June - American Legion

Legionnaire
The Minnesota American Legion and Auxiliary
U study tracks hunger
Volume 96, Number 6
One in four Iraq, Afghanistan vets don’t
have consistant access to sufficient food
By Al Zdon
A new study by the University of
Minnesota and the Minneapolis VA has
found that a high percentage of returning
Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans have
problems in getting enough food.
The study showed that 27 percent of
those veterans don’t have consistent access
to sufficient food. The national average in
the United States is 14.5 percent.
“We have fought two very expensive
wars over a decade. It’s unconscionable
that a sizable percentage of these war veterans have food insecurity,” said Dr.
Rachel Widome, who led the study at the
University. “It’s a bit of a hidden problem.
Nobody wants to talk about not having
enough to eat. It’s embarrassing in
America.”
Widome, an assistant professor in the
School of Public Health, said the study
originated a couple of years ago when
researchers were talking informally to
returning veterans, and finding that many
of them made references to simply not having enough food.
“There hadn’t been any research or
reporting done on this aspect at all,”
Widome said. “We wanted to see if this
went beyond just the anecdotes.”
The results showed that better than one
Shinseki resigns
For God and Country
in four returning veterans reported food
insecurity in the past year, and 12 percent
of the total reported very low food security, meaning there were multiple instances
of not having enough food.
The survey showed a strong correlation
between low food security and other
increased levels of health concerns in
younger veterans such as smoking, binge
drinking and generally poor health.
Widome said the study was not done on
a timeline, and so it’s difficult to say which
problem has led to another problem. “We
don’t know what came first, but we can see
how it all fits together.”
There was also a strong correlation in
the marriage status of those who had no
food problems and those who did. Sixtythree percent of those who did not have
food security issues were married or partnered, while 42 percent of those with low
food security were married, and only 29
percent of those with very low food security were married or partnered.
There was a similar correlation between
employment and food security.
Widome said there are several local and
national food programs that could help veterans with low food security. She said the
Supplemental
Nutrition
Assistance
Continued on Page 5
Secret list at Phoenix VA
prompts multiple investigations
Minnesotan involved in Legion study
Eric Shinseki, Secretary of the federal
Veterans Administration, resigned in late
May under pressure from Congress and
veterans groups.
The American Legion was the first
major voice of veterans to call for
Shinseki to step aside.
The Legion’s National Commander
Dan Dellinger said Shinseki needed to
quit following the revelation of a secret
list at the Phoenix VA Hospital that hid
actually waiting times for veterans.
A cable news story said that as many
as 40 veterans died while waiting for
health care at Phoenix.
Shinseki was replaced by Sloan
Gibson as acting Secretary. Gibson, former head of the USO, has been Shinseki’s
deputy for the past three months.
The American Legion also sent a
“System Worth Saving” team to Phoenix
to conduct a town meeting, and to interview staff at the hospital to determine the
root of the problems there.
The team was headed by Tom Mullon
of Eagan, the chairman of the Legion’s
Rochester gets ready for 2014 convention
With the Department of Minnesota convention just six
weeks away, the host city of Rochester is gearing up to host
the Legion, Auxiliary and SAL delegates and guests.
The conventions will be held July 17-19. The Legion
meeting will be at the Mayo Civic Center and the Auxiliary
will convene at the Kahler Grand Hotel.
Two hotels have been designated for the convention, and
delegates and others must make their own reservations. The
Kahler Grand Hotel has rooms for $79, $89, $129 and $299.
For reservations, call 1-800-533-1655. The Kahler Inn and
MAYO CIVIC CENTER
State Legislature winds up 2014 session
Continued on Page 2
For veterans, the 2014 Minnesota legislative session was
chock full of smaller accomplishments rather than the big
blockbusters of prior years.
The 2013 session had finished off with major funding for
the final phase at the
Minnesota Veterans
Home
at
Minneapolis.
In this session,
just completed in
May, there were no
major bonding victories, but dozens of
bills that will help
groups of veterans
here and there.
“We weren’t asking for a lot, and we
didn’t get a lot,” said
Mike McElhiney,
legislative director
for the Minnesota
Department
of
Veterans Affairs.
“They called this the
‘unsession,’
and
June 2014
they wanted agencies to trim back and look at outdated
laws. But the MDVA didn’t have much of that.”
In the end, though, McElhiney said there were maybe 50
bills that dealt with veterans in one way or another, and
many of them succeeded.
Two notable bills that did not succeed were a measure by
Rep. Jerry Newton, DFL-Coon Rapids, that would have
created a priority list for entrance into the Minnesota
Veterans Homes. The bill would have given precedence to
disabled veterans, Purple Heart recipients and others, and
would have put spouses of veterans at the bottom of the list.
The Minnesota American Legion opposed the bill, saying that all veterans and spouses should be treated equally.
Another bill that failed to get passage was the Honor and
Remember Flag. State buildings would have been recommended to fly the flag at certain times of the years. Again,
the Legion and other service organizations opposed the bill
saying, among other arguments, that the U.S. Flag already
served to honor and remember deceased veterans.
Department Adjutant Randy Tesdahl agreed with
McElhiney on the character of the session. “There were a
lot of little things -- nothing really big, nothing earth shaking.”
Tesdahl said the tier system for the veterans homes and
the Honor and Remember flag were two key issues. “What
Continued on Page 3
Health Administration Committee, and a
former director at the Minneapolis VA
Medical Center.
Mullon and the team created a report
on the Phoenix health care system that
Continued on Page 3
ERIC SHINSEKI
VA Secretary resigns under pressure
102-year-old new Legion
member at Blue Earth
Blue Earth Post 89
signed up a new member
at last month’s post meeting.
And he brings with
him more than a century
of life.
Lea Vern Hanson,
often called “Stub,” will
turn 103 this fall.
Hanson decided to
join the Legion after the
Veterans of Foreign Wars
post in the community
moved to a nearby town.
Continued on Page 2
LEA VERN HANSON
74 missions in a P-47
Thunderbolt during
World War II
Pages 10-12
102-year-old recruit is newest member of Blue Earth Post 89
Page 2
Minnesota Legionnaire
Continued from Page 1
Harold Lea Vern Hanson
was born in Dodge County,
Wisconsin in 1911, the
same year that Ronald
Reagan and Roy Rogers
were born.
William Howard Taft
was president, and Roald
Amundsen became the first
human to reach the South
Pole in 1911.
Hanson
moved
to
Renville when his father,
who was a carpenter, found
more work in the Minnesota
town.
Hanson only spoke
Norwegian at home, and so
school was hard until he
made the adjustment.
June 2014
In the 1930s, Hanson
tried to follow in his
father’s footsteps as a carpenter, but work was so
short that he took part in
both the WPA and CCC
programs.
Althought the pay was
meager, and most of that
was sent home to his family,
he said it was a great time
of his life because of the
companionship.
Hanson never married,
and has lived alone most of
his life.
He drove his Ford sedan
out west in 1942, hoping to
find work in the booming
defense
industry,
but
nobody would hire him
because he was of draft age.
So instead he joined the
Navy and trained at San
Diego. He became a gunner’s mate, and was
assigned to the merchant
fleet.
His travels took him all
over the world as he followed the convoys of Allied
ships. He sailed both the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
On one passage, both the
ship behind and the one in
front were torpedoed and
sunk. He became ill with
sand flea fever, and while
he was recovering at a hospital in the Carribbean, his
ship was also sunk.
He moved to Blue Earth
from Baudette several years
ago, and decided to join the
Legion when the VFW post
in Blue Earth was no longer
there.
(Thanks to A.B. Russ for
information in this story.)
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STUB HANSON AS A YOUNG MAN
Rochester Convention
Continued from Page 1
Suites has rooms for $89
and reservations can be
made at the same number.
A registration form is on
page 2 of this issue and
there is a $15 registration
fee per person. That will go
up to $18 at the door.
There is complimentary
parking in the Kahler Grand
and Center Street ramps.
On Wednesday, July 16,
there will be registration at
Post 92 in Rochester. The
post will also host a burger
night on Wednesday at 5
followed by karaoke or a
Hanson is shown in two different pictures working for
the Civilian Conservation Corps in northern
Minnesota.
band at 7. Thursday, there
will be a light lunch at noon
and a band or karaoke at 7.
The schedule will be the
same on Friday, and on
Saturday there will be the
new commander’s and new
president’s receptions following the close of the con-
OFFICIAL CONVENTION PRE-REGISTRATION
A registration fee of $15 for each person attending, whether a delegate, alternate or a guest, must accompany this form. Make this check payable to POST
92 CONVENTION FUND. No credit cards will be accepted.
Registration at the door will be $18.
Mail to:
Bill Born, American Legion Post 92 Office, 403 East Center St. Rochester,
MN 55904
Legion Post # __________
District___________
SAL Sqdn.__________
Auxiliary Unit________
ventions.
There will be shuttle
service throughout the week
from the post to the hotels
and convention sites.
The hospitality rooms on
Friday night will be at the
Windsor Hall in the basement level of the Kahler
hotels. A parade route for
Friday night has not yet
been determined but the
parade will feature competition for color guards, drill
teams and patriotic floats.
The Auxiliary special
guest will be National
Northwest Division Vice
President Pat Steranka of
Colorado.
An executive committee
meeting will be held in conjunction with the convention.
Name__________________________________________________________
Address________________________________________________________
City, State__________________________________Zip___________________
pDelegate
pAlternate
pDelegate at Large (Auxiliary)
(Please check one of the above.)
pGuest
If additional pre-registrations accompany this request, this pre-registration form
should be photo copied for each person. The $15 registration fee should be
enclosed for each person.
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Mullon leads task force
Continued from Page 1
will be released soon.
“We usually look at a
variety of factors, the budget, the recruitment, the
facilities. At Phoenix, we
had to focus on scheduling.”
Mullon, who had done
about 45 or 50 site visits
representing The American
Legion, said the daylong
visit at the hospital was preceded, as all System Worth
Saving visits, by a town hall
meeting.
The tenor of that meeting was very anti-VA,
Mullon said. (Excerpts
from that meeting can be
watched on the Legion
website: www.legion.org.)
Mullon said officials at
the VA Medical Center
denied there was a secret
waiting list as many reports
and whistle blowers have
indicated.
“As the Legion, we have
no ability to search their
records. We have no subpoena power. That’s something the inspector general
will have to sort out.”
Mullon said the claim
that 40 had died while waiting for care also needs to be
examined with better information than the task force
had access to.
“But it should be noted
that the VA hospital in
Phoenix had emergency
room care, 24/7, 365 days a
year. So there might be
some culpability on part of
the individual. If they needed emergency care, it was
there.”
One thing the task force
did find was that the
Phoenix VA Medical Center
had some difficult issues.
First of all, its traffic is
strongly affected by the
mass of snowbirds who
winter in Arizona and want
to use the facility. This
increases the waiting list
times.
Secondly, the hospital
has asked for additional
space for ambulatory care,
but has not received federal
funding as yet. The measure
passed the House, but the
Senate has not passed the
VA bill for this year.
Mullon’s team also
found instances that may
indicate deeper problems at
the facility.
“They have over 100
unfair labor practice claims
pending. That would be an
indication that something is
going on there.”
Mullon summed up by
saying that it was his
impression that while the
Veterans bills passed
Continued from Page 1
we did that was most important was keeping at bay some
things that were not completely thought out.”
Tesdahl said it would be nice if state legislators consulted with the veterans service groups in a similar way to how
federal lawmakers do.
“Just call us on the phone. Ask those whom the law is
going to affect. Come to the table with us.”
Among those measures that did pass:
-- A time extension was granted to surviving spouses of
veterans to claim a property tax benefit for totally disabled
veterans from five to eight years.
-- National Guard pay will now be exempt from income
taxes, just like all other active duty military pay.
-- There will be expedited licensing for veterans and
spouses for certain occupations. It will apply to veterans
leaving the service for up to two years. There will also be
temporary licenses available while their permanent license
is being processed. For military policemen, there will be
easier to qualify for state testing to become a peace officer.
-- $250,000 was allocated to conduct housing needs
studies around the state to seek information on various
types of veterans needs and how the state can deal with it.
-- All honorably discharged veterans will be able to get
resident tuition rates at public universities and colleges,
regardless of their resident status. This was already in effect
at many Minnesota colleges, but it now is written into law.
-- In the bonding bill, the state veterans homes will get
$2 million for repairs and maintenance, and another
$700,000 to repair a leaky deep tunnel at the Minneapolis
Veterans Home.
-- The Hmong-Lao veterans got $450,000 to construct a
memorial at the state Capitol grounds to honor veterans of
the war in Laos who were allied to American forces.
-- Money was also allocated for veteran memorials in
North St. Paul and Edina and for renovation of the Brooklyn
Park Armory.
-- There will be license plates to recognize women veterans, and a motorcycle license plate to honor combat
wounded veterans.
-- Veterans-owned small businesses can now register at
the state level for state preference on contracts, rather than
at the federal level. McElhiney notes that this was one of
the Commander’s Task Force initiatives this year. “Funding
to make this an efficient process will need to be sought in
the next budget year.”
-- A Camp Ripley Veterans State Trail was given $1.7
million. It will link to the Sioux Line and Crow Wing trails.
-- A $400,000 grant to the Let’s Go Fishing of Minnesota
will be partially used for programs that affect veterans.
-- $26,000 was granted to Stearns County for group residential housing services. It is thought this money is aimed
at the Eagle’s Healing Nest in Sauk Centre.
“It was a fast and short session, and we’re still looking at
some of the bills that were passed,” McElhiney said.
Phoenix hospital does have
administrative problems,
the quality of care at the
hospital seems to be very
good.
“They have an overload,
and they simply have not
been able to come up with
the answers. There are indications that they’ve been
lying to the secretary.”
Mullon said he strongly
opposes changing the VA to
allow veterans to use private health care.
“Privatization
keeps
coming up over time. What
you have to understand is
that the VA overall is an
excellent care system. It has
a 90 percent satisfaction
rate, which is far higher
than the private sector.
“And they specialize in
care to veterans. The VA
deals with disabilities from
war that the private sector
has not seen.”
Mullon said any shift to
privatization will likely cost
more too. The VA has a
good record of cost-effective care, including the ability to seek competition in
drug prices.
“And if you think you’ve
got waiting lists at the VA,
the private sector also has
lists, big lists.”
Mullon said studies have
shown the VA to be the best
hospital system in the
United States. “That’s why
we call it a System Worth
Saving. The Legion has
fought for years to protect
the VA system. We shouldn’t quit now.”
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June 2014
Minnesota Legionnaire
Page 3
JON BROWN
VA DISABILITY APPEALS
952-201-1799
Former VA Decision
Review Officer
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Dr. Robert
Shelton, D.C.
Page 4
Minnesota Legionnaire
June 2014
COMMANDER’S
COLUMN
By Mike Ash
The Testimonials and District Conventions are in full
swing – this signals a changing of the guard, but not the
mission. We need to continue our outstanding work helping our veterans receive the benefits they earned by service
to their country. We have to strive to make the transition
between our current officers and newly elected leaders as
smooth as possible. How did we approach membership?
What worked and what didn’t? What projects have been
started, how far along are we, and what needs to be done to
tie up any loose ends? Which programs were extremely
successful in our posts or district and which ones could use
a little boost? It is up to us who went before to make sure
our successors have the very best year they can and to make
our post and/or district the very best it can be.
I just finished reading an article in the Star Tribune concerning the legislation to change the admission requirements into Minnesota Veteran Homes. The representative
who tried to force it through the first time was knocked on
Mail Call
Watchdog Role
To the Editor:
In probably the worst scandal in Veterans Affairs since
Warren G. Harding was President, we now see veterans
being deprived of timely health care and some even dying
as a result. In 1921 President Harding created the Veterans
Bureau, (the predecessor to the Veterans Administration)
and appointed a decorated WWl veteran, Charles R. Forbes
as its first Director. Forbes promptly began ripping off the
Bureau and selling everything that was loose for his own
profit. The infant American Legion was quick to raise the
red flag and call for the ouster of Forbes, and a cleansing of
the Veterans Bureau. Now, more than 90 years later we see
VA leadership creating secret lists to skew the numbers in
order to obtain bonus’s for themselves.
A couple of things are apparent: 1. The VA needs to be
cleansed from top to bottom. Anyone found guilty should
be punished and made to make restitution of any bonus
obtained fraudulently, and sent to prison if it is warranted.
(The resignation of Dr. Robert Petzel was meaningless.) All
bonus’s should be eliminated immediately, and permanently. It is an insult to all veteran’s for government employees
to receive a bonus for serving those who have “Borne the
Battle”.
2. It should be obvious to anyone paying attention that
The American Legion is as important, necessary, and relevant today as it has ever been at any time during its history.
The American Legion is the strongest watchdog over the
rights and benefits of all veterans and their families. We
can all stand and be proud of what The American Legion is
doing, and we MUST all remain vigilant and determined to
keep our American Legion strong.
Lyle R. Foltz
Apple Valley
Bowling Thanks
To the Editor:
John Torma, Secretary for the 67th Annual Minnesota
American Legion Bowling Tournament hosted by
Moorhead Post 21 and Sunset Lanes, was very satisfied
with the outcome. He would have liked to have had more
outstate teams entered from the 9th District. One hundred
thirty teams participated with over 530 bowlers entered in
singles, doubles and team events.
Thanks to everyone who helped out with the bowling,
the shuttle and everything else.
Gary Olson
Moorhead
Good stories
To the Editor:
I have been a member of the Sauk Rapids Legion since
the early 80s. After retiring from the Army in 1995, my
family and I stayed at my last assignment in North Carolina.
My family ties to Minnesota are deep and I never canceled
my Minnesota membership.
I love reading the articles in the Legionnaire. The articles
on Minnesota veterans who served in World War II are well
written and are a part of personal accounts of those who
served who will soon be gone. Thanks for doing such a
his butt by the reaction he got from “the guys in the hats” as
he called us (those who come to hearings with American
Legion and VFW hats on). Although the MDVA
Commissioner, as well as his Deputy Commissioner and the
president of the CVSOs stated very succinctly why it was a
bad idea, he (Rep. Jerry Newton) is bound and determined
to bring it up again. He’ll meet with the same reaction –
and from the same people, the Commanders from the 9 congressionally chartered veterans organizations (known as the
Commanders Task Force), standing in lock-step, to fight to
do what is right for veterans. During the legislative year,
there are times we need additional “hat power” – get on the
list of the NEC or Legislative Committee and if you can
come and support the cause.
Legionville is still looking for help from our members.
Of course, funds are always gladly accepted, but they could
really use a hand in painting. If you can spare a few hours
or a few days, please contact Roy Kruger, Camp Manager,
and let him know you’d like to lend a hand to get our new
educational facility ready when the students start arriving
(hint – it’s going to be REAL soon!). Meanwhile, watch the
Legionnaire for news on the grand re-opening and dedication of the new “barn.”
The Consolidated Post Reports are coming in at a very
slow pace – we need to get those turned in and turned in
now. With so many of our Legionnaires doing so very
much for their post, community, state and nation – we must
insure they get the credit they so richly deserve. One of the
best ways to do this is to turn in a Consolidated Post Report
– these reports not only help at our local level, but they give
our National folks facts and figures to lay in front of the
U.S. Legislature, to show we continue to walk-the-walk.
Remember: The American Legion does these things not
because it can, but because it’s who we are.
great job in sharing historical stories of our veterans.
Dave Wright
Fletcher, N.C.
Nonsense article
To the Editor:
I am a lifetime member of the Legion and a Marine
Corps veteran from the Korean era plus the Vietnam era.
Not only I, but, I’d guess, a large group of Legion members will be highly upset by the letter to the editor this past
month called “Brewery Affiliation.”
Who is this person who is trying to turn the Legion into
an old ladies coffee shop?
Also, why did you publish such garbage?
The Legion would lose a large number of present and
future members and also lose a lot of revenue.
I have been a member of Richfield Post 435 for 33 years.
As long as I lived in south Minneapolis, I used to go with
friends to the Legion three days a week to enjoy the bar and
the dining room. I also enjoyed the live bands for dancing
and entertainment. We did that for pleasure, but also to support the Legion financially.
We did that for many, many years and enjoyed every
minute of it. I do miss it very much and have fond memories of those days.
Fred Rossbach
Virginia Beach, Va.
Great memories
To the Editor:
Thanks to Boys State for the recent note from Director
Mike Bredeck and the 2013 yearbook. It brought back a lot
of great memories. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity of participating in Boys State. The lessons I acquired
have already proven useful now, and for sure into the future.
All the staff that I encountered from the moment I
stepped off the bus could not have been more supportive
and professional. Please feel free at anytime to contact me
to be a public supporter of Boys State at any level. I will be
heading to the United States Coast Guard Academy at the
end of June, so the knowledge that I acquired will come in
handy on yet another level very soon.
Ryan H. Condon
Rosemount
Reunions
USS Sphinx, ARL 24, All Crews, will meet September
8-11 at the Box Car Willie Hotel in Branson, Mo. Contact
Dennis Klein, 215-542-2283 or email: dckdck@aol.com.
USS Mount McKinley Association will meet in
Colorado Springs. Co., from Sept 17-21. The reunion will
be for veterans and associate members from all branches of
the military who served on the amphibious force flagship.
Contact: Dwight L. Janzen, Secretary, at 509-534-3649
or email: djanzen4@msn.com.
Chaplain’s
Corner
By
Richard Wog
We are moving into summer, but that means we start to
do all the outside work; trying to get caught up on the projects we didn’t finish last year. Then there are graduations
and confirmations and also a lot of weddings to attend.
Wherever events take you; be safe and enjoy this wonderful
time of the season. Spring has been slow in coming.
Maybe we won’t have one. I know the farmers are getting
a late start. When they finish planting then the waiting
game starts. Will there be enough rain for the crops? It is
all up to Mother Nature. It is like I have been saying, prayer
does work. If it seems like prayer didn’t work the first time,
try again. But not just for the rain. Anybody that watches
the news knows of some of the troubles that are taking place
in the world. Each of us needs to include people in those
troubled areas in our prayers.
Memorial Day is behind us and soon the fourth of July
will be here. The fourth is another time to give thanks for
what we have today. The Fourth of July is better known as
Independence Day for the United States of America. There
is so much history about that great day. Some even say it
was July 2nd. John Adams wrote a letter to his wife Abigail
saying, “The second day of July 1776 will be the most
memorable epoch in the history of America. I’m apt to
believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations
as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion
to God almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and
parade, with shows, games, gun, bells, bonfires, and with
illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other,
from this time forward forever more.” In 1779, July 4th fell
on a Sunday, but it was celebrated on Monday, July 5th.
That showed me that their God and what Sunday stood for
was more important to them at that time. Some things have
changed, have they not?
The Ten Commandments are what we are to live by.
God gave them to Moses not just for his people, but for all
to live by. Each commandment pertains to how we are to
live our lives. I have to say, there are times I go back to my
confirmation days; we had to learn the commandments and
the meaning of each one. The fifth commandment stands
out for me. Why you may ask? We just celebrated
Mother’s Day and soon we’ll celebrate Father’s Day on
June 15th. Fathers have been a very important part of our
lives. They are mentors. A father is the person you know
you can confide in. He, as your mother, is always there for
you. The fifth commandment says “Honor thy father and
thy mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord
your God is giving you.” Let’s not forget our fathers on
Father’s Day.
Cheryl and I had the honor of attending our grandson’s
induction into the High Court of Honor Eagle Scout. The
ceremony was at his church. I learned so much about the
Boy Scouts that I didn’t know. I have always had the greatest respect for them and what they do and for what they
stand for. When the speaker introduced Travis, everyone
was standing and applauding. We did the same with a smile
and a tear or two. A big thank you goes out to all of the
scouts; they are a big part of the four pillars.
I was asked how I like being Department Chaplain and
if I would do it again. I said I loved it and I would do it
again in a heartbeat.
The Minnesota
Legionnaire
Official Publication of and Owned Exclusively by
The American Legion, Department of Minnesota
Al Zdon, Editor
First published in 1920 as the Hennepin County Legionnaire,
the Minnesota Legionnaire is now in its 94th year of publication. It is published monthly by The American Legion,
Department of Minnesota, Room 300A, 20 West 12th Street,
St. Paul, MN 55155-2000. Periodicals postage is paid at St.
Paul, MN, and at additional mailing offices. The Legionnaire
is a member of the Minnesota Newspaper Association and
the National American Legion Press Association.
SUBSCRIPTION: $10 for non-members. Members receive
the Legionnaire as part of their dues.
PHONE: 651-291-1800, 866-259-9163, FAX: 651-291-1057
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The American
Legion, 20 W. 12th Street, St. Paul, MN, 55155-2000. (USPS
No. 013-679.) (ISSN No. 1644270)
ADVERTISING RATES: Contact Al Zdon, 651-291-1800
E-MAIL: azdon@mnlegion.org
WEBSITE: www.mnlegion.org
BOARD OF PUBLICATION MEMBERS: President MIke
Ash, St. Paul; Vice President, Bob Locker, Fridley; Secretary
Randy Tesdahl, St. Francis; Treasurer, Richard Horn,
Melrose. Board Members include: Don Amundson, Blue
Earth; Bob Locker, Fridley; Clinton Burt, Slayton; Joe Bayer,
Minneapolis; Pat Logan, Bloomington; Virgil Persing,
Columbia Heights; Shirley Frederick, Hackensack; Chris
Ronning, Maple Grove.
What’s Happening
Legal Clinics
A series of legal clinics for veterans has been set up by
the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans. The clinics
will provide counseling on child support, employment, benefits, expungement, debt collection and wills.
The clinic will feature attorneys, MACV staff, county
veterans service officers, and others.
The clinics include:
-- Tuesday, June 10, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the VA
Medical Center in Minneapolis in the Flag Atrium Balcony
Room. Parking is free.
-- Thursday, June 19, at the Anoka County Government
Center, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
-- Tuesday, June 24, at the St. Cloud VA Medical Center,
Auditorium Building 8, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
-- Thursday, June 26, at the Fillmare County Office
Building in Preston, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Korean War Veterans
A free book on the contribution of Korean War Veterans
is available. For those veterans in Minnesota, please send a
check for $5.60 to to cover the cost of mailing, to Ed Valle,
1410 Foster St., River Falls, WI, 54022.
Also, the Korean War Veterans will be celebrating their
national convention in Rochester, Minnesota, this year. It
will be held Oct. 15-19 at the Kahler Grand Hotel. For
reservations, call 1-800-533-1655.
Minnesota’s Chapter 1 will be the host.
Moving Wall
The Vietnam Veterans Moving Wall will be at Veterans
Memorial Park in Cleveland, Minn., from Thursday, July 24
to Monday, July 28.
There will be a welcoming ceremony on Saturday, July
26, at 10 a.m.
There will be a Motorcycle/Classic Car Ride on
Saturday, June 21, at the church on the west side of
Cleveland parking lot from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is $25 per
driver and $15 per riders, and everyone must pre-register.
Contact Chris Thomas at 507-420-2973.
The proceeds will be used to finance the Moving Wall.
The ride will end at the Cleveland Post with brats, beans
and chips to be served.
Support the Troops Golf
The annual Support the Troops Golf Tournament will be
held Saturday, June 21, at the Ponds Golf Course in St.
Francis. The tourney will raise money for Pets Loyal 2 Vets.
It will begin at 10 a.m. with a shotgun start. Registration
begins at 8 a.m. It’s a four-person scramble format and the
sign up deadline is June 14. Call Nicole at 763-795-6235.
The $95 per person fee includes the golf, cart, dinner and
gift bag. There will be a raffle and silent auction.
Rep. Nolan Forums
Rep. Rick Nolan, D-Minn., will be hosting a series of
forums relating to veterans issues. The upcoming schedule
includes:
U study looks at vets and food
Continued from Page 1
Program (SNAP) offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture was one source along with
local food shelves and state programs.
“The big picture is that it’s important to work on ways to help the veteran overall. It has
to do with employment, lower wages, and just having enough resources to insure a steady
food supply.”
The study polled 1,200 men and 800 women who had had at least one day of outpatient
care at a VA facility. The response rate was about 52 percent, considered very high for a
mail survey.
“We’re not sure why it was so high, but we think it’s maybe because it was returning veterans who might be more conscientious. And because it was done in Minnesota where you
might have that Minnesota personality. We were very pleased with the response rate.”
The survey was published in the journal Public Health Nutrition this past month. It was
done by Widome and Minneapolis VA Health Care System researchers Agnes Jensen, Dr.
Steven Fu, and Ann Bangerter.
There were also correlations that were not found in the survey. For instance, it didn’t
seem to matter how many deployments a veteran had served, and having a service-connected disability did not affect food security needs.
The study emphasized that a living wage was often a key for veterans. “Future work
should focus on connecting veterans with employment that can provide a livable wage and
food assistance for veterans in need,” the final report said.
Widome said, “We hope this research prompts discussion on how to help veterans currently struggling to access food.”
Category
Overall Nationally
Post 9-11 Veterans
Food Security Level
High/Marginal
Low Very Low
85.5%
8.8%
5.7%
62.8%
15.1%
12.1%
Marital Status
Single
Married/Partnered
Divorced/Separated
72.1%
74.1%
15.8%
13.8%
12.1%
12.1%
24.4%
63%
12.5%
34.6%
42%
22.8%
31%
29%
40%
31.5%
44.9%
60%
6.7 hours
6.2
All results below are for Iraq/Afghanistan veterans
Female
Male
Correlations
Using Tobacco
Binge Drinking
Hours of Sleep
Fair or Poor Health
50.7%
11.6%
60.1%
58.6%
27.6%
24.8%
5.9
The University of Minnesota/Minneapolis VA study on access to food for veterans
revealed some new information. Nationally, about 14.5 percent of Americans report
low or very low food security levels. For veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars,
that figure is about 27 percent. The study also showed strong correlations between
food security and other areas of life including marriage status, tobacco use, drinking, hours of sleep and general poor health and food security.
June 2014
Minnesota Legionnaire
Page 5
-- June 13, 10 a.m., Morrison County Government
Center in Little Falls.
-- June 13, Brainerd, Crow Wing County Land Services
Building, 2 p.m.
-- June 16, 3 p.m., Chisago County Governement Center
in Center City.
-- July 2, 1 p.m., Servicemen’s Quarters in the Hibbing
Memorial Building.
All Airborne Days
The 19th annual All Airborne Days will be held at the
Minnesota Air National Guard Contact Club at Fort
Snelling on Aug. 23, Saturday, from noon to 6 p.m.
The colors will be posted at noon. The pig roast picnic
will follow at 1 p.m. with many additional buffet items.
Reservations are required by Aug. 17. The cost is $15
per person. Checks can be sent to the Midwest All-Airborne
Alliance, Box 583131, Minneapolis, MN 55458.
The Air Guard museum will be open and vintage street
rods will be on display.
Hangar Dance
The Rochester Veterans Round Table will host a hangar
dance on Saturday, June 21, at Hangar C, General Aviation,
Rochester International Airport.
The dance will begin at 6 p.m. and will feature a live, big
band, a free swing dance lesson, and vehicles on display.
The cost of the event is $20 in advance at www.mvesm.com
or $23 at the door. Starting at 10 a.m., the vintage aircraft,
including the B-25 Miss Mitchell will be on display.
Veterans 4 Veterans helps buy ADC bus
The
Minnesota
Veterans 4 Veterans
recently approved a grant
for $20,000 to assist in the
purchase of a $66,000 bus
that will serve the Adult
Day Center at the
Minnesota Veterans Home
in Minneapolis.
Funding also came from
the Disabled American
Veterans of Minnesota
Foundation.
The bus will transport
veterans who use the center from their home to the
center and back.
The purchase fulfills a
major need at the center,
which opened this past
year.
Page 6
Minnesota Legionnaire
June 2014
Taps
Ronningen, Sidney A., 94, Army Air Corps veteran of
World War II, died May 25, 2014. He was stationed in New
Guinea. He was a member of Zumbrota Post 183.
Miller, Harland M., 84, Army veteran of the Korean
War, died May 7, 2014. He was a member of Granite Falls
Post 69.
Haukom, Curtis Blaine, 92, Army Air Corps veteran of
World War II, died May 4, 2014. He was a nose turret gunner and bombardier on a B-24. He flew 34 missions over
Europe and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was
a member of Hayfield Post 330.
Olson, Delmer, 91, Army veteran of World War II, died
May 7, 2014. He served in Europe with the 13th Armored
Division. He was a member of Paynesville Post 271.
Brekke, Vivian E., 90, Navy veteran of World War II,
died May 2, 2014. She served in the WAVES. She was a
member of Thief River Falls Post 117.
Halvorson, Morris L., 70, Air Force veteran of the
Vietnam War, died May 6, 2014. He was a member of Thief
River Falls Post 117.
Mounsdon, Lamont R., 91, Army veteran of World War
II, died April 11, 2014. He was a staff sergeant and served
in the Pacific. He was a member of Alexandria Post 87.
Poirier, George Stuart, 84, Army veteran of the Korean
War, died April 16, 2014. He was a member of Alexandria
Post 87.
Lutterman, Delmer Joseph, 84, Army veteran of the
Korean War, died May 11, 2014. He earned the Purple
Heart and the Bronze Star in Korea. He was a member of
Granite Falls Post 69.
Anderson, Wayne Eugene, 79, Army veteran of the
Korean War, died May 11, 2014. He was a member of
Hayfield Post 330.
Schmidt, Richard A., 87, Navy veteran of World War II,
died May 10, 2014. He served in Japan. He was a member
of Mora Post 201.
Wittmer, Aubrey D. “Bud,” 82, Marine Corps veteran
of the Korean War, died May 25, 2014. He earned a Purple
Heart in Korea and was a founding member of the Metro
Marines. He was a member of Champlin Post 600.
Kadlec, Elgin E., 86, Army veteran of the Korean War,
died April 20, 2014. He was a member of Mora Post 201.
Kaderlik, George Charles, 62, Air Force Reseves veteran of the Vietnam War, died May 11, 2014. He was a
member of Lonsdale Post 586.
Rosenberg, Raymond, 84, Army veteran of the Korean
War, died May 13, 2014. He was wounded in Korea and
received a Purple Heart. He was a member of Park Rapids
Post 212.
Schave, Roger, 66, Army veteran of the Vietnam War,
died May 15, 2014. He was a member of Park Rapids Post
212.
Doerr, Harvey, 86, Army veteran of the Korean War,
died May 26, 2014. He served in the Signal Corps. He was
a member of Gaylord Post 433.
Olson, Earl I., 84, Army veteran of the Korean War,
died April 10, 2014. He was a member of Willmar Post 167.
Ogilvie, Roger P., 83, Navy veteran of the Korean War,
died May 4, 2014. He was a member of Blue Earth Post 89.
Sobiech, Casimer P., 93, Army veteran of World War II,
died May 5, 2014. He was a member of Pequot Lakes Post
49.
Stumpf, Leo E., 83, Army veteran of the Korean War,
died May 7, 2014. He was a member of Pequot Lakes Post
49.
Lubinski, Roman R., 83, Navy veteran of the Korean
War, died May 2, 2014. He served for 25 years, including
duty on submarines and the battleship Oklahoma. He retired
as an officer, having risen from the ranks. He was a past
post commander of Winona Post 9.
Katzner, Albin, 75, Army veteran of the Vietnam War,
died May 7, 2014. He was a member of Park Rapids Post
212.
Arends, Wallace A., 92, Navy veteran of World War II,
died April 30, 2014. He was a cook and served in the
Panama Canal Zone and later aboard the carrier USS
Bonhomme Richard. He was a member of Ellsworth Post
196.
Bock, Wilton, 82, Army veteran of the Korean War, died
April 25, 2014. He served as a tank commander in Korea.
He was a member of Wheaton Post 80.
Jorgenson, Donald, 86, Navy veteran of World War II,
died April 8, 2014. He served on the USS Vogelgesang and
the USS Boise in the Atlantic. He later served in the
National Guard. He was a member of New Ulm Post 132.
Simon, Harold, 91, Army veteran of World War II, died
May 1, 2014. He was a member of New Ulm Post 132.
Lockwood, Harold L., 90, Army veteran of World War
II, died April 29, 2014. He was a member of Chandler Post
338.
Schwartz, Jerome Conrad, 68, Air Force veteran of the
Vietnam War. He served in Okinawa and Thailand. He was
a member of the Wood Lake Post 556.
Remington, Lucias Francis “Lute,” 93, Army veteran
of World War II, died April 4, 2014. He served in the
Pacific. He was member of Elysian Post 311.
Quarfot, William L., 72, Marine Corps veteran of the
Vietnam War, died May 4, 2014. He served in the 4th
Marine Division, and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan and
the Philippines. He was a member of Paynesville Post 271.
Dorsch, John George, 80, Army veteran of the Korean
War, died April 28, 2014. He served at the Aberdeen
Proving Grounds. He was a member of Challenger Post
521.
Wagner, Ray C., 89, Army veteran of World War II,
died April 26, 2014. He was a paratrooper and earned a
Purple Heart at the Battle of the Bulge. He was a member
of Lakefield Post 4.
Nykamp, Henry J., 80, Army veteran of the Korean
War, died April 18, 2014. He was a mechanic in Germany.
He was a member of Edgerton Post 42.
Koelewyn, Frank, 87, Army veteran of the Korean War,
died April 26, 2014. He was stationed in Alaska at Eielson
Air Force Base. He was a member of Edgerton Post 42.
Fosness, Harland L., 88, Marine Corps veteran of
World War II, died May 2, 2014. He was an amphibious
tractor operator and served in the invasions of Iwo Jima and
the Volcano Islands. He was a member of Claremont Post
422.
Waldrep, Lloyd A., 86, Navy veteran of World War II,
died April 22, 2014. He was a member of Hopkins Post 320.
Gabrielson, Kenneth C., 85, Army veteran of the
Korean War, died May 3, 2014. He earned a Bronze Star
and a Purple Heart. He was a member of Litchfield Post
104.
Jones, Harold A., 93, Army veteran of World War II,
died April 17, 2014. He was a corporal serving in the
Pacific.
Gasca, Abad, 89, Army veteran of World War II, died
April 12, 2014. He was a member of Albert Lea Post 56.
Jacobson, Donald E., 96, Navy veteran of World War II,
died April 12, 2014. He served in the Hospital Corps. He
was a member of Albert Lea Post 56.
Schroeder, Clarence J., 93, Army veteran of World War
II, died April 18, 2014. He was a B-26 pilot who flew 56
missions in Europe. He was a member of Albert Lea Post
56.
Domeier, Ted, 68, Army veteran of the Vietnam War,
died April 13, 2014. He was a member of Fairfax Post 205.
Van Ort, Burton, 89, Army veteran of World War II,
died April 21, 2014. He was a member of New London Post
537.
Lindquist, Howard A.,
82, Navy veteran of the
Korean War, died April 21,
2014. He was a member of
Lakefield Post 4.
Reierson, Milton J., 89,
Army veteran of World War
II, died April 19, 2014. He
Percent
Same
was a spotter for artillery in
of Goal Date ’13
Europe. He was a member
94.81
10,323
of Thief River Falls Post
117.
93.53
8,428
VonderHaar, Carl F.,
95.30
12,859
100, National Guard veteran of World War II and
92.89
2,619
Korea, died April 27, 2014.
94.22
3,076
He served in Africa, France,
95.41
13,146
the Philippines and Korea.
He was involved in the con94.31
7,456
struction of the main gate at
93.09
4,992
Camp Ripley. He was a
95.64
7,573
member of Little Falls Post
46.
94.57
11,687
Marsolek,
Verlyn
133.01
1,745
LeRoy, 80, Army veteran of
95.45
83,904
the Korean War, died April
Membership Chart
District
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
At-large
Totals
As of May 28, 2014
2014
Goal
10,370
8,528
12,927
2,686
3,112
13,192
7,545
5,049
7,659
11,741
1,733
84,542
Total
2013
10,312
8,443
12,862
2,663
3,089
13,121
7,467
5,008
7,594
11,688
1,748
83,995
Total
2014
9,832
7,976
12,320
2,495
2,932
12,587
7,117
4,700
7,325
11,104
2,305
80,693
29, 2014. He was a sergeant in the 70th Armed Field
Artillery. He was a member of White Bear Lake Post 168.
Olsen, Chester, 89, Marine Corps veteran of World War
II, died April 17, 2014. He was a member of Litchfield Post
104.
Birkemeyer, Richard E., 80, Army veteran of the
Korean War, died April 18, 2014. He was a member of
Litchfield Post 104.
Momsen, JoAnn, 87, wife of former Department
Adjutant and National Adjutant Frank Momsen, died May
6, 2014.
Maas, Leroy E., 96, Navy veteran of World War II, died
May 10, 2014. He was a pharmacist’s mate. He was a member of Albert Lea Post 56.
Drescher, Marvin A., 89, Army veteran of World War
II, died May 10, 2014. He was a member of Albert Lea Post
56.
Bryson, L. Richard, 83, Air Force veteran of the
Korean War, died May 9, 2014. He served in the medical
lab of a MASH unit. He was a member of Albert Lea Post
56.
Ulve, Keith D., 86, Navy veteran of World War II, died
May 15, 2014. He served on Guam. He was a member of
Albert Lea Post 56.
Thisius, Merlyn N., 90, Marine Corps veteran of World
War II, died May 27, 2014. He fought on Tarawa, Saipan
and Tinian. He was a member of Albert Lea Post 56.
Gustafson, Dennis E., 94, Army veteran of World War
II, died May 26, 2014. He was a member of Pequot Lakes
Post 49.
Jury, Earl W., 89, Army veteran of World War II, died
May 20, 2014. He was a member of Pequot Lakes Post 49.
Marshik, Virgil, 84, Army veteran of the Korean War,
died April 24, 2014. He was a member of Hillman Post 602.
Krauth, Vernon Paul, 83, Army veteran of the Korean
War, died May 24, 2014. He was a member of Wheaton
Post 80.
Veterans Advocate
Durbin Keeney of
Duluth, dead at 65
Durbin M. Keeney Jr.,
65, Duluth, a longtime
advocate for veterans, died
May 4, 2014.
Keeney was an Air Force
veteran who served in
Vietnam.
He founded the northern
chapter of Minnesota
Assistance Council for
Veterans in 1998. He was
also active in the Northland
Vietnam
Veterans
of
America, and he was a past
commander of Duluth Post
71 of The American Legion.
He was involved in
dozens of veterans projects
in the Duluth area including
a Vietnam veterans memorial, and a Dignity Thru
Unity Vietnam exhibit at
the Duluth Depot.
He was responsible for a
$2.5
million
Duluth
Veterans Place project
through MACV.
He
also
planned
Memorial Day and Veterans
Day events, and helped
build
memorials
to
Tuskeegee Airman Joe
Gomer, and Vietnam War
prisoner David Wheat.
He retired from MACV
DURBIN KEENEY
in 2011, but his work for
veterans never stopped.
“He was passionately
devoted to helping others,
especially his fellow veterans,” Duluth Mayor Don
Ness said. “He, and his vast
contributions to our community will always be
remembered.”
Sons of The
American Legion
By
John W. Affolter
Sons of the American Legion Commander John W.
Affolter suffered a stroke this past month. He is recovering
and is in good spirits. Cards and notes can be sent to John
Affolter, Ecumen Pathstone Living, Room 3502, 718
Mound Avenue, Mankato, MN 56001.
World War II Round Table at Fort Snelling
June 2014
Minnesota Legionnaire
Page 7
Big Red One helped lead assault on D-Day
The First Infantry Division, the “Big Red One,” was one
of America’s toughest fighting units in World War II.
Because of the division’s experience in amphibious
assaults in both North Africa and Sicily, it was chosen,
along with the 29th Division, to lead the assault on Omaha
Beach during the D-Day landings.
But it wasn’t just the division’s experience, said historian and author John McManus at the May World War II
History Round Table at Fort Snelling.
It was their attitude.
“The Big Red One had a distinct personality. They had
the reputation at the senior levels as a go-to outfit. But they
were also known as a hard drinking, fighting, tempestuous,
and proud division. And they were suspicious of outsiders.”
McManus said that some members of the division took it
so far that they didn’t believe they had to take orders from
officers outside the division.
The First ID had gone through some trauma in 1943
when its longtime commander, Gen. Terry Allen, and his
second in command, Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., were
relieved of duty by Gen. Omar Bradley. Allen was
immensely popular with the troops, and his brash, aggressive, discipline-free attitude was emulated by his men.
“They considered the U.S. Army as the First Division
and 10 million replacements.”
Allen was replaced by a by-the-book disciplinarian Gen.
Clarence Huebner. “He was the direct opposite of Allen. He
felt the division needed more discipline and he was a stickler for orders. The troops thought he was a mean-spirited
old guy.”
Huebner believed in training and more training, and he
personally led the troops on the obstacle course and at the
firing range. His nickname became, “the coach.”
McManus said Huebner’s theory of leadership was,
“You can start as an SOB and become a good guy. But you
can’t start as a good guy and then become an SOB.”
By the spring of 1944, as the division got ready for the
invasion of France, Huebner had earned the grudging
respect of his proud division.
Under Huebner’s emphasis on detail, every position in
the Higgins Boat landing craft was assigned. “The lieutenant was in front as the leader. Follow me. The top NCO
was in the back of the boat pushing the men off the boat and
letting them know they had no other choice.”
The First Division was assigned to the left side of
Omaha Beach, a two-mile stretch that was guarded by 500
heavily-armed and well entrenched Germans. “There wasn’t a lot of German manpower, but it was a quality outfit.”
The American bombardment of the beach had little
effect on the defenses. There were three “draws” leading
from the beach – valleys that led inland. They would be the
most heavily defended.
The strict timetable for the landing soon gave way to
mass confusion as landings were delayed and then arrived
at the wrong place. A plan to have “swimming tanks,”
equipped with floatation devices, failed badly in the rough
seas, and 27 of the 32 launched sank in the waves. Many
crewmen were killed.
McManus said the five that did get ashore did major
damage to the German positions. “But there were so many
troops and wounded and dead, it was hard for the tanks to
maneuver on the beach.”
The individual soldiers had a bad time also. “Most of
them were seasick from being on the ships all night. They
were weighed down with 80 pounds of gear. Their uniforms
were impregnated with a chemical that was supposed to
fend off a gas attack, but they stunk like sour milk. The GIs
called them skunk suits.”
Once ashore they were confronted with 400 to 600 yards
of open beach that was being hammered by a withering
German fire. Many tried to reach a low embankment called
a shingle bank. “It was made up of smooth stones that were
slippery. And when they were hit by a mortar, it magnified
the effect.”
Some units took 45 percent casualties in the first hour of
the assault.
McManus told stories about many individual efforts to
fight across the beach, and quoted one soldier: “You have
no idea how scared I really was.”
“The after action reports say the water was reddened
with their blood. The medics had to drag the wounded forward so they wouldn’t drown as the tide came in. It’s one of
the few battles in U.S. history where the medics dragged
people toward the enemy.”
McManus said in all the horror of the attack, there were
still moments of humor. One soldier from the south had
earned the nickname, “General Lee.” When the Higgins
Boat was approaching the beach, he peeked over the gunwale. His sergeant went over to him, saluted, and said,
‘What did you see, General Lee?’ ”
The soldier was so incensed about being taunted and so
upset with the salute, which he thought would cause the
German sharpshooters to take aim on him, that he, in true
First Division tradition, assaulted his sergeant.
Engineers used explosives and other tools to clear a path
Soldiers from Company E, 16th Infantry, First Infantry Division, step off the landing craft and wade ashore on
the morning of June 6, 2014. They landed at the Fox Green section of Omaha Beach. During the initial landing,
two-thirds of the company became casualties.
through the barbed wire and mines. A key to the operation
was to get the men off the beach and into the hills and valleys beyond. “If you were on the beach, you were a target.
If you got off the beach, you were a hunter.”
The officer in charge of the 16th Infantry Regiment,
Gen. George Taylor, roamed the beach telling his men,
“There are two kinds of people on the beach. The dead and
those about to die.”
By late morning, the beach was fairly secure, and by
mid-afternoon, the leading elements were heading up the
draws going inland. “By the end of the day, there was not a
front line as such, but a series of perimeters.”
Why did the invasion succeed? “I think it was the combat experience,” McManus said. “There were a lot of flaws
in the plan, but in the end there was enough leadership to
triumph over adversity.”
intake, and smeared Cosmoline all over the rest of the
engine to waterproof it.
Tiede landed on D-Day plus 4. As the door of the LST
opened onto the beach, Tiede recalls thinking, “What am I
getting into?” Once ashore, there was no artillery, “But I
could hear small arms fire in the distance.”
“We had a dry landing, and I remember we weren’t in a
hurry. The engineers had cut a road up through the Vierville
draw, but we had to wait. They said they had to clear the
Germans out of the place where they wanted us to set up our
guns.”
T
wo combat veterans joined McManus on the
panel. Jerry Nauss was with the First Signal
Company of the First Infantry Division. Bill Tiede
was an anti-aircraft gunner with the 459th AAA Battalion,
which was attached to the 29th Infantry Division.
Nauss went overseas as a replacement, not assigned to
any one unit. As D-Day approached, the tension began to
build. “I was delivering mail to the 18th Infantry of the First
Division. I knew something was happening.” And, he was
issued French francs a few days before the invasion. “I kind
of knew where we were heading.”
Nauss went ashore on D-Day plus 6. “The front door
opened, and we headed out in shoulder and chest deep
water. I could see a lot of dark spots in the sand on the
beach. We went right up the bluff. It was all marked off. It
was a clear path.”
One of his most vivid memories was seeing a German
spotter plane shot down and the pilot bail out. “They were
shooting at the guy as he was coming down, finally they did
collapse his parachute and down he went.” Welcome to war.
Nauss still was not assigned to a specific unit. “They
lined up all the replacements and then they counted down
by twos. If you were a ‘1’ you went to the First Division and
if you were a ‘2’ you went to the Second Division. That was
clever, wasn’t it?”
Nauss was a ‘1’ and he headed inland on a truck, which
promptly stopped at a bar in a French village. “I had my
first taste of calvados (a French apple brandy).”
He said he was fairly well treated by the grizzled veterans of the Big Red One, but he did overhear a sergeant
telling a corporal, “Don’t tell the kid anything.”
Members of the 16th Infantry Regiment take a
breather after reaching the shelter of cliffs at Omaha.
JERRY NAUSS
B
ill Tiede recalls training for the invasion during
practice landings at Slapton Sands in southern
England. “That beach was supposedly the same as
the beach at Normandy, but it wasn’t.”
Before going ashore, the men had to waterproof their
vehicles so they could navigate the water at the landings.
They put pipes leading up from the exhaust and the air
JOHN McMANUS
BILL TIEDE
Legionville
readies for
new campers
Page 8
Minnesota Legionnaire
June 2014
The exterior of the education center is nearly done, but much work remains inside.
Air ventilation pipes wait to be installed in the large room of the new education center. The pipes cannot be hung
until the taping and painting is done. Volunteers are needed to tape, sand and paint the interior of the building.
When sessions at Legionville Camp, on North Long Lake near Brainerd, begin in June, the large room will not
be in use. Classrooms in the building, however, will be used.
Outdoor stuff for
state veterans
Assistant Department Service Officer Jeremy Wolfsteller tries his luck at Veterans
on the Lake Fishing Trip for Disabled Veterans.
Dick and Jerry show off their catch at Ely.
Department Adjutant Randy Tesdahl measures out
some tape in one of the interior spaces at Legionville’s
new education center. If you would like to volunteer,
contact Camp Director Roy Kruger at 218-829-3094.
Hank Ebert shows off his prize at the Disabled Vets Turkey Hunt at Camp Ripley.
Mark Courts and his fishing truck and boat are shown
at Ely along with Adjutant Randy Tesdahl, DSO Tom
Newman and ADSO Jeremy Wolfsteller.
Department Commander MIke Ash is interviewed for
The Outdoor Report.
June 2014
Minnesota Legionnaire
Page 9
Since the Blue Collar Comedy Team was out of town,
the Blue Capper Comedy Team took their place, roasting Commander Ash at his testimonial at the
Rosetown Post 542. From left are Tom Conway, Larry
Ryan and Mark Mitzuk.
Commander
Ash’s
Testimonial
Commander Mike Ash, cat lover, received some edible Kitty Litter at his testimonial from Gene Olswold.
Amanda England, Mike’s daughter, placed the
POW/MIA flag at the empty table.
And when it was all over, there was still one hug left
for the exhausted commander -- with wife Teresa.
Photos by
Lisa Ghylin
Commander Ash received a carved granite momento
from his team of officers. It was presented by
Membership Director Tom Fernlund.
Dignitaries brought greetings for the commander. From left: SAL Detachment Commander John W. Affolter;
Honorary Junior President Kaitlin Fernlund; NECman Ray DeZurik; Auxiliary President Shirley Frederick.
Featured Speaker Don Pankake brought his special kind of humor to the evening.
Page 10
Minnesota Legionnaire
June 2014
74 Missions
in a P-47
Thunderbolt
A
l Lieberman asked the writer not to put in the
story that he did a barrel-roll over his airfield in
Europe when he returned from shooting down
two German fighters in 1945.
He thought there might be repercussions. “It was the stupidest thing I ever did,” he said.
And so you didn’t hear it here. Al Lieberman did not do
a perfectly executed barrel-roll at considerable speed over a
U.S. fighter base in April, 1945. Did he get in trouble for
this maneuver?
“No, no one said a word.”
A
qqqqqqq
lvin H. Lieberman grew up in North Dakota, the
son of a Jewish immigrant who operated stores in
Washington State, Montana, and Oakes and
Valley City, N.D.
“My father grew up in Lithuania, and young men were
being grabbed at an early age and shoved into the Army. His
family didn’t want him to become cannon fodder, and so he
was sent to family members in Louisville, Kentucky.”
The elder Lieberman stayed in Louisville for a year,
going to school and learning English, and then joined a
friend in opening a men’s store in the small town of
Concrete, Washington, in the upper northwest corner of the
state.
Lieberman later owned two stores in Montana before
operating a store in Oakes, North Dakota, where his son Al
Lieberman was born. When Al was in the fourth grade, the
family moved to the larger town of Valley City, just west of
Fargo.
“We weren’t rich, and it was still a struggle during the
Depression. I worked in a gas station for a little while, but
mainly I worked for my dad. I vacuumed the carpet in the
store every night, and I cleaned the plate glass window at
the front entrance. I hated it, but I did it.”
He graduated from Valley City High School 1941 and
headed off to the University of Minnesota. “I had read an
article in the Saturday Evening Post about an atom smasher right at the U. I knew I wanted to be a physicist.
“I realized partway through, though, that physicists were
mostly introverts, and I was an extrovert. I was a salesman
type of person. So I switched to chemical engineering.”
He was living in the Jewish fraternity on University
Avenue in December, 1941. “I was at the frat house on a
Sunday morning when the world learned what the Japanese
had done.”
Lieberman was told that he could probably get a deferment while in school, but that wasn’t what he wanted to do.
“I decided to enlist. I was only 17, and so I had to take the
train back to Valley City to get my parents’ permission.”
He joined the Army Air Corps with the intention of being
a pilot. The Army let him stay in school for another month
before giving him orders to Camp Shanks, Missouri, where
he spent a couple of weeks. There was a tremendous influx
of young men who wanted to be pilots, and so Lieberman
had to cool his heels for a while at Beloit College in
Wisconsin in a college training detachment.
“They took us up in Piper Cubs at Beloit.” The pilot let
Lieberman take the controls, and he didn’t do so well. “It
was the most awful thing that ever happened to me. I wondered if facing a bayonet might not be so bad.”
Finally he got orders. “I took a train to Chicago and then
on to Los Angeles. I was assigned to Santa Ana Army Air
Base.”
Santa Ana had just been opened and it was designed for
basic training – no airplanes, no runways. “They tested us
for weeks. They tested everything from our toenails to our
hair follicles. I did pretty well on the physical testing – I
could really slither up those ropes.”
Al Lieberman grew up in North Dakota. He
joined the Army Air Corps and learned to fly
the P-47 Thunderbolt, America’s workhorse
fighter. He got through 74 missions and
always had the feeling that someone or
something was looking out for him -- including the time a German 88 blew a hole in his
wing but failed to explode.
Lieberman’s background as a Boy Scout and as a member of the ROTC at the University of Minnesota stood him
well in the Army environment. “They had us do a lot a close
order drilling, and I was a whiz at it. I loved it. I drank it
up.”
The screening process was intensive. “Guys were washing out left and right. It was always a cloud over us. Nobody
wanted to go into the infantry. In my case, I had to be cautious about what I said. I didn’t want to wash out for being
a smart ass.”
On one test, the students were asked to list what they
wanted to be and the choices were pilot, navigator or bombardier. “I just put down pilot, pilot, pilot. I was hoping
they’d take that the right way.”
O
ne day, he was relaxing with his comrades when
a sergeant told him to report to a certain Lt.
Landsburg.
“I had to walk all the way across the base, and Santa Ana
was a big base. I finally got to the right building and I went
inside. A secretary told me to go right in. There was a lieutenant sitting at a desk and he stared at me.
“I came to a brace and saluted and said, ‘Lieberman,
A.H., reporting as ordered, sir.’ He just looked at me, and
finally he said, ‘Relax, Al, I’m your cousin. I’m married to
Ruth Goldburg.’”
It turned out that the lieutenant and his wife were from
Fargo, and Lieberman as a youngster had spent many holidays at the Goldburgs. She was working as a clerk at the
base, and had come across Lieberman’s name on a document and told her husband.
“He sat me down and talked to me, and then said he
would arrange to sign me out for the weekend for a visit.”
The connection went a long way toward relieving
Lieberman of his fears of washing out. “I’ve always said
there’s somebody watching out for me.”
Lieberman worked his way through primary, basic and
advanced training, flying the Boeing Stearman bi-plane
trainer and the Voltee BT-13 Valiant, known among the
troops as the Voltee Vibrator for its performance in the air.
He was assigned to Rankin Field near Tulare, California.
It had been operated by Tex Rankin, a famous barnstormer,
and it was like a private flying school. “I loved the
Stearman. It was one heck of a plane. I could do anything in
that plane you could dream of. I was the first one in my
class to solo.”
One potential problem Lieberman had to solve was the
fact that if he rode in the back seat of a car, he always got
carsick. “But I never got sick when I was flying.”
He got his wings on March 12, 1944, after advanced
training in the AT-6 Texan at Luke Field in Phoenix.
He was assigned to the 362nd Fighter Group, the 379th
Fighter Squadron. The pilots were flown on a transport to
England, and they settled in at a base near Shrewsbury.
They were flying the P-47 Thunderbolts, one of the two
main fighter aircraft used by the Army, and considered a
AL LIEBERMAN
At home in a Minneapolis suburb
AL LIEBERMAN
As a fighter pilot during World War II
sturdy, powerful and reliable fighter.
The pilots began doing missions following the D-Day
landings. The group was assigned to provide close combat
support to Patton’s Third Army, and the unit used many
bases across France and into Germany as the war continued
for the next year.
“We kept moving. Patton was moving like crazy. They
would show us a map with a bomb line every morning.
Supposedly our people were inside that line. But once
Patton broke through that line, he would floorboard it and
he wouldn’t stop.
“The American tanks had panels with different colors
they could put on tops of the tanks, sort of a color of the day.
It warned us away from our own tanks.”
The P-47s were armed with two thousand-pound bombs,
one under each wing, and a 500-pound bomb attached to the
underside of the fighter. It also had eight 50 caliber machine
guns mounted on the wings. “We also could carry napalm,
frag clusters and anti-personnel bombs. The anti-personnel
bombs were like a grass mower, they would get anybody in
the area.”
The aircraft could fly above 20,000 feet, but it wasn’t
easy on the pilots. “We had an oxygen mask, but the cockpit wasn’t pressurized. We’d be sucking pure oxygen. We’d
keep the mask on anyway, even at lower altitudes, because
that’s where our microphone was.”
Lieberman was flying a combat sweep one day when the
plane lurched. “It was boom, bang, and the T-bolt was really rocked. But it was still flying. I looked out at the wing,
and there was a gaping hole, a really big hole.”
Lieberman guesses that it was an .88 German artillery
round that didn’t explode. “It just came right through. If it
had exploded, the whole plane would have blown up.
Again, I think someone was looking out for me.”
L
ieberman and two other pilots were sent to Paris
one day to pick up three airplanes. “They told me
if I wanted to buy anything in Paris, I should bring
along a couple of cartons of cigarettes and a bunch of candy
bars.”
When they got to the base at the edge of Paris, the three
Thunderbolts were waiting for them. “But as luck would
have it, we we fired up those three planes none of us were
quite satisfied with how they sounded. So we had to stay
over on the base that night.
“In high school I’d had a camera and I really enjoyed
photography. As I was walking through Paris that day, I
came across a little shop that had cameras in the window. I
fell in love with this little 35mm.”
Lieberman and the shop owner dickered over the price of
the camera. “When I left, I had the camera, but he had all
my cigarettes and candy. He also threw in 20 rolls of Kodak
film, high speed black and white.”
For the rest of the war, Lieberman took pictures of himself and his friends. The film was developed by the Army
shop that developed the gun camera pictures. He still has
over a hundred of the images.
D
uring the Battle of the Bulge, the German ground
forces were throwing up a tremendous amount of
flak from their AA guns.
“We dove down from about 10,000 feet, and we came
through a garbage field of flying metal. I was twisting and
turning. We never went on a straight line. We had come
back up, and all of sudden there was a radio message,
‘Green 2, Green 2, you’ve still got your bombs.’”
The electronic release hadn’t worked. “I was going to
have to go back down and use the emergency release to
drop my bombs.”
It wasn’t a development that Lieberman relished. It was
one of those cases where the flak was so thick, as the pilots
said, you could walk on it. One solitary plane making a run
would make it easy on the German anti-aircraft gunners. “I
was just about to head down when my group leader called.
He said, ‘Green 2, don’t go back down. Just drop you
bombs from level flight.’ So that’s what I did. Who knows,
I may have even hit something. In any case, I think he saved
my life.”
Finding out what your bombs hit was nearly impossible,
as the pilots couldn’t see them once they’d been released. A
gun camera was mounted in the wings, but it only followed
the firing of the machine guns. Lieberman dropped bombs
on upwards of 60 missions without ever knowing if he hit
his target, or if he hit it every time.
June 2014
Minnesota Legionnaire Page 11
Lieberman bought a camera in Paris and took this remarkable photograph while flying in formation over the
Bavarian Alps. He had to control the airplane with one hand while he snapped the photo with the other hand.
The Thunderbolt was a sturdy, high performance fighter, at its best when strafing and bombing. The other
American fighter in Europe, the P-51 Mustang, was the Cadillac of fighters, sleek and very good in a dog fight.
Lieberman revs up his Thunderbolt prior to leaving on
a mission.
It almost looks like Lieberman is flying, except for the
tell-tale shadows under the tail. Lieberman had one of
the ground crew crawl out on the Thunderbird’s nose
to get this photo.
O
n April 5, 1945, Second Lieutenant Al Lieberman
was coming back from an armed reconnaissance
mission over Worbis, Germany. “We got jumped
by a bunch of German 190s. I got on the tail of one and followed him down from about 8,000 feet. I’d give him a little
burst here and a little burst there. Maybe I did that three
times, when there was a little plume of flame. He crashed. I
don’t know if he bought the farm or if he bailed out.
“Another German fighter was being attacked when I
came back up. Three of our guys took runs at him. I was the
fourth one. It was just reflexes. We didn’t have enough
experience in dog fights to really know what we were
doing. But I let him have it from a little further back.”
The plane went down, and several of Lieberman’s fellow
pilots congratulated him. In the end, though, Lieberman
only got credit for one aerial victory that day, his only one
Lieberman explains a complicated aerial maneuver to fellow pilots while sitting on the wing of a Thunderbolt.
On the wing are mounted four of the 50 caliber machine guns
Page 12
Minnesota Legionnaire
June 2014
of the war, because it was difficult to determine who had
really gotten the second Focke-Wulf fighter. “I told them to
let one of the other guys have it.”
But missing credit on the second plane didn’t bother
Lieberman. He was so happy with his first kill that he might
have even done a barrel roll over the airfield as he came into
land.
Lieberman recalled that a colonel in his squadron got
credit for a kill probably no one else in the Ninth Air Force
could claim. He sank a cruiser near the port of Brest soon
after the invasion. “On his plane were painted two
swastikas, for the planes he shot down, and a cruiser.”
Lieberman participated in the breakthrough from
Normandy, and his squadron helped defend the Ludendorff
Bridge at Remagen, the last bridge standing over the Rhine
as the U.S. forces moved into Germany.
As the war ground to a close in May, Lieberman and
another pilot were given some time off, and they took
advantage by going to the French resort area at Cannes.
“Bob Swafford and I got 10 days R&R. We were in a room
on the second or third floor of this hotel that overlooked the
Mediterranean. It was a nice outfit. We were there when the
Germans finally threw in the towel. We had a big time
party.”
Back with the squadron at a base in Germany, though,
there was the sobering reality that the squadron would be
sent to the Pacific to fight the Japanese. And, in fact, much
of the air group did get on ships bound for the Panama
Canal.
Lieberman took a ship back to New York, though, with
the intention of having a furlough in Minnesota. “I had just
flown 74 missions, and on the liberty ship on the way back,
I had a birthday. I turned 21.”
After his time at home, Lieberman did not rejoin his
squadron, though. Instead he was sent to Texas to become a
flight instructor, and he was there when the war ended.
Ah, the life of Lieberman. The young officer, not yet 21, lounges on his bunkbed with his favorite pinups on the
wall behind him. Also on the wall was his nickname, “Lieby.”
H
e remembers one more mission before he got out.
“We were in a dry county in Texas, and the people in charge said I could take an AT-6 home for
a visit if I stopped and picked up a case of bourbon.”
By this time, Lieberman’s parents had moved to
Minneapolis. “I told them I’d let them know when to come
and pick me up at Holman Field in St. Paul. So I circled
their house two or three times, and I kept adjusting the pitch
on the propeller. It must have sounded like the airplane was
coming through their house.
“It worked, because when I got to the airport, they were
there waiting for me.”
The trip back featured Lieberman in the front seat and a
case of very good bourbon strapped into the back seat.
After the war, Lieberman went back to the University for
a short time, tried working for his father-in-law, and then
started his own copier business – which has now been open
for 62 years.
He met his wife, Elaine, at a reception for a friend coming home from war, and they had three sons and seven
grandchildren. Elaine died this past year after 66 years of
marriage, and Lieberman is heartbroken over the loss.
But he soldiers on, still going to work every day. “I just
couldn’t stand sitting around.”
Lieberman poses in front of his Thunderbolt.
A fellow pilot stands in front of the squadron’s watering hole, inappropriately named “The Auger Inn.”
Lt. Lieberman stands on the wing of his P-47, the epitome of cool.
The squadron usually stayed in tents, and it was
someone’s duty to dig a hole as a bomb shelter.
One of the squadron’s final bases was in Frankfurt,
and Lieberman took pictures of the desolation of the
city following Allied bombing.
The entire squadron came out of “The Pilot’s Hole” at another base so Lieberman could take their picture.
District Commanders
FIRST
DISTRICT
Brian Medinnus
Commander
Greetings from the 1st District. By the time this article is
published, the 1st District Convention will be completed
and Area 2 Vice Commander Myron Erich will have been
elected 1st District Commander, and he and his team will
have been installed. I want to wish the best of luck to Myron
and his new leadership team on their upcoming year.
Now, there is still business that needs to be completed
before the end of the current Legion year. Post Consolidated
Reports are due to Department by June 1st. As of May 10th,
19 Posts have turned them in - 33.3 %. That puts us in 2nd
place trailing the 10th District. Every Post does at least one
event that can be listed on this report. If you have questions
on how to fill out this report, please contact me or District
Adjutant Wayne for assistance.
Post Blood reports are due to Chairman Jess. They were
due on May 1st- if you haven’t got it filled out and sent indo so as soon as possible.
Posts also send in updated and fully completed Post
Officers Lists to Department after your post elections.
Notice the change to where Post mailings can be sent. Read
the form carefully and fill it out completely!
District Officer /District Committee Chairman
Changeover will be held in Stewartville on June 9th at 7
p.m.
Lastly-make sure all unpaid members have been contacted. We still have time to turn in Membership for this
year.
SECOND
DISTRICT
Eugene Olswold
Commander
I had the opportunity to be the speaker at Hanska for its
Memorial Day services and enjoy the wonderful food.
On a more positive note, two conventions are right at our
doorstep. Our District Convention on June 7th in New Ulm
and the Department Convention on July 17-19 in Rochester.
If you want to attend the District Convention and have not
registered yet, it is still not too late to do so. You can register at the door and the registration is $15. The New Ulm
post is also offering meals at the convention and tickets may
be purchased at the door also. The Friday night meal is $10,
Saturday noon luncheon is $8 and the evening banquet is
$12. Information on the Department Convention may be
found in the Legionnaire along with a pre-registration form.
As a legion member, by attending these conventions, you
are exercising your right to vote for your leaders for 20142015. Let's have good representation from the posts.
Membership has gone extremely well this year so far
thanks to the Vice Commanders, our Membership Director
Harvey working together with all the posts in the District.
As of the Department report of May 14th, we currently have
32 posts at goal and many posts have exceeded goal with
transfers or new members. Thanks to the posts who have
made goal so far. We have many posts who have less than 5
to go to make goal and I know they will come through and
share with the ones already there. I am making many post
visits right now congratulating those posts and helping
those posts who are trying to achieve goal. If your post
would like some help, please let me know.
THIRD
DISTRICT
Mark Dvorak
Commander
Thank you to all at Faribault Post 43, Unit 43 and SAL
Squadron 43 for hosting the Third District Convention May
16-18. A great time was had by all. The hospitality shown
by all was commendable. Also, thank you to the individuals from the 33 posts that attended the Convention.
Congratulations to Third District Commander-Elect
Duane Anderson. Duane is the current District Membership
Director and is a member of Elysian Post 311. I've worked
very close with Duane this past year and I know that Duane
and his team will do an outstanding job for the District and
Department.
Each post should have completed or be completing their
Consolidated Post Report and sending it to Department.
Even if your post did not participate in any of the items listed on the CPR, please sign the form and send it to
Department. If your post has access to mylegion.org, the
CPR can be completed on line and submitted. My home
post, New Prague Post 45 has been completing the CPR on
line the last few years. Please contact Adjutant Linda if you
have questions. Department suspense for completed CPRs
is no later than July-1st.
June 2014
FIFTH
DISTRICT
EIGHTH
DISTRICT
Robert Johnson
Commander
Jerry St. Michel
Commander
The time seems to fly by. And while it has been a busy
year it seems like installation was just yesterday. It has
been a great year for me personally to work with such great
people as we have in the Fighting 5th. I wish to thank my
team of Vice Commanders; 1st Vice Wayne Wessel, 2nd
Gary Martin, 3rd, Joyce Rose. Also my Adjutant Dick
Ward, who kept me out of trouble, Sgt-At-Arms John
Austin, Finance Officer Lynne Nottage. Our Co-Chaplains,
Reuben Mack and Dan Dowidat who provided our spiritual
direction. Judge Advocate Curt Norenberg and Historian
Merv Becker were always there for us. Executive board
members were outstanding: Don Schroedl, Del Rose,
Wayne Glanton, John Austin, Merv Becker and Joe Bayer.
I wish to thank our 5th District Auxiliary for their outstanding contribution to our veterans and The American
Legion. In particular I wish to thank 5th District Auxiliary
President Annette Bray. Annette’s experience and drive
made it all come together. Thanks Annette for a job well
done.
Sons of The American Legion District Commander
Robert Bristo was instrumental in the good year the Sons
had - Thanks Robert! Junior Auxiliary President Madison
Sloves had a great year as well. We look for great things to
come in the future from Madison. Thank you Madison.
My fondest wish is for the success of our incoming officers in the Legion and Auxiliary for next year. May they
receive the same support and cooperation as I experienced.
Thanks to all for a great year for the Fighting 5th! God
Bless the American Legion and God Bless America.
SIXTH
DISTRICT
Vern Massie
Commander
Thank You to the Big 6th District for a great year as your
commander. I tried to Break some Ruts this year and tried
to break some new trails and did what I could to do just that.
Thank you to all the Posts for your invitations and welcome’s throughout the district. I hope you all will work
hard for our New Commander and get him off the goose
egg right away. We failed to get every post off goose egg
by the deadline this year and it knocked us out of first in the
competitions so hope you will all be ready in Mid June to
get your cards and get your Post off the goose egg.
Remember Department convention in July at Rochester.
Again thank you all for your support this year and it was
an Honor to serve you and the district and the Department.
Have a great Summer and remember get those reports
turned in. They should already be done. And if possible
find at least one member of the post that can receive e-mails
if not the Commander, Adjutant, Membership Director then
someone else as that is the future and lots of things come
down the line on e-mail and facebook. Communication is
critical and you miss out with we don’t have that contact.
Make sure when you turn in your new officer list that your
meeting date and times are correct. I ran into some that had
changed their date but not on the list. We will appreciate it
so we can communicate with you. Thanks again to all the
district members and to my awesome team this year we
worked hard and worked through some tough times but we
made it and had Fun doing it. Thank you and be safe and
happy.
SEVENTH
DISTRICT
Harold Meyer Jr.
Commander
“Wow.” Where has the year gone but we still have a couple of months to get in the last of the few memberships that
are due. I know our membership teams are working overtime on this. A little help from the rest of us and I know we
can get it done.
Now is the time to be getting in your Consolidated Post
Reports in. If you haven’t done so please do. If you have or
need help you can contact Past District Commander Steve
Johnson at: email steven.d.johnson@us.army.mil or phone
320-296-3899. I’m sure Steve will help with any needs you
have on the reports.
Thank you for all of the support that you gave me this
last year and I know that all of us will help the incoming
Commander and his officers for the next year to make the
7th District a little stronger.
Minnesota Legionnaire
Page 13
Legionnaire Family. Membership, Membership, that’s
what its all about. We could receive some compensation
from the Department if we reach a Goal of 96% by July
14th. As of 5/14/14 we are at 92.79% we need 163 members to reach that Goal. Posts make sure your at that number before that date. Thank you for all your efforts for us to
reach our Goal of 5,049 memberships for 2014.
Adjutants, now is the time to get those Consolidated
Post Reports in as soon as possible. Membership Directors
now is the time to start calling those unpaid members and
get their dues in to Department.
Thank you for all the Veterans and The American
Legion.
NINTH
DISTRICT
Thomas Norgaard Sr.
Commander
Welcome back, Legionnaires.
Wow. It is hardly believable that it is already June.
Testimonials and Memorial Day are long gone. I hope
everyone had a ‘sunny’ and memorable Memorial Day.
Now comes District Conventions with the election of
new officers and taking care of general business. Right
after that will be the Membership Card Pickup. Then we
can finally have a little fun over the Fourth of July before
we need to get back to work.
Even with all this stuff going on, we cannot slack off on
membership. We need to work hard to get the last 1 or 2 or
what it takes to make that 100% for your Post.
Our next meeting for the Department will be in July.
Until then, may God bless each and every one of us, the veterans in our homes and all our Troops wherever they may
be stationed.
Above all, may God bless this wonderful land we call
America.
TENTH
DISTRICT
Richard Juhl
Commander
This time of the year, it is easy to get caught up in
“Spring Fever” and focus on all of the things we missed
during the winter that wouldn’t go away. It appears that we
might, maybe, be past all of the nastiness.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. By the time
you read this, we will have already celebrated Memorial
Day. We spent the day honoring those veterans who have
gone before us. We had memorial services, parades, dedications and ceremonies honoring the deceased veterans.
Let’s, just for a moment, think about what goes into
making that day what it is.
After the Civil War, families would gather at the burial
grounds by the hundreds. It became a way for families to
reconnect. These occasions, referred to as “May Days”,
were an opportunity for people who were separated by war
and distance to reunite.
Each family would bring something to cook and eat. In
fact, this was the origin of the phrase “pot luck”, because
they didn’t know what might be in the pot.
As we start our outdoor season, let’s remember that all of
the freedoms and fun times we enjoy are because of the men
and women who gave up their holidays, left their families
behind and put it all on the line so we could enjoy our lives.
Memorial Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day
should not be thought of as days to remember veterans.
They need to be in our hearts and minds every day.
God bless our veterans, and their families, because they
too have sacrificed.
Page 14
Minnesota Legionnaire
June 2014
Listening Post
News from around the State
COMMANDER ON RADIO -- Department Commander Mike Ash tapes his
Memorial Day message for the Minnesota Twins Radio Network. Assisting was
Mark Genosky of the Twins radio staff. The message was aired 10 times over
Memorial weekend.
BAGLEY FAMILY -- Bagley Post 16 member Karen
Surdez presents a 60 year certificate to her grandfather, Ralph Ellis.
BACKUS WELCOME
HOME -- Lynne “Hot
Lips” Gagnon won second prize in the Backus
Post 368 Welcome Back
Snowbirds event.
FORT SNELLING RIFLE SQUAD HONORED -- A group of volunteers from the
Fort Snelling Rifle Squad traveled to Washington D.C. and participated in the
Memorial Day activities at Arlington. The squad, one of the oldest of its kind in the
nation, celebrates its 35th anniversary this month.
APPLE VALLEY HONOR -- Apple Valley Post 1776
honored Howard Blix for 60 years of membership.
From left are Commander Bob Nelson, Blix and Gene
Moon.
REDWOOD FALLS OLD TIMERS -- Redwood Falls Post 38 honored those members with 50 and 60 years of membership. Standing are Commander Jeff Olson
and Adjutant Jim Mertens. Sitting are Ray Gelinne, Paul Pryor, Gerald Larson,
Ernest Teeri, Robert Nolting.
MONTICELLO LONG TIME MEMBERS -- Monticello Post 260 honored those with
60 years of continuous membership. From left: Luke Turrell, Mac Murray, Jim
Powers, Ted Farnum, and Art Duran.
RIDE FOR THE TROOPS -- A group of motorcycles gathered at Bemidji for the 9th
annual Ride for the Troops. The event was held in memory of Ken Donaghue.
KENSINGTON MEMBER HONORED -- Kensington Post 268 honored Lawrence
Christensen, seated, with a certificate for 60 years membership. From left: Dick
Staples, Ralph Gunderson, Jim Anderson, Ted Pederson, Gary Johnson standing.
June 2014
Listening Post
Page 15
News from around the State
BACKUS MEMORIAL DAY -- Backus Post 368 marked Memorial Day at
Evergreen Cemetery. Auxiliary President Jean Dawson tolled the bell for the
deceased.
FT. SNELLING MEMORIAL DAY -- Department
Commander Mike Ash stepped from his limo ride introduction at the Memorial Day Service at Ft. Snelling.
Minnesota Legionnaire
ST. ANSGAR HOLIDAY EVENT -- Liz Strofus, Faribault, right, led the discussion
in the World War II group at the annual St. Ansgar Christmas Party.
ASHES HELP WITH WREATH -- Commander Mike
and Teresa Ash helped present the Navy wreath at the
Fort Snelling Cemetery Memorial Day event.
NORTH END SCHOLARSHIP -- St. Paul North End Post 474 awarded a scholarship to Kamerin Grams. From left: Robin Picray, Grams, Larry Johns, Dennis
Kirchgatter.
MORA HONORS MEMBERS -- 60 year members were honored by Mora Post 201
recently. From left, sitting: Clark Loken, James McCarty, Gorden Hein, Robert
Graham. Standing: Emmit Oien, Donovan Vandriel.
REDWOOD FALLS TOP LEGIONNAIRE -- Redwood
Falls Post 38 Commander Jeff Olson honored Paul
DeBlieck as Legionnaire of the Year.
WOODBURY DONATES FLAGS -- The Woodbuy Post 501 and Woodbury VFW
9024 donated new flags for all classrooms at Valley Crossing Community School.
From left: Bruce Nettleton, Bob Halter, School Principal Julie Hartman, Bob
Fritsche and Post Commander Tom Grezek.
NEW ULM HONORS LONG TIMERS -- Long time members of New Ulm Post 132
were honored on the Legion Birthday. From left: John Gohr, Post Commander
Dave Borchert, Allen Affolter, Isidor Faerber, Duane Bohne, Joseph Moldan,
Sylvester Mallak, Second District Commander Gene Olswold.
State Legion Bowling
Tournament for 2014
Page 16
Minnesota Legionnaire
Auxiliary Team
1.
2
3.
4
5
NAME
POST
DOREEN LEMKE
455, COLD SPRING
DOLORES SCHROEDER
NORMA TRAMM
CINDY GOEPFERD
PAT KOEPP
150, WACONIA
CONIE ZURN
SHARI GIESEY
CAROL BARLAGE
CAROL HANNIGAN
372, BLACKDUCK
WANDA JOHNSON
CHRISTY DIETEL
MARY E JOY
BETTY BOATMAN
85, NORTH BRANCH
KATHY KIRCHNER
NAOMI CHRISTOPHERSON
KELLY MILLER
LORIANN ERNEST
334, COON RAPIDS
KATHY MEAD
ABBY BRAUNSCHWEIG
DIANE BRAUNSCHWEIG
June 2014
SCORE
2630
PRIZE
$200.00
2581
$150.00
2559
$100.00
2533
$50.00
2499
$32.00
Auxiliary Singles
TOTAL
PLACE
1
2
3
3
5
5
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
13
15
15
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
24
TOTAL
NAME
JACKIE LAGOON
LEABRAY THELEN
DOLORES SCHROEDER
LAURIE BURNS
GINNY DWYER
SUE GEISLER
CAROL HANNIGAN
SANDRA SORENSON
N. CHRISTOPHERSON
SHERRI PIERCE
DOREEN LEMKE
KOOKIE SCHAPER
ROSEMARY PAPESH
KELLY MILLER
NORMA TRAMM
ABBY BRAUNSCHWEIG
WANDA JOHNSON
BETTY BOATMAN
JOY BRADLEY
SHARI GIESEY
CRYSTAL BLASING
CANDICE STUEFEN
BERNIE VANDYKE
DEB GROBNER
HOLLY TAYLOR
PLACE
1.
2
3
4
5
6
7
TOTAL
NAME
CINDY GOEPFERD
CAROL HANNIGAN
JACKIE LAGOON
ABBY BRAUNSCHWEIG
SHARI GIESEY
ROSEMARY PAPESH
KELLY MILLER
PLACE
1
NAME
KELLY MILLER
N. CHRISTOPHERSON
ABBY BRAUNSCHWEIG
DIANE BRAUNSCHWEIG
WANDA JOHNSON
MARY E JOY
DARLENE STREAM
SHERRI PIERCE
CAROL HANNIGAN
CHRISTY DIETEL
DEBRA RUPORT
RHONDA RHODES
RENEE DICKINSON
HEIDI JOHNSON
NORMA TRAMM
CINDY GOEPFERD
DENISE ECKMANN
REGINA SUMSTAD
SANDY BROWN
JAN ENGEN
PAM HOSHAL
BRANDI CHRISTENSEN
POST
507, MAHTOMEDI
428, WAITE PARK
455, COLD SPRING
418, HAMLINE
377, DELANO
334, COON RAPIDS
372, BLACKDUCK
164, STEWARTVILLE
85, NORTH BRANCH
85, NORTH BRANCH
455, COLD SPRING
377, DELANO
254, SAUK RAPIDS
85, NORTH BRANCH
455, COLD SPRING
334, COON RAPIDS
372, BLACKDUCK
85, NORTH BRANCH
377, DELANO
150, WACONIA
281, JANESVILLE
108, LE CENTER
202, HACKENSACK
491, BAYPORT
15, DET. LAKES
SCORE
743
714
682
682
681
681
672
671
670
668
667
666
662
662
661
661
657
655
654
653
652
649
648
643
643
$532.00
PRIZE
$90.00
$70.00
$50.00
$50.00
$45.00
$45.00
$40.00
$40.00
$40.00
$40.00
$30.00
$30.00
$20.00
$20.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$10.00
$10.00
$5.00
$5.00
$5.00
$5.00
$5.00
$715.00
Auxiliary All Events
POST
455, COLD SPRINGS
372, BLACKDUCK
507, MAHTOMEDI
334, COON RAPIDS
150, WACONIA
254,SAUK RAPIDS
85, NORTH BRANCH
SCORE
2036
2023
2020
2005
1991
1987
1975
Auxiliary Doubles
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
10
POST
85, NORTH BRANCH
334, COON RAPIDS
PLACE
1
2
3
4.
5
6
7
NAME
JOHN JENNIGES
CHUCK ROIGER
BOB REINER
RANDY ROIGER
CORY HANSON
JODY BUENG
DUSTIN CROMPTON
LYNN CHRISTIANSON
TOM BURNS
MIKE SANDBURG
LAURIE BURNS
STEPHEN MUZIKAR
CEIL SUNDSTROM
CRYSTAL SUNDSTROM
STEVE SUNDSTROM
DARIN SUNDSTROM
ROGER LEONARD JR
JACOB BENDER
TOM LEONARD
COLE DUPRE
DAVE WENDT
JEFF WENDT
DAVE ANDERSON
PAT THINER
ROBERTA JENNIGES
LARRY KRECKOW
1342
9
$120.00
10
$100.00
11
$100.00
12
$100.00
12
$100.00
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
PRIZE
140.00
27
$90.00
372, BLACKDUCK
1337
$70.00
28
372, BLACKDUCK
1297
$50.00
29
$40.00
29
$30.00
31
$20.00
32
85, NORTH BRANCH
333, KASSON
491, BAYPORT
1311
1295
1290
$60.00
$40.00
455. COLD SPRING
1282
$30.00
254, SAUK RAPIDS
1247
$20.00
334, COON RAPIDS
377, DELANO
Legion Team
TOTAL
SCORE
1360
PRIZE
$50.00
$30.00
$20.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$5.00
$135.00
8
$120.00
1279
1247
$590.00
POST
257, SPRINGFIELD
SCORE
2718
PRIZE
600.00
26, ADA
2648
460.00
418, HAMLINE
2643
280.00
15, DET. LAKES
2625
220.00
507, MAHTOMEDI
2599
$150.00
377, DELANO
2587
$130.00
38, REDWOOD FALLS
2575
$130.00
33
34
TYLER JENNIGES
DALE JANSSEN
MARK HAUGER
257, SPRINGFIELD
GARY RICHERT
KURT KRATZ
BOB KRATZ
DAVE JOHNSON
255, BRAINERD
RON MICKEVCIUS
DAN JOHNSON
DARRELL JOHNSON
ED HANSON
6, PIPESTONE
MYRON KOETS
GENE SPICER
ROBERT DOUTY
ANDY HOFFMAN
126, COSMOS
TRAVIS FREDERIKSEN
LORVERNE SCHMELING
ALEX SCHMELING
DAVE BLASING
281, JANESVILLE
FRANK MILLER
CRYSTAL BLASING
CHAD BLASING
WALLY RUINO
550, BLOOMINGTON
JEFF ZIEBELL
KRIS KELLER
KEN KELLER
MARK MORSE
507, MAHTOMEDI
DOUG EATON
DENNIS SWANSON
JOHN WILKE
GERALD JACOBSON
248, ELY
2506
MIKE ZGONIC
KEVIN MAROLT
RICK MAROLT
ANDY JOHNSON
491, BAYPORT
SCOTT MC GEE
TONY GLYZINSKI
MARC PALMER
ISAAC GLIDDEN
206, WINDOM
PERRY ZIESKE
TODD THOMSON
KEVIN BRISTOW
RYAN BEICH
104, LITCHFIELD
GORDY CZYCALLA
ROGER BIELKE
M ATT BIELKE
RON FENNY377
DELANO, 2482
JIM BARTHOLOMAY
ROGER VASS
CHRIS DANIELS
RALPH JOHNSON
26, ADA
2480
DAVE DAHL
DAN NESS
CRAIG LARSON
CHRIS DAWSON
21, MOORHEAD
PETER E SMITH
JOSH SMITH
ZACK BVATELLI
JIM MORRISON
21, MOORHEAD
CHRIS MYROLD
STEVE MALAKOWSKI
LONNIE THIEBAR
LEONARD WIRTZ SR
112, ELK RIVER
LENNY WIRTZ JR
CHAD DEGROAT
JOHN WIRTZ
GARY OLSON
21, MOORHEAD
BECKY OLSON
CLARK OLSON
RYAN OLSON
JIM THELEN
428, WAITE PARK
JEFF HIESERICH
VERN HIESERICH
CHUCK ARBOGAST
DEAN EBSEN
6, PIPESTONE
GARY WINTER
BILL BROCKBERG
BOB BUFFINGTON
JOHN MADSON
206, WINDOM
DON PAPLOW
RON ALM
FRED MEYER
ROD BOATMAN
85, NORTH BRANCH
KELLY FEDUN
FLOYD CHRISTOPHERSON
DARIN SUNDSTROM
RON KLEIN
328, ST JOSEPH
JAY KRAUS
RON RENNIE
DAVE LOSLO
ERIC URBAS
248, ELY
2445
RALPH BONDE
ANDREW OLSON
BOB OLSON
NORMAN JONES
104, LITCHFIELD
TONY SCHMITZ
MIKE DILLEY
KEVIN TAINA
RYAN EVERS
433, GAYLORD
MYRON NELSON
KEN SEEMANN
MIKE WITTHUS
KENNETH KOELLN
104, LITCHFIELD
DAVE BOLL
TIMOTHY KOELLN
ANTHONY CARLSON
JAMES BOATMAN
85, NORTH BRANCH
CHRIS FEDUN
DOUGLAS NOACK
LEE STREAM
DEREK KREBS
257, SPRINGFIELD
BUTCH KREBS
Legion Singles
35
PLACE
1
2
3
4
5
6
6
8
8
10
11
12
13
14
15
NAME
GARY HOLTZ
JOHN JENNIGES
DON LYMAN
JOHN O’GORMAN
RON FENNY
DUSTIN CROMPTON
JOSH HOFFMAN
DAVE ANDERSON
KRIS KELLER
JODY BUENG
LOREN PAPESH
TRAVIS FREDERIKSEN
F. CHRISTOPHERSON
TONY SCHMITZ
JEFF WENDT
POST
LITCHFIELD-104
SPRINGFIELD-257
STEWARTVILLE-164
WHITE BEAR LAKE-168
DELANO-377
ADA-26
LITCHFIELD-104
DELANO-377
BLOOMINGTON-550
ADA-26
SAUK RAPIDS-254
COSMOS-126
NORTH BRANCH-85
LITCHFIELD-104
DELANO-377
2557
2550
2550
2547
2534
2534
2519
$90.00
$90.00
2503
$90.00
2495
$90.00
2486
$90.00
$80.00
$80.00
2479
$80.00
2471
$70.00
2468
$70.00
2463
$70.00
2459
$70.00
2456
$60.00
2455
$60.00
2452
$60.00
2445
$60.00
$60.00
2442
$50.00
2440
$50.00
2438
$50.00
2436
$40.00
2434
$40.00
SCORE
765
760
746
739
729
726
726
721
721
719
716
709
708
706
704
PRIZE
$200.00
$125.00
$80.00
$70.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
$45.00
$45.00
$45.00
16
16
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
32
34
35
35
37
37
37
40
41
42
42
44
45
45
45
48
49
50
50
52
52
54
54
56
56
58
58
58
58
58
58
64
65
66
67
67
69
70
70
72
73
74
75
75
77
77
79
80
81
81
81
81
85
86
86
88
88
90
90
92
92
94
94
94
97
97
97
100
100
100
100
104
105
105
105
108
108
108
111
111
111
111
111
111
117
117
117
117
117
117
123
123
125
125
125
128
129
129
131
131
131
134
134
136
136
136
136
136
136
136
TOTAL
GOLDEN VALLEY-523
SCOTT GOFF
WINDOM-206
RON ALM
MAHTOMEDI-507
COLE DUPRE
DILWORTH-397
MIKE STALBOERGER
ST JOSEPH-328
RON RENNIE
MOORHEAD-21
PETER E SMITH
SPRINGFIELD-257
CHUCK ROIGER
NORTH BRANCH-85
ROD BOATMAN
ADA-26
WAYNE FISCHER
WHITE BEAR LAKE-168
JERRY FOTY
SPRINGFIELD-257
MARK HAUGER
DELANO-377
PAT THINER
WAITE PARK-428
STEVE WILLIAMS
SPRINGFIELD-257
KURT KRATZ
MAHTOMEDI-507
JOHN WILKE
REDWOOD FALLS-38
BOB JENNIGES
DETROIT LAKES-15
STEVE SUNDSTROM
COSMOS-126
TODD HEINING
BYRON-119
GLENN RAUSCH
DELANO-377
GENE SJOQUIST
OSSEO-M. GROVE-172
TIM LIND
SPRINGFIELD-257
BOB REINER
SPRINGFIELD-257
BOB KRATZ
ADA-26
RALPH JOHNSON
COSMOS-126
TIM HOFFMAN
MONTICELLO-260
MIKE GLOR
ADA-26
LYNN CHRISTIANSON
BABBITT-535
DON LINDSTROM
CAMBRIDGE-290
ROBERT HAMLIN
BAYPORT-491
DAVE GROBNER
SPRINGFIELD-257
BUTCH KREBS
ST JOSEPH-328
TERRY LOSO
STEWARTVILLE-164
KEN KUHN
DELANO-377
CHRIS DANIELS
DELANO-377
ROBBY ARNDT
COSMOS-126
DEVIN FREDERIKSEN
HAMLINE-418
MIKE SANDBURG
GAYLORD-433
WALLY RECKDAHL
OSSEO-M. GROVE-172
JOHN TORMA
LITCHFIELD-104
KENNETH KOELLN
WAITE PARK-428
JASON MOHS
HUTCHINSON-96
STEVE PETERSON
MOORHEAD-21
JAMES GULLEKSON
WINDOM-206
PERRY ZIESKE
ELY-248
MIKE ZGONIC
REDWOOD FALLS-38
LARRY KRECKOW
PIPESTONE-6
DEAN EBSEN
PIPESTONE-6
BILL BROCKBERG
ADA-26
DAVE DAHL
PIPESTONE-6
ED HANSON
ELY-248
RALPH BONDE
BAYPORT-491
MIKE BONN
BABBITT-535
MIKE SCOTT
JANESVILLE-281
FRANK MILLER
ADA-26
DAN NESS
WEST DULUTH-71
KEN HOLETS
BYRON-119
TIM LIEPOLD JR
ELY-248
JEFF RICHARDS
WAITE PARK-428
STEVE LANGE
SPRINGFIELD-257
CORY BROWN
BYRON-119
JASON WILKER
REDWOOD FALLS-38
DALE JANSEN
MAHTOMEDI-507
MIKE BREAUH
WAITE PARK-428
MIKE JAEGER
MOORHEAD-21
DOUG GULLIKSON
SPRINGFIELD-257
JEREMY BROWN
SAUK RAPIDS-254
RON ACHMAN
N.ST. PAUL-39
DICK HALL
PIPESTONE-6
MYRON KOETS
ADA-26
CORY HANSON
BYRON-119
MIKE AXTMAN
ROSETOWN-542
MIKE SCHWAB
BLOOMINGTON-550
JEFF ZIEBELL
REDWOOD FALLS-38
DENNY KISSNER
ST JOSEPH-328
JAY KRAUS
ELY-248
ERIC URBAS
NORTH BRANCH-85
LEE STREAM
LITCHFIELD-104
KEVIN TAINA
WAITE PARK-428
LARRY EMERSON
BLOOMINGTON-550
GARY OLSON
REDWOOD FALLS-38
BRAD BUSACK
BAGLEY-16
TOM NORGAARD
OSSEO-M. GROVE-172
GENE PREHATNEY
NORTH BRANCH-85
JAMES BOATMAN
BAYPORT-491
TONY GLYZINSKI
WAITE PARK-428
LARRY E JOHNSON
BRANDON GULLEKSON MOORHEAD-21
NORTH BRANCH-85
KELLY FEDUN
WINDOM-206
GARY PETERSON
MONTICELLO-260
KEVIN NEU
NORTH BRANCH-85
CHRIS FEDUN
GARY GUGGENBERGER BLOOMINGTON-550
ELK RIVER-112
TYLER HILLER
DELANO-377
MARLOW NOREN
ROSETOWN-542
MIKE YOUNG
DARRELL CRAWFORD BYRON-119
SAUK RAPIDS-254
LONNIE CAGLE
WAITE PARK-428
DEAN P WALZ
LITCHFIELD-104
BRYON KRUGER
LITCHFIELD-104
ROGER BIELKE
WHITE BEAR LAKE-168
MIKE CASEY
ELK RIVER-112
MIKE DESCHENES
DELANO-377
TODD ARNDT
DETROIT LAKES-15
DARIN SUNDSTROM
ELY-248
JAMES KOSCHAK
COSMOS-126
GERALD PETERSON
COSMOS-126
JIM DE LEUW
ELK RIVER-112
HUGO MAUNU
COSMOS-126
AARIN FREDERIKSEN
WAITE PARK-428
JERRY GOHMAN
OSSEO-M. GROVE-172
KEVIN ERICKSON
ELY-248
GERALD JACOBSON
GAYLORD-433
MIKE WITTHUS
GOLDEN VALLEY-523
JASON OSGOOD
WHITE BEAR LAKE-168
BRUCE DISCHER
BLOOMINGTON-550
MIKE KIRROS
BALATON-237
WALLACE RUNIO
ANOKA-102
HARRY STEWART
BYRON-119
TIM BAUDOIN
ELY-248
ANDREW OLSON
WAITE PARK-428
BOB MACE
ST JOSEPH-328
RON KLEIN
JANESVILLE-281
FLOYD HERME
BRAINERD-255
LLOYD JOHNSON
NORTH BRANCH-85
DOUGLAS NOACK
LITCHFIELD-104
RYAN BEICH
PIPESTONE-6
ROBERT DOUTY
699
699
695
694
693
691
690
689
686
685
683
681
680
678
677
676
675
675
671
670
670
669
669
669
667
666
664
664
663
662
662
662
661
659
658
658
657
657
656
656
655
655
654
654
654
654
654
654
653
652
651
650
650
649
648
648
647
646
645
644
644
643
643
642
641
640
640
640
640
638
637
637
636
636
635
635
634
634
633
633
633
632
632
632
631
631
631
631
630
629
629
629
628
628
628
627
627
627
627
627
627
626
626
626
626
626
626
625
625
624
624
624
622
621
621
620
620
620
619
619
618
618
618
618
618
618
618
$45.00
$45.00
$45.00
$45.00
$45.00
$45.00
$45.00
$40.00
$40.00
$40.00
$40.00
$40.00
$40.00
$40.00
$40.00
$40.00
$35.00
$35.00
$35.00
$35.00
$35.00
$35.00
$35.00
$35.00
$35.00
$35.00
$35.00
$35.00
$35.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$4,050.00
Legion All Events
PLACE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
23
25
26
27
28
28
30
31
31
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
42
TOTAL
NAME
BOB REINER
PETER E SMITH
TRAVIS FREDERIKSEN
JOHN JENNIGES
KURT KRATZ
MIKE SANDBURG
JODY BUENG
TONY SCHMITZ
KRIS KELLER
CHRIS DANIELS
CHUCK ROIGER
BOB KRATZ
JOHN O’GORMAN
DUSTIN CROMPTON
JEFF WENDT
PERRY ZIESKE
BUTCH KREBS
DALE JANNSEN
GARY HOLTZ
RYAN BEICH
DOUG GULLIKSON
JARED BUSHMAN
WAYNE FISCHER
JOHN MADSON
ROBERT HAMLIN
CORY HANSON
RON RENNIE
FRANK MILLER
JERRY FOTY
GARY OLSON
MARK HAUGER
LYNN CHRISTIANSON
LOREN PAPESH
ROBERT DOUTY
GARY WINTER
DON HOLTZ
TOM GOFF
ED HANSON
GARY PETERSON
JEREMY BROWN
MIKE JAEGER
CHRIS FEDUN
TOM BURNS
POST
257, SPRINGFIELD
21, MOORHEAD
126, COSMOS
257, SPRINGFIELD
257, SPRINGFIELD
418, HAMLINE
26, ADA
104, LITCHFIELD
550, BLOOMINGTON
377, DELANO
257, SPRINGFIELD
257, SPRINGFIELD
168, WHITE BEAR LAKE
26, ADA
377, DELANO
206, WINDOM
257, SPRINGFIELD
38, REDWOOD FALLS
104, LITCHFIELD
104, LITCHFIELD
21, MOORHEAD
164, STEWARTVILLE
26, ADA
206, WINDOM
290, CAMBRIDGE
26, ADA
328, ST JOSEPH
281, JANESVILLE
168, WHITE BEAR LAKE
21, MOORHEAD
257, SPRINGFIELD
26, ADA
254, SAUK RAPIDS
6, PIPESTONE
6, PIPESTONE
96, HUTCHINSON
523, GOLDEN VALLEY
6, PIPESTONE
206, WINDOM
257, SPRINGFIELD
428, WAITE PARK
85, NORTH BRANCH
418, HAMLINE
PLACE
1
NAME
POST
KURT KRATZ
257, SPRINGFIELD
BOB REINER
TOM BURNS
418, HAMLINE
MIKE SANDBURG
DAVE BROWN
102, ANOKA
JOHN TORMA
BRANDON GULLICKSON 21, MOORHEAD
DOUG GULLIKSON
PERRY ZIESKE
206, WINDOM
JOHN MADSON
BRETT BUSHMAN
164, STEWARTVILLE
JARED BUSHMAN
DICK HALL
39, N ST PAUL
BRIAN HALL
BILL BROCKBERG
6, PIPESTONE
BOB BUFFINGTON
ROGER VASS
377, DELANO
CHRIS DANIELS
CHRIS DAWSON
21, MOORHEAD
PETER E SMITH
JIM CHRISTENSON
71, WEST DULUTH
RON LALIBERTE
DEAN EBSEN
6, PIPESTONE
GARY WINTER
MELISSA KENT
15, DET. LAKES
LARRY KRISKO
JOHN JENNIGES
257, SPRINGFIELD
BOB KRATZ
SCOTT KICK
550, BLOOMINGTON
KEVIN KICK
TONY GLYZINSKI
491, BAYPORT
MARC PALMER
GARY PETERSON
206, WINDOM
RON ALM
STEVE LANGE
428, WAITE PARK
MIKE JAEGER
RICK WEGLER
428, WAITE PARK
DICK STEFFES
LONNIE CAGLE
254, SAUK RAPIDS
TOM SKUZA
NORMAN JONES
104, LITCHFIELD
TONY SCHMITZ
DUSTIN CROMPTON
26, ADA
LYNN CHRISTIANSON
CORY HANSON
26, ADA
JODY BUENG
BRADLEY BROWN
254, SAUK RAPIDS
LOREN PAPESH
JAMES BOATMAN
85, NORTH BRANCH
CHRIS FEDUN
CHUCK SCHOENBERG 38, REDWOOD FALLS
BOB JENNIGES
LORVERNE SCHMELING 126, COSMOS
ALEX SCHMELING
DON PAPLOW
206, WINDOM
FRED MEYER
DAVE WENDT
377, DELANO
JEFF WENDT
JIM WRIGHT
491, BAYPORT
BRANDON JOHNSON
JEFF JOHNSON
491, BAYP0RT
DOUG DICKINSON
GARY RICHERT
257, SPRINGFIELD
MARK HAUGER
MIKE HUONDER
108, LE CENTER
KEN BLASCHKO
CHUCK ROIGER
257, SPRINGFIELD
RANDY ROIGER
ED HANSON
6, PIPESTONE
MYRON KOETS
CRYSTAL BLASING
28, JANESVILLE
CHAD BLASING
RYAN BEICH
104, LITCHFIELD
GORDY CZYCALLA
GARY OLSON
550, BLOOMINGTON
MIKE KIRROS
WAYNE FISCHER
26, ADA
BRANDON CHISHOLM
F. CHRISTOPHERSON 85, NORTH BRANCH
BECKY OLSON
ZACK BROWNING
281, JANESVILLE
FLOYD HERME
SHAWN O’NEIL
168, WHITE BEAR LAKE
BRUCE DISHCHNER
BOB KOSCHAK
248, ELY
JANES KOSCHAK
DOUGLAS NOACK
85, NORTH BRANCH
LEE STREAM
DAVE HOEFKER
206, WINDOM
ISAAC GLIDDEN
BYRON SJOQUIST
377, DELANO
LEE JOHNSON
SCORE
2120
2085
2082
2080
2063
2062
2056
2046
2035
2023
2016
2009
2004
2002
2000
1993
1984
1981
1980
1972
1969
1967
1963
1963
1960
1950
1949
1945
1945
1944
1936
1936
1935
1932
1931
1928
1925
1924
1923
1921
1920
1918
1918
Legion Doubles
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
24
26
27
28
29
30
30
32
32
34
35
36
37
38
39
39
41
42
42
44
44
46
46
PRIZE
$60.00
$40.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$25.00
$23.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$10.00
$818.00
SCORE
1414
PRIZE
$405.00
1369
$200.00
1403
$100.00
1341
$90.00
1340
1340
1336
1331
1294
$70.00
1285
$60.00
$70.00
$60.00
$60.00
1277
$60.00
$60.00
$50.00
1268
$50.00
1260
$50.00
1257
1249
1249
1248
1248
1246
246
$50.00
$50.00
$50.00
61
63
63
65
66
67
67
67
67
71
71
TOTAL
257, SPRINGFIELD
1223
$30.00
38, REDWOOD FALLS
1219
$30.00
126, COSMOS
15, DET. LAKES
104, LITCHFIELD
39, N ST PAUL
1224
1223
1217
1215
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$20.00
38, REDWOOD FALLS
1215
$20.00
428, WAITE PARK
1214
$20.00
254, SAUK RAPIDS
85, NORTH BRANCH
164, STEWARTVILLE
1214
1213
1213
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
112, ELK RIVER
1212
$20.00
15, DET. LAKES
1209
$20.00
248, ELY
1209
$20.00
491, BAYPORT
1208
$20.00
16, BAGLEY
328, ST JOSEPH
248, ELY
377, DELANO
1211
1209
1209
1208
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00
$4,085.00
This year’s Bowling Tournament, hosted by the
Moorhead American Legion Post 21 at the Sunset Lanes,
did not draw as many bowlers as last year.
We are down by 40%, and that is a considerable number
of bowlers. This also takes the prize payouts down. The
weather was not a factor. The first week-end was the worst
and everyone that weekend made it to Moorhead.
I think that, the distance to drive, and the location of the
tournament has a lot to do with it. The Board will have to
take a look at these factors as we pick the locations each
year.
We had approximately 500 bowlers this year, 110 Legion
teams and 14 Auxiliary teams . We all had a great time, the
host post did a great job entertaining everyone, and the
bowling alley personnel were great also. Thank you to all
that made all this happen.
The Legion winners were Springfield Post 257 in the
Team Event; Doubles-Springfield Post 257, Kurt Kratz and
Bob Reiner; Singles -Gary Holtz of Litchfield Post 104.
The Auxiliary Winners were: Singles, Jackie Lagoon of
Mahtomedi Post-507; Doubles, Kelly Miller and Noami
Christopherson, North Branch Post-85; Team - Cold Spring
Post 455.
The 2015 Tournament will be hosted by the OsseoMaple Grove Post 172 and the lanes will be the New
Brunswick Zone Lanes on Brooklyn Blvd. in Brooklyn
Park .
Thank You again for a great year and see you all in 2015.
Secretary John W. Torma
WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS -- Cold Spring Unit 455 won the Auxiliary team title at the Minnesota American Legion
Bowling Tournament held at Moorhead this year. From left are Cindy Geopford, Dolores Schroeder, Doreen
Lemke, Norma Tramm.
BAYPORT CONTINGENT -- Bayport Post 491 brings
10 teams the first week of every tournament.
$40.00
$40.00
$40.00
$40.00
1236
$40.00
1234
$40.00
$40.00
$40.00
1232
$40.00
1231
$30.00
1232
61
$30.00
$50.00
$40.00
1234
59
1225
$50.00
1241
1235
59
112, ELK RIVER
$50.00
$40.00
1236
58
$30.00
$50.00
1245
1244
57
$30.00
1227
$30.00
$60.00
1271
1264
55
1227
433, GAYLORD
1228
$70.00
1279
1271
55
96, HUTCHINSON
40, LANESBORO
Springfield,
Cold Spring
top bowlers
$80.00
$80.00
1272
54
$30.00
$30.00
Page 17
$80.00
1309
1278
53
1228
1231
Minnesota Legionnaire
$90.00
$80.00
1282
51
428, WAITE PARK
550, BLOOMINGTON
June 2014
$90.00
1311
1292
51
$30.00
$90.00
$80.00
1295
49
1231
$100.00
1325
1317
49
328, ST JOSEPH
$300.00
1358
1350
46
RON RENNIE
DAVE LOSLO
JIM FEARELL
CHARLIE TICHY
DENNIS PURSLEY
ROBERT BARLAGE
LOREN BERGE
LUTHER BERGE
DOUG MEIER
DAN CLARK
GENE SOLOMSON
WALLY RECKDAHL
TRENT HILLER
TYLER HILLER
ANDY HOFFMAN
TRAVIS FREDERIKSEN
BUTCH KREBS
DEREK KREBS
CEIL SUNDSTROM
CRYSTAL SUNDSTROM
LARRY KRECKOW
DALE JANSSEN
JESSE JOHNSON
GARY HOLTZ
AL HEINN
BOB HANNA
DENNY KISSNER
BRAD RARDIN
PETE KRUGER
RON ACHMAN
RANDY THEIS
CAROL THEIS
JUSTIN HUNT
JAMES HUNT
JOM HUNDERTMARK
DON LYMAN
RANDALL ANDERSON
ED ANDERSON
TOM NORGAARD
JOHN AFFOLTER
HOLLY TAYLOR
PAT MUELLER
MIKE WESTWEHOFF
TERRY LOSO
JOHN BRAUN
JOSH BENDA
GERALD JACOBSON
MIKE ZGONIC
MIKE BONN
RYAN SWANSON
GENE SJOQUIST
MARLOW NOREN
$40.00
ARNDT FAMILY -- Todd, Robby, Scot and Robert
Arndt have been bowling for years in the state tourney.
SINGLES WINNER -- Jackie Lagoon of Mahtomedi
Unit 507 was the Auxiliary singles winner, rolling a 743
on the last weekend of the tournament.
Page 18
The Auxiliary Bulletin
Minnesota Legionnaire
June 2014
No. 14-1
June 2014
President Shirley Frederick
Secretary Sandie Deutsch
Girls State opens June 15th
at St. Thomas for first time
Department Headquarters, Veterans Service Building, St. Paul, MN 55155
The
President’s
Column
By
Shirley Frederick
June is here and school is out for the summer, an excellent time to get the young people involved. Cemeteries
always need some clean up help throughout the summer and
fall. There are veterans in our neighborhoods that could use
a helping hand with lawn work, or other things. Senior
members, take your juniors and introduce them to this type
of volunteering. Maybe just sitting on the porch or step visiting with a veteran or his/her family. There is so much out
there that we can do that only requires a bit of our time and
makes such a huge difference to them.
I attended the Memorial Day services at Fort Snelling
and then attended a dinner and Memorial Service at the
Minneapolis Veterans Home. The Minneapolis Veterans
Home has been serving our veterans and their families for
127 years. Good history project for our junior members
here.
Elections have been held in many units. Have you sent
in this list along with addresses and positions to the
Department Office? If not please do so right away. Even if
you re-elected the same officers please fill out that form and
send it in. Do not make our Department staff go back into
last year’s files to find this information. Without this information our Department staff cannot send out Unit Mailings
or other notices to your unit.
Our membership is behind getting our renewals in. We
have slipped down in the National standings. Your membership in our organization is so important to our veterans
and service men and women. The numbers help direct
Congress in making decisions where spending and care is
needed. Our voice counts only if we use it. Your yearly dues
is a small amount to give compared to what the veteran was
willing to give that gave you your eligibility into this organization. So please go out there and talk with your non
renewals.
June 14th is Flag Day. Fly your flag proudly.
Our Minnesota Girls State will be held June 15-20 at the
University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Make plans to have
your Girls State girls come and talk at one of your meetings
about her experience there. Then make plans with your
school for the 2015 session. Our enrollment is up this year
from last and we are excited about that.
Hope to see many of you at the Department Convention
July 17-19 in Rochester.
Donations are still welcome for my President’s Project
as well as any other program you would like to give to.
We not only owe our troops and veterans our support, we
also owe them a genuine thank you.
Charlotte will host
National Convention
Charlotte, North Carolina is the site for our annual
American Legion Auxiliary National Convention, August
22 - 28th.
Delegates and alternates to the Convention are elected at
each District Convention. Your District’s representation is
based on your District’s total membership.
If you are elected a delegate or alternate, you will receive
a convention mailing from the Department the latter part of
June, giving you all the particulars.
If you are elected a delegate or alternate and find you are
not able to attend, please notify the department office
immediately.
The 68th session of American Legion Auxiliary
Minnesota Girls State will convene on Sunday, June 15th,
at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Some 380
young women will participate by learning about Minnesota
government by actually running a government.
Every American Legion Auxiliary Minnesota Girls State
citizens will receive a packet of information. If your girl
has not received her packet, please contact the Department
Office immediately. If your candidate has decided she cannot attend, please notify the Department Office.
Do keep in touch with your American Legion Auxiliary
Minnesota Girls State citizen to answer any questions she
may have prior to her departure on June 15th. All American
Legion Auxiliary Minnesota Girls State citizens are to be at
the University of St. Thomas prior to the opening session on
Sunday, June 15th.
Buses have been arranged for in several Districts.
Check your District bulletin or contact your District Girls
State Chairman for details.
Thank you to all the Units for making this program possible for those young women who will be attending. We are
all looking forward to an exciting week. The Committee
has worked very hard making very positive changes to the
program.
DEPARTMENT CONVENTION
Has your Unit elected its delegates and alternates to the
2014 Department Convention? The Convention will be
held July 17 - 19 at the Kahler Grand Hotel hosted by the
Rochester Post and Unit #92 with members of the 1st
District assisting. Information on housing and registration
is found in this issue of the Minnesota Legionnaire.
Only 2 delegate and 2 alternate cards were sent to each
Unit in the May Unit mailing. If your Unit needs additional delegate and alternate cards for the Department
Convention, please contact the department office. Please
note: The Department does not have the delegate/alternate
cards for district conventions. These must be obtained from
your district.
There will be a reception on Wednesday evening at 7:00
p.m. for our Distinguished Guest Northwest Division Vice
President Pat Steranka. Please make plans to stop in and
meet Pat and our other Distinguished Guests.
District caucuses will start at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, July
17, with the Convention being called to order at 9:00 a.m.
All Auxiliary functions will be held in the Heritage Hall on
the subway level of the Kahler Grand. Following is an
abbreviated schedule of events for this year’s Convention.
A more complete schedule will be in the next issue of the
Legionnaire.
Wednesday July 16 - Registration opens at 4:00 p.m. Distinguished Guest Reception is at 7:00.
Thursday, July 17 - Registration opens at 7:00 a.m. District Caucuses Meet at 8:00 a.m. - Convention begins at
9:00 a.m. - Memorial Service at 11:15 a.m.
Friday, July 18 - Registration opens at 7:00 a.m. Convention Call to Order at 9:00 a.m. - Musical
Extravaganza by Districts - 4:30 p.m. - Parade at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 19 - Registration opens at 7:00 a.m. Convention Call to Order at 9:00 a.m. - Announcement of
Election Results at 10:00 a.m. along with installation of
new Officers .
POPPY CONTESTS
Our Department Poppy Chairman, Shaaron Barnes, is
holding two Poppy contests at the Department Convention.
They are: 1) Patriotism Coloring Book (to be 6 pages in
length) and 2) A Poppy hat. Please read the Trophy and
Awards booklet for rules. There will be a People’s Choice
Award, votes by donation with all proceeds going to the
President’s Project Fund.
Everyone get your heads together and come up with
some great entries. Any/all members may enter either/both
of the contests. There is no limit as to the number of entries
from a Unit. Enjoy. Have fun. Be creative. The Junior
Conference had a very large amount of entries for all of
their contests that were fabulous. Let’s see what the
Senior’s can do. All entries must be at the Department
Convention by 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 17. Tables will be
651-224-7634
set up in the Display Area for your entries. Winners will be
announced during the Poppy report on Friday at the
Convention. I am looking forward to seeing many, many
beautiful hats.
2014 POPPY NEWS
The totals to date for 2014, the Department office has
shipped out 334,000 small poppies, 10,284 large poppies
and 5,506 poppy posters. Thanks to all Units for supporting this project. The wonderful news is that out of 449
active units 399 ordered poppies this year.
2015 DUES NOTICES
We have been advised by our National organization the
first dues notices for the 2015 membership dues will be sent
out no later than September 15. All Senior members will
receive this first notice. Please share this information in
your Unit via your Unit newsletter or at your next meeting.
Remember that members can pay their Unit dues before that
time, they do NOT have to wait for the notice from
National.
2015 MEMBERSHIP
Though we are still in search of our members who have
not yet renewed for the current year thoughts are already
turning to the 2015 membership year. The 2015 cards will
be sent to your Unit’s 2014-2015 Membership Chairman as
soon as possible following our Department Convention,
provided we have received your Unit’s 2014-2015 officers’
list in the department office. Please remember that all
members can still pay their 2014 dues to retain their years
of service.
2014-2015 OFFICERS’ LIST
We are in need of the Unit officers’ list for 2014-2015
from every Unit. Each Unit was sent two (2) copies of the
list in the May mailing. Please return one copy to the
department office; the duplicate copy is for your District
President-Elect. All lists should be in no later than June
15th. So far I have received 84 out of 449 Officer’s lists.
The form is posted on our website - you can fill it out and
email it to the Department Office immediately.
Please be certain to check all addresses before sending in
your list. The Department mailing list is compiled from
what you send in for your Unit. Also, if you prefer items
via email, please make sure and fill out the email address
area.
The 2015 membership cards and supplies will be sent to
your 2014-2015 Membership Chairman following the
Department Convention, provided we have received your
officers’ list.
When you receive your membership packets, please read
the “Minnesota Guide to Membership” that will be included. The guide will explain the correct procedure for handling your Unit’s 2015 membership.
NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP ENTRIES
Our Department Education Chairman, Louise Kleiboer,
is pleased to announce the following Department winners
were entered into Divisional competition for National
scholarships. If selected the Northwestern Division winner
for the National President’s Scholarship, the Spirit of Youth
for Junior Members Scholarship or the Non-Traditional
Students Scholarship, they will receive a National scholarship. If not a National winner, they will receive a $1,000.00
scholarship from the Department.
Children of Warriors, National President’s Scholarship –
Elizabeth Heitman of Lake City. Heitman was competing
with six other Departments in the NW Division for a
$3,500.00, $3,000.00 or $2,000.00 scholarship. She was
awarded 3rd place and the $2,000.00 scholarship.
Spirit of Youth for Junior Members Scholarship –
Arianna Karsky, a member of the Wheaton Unit #80. She
was competing with six other Departments in the NW
Division for a scholarship of $5,000.00. She was not selected as a National winner and will receive a $1,000.00 scholarship from the Department of Minnesota.
Auxiliary Bulletin
Continued from Preceding Page
Non-Traditional Student Scholarship –Larissa Wylie,
member of Unit #143 Brownton, was competing with six
other Departments in the NW Division for a $2,000.00
scholarship. She was not selected as a National winner and
will receive a $1,000.00 scholarship from the Department
of Minnesota.
compiling Annual Reports, entering data for the upcoming
year. These two ladies just get the job done and we actually have a good time doing it. We are here for all of the
members. If there is any help you need feel free to contact
us at any time. Hopefully the weather will finally turn to
summer, it seems to make moods get better when that happens.
June 2014
Minnesota Legionnaire
Page 19
PARLEY SCHOLARSHIP
Through the Department’s Past Presidents Parley program up to ten $1,000.00 scholarships can be awarded each
year to members of the Auxiliary here in Minnesota. Marie
Goede, Department Past Presidents Parley Chairman is
pleased to announce that five scholarships were awarded
this year. The recipients are: Andrea Reinschmidt of
Plainview, Brittney Richters of Luverne, Jamie Scherer of
Paynesville, Taylor Siewert of Lake City and Andreah
Schouweiler of Plainview. There were 6 applicants for the
Past Presidents Parley Health Care Scholarships.
Congratulations to each of you as you pursue a career in
a health care field.
s Worker’s Compensation
s Social Security Disability
s VA Disability Appeals
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
Louise Kleiboer Education Chairman has awarded eight
scholarships for the Department of Minnesota Scholarship
program. Each scholarship is in the amount of $1,000.00.
The following is a list of the recipients: Travis Wehrenberg
of Browerville, Kristen Carriveau of Rice, Austin Otto of
Maplewood, Mark Geerdes of Northome, Cameron Hunt of
South Haven, Sarah Nelson of Sauk Centre, Allison
Krueger of Dalbo and Tamara Frank of Redwood Falls.
There were 108 applicants for the Department Scholarship.
Congratulations to all winners and we wish you the best in
your educational futures!
320-262-3669
877-544-3164
214 4th St. SW, Willmar
www.tejeda-guzman.com
AMERICANISM ESSAY CONTEST
The following were selected by Department Chairman
Jean Walker as the 2013/2014 Americanism Essay winners.
Thank you to the many children who took the time to submit their entries.
Class I, 1st Place, Margaret Dolan, Tracy Unit 173; 2nd
Place, Haiden Berrios, Elk River Unit 112; 3rd Place,
Asha Lighthizer Blooming Prairie Unit 52.
Class II, 1st Place, Brooke Fredrickson, Middle River
Unit 444; 2nd Place, Kennedy Hill, Morris Unit 29; 3 r d
Place, Jacob Siedschlaw, Elk River Unit 112.
Class III, 1st Place, Carson Anderson, Hayfield Unit 330
2nd Place, Charles Morgan, Hayfield Unit 330; 3rd Place,
Ryan Risius, Hayfield Unit 330.
Class IV, 1st Place, Claudia Williams, Backus Unit 368;
2nd Place, Payton Hanson, Middle River Unit 444; 3rd
Place, Donavan Phoenix, Hayfield Unit 330.
Class V, 1st Place, Kristin Liepold, Heron Lake Unit
224; 2nd Place, Sara Gilbertson, Hayfield Unit 330; 3rd
Place, Jessica Foster, Hayfield Unit 330.
BAYPORT UNIT 491
Every year Post 491 sponsors a
Volunteer Appreciation Dinner for
all who give their time during the
year. At this event a Legionnaire of
the Year, a SAL of the Year and an
Auxiliary Person of the Year is chosen. The Auxiliary member selected was Mandy Johnson. Mandy has
been a member of the Auxiliary
since 1984. She is very active in
the Bayport Unit as well as her
community. She was very surprised, and very deserving. The
dinner is usually catered by Mandy
Mandy Johnson
and her husband, however this year
the Post decided to have it catered, and that worked out perfect, because Mandy wasn’t in the kitchen when she got her
award. Congratulations Mandy from all of us in the
Department of Minnesota.
SECRETARY SANDIE’S CORNER
I must take a moment to thank my wonderful Unit 79
President Marilyn for pointing out the “only mistake” I
have made this year. In last month’s Legionnaire I wrote
that the National Convention was in Charleston, North
Carolina. Well first, Charleston is in South Carolina and the
National Convention is in Charlotte, North Carolina. What
would I do without these wonderful ladies that help me out.
I am hoping that we will have a big turnout for National
Convention. Every member should go at least once to see
our American Legion Family at work.
Don’t forget Department Convention in Rochester. It is
a time to get together, come up with new ideas and most
important, honor our Department President Shirley
Frederick who has done a fantastic job representing our
Department this year.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the office
staff that I work with every day. Cathy Radil and Jan Lauby
are the most hard working duo I know. We have been working countless hours getting ready for Girls State, sorting and
Antonio Tejeda Guzman
Attorney at Law
A Veteran serving Veterans
SPRING GALA -- President Shirley Frederick attended the Spring Gala at Wayzata American Legion
Auxiliary Unit #118. She is pictured with Jeannie
Jessen, President of Unit 118.
Auxiliary
Membership
as of April 9, 2014
District
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Seventh
Eighth
Ninth
Tenth
Depart.
Total
4-9 Total
5,200
5,074
4,474
779
955
6,301
4,087
1,743
4,520
5,375
151
38,659
Attention Veterans!
This is your northern
Minnesota resort. Barrier-free
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Gateway to the BWCA.
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email: vetlake@frontiernet.net
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All cabins have a lake view.
RESORT FOR DISABLED VETERANS,
ACTIVE DUTY AND ABLE BODIED
VETERANS, DISABLED GENERAL
PUBLIC AND FAMILIES.
Percent
91.58
93.05
92.00
92.74
91.39
92.68
92.97
90.69
93.74
93.11
78.24
92.52
Goal
5,678
5,453
4,863
840
1,045
6,799
4,423
1,922
4,822
5,773
166
41,784
Page 20
Minnesota Legionnaire
June 2014
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