Pizza Sat, April 10 5-7 pm with Maximo performing 6-9 pm
TAPS - Celebration of Life
Wednesday, April 14 at 12 noon will be a Celebration of Life for our Quartermaster Jim McCune.
The service will be held at the VFW 4353 at 8150 Stringfellow Rd. St., James City.
There will be a luncheon following the service.
What is Patriotism to Me
by Gregory Kolaz
America the greatest country in the world, and possibly the greatest of all time. Patriotism is something that should be part of every Americans life every day. I was born in the United States of American and am proud to be an American Patriot.
The most recent troubles in the world from the Coronavirus Pandemic, to China's aggression in the South China Sea and the Russians trying to expand their borders under false pretenses, has caused me great concern. I know that as an American our country is looked upon to be the stabilizing force in the world. Patriotism for my country will motivate me to do what I can to help the world to be a better place. I have always respected veterans and understand the sacrifice they made and understand that they have done this all voluntarily, which displays their patriotism and the desire to serve and protect our country. From my interaction with veterans that I have met at the VFW, my mom works there, my understanding of the meaning of Patriotism grows.
There are many ways to show your Patriotism some do it by governing our country and others do it by standing on watch to keep the dangerous men at bay. Patriotism to me means that we as Americans join together and defend our nation and make it stronger through our actions. Patriotism becomes stronger and is unwavering. I will continue to learn and become more motivated to be a true Patriot, as a young person I daily see the need for more people to display their Patriotism and the respect that our country needs.
I show my Patriotism on July 4th every year. I show respect to our American Flag and I will never kneel during the National Anthem. I will strive to encourage others to grow their Patriotism and honor our country. I stand for the Flag, our country and the American way. It should not matter what political party our leaders are but the division that it causes does not help us and surely doesn't show Patriotism to our country.
Patriotism every day should be the goal of all of us!
Cars and Coffee
Sunday, March 21 will be our monthly Cars and Coffee at the VFW 4353 from 9 - 11 am
All Vehicles Welcome!
Trucks, 4X4's, Motorcycles, Euros, JDMs, Muscle Cars
Super Cars to Yugo's!!! Come on Out!
Free Coffee and $4.00 Breakfast Burritos
The VFW Logo
Same Proud History. Same Strong Commitment. Bold New Look.
This logo includes an artistic representation of service stripes, easily recognizable insignia indicative of military service. Worn on most service uniforms, they denote length of service. As such, the first and leaner of the two service stripes represents our steadfast entry into our second century of service to America’s veterans, service members and their families. The second, broader stripe represents our first storied century of service, spanning back to 1899.
The bold letters and sharp angles of this text represent the strength and stability of our organization, and the clarity with which we work to fulfill our mission.
The use of vibrant red represents the danger our members have faced, the bloodshed they experienced and the energy with which our organization operates. The gallant gold represents our members’ achievements, acts of valor and the unique VFW eligibility status they’ve earned. Further, it epitomizes our gold standard of service.
The custom upper case letters were especially designed with an extended width to symbolize an organization that is well established. Combined with a tight letter spacing, these letters visually build a solid and confident block that reflects the unified culture of our organization. In addition to the direct metaphor of the stripes, the visual progression leading to the build of the letter “V” represents our sustained and forward movement into achieving the VFW’s mission. In order to bring the acronym and title together, the gold stripes and the “V” from “VETERANS” have been carefully drawn to align on the same axis, emphasizing the element of continuity. are.
The VFW Seal
The VFW seal, the insignia of our organization is 1,000 years old.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States was founded in 1899 but the Cross of Malta was created hundreds of years ago by a group of men known as the Crusaders. Those men were warriors who campaigned, fought and willingly sacrificed their lives in defense of human liberties. Those early warriors served mankind in many other ways – always under the sign of the Maltese Cross, the symbolic banner of their own choice.
Why did the Veterans of Foreign Wars select the Cross of Malta as its emblem? What has been added to make the VFW insignia we know today? Let us look closely at our emblem for a few minutes. Let us understand its history and its present significance.
We see that the VFW insignia is the eight-pointed Maltese Cross on a background of radiating solar rays. Upon the Cross is superimposed the Great Seal of the United States, encircled by the name of our organization. What does the entire design mean?
Every detail in the VFW insignia has some definite meaning. The Cross, the rays and the seal together symbolize the character, vows and purposes distinguishing the Veterans of Foreign Wars as a vigorous order of men who have traveled far from home to fight for the principles to which they are pledged.
To understand fully the meaning of the Cross of Malta, we must look back nearly a thousand years to the Crusades, waged in the Middle East. There we see the Malta Cross as the insignia of the Knights of St. John, the world’s first great brotherhood of men pledged to chivalry.
During the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Knights of St. John also fought gallantly, far from their homes, in defense of religious freedom. At the same time they administered to the sick, the needy and to the poor.
The Knights of St. John were men from all walks of life. They were noblemen and priests, artisans and laborers. Regardless of their birth, however, they were brothers bound by a common oath of unity, bravery and service to mankind. Together they waged many fierce battles against intolerance. They carried their crusades across deserts and seas, into the Holy Land, Cyprus, Rhodes and Malta.
Those crusaders adopted the Cross of Malta as their insignia because its eight points symbolized the beatitudes prescribed in the Sermon on the Mount. Those are, in effect, (1) blessed are the poor in spirit, (2) the meek, (3) the pure, (4) the merciful and (5) the peacemakers (6) blessed are they that mourn and (7) seek righteousness and (8) they who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.
The Cross of Malta had a religious origin but the Knights of St. John also made it the battle standard for all men, women, and children struggling against oppression. The things for which the crusaders fought a thousand years ago are identical to the present day principles of Democracy – freedom, justice and tolerance.
These are the reasons why a handful of American fighting men who founded the Veterans of Foreign Wars selected the Cross of Malta as their insignia. They were establishing a new brotherhood of crusaders from all walks of life who have gone into battlefields around the world to fight for human rights.
Between the eight points of the Cross the Veterans of Foreign Wars has added the sun’s rays. These emphasize the vigor and warmth with which the present day brotherhood is pledged to defend the nation and to extend its mercy.
Over the Cross of Malta is superimposed the American eagle. Everyone recognizes this as the sacred symbol of a proud nation whose men through many generations have fought and sacrificed to preserve our way of living.
The VFW Cross of Malta represents the purposes of the modern overseas war veterans’ organization, as set forth in official archives.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars is chartered by the Congress of the United States. That charter prescribes specifically the character of this rapidly growing order.
Article I of the VFW Constitution also states that the objective of the order shall be fraternal, patriotic, historical and education; that its members shall preserve and strengthen comradeship; that they shall maintain allegiance to the government of the United States and fidelity to its laws; that the members shall foster true patriotism, extend American freedoms and defend this nation from all enemies.
When a person joins the Veterans of Foreign Wars they vow “in the presence of Almighty God and the members of this Order” to maintain loyalty to the government, to the VFW, and to their fellow comrades.
When the new member is given the Cross of Malta they become part of a great brotherhood of overseas veterans. They pledge to keep on crusading with them for the freedom of mankind during the years of peace as well as in war. Men and women qualified to wear the VFW emblem have earned it honestly, and they wear it proudly.
That explains the symbolism of the VFW Cross of Malta. It expresses simply but adequately the character and the objectives of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Usage of the VFW Cross of Malta is for special and distinguished situations only, generally reserved for official items to include:
- VFW covers and pins
- Flags
- Awards
- Official executive correspondence
- Select signage
- Select VFW Store items when the Cross of Malta can be reproduced consistently and in its entirety
2020 - 2021 Slate of Officers
Post Commander Tom Ferguson
Post Commander Tom Ferguson
Sr. Vice Steve Kerby
Jr. Vice Ernest Lafehr
Quartermaster James McCune
Asst. Quartermaster Vicki Duflo
Post Chaplin Richard DiBuono
Post Adjutant James McCune
Judge Advocate Steve Kerby
Post Surgeon Ahsley Carr
1 yr Trustee Gary Lufriu
2 yr Trustee Edward Iacobacci
3 yr Trustee Austin White
Service Officer Rebeca Brown
Auxiliary
President Carol Kerby
Sr. Vice Sue Bailey
Jr. Vice Joyce Lake
Secretary Ruth Ann Sundberg
Treasurer Jill Davidson
Chaplain Linda LaFehr
Conductress Debra Hayward
Guard Sharon Weisenbach
1 yr Trustee Carol Ciafre
2 yr Trustee Susan Bailey
3 yr Trustee Richard Sprague
Fund Raising Pledge Drive For New Roof Project
The roof on our building needs to be replaced. This work needs to be done not later than the Summer of 2021. We have met with several Roofing Contractors and have estimates to take the existing roofing, replace roofing boards as needed and install a new Metal Roof that will outlast any shingle roofing.
The estimated cost of the project is between $43,000.00 and $50,000.00. The goal for this fund raising drive is to raise $25,000.00 in cash that will go toward the project. The remainder of the cost of the project will be financed thru our local bank using our Certificate of Deposit as security for the loan,
The benefit of securing the loan this way are we will be given a low interest rate and we will NOT have to place a mortgage on our building.
We have forms at the VFW for you to fill out - like the one on the right side of this page
Please fill out and return to the VFW 4353 mail box in the hallway. (Top Box) Or you can mail your pledge form to VFW Post 4353 8150 Stringfellow Rd. St. James City, FL. 33956. As funds are received they will be placed into a special roofing fund account and will not be intermingled with other club funds.
Donors of $500.00 or more will be listed as GOLD Level Donors. Donors of $250.00 will be listed as SILVER Level Donors. Donors of $100.00 will be listed as BRONZE Level Donors.Pledged funds can be paid in full with pledge form or you may choose to pay your pledge in payments. Just fill that information in on your pledge form.
Thank you for your generous consideration of this fund raising drive.
