MAY 2014 • First Call 1

Chris Urban, Commander May 2014 Jack LaPaglia, Membership

First Call!The American Legion Utica Post 229

Utica Post 229 • 409 Herkimer Rd., Utica, NY 13502 • 315.793.9377 • uticapost229.org • nylegion.org

Post Meetings are first Thursday of the month at 7:30 p.m. (optional dinner at 6:15)

InsideCommander’s Call 2Chaplain 2Bloodmobile 2Auxiliary 3Nat’l Commander 4Nominations 5Baseball Schedule 6-7

May1 Monthly Dinner, 6:15 Post Meeting, 7:30 pm Auxiliary, 7:30 pm2 Installation Dinner Social Hour, 5:30 Installation, 6:306 Bingo, 6:30 p.m.7 Bloodmobile, noon-512 VVA, 1 p.m.13 Bingo, 6:3015 Scholarship Pasta Dinner, 4-7 pm17 DAV, noon20 Bingo, 6:30 p.m.27 Bingo, 6:30 p.m.

MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCE IS MAY 26JOIN US FOR WREATH-LAYING AND UTICA PARADE

If you haven’t been to a Utica Post 229 meeting lately, the May 1st general meeting may be one you won’t want to miss.

You can help honor police officers of the year and cast your vote in the annual election of Post officers. The meeting gets under way at 7:30 p.m., following an optional dinner

(call the post to make your reservation; din-ner is only $7).

Law-and-Order Chair Paul Wojcik says the post expects to present annual top cop awards to members of the Utica Police De-partment. May 1, coincidentally, is National Law Day.

TOP COP AWARDS, ELECTIONS ARE MAY 1

National Commander Daniel Dellinger (right) brought a message of the Legion’s fight for veterans in his swing through central, eastern and southern New York April 9-11. Shown with him are Post 229 member Bob Stronach (left) and Department Commander Kenneth Governor. Photo by Doug Malin. SEE PAGE 4.

PAGE 4

The Post is collecting cookies to send to its ad-opted platoon in Afghani-stan on Thursday, May 1. Cookies can be dropped off anytime that day. Notes Commander Chris Urban: “Nothing says ‘we are thinking about you’ like some cookies from home.”

Remember:Cookies For Troops

NATIONAL COMMANDER VISITS

The Memorial Day observance in Utica features morning wreath-laying at six monu-ments and an afternoon parade up Genesee

Street on Monday, May 26. It is sponsored by Utica Post 229 and the

City of Utica. SEE BACK COVER.

First Call • MAY 20142

Commander’s Call

Chris Urban

POST 229 ELECTIONSPlease come to the May 1st meeting

to vote. Meeting starts at 7:30 p.m.

ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP PASTA DINNER

Please plan on having dinner at the Post on Thursday, May 15, from 4 to 7 p.m. (eat in or take-out); the price is just $9. All funds raised will go directly to the scholarship fund so that we may continue to offer mul-tiple annual college scholarships. If you cannot attend, please consider sending a donation.

NEED BLOOD DONORS

The Red Cross Blood Mobile is at the Post every month on the first Wednesday of the month. Our donation numbers have been steadily decreasing but the need seems to be

increasing. Please consider giving the gift of life on Wednesday, May 7, from noon to 5 p.m.

DO YOU HAVE CREATIVE FUND-RAISING IDEAS?

We were able to raise more than twice as much money (about $2,700) in five Friday Bingo dates as we did in seven Lenten Friday Fish Fries two years ago... we’ll definitely be doing this next year. Last year we distribut-ed over $35,000 to some 40 recipients (individuals and groups in need). We would like to be able to help more folks and organizations in need, but to do so we need to do more fund-raising. If you have any great ideas, I’m all ears; please give me a call or send me an e-mail.

For God and Country

First Wednesday of Monthnoon to 5 p.m.

at Utica Post 229

IN HONOR OF MEMORIAL DAY

I saw a soldier kneeling down, for thiswas the first quiet place he had foundHe had traveled through jungles, riversand mud. His hands were scared and worn.

He folded his hands and looked to the skyI saw the tears as they weld in his eyesHe spoke to God and this is what he saidGod bless my men who now lay dead

I know not what you have in mindBut when you judge please be kindWhen they come before You, they will bePoorly dressed but will walk proudly. forThey have done their best.

Their boots will be muddy and their clothsall torn, but these cloths they have so proudlyworn. There hearts will be still and cold insidefor they have fought their best and did sowith pride.

So please take care of them as they passYour way, the price of freedom they havealready paid.

MAY EVENTS May 1 Law DayMay 8 V. E. DayMay 11 Mothers DayMay 15 Peace officers Memorial DayMay 17 Armed Forces DayMay 26 Memorial Day (observed)May 30 Memorial Day

Chaplain’scorner

Paul Wojcik

MAY 2014 • First Call 3

Auxiliaryrosaria haggerty, president

President’s MessageROE HAGGERTY

Dear Auxiliary Members,Thirteen members gathered to prepare over 1600 pop-

pies for mailing on April 14. Donations received support not only the veterans who make them but also active duty members and their families. Please make your donation so we can help those who are protecting our country.

Installation of officers for both the Auxiliary and Legion will be on May 2. Please show your support for the elected officers by attending the installation.

If you are interested in taking a committee for the new auxiliary year, please let me know. New chairs can bring fresh ideas to our unit.

Please bring your completed unit and post scholarship applications to the post soon.

Yours in service.

Chaplain’scorner

Marie Dodge

THE DIFFERENCE

I got up early one morning and rushed into the day;

I had so much to accomplish that I didn’t have time to

pray.

Problems just tumbled about me, and heavier came each task. “Why doesn’t God help

me?” I wondered.He answered, “You didn’t ask.”

I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray and bleak; I wondered why God didn’t show me.

He said, “But you didn’t seek.”

I tried to come into God’s presence; I used all my keys at the lock.

God gently and lovingly chided, “My child, you didn’t knock.”

I woke up early this morning, and paused before entering the day; I had so much to

accomplish that I had to take time to pray.

~ author unknown ~

Connecting the visual im-age of the poppy with the sacrifice of service made by veterans has been an impor-tant goal of the American Legion Auxiliary Poppy Pro-gram since its inception in 1921. Around Memorial Day, millions of red crepe paper poppies -- all handmade by veterans as part of their thera-peutic rehabilitation -- are distributed across the country in exchange for donations that go directly to assist disabled and hospitalized veterans.

***From the battlefields of

World War I, weary soldiers brought home the memory of a barren landscape trans-formed by wild poppies, red as the blood that had soaked

the soil. By that miracle of nature, the spirit of their lost comrades lived on.

The poppy became a sym-bol of the sacrifice of lives in war and represented the hope that none had died in vain.

The poppy, as a memorial flower to the war dead, can be traced to a single individual, Moina Michael. She was so moved by Lt. Col. McCrae’s poem, “In Flanders Fields,” that she wrote a response: . . . the blood of heroes never diesBut lends a luster to the redOf the flower that blooms above the deadIn Flanders’ Fields.

WHY THE POPPIES?

On impulse, she bought a bouquet of poppies – all that New York City’s Wana-maker’s Department Store had – and handed them to businessmen meeting at the New York YMCA where she worked. She asked them to wear the poppy as a tribute to the fallen.

That was November 1918. World War I was over, but America’s sons would rest forever “in Flanders’ Fields.”

Later she would spearhead a campaign that would result in the adoption of the poppy as the national symbol of sacrifice.

First Call • MAY 20144

NAT’L COMMANDER BRINGS MESSAGEva needs to be ‘transparent, accountable’

The Department of Veter-ans Affairs (VA) healthcare system needs to be more transparent and its leaders must be held accountable for mistakes that result in need-less deaths at their facilities.

That was a key message that American Legion Na-tional Commander Daniel Dellinger brought to the New York Legion Family during a swing through the Empire State April 9-11.

Fresh on the heels on testi-fying before the House Com-mittee on Veterans’ Affairs in Washington, D.C., Dellinger spoke at dinners in his honor in the central, eastern and southern parts of the state.

Due to his Congressional testimony earlier in the day, along with a flight delay, Del-linger arrived late to dinner at Robert Edwards Post 358 in Pulaski Wednesday, April 9, where he received a stand-ing ovation from some 200 members of the Legion, Aux-iliary and Sons of the Ameri-can Legion (SAL). The next day he lunched with Legion Family leaders in Saratoga Springs, met with news-paper reporters, and spoke at a dinner in the Holiday Inn-Saratoga Springs before a crowd of some 400 people. On Friday he made his way to New York City to lunch with Legion Family leaders at Victor Koenig’s in Floral Park and later address a crowd of nearly 700 during dinner at

Antun’s in Queens Village.Dellinger recounted how he

met an Army veteran at the hearing, suffering an advanced stage of cancer due to misdi-agnosis and delays in getting proper diagnostic procedures at the VA. He also referred to an outbreak of Legionella bacteria at Pittsburgh VA medical center that killed six patients and sickened others. When a team from the Le-gion’s System Worth Saving (SWS) Task Force visited the facility last November, admin-istrators claimed the outbreak was caused by equipment failure. E-mails and internal memos indicate human error, however. At another facility he cited dirty instruments, and still another, two veterans died of an overdose and one committed suicide, attrib-uted to mismanagement and

inability to get the mental health care they needed in a timely manner.

As he told the Congres-sional hearing: “Patient deaths are tragic -- prevent-able deaths are unacceptable. But failure to disclose safety information -- or worse -- to cover up mistakes, is unfor-givable, and The American Legion will not sit quietly by while some VA employees cover up the truth – and the VA shouldn’t, either.”

The national commander also said the American Le-gion was continuing to push the VA to cut the backlog of benefits claims and improve the accuracy of processing those claims. The VA says it has an accuracy rate in excess of 90 percent. “We say it’s 56 percent,” he noted, calling for cooperation and transparency

by the VA.Dellinger praised and

thanked the New York Legion Family members for all they do for veterans, and also encouraged every post to submit reports on its activities so The American Legion can tell a more complete story on its impact on families, community and nation. Last year, he said, the Legion served 220,000 youth, raised $22 million for children and youth programs, and worked 3.8 million volunteer hours -- and that’s only with 53 percent of posts reporting what they do.

As he mentioned to news reporters, veterans take off the uniform, but still serve community and nation in the Legion. “It’s who were are. It’s our fabric… 95 years and counting.”

National Commander Daniel Dellinger addresses some 200 Legion Family members at Robert Edwards Post 358 in Pulaski.

Photo by Doug Malin

MAY 2014 • First Call 5

The Nominating Committee presented a a recommended slate of officers at the April general meeting, and then an ad-ditional name was nominated from the floor -- Bill Sequin for the position of historian.

Unless additional nominations are persented by petition, here’s the amended slate that will be presented for election at the May 1st meeting.

OFFICE & NOMINEECommander Chris Urban1st Vice Commander Jim George2nd Vice Commander Bob Stronach

NOMINEES FOR THE MAY 1ST ELECTIONS3rd Vice Commander Tony PalladinoAdjutant Len La ScalaTreasurer Jim HaggertyChaplain Paul WojcikHistorian Al Kohler and Bill SequinService Officer Dave WilsonJudge Advocate Al AlteriSgt at Arms Wayne Dapre

Executive Board: #1 Frank Cassella #2 Tom O’Toole #3 Vin Zaleski #4 Jack LaPaglia #5 Stew Bailey

Scholarship Committee: #1 Jim McGuire #2 Paul Wojcik #3 Vin Zaleski #4 Jim George #5 Tom O’Toole #6 Jim Haggerty #7 Chris Urban

AN INSTALLATION dinner takes place Thursday, May 2. Call the post to make a reservation. Social hour is at 5:30. Installation ceremony is at 6:30, immediately followed by dinner.

Bingo Report: Jan., Feb. & March 2014

Date Income Prizes Expenses 3% Profit

1/1 $3119 $2073 $343.75 $21.07 $681.181/7 $2681 $1978 $21.09 $681.911/14 $2916 $2041 $26.25 $848.751/21 $3327 $2678 $19.47 $629.531/28 $2212 $1953 $7.77 $251.23

2/4 $2791 $2039 $25 $21.81 $705.192/11 $2828 $2007 $742.66 $2.35 $75.992/18 $2225 $1934 $8.73 $282.272/25 $2304 $1985 $9.57 $309.43

3/4 $2714 $1993 $10.49 $339.173/7 $1834 $1945 $0.00 -$1113/11 $3053 $2135 $25 $26.79 $866.213/14 $2177 $2001 $5.28 $170.723/18 $3263 $2052 $481.25 $21.89 $707.863/21 $2186 $2007 $5.37 $173.633/25 $3630 $2800 $828 $0.06 $1.943/28 $1989 $1985 $0.12 $3.88

BINGO WORKERSJim George, Bill Sequin, Tom O’Toole, Carl Cathey, Chris Urban, Vin Zaleski, Frank Jakubowski,Tony Palladino, Regie Carter, Jack LaPaglia, Frank Cassella, Ted Zaniewski, John Kurtelawicz, Stew Bailey, Jim Haggerty, Phil Capraro, Dan & Virginia Pieloch, Gerry & Grace Welpe, Pam Vogel, Scott Sebation, Al Kohler, Wayne Dupree, Jim McGuire.

January Expenses - First Call $547.93. January Donations - Post Christmas Party $138.89, Post Christmas Party $1,125.03, Utica

Unit 229 $100, Post Scholorship Fund $50.February Expenses - Feher $205.19, First Call $505.60, Water $660.52, Legion College $225.February Donations - Utica Unit 229 $100, Stevens Swan $100, Bowling $270.70.March Expenses - Feher - $206.25, First Call $551.34.March Donations - Utica Unit 229 $100, Children’s Miracle Network $100, 229 Bowling $40,

Ride For Missing Children $100.

MEMBERS ENDORSE 2, TAP DELEGATES

Several motions were made at the April general meeting. Members voted to endorse Jim Haggerty for the position of 5th District chaplain and Paul Wojcik for 5th District sergeant-at-arms for the 2014-2015 Legion year.

Members also voted for delegates and alternate delegates for the County Convention, which takes place June 7 at Lee Post 1794 in Lee Center. Del-egates are: Anthony Pal-ladino, Jim Haggerty, Paul Wojcik, Jack LaPaglia and Dave Wilson. Alter-nate delegates are: Frank Casella, Jim George, Len LaScala, Bob Stronach, Tom O’Toole and Vin Zaleski.

First Call • MAY 20146

UTICA POST 229 BASEBALL STARTS IN JUNE

4/16/2014

2014 JUNIOR TEAM BASEBALL SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT TIME FIELDJUNE

3 Tuesday Oneonta Hurricanes 6PM @ Murnane Field5 Thursday @ Oneonta Hurricanes 6PM @ Oneonta6 Friday * @ Love 7PM @ BYAA, Boonville9 Monday Whitestown 6PM @ Murnane Field

10 Tuesday * Helmuth Ingalls 6PM @ Delutis 411 Wednesday * @ Ilion 7:30 PM @Central Valley HS, Ilion13 Friday * @ Whitestown 5:30 PM @ SUNY15 Sunday @ Amsterdam 3PM @ Shuttleworth Park17 Tuesday * Morris Edwards (St. Johnsville) 6PM @ Delutis 219 Thursday * @ Clonan 6PM @ Sauquoit HS20 Friday * William Russell 6PM @ Noyes21 Saturday @ Saratoga - double header 12PM @ Saratoga23 Monday * Adrean 6PM @ Murnane Field25 Wednesday * Parkhurst 6PM @ Delutis 426 Thursday * New Hartford 5PM @ Delutis 430 Monday OCO Elite 5PM @ Murnane Field

JULY1 Tuesday * Whitestown 6PM @ Delutis 22 Wednesday * @ Adrean 2PM @ Notre Dame HS7 Monday * @ Helmuth Ingalls 5:30 PM @ Westmoreland HS8 Tuesday * Ilion 6PM @ Delutis 2

10 Thursday * @ Parkhurst 6PM @ Oriskany HS12 Saturday @Albany Zaloga - double header 12PM @ Albany - CBA High School13 Sunday @ Morris Edwards (St. Johnsville) 5PM @ St. Johnsville15 Tuesday * Moran Sylvan Beach 6PM @ Delutis 2

PLAYOFFSJuly 19 - July 21 District V Playoffs (if qualify) @ BYAA, BoonvilleJuly 26 - July 27 Zone Playoffs (if qualify) @ TBDAug 1 - Aug 2 New York State Tournament (if qualify) @ Utica

* Denotes League Game# Denotes Tournament Game

MAY 2014 • First Call 7

4/16/2014

2014 SENIOR TEAM BASEBALL SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT TIME FIELDJUNE

2 Monday @ OCO Elites 6PM @Unadilla Valley HS4 Wednesday * @ Lee 6PM @ Lee Legion5 Thursday * Love 6PM @ Murnane Field6 Friday * Lee 6PM @ Murnane Field8 Sunday Rayson Miller 5PM @ Doubleday Field, Cooperstown

10 Tuesday * @ Sherrill 6PM @ VVS HS11 Wednesday * @ Love 7PM @ BYAA, Boonville12 Thursday * Moran 6PM @ Murnane Field14 Saturday Melvin Roads (DH) 12PM @ Murnane Field15 Sunday * @ Helmuth Ingalls 5PM @ Clinton High School16 Monday * Sherrill 6PM @ Murnane Field18 Wednesday * Whitestown 6PM @ Murnane Field19 Thursday * Fort Schuyler 6PM @ Murnane Field21 Saturday # Plattsburgh Tournament TBA @ Plattsburgh, NY21 Saturday # Plattsburgh Tournament TBA @ Plattsburgh, NY22 Sunday # Plattsburgh Tournament TBA @ Plattsburgh, NY22 Sunday # Plattsburgh Tournament TBA @ Plattsburgh, NY24 Tuesday * @ Ilion 7:30 PM @ Central Valley HS, Ilion25 Wednesday * @ Clonan 6PM @ Sauquoit HS26 Thursday * Adrean 7:30 PM @ Murnane Field30 Monday * Ilion 7:30 PM @ Murnane Field

JULY1 Tuesday * @ New Hartford 6PM @ New Hartford HS2 Wednesday * @ Fort Schuyler 6PM @ Utica College3 Thursday * Helmuth Ingalls 6PM @ Murnane Field7 Monday * Herkimer 6PM @ Murnane Field8 Tuesday * @ Parkhurst 6PM @ Delutis 19 Wednesday * @ Oneida 6PM @ Oneida HS

10 Thursday * @ Whitestown 5:30 PM @ SUNY11 Friday * Smith 6PM @ Murnane Field12 Saturday * @ Roberts 12PM @ Holland Patent HS14 Monday * Clonan 6PM @ Murnane Field

PLAYOFFSJuly 20 - July 24 District V Playoffs (if qualify) @ Higher seeds & Murnane FieldJuly 30 - Aug 3 New York State Tournament (if qualify) @ Murnane FieldAug 7 - Aug 11 Regional Tournament (if qualify) @ Brooklawn, NJAug 15-19 World Series (if qualify) @ Shelby, NC

* Denotes League Game# Denotes Tournament Game

DAV VAN HERE ON JULY 9

The DAV Van will spend a day at Utica Post 229 on Wednesday, July 9, from 9 to 4.

A national service officer will be available to answer questions, and help veterans file a claim or check on the status of a claim.

RESPECTING THE AMERICAN FLAGIt is an honor, a privilege, and one’s right to fly the American Flag at your

residence or place of business. When the flag becomes faded, ripped, torn, or otherwise unserviceable due to the weather, then it’s time to take it down and have it retired by a veterans organization.

As a retired member of the military, and a life member of several veterans organizations, I have observed serveral flags still being flown that have reached the point of unserviceability. Please take a few minutes of your time to check your flag and insure that it is in good condition.

As veterans, we fought long and hard for our freedom, and the flying of the American Flag is representative of that freedom. So please respect our flag by doing the right thing -- replace it when it becomes unserviceable.

-- Dave Wilson

First Call • MAY 20148

Utica Post #229The American Legion

409 Herkimer Rd.Utica, NY 13502

First Call is a monthly publication of Utica Post 229 American Legion,

409 Herkimer Rd., Utica, NY 13502, whose mission is to serve veterans, members and local communities.

Yearly membership includes First Call, published 10 times a year.

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

-PAID-Utica, NY

Permit No. 566

Since its founding in Paris in 1919, The American Legion has been an advocate for America’s veterans, a friend of the U.S. military, a sponsor of community-based programs for young people and a spokesman for patriotic values.

Editor: Robert Stronach. Send news, announcements and photos to FirstCall@uticapost229.org.

The Memorial Day observance in Utica on Monday, May 26 features morning wreath-laying at six monuments and an af-ternoon parade up Genesee Street.

Wreath-laying ceremonies start at 11 at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Oneida Square. The wreath-laying then moves, in order, to: Vietnam Veterans Me-morial on the Memorial Parkway, POW-MIA Monument on the Parkway, World War I/World War II/Korean War Monu-ment on the Parkway, Purple Heart Park in West Utica, and All Veterans Memorial at Utica’s Main Post Office on Pitcher Street.

A Memorial Day Parade, up Genesee Street from Oneida Square to the Parkway, caps off the day’s events, starting at 2 p.m. The parade will feature numerous groups and organizations, along with widows and wives

of World War II veterans as grand marshals.Sponsored by Utica Post 229 and the

City of Utica, the parade is organized by a committee representing various veterans’ organizations. The chairman is Utica Post’s Mark Williamson, Command Master Chief, U.S. Navy (Ret). Williamson is a T. R. Proctor High School Navy Junior ROTC instructor and is commander of Yorkville Memorial VFW Post 6001.

Coffee and doughnuts will be available at Utica Post 229 that morning, and, for those veterans needing a ride to the wreath-laying, buses will leave the post at 10:30.

Other members of the Memorial Day Parade Committee are: Tom Buono, co-chairman; Larry Badger, Ralph DeSan-tis, Jim George, Dave Manore and Ed Rogowski.

COME OUT ON MEMORIAL DAYSEE WREATH-LAYING AND PARADE

Mark WilliamsonMemorial Day Committee chairman