Posts and detachments in the area have put in another great year of community service.
The exact number of events cannot be counted, as some go unannounced, and some are done so quietly that only the giver and the recipient are aware of them.
These are the type of events that should spark an interest in membership, but how often have you talked about them to anyone? Have you (the member) invited a friend or acquaintance to an event?
I have been to many of the posts and have noticed one thing that really, really irritates me. Not knowing who was doing the talking or who might be listening, members in the canteen were talking post business and complaining. I am willing to bet that these are the same “members” who never appear at a meeting, never lend a hand with a dinner and never voice a positive opinion about anything.
The worst thing a prospective member can hear during any event is one of these critics voicing an uninformed opinion to someone else. Remember the saying, “Loose lips sink ships”?
My thoughts are this: If you are not a part of the solution then do not be a part of the problem. If you don’t like the way things are being done, get off your duff and do it yourself.
Membership is like family, you may not like everything that everyone does, but if you don’t all pitch in to help, things begin to fall apart. The best place to complain and criticize is not at the canteen or at an event, it is at the meeting.
In the new year, let’s try to work together to build every post and detachment into a great organization so everyone can benefit from the work that is done.

Rolling Thunder an active group
Rolling Thunder, Chapter 1 of Northeast Ohio is a very active and dedicated group helping veterans and their families. As a group, they visit the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Wade Park every other month or so.
The visit usually includes toiletries and personal items for the patients. A bingo game for the patients is also part of the visit.
Rolling Thunder hosts fundraisers throughout the year to collect articles for the veterans and to raise the money needed for the annual picnic given for the patients each July.
The picnic is the big event that serves all of the veterans at the hospital and is a joint effort with other Rolling Thunder chapters, plus rider groups from other veterans organizations.
The next visit of the group will be Feb. 9.
If you would like information about Rolling Thunder, call Winston Bailey, Chapter 1 president, at 440-637-7939 or atwebailey@roadrunner.com, or call Vikki Carroll at 440-283-7766.

Air show announces return of Blue Angels
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels Jet Demonstration Team is scheduled to appear at the 2014 Cleveland National Air Show during Labor Day weekend, Aug. 30 through Sept. 1.
The Department of Defense has approved its 2014 Air Show schedule and the show at Burke Lakefront Airport will be one of the region’s largest events.
The Blue Angels complete air show schedule can be found at www.blueangels.mil.

Gunny’s Hall breakfast AWOL Sunday
Please remember that there will be no Sunday morning breakfasts served at Gunny’s Hall on Sunday because of the holiday. The breakfast will return Jan. 5.

Pancakes and sausage at Burton post
Atwood-Mauck Post 459, 14052 Goodwin St. in Burton, will host a pancake and sausage breakfast from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 12 at the post home. Adult tickets are $8 and tickets for children age 12 and younger are $5. For details, call Bo at 440-834-8765.

Young Marines now accepting registrations
The Greater Lake County Young Marines is now accepting registration for the next recruit class. Orientation will begin at 2 p.m. Feb. 15.
The not-for-profit youth education program for boys and girls ages 8 through high school focuses on character building through a combination of self-discipline, teamwork and leadership while promoting a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.
This is the official youth program of the U.S. Marine Corps and the focal point of the Marine Corps Youth Drug Demand reduction efforts.
For more information visit www.glcyoungmarines.org or call 440-413-6707.

Catholic War Veterans host national membership drive
The Catholic War Veterans of the USA will host a National New Member Recruitment Drive after all masses, Jan. 18 and 19. CWV Post 1959 The John Paul II of Lake County will participate in the drive at all of the Catholic churches in Lake County. Those eligible for membership must be practicing Catholics and an honorably discharged veteran or active duty member of any branch of the U.S. armed forces.

To submit items for this column or the online listings, send them to: The News-Herald, Attn.: Larece Galer, 7085 Mentor Ave., Willoughby, OH 44094; fax to 440-975-2293; or via email to LGaler@News-Herald.com.

It is hard to believe that Christmas 2013 has arrived already and will be celebrated in less than a week. I feel very blessed this year.
I think about those who will be without for the holidays and all that I have and I am blessed.
I see family members home safe and think of those serving overseas in dangerous areas and I am blessed.
I think of those who have no home as I am warm inside and I am blessed.
I think of those who may be going hungry and my table is laden with good food and I am blessed.
To the families of the soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen who are protecting us and to those on active duty and veterans of this country, thank you. We are blessed.

Korean War veterans given thank you

Korean War veteran Gene Gaster of Madison attended the Korean-American Association invitational luncheon on Dec. 6 at the association headquarters in Cleveland. The luncheon was given to express gratitude to all Korean War veterans.

“The South Korean people are so humble and appreciative of all that America has done for them,” Gaster said. “As a rule and not the exception, they are extremely polite, well-mannered and friendly.”
Gaster said it is heartwarming to know that as a country, we can be sincerely thanked for our sacrifices, and a simple thank you goes a long way.

Hosting the event were Ann S. Jhin, president of the National Unification Advisory Council; Kil Young Kim, president of the Federation of Midwest Korean-American Association; Sang-Il Kim, consul general of the Republic of Korea in Chicago; and Song-Pil Gak, chairman of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Council from Kyeongsangbuk-do province of South Korea; and the lovely Korean ladies who prepared and served the meal.

Photos courtesy of Gene Gaster

“I want to thank each and every one personally for the beautiful medal awarded and the certificate of acknowledgement that every Korean War veteran in attendance received,” Gaster said.


Veterans Upward Bound offers educational transition program
The Veterans Upward Bound Program at Cuyahoga County College will begin the next session of the Academic Enrichment Program on Jan. 7.
The program at the Metro Campus will be 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and will offer refresher/preparatory programs in a classroom setting with other veterans. The program will help with math, English, science and basic computer skills to prepare veterans for the college or vocational placement test and help them to achieve higher scores.
VUB provides veterans the opportunity to enter post secondary education prepared for a more successful program of study.
Veterans interested in enrolling in the program call 216-987-4938.

Greater Lake County Young Marines accepting registrations
Greater Lake County Young Marines is now accepting registrations for the next recruit class orientation at 2 p.m. Jan. 18. The next recruit class will begin Feb. 15.
The Young Marines is a nonprofit youth education program for boys and girls ages 8 through high school. The program focuses on character building through a combination of self-discipline, teamwork and leadership, and promotes a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. The Young Marines is the official youth program of the U.S. Marine Corps and the focal point of the Marine Corps Youth Drug Demand Reduction efforts.
The Greater Lake County unit meets from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. the first and third Monday of every month and 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. one Saturday each month. Drill is at the Eastlake Police Activities League (PAL) Center, Kennedy School, 34050 Glen Drive in Eastlake.
For details visit www.glcyoungmarines.org or call 440-413-6707.

Gunny’s Hall breakfast AWOL for holidays
There will be no breakfast served at Gunny’s Hall on Sunday and Dec. 29 because of the holidays. The all-you-can-eat breakfast will return again in January.

Burton post plans January breakfast
Atwood-Mauck Post 459, 14052 Goodwin St. in Burton, will host a pancake and sausage breakfast from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 12 at the post home. Tickets are $8 adults; $5 ages 12 and younger. For more details, call 440-834-8765.

To submit items for this column or the online listings, send them to: The News-Herald, Attn.: Larece Galer, 7085 Mentor Ave., Willoughby, OH 44094; fax to 440-975-2293; or via email to LGaler@News-Herald.com.

A motorcycle run and a visit to the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in 2011 changed Adam Cook’s life.
Cook promised he would be back to visit the veterans at the hospital who were patients of the spinal cord injury floor. The run and the visit gave birth to Operation S.T.A.T. (Standing Tall for American Troops).
“The most disturbing stories we heard were that we were the only people some of them had seen in weeks, months, and some, even years.” Cook said. “This news was absolutely unacceptable to me.”
Operation S.T.A.T. has returned each year since then to help brighten the holidays for the patients at the medical center.
Operation S.T.A.T. is in need of volunteers to help fill Christmas stockings for the patients at the medical center. Stop by American Legion Post 678, 570 E. 328th St. in Willowick, between noon and 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. If necessary, volunteers will return noon to 3 p.m. Dec. 20 to finish packing the stockings. Cook hopes to fill 3,000 stockings for the patients. Volunteers are asked to show up and lend a hand.
Stockings are filled with donated items, such as playing cards, dominoes, individually wrapped cookies and crackers, notepads and stationary items.
Volunteers who want to help with the delivery are asked to meet at American Legion Post 678 at 7 p.m. Wednesday for details about the process. The filled stockings will be delivered to the patients at the medical centers by volunteers after a short briefing at 11 a.m. Dec. 22.
For details about Operation S.T.A.T., call Adam Cook at 440-413-6225 or Coletta Hribar at 440-474-0082.
Donations may be mailed to Operation S.T.A.T., P.O. Box 38, Chardon, OH 44024

Gunny’s Hall hosts toy raiser
Col. J.M. Chambers Marine Corps League Detachment 555, Gunny’s Hall fundraiser for Toys-for-Tots will be 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Gunny’s Hall, 8720 Twinbrook Road, Mentor.
The event will include music, a Chinese auction and a 50/50 raffle. Please bring a new unwrapped toy to donate or a cash donation.
For details, call 440-974-9380.

Stockings for Soldiers a smash
DeJohn Funeral Homes & Crematory’s “Stocking for Soldiers” program saw tremendous community support in the fifth year of the program. More than 900 stockings will be sent to returning American military troops and veterans for the winter holidays.
The community effort involved schools, churches, senior groups and the general public and is sponsored by the funeral home. The stockings will be turned over to the USO Office of Northern Ohio, which will distribute the stockings during various events and at local armories leading up to Christmas.

Help warm the homeless and stuff the bus
Sub Zero Mission will host the stuff-the-bus event at Mentor Plains United Methodist Church, 7271 Lake Shore Blvd. in Mentor, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.
Donate gently used men’s and women’s winter coats, sleeping bags, tents, blankets, hats, gloves, scarves, snow pants, sweatshirts and hoodies and help stuff the bus.
Items collected will be delivered to the homeless during the 2013-2014 winter months. On any given night, there are tens of thousands of homeless on the streets of America, and one in five of them are veterans.

Frog leg dinner hops into Painesville post
The Ladies Auxiliary of American Legion Post 336, 60 Chester St. in Painesville, will host a frog leg dinner 5 to 8 p.m. today at the post home. Dinner is $10 and includes frog legs, french fries, hush puppies, slaw and dessert. For details call 440-357-7711.

Fish on menu in Willoughby
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7754, 540 New St. in Fairport Harbor, hosts fish fry dinners every second and fourth Friday of the month. Lunch will be served 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and dinners from 4 to 7 p.m.
The public is welcome. For details, call the post at 440-352-1123.

Steak dinners offered at AMVETS
AMVETS Post 40, 9141 Jordan Drive in Mentor, will serve a steak dinner from 5:30 to 8 p.m. the second Saturday of each month at the post home. Dinner will be $12 and includes steak, salad, corn, baked potato and roll. The dinner is open to the public. For details, call 440-527-1911.

Ohio Military Reserve host Open House
Alpha Company, 1st Battalion of the Ohio Military Reserve will host an open house for Ohio citizens wanting to serve their state and country in a disaster response unit locally.
Ohio Military Reserve is a part of the Ohio Adjutant General’s Office and serves only in the state of Ohio responding to natural and other disasters. The unit drills one weekend each month and attends a one-week annual training camp at Camp Perry in Port Clinton.
No prior military experience is required and ages 17 to 62 are accepted. The open house will be 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the National Guard Armory, 1175 W. Vine St. in Alliance.

Gunny’s Hall breakfast AWOL for holidays
Breakfast at Gunny’s Hall will not be served Dec. 22 or Dec. 29 because of the holidays. Breakfast will be served as usual after the new tear. For more details, call 440-974-9380.

To submit items for this column or the online listings, send them to: The News-Herald, Attn.: Larece Galer, 7085 Mentor Ave., Willoughby, OH 44094; fax to 440-975-2293; or via email to LGaler@News-Herald.com.

On Dec. 7, 1941, the United States was attacked and from that day forward the date would be remembered with books, stories, songs and movies.
Over the years I have been fortunate to speak with survivors and learn of their experiences that day, but many are gone now and the ranks of those survivors are dwindling.
How many millions of lives were changed forever on that day?
For those of us born a decade or two after the attack we learned of the war and the sacrifices made by every American. Each year at our family reunion my uncle’s name comes up and for those of us who never knew him, we hear the stories from parents and older cousins.
His name and a bit of his story appear in a book by Dick Camp “Battleship Arizona’s Marines at War.”
But that doesn’t begin to replace the days we lost with him. Even 72 years later we wonder what he was like, was he really as fun as the cousins say?
Was he really that good of an athlete?
What would he have been like all these years later?
History made 16 years before I was born continues to affect me.


Pearl Harbor Day events
Burton-Middlefield American Legion Post 459 will host a service at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Burton Village Square Gazebo. The public is encouraged to attend. For details, call 440-834-8765.

 American Legion Post 678 and Eastlake Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3863 will co-host a ceremony at 11 a.m. Monday inside the Eastlake City Hall Council Chambers. The public is welcome to attend.

A dinner at Hellriegel’s Inn, 1840 Mentor Ave. in Painesville Township will be 6 p.m. Saturday at the Inn. Dinner will be served at 7 p.m.
The cost is $35 per person.
This event is open to the public. For details, call 440-354-9530.


Toys-for-Tots locations, events
 Local Tavern Mentor, 9470 Mentor Ave., will offer a free concert with Alex Bevan from 8 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday. Please bring a new unwrapped toy for Toys-for-Tots. Monetary donations also will be accepted. For details, call 440-392-6022.

The Rogers Company, 7550 Tyler Blvd. in Mentor, will serve as a U.S. Marine Corps Toys-for-Tots drop-off location. Toys can be donated between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays through Dec. 13. The location is closed weekends.

Toys-for-Tots celebration at the Central Y, 933 Mentor Ave. in Painesville, will be 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday. Help the Lake County YMCA celebrate the season of giving at a Toys-for-Tots Christmas Party.
Families can make holiday-inspired crafts, play games and enjoy snacks. Free for everyone to attend. Please bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate this holiday season. Registration is required so please call 440-352-3303 or email abasco@lakecountyymca.org.

 VFW Post 7754 and the Fairport Harbor Police Department will host the annual Community Christmas Party “Fill the Cruiser” noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at Post 7754, 540 New St. in Fairport Harbor. Help fill the police cruiser with a donation of a new unwrapped toy, and then join in the activities inside.
The event will feature games, crafts, music, prizes and visit from Santa, Jungle Terry and Officer McGruff. For details, call 440-352-1123.

 Red Roof Inn, 4166 State Route 306 in Willoughby, is an official Toys-for-Tots drop off location. A collection of new unwrapped toys to benefit children who may not otherwise have a Christmas will continue through Dec. 15.

Cell Phones for Soldiers, 
Honda dealers team up
Northern Ohio Honda dealers will accept used cellphones to help Cell Phones for Soldiers through Sunday.
The mission of Cell Phones for Soldiers is to provide troops with free calls home. Each gently used cellphone provides the troops with 2.5 hours of free talk time according to Cell Phones for Soldiers. Each dealership will have two collection bins, one in the showroom and one in the service center. For more information and to find your nearest Northern Ohio Honda Dealer, visit www.NorthernOhioHondaDealers.com.

AMVETS annual food basket 
drive underway
AMVETS Post 109, 7847 Lakeshore Blvd. in Mentor-on-the-Lake, will host the annual food basket drive for the holiday season, donations are gratefully accepted or if you know of a family in need please call the post at 440-257-9217, the deadline is Thursday.
Please have the full name, address, and a current phone number of the family.

Frog leg dinner 
at Painesville post
American Legion Post 336, 60 Chester St. in Painesville will serve a frog leg dinner 5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 13 at the post home. Dinners are $10 each. For details, call the post at 440-357-7711.

To submit items for this column or the online listings, send them to: The News-Herald, Attn: Larece Galer, 7085 Mentor Ave., Willoughby, OH 44094; fax to 440-975-2293; or via email to LGaler@News-Herald.com.