Dear Comrades and Friends,

This last weekend a remarkable event took place.  Sgt. David Earl Lemcke's remains were returned to his family after 43 years.  For all those long years, the family never settled and never stopped hoping! There were calling hours Friday at the Thomas E. Burger Funeral Home, and on Saturday a funeral service at First Bible Baptist Church in Hilton, Pastor George Grace presiding, and burial with full honors at Parma Union Cemetery.  Pastor Grace served in Vietnam in the Marine Corps.  He made a point, among other things,  about the Marine Corps oath, swearing allegiance first to God, then to Country, and last to the Corps.  Your county commander attended all three and spoke to the family. It was a wonderful opportunity.  There was heavy police assistance everywhere to insure everything went well directing traffic, etc.  And flags.  So many, that at the church and at the cemetery, even a moderate wind produced a certain roar. There were so many honor guards at the cemetery that they had to pass each other quite a lot, and to issue orders for present arms, and order arms, as fitting, many, many times.

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Frank Mooney, 8th District Quartermaster, has passed away.  RIP.  His replacement is Alan Fox, 3536 Rt. 89, Seneca Falls, NY 13148, Tel  (585) 295-3847, email:  alclass69@yahoo.com

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Did you know?  The American flag is most probably the most burned flag (in protest) in the history of the world.  The United Nations Office of International Relations has been tracking flag burning for 23 years, and for all those years they found the U.S. flag won each year.  In 2007 there were 85,000 U.S. flags burned, and nearly 24,000 were televised on networks including CNN, Fox, and Al- Jazeera.  The president of American Flag Company, Davis Swinson, estimated that 75% of his production is destined to be shipped to middle eastern capitals to be burned.  They want a cotton poly blend, because, according to Swinson, it will burn slowly, brightly, and most colorfully.  -  The question needs to be asked:  What kind of power is that?

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 Footnote in history -   Maréchal Ferdinand Foch, who was promoted to Allied Supreme Commander on the West front in the spring of 1918 once famously said, "It takes 15,000 casualties to train a major general".  On November 11, 1918, the leaders of the triple Entente (including the U.S.) and the Triple Alliance held a meeting in Compiegne, France, in Foch's railway carriage, which served as his headquarters.  This carriage was built for Napoleon III and at the time still bore his coat of arms.  There, the Armistice ending the Great War was signed at 6 A.M., to take effect at 11 A.M.

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With any luck, we may finalize, or at least make progress with, the budget.

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At the fall conference, the  most striking remark concerned membership.  These losses were not all due to death.  80% of the loss in membership was due to non renewal.   There were 136 posts closed.  Other points, post inspections will emphasize filings of 990s and the post's EIN.  Also, it was suggested that Boy Scout parents may be a source for recruiting.

Kudos to Jim Durkin's Hospitality Room!  THE place to be in between functions.  More news about Jim Durkin.  He's thinking of running for Commander In Chief.  If he does, he will need all our support.

 Your (still pretty new) comrade,

Jeff Mason, Commander