March 2019

Our 21 May, 2019 Meeting of the KWVA Chapter 189 will be held in the banquet room at the John Mealy Memorial VFW Post 3282, Port Orange, Florida. The doors will be open for this meeting at 12:00 AM. Lunch will be available at 12:00 PM. Our luncheon meal this month will be a variety of Sandwiches, Drinks and Cookies. The cost of the meal will be on a donation basis Please! The official meeting will begin promptly at 1:00 PM. Guests as usual are always welcome.

Our speakers for this meeting will be representatives from Progressive Medical Research and Best for my Parents Organization. Also hear about the exciting activities planned for the next few months. We are on a membership drive so bring a veteran with you to the meeting. Guests are always welcome. If you have any questions about the meeting or the speakers please contact the Chapter Commander Joseph Sicinski at 386.492.6551.

Last month one of our members Elizabeth "Betsy" Fox passed away on the morning of March 19th 2019. A memorial service in her honor was held on Saturday, April 6th, 2019 at 2:00 PM at the Daytona Christian Church in Daytona Beach. A honor guard from the Daytona American Legion Post presented military honors. Betsy will be sorely missed may she rest in Peace.

On 29 April 2019 a memorial service was held at Embry Bennett VA Nursing Home in in Daytona Beach in honor of John Herman. John served in the US Navy during the Korean War and was a member of VFW Post 3282. Military honors were presented by the Chaplain and Honor Guard of VFW Post 3282.

At a recent Volusia County Veterans Council meeting Rod Phillips spoke to us about a new program that is being introduced to local Veterans Units. This program called "Missing in America Project" is a program that no one thinks about. According to Rod Phillips if an individual dies without a known relative the funeral director that excepts the body must have it cremated and then stored in his shop until a relative can be found. A recent survey taken in 2,269 Funeral Homes across the United States found 17,378 cremins found. In Florida they visited 151 Funeral Homes and found 1,396 cremated remains. The purpose of the Missing in America Project in Florida is to attempt to find if any of these local remains are Veterans or spouses of Veterans. If we can prove that they are Veterans or spouses of Veterans they have the right to be buried in a National Cemetery. The identification of these cremains is a long and difficult process and takes time and money. So far the program has identified and interred 220 veterans and 92 spouses in Florida. The interment process is a little different than a normal burial as a large number of identified Veterans are buried at one time in the National Cemetery. The MIAP last CALL TO HONOR #17 was held on Saturday November 3, 2018 at the Cape Canaveral National Cemetery at 10 am. The MIAP interned 25 veterans and or spouses from two funeral homes close to CCNC. Recently, the MIAP team identified the remains of a World War I U.S. Veteran who's cremated remains had laid in an Undertaker Establishment for over 60 years. He was recently buried with honors in the National Cemetery in CCNC. If you want more information about this project contact Kathy Church MIAP-FL State Coordinator at 904.219.3035 or email her at miapjax@yahoo.com. KWVA Chapter 189 has already pledged money to the Florida Chapter of the Missing in America Project and we will help out this effort any way we can.

We have several Chapter members or our "sick call list" that could use your help. There is great news: One of our members George Del Manzano is finally back in action and feeling much better. We are hoping to see him back at our meetings, eating sandwiches and pizza in the very near future. Dee Hawes, our Chapter Secretary, suffered from a stroke a few months back. She is recovering rapidly and is back home and keeping Bob under control. Our prayers are with her and Bob for e a complete recovery in the very near future. Ed White has also been out of action for the last few months. We are looking forward to seeing him foot loose and fancy free at our monthly VA Coffee reunion.

On Saturday 20 April the Annual Department of Florida KWVA Convention was held at the Americans Veterans Facility in Casselberry, Florida. The Convention was interesting but poorly attended. A lot of the topics involved increasing the interest of the Veterans who have protected Korean since the end of hostilities in 1953. At the national convention earlier this year it was announced that approximately 10 percent of the total membership of the KWVA died during 2018. Not a good trend. Chapter 189 was represented at the convention by Joe Sicinski our Chapter Commander and 1st Vice President of the KWVA Department of Florida. Chuck Husbands of Chapter 189 also represented the Chapter at the Convention. Chuck is the Secretary for the KWVA Department of Florida. If you have any questions about the DOF or the Convention do not hesitate in contacting Joe or Chuck

Our KWVA Chapter has been activity supporting the new War Museum being established in the "Tick Tock" shop on Beach Street in downtown Daytona Beach. Many of the Korean War Treasures previously displayed at the Museum in New Smyrna Beach have been transferred there and many more have been added. The museum has expanded to a real tourist attraction in Daytona Beach. Bob Hawes, one of the museum's organizers is extremely active in this outreach program. He could use any volunteer help that you can give him. Just contact Bob and he will give you the lowdown on what you can do to help out.

Dues for 2018 are now being solicited. Please pay your dues of $10 either at the meeting or send them to KWVA, POB 214005, South Daytona, Florida 32121. If you cannot afford the dues, the chapter will pay them for you (It's in the by-laws), see Bob Hawes or Joe Sicinski.

As some of you may know for the past year, as an outreach program, the members of Chapter 189 have been serving coffee and doughnuts at the VA clinic on the fourth Friday of each months. This month the service at the VA Clinic will be on Friday 24 May 2019. The program has been well received by the Veterans going in early for blood work and other appointments. This is a wonderful outreach program for our chapter and we are always looking for volunteers. The task involves getting to the VA Clinic at about 7:30 am to help serve coffee and doughnuts. When the coffee and donuts are gone... we are gone, which is usually well before 10:00 AM. If you are looking for a very satisfying volunteer position for a couple of hours, contact Chuck Husbands or just show up. We can always use your help and spirit in support of our Veterans. We want to sincerely thank everyone who has donated their time to this effort, in the past, and know the efforts are appreciated. Thanks CRH.

The Cape Canaveral National Cemetery is now open and accepting in-ground burials for caskets and cremated remains. It is located at 5525 U.S. Highway 1 in Mims, Florida. Cemetery Administration Office phone is 321-383-2638. Burial arrangements phone 1-800-535-1117. The Cemetery is open from dawn to dusk, burials are scheduled between 9:30 AM and 2:30 PM Monday through Friday. For qualifying Veterans there are no charges for burial for you and your spouse, and the National Cemetery will provide final Military Honors. This includes standard burials and cremation burials. If anyone is interested in visiting the National Cemetery and needs a ride to look the place over or talk with the administration staff, just contact Chuck Husbands at 386.760.7163.