Veterans and Families are invited this Friday, November 10 for the Annual Blaine High School Veterans Day Program. The program will be held in the Athletic Center beginning at 10:30 am. The high school is located at 12555 University Ave NE, Blaine, MN 55434.
This #Veterans Day, join us in shining a light of hope and support. Join #OperationGreenLight and let’s turn Anoka and surrounding counties green for our Veterans. The public is encouraged to light your resident and/or business GREEN from Nov. 6th to Nov. 12th.
America’s counties have a long and proud history of serving our nation’s veterans, a legacy that continues to this day as we work with our federal, state and local partners to ensure that the former service members have access to the resources they need to thrive.
Once again, this Veterans Day, the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers (NACVSO) have invited the nation’s 3,069 counties, parishes, and boroughs to join Operation Green Light and show support for veterans by lighting our buildings green from November 6-12. By shining a green light, county governments and our residents will let veterans know that they are seen, appreciated, and supported. More at https://www.naco.org/news/operation-green-light-veterans-returns-2023
MN DAV Chapter 39 and Auxiliary Unit 29 will conduct their November meetings in the divided main hall of the VFW,1919 Coon Rapids Blvd., Coon Rapids, MN 55433 at 6:30 PM.
There will be a Golf Committee Meeting on Thurs., Sep. Nov. 9 at 5:30 PM in the main hall (same location as the Chapter Meeting) at the Coon Rapids VFW, prior to the start of the meeting.
If you know a Veteran, Veteran Family, or Widow of a Veteran in need, contact the Chapter Adjutant at (763) 245-2585, and provide the name, address, number with ages of family members, and a contact phone number.
A unit member is repurposing used plastic bags. The bags are used to make sleeping mats. It takes 800 bags to make one mat. Please bring your bags to make a eco-friendly contribution at the January 2024 meeting.
Contact the Unit Adjutant if you can help with the Adopt-A-Vet Gift Program by calling (763) 427-3544.
The Unit Craft and Bake Sale will be held at the Anoka County Courthouse lobby from 7:00 AM (setup) to 1:00 PM. Please prepare your Bake Goods and Holiday Homemade Gifts and come to help, support and shop.
Our webmaster and social media content creator is stepping down this November, following eight years of support in providing the Chapter and Unit one of the best social media tools within DAV. If you are interested in becoming a member of a Chapter/Unit Social Media Team, contact the Chapter Adjutant.
Take a few minutes and check out the feature article below about this year’s Veterans Day poster and other patriotic information that was packaged for educators, but very useful for every American to learn that “Freedom Isn’t Free” …
(By Terry Russell, National Veterans Outreach Officer) … For the 2023 Veterans Day Poster Contest, the Veterans Day National Committee (VDNC) called on professional and amateur artists to create picture-perfect designs that reflect the theme of this year’s Veterans Day observance: service.
There were more than 60 entries from people ranging from school-aged children to graphic designers with decades of experience. When all ballots were tallied, the VDNC selected “The Bugler” by Gene Russell, a service-connected disabled Army Infantry Veteran and VA employee, as this year’s winning submission.
Russell is the principal photographer for the VA Secretary in Washington, D.C., and he spends his days photographing the Secretary’s significant events and documenting other senior VA leaders’ internal and external engagements. Described as “customer-service obsessed” by acting Deputy Secretary Scott Blackburn, Russell received the VA Secretary’s Honor Award for “I CARE” in 2020 for his work on the Center for Women Veterans’ “I Am Not Invisible” (IANI) campaign. The I CARE Award is VA’s highest honor for customer service and workplace excellence, and refers to VA’s five core values: Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect and Excellence.
Music was the inspiration for Russell’s submission; he has played the bugle since he was a boy. “Bugle calls are not songs, and they do not have lyrics. Yet, when heard, the calls evoke emotion and the pride of service for members of every uniformed branch listed on this poster,” he said.
More than 100 bugle calls are used in the United States Armed Services, including a few used only in emergencies, such as “man overboard” or “abandon ship.” For that reason, the bugler connects each service member on land, air and sea.
“My goal was to link the sight, sound and feeling of how we served our country. The pole and American flag in this image are the ones currently flying over VA headquarters in Washington, DC,” he said. “It flies for each of us and those Veterans to come.”
The Veterans Day poster will be displayed in VA facilities, military installations and municipal buildings across America. It will also serve as the cover of the official program for the Veterans Day commemoration at Arlington National Cemetery on November 11.
Check out this year’s Veterans Day Poster, and previous years at https://www.flickr.com/…/veter…/albums/72177720300172803
A comprehensive teacher’s guide is available for educators at https://department.va.gov/…/2023-Veterans-Day-Teachers… YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AN EDUCATOR to learn more about the Origins of Veterans Day, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day, America’s Wars, POWs and MIA, Veteran Service Organizations, Scholarships, Student Athletes, Veterans Legacy Program, Respecting the Flag, Folding the Flag, and the Veterans Day National Committee.
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
