Commanders' Message

Fall is here! It is always welcomed in North Carolina with cooler temperatures, football, and Brunswick Stew. Our famous Fall Brunswick Stew Sale is October 7^th at 11:00 a.m. Please pre-order your quarts by calling or texting Steve Ijames at (919) 727-0087. $10/quart (cash or check). Please help us sell out quickly by collecting orders from your family, neighbors, and friends. We need your help with this sale. The food prep day is Friday, October 6, at 1:00 p.m. We will need "stew stirrers" on Saturday starting at 7:00 a.m. Please help your Post make this fundraiser a success by volunteering on these days and selling multiple quarts of stew.

We will have had our first Saturday membership meeting by the time you receive this newsletter. Our next membership meeting is Saturday, October 21 @ 9:00 a.m. Come and enjoy breakfast, learn, and participate in what your Post is doing in the community. Bring a Veteran family member or friend. I thank each of you ahead of time for adapting and trying something new.

We are now months into the 2024 membership campaign. Our Post membership goal is 218. We sit at 130 renewals. The renewals are slowing. Please bring your $40 to a meeting or fundraiser, renew online, or mail it to P.O. Box 61 Franklinton. Please help us meet our goal of 100% by Veterans Day. I want to be able to announce this accomplishment at our Veterans Day Ceremony.

Veterans Day is Saturday, November 11. Post 52 will conduct our traditional Veterans Day Ceremony at the "pocket park" on Main Street in downtown Franklinton at 11:00 a.m. This year's ceremony welcomes Vietnam Veterans home. We are seeking a Vietnam Veteran speaker for the event. Please let me know if you will step up or if you know a good candidate for us to ask to deliver the message. Bright Memorials and Funeral Services have pledged to relocate our Veterans monument from Fairview Cemetery to the park on Main Street at no cost. This move should happen in early October. Bringing our Veterans Ceremony to the heart of town should excite the community and spread Americanism and Patriotism within the community. The Town of Franklinton will proceed to name the park – Franklinton Veterans Park. I ask that you all plan to participate and attend this event to show the community that Veterans are everywhere.

I want to thank Tony Kerensky, George Miller, David Field, and Steve Ijames for conducting an audit of the Post's financial accounts. We Passed!

I want to thank all Legionnaires who helped work the fish & oyster fry. That fundraiser requires the most help for preparation, execution, and clean-up. While I am thankful for the dedicated group of Legionnaires helping with the work, why was it the same group that pulls off every fundraiser? Why didn't I see you there? Thank you to Harvey Satterwhite, Mike Donnelly, Tony Kerensky, Joe Dillehay, Eric Pearce, David Field, George Miller, Pat McCary, George Tracy, and Steve Ijames for your hard work that stretched over several days of preparation and clean-up. Legionnaires – Please add your name to this list of "doers" at our next fundraiser.

Thank you to the Auxiliary Unit 52 for serving plates at the fish & oyster fry and conducting a bake sale to add to the event. Congratulations on a successful bake sale. We couldn't have done it without your partnership.

Thank you to our landscaping team that keeps the grounds looking great! Thanks to Steve Ijames, Pat McCary, Harvey Satterwhite, Bruce Lobach, and Joe Dillehay for sharing the labor.

Thank you to all our members who have renewed their membership. The first step in making Post 52 successful is being a member. For those who can, the next step is getting your name on my "Thank You" list multiple times, like our dedicated group of Officers. The Officers are leading by doing, but they shouldn't have to do it all. Think about it. What would have been the outcome if it were only up to the Officers in the military units you served? We need all members' support for our success and growth.

Chris Smith, Post Commander

Vice-Commander's Report

Fellow legionnaires, check your legion membership card. If it has 2023 on it in red ink, then you have not yet renewed for the 2024 year. Please renew. Post 52 goal is to have all 2023 members renewed for 2024 by November 11^th, Veteran's Day.

Mike Donnelly, 1^st Vice Commander

Chaplains' Corner

Ephesians 2:8-10 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship. Created to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

On February 3rd, 1943, an army troop transport named Dorchester carrying 774 army and navy personnel with 130 merchant marine crew was moving on the waters between Newfoundland and Greenland. A few minutes past midnight, a German submarine torpedo ripped through the ship's hull. Of the 904 men on board, 678 perished. Included in those who passed were Four chaplains, a Rabbi, a priest, and two protestant ministers. Survivors told how all four chaplains gave away their life jackets and quieted panicked men by offering encouragement and prayers. In the last scene, a picture engraved forever in the minds of those who made it off the Dorchester, they could see the chaplains just as the ship went down. There were four men, hand in hand, praying to their God, who had called them to serve. The chaplains could have kept their life jackets and tried to save themselves. But they did what they did because they knew God's grace already saved them through their faith in His work. "Believe in Me, and you will have everlasting life."

We have several members who are sick or recovering from illness. We also have those who have lost loved ones. I would ask that you remember them in your prayers and the men and women serving in the Arme Forces and their families. If anyone has needs, please feel free to call me. May God continue to Bless you and our Nation.

For God and Country, Harvey Satterwhite, Chaplain

Auxiliary Unit 52 Report

I hope this newsletter finds you well. Please remember that the Members' Meetings resumed in September. We could not conduct business during the September meeting because we did not have a quorum. Only the President, Vice President, Treasurer, and one Junior member were present. I hope to see more members on Thursday, October 19th.

The Auxiliary will serve breakfast at the Post Meeting on Saturday, October 21st. This breakfast is only two days after our members meeting. We will need volunteers to serve and members to cook and bring food and beverages. You are welcome to attend the Executive Board meeting on October 5th if you want to volunteer for October 21st.

As a reminder, the Durham VA will accept NEW Winter Coats for our Operation Cold Front (OCF) Program Drive Sept 1- Dec 31. OCF provides coats to all Veterans who need assistance during the upcoming winter season. OCF serves all Durham VA HCS Veterans, including Greenville HCC, Raleigh, and Morehead CBOC clinics. Coats may be of all colors, and we recommend neutral colors such as black, blue, beige, or brown that would be appropriate for both men and women (sizes can range from M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, and 4XL). Unit 52 will collect the coats to be delivered to the V.A. Contact any Unit 52 member to arrange drop off. You can also email the unit at alaunit52franklintonnc@gmail.com

Velinda Moore, Unit 52 President

BRUNSWICK STEW SALE

October 7^th
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

By the quart, $10

Reserve your quarts.
Call/text Steve at 919 727-0087.

VETERAN'S DAY CEREMONY

When: Saturday, November 11, 2023, 11:00 a.m.
Where: Veteran's Park Main Street, Franklinton, NC
Who: All veterans and those who wish to honor veterans. This event will pay special recognition to the veterans of the Vietnam War era with a Welcome Home program.

Need assistance dealing with the Veterans' Administration? Contact our Franklin County Veterans' Service Officer, Brenda Wilkins,
at 919 496-1939.