the ah1 cobra gunship “the snake”
TRANSCRIPT
NEW HARTFORD POST 1376 THE AMERICAN LEGION
The AH1 Cobra Gunship
“The Snake” 8616 Clinton St.
New Hartford, NY 13413-3400 (315) 736-7041
NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER 2019
“THE FRIENDLY POST”
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Thursday
11:00 AM-11:00 PM
Friday-Saturday
11:00 AM-12:00 AM
Sunday
12:00 PM-11:00 PM
DATES 2nd-Post “Early Bird Party”-5:00 PM
3rd-Daylight Saving Time Ends
Turn Clocks Back 1 Hour
5th-Election Day, Get Out & Vote!
5th-Auxilliary Meeting-6:30 PM
6th-Executive Board Meeting-6:30 PM
6th-SAL Meeting-7:30 PM
10th-U.S. Marine Corps Birthday-1775
11th-Veterans Day
Post Service-11:00 AM
Veterans Memorial Service-3:00 PM
12th-Tuesday Night Dinner
Serving 4:00—7:00 PM
17th-Legion Riders Meeting-12:15 PM
17th-Sunday Morning Breakfast
Serving 8:00 to 11:30 AM
18th-Oneida County Legion Meeting @
Oriskany Post 1448, Oriskany-7:00 PM
20th-Post Membership Meeting-7:00 PM
21st-Post Color Guard Meeting-6:00 PM
28th-Thanksgiving Day
Lunches Served Daily
Monday-Friday
11:00 AM-2:00 PM
*****PROUDLY SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS*****
Friday Night Fish Fry
Served Weekly
4:00 PM-Until Sold Out
Starting in November 2019
COMMANDER’S MESSAGE With November upon us we are looking forward to
our Post “Early Bird” Party on November 2nd. On
November 11th we celebrate Veterans Day with our
service at the Post @ 11:00 AM and our service at
the Veterans Memorial in New Hartford @ 3:00 PM.
Please plan on attending one of our services as we
honor all of our veterans.
On November 17th we have our monthly Sunday
Morning Breakfast and our Membership Meeting is
scheduled for Wednesday the 20th. Please plan on
attending this meeting and voice any concerns you
may have. Details on all of the above can be found
later in this newsletter.
As we get together with our families and friends
this Thanksgiving, we extend our Best Wishes to all
of our members and their families for a Happy
Thanksgiving.
For the Good of the Legion,
Junior Laracuente, Post Commander
AUXILIARY NEWS The next meeting of the Auxiliary will be on Tues-
day, November 5th starting at 6:30 PM. We welcome
all new members to attend.
The 2020 membership cards are in. Dues remain @
$25.00 and can be sent to Krystal Hodge 20 Abbey
Rd. Whitesboro, NY 13492 or left in the Auxiliary
mailbox in the Lounge. If there are any questions
please call me @ (315) 725-2678.
We are always looking for new members so please
talk to your relatives and friends and have them join.
We have activities throughout the year and always
welcome new faces.
Please let our Chaplain, Joyce Mancini know of
any Auxiliary member that is sick at home or conva-
lescing elsewhere or when one of our sisters has
passed. Joyce can be reached @ (315) 723-4500 or by
e-mail @ [email protected] Thank You.
The Ladies Auxiliary would like to welcome the
following new members to our Unit. Please Wel-
come: Judy Streator and Audrey Uryniak
Please pray for our service men and women and
continue to support our veterans.
Yours in Service,
Monica Lawendowski, President
SAL NEWS The next meeting of the Son’s of Post 1376 will be
held Wednesday, November 6th starting at 7:00 PM.
Dues remain $25.00 and can be mailed to: Bob
Byrd, 4 Foxcroft Rd., New Hartford, NY 13413 or
put them in the SAL mailbox at the Post. Checks for
dues can be made payable to SAL Post 1376.
PLEASE NOTE; If you pay by cash, ask for a re-
ceipt and make sure your name is on the envelope.
Also, if your address has changed please let me know
so we can be sure you will receive your newsletter.
We would like to take the time to wish all of our
members a Happy Thanksgiving.
We thank all our members for their support of our
Post, State and our Veterans.
Respectfully Submitted,
Don Wisnowski, Commander
LEGION RIDERS REPORT The next meeting of the Riders will be held on Sun-
day, November 17th starting @ 11:00 AM.
This wraps up our 11th season serving the Ameri-
can Legion and our Veterans.
There will be no official ride in November but, if
the weather cooperates, we may be able to get some-
thing together.
The Riders would like to thank the Veterans, the
Sons and the Ladies Auxiliary and our Supporters
for all of their help and contributions throughout the
year. Also, a Big Thank You to the employees at our
Post.
The New Hartford American Legion Riders and
Supporters will continue our service to American
Veterans and their interests. The 2020 season will
spin up next March.
Please visit our face-book site or browse the web-
site: www.AmericanLegionRiders.net, or National
@ www.legion.org/riders. or get in touch with us
at… [email protected].
Ride to Live - Live to Ride!
For the Good of the Legion,
Tim Converse, Director
The New Hartford American Legion will host our
Sunday Morning Breakfast on November 17th at
the Post.
MENU Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Sausage
Hash, Sausage Gravy, Home Fries
Pancakes, French Toast
Toast, Coffee, Tea, Orange Juice
Fruit Cocktail
Donation:
Adults: $10.00
Children 5-12: $5.00
Children under 5-Free
SERVING
8:00 AM to 11:30 AM
We will be starting a monthly 50/50 Raffle for all
Post 1376 Members ONLY, beginning in December.
Tickets will be available starting November 1st.
Tickets will be $1.00 each and will be available at
the Bar.
The proceeds will be for our Capital Projects
Fund that will be needed at our Legion.
New Hartford American Legion Executive Board
Happy 244th Birthday
United States Marine Corp
November 10, 1775
POST LOTTERY REPORT
SEPTEMBER 2019
LOTTERY NUMBERS
DATE/NUMBER
1/527 2/592 3/821 4/428 5/159 6/256 7/744 8/140
9/Post Closed 10/009 11/303 12/781 13/547 14-275
15/100 16/493 17/540 18/872 19/946 20/603 21/819
22/612 23/005 24/385 25/172 26/046 27/584 28/827
29/940 30/171
Disclaimer: Every effort is made to accurately re-
port these numbers. The official numbers are those
recorded on the Post Lottery Payment Log Book by
the Fund Raiser Chairman. The Post will not be re-
sponsible for typos in the newsletter.
2020 Post Fund Raiser: You should have received,
or will shortly receive, your 2020 Post Lot-
tery ticket in the mail. We are sending one ticket to
each address on the Post mailing list of Legion,
Auxiliary and SAL members. If you did not get one
in the mail, or want extras, they are available at the
bar.
Please sell or buy your ticket and get the proceeds
into the Post by Christmas Eve to be eligible for a
seller prize. We are continuing our practice of of-
fering a free 2021 membership to anyone who sells
ten or more tickets. Please participate as this is our
one fund raiser each year to support Legion Base-
ball and our other children and youth activi-
ties. Thank you.
Respectfully Submitted,
Terry Johnson PC, Lottery Chairman
Daylight-Saving Time ends Sunday November
3rd, remember to turn your clocks back one hour.
EARLY BIRD PARTY 2019
Our “Early Bird” Party will be held on Saturday,
November 2nd starting at 5:00 PM.
Sign up sheets have been available at the Bar since
October 1st and the last day to sign up is October
31st. You must show a 2020 Membership Card and
put a $10.00 deposit down when you sign up. This
will be refunded to you if you attend the party.
The Party will include a Buffet Dinner and one
drink from the Bar, it will be cash bar thereafter.
Time will be 5:00 PM for Cocktails and 6:00 PM
for Dinner.
There will be door prizes and a 50/50 raffle.
New Hartford American Legion
We have decided to have a suggestion box available
to all members. We ask that they sign and put in any
suggestions that they may have that they feel would
help improve and/or enhance our American Legion
Post.
The suggestion box will be located on the shelf near
the Pop Corn Machine in the Lounge.
New Hartford American Legion Executive Board
To all of our members and their families we wish
you a Very Happy Thanksgiving. We Thank You for
your continued support of our American Legion Post
and especially all of our Veterans.
New Hartford American Legion New Hartford Ladies Auxiliary New Hartford Sons of the Legion
New Hartford American Legion Riders
MONTHLY HUMOR
DITKA & THE “FRIDGE”
MIKE DITKA WILLIAM PERRY
John Cassis is one of our nation’s finest motiva-
tional speakers. He told a story recently about a time
when he was serving as a Chaplain for the Chicago
Bears during their glory years of the 80’s. As John
tells it, Mike Ditka was about to deliver a locker
room pep talk one day. He looked up and saw defen-
sive tackle William “Refrigerator” Perry. How
could he not see him? At 338 pounds, the Fridge
stood out even in a crowd of pro football players.
Ditka gestured to the Fridge. “When I get finished,”
he said, “I’d like you to close with the Lord’s
Prayer.” Then the coach began his talk.
Meanwhile, Jim McMahon, the brash and outspo-
ken quarterback, nudged John Cassis. “Look at
Perry.” McMahon whispered, “He doesn’t know the
Lord’s Prayer.”
Sure enough, Perry sat with a look of panic on his
face, his head in his hands. He was sweating pro-
fusely. “Everybody knows the Lord’s Prayer!” said
Cassis to McMahon in disbelief. After a few minutes
of watching the Refrigerator leaking several gallons
of sweat, McMahon nudged Cassis again. “I’ll bet
you 50 bucks Fridge doesn’t know the Lord’s
Prayer.”
As Cassis tells the story, he stops to reflect on the
absurdity of it all: “Here we were sitting in chapel
and betting 50 bucks on the Lord’s Prayer.” When
Coach Ditka finished his pep talk, he asked all the
men to remove their caps. Then he nodded at Perry
and bowed his head. It was quiet for a few moments
before the Fridge spoke in a shaky voice, “Now I lay
me down to sleep. I pray the Lord, my soul to
keep…”
Cassis felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Jim McMa-
hon. “Here’s the 50 dollars,” McMahon whispered.
“I had no idea Perry knew the Lord’s Prayer!”
like those movie scenes where someone enters a big-
wig's office, and the big-wig is sat silhouetted at the
end of a long room, behind a massive desk. The ap-
pellant has to walk all the way to that desk along a
featureless space, feeling small, exposed, vulnerable
and comparatively worthless before the mogul en-
throned in dramatic lighting before him. By the time
he gets there the great speech he had prepared is re-
duced to a muttered sentence or two.
In addition, the USS Missouri flew the flag of Com-
modore Perry's 19th century gun-boat diplomacy
mission that opened the closeted Edo-era Japan to
the world and forced upon them the Meiji restora-
tion which ended the rule of the samurai class. The
symbolism here is pretty clear - "this is how we want
you to be, and remember what happens to countries
that defy us." It was particularly humiliating for a
proud country like Japan, and that was entirely the
point. The symbolism of the ceremony was even
greater than that. The ship was anchored at the pre-
cise latitude/longitude recorded in Perry's log during
his 1845 visit, symbolizing the purpose of both visits
to open Japan to the West. Perry's original flag was
also present, having been flown all the way from the
Naval Academy for the ceremony.
When the Japanese delegation came aboard, they
were forced to use an accommodation way (stairs)
situated just forward of turret #1. The freeboard
(distance between the ship's deck and the water line)
there makes the climb about twice as long as if it had
been set up farther aft, where the freeboard of the
ship is less. NOTE: This was even more of an issue
for the Japanese surrender party as the senior mem-
ber, Foreign Affairs Minister Shigemitsu, was crip-
pled by an assassination attempt in 1932, losing his
right leg in the process.
The #1 and #2 turrets had been traversed about 20
degrees to starboard. The ostensible reason for this
was to get the turret overhangs out of the way to cre-
ate more room for the ceremony on the starboard
veranda deck, but in fact this would have only re-
While we celebrate Veterans Day on November 11th
lets take the time to look back at the formal surrender
of Japan that ended World War II and the fact that
those that came back home and are still with us are
now well into their 90’s. We will never forget their
sacrifice and service to our nation and to all the veter-
ans past and present who continue to secure the
American way of life for all of us. We especially re-
member those that did not return as they will live for-
ever in our hearts.
Enjoy your Very Special Day, you have earned it.
JAPAN’S SURRENDER
September 2, 1945, The Formal Surrender Ceremony
Why did the US choose a US Navy Iowa-class battle-
ship as the location for Japan's surrender in World
War II even though they were in Tokyo Bay and
could have used a building on land? Pure symbolism.
Nothing says "you're utterly defeated" than having
to board the enemy's massive battleship in the waters
of your own capital city. A naval vessel is considered
sovereign territory for the purposes of accepting a
surrender. You just don't get that if you borrow a
ceremonial space from the host country.
In addition, the Navy originally wanted the USS
South Dakota to be the surrender site. It was Presi-
dent Truman who changed it to USS Missouri, Mis-
souri being Truman's home state. The Japanese dele-
gation had to travel across water to the Missouri,
which sat at the center of a huge US fleet. It's a bit
November 11th
quired traversing turret #2 had it been the real
reason. However, the turret position also put the
gun tubes directly over the heads of the Japanese.
They were literally boarding the ship "under the
gun”.
The honor guard of US sailors (side boys) were
all hand-picked to be over six feet tall, a further
intimidation of the short-statured Japanese. The
surrender documents themselves, one copy for the
Allies and one for the Japanese contained identical
English- language texts, but the Allied copy was
bound in good quality leather, while the Japanese
copy was bound with light canvas whose stitching
looked like it had been done by a drunken sailor
using kite string.
After the signing ceremony, the Japanese delega-
tion was not invited for tea and cookies; they were
shuffled off the ship as an Allied air armada of
over 400 aircraft flew overhead as a final reminder
that American forces still had the ability to con-
tinue fighting should the Japanese have second
thoughts on surrender.
New Hartford American Legion’s Friday Night Fish Fry Dinners
Featuring
Scallops—Fish Fry—Shrimp
Also Stuffed Haddock!!
New England Clam Chowder
Also Try Our Mouth Watering Prime Rib!
All Dinners Served with: Fresh Garden Salad
Fresh Bread, Coffee & Tea Serving
4:00—8:00 PM
All Are Welcome!! 8616 Clinton St. New Hartford, NY 315-736-7041
Visit Us @ www.newhartfordamericanlegionpost1376.com
NOTICE
Friday Fish Fry will start back up in Novem-
ber. Please call the Post @ the number above
for the starting date. Thank You.
DAVY JONES DAVID BOWIE
Because of Davy Jones's huge popularity as a mem-
ber of The Monkees, another young singer in London,
also named David Jones, was forced to change his
name. . . To David Bowie.
“Home cooking. Where many a man
thinks his wife is.”
Jimmy Durante Comedian, actor, singer, and songwriter
(1893-1980)
THIS DATE IN MILITARY HISTORY
On January 8, 1815, the last major engagement of
the War of 1812 came to an end as U.S. forces de-
feated the British in the Battle of New Orleans, not
having gotten word of the signing of a peace treaty.
We would like to send out a get well wish to two of
our members, Jack Irving, and Lenny Dziekowicz.
Jack is a Past Commander of our Post and a U.S.
Navy World War II veteran.
Jack was up to the Legion recently and is in good
spirits. However he still is in recovery mode from a
fall and staying at his daughters until he can man-
age completely by himself.
Jack’s address is: H. Jack Irving
Apt. 5A The Meadows
New Hartford, NY 13413
Lenny is a long time member of our Post and is a
decorated U.S. Army World War II veteran.
Lenny is now residing at the Sequoia residence
Room 809. He is having many "confusing" episodes,
but it mainly has to do with his surroundings and
the past. If he knew you - he still does, and would
welcome any visitors - especially those he knew
from the Legion.
His son, Lenny says he can take him out if he gets
a bit better. He would like to take him to the Legion
on Fridays for lunch again, and make it for Novem-
ber 11th Veterans Day.
Lenny’s 97th birthday is the day before on No-
vember 10th, so we also extend a Very Happy Birth-
day to him.
Lenny’s address is:
Sitrin Nursing Home
2050 Tilden Ave.
Leonard Dziekowicz. - Room 809
New Hartford, NY 13413
QUEEN OF HEARTS UPDATE The hunt for the Queen continues, as of October
11th the “Queen” now stands @ $3,222 with 43
cards left.
The drawing for the “Queen” is held every
Wednesday at 8:15 PM. You can purchase tickets
any day at the Bar and at the SAL table Wednes-
days in the Lounge.
All Post 1376 members and bona fide guests over
the age of 18 may play The Queen of Hearts.
One ticket will be drawn each week; except the
first and twenty-sixth week, when three will be
drawn, until the Queen of Hearts is found. Tickets
will be a series of two part-sequentially numbered
raffle tickets. TICKETS WILL COST $1.00 EACH,
and you may purchase as many tickets as you wish.
Each player shall write their name and phone
number and card number you would like selected if
you are not present at the drawing on the Posts part
of the ticket, which shall be deposited into the raffle
box. The purchasing player shall retain the other
portion of the ticket as a receipt for verification
purposes. The player holding the winning ticket
stub shall be declared the winner of the drawing
and shall be entitled to “Search for the Queen of
Hearts”.
Each winner shall select one of the facedown play-
ing cards, which shall be turned over by the mem-
ber in charge. If the card turned over is the Queen
of Hearts, the holder of the winning ticket selecting
that card shall be awarded 60% of the grand prize
pool. If the card selected is not the Queen of Hearts,
the card shall be defaced and be returned to the
game board face up.
The player drawing a card other than the Queen
of Hearts shall be awarded a cash prize valued ac-
cording to the following schedule:
CARD DRAWN PAYOUT
ANY 2,3,4, OR 5 $5.00
ANY 6,7,8, OR 9 $10.00
ANY 10, Jack or King $20.00
ANY Ace $30.00
ANY Joker $40.00
ANY Queen other than Hearts $50.00
Should the owner of the ticket drawn not be present
a volunteer will select the card.
Respectfully Submitted,
Bill Brucato, Manager
COLOR GUARD REPORT The next meeting of the Color Guard will be held
on Thursday, November 21st starting at 6:00 PM.
If there are any changes you will be notified by
Chris Voce.
The Color Guard took part in the following events
in September: 9/8: Presented flags for Connor’s
Way walk/run in Hinckley. 9/9: Graveside Service
for Post member Bill Waterman. 9/11: Presented
flags at the Whitestown Senior Center and took
part in the New York Mills silent walk & ceremony.
9/20: Presented flags for the National POW/MIA
Recognition Day Ceremony @ New Hartford Town
Hall and attended a ceremony @ the Boonville
American Legion. 9/21: Presented flags @ the Kurt
Wyman Motorcycle Ride. 9/28: Presented flags @
the E.J. Herrmann Cross Country Meet in Utica.
9/29: Presented flags & played Taps @ the Gold
Star Mothers Ceremony in Utica. The Guard has a
total of 301 hours of service as of this reporting.
We have several events that we will attend for
Veterans Day and a full reporting of those events
will be reported in the December Newsletter.
Our Post Color Guard would like to extend our
best wishes for a Very Happy Thanksgiving to all.
The following are the current officers of our Post
Color Guard: Captain: Dick Fountain, Lieutenants:
Duane Clark & Bob Byrd, Secretary: Joann Kober-
stein, Treasurer: Carol Heschel, Sgt-at-Arms: Ed
Ruffin, Chaplain: Chris Voce & Road Commander:
Larry Winfield.
Membership in the Guard is open to any member
in good standing in the Legion, Auxiliary or the
Sons. If interested, or a service is needed, please see
any member of our Guard or call the Post @ (315)
736-7041 and leave a message.
Our events are under the direction of Capt. Dick
Fountain, Rd.Cdr. Larry Winfield, Lieutenants
Duane Clark and Bob Byrd.
Respectfully Submitted,
Chris Voce, Chaplain
The Post Children’s Christmas Party will be held
on Saturday, December 14th, from 12:00 to 2:00 PM.
Lunch will be served promptly at 12:00 noon.
This Party is for New Hartford American Legion
Family Members ONLY.
Separate sign-up sheets for BOYS or GIRLS will be
available at the Bar, starting on November 11th. You
must show your Post 1376 Membership Card when
you sign up. Please sign whether, boy or girl, and age
on appropriate sheets, as well as the adults that will
attend. You will be given a ticket for each person and
you must have your ticket to attend.
Children must be accompanied by the adult who
signs them up. Please remember that the party is for
children 10 years old and younger. The cut-off date is
Friday, November 29th.
We need this information to be sure each child who
attends the party will have a gift! Any questions on
the party can be answered by calling Monica Lawen-
dowski @ (315) 723-0504. Thank You.
New Hartford Ladies Auxiliary
FROM THE CHAPLAIN’S DESK
This is a reminder that if there are any members
who would like to attend any services that we offer to
our members and would like to be on our call list, let
me know by calling me @ (315) 736-7419.
This means so much to the family and friends of
members who have left us.
In Service to Our Post,
Don Gossin, Chaplain
MEMBERSHIP REPORT Our next membership meetings will take place
on Wednesday, November 20th starting at 6:30
PM.
We currently have 407 members paid so far,
which includes 12 new members. This gives us
58% of our quota of 695.
NOTICE PLEASE READ!! "If you pay your Legion membership online, you
will have to send the Post membership person
proof that you paid your dues. There is a receipt
at the bottom of your online confirmation to send
to the Post. I cannot send your membership card
until I receive this confirmation. Please send this
in as soon as possible."
This is a reminder that the 2019 Membership
Cards have expired. The new 2020 cards are now
out. You can renew your dues anytime. Our dues
are now $45.00. Please note that if you receive a
renewal notice from National and you have paid
your 2019 dues, just disregard the notice and
throw it away. If you are not sure you have paid
your dues, just check your membership card, if it
says 2019 on it, you are paid. Thank You.
New Hartford American Legion Post 1376
would like to welcome the following new members
to our Post. Please welcome: Homer F. Secor, Ar-
thur Ellis, Patricia A. Tasior, Clayton L. Fletcher,
Sharon A. Falvo and Alban J. Uryniak.
As always we truly appreciate your continued
support of our Post and we look forward to your
continued support in the future.
Respectfully Submitted,
Janet Keesler & Dick Fountain Post Membership Chairpersons
NEW HARTFORD AMERICAN LEGION POST 1376
TAPS New Hartford American Legion Post 1376
regrets to report that the following member has left us:
WILLIAM WATERMAN
GRANT HIM ETERNAL REST O’LORD
LEGION COMMANDER
Ermelindo “Junior” Laracuente AUXILIARY PRESIDENT
Monica Lawendowski
SAL COMMANDER
Don Wisnowski RIDERS DIRECTOR
Tim Converse