by larryw | Feb 25, 2024 | American Legion Post 178
The head table and backdrop
The Lebanon Trail Navy National Defense Cadet Corps held their first military ball on February 24, 2024, at the Frisco Stonebriar Country Club. The event was a smashing success as more than one hundred of the cadets in this year’s program attended.
Major Gary Billings, USMC, Ret, Senior Naval Science Instructor, and Lt Col Ivan Acosta, USAF, Ret, Naval Science Instructor, welcomed the cadets and orchestrated the program. Larry Wilhelm, Post 178 Executive Committee Member, also attended and enjoyed the evening.
The evening afforded the cadets an opportunity to learn about traditional formal military dining, dress, and etiquette, while at the same time enjoying the camaraderie with fellow cadets and dancing late into the evening.
by larryw | Feb 20, 2024 | American Legion Post 178
John Allen (center) helps Deborah and Scott Dillingham display hundreds of cookies they baked and donated to the Bonham Home Veterans.
by larryw | Jan 13, 2024 | American Legion Post 178
Martin Luther King Day, a federal holiday observed on the third Monday of January, celebrates the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr. He was an influential American civil rights leader well-known for his campaigns to end racial segregation on public transport and for racial equality in the United States. A Baptist minister who advocated the use of nonviolent means to end racial segregation. He first came to national prominence during a bus boycott by African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. He founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 and led the 1963 March on Washington. The most influential of African American civil rights leaders during the 1960s, he was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination in public accommodations, facilities, and employment, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. King was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1964. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968. The day is usually celebrated with marches and parades and with speeches by civil rights and political leaders.
by larryw | Dec 21, 2023 | American Legion Post 178, Color Guard
Color Guard Members: Larry Wilhelm, Kevin Robinson, Terry Gilbert, Norm Burgess, Noel Leduna, and Bill Drake. Not pictured Ted Ruybal. Photos by John Brady
For the past 6 years your Frisco American Legion Post 178 Color Guard has been honored to present the colors opening the Frisco Bowl. This year’s Frisco Bowl was held on December 19, 2023, and featured the UTSA Roadrunners verses Marshall’s Thundering Herd with UTSA winning 35 to 17 marking their first bowl game win in history. Founded in 2017, the Frisco Bowl is an annual NCAA sanctioned post-season Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college bowl game played in Frisco, Texas.
by larryw | Dec 18, 2023 | American Legion Post 178
Evergreen wreaths placed at DFW National Cemetery
Every December, since 2014, American Legion Post 178 veterans have gathered with others at Dallas/Fort Worth National Cemetery to “remember our fallen U. S. veterans, honor those who serve, and teach children the value of freedom” by placing wreaths on veterans’ graves.
Nationally, December 16 will mark the 31st National Wreaths Across America (WAA) Day. This year, more than 2.7 million evergreen wreaths will be placed on gravesites at 4,000 locations in the United States and around the world, honoring buried veterans.
American Legion family members have long supported WAA events throughout the country, participating in community events and even leading local efforts. Such is the case for the Chris and Mary Bush family.
Their son, Army Corporal Peter J. Courcy, a Frisco High School graduate, was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2009 and is buried at the DFW National Cemetery. American Legion Post 178 is named for Frisco resident Peter J. Courcy. The Bush family annually supports WAA efforts at the cemetery.
For the nineth consecutive year, American Legion Post 178 participated in the 2023 National Wreaths Across America Day activities at the DFW National Cemetery. Veteran volunteers assisted with the unloading of 4,405 boxes of wreaths on December 15 and the “full coverage” placement of more than 54,500 wreaths on December 16.
Post 178 members will also assist with the removal of wreaths on January 20, 2024. The mission of Wreaths Across America is in part conducted each December with the placement of sponsored veterans’ wreaths on the headstones of those who served our country.
by larryw | Dec 13, 2023 | American Legion Post 178, Oratorical
Front Row L-R: Terry Gilbert, Vice Commander, Oratorical Chair, Scarlett Sweckard, Smeet Jaokar, Neha Ramachandran, Kaaviya Shenbaharaman, Ed Reed, Post 178 Commander.
Back Row L-R: Varad Kulkarni, Sankeertana Malakapalli, Dhyana Ramakrishnan, Jyothirmayi Seelam, Rudrani Dutta, Elizan Ramos.
The American Legion Post 178 Oratorical Scholarship Contest had a record number of high school orators participate in its 2023 contest. Four winners were selected from eleven orators, and each received a $500 college scholarship to any college of their choosing. The contest was held at The Grove at Frisco Commons on Saturday, December 9. The four winning orators will now compete at the district contest in Royse City on January 6, 2024, along with other post winners from the 4th District.
Each contestant delivered a prepared oration as well as an oration on a randomly assigned constitutional topic. The four winners selected were Scarlett Sweckard, Smeet Jaokar, Neha Ramachandran, and Kaaviya Shenbaharaman.
The American Legion Oratorical Scholarship Program began in 1938 and encourages high school students to study the U.S. Constitution and improve their public speaking skills. Post 178 annually holds this contest for high school students to develop deeper knowledge and appreciation for the U.S. Constitution. The contest presents an academic speaking challenge that teaches important leadership qualities, the history of our nation’s laws, the ability to think and speak clearly, and an understanding of the duties, responsibilities, rights, and privileges of American citizenship.
