Francy-Burdett: 1LT (Co. B - 38th Engineers) Clark W. Francy, born in 1886, served abroad in AEF in WW I.   He later was brought back to the U.S. Veterans' Hospital No. 60 at Oteen, NC, near Asheville, where he died of TB on May 6, 1921.  SGT First Class Clarence H. Burdett was born in 1929.  He went on the serve in both Korea and Vietnam.  He was killed by artillery fire in the latter conflict on Feb. 28, 1968. Awarded the Silver Star, he was a member of C Co, 9th Med Bn, 9th Inf Div, USARV.

Paul J. McElreath (1908-2012) served in U.S. Air Force in WW II.  Died at age of 103!

Thomas Russell Everett (1897-1994) served in the U.S. Navy during WW I & II.  Was a continuous member of the American Legion for 80 years!

Rovert Pierce Ingle (1933-2011) volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.  Went on to found Ingle's Supermarkets, today employing thousands in over 200 stores. 

Colin V. Furr was a life member of Post 70 and Commander from 1965 - 1967, 1975-1976.  He was also Post 70 Adjutant from 1978 - 1988.  He was elected unanimously as the Department of NC Commander.  Mr. Furr was an Air Force vet who served in Korea.  He was active in the American Legion for 33 years.

Al Kohler was Post 70 Commander from 1985 - 1986.  He was, in addition, Grand Chef de Gare of La Societe des Quarantes Hommes et Huit Chevaux (Society of 40 Men and 8 Horses, aka "40 & 8" ).

Richard Raines was Post 70 Commander from 1990 - 1991.  He was also Post 70 Adjutant from 2001 -2006.  Like Al Kohler, Raines was Grand Chef de Gare of "40 & 8".

Eleanor B. Clayton was the C.W. Francy Post Commander during 1949-1950.  Francy Sam Wagoner served Post 70 as its Commander, 1976-1977.  These women were some of the first female Commanders in the state of North Carolina.

Miss Rose A. Lynn (1875-1956) was a prominent nurse and Legionnaire.  She spent 6 months overseas in World War I and later worked for the Oteen Veterans Administration (1921-1945).  A charter member of American Legion's C. W. Francy Post in Oteen, NC, "Miss Rose" was known never to have missed a state or national Legion convention in some 20 years - the best record in the state.  She marched in every convention parade.  Everyone who knew her felt upon her death that he/she had lost a friend.

Karl A. Muschette spearheaded Post 70 in its new home (opened in 1937) across the street from the VA Hospital.  He was the Francy Post Commander from 1933-4 as well as Adjutant from 1931-3 and 1934-41.  He was instrumental in the Post's successful efforts to raise enough money for the first iron lung in the Asheville region.

Ms. Eunice Seaborn, a member of Francy Post 70 unit of the American Legion Auxiliary, was a great supporter of a whole host of post activities.   She lived close to the original post location and Post 70 purchased her property so it could build a new facility.  Ms. Seaborn was the president of District I of the North Carolina State Nurses Association. 

Roy Sircey fought in the U. S. Army during WW II.  In particular, he saw action in the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia fighting Gen. Rommel's troops.  Roy Sircey was wounded in combat.  He was awarded both the Purple  Heart and the Silver Star.   After the war, his place of employment for 32 years was the VA Medical Center in Asheville.  He was a member of NC Post 70 for 58 years!  Roy's brother, Oren, has been the Secretary of NC Post 70 continuously since 1979!

John Shaw, Jr. has served as Adjutant of the Francy-Burdett for some 14 years.

Our Post is close to the Charles George VA Hospital in Asheville, formerly referred to as Oteen.   As early as 1922, Post 70 was in the top ten posts in North Carolina with a membership of 215 (Asheville Citizen-Times, 28 May 1922, p. 13).  This has had a big impact on the Post.  In fact, in the 1930s and 1940s, Post 70 was the largest American Legion Post in North Carolina due to the many vets who were sent to the nearby hospiital for TB and other ailments.  At that time we owned a building directly across from the hospital.  Post 70 paid to place wires from our headquarters to many of the buildings at the hospital.  Baseball and BINGO games were broadcast to the vets on  a regular basis - a much needed source of recreation to those recuperating.  In 1940 the C.W. Francy (Oteen) Post 70 was responsible for bringing for the first time to Asheville an "iron lung" (costing about $1,350) for the treatment of those with respiratory failure.  Post 70 appropriated the first $100 and solicited funds for the remaining costs.  The use of the machine was free for any person upon a physician's order - including individuals with infantile paralysis, drowning, electric shock, alcohoic coma and pneumonia (Asheville Citizen-Times, 13 Nov. 1940, p. 5).