Last Updated on May 03, 2008
Dear Members,
All
There is a
special wreath laying ceremony planned by TOG to be held 14:15 on Friday,
30 May, 2008 honoring the 50th anniversary of the double interment of the
WWII and the Korean War Unknown Soldiers. Their
plan is to use the four or five members of the Society that took part in
the original ceremony in 1958 as the wreath laying party. Any other
of our members that wish to attend will be placed in front of the
brass chains, similar to our positions at our own wreath laying. The
TOG will be behind us on the bottom steps coming down from the Trophy
Room. They have asked me to let them know how many of our
members will be attending no later than 23 May. You can
contact me by phone or e-mail,
either will be just fine. The RC and
three of the sentinels that were walking that day 50 years ago will be
there on the 30th. If any one has
questions, don't hesitate to ask. Anyone coming in for
the ceremony will have to make there own arrangements for lodgings.
Yours in the Society,
Jim
Cardamon
Sentinel, 2nd
Relief
(Oct 57 - Jun 58)
To My Brothers and all concerned,
It is with great sadness to inform you that
our
brother, Frank Kozlowsky (1939-1940) died at 7:00pm, Friday evening, January 25,
2008. Frank (age 92) was the
oldest living former Tomb Guard. He first served as a Tomb Guard in 1939
as a member of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment commanded by then Colonel George
S. Patton and yes, Frank was a "Horse Soldier".
His wife, Sylvia's home address is:
602 N. Broad Street,
Apt.B308
Lansdale, PA 19446-2368
In
lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the following
organization:
Society of the Honor Guard,
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Attn: Scholarship Fund
PO Box 1111
Hermitage, PA 16148
Respectfully submitted,
Pasquale
"Pat"
Varallo
Sentinel (1948)
Season's Greetings to all. For the 16th consecutive year, Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, is donating beautiful Maine balsam fir Holiday Wreaths each decorated with a bright red bow to be placed on the graves of American service members at Arlington. This year Mr. Worcester has doubled his donation and will be delivering over 10,000 wreaths to Arlington.
The date for this year is Saturday, December 15, 2007. The Cemetery Superintendent has assigned us Section 33 to decorate which is the first large section to the right as you enter the Cemetery to the left on Eisenhower Drive. There will be signs directing volunteers to Section 33. Being on a Saturday, we do expect a very large turn out of volunteers and families this year. Limited parking will be available in the Employees and Administration Building parking lots off King Drive so we encourage those of you who can to please use the Metro Rail System and get off at the Arlington Cemetery Station on the Blue Line. Section 33 is only a very short walk from the Station.
It looks like things are scheduled for a volunteers' briefing at 0830 hours on Saturday, depending on when the trucks loaded with wreaths from Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, arrive and get staged for unload. The briefing will take place at the McClellan Arch which is located between Section 33 and 12. You can't miss the large brick arch. Due to the large crowd we expect, for everyone's safety, I'm asking all of you to help out by keeping away from the back of the trucks until after we open the doors and off load some of the wreaths. We hope to have a system set up which will allow all of you plenty of time to receive your wreaths to place on the graves within Section 33.
The Cemetery Superintendent will open the gates to the Cemetery at 0700 hours to allow volunteers to park their vehicles in the Employee and Administration Building parking lots off King Drive, as well as along Halsey Drive and Leahy Drive. Please do not park in the parking lot designated for the Tour Buses that operate within the Cemetery which is next to the Visitor's Center. Parking is limited so we encourage those of you who can to please use the Metro Rail System if at all possible and get off at the Arlington Cemetery Station on the Blue Line. Section 33 is only a short walk from the Station. Due to the limited parking available, if you are coming with a group on a bus, we ask that you unload the passengers and then park the buses at the Visitor's Center Pay Parking lot.
Since we have a very large section to decorate, we will begin placing wreaths along the first rows of graves closest to Eisenhower Drive and work our way up the hill completing each row before moving up to the next row. We don't want to run out of wreaths along several different rows.
Please remember to complete each row before moving to the next. I'll be reminding you all of this again at the briefing.
Special memorial wreaths will also be placed at the graves of former Maine Senator and Secretary of State Edmund Muskie, the Kennedy Family Memorials; the Mast of the Battleship U.S.S. Maine, culminating with a special wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers at 12:00. All volunteers are encouraged to attend any or all of these special ceremonies, especially at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. For a complete schedule of events go to www.wreathsacrossamerica.org, click under "Locations" then click on Arlington Cemetery .
For those of you who live or will be in the DC area on Monday, December 10th, there will be a brief Wreaths Across America wreath laying ceremony taking place on the West Front Steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, beginning at 11:30am. This is part of 52 similar wreath layings that will take place at all state capitals and Puerto Rico. Mr. Worcester, in addition to what he does at Arlington and other veterans memorials, has also donated the wreaths for these ceremonies. So, if you are in the area and would like to observe this ceremony, please stop by.
Also, this will be my first alert call going out to all of you who might like to help with the cleanup of the wreaths this year. As you might expect, placing of 10,000 wreaths makes for a beautiful sight to behold. But like all good things, there comes a time when the wreaths must be taken up and disposed of. Last year, for the first time, the Maine State Society, organized a cleanup day to help the cemetery grounds staff by picking up the 5,265 wreaths we all placed last year. Many volunteers gave additional time last year to help with the cleanup and it took only a short time. I know Mr. Metzler and his grounds staff appreciated the help too. So, I'm tossing out my first plea for your continued help with the cleanup again this year. Especially with over 10,000 wreaths to dispose of. Right now, we are planning a cleanup date of Saturday, February 2, 2008. Anyone who wants to help will be welcomed. I'll be sending out another plea for your help in January.
The weatherman says we are to get our first "dusting" of snow here tonight so remember to keep your eye on the weather reports for the 15th and dress accordingly. I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday, December 15th.
Wayne Hanson
Maine State Society of Washington DC
Arlington Wreath Project Coordinator
It is with heavy heart that I must regrettably inform
you:
After a fierce battle with cancer, George
Koch (1941) passed away peacefully Sunday, 30 September, 2007 at
01:00 at home, surrounded by
his family. He was laid to rest on Friday, 05 October, 2007 at New London Presbyterian Cemetery in New London,
PA.
Per
George's wishes, in
lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to one or
both of the following organizations:
Society
of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
c/o
Jim Cardamon
3740
Ridgewood Drive
Hermitage,
PA 16148
The
3d Cavalry Association
c/o
Col. (Retired) Dick Quinn
12813
Summit Trail
Belton,
TX 76513-6261
The
family wishes to convey their appreciation and gratitude for all of the
kind words, thoughts and prayers.
Yours in the Society,
Pam
Tish
It is with heavy heart that I must regrettably inform
you all:
After a long and courageous battle with gall bladder cancer
(complicated by a recent stroke), Mr. Jim Friedman (friend of the Tomb)
slipped away quietly on Thursday, 13 September 2007 and laid to rest on Friday, 28 September 2007 at
Woodlawn Memory Gardens in St Petersburg, FL.
All,
Just received the following message from
Frank Kozlowsky's
(Mar 39 - Apr 39 // Mar 40 - Apr 40) .
To my knowledge, Frank is probably the oldest
living member of The Society, and probably the oldest Tomb Guard, he
is ninety. He was a Tomb Guard in 1939 and the Sergeant of the Guard in
1940. That is when the 3rd Cavalry Regiment was there. Colonel George
Patton was C.O. Frank has a copy of the order promoting him to Sergeant
and signed by Colonel Patton. He also has plenty of amusing stories
about the days of the horses and the "breeches" worn by the
TG's. I hope that many of you have been able to meet Frank and have some
memories of him. He was also the Honorary Sergeant of the Guard for
Reunion 2002. I am trying to attach a couple of photos of him and I
together.
He has Parkinson's disease and he fell
and broke his arm about two years ago and is still in a cast and is slow
to heal. His memory is just about gone but still has some recall. It
doesn't appear that Frank has much time left.
I have talked with Sylvia (she is a real
soldier) and she is coping the best she can. They have a daughter close
by that assists them.
My purpose in sending you this mail is
first, to covet your prayers for Frank and his family and secondly, to
send him a card or some written communication to let him know that we as
a Society live up to our motto, "Soldiers never die until
they are forgotten; Tomb Guards never forget".
I am sending this to all the members
that I have addresses for.
On Friday,
December 29, 2006, there will be a special broadcast shown on the Pentagon
Channel at 12:00 noon (EST) called "Never
Falter." This show will feature The Old Guard, Arlington
National Cemetery and an interview with Mr. Richard Azzaro (63-65). This
special, which runs for approx 35 minutes, will be broadcast for 4 weeks
on the front page of the Pentagon Channel. In the upper left hand side,
select Recon under Channels and then click on the "Never
Falter" link which will automatically load the show. Any
questions or problems, feel free to contact me
Yours in the Society,
The
WebMaster
It is with heavy heart that I write this also:
Tomb Guard, George Asbury Wade, Sr. (1937 - 1938),
passed away on Wednesday, August 16, 2006. Please keep his family in your
prayers in this dark hour. The burial was held at Gates of Heaven
Cemetery in Silver Spring, Maryland on August 22, 2006. The family has asked that donations
be made to:
Church of the Resurrection
3315 Greencastle Road
Burtonsville, MD 20866
or
Burtonsville Lions Club
P.O. Box 55
Burtonsville, MD 20866
It is with heavy heart that I write this:
Tomb Guard, Ray Bowman
(Jan 67 - Jul 67) from Claremont, North Carolina, passed away on the 21st of
June, as the result of a drowning accident. Please keep his wife, Carol, their two
sons and their families in your thoughts and prayers.
Ray Allen Bowman was laid to rest in Catawba
Memorial Park, Hickory, NC on Saturday June 24, 2006.
A Service of Remembrance was held at 11:00 am on
Saturday, June 24, 2006 at Woodlawn Baptist Church. Reverend Dr. Ed Yount
and Reverend Dr. Scott Bortz officiated with the burial following.
Military Rites were provided by American Legion Post #16.The family
received friends from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Drum Funeral Home in
Conover, NC.
Condolences may be sent to the Bowman family at this Drum
Funeral Home link. Memorials may be made to:
| Woodlawn Baptist Church Building Fund |
440 7th Street Pl, SW
Conover, NC 28613 |
or
| National Parkinson Foundation |
1501 NW 9th Ave
Miami, FL 33136-1494 |
Membership Dues notices have been sent out and you should have received them by now. If you haven't received your renewal
notice, please contact Jim Cardamon immediately. Thank you.
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