Catholic War Veterans and Vietnam Veterans Delaware County March Together In Memorial Day Ceremonies

A weekend of Memorial Day activity was once again highlighted by Father John J. Hickey Post 731 and Vietnam Veterans, Delaware County Chapter 67, marching together in the Haverford Township Veterans Council Memorial Day parade. An appreciative and patriotic crowd cheered our men as they marched down Darby to Veterans Field.

Several newspapers provided coverage of the event. There is an article in the "Neighbors" section of the June 1st edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer featuring a picture of Ernie Beck.

General membership meetings are held the first Wednesday of every month starting at 7:30 PM for members. CWV Officers meet before the general membership meeting at 7:00 PM sharp.

The CORSAC Home Association Board of Directors meets every other month, on the third Wednesday of the month, at 7:00 PM.

The members at the June meeting voted to suspend summer meetings. "See you in September."

SO WHO ATTENDS THOSE MEETINGS?

From left to right: seated in front is Vince Hanna (Past Commander), winner of the St. Sebastian Medal, and Commander, Fred Steigerwalt

Second row: Tom Loftus (Welfare Officer), Dick Farrell (Past Officer of the Day), Charlie Rodgers, Lou Verna, Charlie Demeo (Historian), Vic Condi (Officer of the Day, Past Commander), I think that's Jim Farrell sandwiched between Vic and Tony, Tony Sammartino (Tuesday Committee Lead), Jim Collis (organizing Honor Guard), Charlie Farrell (Past Corsacs Treasurer and CWV 1^st Vice), Sam Zampino (1^st Vice and Past Commander), Stan Bodalski (Treasurer), Anthony Marrongelli, Ernie Beck (3^rd Vice Commander), Pete Roe (Adjutant), and Domenic Marrongelli.

Third row: Mike Cudemo ("all" committee man) and Vince Gisondi (2^nd Vice Commander)

COMMANDER'S REPORT - Fred Steigerwalt (610-449-6987)

St. Sebastian Medal Update: Our very own Vince Hanna has been awarded the St. Sebastian Medal. He will formally receive the award from our national commander at the CWV National Convention on Saturday, August 21^st. Congratulations, Vince!

Memorial Day: Memorial Day was a tremendous success. The parade and festivities at the Post marked the end of a three day tribute to our deceased comrades.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's festivities. A special "Thank You" goes out to Charlie Demeo who took pictures for the history book despite his ongoing recovery from recent surgery.

1^ST VICE COMMANDER'S REPORT - Sam Zampino (610-449-3074)

St. John's Hospice: Chairman, Charlie Farrell, reported that a carload of clothes was delivered to the St. John's Hospice on May 27^th. We delivered over a dozen suits and many shirts and shoes. We received a very touching letter of gratitude from the Hospice.

All donations were from a small handful of donators - thanks to all who donated. Perhaps we can all consider this worthy cause in the future. We'd probably need a truck to deliver the donations if everyone participated!

Memorial Day Recap

Saturday, May 29^th: Ten members went to Holy Cross cemetery to conduct our memorial service for Jim Roe. The service included a reading of "Our Dead" and a rifle salute. Mrs. James Roe and family were present and expressed their thanks for our prayers and comradeship.

Sunday, May 30^th: Post 731 held a combined Corporate and Memorial Mass at Sacred Heart Church. Fourteen members, including color bearers, honor guards, and rifle squad marched to the church where we were joined by 3 other members as we walked into church. Our chaplain, Father Boyle, was the celebrant of the Mass. After Mass, memorial services were conducted at Father Hickey's grave.

Commander's Breakfast: A Commander's Breakfast was held at the Post following the Mass and Memorial services. The breakfast was well attended and the food was very good.

Monday, May 31^st: I counted at least 10 of our hearty and dedicated members who marched in the Haverford Township Veterans Council parade from Grace Chapel to Veterans Field. Over 20 CWV members were present for services at the field.

Commander Steigerwalt and President Kay Farrell placed a beautiful wreath at the monument at the field. Post 731 color guard and rifle squad joined ranks with the other service teams in honoring all departed veterans.

CWV Memorial Service at the Post: A large number of CWV and Auxiliary members as well as family and friends attend our memorial service. The plates of 7 departed members were uncovered as their names were read by Commander Steigerwalt. Four plates were uncovered by the widows of the deceased. The Vietnam Veterans participated in the ceremonies.

A large number of Post 731 and Auxiliary members, Vietnam Vets, and friends and guests attended the open house that followed. The open house was hosted by Post 731 and Vietnam Vets, Chapter 67.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to all who participated in the Memorial Day activities:

Pictured below is our Memorial plaque:

2^ND VICE COMMANDER'S REPORT - Vince Gisondi (610-449-1159)

Membership Update: We ended the 1999 membership year with 160 members. We welcomed the following new members to our Post: Anthony Bernardini, Fred Hoestaedter, William Rafferty, and Harold Robinson.

We said good bye to members Joseph DelBonifro, Neil Fiorello, Ernest Foster, William McLaughlin, William McNasby, Edmund Menelly, Michael Murphy, James Roe, and Joseph Trifiletti.

Membership Drive Ideas: We're always looking for suggestions to stimulate interest for additional membership in the Post. We plan on including notices in weekly Parish bulletins; an example is provided below:

Points of contact will be included in the notice.

A Passing Thought: Along with the idea above, I suggest that the by-laws and title of the CWV be changed to, "American Catholic Services for God, Country, and Family." I suggest that we allow children of parents who served in any of the U.S. Services be eligible for membership.

Editor's Note: Our commander noted that similar ideas have been discussed at state and national conventions. One problem noted with a name change is that the name is incorporated (or similar legal recognition). Hopefully, our leaders will act upon some of the recommendations such as those put forth by our 2^nd Vice Commander.

3^RD VICE COMMANDER'S REPORT – Ernie Beck (610-446-2605)

The William J. Rachor Award for community service was presented to Jennifer Lis at Sacred Heart graduation ceremonies held on June 16^th. Jennifer is a top honor student in the graduating class at Sacred Heart. The principal, Sister Ellen Jiardino, said that Jennifer was well deserving of this award. Bill Rachor's widow, Phyl Rachor, was present at the graduation ceremony and she congratulated Jennifer on receiving the award. Charlie Demeo took pictures for the CWV history book.

Jennifer received a $100 savings bond and a framed Catholic War Veterans certificate of merit. This certificate was beautifully prepared by Post member, Lou Verna. Lou has done a masterful job of preparing certificates for the Post used in the past for the "Keep Christ in Christmas" poster contest and the Spelling Bee. We want to recognize Lou and thank him for his professional handiwork!

Dan Brown Golf Tournament: Post 731 will sponsor a hole in the Dan Brown golf tournament.

Editor's Note: Ernie noted that the Memorial day celebration reminded him of the events the Post used to sponsor years ago as many people joined together to honor for a CWV event. Hopefully, we'll pick up with this level of effort and participation in the fall.

WELFARE OFFICER'S REPORT - Tom Loftus (610-446-7096)

Post 731 lost member James Roe. Our condolences go out to his families and friends.

Poppy Sales Update: Thank You to all who helped with the poppy sales. This year, we collected $1265.57! Pictured below (l-r) are poppy sellers Jim Hale, Pete Roe, and Danny DiBartolomeo.

LADIES AUXILIARY REPORT - Madam President Kay Farrell

TRIBUTE: The Ladies Auxiliary congratulates Vince Hanna, the 1999 recipient of the St. Sebastian Award. You deserve it, Vince – go with God to Texas with all our best wishes.

MEMORIAL WEEK-END ACTIVITIES: Saturday, at the suggestion of our First Vice (Pat Brown), a new tradition was started. Dolores Baker and I put a small pot of geraniums and an American Flag on the graves of Nona Hamilton and two Past Presidents, Ginny Fiorello and Margaret Jensen. Through research, we hope to add more names and gravesites of deceased CWVA members in ensuing years.

Sunday, we attended a special Corporate Memorial Mass at Sacred Heart Church. After Mass, Commander Fred Steigerwalt and I placed a wreath on the grave of Father John J. Hickey. After a short ceremony and prayers we all attended a catered breakfast at our Post Home.

Monday, following a parade to the Police Field, our men participated in a stirring Township tribute to all Veterans. Many organizations, including ours, placed a wreath in Veterans Circle to commemorate our deceased Veterans. This was followed by a ceremony at the Post honoring our own beloved dead. An open house followed at the post.

ATTENTION-ATTENTION: Mark your calendars for Sunday, October 24^th, 1999, 2 P.M. A very special skit highlights our annual cocktail party. Details later in the summer – don’t miss it!

Have a hazy, happy, healthy summer. See everyone at the Wednesday, September 1^st 7:30 meeting.
God Bless, Kay

Memorial Day Thanks: I would like to thank Joe and Dolores Baker, Ellen Brown (VVA wife and friend), and my daughter, Kate, for all of their help in preparing, serving, and cleaning up after our Open House. It was a great success and lots of fun! Thank you. Eileen Steigerwalt.

HONOR GUARD NOTICE

As a member of the Catholic War Veterans, one of the many important privileges is to have your fellow members honor you by standing as honor guard if it is desired by your family. We are in the process of developing a phone system so that in the event of a member's death, you will be notified. If you desire to become a member of our honor guard that will someday honor you, please fill out the attachment enclosed. "Just in case" you do not receive the attachment, write to the following address and include a short note with your name, address, and phone number:

Note: It will not be necessary for you to stand honor guard every time we honor a lost member. Hopefully, we will have enough volunteers so that we can take turns and not burden the same individuals for each service.

MEMORIAL DAY VIDEO

The march, cheers from the appreciative crowd, and Memorial Day services at the Post were videotaped by your "out of shape" editor. This year, I got smart and used a tripod so that most of the tape is fairly steady.

All interested in obtaining a copy of the video (about an hour in length) should contact me as soon as possible. While there is no firm deadline to respond, I encourage all interested to contact me by the end of July. Once the order is placed, professional copies can probably still be obtained, but the price for a single copy will likely be more expensive than the discount we expect to get with a bulk order.

Once I get a count, I'll contact local video copy services to get an estimate. I will provide this estimate either over the phone or via mail.

VETERANS BENEFITS UPDATE AND MORE...

The Post now has a copy of the 1999 "Federal Benefits for Veterans and dependents," VA Pamphlet 80-99-1. Copies are available for $5.00 each by calling 202-512-2250, or by writing to the address below:

I'm not sure where exactly the " Order Processing Code 7589" line should go, so I'd include it in the address and in the request letter. You can double-check the information provided above in the pamphlet the next time you visit the Post.

Haverford High School Prom Sponsorship: Post 731 donated a $25.00 gift certificate that was used as a door prize at the HHS prom.

CWV STATE CONVENTION UPDATE: THE SHORT SHEET WINS!...

I recently received a phone call from our Commander notifying me that the CWV Post 731 Short Sheet was recognized as the top newsletter in the state of Pennsylvania for 1999. I have strived to make the Short Sheet a reflection of the members and our activities. I believe that we were able to work together towards this end, and it's evident that the state also recognized our efforts.

Once this issue is complete, Fred will forward 1999 issues to the National convention. Thank you to all for your assistance and positive feedback!

SPEAKING OF THE SHORT SHEET...

My timing couldn't have been any worse. I notified the members present at the June general membership meeting that I would have to resign my position as editor of the Short Sheet. Kim and I have been planning to return to school, and we have both been putting off our decision due to our busy schedules. Rather than go on and on, I want to reiterate that serving as editor has been my pleasure, but I realize that I have to free up some time.

I can help out any interested editors during the summer. However, come September, I simply may not be available to assist. I have a lot of information and helpful hints I can pass on if you would plan to use a computer. I can also "probably" install the Post scanner on most computers. Please let me know "soon" if you'd be interested to take over as editor.

UPCOMING COMMITTEES

Pete Roe (610-449-9679) will be in charge of officer nominations for 1999-2000 committee. Vic Condi (610-449-9964) will be in charge of the Veteran of the Year committee. Both Pete and Vic will require support from the rest of the Post.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE