Friends and Colleagues,
There are a lot of changes in the air, the convention is just days away, new positions and new challenges,
refugees and disasters, wars, travel, Congress, and on and on. In addition, we have many comrades in tough
straits health-wise. I am reminded especially of Edward "Ted" Magill, Department of Florida President and past
national officer, who is still in critical condition a week after heart surgery. There are many others among us
who also confront life's demands moment by moment as desperately as did our Marines and the men of the 3rd and
7th Infantry Divisions in Korea so many decades ago. "Retreat!" "Hell!!"
Please take time to review the recommended new appointments as well as the recommended assignments for the
Executive Council on www.kwva.org, the Directory of Officials. I want to thank
Don Duquette, a great combat photographer, and our National Secretary, this past year. Don is now a
Regional Aide, one of several that I hope to appoint to help spread our information to all areas as well as
being Listening Posts getting information back to National. Those of you who haven't yet purchased a KWVA 2006
Calendar are missing a great opportunity to get a new collection of much of Don's work. (The instructions on
purchasing the Calendar are on the website as well as in The Graybeards.)
Welcome, Bill Hutton, as our new National Secretary. Bill is a member of Chapter 299, and on the National
Recruiting Task Force.
The great Department of Texas will be holding their Convention in Killeen, 8 and 9 September. I hope to visit
at least part of their meeting - after promising to attend and then being forced to cancel attending the past
two! The Department of Florida is also holding an Executive Council Meeting this month. I am sure that
there are more meetings which I just haven't heard about. I know that Chapter 299 is having a great meeting
later in the month!
The Old Palmetto state is busy organizing the Department of South Carolina. The Organizing President Pat
Sullivan and many others are doing a great job there. Pat's wife recently suffered a heart condition which
medics are still trying to sort out. We wish them the best.
September 2nd was the official Department of Defense Retreat Ceremony honoring the end of World War II. Many
of our current members are also WWII veterans. Thank you for your service. I thank Director Warren Wiedhahn who
represented the KWVA at the Retreat. On September 16 the Annual Recognition Ceremony for POW-MIA will be held in
Washington. Director Robert Banker and the great Maryland Chapter will be representing the KWVA and we thank
them for their representation. Everyone can download the 2006 POW-MIA Recognition Poster at our website.
Finally, I have appointed a Special Strategic Study Committee to examine the entire organization, our present
status, our future directions, our financial resources and how they may be improved, our need for recruiting new
veterans, the replacements which we will need in greater and greater numbers as we age, and the impact of the
federal charter on our organization, membership, operations, and finances. For many years career officers
and NCOs heard the saying that "Tactics are the opinion of the senior man present (so the rest of you shut
up!)". In the KWVA it has sometimes appeared to have been "progress is the ability of the one to shout the
loudest." That attitude will not cut it IF the KWVA is to have a future. Good luck to the Strategic Study
Committee!
National President
Yes, we are still moving into our National Office, Building 1119 at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana.
