Fulton Service Clubs’ Memorial Day Salute – The Meaning of Memorial Day

Posted on 19th May 2012 in The monuments of world

FULTON – The theme for this year’s Memorial Day Salute Parade is “America……..Worth Fighting For.”

Many area individuals, organizations, businesses and industries will try to develop their interpretation of this theme in the vehicles or floats they will enter in the parade on May 26.

The Fulton Memorial Day Salute is a two-day event that is 31 years old this year, started
and carried on by the four Fulton Service Clubs.

The present service clubs working on this year’s events are the Fulton Lions, Kiwanis, Rotary, and the Sunrise Rotary clubs.

The four service clubs have always been assisted by the Fulton Veterans Council in promoting and putting on this event.

In years past, the Optimist and the Fulton JayCees were participants.

These two clubs have since disbanded. Several of the men and women who work on the Memorial Day Salute Steering Committee are veterans.

As we enter the twelfth year of the 21st Century, our thoughts are with the men and
women who protected our freedoms for the 236 years America has existed. During the last century, we had many conflicts.

World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and The Gulf War come to mind. All in all, more than 625,000 brave Americans have died fighting in a U.S. uniform during the 20th century.

In this century, we have experienced two conflicts, one touching our shores on September 11, 2001, which have lead to conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We must keep these brave men and women, who are serving on active duty, in our
thoughts and prayers as we experience this Memorial Day.

How did Memorial Day come to be?

The actual birthplace of Memorial Day is the nearby village of Waterloo, NY.

Shortly after the Civil War ended, a Waterloo druggist named Henry Welles collaborated with Union General John B. Murray to organize a local tribute for the war dead.

The program included processions to and from the cemeteries, military music, speeches, wreaths, crosses, and bouquets.

Of all the early such remembrances, Waterloo’s 1866 program most closely resembled Memorial Days to come.

The pristine village of about 5,300 located only 40 miles from Fulton, in central New York’s Finger Lakes region, still follows its original Memorial Day model.

In 1966, when Lyndon B. Johnson was President, he proclaimed Waterloo to be the
official birthplace of Memorial Day. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Memorial
Day, Waterloo opened to the public a 22-room Memorial Day Museum.

Waterloo has the glory of officially holding the “first” Memorial Day Program, but in reality, more than two dozen communities in both the north and the south have claimed to be the birthplace of Memorial Day.

The Memorial Day Salute Committee is very aware of the program they are offering to
the community.

We have never treated it as a celebration, but a program designed to raise the community’s awareness of the importance of this day of remembrance.

The Fulton Veterans Council has a more traditional program on the Monday (the official Memorial Day) of Memorial Day weekend in which they visit the cemeteries and place American flags on all known veteran’s graves, and honor the deceased veterans at the various monuments around our city.

Flowers are set out and a wreath is thrown in the Oswego River to honor those who have died at sea.

Recently, it was published that the World War II veterans are dying at the rate of nearly
1,000 a day.

These men and women are at least 83 years old and most are older.

Many newspapers mark the obituaries of veterans with an American flag. This is a very nice thing to do.

Many years ago, before 1966, Memorial Day was known as Decoration Day.

This name comes from the fact that by the end of May, even in our northern climate, the flowers were in bloom and it was time to decorate the cemeteries.

While the high death rate of the American Civil War (1860-65) was the initial reason for starting Memorial Day, this should not be the only reason for this holiday.

Today, we should remember our deceased loved ones no matter if they are veterans or not.

The Fulton Service Clubs and the Fulton Veterans’ Council have established “Fulton’s”
way to remember this most important holiday.

In the fall of each year, all of the veterans’ organizations in the Fulton area choose a “Veteran of the Year.”

This person is the Grand Marshall of the Memorial Day Parade. This year’s Grand Marshall is World War II veteran Charles Callen.

We have the largest parade in the county, with more than 100 units and many bands, starting at 10 a.m. on May 26.

On Friday evening and all day Saturday, there are many activities held at Recreation  ark
on Route 3, West Broadway. Local and nationally recognized groups will be playing music.

The featured band on Friday evening is none other than the area’s own Domicolo & Barlow. This duo packs the house wherever they play. The G. Ray High School Jazz Band and the music of Rick Bush will also be on the Friday evening stage.

On Saturday evening, the main feature is Nik & The Nice Guys, America’s No. 1 Party
Band, performing on the Fulton Savings Bank Stage.

The marching band stand-ins, the Fulton Community Band, the Fulton Dixieland Band, the music of Vince Markowsky and Virgil the Magician will also be performing. The event hours are from 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday.

There will be rides, lots of food, and of course, the ever-popular fireworks display on
Friday evening.

The whole weekend is designed for family fun and entertainment. Everyone is invited to attend. All events are free.

After the parade is completed, about noon on Saturday, several of the bands in the
parade will perform on the Fulton Savings Bank stage in the Community Center in Recreation Park.

For up to date information, visit www.fultonmemorialdaysalute.com

This new website was designed by the staff at Fulton Daily News (Oswego County Today.com) and is sponsored by them.

Come to Fulton for the Memorial Day Salute, but keep our deceased loved ones in your
hearts and prayers.

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Filming 'Saving Hallowed Ground' – The Radnor War Memorial project

Posted on 12th May 2012 in The monuments of world

 For generations the charging Dough Boys on the bronze relief of the Radnor War Memorial have been frozen in time.

But on Thursday they came to life as World War I soldiers marched among the memorial grounds.

And there were soldiers from other wars, too: World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the War Against Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was all part of a film production for “Saving Hallowed Ground,” a project spearheaded by Radnor American Legion Posts 668 and 418 to draw attention to the 120 names etched on the 1922 memorial as well as the need to preserve memorials like Wayne’s throughout the country.

 Video Plays Below:

“For the last three years we have been dealing with issues of the conservation and preservation of this memorial,” said Eugene Hough, a member of Post 668 and a preservationist of military cemeteries and monuments. “The most important thing we are encapsulating in this project is that we want to template this project in other communities across Pennsylvania and across the United States. From experience I can attest there are numerous markers and monuments like this one that aren’t being taken care of. Hopefully by involving the military academy, community, students, businesses we can bring to life what these truly are, living-history memorials.”       

The production is slated to debut at Radnor Memorial Library on Tuesday, May 15, after a 7 p.m. public re-dedication ceremony of the refurbished Radnor War Memorial, which is across from the middle school.

 The video, produced by Radnor Studio 21, involved cadets from the Valley Forge Military Academy.

Many of the garments used in Thursday’s production were actual vintage military uniforms. The actors were students from 2nd Lt. Adam Messinger’s U.S. history class. Continued…

“They’re also the same age of a lot of the men who wore the uniforms,” he said.  

He pointed out that all branches of the military are represented in the production except for the U.S. Coast Guard, the only uniform that could not be located for the shoot.

“We have a full spectrum of the history of the United States…the different services,” explained Messinger.

 

One uniform for the production belongs to Marty Costello, commander of Bateman-Gallagher Post 668 and owner of Joe’s Place in Wayne. He served in the Navy during Vietnam. 

 

Aside from the VFMA actors, Emily Rafferty, who bartends at Post 668, took part in the production representing Mary Holmes Howson.

Howson’s name is on the Radnor War Memorial. The Radnor resident and 1936 Radnor High School graduate was a teacher by profession, teaching at the former Booth School in Devon, before enlisting in World War II.

Howson, who lived on Parks Run in Wayne, was training to be a domestic military aviator in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). She died in April 1944 after an air-traffic controller’s error had her AT-6 training aircraft in the same air corridor as another plane and as a result the aircraft collided. Howson, who was only about a month away from completing her training, died as she did not have enough altitude to deploy her parachute before hitting the ground.  

 She earned her silver wings posthumously. She is buried at Washington Memorial Chapel’s cemetery in Valley Forge National Historical Park.     Continued…

 For generations the charging Dough Boys on the bronze relief of the Radnor War Memorial have been frozen in time.

But on Thursday they came to life as World War I soldiers marched among the memorial grounds.

And there were soldiers from other wars, too: World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the War Against Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was all part of a film production for “Saving Hallowed Ground,” a project spearheaded by Radnor American Legion Posts 668 and 418 to draw attention to the 120 names etched on the 1922 memorial as well as the need to preserve memorials like Wayne’s throughout the country.

 Video Plays Below:

“For the last three years we have been dealing with issues of the conservation and preservation of this memorial,” said Eugene Hough, a member of Post 668 and a preservationist of military cemeteries and monuments. “The most important thing we are encapsulating in this project is that we want to template this project in other communities across Pennsylvania and across the United States. From experience I can attest there are numerous markers and monuments like this one that aren’t being taken care of. Hopefully by involving the military academy, community, students, businesses we can bring to life what these truly are, living-history memorials.”       

The production is slated to debut at Radnor Memorial Library on Tuesday, May 15, after a 7 p.m. public re-dedication ceremony of the refurbished Radnor War Memorial, which is across from the middle school.

 The video, produced by Radnor Studio 21, involved cadets from the Valley Forge Military Academy.

Many of the garments used in Thursday’s production were actual vintage military uniforms. The actors were students from 2nd Lt. Adam Messinger’s U.S. history class.

“They’re also the same age of a lot of the men who wore the uniforms,” he said.  

He pointed out that all branches of the military are represented in the production except for the U.S. Coast Guard, the only uniform that could not be located for the shoot.

“We have a full spectrum of the history of the United States…the different services,” explained Messinger.

 

One uniform for the production belongs to Marty Costello, commander of Bateman-Gallagher Post 668 and owner of Joe’s Place in Wayne. He served in the Navy during Vietnam. 

 

Aside from the VFMA actors, Emily Rafferty, who bartends at Post 668, took part in the production representing Mary Holmes Howson.

Howson’s name is on the Radnor War Memorial. The Radnor resident and 1936 Radnor High School graduate was a teacher by profession, teaching at the former Booth School in Devon, before enlisting in World War II.

Howson, who lived on Parks Run in Wayne, was training to be a domestic military aviator in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). She died in April 1944 after an air-traffic controller’s error had her AT-6 training aircraft in the same air corridor as another plane and as a result the aircraft collided. Howson, who was only about a month away from completing her training, died as she did not have enough altitude to deploy her parachute before hitting the ground.  

 She earned her silver wings posthumously. She is buried at Washington Memorial Chapel’s cemetery in Valley Forge National Historical Park.    

 

As part of the Saving Hallowed Ground initiative, students from Wayne’s St. Katharine of Siena School’s David Heacock’s eighth-grade class are currently researching the life histories of the 20 fallen World War I soldiers whose names are on the Radnor memorial. Several St. Katharine students were involved in Thursday’s video production.    

The May 15 re-dedication of the war memorial will include an overview of the renovation by  Costello, commander of Post 668;  and Hough, who owns Heritage Guild Works, a company that specializes in cemetery and monuments restoration, will discuss the restoration process.

The program, co-sponsored by the Radnor Historical Society, will then move to the Winsor Room of the library where Costello will outline the rich history of the memorial and Hough will explain a national program for veterans to help restore war memorials. Julie Pierce will then talk about Gold Star Mothers.  

 

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World Heritage Exhibition built with LEGO®

Posted on 11th May 2012 in The monuments of world

The World Heritage Exhibition is now celebrating its 40th anniversary with a unique charity art exhibition, “The PIECE of PEACE – World Heritage that is made by LEGO® blocks part 2”.

The exhibition runs through June 3rd at a specially set-up venue on the first floor of Tomiton Toyozaki Lifestyle Center at Toyozaki, Tomigusuku City. This is the first time a world heritage exhibition made entirely by LEGO® blocks is staged in Okinawa. The PIECE of PEACE exhibition began in Shibuya in Tokyo, and will run through the main cities of Japan. Already, more than 10,000 people have visited the exhibition to learn more about world heritage.

The main exhibition section, “Love Earth, Love Asia” features well-known world heritage sites, all built with LEGO® blocks. Some structures use over 10,000 pieces, while one single exhibit is made of over 20,000 pieces. The height and precision of each structure overwhelms visitors, and even the structures’ interiors are precise, and many visitors peeki into the interiors using penlights.

Shuri-Castle is exhibited representing Okinawa. The Lego® Shuri Castle is built using red and white LEGO® blocks that capture Shuri Castle perfectly.

The exhibition includes sites of the Ryukyu Kingdom/ Shuri-Castle, Greece/ the Acropolis of Athens, France/Mont-Saint-Michel and the ocean, Italy/ Piazza del Duomo, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Vatican City and Colosseum, Egypt/ Nubian monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae, USA/ the Statue of Liberty, The Republic of Chile/Rapa Nui National Park (The Moai Statues), China/ the Great Wall of China, Cambodia/ Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat, India/ Taj Mahal, Japan/ cultural property of Kyoto (the Temple of the Golden Pavilion), Buddhism structures in the surroundings of the temple of Horyu, Shirakawago, Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, Denmark/ Roskilde Cathedral, Germany/ Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of Bremen, Spain/ Works of Antoni Gaudi, Brazil/ Brasilia (cathedral), Nepal/ the valley of Kathmandu (Swayambhunath temple), Turkey/ Historic Areas of Istanbul (Sultanahmet Camii), and Korea/ Hwaseong Fortress.
A part of admission fee and proceeds of product sales will be contributed to activities towards world heritage by the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan.

In another venue, there are sections including a message from well-known people, an image of a TV program, called “The World Heritage” by TBS-TV, the picture of world heritage sites seen from space, and a LEGO® mini-shop, so not only children but also adults can enjoy the event.

The exhibition is open weekdays noon ~ 7 p.m., with entry until 6:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through June 3rd the exhibition is open 10:30 a.m. ~ 8 p.m., with final entry at 7:30 p.m. Admission is 500 for everyone over 16, 300 for 7-15 year olds, and 200 for children 3-6.

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South Korea rebrands 'scariest place on Earth'

Posted on 7th May 2012 in The monuments of world

6 May 2012 Last updated at 22:47 ET

By Lucy Williamson BBC News, Seoul

The Demilitarised Zone in South KoreaThe Demilitarised Zone in South Korea draws about 6.5 million visitors each year

As tourist sites go, the frontier between North and South Korea offers more than the usual souvenir T-shirt – though it sells those, too.

A living piece of the Cold War, the so-called Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is guarded by a million soldiers and another million landmines ranged along the 248km (154.1 mile) strip.

This is the place former US President Bill Clinton called “the scariest place on Earth” – and the place South Korea has now decided to create its new eco-tourism zone.

Not that the DMZ has trouble attracting tourists.

About 6.5 million visitors come every year to peer through binoculars into secretive North Korea. They step into the infiltration tunnels and have their photographs taken in front of the war-time monuments and relics.

“I think the people who come here [are] those who have a heart for the North Korean people, because it’s as close as they can get,” said Steven Felker, a minister with Christ Chapel in New York.

“Other people [come here because] this is the closest you can get safely to an active militarised zone, and they’re just curious about the adrenaline rush.”

Image overhaul

But South Korea’s government is not happy with the image of the DMZ as a place of war and tension. It is hoping to rebrand the area around it as the “PLZ”, or the “Peace and Life Zone”.

“Up to now,” said Park Meeja, director of Nature Policy at the Environment Ministry, “the DMZ [area] has been a place of restriction and high security.”

“But by turning this into an eco-tourism zone, I think it will change how people see it. Rather than come to see the world’s last divided country, in future we hope that more people will come here to experience the wildlife.”

It is not as implausible as it sounds. The armistice agreement at the end of the Korean War 60 years ago created a buffer zone – 2km on either side of the ceasefire line – from which military equipment and personnel were banned.

Graves of North Korean and Chinese soldiersThe white sticks mark graves of North Korean and Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean War

Beyond that is a further 8km strip to which public access has been tightly restricted.

Environmentalists say that has created a pristine nature reserve, with thousands of species including rare cranes and Korean flying squirrels.

The Environment Ministry plan will create trails through the area to allow tourists access.

Uneasy truce

But even conflicts from 60 years ago are not always easy to forget. Hidden in farmland, off a motorway near the frontier, is a site the tour buses do not stop at.

Hundreds of white sticks, planted in neat rows, glint beside small mounds of earth – the graves of North Korean and Chinese soldiers killed during the Korean War.

The most recent interment took place here just last year. Remains like these are being unearthed by the South Korean army all the time.

And there are other reminders too, of course, that the war those soldiers fought has never formally ended. North and South Korea are bound by an uneasy truce, not a peace deal.

North Korea has sent shells and spies to the South on several occasions since then.

And both sides carry out regular, large-scale military exercises.

Revising the reminders of conflict here is one thing, but the military tensions themselves are stubbornly hard to erase.

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Like Grandfather, Like Grandson: Kim Jong Un Plays to North Korea's Generals

Posted on 16th April 2012 in The monuments of world

On April 15, the 100th anniversary of the his grandfather’s birth, beefy 29-year old Kim Jong Un stepped up to the microphone and for the first time, the citizenry of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as well as a world of curious onlookers, could actually hear what the young man sounded like. — The spitting image of his forefather’s propaganda portraits, “Lil’ Kim” — as he has been called by the foreign press — spoke clearly and with confidence for 20 minutes with the military’s general staff at his side and thousands of troops at attention in front of him in central Pyongyang‘s Kim Il Sung square, named after the founding dynast and “Great Leader.”

It took some spine to rise to what was, in the North Korean context, a significant, even august occasion — more so for a young man who has been the top leader of North Korea for just a few months, following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in December. Sunday was an occasion the nation’s leadership had been focused on for a long, long time; the centenary of Kim Il Sung‘s birth was to be the day that North Korea could proudly say it was a “strong and prosperous nation” — a phrase repeated endlessly (and mindlessly) in North Korean propaganda as far back as I can remember. The nation’s university students have not been attending classes this year; they have been out instead at construction sites, building statues and other monuments of glorification to the Great Leader and the founding of his Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. And so the young man who has thus far projected the image of someone with a common touch (he seems to laugh and joke easily both with ordinary soldiers close to him in age and with Generals old enough to be his grandfather) managed to pull off his grandest public appearance yet without much of a hitch.

(PHOTOS: North Korea Missile Launch Fails)

Yet because he is so young, and because he spent time as a teenager going to high school in Switzerland, one of the richest countries in the West, it’s impossible to watch Kim Jong Un on an occasion like yesterday’s and wonder whether the young man might have a sense of reality — or irony, even — that’s missing among his elders, the men who are power behind his throne. Just two days before the speech and spectacle, North Korea had allowed 50 foreign correspondents to come to witness the launch of what Pyongyang called a satellite, but what the outside world considered a long-range missile. The exercise, presumably, was to demonstrate that the North is indeed a “strong” nation. As it happened, the missile went up from the launch site near the Chinese border, flew for less than two minutes, then plopped pathetically into the Yellow Sea — an abject failure. With the world watching, even the newscaster in Pyongyang conceded as much.

As for the notion that North Korea is becoming a “prosperous” nation, consider that in response to the launch — which violated U.N. resolutions designed to deter Pyongyang from pursuing its ballistic missile program — the Obama administration canceled a food aid program with Pyongyang, which it had agreed to in late February, shortly after Kim Jong Il’s death. (Pyongyang had agreed in return to a “moratorium” on both its nuclear program and its ballistic missile effort. ) North Korea, according to military analysts, spent at minimum tens of millions of dollars on the failed missile launch, yet requires food aid in order to be able to feed its population.

On the day of the glorious anniversary, in other words, it couldn’t be more obvious that North Korea is neither strong nor prosperous. Surely, at some level, young Kim Jong Un must understand this.

(MORE: Kim Comes Clean on Rocket Failure, but Can North Korea Handle the Truth?)

Yet during his speech on Sunday, young Jong Un said he was committed to carrying out the policies of his father, known as “military first politics.” Dating back to the mid-1990s, the policy, simply put, means (as Kim Jong Il put it) “placing top priority of military affairs.” For a dictatorship confronted with a famine that was then killing millions, putting the “military first” made eminent sense for the ruling family. As Cheong Seong Chang, a senior fellow at the Sejong Institute in Seoul wrote, the Kim dynasty was then “faced with problems in guaranteeing its political security based on its citizens’ ‘voluntar’ support, and its dependence on coercive force increased as… the domestic economic situation turned more unfavorable.” (Translation: take care of the guys with the guns, lest they take care of you….)

The vast majority of North Korea watchers at the time of Kim Jong Il’s death believed that Jong Un would carry on with his father’s policy, because practically speaking, he has little choice. For all the mythology about the inherent authority of the Kim dynasty in North Korea, the Generals are Jong Un’s key backers. He’s not likely to do anything to anger them — not for a long, long time, anyway. To the contrary, as the speech yesterday indicates, he’s likely to want to appease them.

And they are no doubt very angry right now, in the wake of the humiliating failure of the missile launch. They are likely to want to show the world that North Korea’s military is actually not a joke. How best to do that? As Ralph Cossa, head of the Pacific Forum at the Center for Strategic and International studies says, “the failure makes it even more likely that the North will now attempt a nuclear test in the not too distant future.”

That, unfortunately, is probably right. Kim Jong Il wasn’t much for public speeches, broadcast nationally (according to some analysts he did it just once), and maybe Jong Un has more of a populist touch, evocative of his grandfather. But when it comes to how the North Korean regime behaves, the bad news is that the new Kim seems like a chip of the old block.

MORE: North Korea’s Rocket Fails, But More Fireworks Could Follow

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Korean War-era vets get their own Honor Flight

Posted on 9th April 2012 in The monuments of world

Update: After escorting hundreds of World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to see their war memorial, Honor Flight of the Quad-Cities is turning its attention to the next generation.

At a news conference Monday, leaders from the local Honor Flight chapter and Hy-Vee Inc. announced plans for the first flight to recognize Korean War Era veterans. The May 22 flight will depart he Quad-City International Airport with about 162 Korean War veterans and volunteer guardians, who escort them on the one-day tour of the national monuments.

The flight will mark the third flight to be sponsored by the Quad-City and Clinton Hy-Vee grocery stores. A flight scheduled for April 24 will be the local hub’s first trip for 2012 and will carry a combination of World War II and Korean veterans. Since the local chapter’s inception in 2008, it has flown 17 flights to give World War II veterans a chance to see their war memorial. The April flight will be the 18th to date.

“Our community has just been amazing in its support of the Honor Flight movement,” Bob Morrison, the hub director, said during the news conference held at the Bettendorf Hy-Vee store.

While World War II veterans will continue to be a priority, he said fewer and fewer of them are able or willing to go on what is a fast-paced one-day trip.

He credited Honor Flight’s partnership with Hy-Vee for helping to kick off the latest chapter in the program.

On Monday, Hy-Vee presented the chapter with a $50,000 check to cover travel costs for the nearly 100 veterans who will participate on the May flight.

“We feel that every Korean veteran who wants to make this trip should have the opportunity to do so,” said Jim Lehman, the director of the Moline Hy-Vee. “These heroes willingly made sacrifices to secure our freedoms, and this trip is just a small way of showing our thanks.”

In addition to the donation, Hy-Vee will provide 14 company representatives to serve as guardians on the flight as well as hosting the pre-flight dinner for the veterans, their guests and the guardians. Guardians pay for their own flights.

According to Morrison, the decision to expand the program to Korean War era veterans was unanimous with the organization’s all-volunteer board. More than 300 Korean veterans already have put in an application for a flight, he added.

To be eligible, he stressed that veteran “did not have to serve in Korea, just in the time period.”

Given the different travelers on this trip, he said they will adjust the schedule to provide more time for sightseeing at the Korean and Vietnam memorials. But the itinerary will be the same as it has been for the World War II veterans.

Since these veterans are younger than the World War II veterans, he hopes the trip can include a smaller ratio of guardians to veterans in order to send more veterans. “We’re going to try to stay with two veterans per one guardian,” he said, adding that wheelchair-bound veterans are assigned their own guardian.

Honor Flight treasurer Art Petersen, who is a Korean War era veteran, said it is time this group of veterans be honored. “When the war was going on, it was not called a war. It was a police action. So it is time to recognize these people for what they did.”

Hy-Vee credited several of its suppliers and community leaders for helping make this flight a reality. “This is truly a community event,” Lehman said, adding that Hy-Vee’s customers also have supported the program with their own donations.

Other partners include Pepsi, Sara Lee, the Quad-City Times, Coca-Cola, The Dispatch/Argus, KWQC HD6, Budweiser, Miller Lite, Smart Chicken, Frito-Lay, Kitchen Cooked, Kraft, Buddig, Procter & Gamble, Whitey’s, Dr. Pepper/Snapple, Hormel Foods, Voortmans and Pepperidge Farm.

Across the Hy-Vee chain, individual stores have supported several Honor Flight programs in Iowa, Lehman said.

The company also has received the Retail Patriot Award, which is presented to companies in the food industry that go “above and beyond the call of duty” in their service to active military troops and veterans.

Original story: After taking nearly 1,700 World War II veterans to see their memorials in Washington, D.C., a new Honor Flight of the Quad-Cities — supported by Hy-Vee — will honor veterans of the Korean War era.

Officials with the Hy-Vee’s Quad-City and Clinton stores joined Honor Flight of the Quad-Cities at a news conference today to unveil details of the May 22 flight.

The flight will be the first that the Honor Flight hub has designated specifically for Korean era veterans, said Bob Morrison, the hub’s director.

“We’re still giving priority to World War II veterans, but Korean War veterans now are invited to sign up,” he said.

The flight next month will be the local chapter’s 19th since its inception four years ago. But Honor Flight will kick off 2012 with an earlier flight on April 24. That flight will be a combination of World War II and Korean era veterans, he said.

To launch the Korean War flights, Hy-Vee presented an oversized check for $50,000 to Honor Flight that will cover the cost of the veterans on the May flight. The flight will include about 100 veterans and approximately 60 guardians.

Jim Lehman, director of the Moline Hy-Vee, said this marks the third flight the area Hy-Vee stores have sponsored.

“We feel that every Korean veteran who wants to make this trip should have the opportunity to do so,” he said. “These heroes willingly made sacrifices to secure our freedoms, and this trip is just a small way of showing our thanks.”

Fourteen Hy-Vee representatives will make the flight as guardians, or escorts, to help veterans in need of assistance.

Morrison stressed that veterans did not need to have served in Korea to be eligible, but during the Korean War era. The one-day flight and trip around the nation’s war memorials will include a longer stop at the Vietnam/Korean War memorials.

According to Lehman, Hy-Vee’s partners, the community and its customers are a key part of Hy-Vee’s efforts.

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Festival honors the many hues of Hue

Posted on 7th April 2012 in The monuments of world

This year’s Hue Festival, themed “Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development, the Rendezvous for Historical Cities,” combines new elements and activities to its magnificent traditional events, such as Imperial Nights and the Nam Giao Offering Rituals.

Nguyen Duy Hien, director of the Hue Festival Center and deputy head of Hue Festival 2012 Organizing Board, says that Hue’s rich culture presents both advantages and difficulties to him and his team as they prepare for the biennial festival.

“It is always a challenge to preserve the traditional culture while adding new elements which renew the event and attract tourists,” said Hien, who has been a member of the organizing board since the first Hue Festival in 2000, and director of the center since 2007.

 “The festival only takes place for a few days but it takes us years to prepare,” the director said, adding the event will take place inside and outside Hue royal citadel of Hue Town in the central province of Thua Thien – Hue.

The opening ceremony, due to begin at 8 p.m. on April 7 at the Noon Gate Square, will kick off the 9-day event and also the National Tourism Year 2012.

The opening ceremony will feature a stunning fireworks show organized by pyrotechnics expert Pierre-Alain Hubert and a magical fire installation by the renowned French company, Carabosse.

The Nam Giao Offering Rituals, one of the traditional rites under the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), which express the desire for prosperity, peace and favorable weather for the nation will consist of two parts: the procession of the ancestral tablet from the Fasting Palace to the offering site and the main ceremony at Nam Giao Esplanade.

The show, to be held at 8 p.m. on August 8 of the festival, will be performed in a more authentic ceremonial proceeding than in previous years.

Two Imperial Nights, each with royal banquets, are sure to be highlights of the 2012 festival. The program will take place at 7:30 p.m. on April 10 and 13 at three main stages: the central one (from the Noon Gate to the base of Kien Trung Palace), the left wing (from The Mieu Temple to Truong Sanh Residence) and the right wing (from Noi Vu Office to Co Ha Royal Park).

In addition to the highly praised events from previous festivals, including the welcoming performance, paintings, photography, calligraphy, royal games and dances, this year’s Imperial Nights will also include the “Ancient Hue Memories Through Antiques” exhibition (at the Ta Vu Pavilion), the performance, “Memoirs of Imperial Concubines” (in the Truong Lang area) and the art installation, “Tuong’s mask” (at the Nhat Thanh Pavilion).

Oriental Night shows will take place at 9 p.m. on April 8, 10, 12, 13 and 14 at the Thai Hoa Palace, featuring vibrant traditional costumes from Cambodia, India, Japan, Korea, Laos, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, representing the cultures of each country.

In the idyllic setting of the Supreme Harmony Palace’s front-yard, lit by lanterns and candles, performers from participating countries and Vietnamese models will put on a show in traditional costumes accompanied by beautiful original music.

Two Ao Dai (Vietnam’s traditional long dress) Grand Shows to be held at 8 p.m. at Quoc Hoc Stele on April 9 and 11 will feature local beauties, including the respective Miss Vietnam winners in 2006, 2008 and 2010 – Mai Phuong Thuy, Thuy Dung and Ngoc Han – appearing in lotus themed ao dai designed by Si Hoang and Minh Hanh.

Everyday at 4 p.m. from April 8-12, there will be street art music and dance performances which express the vitality and enthusiasm of people throughout the world working for peace, cooperation and friendship. The street shows will take place along Hung Vuong, Le Loi, Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Tran Hung Dao streets.

“A Peaceful World” show by the Perfume River at 8 p.m. on April 12 will feature royal court music and dances and the recitation of epic poems inscribed on Hue’s monuments.

“The call of eternity” concerts, dedicated to Vietnam’s renowned composer Trinh Cong Son, will take place at 8 p.m. on April 8, 9, 11, 12, and 14 at the Co Ha Garden inside the citadel. Popular local singers, including Anh Tuyet, Anh Ha, Thuy Long, Minh Thuy, and musician Nguyen Anh 9 will perform the late Hue-born composer’s timeless songs.

The Drums and Percussion Concert, “Resounding the Spirit of Vietnam,” will take place at 4 p.m. on April 11 and 14 at the Nghinh Luong Dinh, and is expected to present the essence of Vietnamese music.

The closing ceremony at Phu Van Lau Square at 8 p.m. on April 15 will include another fireworks show and the release of floating lanterns down the Perfume River in a romantic farewell to festival attendees.

This year’s festival, according to the organizer, will not only take place in the center of Hue town, but will also involve other neighboring locales within the province, to bring the festive atmosphere to all of Hue’s outlying areas.

Huong Thuy Municipality will hold Cho que ngay hoi (countryside market of festive days) on April 8 – 11 at Thanh Toan Tile Roofed Bridge, whereas Phuoc Tich Ancient Village will offer Huong xua lang co (the soul of an ancient village) tour, as well as several community activities, including, boat races, human chess, a kite festival and a children’s festival, along with other exhibitions.

According to Hien, the festival has transformed Hue both inwardly and outwardly. More tourists and donations to restore Hue’s buildings, many of which are more than one hundred years old, have flowed into the town since the festival was founded 12 years ago.

By Bui Ngoc Long, Thanh Nien News (The story can be found in the April 6th issue of our print edition, Vietweek) 

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World War I vets deserve their memorial

Posted on 6th April 2012 in The monuments of world

On April 6, 1917 America declared war against Germany and became involved in “the war to end all wars” — World War I. In just 18 months of that war 116,000 Americans died. They are mostly forgotten. Their deaths amounted to more than the combined total of American military killed in Vietnam, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Frank Buckles, the last veteran survivor of World War I, at age 108, had heard there was a World War I memorial in Washington, D.C. He went to visit that memorial. As he approached the site, his wheelchair had difficulty maneuvering around the disintegrating stone path leading to the memorial, mostly hidden from public view because of the overgrown trees.

When he came close to the memorial he found it was in a state of decay. The marble was stained and cracked in places. To his amazement he found that the memorial was not honoring all those who served in World War 1, but only represented the 26,000 who served, and the 499 who died, from Washington, District of Columbia. It is the only local memorial on the National Mall; a domed structure 43 feet high supported by 12, 22-foott high Doric columns dedicated in 1931.

Frank, with his friend, David De Jonge, formed the World War I Memorial Foundation. Frank was made honorary chairman. Frank appeared before Congress and met with several members from both Houses, to persuade them that the World War I Memorial on the Mall in Washington be also designated as a National Memorial. Since the monument was a local memorial permission was received from the City Council to restore the memorial.

Several millions of dollars were given by the federal government for the restoration, which included lighting, proper water drainage, landscape improvements and repair of the marble structure. In addition, several bills were written in Congress (House Bill H938and Senate Bill S2097) to the “rededication of the District of Columbia War Memorial as a National and District of Columbia World War I Memorial to honor the sacrifices made by American veterans of World War I” and “the addition of an appropriate sculptural or other commemorative element, which shall complement and preserve the existing memorial and its landscape.”

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The city council of D.C. had issued a resolution that “supports passage of the Frank Buckles World War I Memorial and the rededication of the District of Columbia War memorial as a National and District of Columbia World War 1 Memorial.” After the restoration process was completed, however, the city council of D.C. reversed their support and opposed making the site of the D.C. Memorial part of a national memorial claiming it “ignores the rights of the District’s residents and the fact that it was from the District’s residents that so much of the funds for the memorial were raised.”

In reply the World War I Memorial Foundation stated, that “the classic simplicity of the (present) circular temple, and its location in a quiet secluded grove, give it a contemplative character that should not be altered., and any additions should complement and preserve the existing monument and it’s landscape.” In addition, they argued that the D.C. monument is appropriate as a national monument because of its proximity to other national monuments recognizing veterans of other eras. The project is now on hold pending Congress’ passage of the bills to make this combined Washington, D.C. and National Memorial a reality.

There is an old saying in the military: “Never leave anyone behind.” Have we left 4,734,991 American veterans of World War I behind? Isn’t it time for all veterans, and all veterans organizations, to unite in a single cause to bring about this national memorial to honor our fellow veterans of World War I and push Congress to pass Bills H938 and S2097. The memorial will be funded by private donations.

For more information contact David De Jonge at 1-616-540-4922 or the WW1MemorialFoundation.Org.

Frank Buckles never got to see the World War I Memorial restored, or have his dream of a National World War I Memorial fulfilled. He died on Feb. 27, 2011, at the age of 110.

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Now they will never be forgotten

Posted on 6th April 2012 in The monuments of world

Telegraph columnist Ed Grisamore is out of the office. We are running a few of his favorite columns from the past. This column was originally published on Nov. 11, 2001.

ABBEVILLE –

A sense of duty sent some to war. Some simply waited for Uncle Sam to wave his finger and order them halfway around the world.

They came from small towns like Rochelle and Pineview. And from bumps in the road along rural mail routes, like Sibbie and Double Run.

When their country needed soldiers, it pulled them from the cotton fields and canteloupe patches of Wilcox County. It recruited them from the backwaters of Folsom Creek and Oscewichee Spring, and issued them uniforms almost as soon as they turned their tassels at high school graduation.

Some came home heroes. Some returned crippled and scarred, changed forever by their experiences.

Others came home in pine boxes. Their final resting places were the cemeteries at churches where they were baptized as young boys and took brides as young men.

Friday morning, they were honored here on the small lawn of the courthouse, at the intersection of the only traffic light in the county seat of Abbeville.

Large granite monuments, imported from Elberton, displayed names of the 64 native sons who died during the nation’s seven previous armed conflicts.

All were somebody’s son. Somebody’s brother. Somebody’s father.

At their feet, granite bricks carried names like “Tot” and “Cap” and “Skeet.” They served their country honorably, then were blessed to breathe the pine-scented air of home again.

Now, many of them have passed on, too. They were not there Friday to read the inscription at the heart of the Wilcox County Veterans Memorial: “Freedom Is Not Free.”

They were not there to see the placement of a wreath. Or hear the prayers, pledges and anthems, or the keynote speech by retired Brig. Gen. John C. Bahnsen, a native of Wilcox County. At the end of the ceremony, the bugle softly played “Taps.”

It took more than a year to pull this together, to rally the citizens, raise the money and research the records of every veteran for 380 square miles.

“We’re about 50 years late,” said Bill Sutton, chairman of the veterans committee. “Some of these boys are gone. Their mothers and fathers are gone. Their families are gone.”

Better late than never, though. From the beginning, Sutton reminded folks of the sacrifices made by those they were seeking to honor.

“They didn’t quit,” Sutton told them. “Neither can we.”

Sutton is a businessman in Rochelle who opened the town’s first Dairy Queen. He spent a year in Vietnam in 1968. He is the baby of a “Band of Brothers” who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Twenty years separated George Henry (deceased), Charles Otis, Bobbie, Johnny, Floyd, James and Bill Sutton.

The 43 deaths listed from World War II include brothers, too. Marcus and Luther Miller are buried at the cemetery in Pitts. John D. and Wilson E. Jones, of Seville, were killed in action two days apart.

“I knew most of them or knew their families,” said Sutton, his eyes moving across the granite.

Now they can be assured they will never be forgotten.

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City's veterans answer this call

Posted on 31st March 2012 in The monuments of world

City’s veterans answer this call

BY GEORGE W. RHODES SUN CHRONICLE STAFF

Saturday, March 31, 2012 2:43 AM EDT



The World War II Memorial on the Attleboro Common. (Photo by Mark Stockwell)

Memorials will have at least 60 new names

ATTLEBORO – The call that went out for old soldiers who were inadvertently left off the city’s war memorials has been answered – again and again and again.

To date, 60 additional names have been confirmed for inclusion on the monuments dedicated to the veterans of World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam war.

Veterans Agent Carl Bradshaw said he expected to get a few names, maybe even a dozen, but not nearly the number that’s come in.

And, more could be on the way as word about the effort reaches Attleboro natives who have moved to all corners of the nation.

Veterans or family members have called from as far away as Florida and Utah, Bradshaw said. And more calls come in every day.

“It’s going to be a pretty big rededication over there,” he said of the ceremony scheduled for the day before Memorial Day at Veterans Memorial Common.

And, it’s going to be an important day.

“Those 60 people or their families are emotional and excited about it. It’s a big deal for them,” Bradshaw said.

Each of the new names will be read during the ceremonies, he said.

It’s the last time the city will add veterans to the monuments, which have been inplace for 20 years.

Of the 60 people who will be added, 30 served during World War II, 20 served during Vietnam and 10 served at the time of the Korean War.

No new names for World War I have emerged.

The deadline for submission of new names is April 11.

All told, the monuments contain 7,282 names: 1,526 from World War I, 3,211 from World War II, 1,111 from Korea and 1,434 from Vietnam.

Service personnel eligible for the World War I monument must have served at some point from April 6, 1917, through Nov. 11, 1918.

The World War II dates start at Dec. 7, 1941, and run through Dec. 31, 1946.

The Korean War dates begin on June 27, 1950, and run through Jan. 31, 1955.

To be included on the Vietnam War memorial a serviceman or woman had to have been in the military at some point from Aug. 5, 1964, through May 7, 1975.

For those who served on the ground in Vietnam, the starting date is Feb. 28, 1961.

A veteran must have served at least one day during the prescribed war period to be eligible. Service in a combat zone is not required.

Discharge papers, called “DD Form 214,” are used to verify eligibility.

The soldier’s home of record on the form must be Attleboro, Bradshaw said.

The veterans office can help former service personnel or family members obtain the discharge papers if they don’t have them or lost them.

Send the document to Veterans Dept., 77 Park St, Attleboro, MA 02703 by April 11.

For more information contact Bradshaw at 508-223-2222, extension 3281 or send an email to veteransdirector@cityofattleboro.us

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