GREAT NATION! EVERY DAY IS MEMORIDAL DAY AND EVERY DAY IS VETERANS DAY!!

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1 Volume 63, Issue 17 JULY 2018 JULY 4 A Bit OF HISTORY On July 4, 1776, the thirteen colonies claimed their independence from England, an event which eventually led to the formation of the United States. Each year on, also known as Independence Day, Americans celebrate this historic event. Conflict between the colonies and England was already a year old when the colonies convened a Continental Congress in Philadelphia in the summer of In a June 7 session in the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall), Richard Henry Lee of Virginia presented a resolution with the famous words: "Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." Lee's words were the impetus for the drafting of a formal Declaration of Independence, although the resolution was not followed up on immediately. On June 11, consideration of the resolution was postponed by a vote of seven colonies to five, with New York abstaining. However, a Committee of Five was appointed to draft a statement presenting to the world the colonies' case for independence. Members of the Committee included John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Robert R. Livingston of New York and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. The task of drafting the actual document fell on Jefferson. On July 1, 1776, the Continental Congress reconvened, and on the following day, the Lee Resolution for independence was adopted by 12 of the 13 colonies, New York not voting. Discussions of Jefferson's Declaration of Independence resulted in some minor changes, but the spirit of the document was unchanged. The process of revision continued through all of July 3 and into the late afternoon of July 4, when the Declaration was officially adopted. Of the 13 colonies, nine voted in favor of the Declaration, two -- Pennsylvania and South Carolina -- voted No, Delaware was undecided, and New York abstained. John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence. It is said that John Hancock's signed his name "with a great flourish" so England's "King George can read that without spectacles!" Today, the original copy of the Declaration is housed in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and July 4 has been designated a national holiday to commemorate the day the United States laid down its claim to be a free and independent nation. We at Post 13 hope that all of our members and their families and friends have an enjoyable fourth this year, as you celebrate the independence of our GREAT NATION! EVERY DAY IS MEMORIDAL DAY AND EVERY DAY IS VETERANS DAY!!

2 PAGE 2 SAULS-BRIDG ES AMERICAN L EG ION POST 13 NEW S VOLUME 63, ISSUE 17 GET TO KNOW OUR MEMBERS. MEET BRYCE AND HELEN THORNTON TWO MORE ACHIEVERS!! Bryce one of our WWII Veterans age 92, who considers himself extremely fortunate to still be here. Having trained as an explosive technician in 1943, handling, storing, transporting, and destroying various ammo in an area that daily called for zero tolerance. Just a start for his military career June December 1945, with the 101st Timberwolf Division, he gratefully served his time. This part of his military life was EASY comparing what happened in his overseas tour. In Europe 1943/1945, Bryce like untold thousands, walked through France, Belgium, Holland and Germany and was there when the War ended. His primary duties was clearing mine fields and destroying booby traps that had been well placed and concealed by the enemy. (Have you noticed how carefully and gingerly Bryce moves about)? He was in many battles on the front line for 195 days of which the Battle of the Bulls was a significant part. Six months of that journey was daily struggles and freezing weather and witnessing many casualties in which some were very close to him. This is just a bit of the history that Bryce witnessed over there. Some memories have faded, but very little. Near the end of the war, his company assisted in the liberation of a German labor camp that consisted of approximately six thousand (6,000) men and women many of whom worked daily with little or no food; many of the prisoners could barely walk and had very little life left. Like other sights that Bryce witnessed, this is just another along his way that should have never happened. Bryce worked with he Bureau of Prisons for 23 years and the State of Florida for 10 years in security. He is also known as a GOOD painter. On more than one occasion, he has made our Legion building look better with paint! Helen did office work while in Ohio and Florida but she was and is a housewife which Bryce truly loves. She has been a member of the Auxiliary for 13 years, and Bryce likewise has been with the Legion for the same period of time. The both hold longtime memberships in the Elks Lodge (39 years), and Helen is a 68 year member of Beta Sigma Phi sorority in which she has held ALL offices, and continues to assist in a variety of project, having donated an untold number of volunteer hours in all memberships. These two are constantly in the Legion volunteering. About 13 years after Bryce returned from over there, he married his love Helen, with whom he has been married for over 74 years!! The two met in grade school early on, and became friends. Now, for some more good news, they have two children, grandchildren, and many more family members with whom they are very close. After retirement, they started traveling. They have been in all fifty states and fifteen foreign countries, and many island tours via cruises. Bryce was also one the first HONOR FLIGHT to D.C!!! BRYCE AND HELEN, WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND CONTRIBUTIONS!! SEMI-ANNUAL FLAG RETIREMENT CEREMONY Our Semi-Annual Flag Retirement Ceremony will be held July 8th at 2pm, located at Jimmy Steels home. The Fire Department has been notified and will be present! This is an opportunity for ALL OF US, especially the children to observe a very honorable, undertaking concerning the United States Flag. We encourage you to come out, bring a friend or family member or two, and see what this is all about. Please be sure and bring a seat for you to sit in and dress appropriately. Cold water will be available. The process usually takes an hour or so. The driveway to Jimmy Steeles property will be marked with U.S. Flags, and is located on Aenon Church rd. THE WILLINGNESS OF AMERICAS VETERANS TO SACRIFICE FOR OUR COUNTRY HAS EARNED HAS EARNED THEM OUR LASTING GRATITUDE. ~ JEFF MILLER

3 PAGE 3 SAULS-BRIDGES AMERICAN LEGION POST 13 NEWS VOLUME 63, ISSUE 17 4th OF JULY FIREWORKS SAFETY AND LOCAL SHOWS DECATUR COUNTY Bainbridge 6-9pm Earle May Boat Basin FRANKLIN COUNTY Carabelle July 1st 8:30-10pm Over Carabelle River Highway 98 Apalachicola July 3rd 5-10pm Riverfront Park St. George Island 7-9pm 8 West Gorrie Drive (downtown by lighthouse) GADSDEN COUNTY Greensboro 9 pm-2 am Greensboro Town Hall JEFFERSON COUNTY Monticello 7-10:30pm Jefferson County High School LEON COUNTY 6-10pm Shannon Lakes Park 5:30pm-9:45pm Tom Brown Park RECOMMENDED FIREWORKS SAFETY TIPS Obey all local laws regarding the use of fireworks. Know your fireworks; read the cautionary labels and performance descriptions before igniting. A responsible adult SHOULD supervise all firework activities. Never give fireworks to children. Alcohol and fireworks do not mix. Save your alcohol for after the show. Wear safety glasses when shooting fireworks. Light one firework at a time and then quickly move away. Use fireworks OUTDOORS in a clear area; away from buildings and vehicles. Never relight a dud firework. Wait 20 minutes and then soak it in a bucket of water. Always have a bucket of water and charged water hose nearby. Never carry fireworks in your POCKET or shoot them into METAL or GLASS containers. Do not experiment with homemade fireworks. Dispose of spent fireworks by wetting them down and place in a metal trash can away from any building or combustible materials until the next day. FAA regulations PROHIBIT the possession and transportation of fireworks in your checked baggage or carry-on luggage. Report illegal explosives, like M-80s and quarter sticks, to the fire or police department. And let s not forget the safety of our pets! Don t bring your pets to a fireworks display, even a small WHEN YOU ASK A VETERAN WHEN THEY WERE LAST OVER THERE, KNOW THAT IN MAY CASES, THE REAL ANSWER IS EVERY NIGHT

4 VOLUME 63, ISSUE 17 SAULS-BRIDG ES AMERICAN L EG ION POST 13 NEW S PAGE 4 CHAPLAIN S CORNER Our Supreme Commander, America needs Your help. The United States needs Your help. Your help is desperately needed! Father, we are plagued with violence. Lord, violence is taking our youth from us. Lord, our children are being killed, slaughtered by our own people, by murderers among us. Father, we desperately need Divine intervention. Please grant wisdom to our law makers, to Congress and to local authorities. We need wisdom to stop the killing of innocent children (and others) in our towns and cities. We invoke Your mercy and your wisdom. Grant it, Lord, is our prayer! We thank You, our Father, for your rich blessings on our beloved country. We are blessed above the nations around us. We are FREE! Perhaps our most precious blessing is the freedom that we enjoy. Too often we take freedom for granted. May we remember and reflect that our freedom comes from You. It is indeed the gift of God! And we have abundant material blessings, too. Many people have need of food while we enjoy luxurious and delicious food in generous portions. We thank You for comfortable housing, And for air conditioning to comfort us on the oppressive hot days. We are blessed and we remember that blessings are from the hand of God. We thank You that most of us are blessed to take a Noel Hurst Post 13 Chaplain vacation this summer, away from the daily routine. Many of us will travel to other areas, to a beautiful beach, to a river retreat or to another city to relax with family of friends. We will drive a nice car or fly with an airline to distant places for a getaway. Oh, Lord, May we remember who enables us to enjoy these pleasures. Such blessings come from You, They come from You because of Your great love for us. May we remember that You are not mad at us. You are indeed mad ABOUT us. If You had a refrigerator You'd have our picture on it! Thank You for our blessings! Thank You, Lord, for our Legion Post. Thank You for the leadership You have given us. Thank You for the unseen helpers that You provide the post. Father, bless the post leadership. Grant wisdom to our leaders. Father, bless those who help with the maintenance of the building. Bless those who help in the kitchen. And we remember the Legion Auxiliary. Those volunteers make the post much more enjoyable. May they continue to bless the membership with their efforts. Memorial Day is upon us. It reminds us that freedom is not free! We pause to remember that many have given their lives to keep us free. May we, the living, not fail to guard and keep the freedom that many heroes died to obtain or to preserve. So help us, God! We ask these things in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. FROM THE COMMANDER Post 13 Commander WWI 3,349 WWII 72,961 Vietnam 1601 HONOR-RELEASE-RETURN INC. STILL WAITING TO COME HOME. POW * MIA Cold War 126 Korea 7,712 Irag & Afghanistan 6 Yes, summer is here. All of us here at Post 13 should be proud of many in the Post, including those who give of their time and energy, (and often money) so that all of this can happen. This spring, those in the Honor Guard have been particularly busy at the National Cemetery. So far, they have been involved in over 600 services. The ROTC awards and medals have been given to units at college and high school levels in Leon and Gadsden counties by a devoted volunteer group. Memorial Day service was held at Post 13 home because of weather. The speaker was General Snodgrass. Event was recorded by WFSU and WCTV and was broadcast. Girls State has been held. Boys State begins June 17. These are Florida's premier youth leadership programs. American Legion baseball has begun. This may be our best team ever. And we continue our regular weekly activities, serving our community, State and Nation. Recently, I got to know of an organization called Honor-Release-Return. Jim Moe Moyer visited in the city and informed many of the organizations mission: Working for the reparation of live American Prisoners of War in any form of captivity worldwide to devote all available manpower and resources of the organization to build political support through education and attain mission favorable outcomes. To craft and pass effective legislation, gain government action and success in repatriating Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action. To act as a catalyst for the POW/MIA community through communication, organization, and coordination of efforts to foster common success of all and nurture a universal will to account for all of the missing. Jim Moyer is a National Co-Chairman. His contact information is as follows: Cell phone: info@honorreleasereturn.com EVERY SOLDIER HAS EARNED THE RIGHT TO COME HOME!! WANT TO HELP?? Dial YOUR SUPPORT WOULD BE APPRECIATED -CONSIDERATION...

5 PAGE 5 VOLUME 63, ISSUE 17 Auxiliary News Navigating for Veterans and their Families CATCHING RAYS - CREATING BRIGHTER FUTURES Hi Ladies, Thank You for asking me to be your President again. Congratulations to our other officers: Vice President - Nell Hewitt, Secretary - April Maier, Treasurer - Katina Johnson, Historian - Delores Gaden, Chaplain - Brigid Smith, Sergeant-at-Arms - Terry Little, and three Membersat-Large - Hazel Connell, Marjorie McNeil, and Karen Sorrell. Officers will be installed at the July Post Social. As we begin our year, let us all promise to do our best to implement the mission and goals of the American Legion Auxiliary. Our Department Convention will be in Orlando on July 5-8, Please plan to attend as it is most informative and gives motivation for us to continue to volunteer providing support and service to our military families, at home and abroad. There will be some changes to our C&B and Standing Rules to better our organization. These will be discussed at our August meeting. Mark your calendar for the upcoming events: July 5-8, 2018: Department Convention in Orlando July 12, 2018: ALA Unit 13 Executive Committee Meeting at 6:00pm in Hootch July 12, 2018: ALA Unit 13 General Membership Meeting at 7:00pm in Hootch July 26, 2018: Post Social at 6:30pm in Legion Hall and Installation of Officers Lets keep our members and Legion families in our Prayers as we begin a new year. FOR GOD AND COUNTRY. ALWAYS GODSPEED, Muriel Alexander Kweyama President, ALA Unit 13 GIRLS STATE 2018 WAS GREAT!! Forward Forever, Backward Never, Within Ourselves Our Future Lies By: Marjorie McNeill ALA Unit 13 and District 2 Girls State Chairman The 2018 session of Florida Girls State was held June 6 th -14 th on the campus of Florida State University with the legislative session in the Florida Capitol. delegates, Mamie Odom (Rickards High School), Ashley Campbell (Leon High School), Cassandra Hetrick (Lincoln High School), and Kiara Thompson (Leon High School), had the opportunity to live together as selfgoverning citizens and learn the duties, privileges, rights, and responsibilities of American citizenship. Rising high school seniors become citizens of and participate in creating a mythical state of Seminole. This mythical state is divided into 10 cities and 5 counties. The citizens are assigned to either the Nationalist or Federalist Party. Their rigorous schedule includes participating in political campaigns, bill writing, and legislative debates. As the government begins to take shape, these young women come to understand their important role in a democratic society. Volunteering on the Florida Girls State staff from ALA Unit 13 were Nell Hewitt and Marjorie McNeill. Fun and learning was had by all, staff and girls! DO ONTO OTHERS AS THOUGH YOU WERE THE OTHERS.

6 VOLUME 63, ISSUE 17 SAULS-BRIDGES AMERICAN LEGION POST 13 NEWS PAGE 6 DID YOU KNOW? BY John Folsom, Past Commander A MARINE WOULD Jason Dunham, a Marine Corporal saved two fellow Marines in Iraq by covering a live grenade with his helmet and body. He died eight days later from his injuries. Posthumously he was awarded the Medal of Honor. 3 years after illegally joining the Marines at the age of 14, Jacklyn Lucas snuck onto a ship bound for Iwo Jima, stormed the beach without a rifle, and threw himself on top of two grenades to protect his team. He survived and earned the Medal of Honor at the age of 17. Chesty Puller joined the Marines as a private, got promoted to Sergeant and then became an officer as a Lieutenant, then got discharged, enlisted as a Private again, then became an officer again, and ended up being a Lieutenant General. "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them." During the frenzied Evacuation of Saigon by American Troops in 1975, one Marine drove a bread truck full of prostitutes to an airstrip in town and put them on a C-141. He said they were all personal friends and signed as responsible for them. During the Battle of Iwo Jima, Hospital Corpsman John Willis was treating a fallen Marine in a mortar crater when a grenade landed at his feet. He returned the grenade, followed by seven others thrown by the enemy in rapid succession, all while administering blood plasma. The ninth grenade killed him. Carlos Hathcock, was a Marine sniper who shot an enemy sniper through the enemy s own scope, hitting him in the eye and killing him. Look up the names, read about them, there is a lot more to the story. Once a Marine always a Marine. God Bless. MARK YOUR CALENDAR JUNE 21 - SUMMER BEGINS JUNE 28 - POST SOCIAL 6:30pm JULY 4 - INDEPENDENCE DAY (HAPPY 4TH) JULY 8 - FLAG RETIREMENT (SEE ARTICLE) JULY 26 - INSTALLATION OF OFFICERS Thank You Card! We thought it was important to share a thank you card we received from Stephanie Kilham at Big Bend Hospice regarding the work Phyllis Lent does for our Veterans.Please Read. JULY 26 - POST SOCIAL 6:30pm FOR THE VETERAN, THANK YOU FOR BRAVELY DOING WHAT YOURE CALLED TO DO SO WE CAN SAFELY DO WHAT WERE FREE TO DO.

7 01 VOLUME 63, ISSUE 17 JULY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 7pm Glory Bound Gospel Sing Dance Lesson with 09 Dance Lesson with 16 Dance Lesson with 23 Dance Lesson with 30 Dance Lesson With :30pm Sue Boyd Country Dance Lessons 11 6:30pm Sue Boyd Country Dance Lessons 18 6:30pm Sue Boyd Country Dance Lessons 25 6:30pm Sue Boyd Country Dance Lessons 05 7:10am TIPS 3-6pm VETS Legal Services 7pn The SHED/FIVE STAR Jamming 12 7:10am TIPS Meeting 3-6pm VETS Legal Services 6:30 Exe. Brd Mtg. 19 7:10am TIPS Meeting 3-6pm VETS Legal Services 26 7:10am TIPS Meeting 3-6pm VETS Legal Services 06 BIZ Net every Friday AM For Rent 13 BIZ Net every Friday AM 7pm Free Wheelin Dance/Music 20 BIZ Net every Friday AM PM Pure Platinum Band Music/Dance 27 BIZ Net every Friday AM 8pm Keith Taylor Band Music/Dance PAGE pm The Rockitz Music/Dance 14 5pm Wedding Event 21 2:30 Democratic Club of North Florida 28 To Book your Event at the Post, please call We do not maintain regular office hours. All services performed here are volunteer hours. Generally, the office is open from Noon until late afternoon. If you must leave a message, please make certain to leave your area code as part of your telephone number.

8 Post News Located at: 229 Lake Ella Drive, Florida Mailing Address: American Legion, Sauls-Bridges Post #13 PO Box 38028, FL Phone: Web: FloridaLegionPost13.org JULY 2018 Return Service Requested Non-Profit Organization US Postage PAID, Florida Permit No. 21 For God and Country Editing/layout: Jamie Boynton & Charles LeCroy Photos: Deadline for the AUGUST 2018 Newsletter will be JULY 10th at 5:00pm Web page (Face book): Google: American Legion Sauls-Bridges EVENTS BOOKING: (850) Newsletter items can be submitted three ways: (1) Place in the Newsletter Box in the Post 13 office (2) Mail to the return address above, or (3) Submit (with a subject line) to the Post s Newsletter Address: (Please Note this is a NEW address and should be used for NEWSLETTER communication only.) AML13NEWSLETTER@GMAIL.COM All Articles published require the Commander s approval. PLEASE NOTE: Post General Membership Business Meetings are held on the 2ND Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm. NEEDED: AN EDITOR FOR THIS PUBLICATION. PLEASE CONTACT CHARLES OR AMLNEWSLETTER@GMAIL.COM