THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 24, Number 20 Thursday, May 22, 2008 Memorial Day THE Page 2 May 22, 2008 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 In Case Of Emergency, Dial e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] email: Classifieds - [email protected] http://www.thebeacher.com/ PRINTED WITH Published and Printed by TM Trademark of American Soybean Association THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden 911 Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is also Subscription Rates delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. 1 year $38 6 months $21 3 months $13 1 month $6.50 GREAT LAKES MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY NOW INCLUDES “WARS IN IRAQ” by Charles McKelvy For a close, personal understand- confl icts in Iraq by a decorated ing of both the Persian Gulf War Michigan City veteran who fought and the ongoing Operation Iraqi in both confl icts in Iraq, Steven Freedom, please visit the Great Foss. SFC Foss served 21 years in Lakes Museum of Military History the Armed Forces, 11 years active at your earliest convenience. And, duty, and 10 years with reserves, yes, please save time to see their and he proudly wore both the uni- new Revolutionary War exhibit forms of the U.S. Marine Corps and and their expanded Civil War dis- the U.S. Army. play as well. He was inspection-ready in his Thanks to the tireless and cre- Army uniform for the grand open- ative efforts of Steven Foss, the ing of what the Museum is proudly Great Lakes Museum of Military calling: “The Wars in Iraq – a Dis- History now has a complete time- play by Steven Foss.” line of all of America’s confl icts, Memo to teachers and students: beginning with the French and In- SFC Steven Foss is your go-to wit- Decorated Michigan City veteran Steven Foss dian Wars and subsequent Revolu- has created a fascinating new display at the ness for current events and recent tionary War and continuing today Great Lakes Museum of Military History called history, because he survived such to military operations in Iraq and “The Wars in Iraq.” harrowing events as the Battle of Afghanistan. Ras Al Khafji in early 1991 when The purpose of the Great Lakes Museum of Iraqi forces overran the Coalition outpost just inside Military History, Saudia Arabia, trapping Foss and his fellow Ma- after all, is “to rines. He will gladly tell you how they used “E and educate people E” or “Evade and Escape” tactics to foil the Iraqis about the military and fi nd their way to friendly forces who were, quite heritage of this frankly, more than a little surprised to fi nd them all and other nations alive. as well as to pre- serve, restore and display military memorabilia from the Revolutionary War to the pres- ent.” And what a gift the Great Lakes Museum of Mili- tary History has become for Michi- gan City, because there you will fi nd The Great Lakes Museum of Military History now has a “uniform” approach an amazing exhib- to the Revolutionary War. it featuring both The exhibit includes many fascinating photos of Iraqi children. THE May 22, 2008 Page 3 It’s all there in the book, STORM ON THE HORI- ZON, which is part of the display along with some Open ‘til 6 p.m. fascinating photographs of Iraqi children that in- Evenings Little clude the image of a boy with red hair. “He told us he was a Roman,” SFC Foss said. House Meaning that the people in that region of Iraq, many of whom were Christian, traced their ances- try directly back to the Romans who once occupied Fashions that part of the world. Women’s Casual to Dressy Fashions in sizes 4P to 24W Missy - Petite - Women’s We would like to thank the Photographs of Iraqi children are at the heart of the LaPorte Chamber of Commerce, new exhibit at the Great Lakes WLOI-WCOE, News-Dispatch, Museum of Military History. all of our customers, employees, And the display does include a photo of a Roman fort that later served the Crusaders and the Otto- family and friends who helped man Empire. Having been educated in the Michigan City schools, Steven Foss was ever alert to educa- make our Grand Opening weekend tional opportunities while serving combat tours in Iraq, and he took note of where Alexander the Great such a success! The great fought some of his key battles against the Persians, as well as such biblical cities as Nineveh. turnout and support was greatly Continued on Page 4 appreciated. Hope to see everyone again soon! Mike & Lisa Pierzakowski New Owners of Little House Fashions Little House Fashions 409 Alexander Street, LaPorte, IN (219) 326-8602 or Toll Free (877) 711-5980 On Hwy 35 - 5 Blocks South of Lincolnway Turn right on Alexander [email protected] www.littlehousefashions.com Monday-Friday 10 am to 6 pm Saturday 9 am to 4 pm A Roman fort that later served the Crusaders and the Ottoman Empire THE Page 4 May 22, 2008 GREAT LAKES MUSEUM Continued from Page 3 Thanks to Steven Foss and his fellow veterans, the exhibit includes such noteworthy items as a deck of “Iraqi Most Wanted Playing Cards” with Saddam Hussein as the ace of spaces and his for- eign minister Tariq Aziz as the 8 of Spades. Noting that the notorious “dead man’s hand” consisted of aces and 8s, Steven Foss said the most wanted from Saddam’s regime had their faces printed on cards with aces and 8s. A display so real you can’t tell if he’s a mannequin or a real soldier. And you will be simply amazed at the richness of the exhibit, especially when you consider that Ste- ven Foss and his oldest daughter LuVa created it in three weeks. Foss focused on the contributions of local families who, he said, “are enthusiastic. They are happy that the Museum is here to express how the subculture The real deal – an actual deck of Iraqi Most Wanted Playing Cards. of the military family is affected by war. Units from the entire northern Indiana area – from the Illinois border east to Ohio – have all deployed, be it to Iraq or Afghanistan.” Gayle Smith of La Porte is among the many veter- ans who have been pleased to see the exhibit open. He dropped in during the grand opening and said: “I was with Steve (Foss) in Iraq in 2nd Platoon, Com- pany Alpha, 113th Engineer Battalion.” Their dan- gerous mission was to fi nd and defuse deadly IEDs, or Improvised Explosive Devices. And, yes, more than a few are included in the display, along with techniques the Army uses to identify them. You can now see how Saddam’s army dressed at the Great Lakes Museum of Military History. Those are the kinds of fascinating facts you will learn by devoting some quality time to the display and, if you are really fortunate, you will get to meet Steven Foss himself at the Museum. While he works in law enforcement in Chicago, he does plan to spend as much of his free time as possible at the Museum’s newest display because, as he said, “it showcases the deployment of local people to Iraq, Afghanistan, Exhibit creator Steven Foss (left) with his comrade-in-arms Gayle Smith. Somalia and other places since the Global War on Smith is holding a photograph of himself taken while he was Terrorism began.” serving in Iraq. The photo is part of the exhibit. THE May 22, 2008 Page 5 2008 Notre Dame Starting Memorial Day, The Great Lakes Museum of Military History will be open every day but Monday. Parish Festival After posing for a picture with his former com- Thurs., May 29 • 3-8 p.m. rade-in-arms, Smith noted that although he was Fri., May 30 • 3-10 p.m. junior to Foss by three grades, he was often identi- Sat., May 31 • 10 a.m.-10 p.m. fi ed by Iraqis as the platoon leader “because in their culture elders are always the leaders.” Sun., June 1 • 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Foss joked that Smith especially looked the part $5.00 cover Charge for Adult Admission of an Iraqi leader because he sported a full mus- (21 and over) tache while they were in harm’s way in Iraq. There is so much more to say about this fascinat- Thrilling Rides ing exhibit, along with the new display on the Revo- • Spinning Apple, bumper cars, and a ride that lutionary War and the expanded Civil War collec- drops 5 stories to name a few. tion, but we have run out of space. • Hologram coded passes will be sold for $15 after mass on Sat. (4:30 pm) and Sun. (9:30 am) until May 20th. Redeem them for a unlimited ride brace- let for one day…only 300 will be sold Musical Entertainment • “Mr Blotto” - Fri., 6:30-10 p.m. • Midnight - Sat., 6-10 p.m. • Big Band Sound of the Don McLain Orchestra - Sun., 5-8 p.m. Great Food • Beef Sandwich Dinner from Ye Olde Benny’s on You can see Friday how they ate during the • Tasty Pasta Dinner on Saturday Revolutionary • Notre Dame Grill on Sunday will offer Hamburgers, War at the Greats Lakes Hot Dogs and Brats throughout the day.