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September 2019 Meeting Notice

Our September 17th Meeting of the Korean War Veterans and Defense Veterans 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 noon. A Lunch will be available at 12:00 PM. The meal will be 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 Special Guest Speaker for the meeting will be Mr. Fred Robinson, a former Marine who served in Vietnam. He currently serves VITAS in Healthware Admissions. During his presentation he will conduct a "Pinning Ceremony." In this ceremony he will provide a commemorative lapel pins for all veterans who served our country, in the military, during the period from November 1955 to May 1975. Be sure to attend so you don't miss out on what may be available for you. If you have any questions call the Chapter President Joe Sicinski at 386.492.6561.

On August 17, 2019 the "4th Annual J.J. Martin Military, Service Member, First Responder Family Appreciation Day" was held at the Volusia Mall. This effort was led by Ormond Strong and Vietnam Veterans of America Daytona Beach Chapter 1048, to recognize leadership within veterans organizations in the Community. Our KWVA Chapter Commander, Joseph G. Sicinski, was an honored recipient of the 2019 J.J. Martin Leadership Award at this occasion. Joe was recognized for his service in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, his four years of leadership as Commander of the Central Florida East Coast Chapter 189, Korean War Veterans of America (KWVA) and his role as Vice President of the State of Florida's Korean War Veterans Association. He was also Honored for his service in support of efforts within the community to better the lives of all veterans. Joe was presented with his award by Rod Phillips, a member of the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame.

Joseph Sicinski and his family receiving the J.J. Martin Leadership Award - 17 August 2019

I am sorry to report the passing of Korean War Veteran Charles Bennett Malcom on the second week of August 2019. A Celebration of Life service was held on the 17th of August 2019 at the Sanborn Event Center, Deland Florida. Joseph Sicinski, Commander, KWVA Chapter 189.

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 of the volunteer help that you can give him. Just contact Bob and he will give you the lowdown on what you can do to help.

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 Sincinski.

On July 20th Joe Sicinski and Chuck Husbands attended a Department of Florida Council Meeting in Orlando, Florida. A number of items were discussed at that meeting. The KWVA Department of Florida has been planning on building and dedicating two Korean War Veterans Monument at National Cemeteries in Florida. One of the locations for the installation of the monuments is the Cape Canaveral National Cemetery. The monuments will be dedicated to the Korean War Veterans and Defense Service Veterans in memory of their fallen comrades. At this meeting we discussed the final design of the monument with a goal that they be dedicated on 11 November 2019. In addition the current By-Laws of the DOF were reviewed and modified where expropriate.

As some of you may know since last 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 27 September 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 burial 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.

During the past several months the Chapter has been presenting the "Tell America" Program to a number of organizations. If you know an organization that might want to learn about the history of the Korean War please contact Joe Sincinski at 386.493.6551 and he would be pleased to try to set up a presentation. We are in the process of preparing a short brochure on the history and impact of the Korean War, to go along with the presentation. We would like to spread the story of the Korean Conflict for all those who may never have heard of it, or its impact on our current global condition.

In recent days we have become aware that their are Veterans in our community that have recently died and have not been provided with an opportunity to receive a military ceremony in their memory. Chapter 189 of the KWVA does not think that this is proper, and we will help you receive a small final military ceremony for any Veteran that requests it in cooperation with VFW Post 3282 Color Gurard. If you know of a Veteran's family that needs a final military ceremony please contact Chuck Husbands at 386.760.7163 and he will attempt to get that request fulfilled. If you know of someone who is sick at home or in the hospital and would like a visit from a member of the chapter have them contact Chuck Husbands he we will try to make a personal visit.