Post 31 Rutland, Vermont
Post 31
Rutland, Vermont
About This Post
Post Namesake
Rutland Post 31, is named after the town.
Notable Members
LTC Bert Hyland: first Commander. National Vice Commander
Major General Leonard Wing, Past Post Commander
Bill Flory American Legion baseball coach over three decades.
Patrick Managan Department Commander
Alan Grazini and Alan Grazini Jr, both Department Commanders
Albert Cree, Department Commander
Dr. James Hamilton Department Commander
Jack ... READ MORE
What Makes this Post Unique
1920 Rutland Post was located on Cottage Street. 1945 moved to Evelyn Street of once was the Moose club and VFW.
1947 Over the Bus terminal on Merchants Row. Currently on 33 Washington Street. No matter where they call home, ... READ MORE
Photos
Veterans Day Celebration
Shaw,Maniery, Fairbanks
Past Commander Jeremiah P. Grady
Coach Bill Flory retires 1953-1988
Past Commanders Dinner 1965
Pat Mangan elected as Post #31 Commander
Pat Mangan Jr. Past National Vice Commander
Awards Lyle E. Hansen
Oratorical Winner with Commander Kelley
Oratorical presentation with Commander Johnson
Richard Chamberlain
Glover and Rogers and Membership
HISTORY
1910
Charter Members Rutland Post #31
Aug 11, 1919
The following are charter members of Rutland Post #31:
Bert Hyland, William J. Kelley, Leonard F. Wing, Hugh D. Lalor, Charles E. Novak, Guy G. Cowen, Charles H. Jennings, George F. Loretta, Louis A. Branchaud, John B. McGuire, George C. Ackley, Kenneth F. Lawson, Ray E. Smith, Dr. James M. Hamilton, Joseph M. Colombia, William K. Donovan, Flavian A. Rousseau, John E. Enfield, Ralph J. Clark, Leslie V. Baird, Charles A. Reed, Vernon F. Ackley, Hazen..
Bert S. Hyland Elected First Commander of Rutland Post #31
Aug 15, 1919
Bert S. Hyland
6/14/1873-11/9/51
First Commander of the newly organized Rutland Post #31. His impressive history of involvement to..
Rutland Fair 1919
Sep 11, 1919
Rutland County WWI veterans are honored at the Vermont State Fair.
First Post 31 Bert Hyland Colonel highlighted in the movie
1920
George T. Moroney Elected Post Commander
Jul 20, 1920
George Moroney was a World War I veteran. Served with the 806th Aerial Squadron highest rank Sergeant. Enlisted 12/8/1917-1/21/1919.
in the mid twenties George was elected as Alderman for the city of Rutland. He was elected to the Rutland board of assessors.
from 1927-1953 he was a Motor vehicle Inspector for the State of Vermont and the majority of Rutland residents received their motor vehicle license exams from George .
He was Department of Vermont Vice Commander in..
George Frederic Jones elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 25, 1921
George Frederic Jones
1/25/1897-12/29/1973
George enlisted in the US Army, serving as an ambulance driver 592d Ambulance Service 5-21-17..
Jack Crowley Elected Rutland Post #31 Commander
Jul 4, 1922
Full Story
Jack Augustine Crowley
1/29/1891-3/7/69
Freeman Eugene Plue elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 23, 1923
Full Story Freeman Eugene Plue
11/12/1895-6/27/1986
Born in Benson, VT lived a long 90 year life.
John J. Cocklin elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 23, 1924
John J. Cocklin
5/2/1893-6/22/1981
World War I veteran serving 4/1/18-1/18/1919. Company M 303d infantry and 301st Field Artillery. 1st..
Dr. James Madison. Hamilton Elected Post Commander
Jul 25, 1925
Dr. James Hamilton a compassionate leader of the community. 1891 Graduated from the University of Vermont Medical School and was distinguished and excelled with regards to Military Science and tactics. He then graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore, MD.
He served in the Spanish American War as a surgeon.
1914 elected Commander of the Vermont Spanish American War Veterans (Teddy Roosevelt Chapter).
1914 Vermont Medical Sorient Executive Board And 1915 became secretary of the..
George Arthur Sabin elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 25, 1926
George Arthur Sabin
4/21/1889-1/20/61
World War Army veteran, US Quartermaster Corps supply Officer, stationed at Camp Mills. Enlisted 12/14/17..
Earl Thomas Tower elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 20, 1927
Earl Thomas Tower
4/21/1898-11/22/1951
1915: Earl and his brothers made up the “Tower Brothers Orchestra”. Earl played violin and..
Earle Blaine Taylor elected Post Commander
Aug 23, 1928
Full Story Earle Blaine Taylor
12/26/1891-12/16/1942
World War I veteran. Enlisted 8/28/1918-12/4/1918. Company B Tank Corps.
Robert Matthew .Higgins elected Post Commander
Aug 22, 1929
Full Story Robert M. Higgins
8/19/1896-3/10/1980
Graduated from St. Joseph’s School and Rutland Business College.
1930
Cleon Arthur Perkins elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 23, 1930
Full Story Cleon Arthur Perkins
2/21/1896-6/9/76
Graduate of Rutland High School and Worcester Polytechnical University. Father Mayor Arthur Perkins.
Bert Hyland elected National Vice Commander
Oct 10, 1930
The National Convention in Boston, Bert Hyland is elected National Vice Commander. The Rutland Post #31 Drum Corps attended the convention and participated in the parade. (See photos section)
Howard Harmon Manley elected Post Commander
Aug 21, 1931
Full Story Howard Harmon Manley
9/14/1898-7/12/68
Raymond James Cocklin elected as Post Commander
Aug 23, 1932
Full Story Raymond James Cocklin
9/13/1895-8/17/67
Rutland native, graduating from St Peter’s school and Rutland HS.
Bernard Welch Flanders elected Post Commander
Aug 28, 1933
Full Story Bernard Welch Flanders
12/3/1897-2/24/1979
Born in Coaticook St.,Canada.
General Leonard Fish Wing elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 28, 1934
Leonard Fish Wing Sr
11/12/1893-12/19/1945
Born in Ira, Vermont 1893. His parents moved to Rutland in 1908. He graduated..
Guy Bradford Chase elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 21, 1936
Full Story Guy Bradford Chase
6/16/1891-8/7/1971
Born in Shrewsbury, VT . He is listed in 1913 UVM Freshman class book.
John William “Bill” Paul Elected Post Commander
Aug 24, 1937
John William “Bill” Paul
6/14/1891-10/25/66
Born in Kittery, Maine. At age 25 years old he lived in Medford, Massachusetts.
Alfred H. Koltonski elected Post Commander
Aug 25, 1938
Alfred Hermon Koltonski
10/21/1894-5/4/1977
His father, “Jake”, brought his family from Russia to America and Alfred truly found the..
Maurice E. Doolan elected Post Commander
Aug 11, 1939
Maurice E. Doolan
9/20/1896-10/9/1955
Rutland’s native boy. Joined the military in 1914-1919 serving at the Mexican Border and WWI...
1940
Theodore Arthur Nicolet elected Commander
Aug 11, 1940
Full Story Theodore Arthur Nicolet
11/11/1892-10/31/1981
Born in Fall River, Massachusetts. Graduated from the University of Massachusetts class of 1914.
Thomas Jerome Gleason elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 20, 1941
Full Story Thomas Jerome Gleason
5/7/1897-8/10/67
Born in Middlebury, Vt. Worked for over 40 years for the Rutland Railroad.
Theodore Roosevelt Holden elected Commander
Aug 23, 1942
Full Story Theodore Holden
6/11/1900-3/23/1970
Born in White Creek, NY.
Albert “Bert” Cree elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 25, 1942
Albert Alexander Cree
6/15/1898-3/17/1976
Albert A. Cree, ranked as one of Vermont’s top business and civic leaders, since his..
Vincent Joseph O’Neill elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 27, 1943
Full Story Vincent Joseph O’Neill
7/22/1893-11/3/1974
Born in New York, New York.
Ernest Ray Nichols elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 12, 1944
Full Story Ernest Ray Nichols
2/22/1891-9/9/68
Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado.Move to North Clarendon.
Glover W. Rogers elected Commander
Aug 15, 1945
Full Story Glover W. Rogers
3/20/1897-8/13/1979
Born in Massachusetts.
Albert A. Cree Elected Department Commander
Jul 28, 1946
Albert A. Cree,Post #31, Rutland Vermont becomes Department Commander in a contentious battle between Clarence E. Lynch of Burlington Post #2 at the 1946 State Convention held in Burlington,VT.
Tensions mounted as two men vie for the office of Department Commander. The final tally 239 for Cree and 235 for Lynch. Post #1 of St Albans and Post #2 of Burlington came out strong with 87 votes for Lynch. Then, a surprising turn of events with..
Alexander Francis “Bud” Keefe Jr elected Commander
Aug 11, 1946
Full Story Alexander Francis “Bud” Keefe Jr.
1/11/1918-5/26/1990
Born in Rutland, graduated from Rutland HS and Rutland Business College.
William J. Moreau Jr. elected Post Commander
Aug 9, 1947
Full Story William J. Moreau Jr.
11/30/1910-4/19/1963
Born in Springfield, VT.
William J. Kerrigan elected Commander
Aug 9, 1948
William Joseph Kerrigan
7/28/1908-4/26/52
Joined the Army on April 10,1942 and was discharged Oct 2,1945. He was a tech..
Daniel Warren Allen Sr, elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 15, 1949
Full Story Daniel W. Allen
12/24/1908-6/17/2001
Born in Quincy, Mass. He graduated from Northeastern University as a civil engineer.
1950
Warren Gibbs Goodrich becomes Post Commander
Aug 23, 1950
Full Story Warren Gibbs Goodrich
1/13/12-3/6/1988
Born in Benson he graduated from Middlebury College.
Patrick H. Mangan Elected Department Commander
Aug 2, 1951
Patrick Harold Mangan Jr.
5/26/21-10/27/1994
Edward Herman Fish elected Post Commander
Aug 21, 1951
Edward Herman Fish
9/17/1921-2/28/1998
Born in..
Rutland #31 Baseball State Champions
Jul 26, 1952
1952 team played against Barre Post #10 and defeated them two games to secure the State Championship title.
Ray Ernest Murphy elected Post Commander
Aug 19, 1952
Full Story Ray Ernest Murphy
4/16/1924-9/23/1973
John Kenneth Roberts elected post commander
Aug 12, 1953
Full Story John Kenneth Roberts
11/5/1906-11/3/74
Born in Chateauway, NY. Graduated from Malone HS and Albany Business School.
Arnold Emmanuel Johnson elected post commander
Aug 19, 1954
Full Story Arnold Emmanuel Johnson
11/22/1914-1/7/1999
Born in Rutland,Vt, graduated from Rutland HS, was active in sports programs.
Rutland Post #31 State Champions
Jul 28, 1955
10-1 impressive season came to a battle with Fair Haven Post, for the area winner,who was favored to win it all. Both battled into the darkness 9-9 score and the game was halted. The Commissioner asked to decide the winner with a toss of a coin. Both coaches objected and they decided to resume the area tournament in the morning. The winner would then have to leave immediately to Brattleboro for the State Tournament finals...
William J. Kelley elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 19, 1955
Full Story William J. Kelley
4/17/1927-10/15/1997
Born in New York City, graduated from Rutland HS class of 1945.
Orlando Edward Lemmo elected Post Commander
Aug 23, 1956
Full Story Orlando Edward Lemmo
1/16/1925-10/25/2000
Born in Rutland, graduated from Rutland HS and Mt St Joseph’s Academy.
Lyle Edward Hansen elected Post #31 Commander
Aug 16, 1957
Lyle Edward Hansen
5/26/18-9/21/1974
Born in Fairhaven, VT but spent most of his life a resident of Rutland, Vt.
Albert Belserio Grazini Elected Rutland #31 Commander
Jul 10, 1958
Albert Belserio Grazini
4/19/16-4/22/81
Born in Center Rutland, Vt. Attended schools at Whipple Hollow, West Rutland HS and Rutland..
Post #31 Baseball wins State Championship
Jul 26, 1959
15-1 season under coach Flory was a threat to any team. Post #31 met Barre Post #10, who they finished up runner up to in 1958. So Post #31 wanted to show they deserved the title Champions! They played at their home field of St Peter's field. They won 7-4 score. They traveled to Manchester NH for the regional tournament and lost both games and came home early.
Cleo George Brown Jr. elected Post Commander
Aug 7, 1959
Full Story Cleo George Brown Jr.
12/13/1918-4/16/1965
1960
Patrick Harold Mangan Jr. elected Post Commander
Aug 23, 1960
Full Story Patrick Harold Mangan Jr.
5/26/21-10/27/1994
Maurice Earl Farnham Post Commander 61-63
Aug 19, 1961
Full Story Maurice Earl Farnham
7/7/1917-7/29/1971
Richard Wilson Chamberlain elected Post Commander
Aug 8, 1963
Full Story Richard Wilson Chamberlain
3/3/30-9/5/1994
Louis Ronald Cizmadia elected Post Commander
Aug 6, 1965
Full Story Louis Ronald Cizmadia
11/28/1921-12/3/1995
Born in Zemplin, Hungary and moved to Proctor. Graduated from Proctor HS.
Arthur Reinold Myhre elected Post Commander
Aug 17, 1966
Full Story Arthur Reinold Myrhre
6/19/1921-11/15/1996
Bernard Richard McKearin elected post commander
Aug 20, 1967
Full Story Bernard Richard Mckearin
7/29/1925-5/10/1998
James William Densmore elected Post Commander
Aug 8, 1968
Full Story James William Densmore
7/28/1925-4/22/2012
Louis Richard Trepanier elected Past Commander
Aug 14, 1969
Full Story Louis Richard Trepanier
7/17/1925-6/29/2007
1970
Rutland Post #31 Baseball wins State Championship
Jul 28, 1970
Rutland Post #31 met with their long time rival Bennington Post #13, but Post 13 was no match for the most cohesive team since 1959 . Coach Flory started with Pete Shambo on the mound and left handed relief pitcher Steve Corbett who shut the door on Post #13s chances . Rutland made no mistakes infield and outfield. Everything clicked together as they won their State Championship. The players came from several different he area..
Richard W. Chamberlain elected Post Commander
Aug 10, 1974
Full Story Richard Wilson Chamberlain
3/3/30-9/5/1994
1980
Michael Timothy Stanley elected Commander
Jul 4, 1982
Michael Timothy Stanley
2/28/1947-10/21/2017
Born in Rutland, he graduated from Christ The King school and Mount St Joseph’s Academy..
2000
Victor Joseph Altobell elected Post Commander
Jul 18, 2003
Full Story Victor Joseph Altobell
4/3/1930-11/15/2007
Born in Rutland, he graduated from Mt. St. Joseph’s Academy and Rutland Junior College.
2010
Veterans Day Celebration Rutland Post #31 is back!!
Nov 11, 2019
Post #31 found themselves in a financial disaster June 2019. Lack of officers, loss of non profit status by the irs and inability to pay vendors, agencies and employees. The elections proved apathy with only 33 out of 650 members voting. No Commander, finance officer led the dissolution of efforts. The future seemed bleak at best for the post. in July, the adjutant resigned and the Sons of The American Legion leadership had mass. Past..
Veterans Day Celebration
Nov 11, 2019
First official event of Post #37 since the revitalizin.Rutland HS choir with retiring Dan Graves, Mayor Allaire, veterans from Wallingford, Rutland, West Rutland.
