heroin and cocaine. The designation, which the DEA reaffirmed last month, means that the federal government officially believes there is no “accepted medical use” for the drug.

“It’s a tool in a toolbox,” said William Detweiler, who serves as the chairman of the American Legion’s traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) committee and who is a past national commander of the organization.

“We’re not advocating the use of marijuana or any other drugs,” but he said veterans “have a right to anything that may help them.”

The American Legion’s new policy platform comes amid greater medical understanding and scientific research in recent years on the causes and consequences of TBI and PTSD.

Rasso also organizes dinners for veterans at the Riverside National Cemetery.

“The military are guardians of freedom at the national level,” he said. “And law enforcement are guardians of freedom in the home front.”

Rasso wanted the wider community to be aware of the hard work and sacrifices law enforcement makes.

“People can help by respecting law enforcement and the laws and being thankful for our freedom,” he said. “We have to realize that we have freedoms that other countries dream of.”

Thank You Veterans!

951.678.1555 • www.WildomarSenior.com 32325 S. Pasadena Street • Wildomar, CA 92595

29

21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE

GREEN BERET, COP, LEGIONNAIRE The many hats of Mike Pierson

BY JOHN ELLIS, ED.D.

Back home in the good ol’ U.S. of A. that February of 1965, folks were listening on the radio to “It’s Been a Hard Days Night” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin.’” For 18 year old Army PFC Mike Pierson, those songs, though, took on a whole different meaning the morning of February 7th at Camp Holloway, a just 2.5 miles east of Pleiku, South Vietnam.

There was nothing to worry about, he thought, as he hit the rack that Saturday night. Concertina wire fences, Claymore mines and fortified bunkers surrounded the forward helicopter base where the of the 52nd Combat Aviation Battalion was stationed. It was just another day in a place that he’d never even heard about until he was in basic training!

And then, at 1:50 that Sunday morning he had an abrupt wake up call when an explosion tore through the corrugated tin hooch he was barracked in. Immediately reaching for his rifle, he discovered the stock by the trigger mechanism had been split in half by shell fragments. Yet, 30

somehow, in just his skivvies, he ended up in a nearby foxhole with another weapon, surviving what he calls “a hellacious attack” that left 8 American service members dead and 120 wounded. It was, he remembers, one heck of a hard days night where the lovin’ feelin’ was definitely “gone... gone... gone.”

Upon returning to the States, Mike found himself at Fort Irwin, where he met his future bride, 15-year-old Alleca Hopson, who was helping to take care of her Army brother’s newborn. The budding romance, however, was put on hold when Mike, upon being promoted to Sergeant, returned to Nam for a 2nd tour with the 7/9 Artillery Battalion.

When he finally got back home in 1967 however, Mike was on a mission. He hopped in his ’63 Ford Galaxy with a busted air conditioner, and droveovernight some 250 miles across the desert from Imperial, CA to Phoenix., AZ to see Alleca. “But the engine threw a rod and blew up on the way,” he recounts

with an amused shake of his head, “so I thumbed the last 5 miles and showed up on her doorstep at 6 o’clock in the morning, meeting my future mother-inlaw for the very first time! Then? I just blurted out… I’m Mike Pierson and I’m here to marry your daughter!”

“Great first impression!” he says with a laugh, “especially considering Alleca was now 16 and still in high school.” But, the solider won over her family as well and, in short order, the newly hitched couple was settled in at Fort Huachuca, AZ where Mike was stationed. There, he passed a rigorous Special Forces screening, resulting in the young couple heading cross country to Ft Benning, GA where Mike enrolled in Jump School and earned his silver wings. Special Forces Training at Fort Bragg, NC, followed with with assignment to A-Team 12, D Company, 7th Special Forces Group and a promotion to Staff Sergeant.

Four years later, Mike once again was faced with re-upping. The caveat,

though, was assurance that he’d be heading back to the battlegrounds of Southeast Asia. Alleca, pregnant with their daughter, Jenny, “begged me not to re-enlist,” says Mike, “because she feared ending up a young widow, raising a child alone. After all, she’d heard the stories.” And so, despite the sacrifices made in serving his country for 8 years and 3 months, and wanting to make the Army a career, being a full-time husband and father seemed to be, as he reflects, “the right decision.”

Ever adept at accepting new challenges, Mike enrolled in a Law Enforcement Transition course which first led to a position with the Indio Police Department (PD) and later, with the Delhart, TX PD (near Mike’s aged grandparents). It was here where his Special Forces training proved useful when, as an undercover narcotics officer, he drove around in a white Chevy van with psychedelic posters on the windows and multicolored carpet squares on the floor. “It was the perfect camouflage,” he says with a smile.

Serving Riverside County

But, after contributing to 39 felony arrests and convictions over several months, Mike had worked himself out of a job which left only one option… relocation. Once more. he loaded up the family and headed back west where he accepted a position with the Brawley PD, becoming a new father again shortly thereafter with the birth of his son, David, in 1976.

It wasn’t long, however, until the Law Office of Thomas T. Anderson in Indio got wind of the hard-charging young officer and actively recruited him as a Staff Investigator.

Life out of uniform opened up a whole new set of opportunities. Mike joined the National Association of Legal Investigators (serving as its National Director 1985-86). His brother, Gary, passed on at the young age of 50, leaving Mike and Alleca to raise their 3-year-old niece Twila and 1-year-old nephew Warren.

He started his own business, Pierson

Investigation Service. And, in 2012, he became GM of the General Patton Memorial Museum, a position he held until stepping down this past August.

Being a husband and grandfather, while addressing client needs, along with actively participating as a member of the Indio American Legion, Coachella Valley Airborne Association and Veterans of Foreign Wars, keeps Mike going at a pace upon which he thrives. It’s reflective of a life journey that has taken him from the battlefields of Vietnam to keeping a WWII General’s legacy alive, best exemplified by Patton’s own words: “If I do my full duty, the rest will take care of itself.”

Editor’s note: The Legion Family extends our sympathy to Mike and his family whose beloved mother Gwendolyn F. Pierson passed away on July 29th, just 9 days short of her 90th birthday.

31

21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE

CALIFORNIA VETERAN LICENSE PLATE As a veteran, you may order a California license plate with the armed forces or veterans service organization logo/emblem/insignia of your choice, which will be prominently displayed on the left side of the license plate. There is a fee for these license plates, and an additional one-time fee for personalized license plates.

Veterans license plates are a great way to show one’s pride to our nation and the satisfaction of being a Veteran for this great country. As an added benefit, proceeds from the sale of vets plates are used to expand veteran services in Kern County.

SPECIAL BENEFITS The following categories of Veterans are eligible for additional license plate benefits: • 100% Service-connected disabled Veterans • Medal of Honor recipients • Recipients of other high decorations • Former American Prisoners of War • Pearl Harbor survivors • Purple Heart recipients Additional information about Veterans license plates can be found through this office by calling (661) 868-7300 or (866) 218-5367.

Whether you’re a Veteran or proud of our Veterans who have defended America, get your application for Veterans plates today!

POST 739

END VETERAN HOMELESSNESS

VA Awards $300 Million More in Grants to Help End Veteran Homelessness Ongoing Initiative targets homeless and at-risk Veterans and families WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today awarded approximately $300 million more in grants under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program to help thousands of very low-income Veteran families around the nation who are permanently housed or transitioning to permanent housing. The SSVF grant program provides access to crucial services to prevent homelessness for Veterans and their families.

SSVF funding, which supports outreach, case management and other flexible assistance to prevent Veteran homelessness or rapidly re-house Veterans who become homeless, has been awarded to 275 non-profit organizations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These grants, key elements of VA’s implementation of the Housing First Strategy, enable vulnerable Veterans to secure or remain in permanent housing. A list of SSVF grantees is located at www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf.asp.

“Since 2010, the Housing First Strategy has helped cut Veteran Homelessness nearly in half,” said VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald. “Housing First is why 360,000 Veterans and family members have been housed, rehoused or prevented from falling into homelessness over the last five years. SSVF helps homeless Veterans quickly find stable housing and access the supportive services they – and their families – need.”

Grantees will continue to provide eligible Veteran families with outreach, case management, and assistance obtaining VA and other benefits, which may include health care, income support services, financial planning, child care, legal services, transportation, housing counseling, among other services.

Grantees are expected to leverage supportive services grant funds to enhance the housing stability of very low-income Veteran families who are occupying permanent housing. In doing so, grantees are required to establish relationships with local community resources.

A salute goes out to two Indio Post 739 Legionnaires (L to R), Marine vet Don Esquibel and Navy vet Mickey Flynn, who frequently each need a cane to get around (and yet are often among the first to volunteer when help is needed at the Post).

32

In fiscal year (FY) 2015, SSVF served more than 157,000 participants and is on track to exceed that number in FY 2016. As a result of these and other efforts, Veteran homelessness is down 47 percent since the launch of the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in 2010. Also since 2010, more than 360,000 Veterans and their family members have been permanently housed, rapidly re-housed, or prevented from falling into homelessness by VA’s homelessness programs and targeted housing vouchers provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Today’s grant recipients successfully competed for grants under a January 15, 2016, Notice of Fund Availability. Applications were due February 5, 2016. The funding will support SSVF services in FY 2017, which starts October 1, 2016, and ends September 30, 2017.

For more information about the SSVF program, visit www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf.asp.

Serving Riverside County POST 739

Herman Granados American Legion Indio Post 739 Officers (L to R) Juan T. Martinez, Steve Waggoner and Herman Granados were honored with 2016 Veterans Service Awards by 28th District State Senator Jeff Stone.

On hand (R) was Indio Mayor Glenn Miller

POST 739

If Santa Santa Claus can join the California American Legion Press Association — so can YOU! SAL member Eugene “Santa Claus” Pierce (above left) is welcomed C.A.L.P.A. President Dr. John Ellis (Ed.D.) Dues are ONLY $10 a year and for THAT??? Ya just never know what Santa will bring!

For sure... you’ll receive a personalized Press Card in the mail!

So-o-o-o-o-o-o... send in a check today (or a credit card #) to: C.A.L.P.A. President, 41-905 Trent Place, Indio, CA 92203 or send an e-mail to: calpapresident@gmail.com or just call: (760) 625-1022.

After all... you don’t want a lump of coal for Christmas!

DR. JOHN ELLIS (Ed.D.) Indio American Legion Post 739 Boys State representative, Coachella Valley High School Junior Eduardo Rafael Rodriguez (center) was given a send off by Boys State Chairman Juan T. Martinez (L) and Commander Steve Waggoner

POST 739

Indio Post 739 Legion Riders attending the Sept. 11th Warrior Fund breakfast at the Julian American Legion included (L to R) Pancho & Angie Villarreal, Tim & Lupita Azzolina, Gene Hobdy & Rita Elisarraras

Congratulations goes out to Indio Post 739 Historian and Newsletter Editor Dr. John Ellis (Ed.D.) upon his unanimous reelection as President of the California American Legion Press Association (C.A.L.P.A.) at the National Convention this past June.

33

21ST DISTRICT LEGIONNAIRE VETERANS RECOGNITION PROGRAM

POST 742

District Commander Edward Romero, District 21 Auxiliary President Susan Romero, Laurie Sherman, and Colonel Tom Sherman Jr.

Colonel Tom Sherman Jr., Julia Elizarraras and Richard Cortez

District 21 Post Commander Edward Romero and Colonel Tom Sherman Jr.

Photo (Left to right): Senator Richard Roth (CA) Joanne Evans and Congressman Mark Takano Presenting awards to Joanne one from the California State Senate and one from United States Congress Saturday June 28th, 2016, March Air Field Museum Congressman Mark Takano and Senator Roth held a Veterans Recognition Program with guest speaker Major General John C. Flournoy, Jr. Six other veterans were honored along with Joanne Evans, American Legion Perris Post 595, District 21 for services rendered on behalf of veterans over the past years.

Joanne is a 44 year member of The American Legion, 46 year member of the American Legion Auxiliary Post and Unit 595. She is a life member of the American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary, Marine Corps League, Woman Marine Association, and Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary 888 and belongs to several community organizations.

Joanne retired from the California Department of Forestry/Riverside County Fire Department as a Public Affairs Officer, with 34 years of service and served a four year term as City Councilwoman for the City of Perris. She continues to work with The American Legion and veterans, still serving her community and State and Nation.

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Colonel Tom Sherman Jr.

United States Air Force Colonel Tom Sherman Speaking at the Joe Dominguez Post 742 on August 11, 2016. Tom is the Son of Tom and Maryann Sherman. Tom shared many stories from his 21 years of service to his fellow Veteran Brothers and sisters and guests.

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