This past week at our last business meeting we voted to hold Bingo once a month starting Thursday January 29th. We will be holding it on the last Thursday of the month through the winter months. In February, our bingo night will be on Thursday, February 26th.
The post will be holding breakfast on Sunday January 25th from 8 am till noon. We will serve eggs any style, pancakes, sausage and bacon. Juice and coffee along with fruit. The cost will be a good will offering.
Some combat-injured service members were forced to leave the military early because of serious injuries. Even though they served honorably, they do not receive the full military retirement they earned.
Under current law, their military retirement pay is reduced because they also receive VA disability benefits. This means veterans injured in combat lose part of the retirement they earned through years of service simply because they were hurt while serving our country.
The Major Richard Star Act would fix this unfair treatment. But right now, the bill cannot move forward unless Congress takes the next step.
At this stage, only the Armed Services Committees can act. These committees decide whether this bill gets a hearing, and without a hearing a bill can stall even when it has strong support.
Although this legislation advanced in the last Congress, it never received a public hearing where veterans and experts could testify, and members could ask questions on the record. As a result, concerns about the bill have continued to be discussed privately instead of publicly examined.
When you take action today, your message will be sent to your own member of Congress and matched to their role, whether they already support the bill, need to be asked to support it, or serve on the committee that can help secure a hearing.
Late last week we received information on the National Desert Shield/Storm (NDSSWM) War Memorial slated for dedication on October 24, 2026, in Washington D.C.
As many of you know VFW Posts, Districts, Departments and National have been making donations to the NDSSWM for close to ten years.
Those donations have cumulated in total donations of $897,515.00 almost a million dollars. The Park Service has also informed us that any entity donating a minimum of $1 million can have a plague located on the memorial.
As you can tell we are $102,485.00 short of reaching that million-dollar mark. No other VSO has donated this much, and we would be the only VSO identified on the memorial if we could cross that finish line.
In discussions about ways to fundraise, the National VFW Foundation has pledged to match up to $50,000 toward the goal of one million in donations that come in before March 20, 2026, as we must confirm with the architects that we are a go so they can get the plague ordered and made in time.
Donations should be sent to the Dessert Storm memorial who will track the donations so make sure you let them know it is to be credited to the VFW, so we receive the matching funds from our foundation. https://www.ndswm.org/donate
Here is a Medal of Honor recipient from the Vietnam war. A note regarding medics: The life expectancy of a combat medic during a firefight was a mere 6 seconds. That of a medevac crew wasn't much longer at 19 minutes. Medics were shot at regularly by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army soldiers. An estimated 1,100 medics were killed in the course of the Vietnam War.
This is the story of Spc. 5 James C. McCloughan was born in South Haven, Michigan, April 30, 1946. McCloughan spent his childhood in Bangor, Michigan, where his parents moved to take over a family farm. It was there that he found his passion for sports and music. The consummate athlete, McCloughan was a four-sport varsity athlete at Bangor High School and went on to wrestle, play football and baseball at Olivet College. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and a teaching certificate in 1968, McCloughan accepted a teaching and coaching position with South Haven Public Schools in Michigan. Three months later, McCloughan was drafted into the Army at the age of 22.
McCloughan reported to basic training in September 1968 at Fort Knox, Kentucky. His training in athletics and coaching gave him a foundational knowledge of sports medicine, and his leaders took notice. Two months after arriving at basic training, he was assigned to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, to complete advanced training as a medical specialist. On his last day of training, McCloughan received deployment orders to Vietnam. He was assigned as a combat medic with Company C, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division. His Vietnam tour was from March 1969 to March 1970. “Sorry private…You’re going to Vietnam”
On the morning of May 13, 1969, “Charlie Company” was combat assaulted into an area near Tam Kỳ and Nui Yon Hill and came under small arms and machine gun fire. During the combat assault, two American helicopters were shot down, one of which had crashed roughly 100 meters from the company’s position. With fierce enemy gun fire surrounding the position, a rescue helicopter could not land. Instead, a squad was sent out and ordered to bring the pilot and crew back to Charlie Company’s defense perimeter.
When the squad reached the perimeter around the crash site, they saw a wounded Soldier lying on the ground nearby, too injured to move. McCloughan ran 100 meters to the Soldier through an open field, ducking and dodging the crossfire of his company and a charging platoon of North Vietnamese Army.
Upon reaching the wounded soldier, McCloughan shouldered him and raced back to the company, saving his fellow soldier from being captured or killed. In the final phases of the attack, two companies from the NVA and an element of 700 soldiers from a Viet Cong regiment descended upon Company C’s position on three sides.
McCloughan, again with complete disregard for his life, went into the crossfire numerous times throughout the battle to extract wounded soldiers, while also fighting the enemy. His relentless, courageous action inspired and motivated his comrades to fight for their survival.
When supplies ran low, McCloughan volunteered to hold a blinking light in an open area as a marker for a nighttime resupply drop. He remained steadfast while bullets landed all around him and RPGs flew over his exposed body.
During the morning darkness of May 15, McCloughan knocked out the RPG position with a grenade. He continued to fight and eliminate enemy soldiers. In addition, he treated numerous casualties, kept two critically wounded soldiers alive during the night and organized the dead and wounded for evacuation at daylight. McCloughan is credited with saving the lives of ten members of his company. He currently lives in South Haven, Michigan with his wife Chérie.
“For over two centuries, our brave men and women in uniform have overcome tyranny, fascism, communism, and every threat to our freedom -- every single threat they've overcome. And we’ve overcome these threats because of titans like Jim whose spirit could never be conquered. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP White House Medal of Honor Ceremony, July 31, 2017.
Let us remember all who served and those still serving. God Bless America.
Marc Farmilette, PDC – Commander VFW Post 1545
Spc.5 James C. McCloughan
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