Monday, May 23, 2016

COMMANDER'S MESSAGE



July/August
Commander’s Message

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of long time Post member Ed Matusiak. Besides being a devoted husband, father and Grandfather, Ed always managed to find time for the American Legion and Gold Star Post. Ed was the cornerstone of Gold Star Post for as long as I can remember. During Super Storm Sandy it was Ed who made sure the Post was available to serve the community and afterwards making it the home of the Community Emergency Response Team. Ed was a Past County Vice Commander, Post Commander, house chairman, treasurer, grounds keeper, mentor, dedicated Legionnaire and most of all a friend. Ed was one of those guys that were not afraid to speak their mind and boy did he!  Ed was intent on having the Post’s 70th anniversary celebration because he feared many of our members were getting old and may not be around for a 75th. Ironically he’ll be there in spirit. So let’s have a anniversary celebration and do it in Ed’s honor and in the style he would have wanted.

FOR GOD AND COUNTRY
Mark Kelly

COMMAND

Commander’s Message  July, 2016

I hope this message finds you all well. Gold Star Post participated in Flag Day ceremonies at PS 26. The children preformed Patriotic  songs for us as part of the program. Paul Dietrich and I raised a new flag up the schools flagpole. The old one was in tough shape. While we are on the subject of PS 26, I also attended graduation at PS 26 and awarded a young lady a certificate and the American Legion School Medal.  She wrote about "What the constitution means to her". She read it aloud and did a nice job. As of this writing, Fourth of July preparation is taking place at the Post. We are preparing for all the marchers to come by the Post to enjoy Hot Dogs and refreshments. The Post has been busy with hall rentals, witch is needed to pay the bills, we still pay gas, electric, and insurance. Neil Schimler has been doing a great job with the "Bell Jar" account, which helps out . I would like you all to keep our Post members that are ill in your prayers. Let’s not forget our troops in harm’s way. You may be tired of hearing about our deck witch is completed, by the way, needs to be cleaned and then sealed. When rentals slow down, hopefully we will do the deck. Thank you

FOR GOD AND COUNTRY
Mark Kelly
COMMANDER



Commander’s Message

Hello all, First; I want thank the members of the Post for having the confidence in me to elect me for another term.  I once again promise to give you my best as your Commander. We’ve been very busy down at the Post; the deck is completed and we’ve done some of the ground work but there’s much to be done before the July 4th Parade. Sadly once again our Memorial Day service wasn’t very well attended by members of the Post or the families of those we remembered. Thanks to all who did attend including our Borough President and Assemblyman Michael Cusick. Thanks to Frank LaMarsh for chairing the event and the members who took the time to come down and help; Anthony Pergola,  Peter Pinto, Bobby Lane, Tony Konczynski, Rich Merlis, Willie Fallon and Frank Saladis who did the grounds works. We have several events coming up in the next few months including the Travis 4th of July Parade. We need members of the Post to march so that we demonstrate to the community and those watching that we’re still doing the best for the community.  Dress is short sleeve white shirt and dark slacks. If you can’t march we can use any help you can provide.  The seafood picnic will be September 3rd (Labor Day Weekend) and the cost is $40 per person. Tickets are limited so don’t wait until the last minute. The Posts 70th anniversary dinner dance will be held October 9th. The cost is still being decided as we are trying to subsidize it but you know what that means.  Again I want to thank you and look forward to seeing you at the meetings and our events. We can’t do this alone so come on down; it’s your Post. 


FOR GOD AND COUNTRY
Mark Kelly

COMMANDER

Sunday, May 22, 2016

NY STATE ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION

LINK TO:

New York State Absentee Ballot Application

Homebound or members in nursing homes or hospitals can still vote by using the attached absentee ballot.  It is recommended that this be filled out well in advance of the actual election to ensure that you get your absentee ballot in time. 


Qualifications to Vote by Absentee Ballot

  • Absent from your county or, if a resident of New York City absent from said city, on Election Day.
  • Unable to appear at the polls due to temporary or permanent illness or disability; or because you are the primary care giver of one or more individuals who are ill or physically disabled.
  • A patient or inmate in a Veterans' Administration Hospital.
  • Detained in jail awaiting Grand Jury action or confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a felony.

How to Vote by Absentee Ballot (Deadlines)

  • Applications for Absentee Ballots are available at your county board of elections.
  • You may also download a PDF version of the New York State Absentee Ballot Application Form
  • Upon completion, applications must be mailed to your county board no later than the seventh day before the election or delivered in person no later than the day before the election.
  • You may also request an Absentee Ballot by sending a letter to your county board of elections. The letter must be received by your county board no earlier than 30 days and no later than seven days before the election. The letter must contain the following information:
    • the address where you are registered
    • an address where the ballot is to be sent
    • the reason for the request, and
    • the signature of the voter
    An application form will be mailed with your ballot. The application form must be completed and returned with your ballot.
    If you cannot pick up your ballot, or will not be able to receive it through the mail, you have the right to designate someone to pick it up for you. Only that person designated on your application may pick up and deliver your ballot.
    If you are permanently ill or disabled, you have the right to receive an Absentee Ballot for each subsequent election without further application. Simply file an application with your county board of elections indicating permanent illness or physical disability. You will then automatically receive an absentee ballot for every election until your registration is canceled.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

MISSING IN ACTION BODIES RETURNED

1. Staten Island University Hospital's Military Appreciation Program. This program entitles active duty members and veterans free parking 12 times per year at the SIUH parking lot. Call 718-226-4325 for an application.

2. The Defense POW/MIA Office announced the identification of remains belonging to the following personnel. Returned home are:
·         Marine Corps Pfc. John F. Price, lost fighting on Tarawa on Nov. 20, 1943. He was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division.
·         Marine Corps Pfc. Anthony Brozyna, lost fighting on Tarawa on Nov. 20, 1943. He was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division.
·         Army Cpl. Robert P. Graham, 20, in February 1951, Graham was assigned to Company A, 13th Engineer Combat Battalion, 7th Infantry Division, which was engaged in a battle near Hoengsong, South Korea. His unit was ordered to withdraw south while under heavy attack. He was reported missing on Feb. 13, 1951.   
·         Army Air Forces Flight Officer Dewey L. Gossett, 23, was piloting an A-36A Apache in a flight of four searching for targets of opportunity when they encountered bad weather. Only three aircraft returned to base. He was assigned to the 527th Fighter Squadron, 86th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force. 
·         Army Pfc. Aubrey D. Vaughn, 20, On April `Punchbowl. Being returned home for burial with full military honors on a date and location yet to be determined are Ensign Joseph P. Hittorff Jr., 25, of Westmont, N.J.; Chief Storekeeper Herbert J. Hoard; Fire Controlman 1st Class Paul A. Nash, 26, of Indiana; and Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Alfred F. Wells.


3. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency is seeking the public’s help to find and encourage more MIA families to donate a DNA sample to help speed the identification process of recovered remains. Currently, 89 percent of the Korean War’s 7,800 MIAs have a family reference sample on file, 84 percent for the Cold War’s 126 MIAs, and 81 percent of the Vietnam War’s 1,600 missing. But for World War II, it’s a dismal 4 percent of the 73,500 who are still missing. Each military service and the State Department has a service casualty office that can explain how to donate.

Army: 800-892-2490 Navy: 800-443-9298 State Department: 202-485-6106
Marine Corps: 800-847-1597 Air Force: 800-531-5501

4. Free parking for veterans at Richmond County Medical Center. Veterans can park for free in the visitors parking lot where tokens are required. Stop at the main reception desk or security post, show proof you are a veteran (drivers license with vet on it, retired ID card, VA card or similar) and they will give you a free token for the parking lot. Get it on the way in as the reception/info desk is not manned all night. Use the token to exit the lot. Saves you $4 per visit.

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has announced the identification of remains of five American service members who had been missing in action since World War II. Being returned home for burial with full military honors are:
-- Navy Chief Storekeeper Herbert J. Hoard, 36, and Seaman 2nd Class Dale F. Pearce, 21, had been missing since Dec. 7, 1941, when the battleship USS Oklahoma they were aboard suffered multiple torpedo hits and capsized as it was moored off Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Hoard will be buried May 21 in his hometown of DeSoto, Mo., and Pearce will be buried May 26 in his hometown of Dennis, Kan. Learn more about their individual recovery and identifications at:http://www.dpaa.mil/NewsStories/NewsReleases/tabid/10159/Article/757870/uss-oklahoma-sailor-from-world-war-ii-accounted-for-hoard.aspx andhttp://www.dpaa.mil/NewsStories/NewsReleases/tabid/10159/Article/776446/uss-oklahoma-sailor-from-world-war-ii-accounted-for-pearce.aspx.
-- Marine Pfc. Elmer L. Mathies Jr., 21, will be buried May 28 in his hometown of Hereford, Texas. Mathies died Nov. 20, 1943, while fighting the Japanese on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. He was assigned to Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division.
-- Army Capt. Elwood J. Euart, 38, of Pawtucket, R.I., died Oct. 26, 1942, died trying to rescue some soldiers who were trapped in a transport ship that struck two mines as it was entering Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides. He was assigned to the 103rd Field Artillery Battalion, 43rd Infantry Division. Burial details have yet to be announced.
-- Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Donald L. Beals, 21, of Brookings, S.D., was a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot who died April 17, 1945, while on a combat mission near Dresden, Germany. He was assigned to the 494th Fighter Squadron, 48th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force. Burial details have yet to be announced.

MIA and Burial Updates
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced burial updates and new identifications of remains of 13 missing and unaccounted for servicemen from World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Being returned for burial with full military honors are: 
  • Navy Seaman 2nd Class Challis R. James, of Portsmouth, Ohio, Fireman 1st Class Frank E. Nicoles, 25, of Eau Claire, Wis., Warrant Officer Daryl H. Goggin, 34, of Eugene, Ore., and Chaplain (Lt. j.g.) Aloysius H. Schmitt, 32, of St. Lucas, Iowa, had been missing since Dec. 7, 1941, when the battleship USS Oklahoma they were aboard suffered multiple torpedo hits and capsized as it was moored off Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
  • Army Sgt. 1st Class Richard Davis, of Indiana County, Pa., who was lost fighting in North Korea on Nov. 2, 1950. It would be later learned he was captured but died in captivity. He was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.
  • Navy Lt. Cmdr. Frederick P. Crosby, 31, of Orlando, Fla., was piloting an RF-8A Photo Crusader on a combat mission in North Vietnam when his aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed in Thanh Hoa Province on June 1, 1965. He was assigned to Light Photograph Squadron 63.
  • Army Pvt. Earl J. Keating, 28, will be buried May 28 in his hometown of New Orleans. Group remains representing Keating and Pvt. John H. Klopp, 25, also of New Orleans, were buried in Arlington National Cemetery on March 23. On Dec. 5, 1942, Keating and Klopp died repulsing a Japanese attack in present-day Papua New Guinea. Both were subsequently buried, but their graves couldn’t be located after the war. Both were assigned to Anti-Tank Company, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. Read more.
  • Marine Pfc. Elmer L. Mathies Jr., 21, will be buried May 28 in his hometown of Hereford, Texas. Mathies died Nov. 20, 1943, while fighting the Japanese on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. He was assigned to Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division. Read more.
  • Navy Motor Machinist's Mate 1st Class John E. Anderson, 24, will be buried May 28 in his hometown of Willmar, Minn. On June 6, 1944, Anderson was stationed aboard a Landing Craft Tank that after offloading its men and equipment during the D-Day invasion on Omaha Beach was destroyed by enemy fire. Read more.
  • Army Pvt. John P. Sersha, 20, of Leoneth, Minn., will be buried May 28 in Eveleth, Minn. On Sept. 27, 1944, during Operation Market Garden, Sersha was one of three “Bazooka Men” sent out with a platoon to assault German positions near Groesbeek, Netherlands. None of the three men returned. Sersha was assigned to Company F, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment. Read more.
  • Air Force 1st Lt. Donald W. Bruch Jr., 24, of Montclair, N.J., will be buried May 29 in East Petersburg, Pa. On April 29, 1966, Bruch was piloting an F-105D Thunderchief toward a target in North Vietnam when his aircraft was struck by enemy anti-aircraft artillery. He was assigned to the 333rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 355th Tactical Fighter Wing. Read more.
  • Marine Pfc. James B. Johnson, 19, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., will be buried May 31 in Arlington National Cemetery. Johnson died Nov. 20, 1943, while fighting the Japanese on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. He was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division. Read more