Our second participation in this moving affair (wording below) was highlighted by the attendance of the Sugar Valley Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol.

Further contact with these fine young men and women is anticipated with an especial view towards further encouraging their interest and participation in the military.

At the close of the holidays we contributed to the retrieval of the wreaths.

Attended by Jason Ford (left) and Greg Chase (right).

President Phil Briscoe, Captain USN (Ret), and Chapter members were invited to participate in the ORMA Cadet Awards Day ceremonies as guests of member Jim, Maj. USA (Ret) and Kay Savage.

Upon completion of the promotional awards, Phil and the Corp Commander Trooped the Line.

Chapter Assistant Jacqueline Kohler has recently completed the necessary training from MOAA national to be a surviving spouse liaison.

Furthermore, she was also one of six female veterans recently honored during the fifth annual Outstanding Combat Female Veterans of North Carolina Ceremony Program.

Jacqueline Kohler, Army, served in the Afghanistan war and now volunteers with Triad Honor Flight group that takes area veterans to Washington, D.C.

State Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Secretary Walter Gaskin said that female veterans “have stood shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts.”

Women have served in or near combat settings dating back to the American Revolution, according to Combat Female Veterans Families United. But the involvement escalated from the middle of the 20th century during World War II to the present day. Approximately 7,000 women were deployed to serve in the Vietnam War, more than 40,000 served in combat zones during the Persian Gulf War and an estimated 150,000 women were deployed to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars from 2001-12, Combat Female Veterans Families United reports.

Women now account for 15% of active service members in the U.S. military.

Arriving completely by surprise, friends from Ohio delivered this stunning shadow box of memorabilia from Bill's career in the Navy as a an officer of the JAG Corp.

Our own Greg Bean and Vernon Robinson were among the honored on this flight..

Other members who attended the return were moved almost beyond words by the warmth and energy of the crowd welcoming these warriors back from their day in Washington, DC. Family members, but many others simply wanting to attend in recognition and thanks for the service given to the citizens of the US.

The following is from the March issue of the VFW MAGAZINE:

"...By March 29, 1973, all U.S. combat troops had left the country, (Vietnam).

U.S. military advisors to the South Vietnamese army and Marine guards at

the U.S. Embassy in Saigon remained until the fall of the city in 1975.

From Jan. 1, 1965, to March 28, 1973, a total of 2,594,000 U.S. troops-

including 7,484 women- served within the borders of South Vietnam. During

that same time period, a total of 3,403,100 U.S. troops, (including 514,300

offshore) served in the Southeast Asia Theater, which included Vietnam, Laos,

Cambodia, Thailand, and the South China Sea.

According to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation, a total of 58,281

U.S. troops were killed in the war."

Here are some interesting facts about the names that are on the Vietnam

War Memorial Wall:

There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.

39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.

8,283 were just 19 years old.

The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.

12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.

5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.

One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.

997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam.

1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam.

31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.

Thirty-one sets of parents lost two of their sons.

54 soldiers attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia.

8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.

244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War;

153 of them are on the Wall.

Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.

West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation.

There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.

The most casualty deaths in a single day was on January 31, 1968,

with 245 deaths.

The most casualty deaths in a single month was in May 1968,

with 2,415 casualties incurred.

MAY WE NEVER FORGET, THAT FREEDOM IS NOT FREE!

GOD BLESS ALL THOSE THAT SERVED IN THAT TERRIBLE WAR!

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