melvin m. smith detachment #586 detachment digest · are what people think of when they hear the...

COMMANDANT: RANDY OTT PRESIDENT: DIANE ROWAND

Spokane Marine Corps League Melvin M. Smith Detachment #586

January/February/March 2019 Volume II, Issue VII

DETACHMENT DIGEST

DETACHMENT

OFFICERS

COMMANDANT

RANDY “OTTER” OTT 998-9031

SR VICE COMMANDANT

TIM KRUSE 701-2963

JR VICE COMMANDANT

ALVIN PARKER 290-2625

CHAPLAIN

DENNIS DRESSLER 953-6266

JUDGE ADVOCATE

GUILLERMO “Z” ZARAGOZA (707) 843-6955

JR PAST COMMANDANT

JIM BROWN 599-3456

PAYMASTER

JIM STAILEY, JR 475-9012

ADJUTANT

KARI SOBISKY 466-1733

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS

MANNY ESPARZA 328-7257

AUXILLARY PRESIDENT

DIANE ROWAND 590-7111

Hello all:

Can you believe that it’s 2019? I know I can’t quite wrap my head around that one.

Seems like yesterday was 1969. There’s been a lot of history made in those 50 years. Each of

us has our own story and history to share or not to share with those around us. I’m very

thankful that I’ve gotten to know so many of you since I was stationed here in May, 1993.

Along the way, we’ve gained and lost some really great friends. We’ve made memo-

ries at many events and meetings. Definitely laughed more than we’ve cried. Worked hard

to help our community become a better place and made a difference at Christmas with Toys

For Tots.

You are the Marine Corps. Whether you served long ago or are now serving, you

are what people think of when they hear the word “Marine”. Our Detachment & Auxiliary

have made a tremendously positive impact on the greater Spokane region. With all this being

said, we have a challenge in front of us. 2019 will bring joy, laughter, rest, health, work,

change, pain, heartache, good news, bad news, travels, reunions, graduations, promotions,

retirement, and the list will grow.

How we handle adversity or prosperity, depends on our past experiences. Your fam-

ily and friends are your support network so please don’t forget them when you need help or

wish to celebrate. Please know that the MCL is also a part of your family. The leadership

has been working hard on creating events outside of meetings so that we can celebrate being

Marines. The MCLA has served some very delicious meals before a few of our meetings, yet

the turnout has been less than desired. (continued on pg. 5)

MCLA President’s Pass Down 2

VAMC Update & A Marine’s Marine 3

MMS 586 Birthdays 4

Toys for Tots & Commandant’s Corner 5

Calendar (Jan, Feb, Mar) 6-8

This Month in USMC History (Jan, Feb, Mar) 9-11

Inside this issue:

DETACHMENT Digest

Happy New Year Everyone!

With 2018 behind us, we have lots to celebrate in 2019. We’d love for you to come and join

us soon. The VA BBQ is our first event of the new year, on Tuesday the 8th from 11 to 1:30pm. We

support a few of these during the year so all help is encouraged.

A few of our meeting nights this year are going to be dinners sponsored by the Auxiliary.

What kinds of food would you like to eat? Let us know soon. If you’d like to donate a dessert to the

evening, then let us know that too.

A sad note to start the year that Sandy Ritter passed away in December. No services are

scheduled at this time. Cards may be sent to James & the family at 5109

N. Karen Rd., Otis Orchards, WA 99027.

Diane Rowand

President

Marine Corps League Auxiliary

President’s Pass Down

Good Morning Marines,

It is an honor to share our success with this year’s T4Ts. We

collected and distributed toys to over 7,300 families this year.

That’s an amazing number! At 2 or 3 kids per family, that’s over

21,000 kids. We had the best volunteers in Spokane to make it hap-

pen.

The warehouse was buzzing everyday with excitement be-

cause everyone knew they were making a huge difference in the

lives of so many children. We gave away many books, toys, stuffed

animals, family board games, bikes, and much more.

Santa visited a few times to make sure his list was getting

filled. He gave out small gifts and goodies to the families as they

picked up their requests. Bill Bean, Jim & Vickie Brown, and

many others were there everyday. Thank you!

Toys For Tots update

Volume II, Issue VII

A Marine’s Marine

With great sadness, it must be passed along that Joseph “Hank” Melanson passed away in

November. He was dedicated to making this world a better place. He served with honor and

courage in Vietnam at Khe Shan. After his last duty station he became active in long distance/

ultra marathons, the sojourners groups, Toys for Tots, Vietnam Reunion Tours, Veterans Court,

VAMC, Devil Dogs, VFWs, Honor Flights, and so much

more.

During his time with the Detachment, he was a

great volunteer and leader. He served honorably as Jr. &

Sr. Vices, Commandant, Funeral Honor Details and our

Chaplain. He was our Homeless Vets Rep and worked

with Volunteers of America. He was Marine of the Year

and a Bailey Reynolds awardee. Hank was a brother, fa-

ther, mentor, friend, uncle, grandpa and a very humble

Marine.

Semper Fi Hank! May you soar with the eagles until we

meet again.

A Friendly Reminder:

This is an FYI:

For those of you who receive your medications at the VA there will be a slight

change in the co-payment structure starting early 2019.

This will generally only effect those veterans already paying cash for medica-

tions received at the VA. There should be no change for those veterans whose disa-

bility rating is 50% or higher, veterans who are receiving care for a service-

connected condition, or those veterans which have meet other socio-economical

thresholds that limit or prohibit them from a co-payment already.

Any Questions and I will be glad to help. A list of the preferred generics will

be made available at the upcoming regular business meeting.

Mike O’Flaherty

DETACHMENT Digest

Happy Birthday MARINES!!!

January Jim Fuller 5th James Stailey 12th George Barnett 14th (80) Jacob Brixey 16th Mikie Taylor 18th Mark Curtis 20th Larry Bennett 21st Mike Hume 23rd (70) Guillermo Zaragoza 23rd

February Larry Dicks 2nd Wesley Clements 3rd (80) Dan West 3rd (75) George Ridenbaugh 8th Dave Kaltenbaugh 9th Karsten Mickelson 9th Randy Ott 9th (50) Charles Lund II 14th Josh Kruse 15th Bill Bean Jr 19th Art Greene 20th Joe Burch 26th

March Betty Guillot 4th Mike Maehl 12th TJ Morgan 12th Manny Esparza Jr. 20th Ray Moon 20th

MMS 586 SPOTLIGHT

MMS 586 BIRTHDAYS

Sadly, this section is blank because

nobody submitted a personal story,

a joke or a sea story.

We’d love to hear from you

if you have a good one to share.

Until then, relax and enjoy the music.


(cont. from front pg.)

2019 promises nothing, yet we are planning on a lot of events for our families to enjoy and participate. We like

to hear about things you’d like to see. The VFW was very fortunate to have an extreme make-over by KXLY & Mark

Peterson. It looks fantastic! This will make our time there more relaxing and cozy.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered during the Toys For Tots Season. Another successful year because of

our members. I’m not going to name anyone because I don’t want to forget any of you. You all stepped up and put time

into a wonderful cause and made a difference in the lives of countless children. This year’s need was very large and we

got it done. The Battery had a lot of new members who were eager yet anxious for such a big program.

Again, I appreciate you and hope that you are well and staying busy. Let the leadership know how we can better

serve you this year. We have lots of events which are fun. Also, we make the time to honor our Veterans who have gone

onto serve the Supreme Commandant. That in itself is a true honor, so please consider giving your time when the notice

goes out for the Honor Guard.

Semper Fidelis!

Randy

This year’s T4Ts Campaign was an-other huge success. We have a lot of new I&I Staff and they pulled it off with dedication and adaptabil-ity. SSgt Klemic and others did fabulous work. Our volunteers came out of the woodwork to make things happen as well. We had boy scouts, girl scouts, bik-er clubs, Air Force and Army units, Sea Cadets, Young Marines, Civil Air Patrol, Moms & Dads, Grand-pas & Grandmas, VFW, and of course our MCL/MCLA team. WAY TO GO EVERYONE!!!

Santa (Walt Mabe) and his helpers say “Cheese”

Jr. Vice Alvin Parker’s van put on extra miles for lots of toys.

DETACHMENT Digest

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019

2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30 31

January

3rd - Veteran’s Court (National Guard Readiness Center, Rebecca St) (POC Tim Fitzgerald) at 7 pm.

8th - VA BBQ (Spokane VAMC CLC) for the MCLA/MCL (POC Sam Dressler/Mike O’Flaherty at

11am. 9th - Bingo (Spokane VAMC CLC) (POC Mike O’Flaherty) at 7 pm

10th - MCL/MCLA Regular Business Meeting (VFW 1435, 7pm) (POC Randy Ott or Diane Rowand)

12th - Young Marines Breakfast VFW Post 1435 830 to 1030 am (POC Jim Brown or Mike Barrera)

17th - Veteran’s Court (National Guard Readiness Center, Rebecca St) (POC Tim Fitzgerald) at 7 pm.

19th - MODD Jim Chamberlin Growl VFW 1435 (POC PDD Tim Kruse or PDD Randy Ott) 8:30 ~ 10:30 am



1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28

February

7th - Veteran’s Court (National Guard Readiness Center, Rebecca St) (POC Tim Fitzgerald) at 7 pm. 9th - Young Marines Breakfast VFW Post 1435 830 to 1030 am (POC Jim Brown or Mike Barrera) 13th - Bingo (Spokane VAMC CLC) (POC Mike O’Flaherty) at 7 pm 14th - MCL/MCLA Regular Business Meeting (VFW 1435, 7pm) (POC Randy Ott or Diane Rowand) 21st - Veteran’s Court (National Guard Readiness Center, Rebecca St) (POC Tim Fitzgerald) at 7 pm.

DETACHMENT Digest


1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31

march

7th - Veteran’s Court (National Guard Readiness Center, Rebecca St) (POC Tim Fitzgerald) at 7 pm.

9th - Young Marines Breakfast VFW Post 1435 830 to 1030 am (POC Jim Brown or Mike Barrera)

13th - Bingo (Spokane VAMC CLC) (POC Mike O’Flaherty) at 7 pm

14th - MCLA White Elephant Dinner & Auction (More info to follow) (VFW 1435, 6 pm) (POC Diane Rowand or Lori Ott)

21st - Veteran’s Court (National Guard Readiness Center, Rebecca St) (POC Tim Fitzgerald) at 7 pm.

23rd - MODD Jim Chamberlin Growl VFW 1435 (POC PDD Tim Kruse or PDD Randy Ott) 8:30 ~ 10:30 am


On this day in the Marine Corps

10 January 1995: The Pentagon announced that 2,600 U.S. Marines would be deployed to Somalia for Operation United Shield to assist in the final withdrawal of UN peacekeeping troops from Somalia. The de-cision came in response to a UN request for American protection of its peacekeeping forces serving in the war-torn African nation.

11 January 1945: The first elements of Marine Aircraft Group 24, commanded by Colonel Lyle H. Meyer, landed at Lingayen, Luzon, Philippine Islands, to provide close air support for Army forces. Over the next three months, MAG-24 and MAG-32 would fly a total of 8,842 combat sorties and drop more than 19,000 bombs as part of the Fifth Air Force in support of the Sixth Army.

16 January 1991: Operation Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm as forces of the allied coali-tion launched an all-out air campaign against targets in Iraq and occupied Kuwait in an effort to liberate Kuwait and enforce the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. Overall, in the theater of opera-tions, the coalition forces included more than 415,000 U.S. troops.

18 January 1951: Marines of the 1st Marine Division began mopping-up operations against guerrillas in the Pohang area, South Korea, following the Division's return from its epic battle with Communist Chinese troops at the Chosin (Changjin) Reservoir.

20 January 1968: The second battle for Khe Sanh began when Marines from the 3d Battalion, 26th Ma-rines attacked a North Vietnamese battalion between Hill 881 South and Hill 881 North. More than 100 of the enemy were killed.

21 January 1918: The 1st Aeronautical Company arrived at Ponta Delgada, Azores, for anti-submarine duty. That unit was one of the first completely equipped American aviation units to serve overseas in World War I.

22 January 1969: Operation Dewey Canyon, perhaps the most successful high-mobility regimental-size action of the Vietnam War, began in the A Shau/Da Krong Valleys when the 9th Marines, commanded by Colonel Robert H. Barrow, and supporting artillery were lifted from Quang Tri. By 18 March the enemy's base area had been cleared out, 1617 enemy dead had been counted, and more than 500 tons of weap-ons and ammunition unearthed.

25 January 1856: Marines and seamen from the U.S. sloop DECATUR went ashore at the village of Seat-tle, Washington, to protect settlers from Indian raids. The Indians launched a seven-hour attack but were driven off later that day after suffering severe losses. Incredibly, only two civilian volunteers were killed and no Marines or sailors were lost.

27 January 1988: About 400 Marines and sailors from the 2d Marine Division, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing, and 2d Force Service Support Group deployed for the Persian Gulf. The Contingency Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) CM 2-88 would relieve Contingency MAGTF 1-88 in the volatile Persian Gulf and provide the effective landing force capability to Joint Task Force Middle East.

29 January 1991: The first serious ground fighting of Operation Desert Storm broke out when Iraqi troops mounted an attack into Saudi Arabia along a 40-mile front. Iraqi units centered their efforts on Khafji, a port city six miles south of the border. Saudi and Quatari troops, supported by artillery from the 1st Marine Division and attack helicopters and other allied coalition aircraft, recaptured the town two days later.



FEBRUARY

1 February 1967: Operation Prairie II was begun in Quang Tri province by elements of the 3d Marine Divi-sion. During the 46-day search-and-destroy operation which terminated 18 March, 93 Marines and 693 of the enemy were killed.

2 February 1944: The 4th Marine Division, as part of the first assault on islands controlled by the Japanese before the start of World War II, captured Namur and eight other islands in the Kwajalein Atoll.

6 February 1968: Two reduced Marine battalions, the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines with two companies, and 2d Battalion, 5th Marines with three, recaptured Hue's hospital, jail, and provincial headquarters. It would take three more weeks of intense house to house fighting, and nearly a thousand Marines killed and wounded, before the imperial city was secured.

11 February 1922: BGen John H. Russell was appointed U.S. High Commissioner and personal representa-tive of the President to the government of Haiti. This nine-year assignment placed this future Commandant in supreme command of both the occupying American force and the Haitian Gendarmerie.

15 February 1998: One hundred years ago this date, 28 Marines and 232 seamen lost their lives when the battleship MAINE was mysteriously sunk by an explosion in the harbor of Havana, Cuba. Though no defini-tive evidence linked the Spanish with the sinking, the cry went up, "Remember the Maine!", and by late April the U.S. and Spain were at war.

17 February 1967: The first full day of Operation DECKHOUSE VI, which lasted until 3 March, was conduct-ed near Quang Ngai city. The Special Landing Force (BLT Y4 and HMM-363) accounted for 280 enemy killed.

23 February 1945: Four days after the initial landings on Iwo Jima, 1stLt Harold G. Schrier led 40 men from Company E, 2d Battalion, 28th Marines, up Mt. Suribachi to secure the crest and raise the small American flag that battalion commander LtCol Chandler Johnson had given Schrier. Within an hour, the patrol reached the rim of the crater. After a short fire-fight with Japanese defenders emerging from several caves, the small American flag was attached to an iron pipe and raised over the island.

24 February 1991: The I Marine Expeditionary Force and coalition forces began a ground assault on Iraqi defenses in the final chapter of Operation Desert Storm. The 1st and 2d Marine Divisions stormed into the teeth of Iraqi defenses while heavily armored allied forces attacked the Iraqi defenses in Iraq from behind. In 100 hours, U.S. and allied forces defeated the Iraqi Army.

28 February 1991: Operation Desert Storm ended when the cease- fire declared by President George Bush went into effect. I Marine Expeditionary Force has a strength of more than 92,000 making Operation Desert Storm the largest Marine Corps operation in history .A total of 24 Marines were killed in action during the Gulf War.



MARCH

2 March 1867: Jacob Zeilin, Colonel Commandant of the Marine Corps from 30 June 1864, was this date promoted to the rank of Brigadier General Commandant, the first time Congress authorized this rank for the Marine Corps. The statute, however, was repealed in June 1874 so that the rank of Commandant would again revert to colonel upon Zeilin's retirement.

8 March 1965: The 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade landed at DaNang, Republic of Vietnam as the first U.S. ground combat troops to be committed to that conflict. The 3,500 men arrived both across the beach with Battalion Landing Team 3/9, and at DaNang Airfield with Battalion Landing Team 1/3.

11 March 1778: Marines participated the action when the Continental Navy frigate BOSTON, enroute to France, sighted, engaged, and captured the British merchant ship MARTHA. As the drum of the BOSTON beat to arms, John Adams seized a musket and joined the Marines on deck until the frigate's captain, Samu-el Tucker, sent him below for safety.

13 March 1943: The first group of71 Women Marine officer candidates arrived at the U.S. Midshipmen School (Women's Reserve) at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. The Navy's willing-ness to share training facilities enabled the Marine Corps to begin training Marine Corps Women's Reserve officers just one month after the creation of the MCWR was announced.

17 March 1967: The first woman Marine to report to Vietnam for duty, Master Sergeant Barbara J. Dulinsky, began her 18-hour flight to Bien Hoa, 30 miles north of Saigon. MSgt Dulinsky and the other officer and en-listed Women Marines that followed were assigned to the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) based in Saigon. Most worked with the Marine Corps Personnel Section providing administrative support to Marines assigned as far north as the DMZ, but two Lieutenant Colonels, Ruth Reinholz and Ruth O'Holleran, served as historians with the Military History Branch, Secretary Joint Staff, MACV.

25 March 1945: After 35 days of bitter fighting, the amphibious assault on the rocky fortress of Iwo Jima fi-nally appeared over. On the night of 25 March, however, a 300-man Japanese force launched a vicious final counterattack in the vicinity of Airfield Number 2. Army pilots, Seabees and Marines of the 5th Pioneer Bat-talion and 28th Marines fought the fanatical Japanese force till morning but suffered heavy casualties --more than l00 killed and another 200 American wounded. Nearly all of the Japanese force was killed in the battle.

27 March 1953: The 5th Marines, supported by the 2d Battalion, 7th Marines, in the first full day of fighting after the Chinese assault the previous evening of Outpost Vegas on Korea's western front, counterattacked to regain enemy-held positions. Companies E and F of 2/7 , down to only three platoons between them, managed to regain partial control of Outpost Vegas that day.

31 March 1801: On this date, LtCol Commandant William W. Burrows rode with president Thomas Jefferson to look for "a proper place to fix the Marine Barracks on." President Jefferson was a personal friend of the Commandant, and deeply interested in the welfare of the Corps and accompanied Burrows on horseback on the morning of 31 March. They chose a square in Southeast

We had a grand time at the Josie/MacKenzie Spaghetti Dinner/Raffle. Our

grand total donation to the Campaign was $5000. Money well spent and

laughs were everywhere. Thank you again for those who made it happen!

Commandant Randy Ott

Melvin M. Smith #586

Marine Corps League

P.O. Box 13682

Spokane Valley, WA 99213-5301

Melvin M. Smith Detachment #586

DETACHMENT DIGEST

Department of Washington

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