2016-Feb-JarheadJournal 5.2 MB

February 2016, Volume 40
MARINE CORPS LEAGUE LAKE COUNTY DETACHMENT 801
the
Jarhead journal
Mel Ellingsen, Commandant ([email protected])
www.lakecountymarines.com
801 Opening Prayer
Couple of our younger Marines, Rich and Warren.
Great room with a great gathering of Marines!
You should have a seen the other
guy! Marine, John Hamel.
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MARINE CORPS LEAGUE LAKE COUNTY DETACHMENT 801
The Editor’s Area
by Erich S.L. Richey
The Jarhead Journal
Published monthly
Finally, it’s March! And now the heavy snow hits, it
figures. That’s okay, it’ll be flip flops and tank tops in
no time…..
Editor: Erich Richey
[email protected]
847-644-5695
Artistic Director: Stephanie Richey
Don’t forget to Like us here on Facebook!
www.lakecountymarines.com
Detachment Officers
Commandant:
Senior Vice-Commandant:
Junior Vice-Commandant:
Judge Advocate:
Paymaster:
Adjutant:
Sgt. at Arms:
Asst. Sgt. at Arms:
Chaplain:
Quartermaster:
Asst. Quartermaster:
Historian:
Web Sgt.:
Mel Ellingsen
Richard Butler
Jerry Pedrin
Peter Karlovics
Ed Mampe
Gary Braun
Art Castillo
Steve Kelly
Hank Landrau
Toy Keeton
(open)
(open)
Erich Richey
Who is this Mystery Marine from 801?
Last month
the Mystery
Marine was
Hank
Landrau!
I welcome all suggestions for articles, content, photos,
lies and rumors! Send your ideas via email to:
[email protected]
In the subject of your email, please put the word
Jarhead.
Where Stuff Is
1.
Cover page, recent highlights
2.
Officers, this list
3.
Commandants’ and Chaplain’s input
4.
Sr. Vice Commandant’s Corner
5.
Welcome Aboard!
6.
Birthdays and Membership
7.
Statistics and Humor
8.
VA Hospital Visits
9.
Color Guard
10.
Eagle Scouts Report
11.
Boat Load of Booze
12.
Boat Load of Booze Update
13.
Foundation Board and Committee members
14.
More Stuff
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MARINE CORPS LEAGUE LAKE COUNTY DETACHMENT 801
[Commandant’s Corner]
Mel Ellingsen
Greetings Detachment Members!!!
I'm officially declaring that its spring! Actually,
the first day of Spring is 21 March which just
happens to be our next business meeting. I
guess Punxsutawney Phil was correct this year.
Please join us at Primo as we celebrate a
delayed St. Paddy’s Day. If you want to get a
jump on things our Color Guard will lead the
Highwood St. Patrick’s Day Parade starting at
noon on 13 March.
My thanks go out to all the members who have
been helping and attending the various Eagle
Scout Courts of Honor.
Six Ka-Bars were
presented during February. Four are scheduled
for March.
[Chaplains chat]
Hank Landrau
If you, your loved ones, and or friends are in
needofprayer,pleasedon’thesitatetocontact
me.Mycontactinformationisasfollows:
HankLandrau
Cellnumber(voiceandtext):847-652-7764
Email:[email protected]
GodblessandSemperFi
I missed the Toys for Tots pizza party (it was cold
in Florida) yet I understand everyone had a good
time.
Jerry Pedrin, Jr. Vice Commandant, continues to
call our delinquent members whose dues are
expiring. Please look on pages 6 and 7. If your
dues have or are about to expire, please send us
your $35 check to PO Box 7732, Gurnee, IL
60031
Al Seyler’s Boat Load of Booze is growing some
great legs. Please sell those tickets you have
and turn in the money at our 21 March meeting.
When was the last time you asked a Marine to
join the detachment? We need more members!
Semper Fi,
Mel Ellingsen (847) 274-8144
OUR 21 MARCH MEETING
Once again we will share the blarney (as if
we need an excuse) and celebrate St.
Patrick’s Day immediately following our next
meeting. Please plan on joining your
brothers and sisters for some traditional
corned beef and cabbage. Please wear
your best St. Paddy’s Day ‘GREEN’ uniform.
MCL red shirt and cover is optional.
The detachment will buy the food
and you buy your beverage!
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MARINE CORPS LEAGUE LAKE COUNTY DETACHMENT 801
[Sr. vice Commandant’s Corner]
Richard Butler
To All Members of “The Best Damned Detachment in The Nation!”
Okay! I will admit it! I have a problem! I am a “read-a-holic”! Have been since my age was in the
lower single digits. There, I said it, now I feel better. Guess I would read matchbook covers (Does
anyone even remember matchbook covers?) if nothing else was available.
Many years ago, read Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” just to see if I could…took the whole summer.
Learned that if a story starts out dull, it probably is not going to improve.
The most recent project is a five hundred page creation by Laura Hillenbrand titled “Unbroken”.
Have been working on it since before Christmas (2015).
After reading, “The Old Breed”, “Helmet For my Pillow” and “Black Sands, Red Beach” about
the Marines in Cape Gloucester, Iwo Jima and Peleliu during World War II, my Bride brought
“Unbroken” home to me and suggested I might like it. It is a well written ‘bio’ of Louis Zamperini,
one of the most famous and fastest long distance runners of the Berlin Olympics.
Drafted shortly before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Louis joined the Army Air Corps and became
trained as a bombsight officer on a B-24D Liberator Bomber (named Superman).
After becoming shot up and disabled, ‘Superman’ was replaced with another patched together
B-24 named ‘Green Hornet’. ‘Green Hornet’ flew erratically and was crash landed in the Pacific
during a search mission for another downed plane near the Palmyra Atoll (south of the Hawaiian
Islands). For forty-five days the surviving crew members drifted west in a small rubber raft before
being picked up and taken prisoners by the Japanese Navy.
The story follows the nearly two years Louie spent being shuffled between Japanese POW camps
where the Japanese guards took great efforts to “break” this athlete/officer that had performed so well
on the world stage of the 1936 Olympics.
After setting the book aside last week and being asked if, “I was enjoying it?” I had to honestly
respond, “No!”. Reading it is an emotional rollercoaster of the hardships endured by thousands of
our servicemen held in POW camps operated by sadistic Japanese officers. The resolve and
resilience of these prisoners to survive the inhumane treatment inflicted on them makes this a very
powerful read.
As with “Flags of Our Fathers”, I cannot read this one straight through. I must occasionally set it
aside to pick up and resume later. I am still only at the halfway point, after more than three months,
but will finish it.
I highly recommend this book for all military history buffs!
Semper Fidelis
Smedley
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MARINE CORPS LEAGUE LAKE COUNTY DETACHMENT 801
WELCOME ABOARD MARINE!!!
We welcomed aboard Marine veteran Jerry Martin.
Jerry
joined the Corps in July 1967 via San Diego. Spent some time
in Vietnam and pulled Marine Barracks duty in Hawaii.
Jerry lives in Waukegan and has a grandchild. He owns the
Gurneee Police Academy, SCUBA dives, rides motorcycles and
in his spacetime drives a school bus.
See Jerry if you are interested in being certified for concealed
carry or for SCUBA diving (not sure about bus driving or
motorcycles).
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MARINE CORPS LEAGUE LAKE COUNTY DETACHMENT 801
Upcoming Birthdays
Baker
Baruffi
Bastean
Bremner
Chia
Contee
Cooper
Davidson
Decker
Grinton
Hiser
Idleburg
Koncan
Landrau
Lepisto
Lietzow
McCabe
Moffitt
Mrozinski
Pedrin
Poulin
Pudlo
Quinn
Repp
Richey
Sroka
Visocnik
Richard
Charles
Scott
William
Geidy
Frank
Robert
Oliver
Mike
Robert
Richard
John
Thomas
Henry
Earl
Scott
Timothy
Russ
Ed
Gerald
Tony
Joseph
James
Robert
Erich
James
Mario
26-Apr
28-Apr
8-Apr
20-Mar
2-Apr
5-Apr
23-Apr
11-Mar
16-Apr
2-Mar
11-Apr
12-Mar
7-Mar
13-Apr
1-Mar
21-Mar
13-Mar
2-Mar
31-Mar
8-Apr
21-Apr
6-Mar
30-Apr
19-Mar
12-Mar
26-Mar
25-Apr
Expired Memberships
Bastean
Scott
Dec-15
Bowley
Jun-15
George
Geske
John
Marsha
ll
Chad
Tom
Gretz
William
Feb-16
Jaeger
Lietzow
Jeffery
Scott
Jun-15
Jul-15
Major
Charles
Jun-15
McCabe
Rahn
Tina
Nick
Mar-16
May-15
Rahn
Steve
May-15
Repp
Robert
Feb-16
Sindermann
Eric
Mar-16
Sinsun
Frank
Mar-16
Sorrentino
Ross
May-15
Villarreal
Wagner
Stanley
Euriel
Feb-16
Calef
May-15
Jan-15
Mar-16
Mar-16
Life Membership Rates
Age Group
Life Membership
0-35
$500
36-50
$400
51-64
$300
64-over
$200
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MARINE CORPS LEAGUE LAKE COUNTY DETACHMENT 801
Upcoming Expirations
Membership Statistics
Regular
77
Contee
Frank
May-16
Reg-Dual
1
Dziki
Julian
Jun-16
Active Marines
2
Hinkle
Jesse
May-16
Life
Kaiser
Paula
Jun-16
Associate
8
Mason
Everet
May-16
Associate-Life
1
Pudlo
Joseph
Jun-16
Assoc. Life Dual
1
Quinn
James
Jun-16
Associate-Honor
1
Welch
Thomas
Apr-16
Total
67
158
Regular
80
Life
67
Associate
11
Total
158
Humor
A Marine is on liberty in San Diego and walks into a bar to have a drink. Sitting at the bar he
sees the biggest sailor he's ever seen before, this sailor also has the smallest head that the
Marine has seen on anyone, its way out of proportion to the rest of his body.
After finishing his drink, the Marine walks up to the sailor and inquires about the size of his
head, even the Navy has standards!
The sailor replies stating that he was on a deployment in the South Pacific and had just finished
dropping of a load of Marines on the beach and was returning to his ship when he heard a
woman screaming for help. So the sailor went off in the direction of the screams and came
across this beautiful woman trapped against the rocks being pounded by the surf. The sailor
jumps into the water and saves the woman. Once they are clear the woman tells the sailor
"Thank you for saving me, I am a mermaid and for saving me I will grant you three wishes." The
sailor, not being that gullible, swims under the water to confirm that she is a mermaid, and sure
enough, where legs are supposed to be there are fins! So the sailor says, "for my first wish I
would like a $1,000,000" to which the mermaid replies "If I gave it to you now you'd surely
drown, so the money is waiting for you on your ship. For the second wish the sailor asks for 1
ton of gold, to which the mermaid replies "if I gave it to you now you'd surely drown, so it’s
waiting for you on your ship." The sailor then thinks long and hard about his third wish. Its been
a long deployment and the mermaid is very beautiful, however, he can't do anything with her as
she is. So the sailor says "for my third wish, I was thinking about a little head.
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MARINE CORPS LEAGUE LAKE COUNTY DETACHMENT 801
VA Hospital Visits
The team visited the wards in Bldg's 133 and 134 on Thur. Feb 11, and Bldg 133 on
Thur. Feb 25.
The main attraction for the veterans for the Feb 11 visit were the hand-made Valentine
cards prepared by Troop 40075 girl scouts from Beach Park which again were arranged
by Kathi and Al Seyler. These create a greater positive reaction compared to store
purchased cards.
Some of the veterans received coffee cups or travel mugs with various military emblems.
These were donated by the Detachment. In addition to the above, we donated 72 tubes of toothpaste, 144 toothbrushes, and
some books and magazines. These were donated to the Homeless Shelter. The
toothbrushes were donated to the detachment by Dr. Bozena Sutkowski (via Mel
Ellingsen) and the toothpaste by Dr. Mackey (via Jim Sroka). (Editor’s Note: Another
case of tooth brushes were brought to our February meeting for the VA by Bill Bremner.)
See me if you have any questions on joining the Team, or making donations.
Bob Hames
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MARINE CORPS LEAGUE LAKE COUNTY DETACHMENT 801
Color Guard
Posting Colors at the 32nd Tom Grosvenor Memorial Toys for Tots Breakfast in Fox Lake.
The Guard has been busy practicing every 2nd & 4th Thursday. There will be a
St. Patrick's Day parade in Highwood on Sunday, the 13th of March at 12:00. Join us at
the Toadstool Pub for this great celebration. At noon everyone in the Pub marches out
the front door and around the the block returning to the Pub. The Pub is located at 327
Waukegan Avenue in Highwood.
Semper Fi-John Pickelman-- Color Guard Commander [email protected] 9
MARINE CORPS LEAGUE LAKE COUNTY DETACHMENT 801
Eagle Scouts
Eagle Scout Courts of Honor Scheduled
3/6
Kevin William Karahalios, Troop 60, 2:30 PM, Adler Park Lodge (behind the pool) 1500
N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville (Ellingsen & Blut)
3/13
Joseph S. Clow and Daniel John Scheuer, Troop 388, St Mary of the Annunciation
Catholic Church (Little Chapel), 22333 W. Erhart Rd., Mundelein (Ellingsen)
3/13 Riley Maguire, Troop 672, 2:00 PM, Joy! Lutheran Church, which is at 749 Hunt Club Road in
Gurnee (Butler)
4/10
Nils H. Sjodin, Troop 73, 1 PM, Shepherd of the Lakes Lutheran Church, 285 E.
Washington, Grayslake (Ellingsen)
4/10
Noah S. Conley, Troop 46, 1:30 PM, 1st Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, 700 N.
Sheridan,(Stack)
4/30
Peter Frederick Crawford, Troop 46, April 30 at 2:00 PM at Elawa Farm, 1401
Middlefork Drive, Lake Forest
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boatload of booze raffle
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BOAT LOAD OF BOOZE RAFFLE
Booze –
Ed Mrozinski and Warren Blacklock hit the Jewels in Antioch
and Libertyville and scored gift cards. We are now 9 for 9 at Jewel !!
We now have enough booze for all of our prizes.
Tickets –
We ordered another 500 tickets. Biller Printing in Antioch again
donated them at no cost. Jerry Pedrin and I have them. So if you need
more tickets, give us a call.
Sales are approaching $5,000.
Sell Tickets Everywhere –
Jim Sroka and I stopped in last Thursday, the 18th, at Savanah
House and Fat Man’s and sold $235.00 worth in 2 hours.
Jerry Pedrin sold 15 tickets at the funeral where the Color Guard
fired a volley. The deceased’s daughter helped Jerry.
The Hospital visit team sold 3 tickets to a patient’s wife at the
Hospital.
Grab a buddy and spend a few hours socializing. Anywhere
there are people – Bars, Diners, Meetings, Gun Clubs, Bowling, Card
Games, etc.—they all buy tickets.
Al Seyler 847-220-1525
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MARINE CORPS LEAGUE LAKE COUNTY DETACHMENT 801
Detachment Marine Corps League Foundation
Officers
PresidentAl Seyler
TreasurerMel Ellingsen
Secretary(open)
Directors
Bob Hames, Randy Christopher, Ed Mampe, Dave Bowman, Warren Blacklock and Jim Boyle
Purpose of the Foundation as a 501 3 (c) tax exempt organization is to provide comfort, support, financial
assistance and educational aid to improve the quality of life for military personnel in all branches of the
United States Armed Forces and veterans who have served and their families.
Lake County Detachment 801 voted and approved a motion to authorize the Foundation to make a $3,000
donation to S/Sgt. (name withheld). He is an active duty Marine who just moved his paraplegic Father-in-law
from Virginia to live here with he and his wife. The money will help cover some of the Medical equipment
costs incurred.
Warren Blacklock, Smedley Butler and myself presented the check to the S/Sgt. He was extremely grateful
of the help and generosity of Detachment 801.
This is an example of our Mission Statement—“helping Active duty, Veterans, their widows and kids”.
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5 Things You Might Not Know About the
Marine Corps
1. The first retired Marine to ever receive an honorary promotion was in a Stanley Kubrick
movie.
In Full Metal Jacket, actor Tim Colceri is famous for his helicopter scene where he says over the roar of the
helicopter, "Anyone who runs is a VC. Anyone who stands still is a well-disciplined VC." He would have been even
more famous in the part for which he was originally cast—as the strict and unrelenting senior drill instructor,
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. That role, however, went to R. Lee Ermey, who had been hired for the film as a
technical advisor.
Ermey, a former Marine drill instructor and Vietnam veteran, filmed a tense 20-minute reel of himself in character
dressing down and squaring away the movie’s extras, without repeating himself. When director Stanley Kubrick saw
the video, he recast Ermey for the role on the spot.
The fictional Hartman became perhaps the most famous gunnery sergeant in the history of the Corps. Ermey retired
as a Staff Sergeant, and in 2002, the Marine Corps granted him an honorary promotion in accordance with the rank
for which he is most associated. He is the first retiree in the history of the Marines to receive such an honor.
2. The Marines' Hymn refers to the Battle of Chapultepec.
The Marines’ Hymn famously begins, “From the Halls of Montezuma...” This refers to the Battle of Chapultepec in
1847, in which U.S. Marines conquered Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City and subsequently occupied the city as
part of the Mexican-American War. The battle is also famous (according to Marine tradition) for the establishment
of the “blood stripe,” a red stripe sewn into the trousers of the uniform commemorating the Marines killed at
Chapultepec.
3. "The shores of Tripoli" is a reference to the first overseas land battle fought by the
United States military.
In 1801, the United States decided to do something about piracy in the Mediterranean so President Jefferson sent in
the Navy. In 1805, the Marines finished the job. The Battle of Derne, on the shores of Tripoli during the First
Barbary War, was the decisive action of the war, and the first overseas land battle fought by the United States
military.
4. The "leatherneck" nickname is a historic one.
In 1798, the Marine Corps began issuing "one stock of black leather and clasp" to Marines. The item was worn to
protect their necks when fighting with swords. Today, the standing collar on the dress coat of the Marine Corps
uniform is a vestige of the leatherneck tradition.
5. The phrase “a few good men” is older than the modern Marine Corps.
On March 20, 1779, Captain William Jones of the Continental Marines placed a recruiting advertisement in the
Providence Gazette: "The Continental ship Providence, now lying at Boston, is bound on a short cruise,
immediately; a few good men are wanted to make up her complement." He’s been recruiting Marines ever since.
Look for the next segment of 5 Things You Might Not Know about the Marine Corps next month.
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Links to Military RELATED information
US Department of Veterans Affairs
VFW Action Corps Weekly
Veterans Administration Home Page
Honor Flight
Veterans R & R
Marine Corps League Hdqrs
Illinois Marine
Sgt Grit
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