Charles A. Hammond

Lt. Charles A. Hammond is one of Port Huron's best-known soldiers. He also was one of the first local men killed in World War I. Born Jan. 11, 1887, he was a master machinist before joining the U.S. Army in 1910, at the age of 23. During World War I, Lt. Hammond led Company L into the battlefield of France. He was killed in action July 31, 1918, on Hill 212 in Sergy, France. He was posthumously awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for his heroics, as well as medals from the American, French, British and Belgian governments. American Legion Post 8 in Port Huron was named in his honor in 1919. His body was returned to Port Huron on July 24, 1921. He is buried in Lakeside Cemetery.

Taken from "Our Heroes" - Mary Lou Creamer
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mistcla2/heroes.htm

 

Post #8 Auxiliary

From Your President...

Just a reminder that the Auxiliary meetings are the second Tuesday of the month. Bingo is every Monday and Thursday starting at 6:30 pm. Fish fries are every Friday and Saturday in the lounge.

The Fall Conference is at Midland, MI on September 25-28, 2008, and the 7th District meeting is in Port Huron on October 19, 2008.

Other dates to remember are Veterans Day Program on NOvember 9, the Marine Corp Birthday on November 10, and our Membership Banquet on November 11, 2008

God Bless All of You...
God Bless America!

Lucille Stebbins, Auxiliary President

 

Veteran of the Year - Gary D. Moore

 

 

 

St. Clair County Allied Veterans' Council has bestowed the honor
of "Veteran of the Year - 2008" upon Gary D. Moore for his many
years of work aiding and supporting veterans, as well as his affiliations
with veterans groups and other civic organizations.

 

A dinner was held in his honor at the Legion Post 8 on November 1st at 7:00 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dues Notices!!

Dues notices were sent out September 1st. Please pay them early (get an 'Early Bird' sticker). Our Department President Suzanne's birthday is September 26th. She would like each Unit to be 50%. WE CAN DO IT...

 

Website Calendar

Please check our website calendar from time to time for updated events which may be added between Newsletters.

 

HELP! We Need You.

Thanks to the volunteers working the concession and bingo. It seems its the same ones all the time. If you can help, please call Gladys at 367-3210 or Lucille at 385-5339.

 

Wreaths Across America

Help honor and remember our fallen Heroes by donating a wreath to be placed on the gravesite of a veteran at the St. Clair Allied Veterans Cemetery - Port Huron, MI. The cost is only $15 per sponsored wreath. Please click here for more details or click here to print out an order form. All Wreaths Across America ceremonies nationwide will take place on Saturday, December 13th, 2008 at 12:00 noon (EST).

Please mail the completed order form no later than November 24th to the Fountain Family, 2401 Wadhams Rd., St. Clair, MI 48079

 

Thank You!

A BIG Thank You to our knitters, SANDY STAVER, the ladies at Mary Maxim, and the Grace Episcopal Church ladies!

 

Got A Name For Our Newsletter?

We would like to give our newsletter a name. Can you help us? Submit a name with your name by leaving it at the bar in the Auxiliary box or call one of the officers. We will choose the name and the winner will get a prize (surprize).

 

NASCAR Membership Banquet

The NASCAR Membership Banquet and Initiation of New Members will be held on November 11, 2008. We have not done this for four years so please plan on attending. It will be potluck and we ask you to call and tell us what you will bring - Meat will be furnished.

 

ATTENTION PLEASE!

We will start the first of the year (January) publishing the newsletter every three (3) Months.

 

Joe Herber

If there is a conventional portrait of the patriotic American, Joe Herber probably comes close to fitting it. The Port Huron resident spent 21 years in service to his country, first in the Army, then in the National Guard and as a member of the Army Reserve. He retired as a sergeant 1st class. Herber of Port Huron belongs to several military organizations, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and is serving his third term as commander of the Charles A. Hammond American Legion Post 8 in Port Huron. "I served in Korea during the Vietnam era," he said. "I was involved with something called the second Korean War. It's not something a lot of people know about or remember."

He said he was stationed in Korea during the late 1960s. During that time the North Koreans were regularly making incursions into the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas. The North Koreans captured the USS Pueblo, a Navy vessel, on Jan. 23, 1968. The ship still is in their control today. In April of the same year, Herber said a company of North Korean soldiers attacked an observation point in the demilitarized zone. "Basically most people don't even realize anything went on in Korea during that time frame," he said. Herber said he joined the National Guard 12 years after he left the Army. He spent 13½ years in the Guard before transferring to the Army Reserve.

"I enjoyed the military," he said. "I enjoyed teaching people. "The last seven years I was in the Amy Reserve, our mission was to train people at Fort Benning, Ga." Americans, he said, "are everything.

"My grandparents came from Russia just before the first World War," he said. "Other than speaking to a Native American or someone like that, everyone comes from someplace else. "I do take it as an affront when people try to cubbyhole themselves by saying, 'I'm an African American or a German American or a Swedish American,'" he said. "If you're an American, you can be anybody." He said he doesn't like it when people make more of their heritage -- where they came from -- than where they live. "Everybody isn't the richest in the world, and everybody isn't the smartest in the world," he said, "but we're all Americans and color shouldn't make any difference."

Borrowed from The Times Herald