Table of contents Gildo T Consolini

Page Contents

2 Commanders Notes VFW POST 3272

3 Chaplains Corner Avon, Connecticut 3 Comrades in distress

4 Notes from around the Post 5 March 2018 Meeting 6 POW / MIA Report 8 News from around the Web 10 Upcoming Events

Newsletter Vol II Issue 08 – April 2018

April 25th Post Meeting Post 3272 Meetings Prince Thomas of Savoy Society 4th Wednesday each month. 32 Old Farms Road, Avon, CT Next meeting is 25 April Special Guest: Major General Le Minh Dao, ARVN The monthly meetings of the Post are General Dao was the commander of the 18th ARVN Division, held at the Prince Thomas of Savoy which destroyed three North Vietnamese divisions at Xuan Loc Society (Italian Club), 32 Old Farms as South Vietnamese forces made a heroic, last stand from 8 Road, Avon, CT. April to 21 April 1975. General Dao endured 17 years in Communist “Re-Education” camps. Post Address Video: The Shadows of Men AVON CT VFW Post 3272 Over 40 years after the Vietnam War a group of Army PO Box 297 veterans talk about their experiences while flying in the Avon, CT 06001 Razorback gunship platoon. Their stories reflect the changing face of the war as it progressed, the Post Website exhilaration and tragedy of battle and the friendships http://www.avonvfw.com/ that endured.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/VFW3 272/

Post Officers Commander James C. Hutton [email protected] Sr. Vice Commander Agenda Roy V. Walton 5:30 Social Hour [email protected] 6:15 Dinner Jr. Vice Commander 7:00 Program Robert J. Nardiello 8:00 Business Meeting [email protected]

Commander’s Notes Poppy Drive: We have achieved the first goal for our 2018 Poppy Drive. The 15 Post Officers have committed to doing 60, 2-hour shifts, for an average of 4 shifts each. In addition, 9 other Post members have committed to 25 shifts. We need a total of at least 30 members to commit to doing an average of 4, 2-hour shifts each, in order to fill all of the weekend slots (i.e., Thursday through Sunday) at Walmart and ShopRite. If we get more volunteers we can then fill weekday slots (i.e., Monday through Wednesday) first at Walmart and then ShopRite. Don Perreault

The 2018 Poppy Drive is scheduled to begin on Thursday, May 17th and end Sunday, May 27th. Bill Finances Newman is now signing up volunteers for Walmart, and Tom Voorhees for ShopRite. The lists will be available for you to sign-up at the Thursday morning breakfasts at Truffles, and the April 25th Post Meeting. In addition, you can email or call Bill or Tom at any time with the dates and times you wish to volunteer.

We are spreading out the work associated with the Poppy Drive as much as possible this year. We currently have 8 members who have volunteered to fill positions in our Poppy Drive organization. However, we still need someone to volunteer to be the Walmart Coordinator. The Coordinator will be responsible for singing up volunteers and assuring that the people, signs, promotional material, etc. are in place each day. Bill Newman is filling that position on an interim basis but will away during the Poppy Drive itself. You can email or call me if you are interested in being the Walmart Coordinator. Bill Newman Memorial Day: We will celebrate Memorial Day on Monday, May 28th this year. All of the key positions Nathan Grove on our Memorial Day Committee have been filled. However, Don Perreault could still use some St. Ann Contributions additional help with the placement of the medallions and flags in the cemeteries. Bill Newman will again organize the cemetery visits. Bill Samol has had letters sent requesting the Governor’s Horse Guard participation in the parade, and for a flyover by the Connecticut Air National Guard. Bob Nardiello has obtained the permits for use of the Town Green, and Senior Center in case of rain, for the ceremony. Mort Katz has volunteered to be the keynote speaker at the ceremony. And, Roy Walton has reserved the pavilion at the Italian Club for the post-parade picnic. The Committee will meet at the Italian Club prior to the April 25th Post meeting to review the 2018 Memorial Day Plans.

James C. Hutton Commander Chaplain’s Corner

APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Lorraine Cemetery, near Colmar, France. Patton’s Memory and desire, stirring buried here. Dull roots with spring rain. Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow, feeding A little life with dried tubers.

So wrote the poet T.S. Eliot in his poem The Wasteland, back in 1922. Reflecting the despair and hopelessness that characterized his generation’s post-WW I experience, it’s hardly the kind of poem

2 you’d read to cheer yourself up. There’s something about post-war experiences though that seems to make us want to remember and forget all at the same time.

For us veterans, April can have that kind of effect. It’s a time when new life starts to emerge from winter’s earth, and we’re filled with hope and energy. All it takes is one cloud to pass in front of the sun though, and we find ourselves remembering our buddies who saw their last Spring many years ago. They will no longer feel the warmth of the sun on their faces, and a certain sadness or even depression can come over us for a while.

In these moments, it can help to reach within and touch the ground of your faith, whatever that happens to look like to you, and take some consolation in the knowledge that you’re not alone either in your recollections, or in your current community of family and friends – especially your veteran friends who know what your feelings feel like. If it gets bad, get help. If it’s just something you’d like to share so you can move on, do that. Whatever you do, don’t push it down inside you. It will grab your soul like a junkyard dog and not let go. April may be the cruelest month sometimes, but it never has to have the last word.

Members who would enjoy a call or visit from you!

Comrade Phone Update Tom 860-408-9313 Up at McLean in Simsbury; Tom joined us recently for coffee Chrosniak at Truffles and said he really enjoyed catching up with folks very much! Rich Ecke and I have reached out a couple of times, now. He’ll be back. Don Griswold At home, according to Dick Hill. If you wish to visit, sooner rather than later would be a very good idea Richard Nista 860-673-9556 In Apple Rehab, room 12; Bill Newman stopped by recently and got treated like a king. Stop by some time! Raymond D-Day participant, Scott Thomas’ father-in-law; you can write to “Charlie” him if you wish. Goyette John Kostrisak 860-693-2094 Daughter Joan takes care of him Bob Galliete 860-673-9324 Bob has been in and out of the hospital and Cherry Brook, but should be home by the time you’re reading this. He’s a good conversationalist and would appreciate your visit. Bob Hunt Bob hasn’t been at Truffles for a while now; trying to get information about him. Don Perreault Recovering from hip surgery

If you hear of someone who has passed away, please let me know so we can get a sympathy card out to the family.

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Notes from around the Post Slate of Officers Commander: Roy Walton Sr Vice Commander: Bob Nardiello Jr Vice Commander: Nathan Grove Quartermaster: Frank Guth Chaplain: Tim Healy Trustee 1: Grant Hagedorn Trustee 2: Tom Shannon Trustee 3: Jim Hutton

This slate will be formally presented to the membership at the April meeting after which any nominations will from the floor will be received. Once nominations are closed election of officers for 2018-19 will take place.

April Guest Speaker This is from the March 2014 Post Newsletter

ARVN MAJOR GENERAL LE MINH DAO Lê Minh Đảo (born c. 1933, Saigon) was a South Vietnamese Major General who led the 18th Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in the last major battle of the Vietnam War. During this battle the vastly outnumbered 18th Division stood and fought at Xuan Loc, 38 miles north of Saigon, where the 18th earned the name "The Supermen". As its Commander, General Dao was a passionate and inspirational leader who was famous for his emotional battlefield interview broadcasted around the world during the fighting in which he stated that, "The communists could throw their entire Army at Xuân Lộc, the 18th will stand fast". His division made a defiant apocalyptic last stand against communist forces in Xuan Loc, a city strategically important for intersecting five main routes. The fierce fighting raged for two weeks. The 18th Division, outnumbered 7:1 by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces, destroyed all but three PAVN divisions and was on his way to defeating two more divisions before his troops ran out of supplies and ammunition. The division was ordered to evacuate Xuan Loc on April 21, 1975, nine days before the fall of Saigon. General Đảo withdrew from Xuân Lộc and his retreat was just as masterful as his advance, which required much daring and intellect to outmaneuver the Communist forces. Sadly, the success story ends with Le Minh Dao’s successful retreat back to Saigon as South Vietnam President Dương Văn Minh surrendered then to the communists on April 30th. Despite President Minh and the Southern government surrender, General Dao wanted to keep fighting. However, with the knowledge that the corps commander and the deputy had taken their own lives, he knew it was over. On May 9, General Dao turned himself over to the Communist forces and spent 17 years in the "reeducation camps", 10 of those years locked in a cage in isolation. General Dao grew up in the South and had fought the communists for 22 years. He would remain in prison until May 4, 1992, when he was finally released. After his release, he received political asylum in the United States.

March Meeting

On March 28, 2018, 21 members and their guests gathered at the Italian Club for the monthly meeting of the Gildo T. Consolini Post 3272, Veterans of Foreign Wars.

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Acting Chaplain Grant Hagedorn offered the invocation after which a delicious corned beef and cabbage meal was enjoyed by all.

After dinner Officer Eric Lundell of the Avon Police Department gave an informative presentation on the opioid crisis presently facing this nation. Every day, more than 115 Americans die after overdosing on opioids. The misuse of and addiction to opioids – including prescription pain relievers, heroin and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl – is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare. He informed the Post members that on April 28 at the Avon Senior Center the Avon Police department will host an “excess prescription collection day”. At that time you may turn in all excess prescriptions presently accumulating in your medicine cabinet. He stressed that all unused prescriptions must be disposed of properly. Do not just flush them down the toilet! Another collection point always available is the lobby of the Farmington Police Department.

Click here for a copy of the presentation

Business Meeting

Reports

Commander’s Report Commander Hutton reported Bill Newman, Chair of the Outstanding Veteran of the Year Committee had distributed forms to Post Members for their input. Please complete the form, see Bill if you haven’t received on, and complete and return to Bill. This award to be presented on April 25, 2018

It was reported the National Day of Prayer will be held at the Carmon Funeral Home and Family Center on May 3rd. The Post color guard has been asked to participate.

Commander Hutton reported all but one position on the 2018 Poppy Drive organizational chart has been filled. Still required is Site representative for Wal Mart. Dates have been reserved at Wal Mart and at Shop Rite. Eighteen members have already committed to 69 shifts. A total of 136 shifts will be required to fill all slots. Signup sheets will be available by April 5. . 6,000 additional poppies have been ordered.

Commander Hutton reported Veterans in the classroom will be held in early May, This will be held at Avon High School and will feature Vietnam War veterans.

Post membership as of March 26 was 153 members. This was 81 life members, 39 Continuous members, 6 new members, 6 expiring members and 21 unpaid members.

Commander Hutton reported the post meeting for April will have a South Vietnamese officer as speaker. The Post outstanding veteran award will be presented at this meeting and election of officers will be held. At the May meeting we will recognize Avon High School Seniors who will be pursuing a Military Career. 2018-19 Post officers will be installed at this meeting and the proposed 2018-19 Budget will be presented. For the June meeting Continuous Membership Pons will be presented to eligible members and ant 2018-19 budget will be approved.

Good of the Order It was reported that the box for old used American flags at the Avon library is full. George England will contact the Boy Scouts on this.

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George England reported that the home of a widow of a WWII veteran in Canton is in rundown condition. He proposed a work detail to help clean up the grounds. George will obtain necessary approval for this work and will then approach the post for w work detail.

Adjournment Officer of the Day Nathan Grove led the Post in rendering honors to the colors Acting Chaplin Hagedorn offered the closing prayer Commander Hutton announced that the next Post gathering will be April 25, 2018 at the Italian Club Commander Hutton adjourned the meeting at 2025 hrs.

POW/MIA REPORT POW/MIA REPORT (APR ’18)- DPAA announces the recovery, identification and finally the return home of 19 U.S. Servicemen for the period March15thto April 6th 2018. This is an abridged list. Click here for the full list

Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Manuel Menendez, 20, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, will be buried March 22 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. In November 1943, Menendez was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. Army Pvt. Rudolph Johnson, 20, of Malvern, Arkansas, will be buried March 23 in Little Rock, Arkansas. In February 1945, Johnson was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 365th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division. In an era of racial segregation, the 92nd ID was the only African- American division to fight in Europe. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Donald J. Hall, 29, of Stroud, Oklahoma, will be buried March 26 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. On Feb. 6, 1967, Hall was a member of Detachment 5, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron. Army Cpl. Dow F. Worden, 20, of Boardman, Oregon, accounted for on July 24, 2017, will be buried March 27 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. In late September 1951, Worden was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, which was in the vicinity of Hill 1024 in South Korea, conducting operations near an area known as Heartbreak Ridge. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Frank A. Fazekas, 22, of Trenton, New Jersey, accounted for on Aug. 7, 2017, will be buried March 28 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. On May 27, 1944, Fazekas was a member of the 22nd Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Group, when he was returning from a mission over northern France and his P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft came under enemy fire. His aircraft crashed in a field north of the French village of Buysscheure. Army Cpl. Thomas H. Mullins, 18, of Harriman, Tennessee, accounted for on June 8, 2017, will be buried March 29 in St. Petersburg, Florida. On Nov. 2, 1950, Mullins was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 2, 1950. Army Sgt. 1st Class Pete W. Simon, 34, of Grindstone, Pennsylvania, accounted for on Jan. 11, 2018, will be buried March 31 in Northfield, Ohio. In September 1950, Simon was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, participating in a defense of the Pusan Perimeter, a large defensive line west and north of Pusan, South Korea.

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Navy Water Tender 2nd Class Porter L. Rich, 27, of Lake Preston, South Dakota, accounted for on Aug. 28, 2017, will be buried March 31 in his hometown. On Dec. 7, 1941, Rich was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor. Army Cpl. William C. McDowell, 20, of Stuttgart, Arkansas, accounted for on January 10, will be buried April 4 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. In late November, 1950, McDowell was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. Army Cpl. Roy J. Hopper, 21, of Miami, accounted for on June 23, 2017, will be buried April 6 in Dayton, Ohio. In July 1950, Hopper was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion 19th Infantry Regiment. Air Force Col. Edgar F. Davis, 32, of Goldsboro, North Carolina, accounted for on Dec. 19, 2017, will be buried April 6 in his hometown. On Sept. 17, 1968, Davis was a navigator aboard a RF-4C Phantom fighter-bomber aircraft, assigned to the 11th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. William H. Harth, Jr., 22, of Columbia, South Carolina, accounted for on Nov. 3, 2017, will be buried April 6 in his hometown. In the summer of 1943, Harth was a bombardier assigned to the 329th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy). Marine Corps Pvt. John M. Tillman, 21, of Reno, Nevada, accounted for on Sept. 5, 2017, will be buried April 6, in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. In November 1943, Tillman was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. Marine Corps Pfc. Lyle E. Charpilloz, 19, of Silverton, Oregon, accounted for on Sept. 27, 2017, will be buried April 7, in Salem, Oregon. In November 1943, Charpilloz was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. Navy Reserve Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Ora H. Sharninghouse, Jr., 22, of McComb, Ohio, accounted for on Aug. 10, 2017, will be buried April 7 in Findlay, Ohio. On Sept. 8, 1944, Sharninghouse was a member of the Navy Torpedo Squadron Eighteen (VT-18), USS Intrepid, on a bombing mission against Japanese positions on Babelthuap Island, Palau. Marine Corps Pvt. Edwin W. Jordan, 19, of Pittsburgh, and accounted for on Sept. 27, 2017, will be buried April 9, in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. In November 1943, Jordan was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands’ Army Master Sgt. George R. Housekeeper, Jr., 28, of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, accounted for on June 15, 2017, will be buried April 11, in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. In late November 1950, Housekeeper was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. Air Force Col. Roosevelt Hestle, Jr., 38, of Orlando, accounted for on June 6, 2017, will be buried April 13, 2018 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. On July 6, 1966, Hestle was a pilot assigned to the 388th Tactical Fighter Squadron, aboard the lead aircraft in a flight of four F-105s on a strike mission against surface-to-air missile sites in northern Vietnam.

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Navy Seaman 2nd Class Frank Wood, 25, of Jackson, Ohio, accounted for on Aug. 28, 2017, will be buried April 14 in Franklin, North Carolina. On Dec. 7, 1941, Wood was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor. Bill Newman

Post Web Site The Post website has two addresses and they take you to the same place. www.avonvfw.com or www.vfw3272.org News from around the Web 1st Untethered Spacewalker Was Son, Grandson of MoH Recipients

Military.com |28 Dec 2017 |By Richard Sisk

Retired Navy Capt. Bruce McCandless II, the first astronaut to take an untethered "spacewalk" and the son and grandson of Medal of Honor recipients, died last week at age 80 in California. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bruce's family," acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot said in a statement on McCandless, who died Dec. 21 at the Los Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed. "He will always be known for his iconic photo flying the MMU," Lightfoot said of McCandless' 1984 ride into the cosmic void from the Space Shuttle Challenger using a Manned Maneuvering Unit -- the NASA jetpack. McCandless, a naval aviator who flew missions off the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise during the Cuban missile crisis, had a remarkable Navy heritage. His father, the late Rear Adm. Bruce McCandless, received what was then known as the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on Dec. 12-13, 1942, in the Battle of Savo Island near Guadalcanal in the Pacific in World War II. Rear Adm. McCandless, then a communications officer aboard the New Orleans-class cruiser USS San Francisco, was knocked unconscious by shell fire from superior forces of the Imperial Japanese Fleet that killed or wounded his commanders on the bridge. When he came to, McCandless took charge. He "boldly continued to engage the enemy and to lead our column of following vessels to a great victory," his medal citation said. McCandless paternal grandfather, Commodore [later Rear Admiral] Byron McCandless received the Navy Cross in World War I, and his maternal grandfather, Navy Capt. Willis Winter Bradley was the first recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War I, NASA said. On July 23, 1917, aboard the cruiser USS Pittsburgh, then-Lt. Bradley was blown back by an accidental gunpowder explosion. Bradley recovered, crawled into the burning compartment and put out the flames that threatened to set off more powder explosions and possibly sink the ship. Rear Adm. Bruce McCandless, Byron McCandless and Willis Winter Bradley were all graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy, as was astronaut Bruce McCandless, who was a classmate of Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. In a statement on McCandless' passing, McCain called him "a brilliant aviator and astronaut who dedicated his life to serving the country he loved. Bruce and I were both members of the Class of 1958 at the United States Naval Academy." "As an undistinguished graduate of that class, I always looked up to Bruce -- not only for his incredible intellect, but also for his character and integrity, which embodied the highest values of the United States Navy," McCain 8 said. "Bruce is perhaps best known for carrying out the first untethered spacewalk," McCain said. "The iconic photo of Bruce soaring effortlessly in space has inspired generations of Americans to believe that there is no limit to the human potential." Before he made the untethered Extravehicular Activity, or EVA, as a mission specialist aboard Challenger, McCandless had been a mission control capsule communicator [CAPCOM] for the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon in 1969. McCandless later said in the back of his mind as he ventured out on Feb. 8, 1984, from Challenger was the historic quote from Neil Armstrong as he stepped onto the Moon: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." "I wanted to say something similar to Neil when he landed on the moon, so I said, 'It may have been a small step for Neil but it's a heckuva' big leap for me,'" McCandless said. "That loosened the tension a bit" for those involved in the mission, he said. In a 2006 interview with the Daily Camera of Boulder, Colorado, McCandless played down his accomplishment. "I was grossly overtrained," he said. "I was just anxious to get out there and fly. I was very comfortable" but "it got so cold my teeth were chattering and I was shivering, but that was a very minor thing." McCandless traveled more than 300 feet from the shuttle, and the photo of him in his white NASA suit in the blackness of space with the blue planet Earth as a backdrop became a sensation. Aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1990, McCandless was part of the crew that launched the Hubble Space Telescope. All told, McCandless logged more than 312 hours in space, including four hours of spacewalks. After leaving NASA, he worked for Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Space Systems division in Colorado.

Services for McCandless have been planned for Jan. 16 at the Naval Academy's Main Chapel in Annapolis, Maryland, followed by burial at the Naval Academy Cemetery.

Click here for the source article

Post 3272 – VFW 2017 – 2018 Monthly Meetings Schedule

Date Program Business Meeting

04/25/2018 ■ Speaker: Vietnamese General Le Minh ■ Outstanding Veteran Award Dao ■ Election of 2017 – 2018 Officers

05/23/2018 ■ AHS Military Career Graduates ■ Installation of 2017 –2018 Officers ■ Proposed 2017 – 2018 Budget

06/27/2018 ■ Continuous Membership Pins ■ Approve 2017 – 2018 Budget

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