Convention 08: Banquet
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 10:32 AM
by iowa
ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 18, 2008--At Monday night’s banquet, actress Ann-Margret as well as Mickey Rooney, received VFW's Hall of Fame Award.
Ann-Margret, who participated in Bob Hope’s USO tours in Vietnam in 1966 and 1968, said, "You represent the soul of this nation. We are eternally grateful. I give you my deepest respect and admiration." She spoke emotionally about meeting Vietnam veterans so many years ago. "They were just boys doing a man's job,” she said. The famed actress spoke proudly of her daughter, who is a psychologist at a VA hospital in Wisconsin where she treats veterans with PTSD. Ann-Margret received a hearty applause.
Actor Mickey Rooney, co-recipient of the Hall of Fame Award, made it clear that he was a soldier in the Army and not part of the USO. He recounted his time in WWII in Europe at length. Part of what was called three-man "Jeep tours," he often entertained at the front lines. For a while he was attached to units such as the 82nd Airborne Division. Rooney, a VFW member-at-large in California, told a heartwarming story about an amputee he met overseas and how he affected his later life. Gen. George Patton recommended Rooney for the Bronze Star, the actor said. "Celebrity! Forget that. I am a soldier who loves his country," he said. In referring to the presidential election, Rooney concluded: "Vote for the best interests of our country."
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Photos courtesy Shannan Brown, New Hampshire VFW Post 72170 Comments Email This
Convention 08: Tropical Storm Fay
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 09:18 PM
by iowa
Shannan Brown of
VFW Post 7217 New Hampshire reports on Tropical Storm Fay from the VFW National Convention.
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Convention 08: Barack Obama
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 01:32 PM
by iowa
Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama addressed the 2008 Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention today.
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Convention 08: Memorial Service
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 09:46 AM
by iowa
ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 17, 2008--Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Daniel Ivan Schultz, keynote speaker at today’s memorial service, touched on the common thread that binds all veterans together—wearing a military uniform and patriotism. Schultz, commander of the 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), based in Orlando, Fla., said it is our duty to remember the fallen in war. He emphasized that it is their “unspoken expectation” that we will do so. "The fallen are here in spirit with us today," said the VFW member, who served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
To illustrate his point about the heroism inherent in service, the general cited several examples of Americans making the supreme sacrifice in military actions such as Somalia and Iraq. For instance, he mentioned Army Delta Force operators Master Sgt. Gary Gordon and Sgt. 1st Class Randall Shughart, who were awarded Medals of Honor posthumously for Somalia, October 1993. He also honored Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith from Tampa, Fla., who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor after being killed in Iraq in April 2003. Lastly, he told the story of Army Reservist Staff Sgt. Todd Cornell, who extended his tour in Fallujah, Iraq, to be with the men he trained and was killed on Nov. 9, 2004.
"We do not forget those who gave their lives for our country,” said Schultz, who also served a tour in Hungary supporting operations in the Balkans in 1997. “We must exercise the freedoms given to us by those who gave their lives."
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Convention 08: John McCain
Monday, August 18, 2008 at 02:44 PM
by iowa
Presidential candidate Senator John McCain addressed the 2008 Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention today.
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Feeding the Troops
Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 09:35 AM
by iowa
VFW members in Wisconsin are gearing up to feed 3400 troops...
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President to Speak Wednesday at VFW Convention
Friday, August 15, 2008 at 08:22 PM
by iowa
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2008--President George W. Bush has accepted an invitation to speak Wednesday at the 109th National Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.
The annual convention by America’s oldest major veterans’ organization starts tomorrow at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The event is not open to the public.
"It is a time-honored tradition for our nation’s leader to address the national convention of America’s oldest major veterans’ organization and the nation’s largest organization of combat veterans,” said VFW National Commander George J. Lisicki, a Vietnam veteran from Carteret, N.J. “We are grateful to President Bush for taking the time to speak to us on issues that are vitally important to our nation.”
Approximately 10,000 VFW and Ladies Auxiliary delegates will represent the 2.2 million-member organization at the weeklong convention to approve new national priorities to guide the organization as it lobbies Congress on issues important to the nation’s 23.5 million veterans, 2.2 million servicemembers, and their families.
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