June is here and with it will be the start of summer and the end of the traditional school year. June 6th marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Europe that marked the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. Happy 249th Birthday for the United States Army which also coincides with Flag Day on June 14th and June 16th is Father’s Day. Last month we honored all mothers and this month, the rest of the equation that brought each of us into the world, our fathers are honored. Summer officially begins June 20th. June is also PTSD Awareness Month and Cancer Survivor’s Month. I have acutely been touched by Cancer as my first wife succumbed to Liver Cancer and between myself and my three other brothers, three of us have been diagnosed with cancer. A dear friend and member of my chapter was recently diagnosed with liver cancer and I would be willing to bet that many of you have been exposed to someone in your family or an acquaintance who has been touched by cancer. Don’t try to put off some new pain that just won’t go away as a muscle pain like my first wife did for so long. Check it out and if caught early, survival rates are significantly higher.
The Rogue Chapter has now awarded almost 1,180 Medallions. To the best of my knowledge, at least 29-chapter members have been involved awarding Medallions to worthy veterans or surviving families. Our chapter has recruited several dozen new members because of this program and literally brought in several thousand dollars’ worth of donations because people see the worth of this program and wish to be a part of it.
I have held of finishing this article until after the deadline for submission of scholarship applications has passed. It is possible that something may come in within the next day or so since I stipulated that they must be postmarked by May 15th. It is unfortunate that many of our younger generation have a different perspective on how the world works than I did. I had to work for everything I ever got in life and usually if someone told me no I double downed on my efforts to prove that those who turned me down the first time made an error in their first decision. I find it an interesting fact that most of the things that are available like scholarships for our younger generation of the Bettsy Ross scholarships for just being a member of the auxiliary go unclaimed as no one ever applies. I need your help. Share this fact with your family and encourage your younger generations to take advantage of these programs. Applying for a trade school vice a 4-year college will probably earn you far more money in a lifetime than a 4-year degree from anywhere.
I hope that this chapter has a good turnout at the conference in San Antonio in July. We will be honoring a former member of the chapter, Sir Troy Hensley as he is inducted into the NCOA Hall of Fame. Please come, support Lady Vicky and honor a man who gave his life to this great association. Also, NCOA has announced the location for next year’s conference which will be the Sheraton Hotel in Norfolk, VA from 15-18 July. It will be a good thing to spread our conferences around and knowing the dates and location this early help us all to make plans to attend.
I would love to hear from all of you with your thoughts and suggestions. If you have any ideas or suggestions, either contact me at retiredveteran89@outlook.com and I can assure you that your leadership will take note.
Strength in Unity & Leadership By Example,
MCPO (SCW) Terry M. Haines, USNR Retired
Chairman, Rogue Chapter #1260