Posted: September 25, 2021 --- Post Commander, Carl Christophersen

 

Our menu options have undergone a slight enhancement. Therefore, I am laying out the contents of our "Guide to this web site" which is an option under the "About" menu on this web site.

 

There are 7 sub-headings shown across the top of this web site:

1.   Home

2.   About *

3.   Programs *

4.   Resources *

5.   News*

6.   Contact

7.   Login *

 

* The down arrowheads indicate it is a drop-down menu with additional options. Which means that by clicking on the down arrowhead, these options appear for the user to select.

 

Under the "About” menu, the options most utilized are:

  

·      Guide to this web site --- it lists each of the 7 menus and some of their more useful options

 

·       About Us --- a short dissertation on our Post and includes the name and phone # of our Membership Committee Chair

 

·       Officers --- names & photos

 

·       Taps --- photos & short biographies of deceased members

 

 

Under the "Programs” menu, the options most utilized are:

 

       o   Youth Essay Contests --- describes the various annual essays for 2021

 

       o   The U.S. Constitution (sans the 27 Amendments)

 

       o   27 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution

 

       o   The Declaration of Independence

 

Under the "Resources” menu, the option most utilized is:

 

·        Veteran Benefits & Assistance (100s of links to useful web sites). This is the most used option on our web site 

 

·        WA State Service Officers - names, hours open, phone numbers & email addresses 

 

·        U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff – names & photos plus names of Military Secretaries 

 

·        Unified Combatant Commands – name of UCCs, who is in charge & UCC global responsibilities  

 

·        Branches of the U.S. Government – a quick Civics lesson. Lists the 3 branches of the U.S. government including the names & titles of prominent members of the Executive Branch under the President

 

·        Timeline on who could vote in the United States– from 1776 to 2002

 

·        Ranks of Officers & Enlisted by Branch of Service

 

·        VFW National Home for Children – News from the Director

 

 

Under the "News” menu, the options most utilized are:

·       News – current veteran related news (usually from Military.com) - updated often (usually daily)

 

·       Announcements – updated less often and is more Post related 

 

Under the "Login” menu, there is only one option you can use:

 

·       Members Only

1.   Requires the VFW Member ID

2.   Password is the VFW Member's last name e.g., the password for Eli Smith is "Smith”

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The first 3 entries are updated every month:

 

·       Report of the Last Meeting

·       Meeting Minutes (Last 3 Meetings)

·       Newsletter (Last 3 months)

 

Following the above 3 entries, are some fascinating reading, broken into easily readable parts.

 

·       First Principles – an in-depth review of this excellent book which took us through the Revolutionary War, championed by General George Washington; the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson; the U.S. Constitution, 1^st draft written by James Madison and sufficient coverage of our first 4 U.S. Presidents (3 of which are precedingly named).

 

·       Undaunted Courage – an in-depth review of this very good book about the Lewis & Clark Expedition; which was instigated by President Thomas Jefferson who championed the cause of retaining dominance over the territory west of the Mississippi River; out maneuvering France, Spain and Great Britain --- greatly assisted by territory obtained via the Louisiana Purchase.

 

·        At the end are write-ups on what appears to have occurred that caused our Post to lose our Building which was called Blackburn Hall.

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Two of the sub-headings do NOT have dropdown menus: "Home” & "Contact”:

 

·       "Home” has 2 aspects that are not obvious to the casual observer:

o   While there are no "Options”, it automatically slides sideways every 10 seconds. the slides are updated often

o   Scrolling down is another way to get to "Announcements”

 

·       "Contact” provides names & their phone numbers that you can call to query about our Post. It also provides our mailing address, meeting address and the day/time that we meet each month.

 

To see our Facebook page, click on VFW Post 3348 | Facebook

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Posted: September 24, 2021 --- Post Commander, Carl Christophersen

 

The VA Hospital is not prepared yet to give COVID-19 boosters shots; however, they are advising veterans over 65, that they can get the booster shot at many local drug stores. You need to make an appointment online from whichever drug store is nearest to you.

 

I just made my appointment for September 29^th at the Pharmacy inside the Safeway store on 15th Ave NE & N 125th St --- right across from the former Blackburn Hall.

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Posted: September 7, 2021 --- Post Commander, Carl Christophersen

 

 King County Veterans Program (KCVP)

 

I have dealt with KCVP in the past on various issues but seldom drove downtown to see what they had to offer. I got this flyer the other day that said they moved to Northgate. So, I stopped by. Their office, on the 3^rd floor, is very nice.

 

Their waiting room is very large and has computers (a dozen or so) that anyone can use. What they provide is mainly advice, but they can directly address some emergency issues like eviction, rent assistance, etc. Their phone is (206) 477-8282. Parking is plentiful. 

 

They offer nothing like the VA Clinic in Edmonds --- no doctors or nurses are there.

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Posted: August 30, 2021 --- Facebook by Post Commander, Carl "Chris” Christophersen

 Our meeting is in 3 days @ Acacia on Wednesday, September 1^st @ 7:00pm. Zoom will be setup. Face Masks are required again, regardless of vaccination status. Dinner will commence @ roughly 6:21pm --- dinner will be prepared and served by Michelle --- Cheese Burgers, Hamburgers & Hot Dogs, Potato Salad, Sauerkraut & Chili; salad, coffee & water will be available. Michelle hurt her leg and has limited mobility, so she will set up a BBQ outside --- members will have to go outside and get their meal and bring it back inside. When finished eating, put your mask back on and take your paper plate etc. to the trash can.

 

On Saturday, the Department of Washington Social Media guru (Walt Tanimoto) spent 5 hours with me to set up our Post Facebook page. It is the wish of the National VFW Commander-in-Chief, Fritz Mihelcic, that all local VFW Posts get more active on social media --- especially Facebook. You will first need your own personal Facebook account from whence you can search on "VFW Post 3348” and look for our Facebook page.

 

We set up the VFW Post 3348 Facebook page as a "Group” --- so you need to "Join” the Group if you prefer to be interactive regarding our Facebook Page. As Admins, Thom Fermstad and I will be alert of Russian or Chinese (or other) hackers and we will delete any post they make on our Facebook page. We want lots of photos so bring your Smartphone and take as many group photos as you like. Photos of members on Facebook is good. Send them all to carl_jr@comcast.net so they will be available, as needed, for our Facebook page.

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Posted: August 21, 2021 --- School of Instruction by Post Commander, Carl "Chris” Christophersen

 

Report on the VFW Dept of Washington SOI

 

I picked up Tiffany and drove to Skyway VFW Post following my GPS. I could not remember where that was until I pulled in the driveway in Renton. As I pulled into their parking lot outside their building, I remembered when Thom, Tiffany and I had been there many, many years ago.

 

Here are the points I noted during the day long meeting:

 

• The average age in the members in VFW Nationally is 69

 

• District #2 Commander, Harold Rodenberger (Ballard VFW) came, got the bag of handouts for his Post, saw that no one was wearing masks, and walked out and left --- he is in his mid-80s and has health issues

 

• National VFW is recommending every Post gets a Facebook Page and that we always have at least 2 Admins --- so if one leaves, we are covered. That happened to us when Debbie Lambert --- who had the only Admin to our former Facebook page, refused to give me the Admin logon & password when she got seriously ill --- and later died. I will create a new Facebook page, and for now, make Thom the other co-Admin

 

• There will be a Facebook class TBA which will cover some special things we can do on Facebook

 

• It is now allowed to submit Dept monthly reports (Community Service, Hospital and Chaplain) that say "Nothing to report”

 

• Tahoma is cutting costs, so it is getting financially tight to continue Honor Guards

 

• Every District Commander was asked to stand up and announce what their District was doing to promote and/or help veterans

 

• There are roughly 550,000 veterans in WA State

 

• It is recommended to get business cards printed that have the name & phone of the Dept Service Officer and the 3 Assistance Service Officers for members to carry to give to a veteran they may meet --- in addition to getting their contact data for the Post Membership Chair to follow up on --- IF s/he is VFW eligible and does not belong to any VFW Post

 

• The VFW Eligibility has removed "U.S. Citizen” as a requirement --- which came up because British, French, etc. citizens have served in the U.S. Armed Services.

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Posted: August 10, 2021 --- by Post Commander, Carl "Chris” Christophersen

 

The most recent edit of the "First Principles” offering and the "Lewis and Clark” offering has been completed. The "Lewis and Clark” was supposed to be a short addendum to "First Principles” to accentuate the awesomeness of Thomas Jefferson. But it was such a great story, it could not be short. The "First Principles” offering has 22 Parts: A-X --- The "Lewis and Clark” offering has 10 parts: AA-KK. There is a Table of Contents for each offering. 

 

Each part was worked with the purpose of removing superfluous data as well as shortening it --- the guide used to measure "Shortened” was getting each part to where 2 good rolls of the roller, on a computer mouse, would go from the start of a part to the end. They are accessible via the "Members Only” section on the "Login" drop down menu. Click on a part that to want to see to open it --- when you are done with it, you do not have to leave, just scroll up and select another one.

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Posted: August 10, 2021 --- by Post Commander, Carl "Chris” Christophersen

 

The text for the 1) U.S. Constitution, 2) Amendments to the Constitution and 3) Declaration of Independence are the top 3 options conveniently placed under the "Programs" menu on our web site. Adjutant Thom Fermstad checked, word for word, the Constitution and the other two were checked over again for correctness. The text is as it was written in the 18th century --- so words like encrease (for "increase"), chuse (for "choose"), defence (for "defense"), etc. were left as is.

 

There are editorial comments in italized blue which are meant to elucidate (assist in understanding) as the Founders talked a bit differently in the 18th century. Those comments are not meant to be political so if you read it and disagree, please tell me in person or email or phone. Note that the Constitution and Amendments are Law; the Declaration was an intention.

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Posted: July 25, 2021 --- by Post Commander Christophersen

Comrades, 

 

Our Quartermaster tweaked his left knee last week and after getting an Xray, was told that his left knee was bone on bone. He will see an orthopedist next Friday.

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Posted: July 22, 2021 --- by Post Commander Christophersen

Comrades,

 

We have just received the dates for Bingo at the VA Hospital in Seattle. We will be co-hosting Bingo on April 26, 2022 (Tuesday) with the Federal Way VFW Post 2886. We usually set up about 7:00pm --- and is usually is over by 8:30pm latest. 

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Posted: July 15, 2021 --- by Post Commander Christophersen

Comrades,

 

We will be starting to prepare for our 1st Buddy Poppy event in over a year ---honoring Veterans Day. The event will occur on Fri-Sat, November 5 & 6, 2021. Buddy Poppy Committee Chair, Tom Nasky, will determine which stores will allow us to setup at their entrance and what hours we will be there. I will work with him to put together a schedule of what comrades are at what stores at what times.

 

In 1923, the VFW decided that VFW "Buddy"® Poppies would be assembled by disabled and needy veterans who would be paid for their work to provide them with financial assistance. The next year, disabled veterans at the Buddy Poppy factory in Pittsburgh assembled VFW Buddy Poppies. The designation "Buddy Poppy" was adopted at that time.

                                                

In February 1924, the VFW registered the name Buddy Poppy with the U.S. Patent Office. A certificate was issued on May 20, 1924, granting the VFW all trademark rights in the name of "Buddy” under the classification of artificial flowers. The VFW has made that trademark a guarantee that all poppies bearing that name and the VFW label are genuine products of the work of disabled and needy veterans. No other organization, firm or individual can legally use the name "Buddy Poppy”.

 

We get donations for red Buddy Poppies; later VFW Post members discuss what to do with these donations. We vote on who, and how much, gets our donations. We only donate to organizations that support veterans e.g. both Veteran Homes on the West Side (Orting & Port Orchard), Fisher House (Seattle VA Hospital), Compass Veterans Home (Shoreline), etc. 

 

The more VFW Post 3348 members who volunteer, the more stores we can use -- this effects the donations from the public that we receive for what we offer i.e. red Buddy Poppies and American Flags. Many public just like the opportunity to show appreciation for U.S. veterans; some just like to talk to veterans and share their stories about family members who also served our country.

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