Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, the banners have returned to Courtland Ave.
The Name Robert M Smith
On the National Mall in Washington, D.C. just northwest of the Lincoln Memorial is the long black granite memorial known as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. When the idea of this, the most visited memorial in D.C., was in its infancy, it was noted that the memorial must have the names of those who died in Vietnam. Not some of the names, all of the names of American Military personnel who died in Vietnam must be on the memorial.
Flash back to 1973. I am home after a 3 year stint in the US Army. Trained at the Army Signal school in Fort Gordon Georgia, I am proficient in telephone instalation and repair, stringing cable (both ariel and underground), cable splicing and many other aspects of telephone communication. One of my first stops in looking for a job after the military was Illinois Bell Telephone Company. After filling out an application I was asked one question, "Were you military trained?" With my reply of yes, I was told that Illinois Bell did not want me......
At times it seens as if only high school students who get in trouble are the only ones who get any publicity. That is except for the athletes. Tonight was different. Tonight at the Bertha Frank Center nearly 100 awards and scholarships were presented.
April 18, 1942 anyone know the significance of that date is history?
The editorial in last weeks Morton Times news started out
"They’re the soldiers who never returned from war, their whereabouts unknown or their remains never recovered. But, as the familiar black flag reminds Americans, “You are not forgotten.”
The title read "Who won't be forgotten?"
Captain Rocky Versace
A member of Quite Pride rides through Morton
The rumble from the motors of some 65 motorcycles parading through Morton, was a loud yet solemn sign of remembrance. The Bikes were on a mission, a mission of remembrance.
Bill Ayers is a former leader of the Weather Underground, a self described Communist revolutionary group that bombed public buildings in response to U S involvement in the Vietnam War. Wednesday Bill Ayers got it all wrong again.
In the foyer of the American Legion in Morton is a plaque. This plaque is often missed by visitors to Post 318. It was given to the post in recognition of the post after a tornado went through Morton.
The Wall That Heals, a half size repica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is coming to the Morton Public Library during the pumpkin Festival September 12-16, 2012.
In recognition of the Wall's return to Morton, this blog will on occasion profile men and women who are on the Wall.
A week ago I wrote about the damage done to flags by mother nature urging that we make a concerted effort to replace worn and tattered flags when we see them. I have since posted a picture showing a flag desecrated by humans for political gains.
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
As I said in an earlier post, reasons for joining a VSO can be multifaceted. I am keeping this blog focused on why join The American Legion as this is the VSO I know best.
I did it once for my personal benefit. I am doing it again for the benefit of my community. I have been asked to take ownership of a project to bring the "Wall That Heals" back to Morton.
visitors to the Wall That Heals in Morton May 2008
IHSA news this weekend focused on the girls basketball finals and boys regional and sectional basketball tournements, there was a different kind of contest held in Peoria at the Peoria Civic Center.
Larry Stimeling was born and raised in Peoria. He moved to Morton when he married his wife, Connie, in 1985. Larry is a retired letter carrier and a service-connected disabled veteran of the Vietnam War. He is very involved with veterans issues and currently serves as the Commander of the 16th Ditrict of The American Legion. He also serves The American Legion as a member of the National Legislative Council and is a member of the eight-man committee working to have a veterans memorial built in Morton.
