SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER FOR GATEWAY VETERANS COMMITTEE
At their August meeting, the Gateway Veterans Committee was privileged to have a special guest speak to them about his experiences as a medic in the European theatre of WWII. Mel Morasch, a local 87yr old veteran, recipient of the Bronze Star, served as a medic with Company 3, 329th Medical Battalion attached to the 104th Infantry Division (Timberwolves) during the re-taking of Europe in World War II. His was the first division to enter France without first stopping in England and followed General Patton across Europe. Under the command of General Terry Allen, Mr Morasch was present on the line at the Battle of the Bulge, took part in the taking of Cologne and participated in the liberation of the Mittelbau-Dora Labor Camp that provided workers for the Mittelwerk V-2 rocket factory in the Kohnstein, near Nordhausen. His lecture was informative, historical and punctuated with personal antidotes and made all the more vivid and graphic with personal photos that he took during his tour of duty.
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VETERANS COMMITTEE DONATES NEEDED ARTICLES TO VA CARE CENTER
On February 24th, Gateway’s Veterans Committee members Tony Lopez, Dick Pemberton, Jim Hanson, Lois Freeman, Mike Van Alstyne, Kathy Hogan and Ralph Hartmann took a drive over to Vancouver to the VA Nursing Skill Care Unit to deliver a variety of badly needed items for the veterans being treated there. Among the donated books, pounds of coffee, puzzles, CD’s and Smoker’s Bibs was a new WII game system (a home video game console released by Nintendo) complete with extra controls. Altogether amounting to an over $600 donation. On hand to receive the donations were John Vasquez (Activity Director), John Schulling (Recreation Therapist), Debbie Vourlas (Recreational Therapist) and several patients.
Our Veterans Committee routinely checks with the facility to see what they might need and then makes every attempt to supply whatever is required.
The WII system had barely just been presented before it was taken out of the box and installed. Tony and Ralph took turns playing against one of the patients in a spirited bowling game. It was clear that the patient had had more practice!
Gateway’s Veterans Committee meets on the 1st Tuesday of every month at 7:30pm in the Cascade Room. Come and join them and find out how you too can get involved!
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2008 CHRISTMAS PARTY AT VA CARE UNIT
Sixteen members of Gateway Lodge Veterans Committee and 16 members of the Vancouver VFW & Vancouver Elks Lodge joined forces this year to bring a little Christmas cheer to the patients at the VA Nursing Skill Care Unit in Vancouver, WA with an evening of Bingo, a visit by Mrs Clause, snacks, musical entertainment and a presentation of 80 handmade lap quilts.
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2008 VETERANS PARTY
An afternoon of live music, dancing, food & drinks were provided by the Veterans Committee to honor our nation's veterans. Vancouver Elks Lodge #823 contributed a group of talented entertainers to the festivities who performed songs that were very appropriate to the occasion.
A special flag folding ceremony was performed by a veterans honor guard with the flag presented to the Venneri Family of Portland in honor of their son, PFC Steven C Venneri, who was killed in a plane crash during takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland. Venneri was one of 248 members of the 101st Airborne Division of Fort Campbell, Kentucky and 8 crew members returning home for Christmas from a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Middle East. A memorial was raised at the junction of US 41-A and the Pennyrile Parkway in Hopkinsville, Christian Co, Kentucky and the flag presented in Sunday's ceremony was actually flown over that memorial.
Also during the proceedings a World War II veteran Gerald Glen Roberts was presented a special citation and medal for Commemorative Service in the Signal Corps during the famous Battle of the Bulge.
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VETERANS COMMITTEE DONATES NEEDED ITEMS TO VA CARE UNIT
As sometimes happens with major appliances, the washing machine at the Veterans Administration Nursing Skill Care Unit in Vancouver, WA recently went belly up. It also happened that Tony Lopez, Chairman of the Gateway Elks Veterans Committee, got wind of the situation and, knowing that requisitioning a new washer through channels could take a while, came back to his committee to pose a solution. They would purchase and donate a new washing machine to the VA facility.
Having made the decision, the committee placed a call to John Vasquez, Activity Director of the VA facility, to inform him of the coming donation. During the conversation they found out that the facility also needed a new television and could use some shadow boxes in which patients could organize and display keepsakes in their rooms.
Well, enough said and the committee went to work. On February 26th they delivered a new Admiral Heavy Duty, Super Capacity Washer, a new 27” Toshiba color television, 20 new shadow box kits and a box full of new pajamas, shorts and shaving kits to the hospital.
Shown delivering the items are (left to right): Gateway Elks Veterans Committee members Dick Pemberton, Jim Hanson, VA Activity Director John Vasquez, committee members Lois Freeman, Mike Van Astlyne and Tony Lopez.
Gateway Elks, like all Elks nationwide, keep true to their pledge, "So long as there are veterans, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks will never forget them."
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