by larryw | Feb 22, 2022 | Color Guard
Honor Guard members performing military funeral honors for Burnett “Burnie” Louis Sutter:
(L – R) Larry Marshall, Larry Wilhelm, Charlie Daniels, Ted Ruybal, and Fred Rogers.
The Post 178 Color Guard currently consists of twelve members, eight of which participate in the Honor Guard performing military funeral honors for veterans. The Post has been providing this service since the post was chartered in 2014.
The Post 178 Honor Guard recently was honored to participate in a worship service celebrating the life of Burnett ”Burnie” Louis Sutter. Near the end of the worship service the Post 178 Honor Guard performed the military funeral honors to present a United States flag to his only daughter, Sandra Daun Richards.
All eligible veterans, including military retirees, are entitled to military funeral honors. At a minimum, the funeral honors ceremony will consist of the playing of taps and the folding and presentation of the U.S. flag. At least two uniformed military personnel shall perform the ceremony. If a bugler is not available, an electronic recording will be played. One of the uniformed military personnel will be from the deceased veteran’s parent military service and will present the flag to the next of kin.
Mr. Sutter was awarded a Post 178 Honorary Life Membership on April 7, 2021, his 100th birthday. At the time, Mr. Sutter was the most senior of the post’s six World War II veterans. He was a US Army World War II veteran and served in the ”Tough Hombres”, 90th Division, 358 Regiment, M Company. He landed at Utah Beach, Normandy, France, in June 1944. For his military service in France, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor medal in 2018.
by larryw | Feb 21, 2022 | American Legion Post 178, Oratorical
Emma Ko, a senior, home school, was selected as the first runner-up from four orators in the American Legion Department of Texas Oratorical Contest in San Antonio on Monday, February 21, 2022. She is the second orator since Post 178 was chartered in 2014 to compete for the state title.
Previously, she was selected a winner in the Post 178 contest in Frisco, the 4th District contest in Royce City, and the 1st Division contest in Denton. For winning those three contests, she received scholarships totaling $3,500. Including her $1,500 scholarship for being selected as first runner-up, Ms. Ko has earned scholarships totaling $5,000.
If for any reason the winner is unable to compete in the national contest, Ms. Ko as the department first runner-up may be substituted for the winner in Indianapolis, Indiana in March.
by larryw | Feb 21, 2022 | American Legion Post 178
President’s Day, formally known as Washington’s Birthday, is a United States federal holiday that celebrate all U.S. presidents (past and present) specifically George Washington (born on February 22), the first President of the United States.
President’s Day dates to the year 1800, following the death of President George Washington in 1799. His birthday on February 22 became a significant day of remembrance. At the time, Washington was recognized as the most important figure in American history.
While Washington’s Birthday was unofficially observed for most of the 1800s, it was not until the late 1885 that it became a federal holiday for the entire country. The shift from Washington’s Birthday to Presidents’ Day began in the late 1960s when Congress proposed a measure known as the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This law sought to shift the celebration of several federal holidays from specific dates to a series of predetermined Mondays. The act was passed in 1968 and officially took effect in 1971. Traditionally President’s Day is viewed as a time of patriotic celebration and remembrance about the accomplishments of United States’ presidents, specifically focusing on the lives of Washington and Lincoln.
by larryw | Feb 19, 2022 | American Legion Post 178
February 19 is the official birthday of the United States Coast Guard Reserve. Officially set-up in the late 1930s as a “civilian reserve” operation, it was non-military in nature. The Coast Guard Reserve Act of 1941 set up the Coast Guard Reserve.
Although the agency is small, by comparison with its Air Force and Army Reserve counterparts it is an especially important day to those who serve, their families, and loved ones. Coast Guard Reservists contribute to the national response to terrorism, disasters, and more, and provide valuable expeditionary support to the Department of Defense through eight Port Security Units. Reserve personnel have been activated to support 12 hurricane and six major flood operations, and 1,650 Reservists participated in Operations Desert Shield/Storm.
The Coast Guard was formed in 1790 as one of America’s five armed forces. It is a multi-mission, maritime, military service with responsibility for protecting the public, the environment, and U.S. economic interests in the nation’s waterways, along the coast, on international waters, or in any maritime region as required to support national security.
by larryw | Feb 14, 2022 | Oratorical, Press Release
Members of Post 178 Post Executive Committee congratulate Miss Ko for winning the 1st Division Contest. Photo by Ed Reed.
Emma Ko, a senior, home school, was selected the winner of the American Legion 1st Division Oratorical Contest in Denton on Saturday, February 12, 2022. Previously, she was selected a winner in the Post 178 contest in Frisco and the 4th District contest in Royce City. For winning the three contests, she received scholarships totaling $3,500.
Other 1st Division contest participants included orators from Post 655 in Haltom City and Post 71 in Denton. Each of the contestants delivered two orations, a prepared oration and a randomly assigned constitutional topic oration. Ms. Ko impressed the judges with her prepared topic, “The Humble Article,” and assigned topic, Amendment 3 concerning the quartering of soldiers in peacetime and war.
Ms. Ko will now advance to the American Legion Department Oratorical Contest on Monday, February 21, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas. There, four division contest winners from across the entire state will compete for the opportunity to participate in the national contest in Indianapolis, Indiana, in March.
by larryw | Feb 14, 2022 | American Legion Post 178
Valentine’s Day, also known as St. Valentine’s Day, is celebrated today. It is a tradition honored by many Americans and their families uniformed and civilian. There is no definitive origin story to single out the one true inspiration for the holiday, but according to one legend, a priest named Valentine, who is thought to have written letters from prison signed, “From your Valentine” to a woman he befriended, who happened to be his jailer’s daughter.
Other accounts exist but the date of February 14th began its association with romantic gestures around the 14th century. The earliest Valentine messages were sent in the 1500s. By the 1700s printed cards were used to convey messages of love. The United States version of cards showing up in history began in the 1800s.
February 14th is not a national holiday, but for military families, it is a day that can be bittersweet due to deployments, TDYs, and permanent change of station moves. All those things typically signify some form of family separation and loved one’s separation, and for those still “at home” while a service member performs their duty on the 14th, it takes some creativity to celebrate and try to maintain that feeling of togetherness despite being physically distant.
When physical separation exists because of military service, one can use Zoom calls or other video conferencing to be together. But it does not have to end there–gifts and care packages can also be sent to the servicemember to narrow the distance.
