If you need to be driving tonight, remember…children are focused on Halloween fun. You need to be focused on THE UNEXPECTED. From all of us at MN DAV Chapter 39 and Auxiliary Unit 39, have a fun and safe Halloween.
On November 4th, our Honor Guard, will present the Colors to kick-off the 7th Annual Omni Brewing Veteran Fundraiser at 4:45 PM. Volunteers are needed at this event as there will be a Clothing Drive and Forget-Me-Not Flower Drive. From 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM there will also be Raffle Prizes, Veteran Services Mobile Van, JI Joes Food Truck, Live Music, and lots more. Sign up to VOLUNTEER at our October Meeting. Omni Brewing is located at 9462 Deerwood Lane, Maple Grove, MN 55369. GREAT EVENT TO INVITE PROSPECTIVE NEW MEMBERS, supporting our Membership Drive! Event details at https://www.omnibrewing.com/…/7th-annual-veterans…
MN DAV Chapter 39 & Auxiliary Unit 39 will meet on Thursday, October 12, 2023, at 6:30 PM at the VFW located at 919 Coon Rapids Blvd., Coon Rapids, MN 5543.
The Golf Tournament Committee will meet prior to the Chapter/Unit Meetings at 5:30 PM. With the Holiday Season around the corner, we will be sharing ideas how to make this year a special one for Veterans and their Families. If you know a Vet/Veteran Family in NEED, call our Chapter Adjutant at (763) 245-2585, to provide name, address, number of Family members and a phone number. The County Veterans Service Office has had a difficult time identifying Vets/Veteran Families in need over the past few years.
Membership drive continues with a lifetime membership at a discounted cost of $50.00.
On November 4th, our Honor Guard, will present the Colors to kick-off the 7th Annual Omni Brewing Veteran Fundraiser at 4:45 PM. Volunteers are needed at this event as there will be a Clothing Drive and Forget-Me-Not Flower Drive. From 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM there will also be Raffle Prizes, Veteran Services Mobile Van, JI Joes Food Truck, Live Music, and lots more. Sign up to VOLUNTEER at our October Meeting. Omni Brewing is located at 9462 Deerwood Lane, Maple Grove, MN 55369. GREAT EVENT TO INVITE PROSPECTIVE NEW MEMBERS, supporting our Membership Drive! Event details at https://www.omnibrewing.com/…/7th-annual-veterans…
Auxiliary members are encouraged to reach out to the Unit Adjutant to volunteer with the distribution/presentation of Adopt-A-Vet gifts in the month of December. Call (763) 427-3544.
Per CDC, wear of masks at indoor gatherings is currently “optional”. If you feel ill, please do not attend the meeting. There is nothing more important than your health and the health of your fellow members. If you do not feel well, please do not attend the meeting.
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MN DAV Chapter 39 Chaplain Dan Lynch shared today that Leo Luskey’s obituary appeared in the Star Tribune, yesterday, Oct, 1, 2023. Leo was born Nov. 12, 1942 in LeSueur, MN and passed away Aug. 26, 2023 in Roseville, MN. A Celebration of Life will be held Thursday, Nov. 9 at 11 a.m. at Saint Paul’s Catholic Church, 1740 Bunker Lake Blvd, Ham Lake, MN. Lunch will be served at the church after the service. Leo is survived by his wife, Madeleine, sister, Geraldine, brother, Fenton, four daughters, and seven grandchildren. Private interment is at Fort Snelling.
Luskey grew up on a farm in the township of Tyrone, Minnesota. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in Vietnam. Following his military service, he became the owner of a bar and in 1983, founded and managed Tyrone Transportation, Inc., and retired in 2021. The Vietnam Veteran was a founding active member of Spring Lake Park School District’s Panther Foundation. He also served on the Metro North Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and was named its 1998 Business of the Year.
Six years ago, Luskey, a lifetime DAV member, conceived and chaired the first MN DAV Chapter 39’s Golf Tournament. The event would become one of Chapter’s largest fundraising events, supporting veterans in Anoka and surrounding counties. The Chapter honored the Marine Corps veteran, by renaming the event after him, The Leo Luskey DAV Golf Tournament.
Luskey’s volunteer work in support of MN DAV Chapter 39’s mission was recognized on Independence Day 2021, as he was featured in the Chapter’s ”Member Monday” social media campaign. The idea of the campaign came from a comment Leo Luskey made to Ken Plant, (MN DAV Chapter 39’s webmaster). “While we certainly help a lot of Vets,” Leo shared with Plant while displaying and wiggling his ten fingers, “Like many other organizations, you can count the number of active members who end up doing most of the work on two hands”.
Luskey’s selfless service to veterans and his community was recognized in a feature story on WCCO-TV. Officer Reggie Larson, Blaine Police Department, was interviewed with Leo Luskey, who donated the funds to purchase and train Blaine’s new K9, Tyrone. Watch the story at
At the 7th Annual Leo Luskey Golf Tournament held on July 13, 2023, at the Refuge Golf Course, sponsors and participants were welcomed to the event with a pictorial display exhibiting highlights of the previous six tournaments and outlined the years of support achieved to help local Veterans and their families.
“Leo Luskey will indeed be missed. What resonates with me is his last interview, in which he shared, ‘As you grow older, you will discover you have two hands. One for helping yourself, and the other for helping others,” shares Plant.
Rain or shine…
Two new monuments honoring Minnesota veterans listed as prisoners of war/missing in action (POW, MIA) will be unveiled today, Sept. 23, 2023, at Blaine Veterans Memorial Park (10802 Town Square Drive Blaine, MN 55449).
The new POW/MIA monument features a 450-pound bronze statue of a prisoner of war in front of a 20-foot wall that is etched with more than 1,400 names of every Minnesotan listed as POW or MIA since World War II. The same black granite as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. is utilized.
More about the monument at KSPT website at https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/new-monument-honoring-minnesota-veterans-listed-as-pow-mia-to-be-unveiled-saturday/?fbclid=IwAR3lTugfqKuSZ24zSz34GTFqRB7VE7LSlOVqYkOEp7Tysv9p_H_8turGMkk
In the KSTP-TV interview regarding the new monument with the Park’s President, Steve Guider, the Blaine Senior High School educator shared, “It’s probably been about two years in the making. The statue is incredible. It’s actually a POW that’s kneeling down on the ground shackled. We wanted to show the fight and resilience of the American soldier.” Nearby (in the Park), an almost six-foot-tall ‘Freedom Rock’ will also be unveiled. Guider points out on the Park’s Facebook site, “We don’t have a lot of great ways to advertise, and Facebook seems to be the best way to spread the word. Both Monuments are absolutely incredible.”
Guider believes the new additions to Veterans Memorial Park of Blaine will be powerful tributes to those who have served and sacrificed. “As far as the impact, it’s been unbelievable,” Guider said. “I have seen so many tears at this park from veterans that are so appreciative, just feeling like they’re being remembered for what they have done.”
Sgt. Duane Broten, a 90-year-old veteran of the Korean War, will be one of two veterans unveiling the new monuments Saturday. “It’s a lot more to it than people realize,” Broten said. “A veteran goes through a lot of stuff, especially in combat.” Back in 1953, Broten was held captive for almost a week on Pork Chop Hill, along the Korean peninsula. “The North Koreans came charging up the hill to put terror in us,” Broten said through tears. “And it did.” Broten said he was wounded in the battle almost immediately and lost so much blood he could no longer stand. “They took me prisoner that night and I laid in that trench for the next six days. You got somebody holding a rifle a foot away from your head,” Broten recalled, “It’s good to let people know what it’s like to have to go through that.” Broten said he made a daring escape one morning when he realized the enemy soldiers had briefly left. He ended up spending more than six months in the hospital, with shrapnel wounds all over his body. Broten still lives with the lingering impacts of those injuries, including loss of sight in his right eye. He hopes people will listen to stories like his and reflect on the sacrifice of so many service members while visiting the new monuments in Blaine.
“It’s really something,” Broten said. “I think everybody that knows about it ought to spend the time here, go through it, and recognize how lucky they are.”
The unveiling ceremony for the new monument will take place at 4 p.m. Saturday. It is open to the public. Bring your lawn chairs and umbrellas as the unveilings will take place in two separate Park locations. More a Blaine Veterans Memorial Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064805256595 and Website at https://www.veteransparkofblaine.org/
MN DAV Chapter 39 Clothing Drive at County Market, 13735 Round Lake Blvd., Andover, MN 55304 this Sat., Sep. 16, 2023 from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm and Sun., Sep. 17, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Look for our DAV trailer and volunteers in the parking lot. Proceeds from the clothing drive supports area Veterans. Please bag your clothing and shoes. Learn more about how DAV supports our Veterans and their Families in Anoka and surrounding counties on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MNDisabledAmericanVeteransChapter39
MN DAV Chapter 39 & Auxiliary Unit 39 will conduct meetings on Thurs., Sep. 14, 2023, at 6:30 PM, in the main meeting hall of VFW 1919 Coon Rapids Blvd., Coon Rapids, MN 55433. NOTE Auxiliary Unit will also meet in the main hall, on the other side of room dividers.
Chapter agenda for the meeting includes a Golf Committee Meeting on Thurs., Sep. 14 at 5:00 PM in the main hall (same location as the Chapter Meeting) at the Coon Rapids VFW, prior to the start of the meeting.
MN DAV Chapter 39 is conducting a Clothing Drive on Sat. and Sun., Sept. 16 & 17, at County Market located at Bunker Lake Blvd. and Round Lake Blvd. Volunteers are needed on both days. Use the sign-up sheet at the September 2023 meeting.
Forget-Me-Not Fund Raiser will be held Oct. 6, 7 and 8. Call Chapter Adjutant
and Treasurer, Scott Berndt, at (763) 245-2585 to volunteer.
Membership drive continues with a lifetime membership at a discounted cost of $50.00.
The Minnesota State Fall Conference is Sep. 21 – 23, held at Breezy Point, MN. Chapter and Unit delegations have been selected to attend. Each chapter and unit delegation should bring a Gift Basket for a raffle, supporting the MN State Auxiliary.
MN DAV Chapter 39 is conducting a CLOTHING DRIVE this Sat., Aug 19 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and on Sun., Aug 20 from, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm at Cub Foods, 12900 Riverdale Dr NW, Coon Rapids, MN 55448. Look for the DAV trailer in the Riverdale Crossing parking lot. Pm. Learn more about how we support area Veterans on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MNDisabledAmericanVeteransChapter39/
MN DAV Chapter 39 & Auxiliary Unit 39 will meet on Thurs., Aug. 10, 2023, 6:30 PM at the VFW. located at 1919 Coon Rapids Blvd., Coon Rapids, MN 5543. Agenda includes an updated on the Golf Tournament, Forget-Me-Not fundraising drive, two Clothing drives in August and September, and information about the upcoming State Conference on Sept. 21-23 at Breezy Point, MN.
This coming Thursday, July 13th, is the 7th Annual Leo Luskey DAV Golf Tournament. Proceeds from the last four tournaments provided MN DAV Chapter 39’s the funding to purchase THE FIRST DAV Van for use to transport veterans to and from medical appointments within the chapter’s five county area! Anoka and surrounding counties have depended on VOLUNTEERS (and their personal vehicles) to transport veterans. There are still opportunities for foursomes to sign up, and we could certainly use more sponsors and are still on the hunt for some AWESOME raffle items and certificates for professional services to help support this annual event. Check it out at ANNUAL LEO LUSKEY ANNUAL DAV GOLF TOURNAMENT | MN DAV CHAPTER 39 (anoka39davmn.com)