Legionnaires,
Below is the Post 501 E-newsletter for the month of March 2022.
Commanders Corner: The life blood of any Post is its members, but it takes a group of dedicated members, as Post officers, to make things run smoothly and keep the lights on. Post 501 is in need of members who can participate in the Post operations as Officers. Over the past year we installed new Finance and Membership Officers. We still members to fill the Adjutant and Activities positions. I am asking if you can find the time, consider getting more involved in Post activities. We can start you as an assistant in one of the open positions and work up into the full duties over time. If you interested in becoming more involved in the Post, give me a call at (703) 851-5416 and we can discuss.
Membership Update: As of today, we have 132 renewals, which means that we are at approximately 92.3% to goal. We are almost to goal. Let’s get this over the goal line with the remaining few that need to renew. If you still need to renew go to www.legion.org.
As a reminder we have a membership incentive program that will reimburse 50% of your membership fee and will also pay for 50% of the fee for the new members first year. Additionally current members who bring in 3 or more new members, within a membership season, will be eligible to receive a Legion Membership pin. If you have a qualified individual that wants to join our Post contact our Post Membership Officer Eric Hollan at ericwhollan@gmail.com.
Joint Awards Banquet: The American Legion Post 501 & VFW Post 9024 had our annual Joint Awards Banquet at the Green Mill Restaurant on 24 Feb 2022. As a Legion Post we awarded our first Eagle Scout of the Year Award to Matthew Korf & presented a Veterans Memorial paver certificate to Adam Craft a Woodbury Middle School teacher. Presentations were also given by VFW Post 9024 for Public Safety, Patriot Pen, Voice of Democracy & Woodbury Teacher of the Year. For all of the pictures from the night’s festivities go to the Post’s Facebook page: (1) Woodbury American Legion Post 501 | Facebook or go to our web site at: https://centennial.legion.org/minnesota/post501
Poppy Days 2022: We discussed 2022 poppy distribution at our January monthly meeting. Like last year we will be doing 2 poppy distributions. The first one will be 13-15 May, led by VFW Post 9024, and the second distribution on 9-11 Sept, led by American Legion Post 501. Once we have the merchants onboard, I will be sending out an email for Post volunteers for the May dates. I hope I can count on you to be part of both of these fund-raising events.
Memorial Day Event 2022: Planning is underway for planning the Memorial Day event for this year. It takes a lot of helping hands to put together this event. There are a lot of moving parts that require people to plan and execute. If you would like to be part of the planning process the meetings are held at Birdi Golf, Valley Creek Mall, on the first Wednesday of the month at 4pm. All help is most welcome and appreciated.
Buddy Checks: As Legionnaires, our most sacred responsibility is to look out for each other and our fellow veterans. We are living in unprecedented times with COVID-19. As Legion members we are encouraged to reach out to veterans who may need assistance but don’t know where to go or who to ask. We need to let the veterans in our community know we care and provide whatever assistance they may need. It’s what we do for our battle buddies. This is a Post activity that you can do in the comfort of your home and at your own pace. If you want to be part of these Buddy Checks give Commander Bob Dolan a call at 703-851-5416 or email at dolanrp@verizon.net and he can give you a group of people to call.
Upcoming Events
- 24 March – Woodbury Post 501 Monthly Meeting: The Post’s March meeting will be held at the Woodbury City Hall in the Ash North (main floor) conference room at 7pm.
- 21 April – Woodbury Post 501 Monthly Meeting: The Post’s April meeting will be held at the Woodbury City Hall in the Ash North (main floor) conference room at 7pm.
- 13-15 May – Poppy Days
- 30 May – Memorial Day – Join us for a Memorial Day program at the Woodbury Veterans Memorial.
This Month in History – National Vietnam War Veterans Day – 29 March 2022
We commemorate those who fought in the Vietnam War on National Vietnam War Veterans Day, March 29. There’s no doubt that the Vietnam War was one of the most brutal. In fact, over three million people were killed during the 20 years it went on. It was known as the Second Indochina War to Americans, and considering its long fighting time and brutality, National Vietnam War Veterans Day was created to honor all the men and women who fought during its time.
The Vietnam War has a long history. It was one of the longest wars involving America. Starting in 1955, the war went on until 1975, making it the second-longest war, aside from the ongoing Afghanistan War. Over 2.7 million Americans served during this war In 1973. All combat and support units withdrew from Vietnam following the war, but it continued to have an impact on many of the families and people affected by the war.
National Vietnam War Veterans Day honors anyone who served during its 20-year time. Since respect and combat support wasn’t immediately given to those who served after the war ended because of the number of deaths, the day was founded in 2017 to finally offer that respect to everyone involved.
Post 501 salutes all of our veterans that served during the Vietnam War.
