The American Legion Post 102 held two ceremonies on Memorial Day 1992. The first ceremony was originally scheduled to be held at The Anoka Veterans Memorial at Forest Hill Cemetery; but, due to rain, it was moved to the American Legion Post. The second ceremony held at the Post was to dedicate a memorial to Clarence "Whiskey" Visneski. Clarence Visneski was a man that knew how to get things done. He was a member of Post 102 for 32 years, and was a Past Commander. He was also the Chairman of the Building Committee to relocate the Post to its current location. He was an inspiration to other members of the Post, and encouraged others to get involved for the benefit of the Post and Community.
Prior to his death, Clarence left a note stating that he wanted a plaque on the kitchen door because he spent a lot of time working there. Several members of the Post thought he needed something more befitting his contribution to the post. Al Springer joked that, since Clarence served in the Navy, an Anchor would be a better memorial than a plaque. That joke turned into a job opportunity for Al. Al accepted the challenge, and became the Chairman of the Anchor Committee.
The Committee started work in Late 1989. The first step was to locate a suitable anchor for the memorial. James Dalley provided Al with the telephone number of the Head Curator in Washington D.C. Letters were prepared by the The American Legion National headquarters to prove that the Post was in good standing, and explain the purpose for the use of the anchor. It took about six months to obtain a purchase order for an eight ton anchor and chain. The anchor was at the Puget Sound Naval Base in Seattle Washington. By the time arrangements were made to haul it to Anoka, the Puget Sound Naval Base had closed and the anchor was now in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The National Curator said, that as a result of the move to Virginia, the original anchor and chain were not available. A smaller anchor and chain were available in Williamsburg; but the Post needed to move it from Williamsburg, Virginia to Anoka, Minnesota. It took some doing to make arrangements to move 3,000 pounds of anchor, and another 3,000 pounds of chains, to the Post. In March 1992, Tom Sauter successfully completed the move of the anchor and chain to the parking lot of Anoka Post 102!
The Memorial Committee consisted of Art Bendiske, Don Hostetler, Gil Dullinger, Pat Visneski, Andy Revering, and Duke Grosslein, with Al Springer as the Chairman. The Committee decided they wanted the Memorial in place and ready to be dedicated by May 25, 1992. The city allowed Don and Al to sandblast and paint the anchor and chain on a city parking lot. Andy Revering designed the plaque for the memorial. Art Bendiske was responsible for the cement work. The Memorial was approved by Mrs. Pat Visneski. On May 23, Chris Arnold welded the anchor and chain in place. Don did final touch-up painting.
The plaque reads,
"In Grateful Recognition of Extraordinary Contributions and Dedicated Service to Anoka American Legion Post102"
It also notes that Clarence served aboard the USS Guadalupe, from May 16, 1951, to November 2, 1954. The anchor is not from the USS Guadalupe but is representative of the type of anchor used on ship of her class.
