Post Talk
NORTH BRANCH POST # 85
By Glenn Pierce, Adjutant

Membership Meeting November 10th 6 PM
Auxiliary Meeting November 10th 7 PM
SAL Meeting November 17th 6 PM

Michelle Still, Auxiliary President – November 16 to 20 is American Education Week. To celebrate this week, every year our unit makes a donation to the North Branch Education Association. Things are difficult for our educators right now. Would you consider reaching out to an educator to give them some encouragement.

Due to Covid-19, we will not be able to have our Veterans Day and Christmas Parties at the two assisted living facilities. These activities will be missed by the veterans and the auxiliary ladies. However, we will remember them in some way. Do you have an idea how we can remember our veterans remotely that you could share with me?

Be well and stay safe.

Orv Otterness, Post Service Officer – November brings us Veteran’s Day on the 11th. Originally, declared after World War I, it was called Armistice Day. Today we honor all veterans November 11th. Give an elbow or fist bump to those veterans you see on that special day. And, give a big Thank You to all those serving today in military service – they too are veterans already.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving Day. Enjoy what you can that day in a way that is comfortable and safe for you.

The third Tuesday, November 17th, Bryon Brown, our County Veterans Service Officer will again be at the Legion Hall to meet with you. Wendy, who works in his office and schedules all our rides to the Medical Centers will be with him. Come say hello to her and thank her for the job she does for us.

Randy Koivisto, First Vice Commander – Our October blood drive was a huge success! We had 38 donors, and that equates to a possibility of saving 123 lives. A little goes a long ways!

Speaking of blood drives… In an effort to escape all of the political ads on TV, I’ve been doing much more reading, and the
latest book I’ve tackled was written by a survivor of the USS Arizona sinking at Pearl Harbor. It’s titled “All the Gallant Men” by Donald Stratton.

After the Japanese raiders had departed and the wounded were being rushed to local civilian and military medical facilities, a frantic call went out on the radio for blood donors. In the first half hour 400 people from all walks of life showed up! Honolulu society women showed up and stood next to the city’s lower classes. The wife of a corporate president waited next to a waterfront washerwoman. The Japanese who lived on the island showed up in droves. A Portuguese mother brought her nineteen-year-old blind son, along with her sixteen-year-old blind daughter. Defense workers left their jobs, all grimy, gave blood, then returned to work. Welders came, along with fieldworkers. Employers bused their employees there. The crew from a Dutch ship, there for only a few hours, came to give blood. So did six husky Dutch women. A number of donors came back twice the same day. When a nurse recognized one second class seaman who was in line for his second donation, she chided him : ” You shouldn’t come back so soon.” “My brother was killed,” he explained, ” I want to do something.” Even the ladies of the evening from the notorious Hotel Street, came to lend a hand. They donated blood, which the Army doctors knew was clean. They took on the nasty job of washing tubing in the laboratory, and assisting in changing bandages and cleaning wounds. The horrific smell of burned flesh was overpowering, but they didn’t waver. They also assisted the medical teams on board ships that were transporting those expected to survive, but needed better stateside care available in California. In the aftermath of this terrible attack, our nation became one.

Eleanor Roosevelt carried this poem in her wallet after December 7th, and it can be found in the Roosevelt Presidential Library. It says:

Dear Lord,
Lest I continue
My complacent way,
Help me to remember that somewhere,
Somehow out there
A man died for me today.
As long as there be war,
I must answer
Am I worth dying for?

2,403 perished at Pearl Harbor
1,177 from the Arizona alone.

Glenn Pierce, Adjutant – Please note our meeting time is now at 6 PM on Tuesday, November 10th. We will have the meeting in the Hall to allow for the proper social distancing. Our Chisago County Veteran Service officer, Bryan Brown will be at Post 85 on November 17th at 9 AM for this month’s Veterans Coffee Talk. Bryan always has an informative presentation and he is able to answer many question Veterans have on their benefits and how to apply for them.

Join us for Coffee and donuts and learn about your benefits.