2021 Civic Events

Placing Flags Along Rt. 82 in Hopewell Junction - Nov. 11


Dan Briscoe, John Call, Dona Greenwood, Len Hart, Kevin Hines, Bill Kriebel, Bill Meyer, Jeff Miedowski, John Polasko, Jim Reynolds.
At noon on Saturday Nov. 13, John Call, Dona Greenwood, Bill Meyer, John Polasko and Jim Reynolds returned to Rt. 82 in Hopewell Junction to retrieve the flags put out on Veterans Day.

Veterans Day Ceremony at John Jay High School


Prior to 7:00 am on Nov. 10, post members gathered around the flagpole in front of the school in preparation for lowering the flag. Kevin Hines was given the honor. Then post members gathered in the media room of the high school to wait for the buses to arrive and the students to debark. Around 7:30, hundreds of students had gathered around the flagpole, and the post went outside with a color guard carrying the flags. The ceremony began with students singing the National Anthem, and then First Vice Commander Jim Reynolds was introduced and he gave remarks about the importance of Veterans Day. The ceremony closed with the flag being raised, Taps being played and students singing America the Beautiful.
After the service we had time for breakfast in the library and then spent time with selected students who seemed very interested in our experiences. Lots of good conversation.
Post members in attendance were: Dan Briscoe, Don Burns, John Call, Norm Dauerer, Dona Greenwood, Len Hart, Kevin Hines, Bill Kriebel, Bill Meyer, Jeff Miedowski, Ed Morrison, Dan Oberhauser, John Polasko, Jim Reynolds and Karl Sokol.

East Fishkill Community Day - Sep. 18

On September 18th , multiple Post members participated in the annual East Fishkill Community Days, an event featuring a parade along Route 82 and an information table at the Hopewell Recreation Center. The raffle for $30 worth of lottery tickets was won by post member Vinny Richards. (John Polasko generously donated the lottery tickets.) Girl Scout Troop 10276 asked our volunteers if we would like the leftover cookies from their sale. They donated 5 cartons of Girl Scout Cookies which we will donate to Castle Point this week. A good turnout of marchers for the parade including Jeff Boes (rifle), Bill Meyer (rifle), Kevin Hines (Old Glory), Carl Eyler (Legion Flag), Dan Oberhauser (POW Flag), John Lyons (rifle) and Liam Van Buren (rifle). Liam was one of our honorees from the 2019 Graduating Enlistees luncheon and was home on leave. A couple of "volunteer" boy scouts carried our banner.

The VA was represented and Adam Roche (County Veterans Affairs officer) along with John Polasko manning the VVA table joined us in the tent. Thank you Danny Oberhauser for organizing the Color Guard; Norm Dauerer and Tommy Masch for supplying military vehicles; Jim Reynolds and Don Burns for staffing the table; and John Polasko for organizing a raffle.

Other post members present were John Call (Knights of Columbus), Joe Ryan, Harry Rodriguez and Sam Patton.

9/11 Commemoration Ceremony

The Town of East Fishkill held a ceremony in commemoration of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001. At 5:00 pm, the East Fishkill Orchestra began a prelude to the ceremony with patriotic music. At 5:45, our post's Color Guard presented the colors while the national anthem was sung.
Representing the post were Bill Meyer (Rifle), Kevin Hines (U.S. Flag), Dan Oberhauser (Legion Flag), John Lyons (Rifle) and Lance Ashworth (Captain of the Guard). Also present were Jim Reynolds, John Polasko. Claude Wuytack and Bill Kriebel (Photos).

Eagle Scout Court for Derek Garcia–June13, 2021

 

Adjutant John Polasko, Member Tom Masch presiding

Flag Retirement Ceremony

Flag Day, June 14, was gloomy and threatening, but eighteen post members, along with members of the Boy Scouts, assembled at 7:00 pm for our annual flag retirement ceremony. The proceedings began with Commander Ashworth, Sergeant-at-Arms Jeff Boes and First Vice Commander Jim Reynolds reporting on the inspection of the flags submitted for disposal. After Chaplain Jeff Miedowsky offered a prayer, Norm Dauerer got a fire started in the burn pit and the disposal began. With a threat of rain in the forecast, the burning was started a bit earlier than scheduled, and as expected, we didn't get a lot of the flags retired before the heavens opened up.

In attendance were Commander Lance Ashworth, Jeff Boes, Dan Briscoe, Don Burns, John Call, Norm Dauerer, Charles Embry, Dona Greenwood, Len Hart, Bill Kriebel, John Lyons, Bill Meyer, Jeff Miedowski, Ed Morrison, Don Muller, Dan Oberhauser, John Polasko, Jim Reynolds and Karl Sokol.

Cleaning Our Ceremonial Rifles

On Friday, June 11, 2021 at 6:00 pm, six members of the post gathered at Norm Dauerer’s house for an M1 cleaning party for the post's ceremonial rifles. Six rifles, 6 legionnaires, perfect! Following Norm’s instructions, the M1’s were broken down and cleaning commenced. After a short pizza and beer break, oiling and reassembly started. Norm had to help each person when it came to installing some of the smaller parts. I don’t think any breakdown and reassembly records were threatened by this group. Work was finished about 8:45. The rifles were pretty dirty for being rarely used. Norm says that’s pretty normal for firing blanks. Thanks to Norm, Len Hart, Mark Baaden, Dan Oberhauser, George Dickman and Jim Reynolds.

Flag Retrieval

On the morning of June 5, members of the post, along with some of their friends and family, assembled at St. Denis Cemetery to retrieve the flags put out two Saturdays previous. Thanks to a light breeze and low humidity, the flags were dry enough for collection earlier than anticipated, and some early arrivals were able to commence the task before the scheduled 11:00 am start time.
 
After completing St. Denis, the party proceeded to Hopewell Cemetery at the Hopewell Reformed Church to finish the task. Post members participating were Lance Ashworth, Henry Baker, Jeff Boes, Dona Greenwood, Len Hart, Bill Kriebel, Bill Meyer and Karl Sokol.
 

East Fishkill Memorial Day Ceremony

The East Fishkill Memorial Day event began at 10:45 am with a parade from the E.F. Community Center, down NY Rt. 82 to the Veterans' Memorial at the intersection of Rt. 82 and Beekman Road. Norm Dauerer and Tom Masch drove their Jeeps to lead the Post in the parade. The Color Guard consisted of John Call, Kevin Hines, John Lyons and Bill Meyer carrying rifles, Bill Kriebel carrying Old Glory, Jeff Miedowski had the American Legion Flag, with Lance Ashworth carrying the P.O.W. flag and acting as Sergeant of the Guard. The rest of the post, (Dan Briscoe, Jim Broughton, Don Burns, Ted Carrozza, Bruce Coneeny, Hale Engel, Tom Masch, Donald Muller, Dona Greenwood, John Polasko, Jim Reynolds and Bob Spinillo) either marched with the Color Guard or rode with Norm and Tom in the Jeeps.

Post Commander Jim Reynolds began the ceremony by welcoming the assembled guests and introducing Long-time post member Doug McHoul as Master of Ceremonies. Jeff Miedowski acted as Chaplain in the absence of Post Chaplain Dan Oberhauser who could not be present. Norm Dauerer stepped up to fill in for Jeff Miedowski by holding the American Legion flag.

Post members laying wreaths were, Don Burns for Veterans of Foreign Wars, Jim Reynolds for Post 1758 and John Polasko for the Vietanam Veterans of America. Renate DeAngelis, a Gold Star Mother, also laid a wreath. Following the wreath-laying, the riflemen in the Color Guard fired three shots simultaneously as a salute to the dead. The Veterans' Memorial flag was then raised to the top as the bugler played Taps.

John Jay H.S. Memorial Day Ceremony

The morning of May 28 was mostly sunny, albeit a little chilly for the end of May. Soon after 7:00 a.m., the buses started rolling into the John Jay High School parking lot, which had been lined with hundreds of American Flags placed there that morning by students. Due to continuing Wuhan Virus restrictions, the buses weren't carrying a lot of students, as many were being schooled remotely at home. So the attendance was a lot lower than in previous years, but that didn't lower the enthusiasm level.

Prior to the students arriving, the flag on the flagpole in front of the school was lowered to half-staff in memory of all those who gave their lives in the defense of our nation. When everyone was assembled, a student offered a stirring rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner," whereupon, First Vice Commander Don Burns raised the flag, and Commander Jim Reynolds gave the students a speech on the meaning and importance of Memorial Day. The ceremony was closed by the student soloist singing "America the Beautiful".

Other post members in attendance were John Call, Len Hart, Bill Kriebel, Tom Masch, Bill Meyer, Jeff Miedowski, John Polasko, Joe Ryan, Karl Sokol and Bob Spinillo.

Cemetery Flag Placement



Saturday morning, May 22, Manny Bacon Post members met at the Falls Diner in Wappingers Falls for breakfast in preparation for placing flags on the graves of veterans. After a hearty meal, the group proceeded to St. Denis Cemetery and with the assistance of some friends and relatives, completed the task there and then went to the Hopewell Cemetery next to the Hopewell Reformed Church. In all, the group dispersed approximately 800 flags. Post members participating were Lance Ashworth, Henry Baker, Jeff Boes, Dan Briscoe, John Call, Jeff Dunay, Dona Greenwood, Bill Kriebel, John Lyons, Tom Masch, Bill Meyer, John Polasko, Jim Reynolds, Joe Ryan and Karl Sokol.