Owens/Kennemore Chronicles The Monthly Newsletter of the Owens/Kennemore Detachment # 1105 of the Marine Corps League
Issue #19 NOV 2014
OWENS/KENNEMORE DETACHMENT #1105
MARINE CORPS LEAGUE
PO BOX 31513
GREENVILLE, SC 29608-1513
239 YEARS
ATTENTION TO ORDERS
On6 Novwe will be meeting at St James Church. Our “OPTIONAL” meal will start at 1800 and the cost will be 8 dollars. The menu will beBaked Greek Chicken Breast, Greek Green Beans, Dressing & Gravy, Rolls, Coffee, Iced Tea and Marine Corps Birthday Cakefor Dessert. Dinner will be catered by Stax’s Original Restaurant. Come join us! If you desire to eat you MUST notify Bill Wells in advance so he can order the chow. Hope to see you there.
Commandant….……………..Bill Wells (864) 907-4000
Sr Vice Commandant………Harry King (864) 244-7380
Jr Vice Commandant.….…Marty Lazar (864) 288-0095
Judge Advocate…….…Ronald Dobbins (864) 414-5244
Jr Past Commandant…..…..Bob Burns (864) 244-3060
Adjutant………………. Richard Dotson (864) 469-0145
Paymaster………………….John Glover (864) 630-0475
Chaplain…………….…Leland Browder (864) 238-8351
Sgt at Arms………….….Dennis Burden (864) 608-9909
NEWSLETTER CREATED BY BOB BURNS
EDITED BY THOM WOOD
We have a number ofMembershiprenewals due. If there is an issue with your renewal, please contact us and see if we can assist you.
If you know members that are delinquent, please call them and help determine how we are not meeting their desire to maintain membership. On occasion everyone gets behind.
EXPIRED DUES
Once you become 12 months in arrears, you are dropped from National’s roster. DO NOT SEND DUES TO NATIONAL as it causes confusion and delay. Have you considered a LIFE MEMBERSHIP?
Please support our Detachment and bring your dues up to date.
BRING A GUEST TO A MEETING
Upcoming Events
Nov 1st - Reserve Birthday Ball at Embassy Suites Hotel at 670 Verdae Boulevard Cost of ticket is $40.00 and Happy hour will go from 1730-1900.
Nov6th– Meeting St James Episcopal Church 301 Piney Mountain Rd Greenville, SC
18:00 to 19:00 Social Time/Meal
19:00 Birthday ceremony, cake cutting and Awards
Nov 7th - The Marine Corps Mess of Greenville will celebrate the birth of our United States Marine Corps on 7 November, 2014 at the Greenville Embassy Suites Hotel at 670 Verdae Boulevard. Such celebration will be in keeping with the desires of our 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps, John Archer Lejeune. It was his desire that all citizens, if they wish, be allowed to participate in celebrating the birth of the Corps of Marines; accordingly, you are asked to invite other veterans, friends of Marines, and members of other armed forces, along with their families and friends, to participate in the traditional, formal Marine Corps Birthday celebration.
Exact details of this formal event will be submitted once final arrangements are made; however dinner choices will be seafood (Salmon and Crab Cake) or beef (Filet Mignon), each with appropriate trimmings, andaccompaniments, the associative pageantry of message reading, cake presentation, rum punch preparation, appropriate toasts, pipes and drums processions, and dancing after the dinner and ceremony, will offer a memorable and fun-filled evening. The price is compatible with last years range of $55.00 per person, payable by check to The Marine Corps Mess of Greenville.
Nov 11th– Veterans Day ceremony at County Square, 10:00 am. Bob Burns and Leland Browder will both have an active part in the ceremony, please plan to attend and support this effort.
CHAPLAIN’S CORNER:
Our prayers, best wishes, and get well for: Wilton Bagwell - Jim Griffith - Wally Harris - Glenn Lackey – Ralph Warren – Bob Burns and his Wife – Lee Spence and his wife .
(Please advise Chaplain Browder, 864-238-8351 if you know of others that need to be added.)
IMPORTANT!
AWARDS
Anyone can recommend someone for an award. Do you know an individual who deserves recognition? If you have nominations for awards (Volunteering Efforts, Citizenship, dedication above and beyond, etc.) please forward your nominations to Bob Burns, for consideration.
MENTORING
If you are new and not assigned a mentor or your mentor is not communicating with you please let Commandant Wells know ().
CAMP LEJEUNE WATER ISSUES
Under the new rules, veterans have until Sept. 24, 2016, to request status as a Camp Lejeune veteran and be eligible for retroactive reimbursement of out-of-pocket medical costs back to Aug. 6, 2012 — the day the legislation authorized VA to begin providing benefits for Camp Lejeune veterans.
Veterans can apply for Camp Lejeune status at any time, even after the 2016 date, but will not be eligible for reimbursement.
Under the new rules, VA will reimburse family members diagnosed with one of the 15 contaminant-related illnesses back to March 26, 2013, the date Congress provided funding for the law.
Family members also must apply for status using the Camp Lejeune Family Member Heath Care Program Application form.
VA will not provide any direct medical care to affected family members.
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/camp-lejeune/
Thom Woods is a past Adjutant and current Web Master and Face Book administrator for our Detachment. He also provides support for the newsletter. Thom is a retired school teacher and is active in the community.
Medal of Honor Marine
Visits Greenville
By Thom Wood
“’The Joe Bonham Project’ may be the most difficult art exhibition you’ll ever see.” That’s the lead-in sentence by Paul Hyde, Arts Writer, for the Oct. 5 issue of the The Greenville News. I attended the opening of that Greenville County Museum of Art event, lead by a discussion with two of The Joe Bonham exhibition founders, including the guest of honor, Marine Lance Corporal Kyle Carpenter, whose 3 year recovery from multiple wounds suffered in the Afghanistan War, made this day a truly memorable one.
Carpenter is credited with attempting to shield a fellow Marine from a grenade blast on a rooftop security post in combat operations in Afghanistan back in 2010. Both Marines survived the blast but suffered major injuries. Carpenter lost his right eye and most of his teeth. His jaw and right arm were shattered and he has undergone dozens of surgeries.
Most of you may remember this much decorated soldier for his actions when President Obama recently awarded him the nation’s highest honor, The Medal Of Honor, at the White House earlier this year. Carpenter has also been featured in just about every major news media imaginable for his unique record of service and the subsequent 3 year battle of surgeries and recovery to bring his life back to some degree of normalcy.
This rather shy, measuring his words carefully, 5’7” now retired U.S. Marine spoke to the crowd of visitors at the museum with everyone listening intently and with utmost respect at how the Joe Bonham Project has played a major role in his recovery and his future. But what he had to say on that beautiful early autumn day in Greenville certainly made him the tallest man standing in the room. He is unquestionably the true definition of an American Hero.
For me, I can’t fully relay in words what it is like to meet and talk with a living Marine who is a recipient of The Medal Of Honor. It certainly has to be one of the greatest moments of my life, standing next to him and shaking his hand, knowing that this is someone who was willing to give his life to protect that of another soldier in a very heated battle.
The group of more than 40 artworks at the Greenville County Art Museum from the Joe Bonham Project depicts wounded American soldiers, many of them amputees, their limbs torn away by bombs or enemy fire. Some of the actual soldiers later died of their wounds or committed suicide. “We hope to promote awareness of war’s consequences,” said Michael D. Fay, a former Marine combat artist who founded “The Joe Bonham Project.” A lot of the artists have some direct connection with the war, many being fathers of soldiers, so they know the tension of waiting for that phone call or two guys in uniform knocking on your door in the middle of the night. “It’s not Hollywood,” Fay said.
This exhibition at the Greenville Country Art Museum continues through Nov. 16. I found it to be a fascinating and emotional roller-coaster ride of what many of us have experienced who have served in combat. Many of the images brought a tear to my eye, taking me back to moments in my life as I witnessed the lives of so many soldiers fighting so far away from home were hanging in the balance by the extraordinary teams of doctors and hospital staff who worked feverishly to save the lives of those in harm’s way. Acts of tremendous courage in these images are experienced daily by the medical teams all around the world who protect our soldiers. But even greater is the courage of those young men and women who in an instant of gunfire on a battlefield now find their lives suddenly altered; dreams become pieces of broken glass, as they cling to life month after month hoping that somehow they will survive the effects of a shattered body that will no longer respond as it once did. The courage to live, to accept their fate and not let it become a handicap, to know that we Americans still believe in their capabilities despite their physical limitations, is the best gift we can bestow upon these bright young people of tomorrow.
I encourage each of you to see this exhibition if at all possible before it leaves our museum. Art has a way of changing people’s perceptions when words fail. See if you feel the same, and visit your local art museum this week.
THANKS THOM
GENERAL INFORMATION
Should you have a story about why you joined the Marine Corps please email me and I’ll see about including it in the next newsletter.
Bob Burns
NEW OFFICER SLATE
It is that time of year to begin identifying our new officer slate for 2015/16. Our elections will be in May. Please consider moving up a position or remaining where you are for another year. Those not filling a elected or appointed position need to stand up and be counted. If you fill an appointed position maybe you can consider an elected position. Please let our officers know what you would like to do or if asked to fill a position would you accept.
Communicate your feelings with our elected officials
The DAV has an excellent web site to communicate with Congress so check it out.
MARINE CORPS FLAG
The backup USMC flag we have has gone UA. Please check and see if it snuck into your area. It usually hides in a small box. If the AWOL flag surrenders please let me know as it will be incarcerated when returned.
LEST WE FORGET
This portion is dedicated to the memory of our fellow Marines, Corpsmen, Servicemen
and women, family, and friends that have gone before us.
By reporting to the Supreme Commander, they have transferred to
another station where they continue to watch over and protect us. They are gone, but not forgotten.
Mike “Speedy” Gonzales
Robert Cook
Bob Briggs
Ed Fenton
Bob Farris
Bill Carpenter
Frank Conrad
Charles Bentley
Alvin Billips
CONTACTS FOR YOUR FEDERAL, ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES:
The Honorable Lindsey Graham
United States Senate
290 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-4001
Phone: 202-224-5972 , Fax: 202-224-3808
The Honorable Tim Scott
United States Senate
167 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-4002
Phone: 202-224-6121 Fax: 202-228-5143
Representative Jeff Duncan Dist 3
OfficialWebsite:http://jeffduncan.house.gov
@RepJeffDuncan
Representative Trey Gowdy Dist 4
Official Website:http://gowdy.house.gov
@tgowdysc
Representative Mick Mulvaney Dist 5
Official Website:http://mulvaney.house.gov
@repmickmulvaney
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