Benson VFW Post 2503

May 2016 www.VFWPost2503.org

402-571-8397

From the Commander

Dear Comrades and Ladies:

At the last two General Membership

Meetings on March 3 and April 7,

2016 the Post conduced three round

of officer nominations and held the

election. The installation of new of-

ficers will take place during the New

Business portion of the May 5, 2016

General Membership Meeting. The

Installation Officer will be the State

Surgeon Joe Smith. The officers will

officially start their duties on Sunday,

June 12, 2016 when Doug Whitaker

will be inaugurated as the New De-

partment Commander at the State

Convention in Kearney, Nebraska.

The elected officers for next year,

2016-2017 are as follows:

POSITION NAME

Post Commander Tony Cox

Senior Vice Commander

Ricky Johnson

Junior Vice Commander

Sharon Cooper

Quartermaster Dan Raabe

Chaplain Dennis Kerr

Surgeon Terrence White

Judge Advocate Randall

McQueeney

Adjutant Chuck Wolf

Service Officer Bob Brown

Trustee 3 year Patrick Parker

(Continued on page 3)

From the Auxiliary

President .

Auxiliary elections were held at the

meeting on April 7 and the elected

officers are Karen Cox President,

Connie Ross Senior Vice President,

Jennifer Farmer Junior Vice Presi-

dent, Marcia Jones Chaplain, Kathy

Raabe Treasurer, Jan Davis Guard,

Pat Dembowski Secretary, and

Trustees for the ensuing year are

Evelyn Westergard, Kathy Thielen

and Sue Stark. Congratulations.

Installation will be after the Auxilia-

ry meeting on 5 May.

I would like to thank all the volun-

teers that made our Saint Patrick’s

Day celebration a success. The

corned beef dinner was a huge suc-

cess as were the bake sale and raf-

fles. Raffle winners were Margie

Hanna (Light House), Earl Jones

(Patriotic Quilt), and Bev Johnson

and Kathy Polly (Saint Patrick

quilts). Congratulations and special

thanks to Dale Thornton, Nancy and

Sewing Group for their donations.

If you haven’t paid your annual

dues or paid your $7.00 cancer dues

if you are a lifetime member please

try and get them in. As an Auxilia-

(Continued on page 3)

POST 2503 OFFICERS 2015-2016 Commander: Fred Van Peer

Sr. Vice Commander: Wayne ‘Tony ‘ Cox Jr. Vice Commander: Sharon Cooper

Quartermaster: Dan Raabe Chaplain: Dennis Kerr

Surgeon: Terrence White Judge Advocate: Randall McQueeney

Officer of the Day: Randall McQueeney Adjutant: Chuck Wolf

Guard: Bill Fead Service Officer: Robert Brown

AUXILIARY OFFICERS 2015-2016

President: Kathy ‘Tiger’ Thielen

Sr. Vice President: Karen Cox

Jr. Vice President: Shirley Duis

Treasurer: Ruth Gerst

Secretary: Pat Dembowski

Chaplain: Marcia Jones

Conductress: Jan Davis

Guard: Kathy Raabe

Patriotic Instructor: Pending

Post and Auxiliary

Meetings

1st Thursday

every month

7:00 pm

Honor Guard

Meeting

2nd Thursday

every month

7:00 pm

CINCO DE MAYO - $7.50

MAY 6, 5:30 - 7:00PM

BEEF/CHICKEN

ENCHILADAS

RICE/BEANS

PORK CHILI

CHIPS (REGULAR/

CINNAMON) SALSA

May Day, May Day.

Come one, Come all,

No Question Too Small.

Find out, Figure out,

How Medicare Works.

Friday, May 6th at 3:00PM

POST BREAKFAST

May 15th

8:30—Noon

Thirsty Thursdays

& Tacos

May 12th

5-7pm

Basket Night

May 27th

5:30—7:00 pm

2

POST BREAKFAST

May 15th

0830—Noon

Chaplain’s Message

Say whatever else you want about the

Army, they gave me the gift of two

honorable missions and stories to tell

grandchildren someday. Needless to

say I am not a heroic figure at all.

Almost everyone I have met at the

VFW actually had much more diffi-

cult times and stress than I did. But I

can tell you about the wonderful peo-

ple I have met personally who were

brave and considerate under duress.

They lived up to American ideals,

even when the rest of the world was-

n't watching. In this way, it's like the

Army issued me an extra large duffel

bag - chock full of stories!

When I was in the Army, I wasn't a

commander or anything. But as I

traveled to my mission, I stopped in

Germany, and took an MWR (moral

welfare and recreation) trip to a con-

centration camp. It was a completely

voluntary thing to do, and my LTC

(Lieutenant Colonel) was there also.

As he and a few other soldiers and I

walked along in our civilian clothes,

he shared how he was concerned

about doing the right thing on our

mission, and how the people who ran

the concentration camps were "just

following orders". I didn't dwell too

much on that until after I came home.

And as I look back, I didn't worry

about him doing wrong things on our

mission, I was free to do the best

work I could do. Part of the oath I

took as a soldier was to "obey lawful

orders", and because he showed true

leadership, I simply did just that. He

might not think it was a gift, I say

that it is. If any of my children ever

become officers, I will share this sto-

It is time ag

ain fo

r the an

nual sale o

f the V

eterans o

f Foreig

n W

ars Bu

dd

y P

op

pies. A

lthou

gh

you m

ay n

ot b

e able to

help

with

the sale o

f Buddy P

opp

ies, we are su

re yo

u w

ould

like to

con

-

tribute to

this w

orth

y cau

se. Donatio

ns receiv

ed fro

m th

e sale of B

ud

dy P

op

pies are u

sed to

help

need

y v

eterans an

d th

eir families.

Nam

e to b

e disp

layed

on P

oppy C

ard:

__________________________________________

___

___

___

___

___

____

__

_____

__

___

_

Your N

ame: _

_____________________________

____

__

__

___

__

__

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_____

__

__

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_

Telep

hone N

um

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________________________

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Mem

orial? Y

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Th

ank y

ou

for y

ou

r warm

and

gen

erou

s do

natio

n, V

FW

Post 2

503 B

udd

y P

oppy C

hairm

an

ry, and hope that they will do the same

thing.

Dennis Kerr, Chaplain

The 2016-2017 Essay Contest

Themes:

VOD: ‘My Responsibility to Ameri-

ca

PP: ‘The America I Believe In’

The Voice of Democracy is for 9th

through 12th grade, and Patriots Pen is

6th through 8th grade. Encourage

your nieces, nephews, grandchildren

and neighbors to enter by November

1st 2016.

3

Trustee 2 year Bryan Vercoe

Trustee 1 year Bob Fenton

House/Building Committee 3 year

Jay Donoho

House/Building Committee 3 year

Brian Farmer

House/Building Committee 2 year

Bob Brown

House/Building Committee 1 year

Warren Malloy

House/Building Committee 1 year

Tom Penke

Since there was no election contest

for any office the Adjutant cast one

unanimous vote for each nominated

officer. My congratulations to all

elected and appointed officers and

good luck. As always thanks for your

support.

Fred Van Peer, Post Commander

(Continued from page 1)

ry member whether annual or life

you are eligible if you have been

hospitalized and diagnosed with

cancer at $35.00 a day. All bills

noting your hospitalization need to

be submitted to Ruth Gerst and will

be reviewed by a committee. Please

contact Ruth or myself with ques-

tions. The Auxiliary needs your

membership to support our pro-

grams for Veterans and their fami-

lies. Your membership is valued.

Send your dues to Ruth Gerst, Aux-

iliary Treasurer at 8904 Military

Road, Omaha, NE 68134. If you

have any questions, please contact

me at 402-681-0687 or Ruth at 402-

498-9781. For your information the

$7.00 cancer dues apply only to

Auxiliary members not Post mem-

bers.

The State Convention will be held

June 9-12 at the Kearney, NE Holi-

day Inn/Convention Center, 110 S.

2nd.

Please keep all our Troops, Veter-

ans, Auxiliary and families in your

thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely,

President, Kathy ‘Tiger’ Thielen

From the Kitchen

Winners for the free meal were Lois

Peyton, Mary Kruse, Bob Fenton

and Tom Risinger. Congratulations

and thanks for supporting the Post.

One Wednesday of each month the

Post will be providing a dessert to

celebrate all birthdays for that

month. A special way to say

THANK YOU and HAPPY

(Continued from page 1) BIRTHDAY! We will celebrate all

birthdays in May on the 25th..

Please come to the Post, enjoy a

great meal and have a piece of cake

on us.

Please plan to join us at the Post for

Basket Night on Friday, May 27.

We will be serving Wing, Shrimp,

Chicken Strip and Fish Baskets.

Drink prices are discounted from

3:00 to 7:00pm.

Also, on May 12, Thirsty Thursday

we will be serving Tacos, Tortilla

chips with salsa or Cinnamon Sugar

Chips. Breakfast will be served on

Sunday, May 15.

THANK YOU TO ALL THE VOL-

UNTEERS. YOU DO A FANTAS-

TIC JOB!

If there is a food item you would

like to see on the menu let me know.

I am open to suggestions. The Post

is looking for volunteers to help out

on the nights food is served. There

are plenty different things you can

do from writing tickets to serving

food. Everyone is welcome. We

have fun. You may call me at 402-

572-0651 or the Post at 402-571-

8397 or leave a note at the bar.

Keep in mind on HAMBURGER

NIGHT that hamburgers, chicken

sandwiches and fish will always be

served. The menu on the calendar is

the SPECIAL for that day.

Please remember to fill out a ticket

for a chance to win a free meal.

Thank you for all your support. To-

gether we do make a difference.

Please thank our Veterans and keep

our members, families and Troops in

your thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely,

Kathy ‘Tiger’ Thielen and the Crews

Honor Guard

Thank you to the Honor Guard for

entrusting me with this important

duty. I will do all I can to make this

a good year.

Ricky Johnson

(Continued on page 4) 5146 N. 90th St.(1-Block South 90th & Fort)

4

footage they may have. They will

also shoot some segments with vet-

erans and their families, or reunite

veterans with their units, etc. They

are looking for more stories for their

6 or more 1-hour long episodes.

The following links explain the pro-

ject. Military Times article: http://

www.militarytimes.com/story/

entertainment/2015/11/17/your-war-

story-wanted-ricky-schroder-

fighting-season-soldier-

edition/75929570/

Fox & Friends: http://

video.foxnews.com/

v/4653234028001/ricky-schroder-

talks-starring-in-coat-of-many-

colors/?#sp=show-clips

To contact the producer Brett

Shumway, call 310-455-2789

I just received this information in

my Womens Army Corps Mar/Apr

Newsletter. That is why this is late.

If you know an Iraq/Afghan Veter-

an, pass this along to them. It may

not be too late.

Sharon Cooper

First Responders Craft and

Family Day

May 21st will be a special expanded

Children’s Craft Day. Police, Fire,

Helos and Horses from 1-3pm.

Make it a family outing. Food will

be available.

Honor Guard CPT

AUXILIARY

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The June 11 event Rave On: The

Buddy Holly Experience will be at

the Omaha Community Playhouse at

7:30. Cost is $32 per ticket and we

need to turn our paid reservation in

by May 11. Please sign up at the bar

or call Kathy Raabe at (402) 392-

0210.

.

Auxiliary Chaplain’s News

Auxiliary Sisters: Please inform

Auxiliary Chaplain Marcia Jones 402

-926-2648 of any ill or deceased Aux-

iliary member.

Marcia Jones

FROM THE QUARTERMASTER

The response to the building fund

was wonderful and the post appreci-

ates it very much. St. Patrick’s Day

was also a great day, lots of people

reconnected and the kitchen crew had

fun while working extremely hard.

Tiger deserves a round of applause.

600 pounds of corned beef is no small

task, not to mention all the potatoes

and cabbage.

As we go forward, please remember,

we are here for the Veterans. We

need to work together; Post

(members, canteen and kitchen),

Honor Guard, and Auxiliary. No one

group is Post 2503.

Dan Raabe, Post Quartermaster

The Fighting Season

Direct TV is producing a new docu-

mentary series that provides a venue

for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to

share their stories. They will begin

airing the episodes around 4 July

2016. They plan to shoot interviews

during April with the service mem-

bers and they will walk the audience

through their story using any film

(Continued from page 3) ROOM RENTALS

Please keep in mind for your

meeting/party plans, that the Post

is available Monday through Fri-

day during the day. Contact Geri

Brown at 402-943-9067 to re-

serve your date. Spread the word

to your friends and family. The

Post looks great decorated for

weddings and graduation parties

too.

Memorial Day Schedule

0930— Evergreen Cemetery

1100—Mt Hope Cemetery

1200—Springwell Cemetery

1230—Potters Field

1330—VFW Post 2503

May 28th, 0900 Boy Scouts put

out flags at Mt Hope

May 31st, 1800 Boy Scouts pick

up flags at Mt Hope

MEMORIAL DAY MAY 30

FOOD AND ICE CREAM

SOCIAL AFTER SERVICES

Nebraska Vietnam

Combat Veterans Flight

Monday,

June 6th 2016

Mission:

135 Vietnam

Combat Veterans

& $130,000 in

Donations

Please Visit: www.PatrioticProductions.org

Applications and

donations may be mailed

to:

Patriotic Productions

16213 Lamp St

Omaha, NE 68118

5

M

ay

20

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V.F.W. Post 2503

8904 Military Road

Omaha, NE 68134

Address Service Requested Non-Profit Org

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit #610

Omaha, NE

See Inside Memorial Day

Basket Night

Post Breakfast

Medicare Information

Thirsty Thursday

Auxiliary Activities

From Your Honor Guard Captain

Wayne ‘Tony’ Cox

MILITARY RITES: March 2016

Military Members

Deceased Cemetery Members

3/02/16 Seymour Schneider Evergreen 8

3/04/16 Michael Miller Mt Hope 10

3/07/16 Eugene Reegan Westlawn 10

3/08/16 Gorman Benson Evergreen 10

3/15/16 Marvin Conway Mt Hope 12

3/15/16 James W R Brown Calvary 9

3/21/16 Daniel Lynch Resurrection 8

3/22/16 Blyth Kubovec Resurrection 12

3/23/16 Leonard Waltrip Calvary 7

3/25/16 Gary Hallberg Forest Lawn 11

3/31/16 Jim McGuire Evergreen 10

Funerals 11 Members 107 Hours 321

* Post Member

March 2016

Our Unknown Comrades

NOTICE: All articles should be in the Newsletter Box, IN WRIT-ING, at the Post no later than May 7th. If ar ticles are not submit-ted by the deadline, they will have to wait for the next newsletter. We try to have the newsletter to the printers in the week following the meetings. If changes need to be made after the meetings, articles can be amended. When your article is late, the Newsletter is late to all our members. Please use a full sheet of paper. Little pieces of paper can get lost. Thank you

CLUB HOURS

Monday Closed

Tuesday thru Thursday 3:00 pm—9:00 pm

Friday 3:00 pm—9:00 pm

Saturday Noon—9:00 pm

Sunday Noon—7:00 pm

PHONE: 402-571-8397

The Post is selling Memorial Bricks

around the memorial walk and flag.

Bob Fenton, Chairman

Memorial Bricks are being sold by

Post 2503 to be put around the outside

Name _______________________________________________ Please Print

Phone # ________________________________________ WORDS ON BRICK

Line 1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 Line 2 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 Line 3 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1

Checks Only—No Cash Return this form to the Post

of the Memorial flag pole. These bricks will cost $60.00 each.

They will be for VFW, Auxiliary, AMVET & Auxiliary members,

their families and people they sponsor. They will be memorials for

living or deceased people. They will be ordered once a year on

April 1st, for installation by Memorial Day each year. Max 16 spac-

es per line, 3 lines, cost $60.00 per brick.