Paper Poppy Flowers Tradition

We heard from a former Pocomoke City resident who mentioned that reading recently about the World War I hundred year anniversary triggered his recollections of poppy day here in the 1950's and early 1960's.  The paper poppy observance started nationwide after the war and was widely observed for many decades.  In many instances the paper poppies, honoring our veterans, were made by disabled veterans who would benefit from their sale.

"There were of course many articles and stories about the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1. They talked about how hundreds of millions of red poppies  - both real and artificial - are being distributed across the UK and in fact all of Europe.  The article said that tradition is now fading in America but is still very strong in Europe.  Remember when they used to give those out in Pocomoke?  I think it was the VFW - the poppies were red paper with a wire "stem."  Every year before Armistice Day - as we then called it - someone would bring a big basket of them to (my parents') store and they could give them to anyone who came in.  I wonder if any of these VFW posts are still doing that.

One of the articles I read explained the origin of the tradition.  Apparently the seeds of the corn poppy flower are virtually indestructible.  They can lie dormant underground for many years.  As the battle raged across Europe, many entire villages were destroyed.  Bombs and artillery excavated massive amounts of soil replacing what had been homes, farms and commercial buildings.  As armies moved in to pick up the wounded and remove the dead, they often found the fields overrun with these red poppies which had sprouted from the unearthed seeds."

Pocomoke City's Worcester Democrat

May, 1956

Press Release-Special By Delegate Mike McDermott

PRESS RELEASE

Delegate Michael A. McDermott

 (R-Wicomico & Worcester Counties)

 February 29, 2012

(Annapolis)  Yesterday, Del. Michael Smigiel (R-Cecil) and Del. Michael McDermott (R-Wicomico/Worcester) presented HB-541 to the House Environmental Matters Committee that would create a special license plate in Maryland to honor all veterans. The plates would be available to the public just as the current Agriculture and Bay plates are currently. The funds collected for the Veterans Support plates would go directly to help wounded Maryland Veterans.

“This is an opportunity for all Marylanders to show their true appreciation for the sacrifices of our Veterans” said Del. McDermott. “People want to say ‘thank you’ and provide real support to those protecting our liberty in harm’s way, and this plate gives them a way to display it proudly”.

 The plates would be available from the Department of Motor Vehicles for a fee, but the money collected over the normal registration charges would go directly to help the wounded Maryland Veterans. There has been some resistance to the new plates from the DMV. In a statement, they complained about the administration of the program and storing the new plates. To that, the delegates said, “find room…empty a closet, and stop making excuses”.

“Supporting our farmers is important…supporting the bay is important…but without our veterans, our very liberties would be in peril. How can we not find a way to make this happen?” said Del. McDermott to reporters attending a press conference on Tuesday.

Support for the new plates, featuring a soaring eagle in the background clutching a banner reading “Maryland Supports Veterans”, has been overwhelming.

Last Living WWI Veteran Celebrates Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY FRANK W. BUCKLESBy: Bill Lohmann

Frank Woodruff Buckles doesn't get out as much as he used to, and he doesn't have particularly big plans for his birthday tomorrow. (February 1st)

But then, he is turning 110.

You read that right: 110 .

For those who may not know, here is perhaps an even more stunning fact about Buckles: He's the last known American veteran from World War I, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and one of only three survivors worldwide recognized for direct service during the war. The others, as British subjects, served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.

"He's an unbelievable person," said David DeJonge, a Michigan photographer and president of the World War I Memorial Foundation who is making a documentary of Buckles' life and has become his spokesman.

Buckles lives on his West Virginia farm, near Charles Town, with his daughter, Susannah Buckles Flanagan, and round-the-clock caregivers. As you might expect, he is at almost 110 not in a condition to do cartwheels or make long speeches, but DeJonge reports that Buckles "continues to have great daily discussions with his daughter and caregivers." He occasionally wrestles with illness but is "a fighter and continues to pull through," DeJonge said.

"His daughter reports he's in great spirits and looking forward to his 115th," DeJonge said with a laugh.

I visited Buckles last year at his farm. We chatted about one of his favorite people, Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing. How many people can you talk to who actually knew Pershing when he was leader of the U.S. forces in Europe in World War I?

When they met, Buckles was still a kid; he'd grown up on a farm in Missouri and fibbed about his age so he could enlist in the Army at 16 and head off to war. Pershing noted Buckles' Missouri dialect and asked where he was born. Buckles told him. Pershing's reply: "Thirty-three miles, as the crow flies, from where I was born."

"I had great respect for Pershing," Buckles said. "He was real tough. He didn't have a smile on his face, but that was all right with me."

Seeking the quickest route to the western front, Buckles joined the ambulance service and shipped to England in late 1917. He arrived in France a few months before the shooting stopped in November 1918. After the war, he escorted prisoners of war back to Germany.

World War II was a more painful experience, though he was no longer in the military. He was working as a civilian in the steamship business in the Philippines when he was captured by the Japanese and held as a prisoner at Los Baños for more than three years.

Through fate and good health, Buckles has become the modern face of The Great War, and he has lent his voice to the call to restore and rededicate the World War I Memorial in Washington.

DeJonge met Buckles four years ago as he began work on a documentary about the last U.S. survivors of the war. Within a matter of months, Buckles was the last one, and DeJonge began spending considerable time with him, conducting interviews on camera "to get every ounce of memory out of him," DeJonge said.

DeJonge has several hundred hours of interviews and other footage he hopes to transform into a documentary, "Pershing's Last Patriot." Actor Richard Thomas, of "The Waltons" and "All Quiet on the Western Front," has agreed to provide the narration, said DeJonge, who is trying to piece together the funding for the documentary, as well as a proposed larger-than-life bronze statue that has been designed by Pennsylvania sculptor Gregory Marra. The planned statue depicts Buckles with Pershing's riderless horse, and, depending on available financing, could be placed near Buckles' home in West Virginia.

DeJonge has had the privilege of accompanying Buckles to such places as Pershing's home in Missouri, the Pentagon and the White House for a visit with President George W. Bush in the Oval Office.

A highlight?

"Being corrected on history when we were in the West Wing," DeJonge said with a laugh.

"I saw that very famous painting of George Washington crossing the river, and I said, 'Mr. Buckles, look, there's George Washington crossing the Potomac.' He said, 'I believe that's the Delaware.'"

www.timesdispatch.com

~ Birthday Today ~

HAPPY 235th BIRTHDAY TODAY

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

About Half Of Our Nation's Veterans Don't Use G. I. Bill Benefits

Recognize this car? Did you see it at the Nascar race held in Richmond this past Saturday night?

If you are a veteran do you know any more about your G.I. Bill benefits than you did before this car was built?

Can anyone tell me why they had to build a car in order to inform the Veterans?

Do you suppose alot of those Veterans NOT using the G.I.Bill might be homeless, sick, and not near any reading materials at all? Has the government tried to contact them?

Read below and find out WHAT that one car was supposed to be all about! Do you think it brought some much needed publicity to the issue?The good news: As of May, Nearly 28,000 Virginia veterans and their dependents were enrolled in post-secondary education programs on the federal government's dime -- more than 19,000 of them on the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill.

But according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than half of the service members eligible for G.I. Bill benefits aren't using it.

www.dailypress.com

Virginia officials hope this changes when NASCAR comes to Richmond this weekend for the Chevy Rock and Roll 400.

The Post 9/11 G.I. Bill has been named as the presenting sponsor for the NASCAR weekend.

"This will bring some much-needed publicity to the program," said Annie Walker, director of the State Approving Agency for Education and Training under the Virginia Department of Vetearns Services.

Generally, military sevice members qualify for Post 9/11 G.I. Bill benefits if they served at least 90 aggregate days on active duty after Sept. 10, 2001. Unlike student loans,G.I. Bill benefits do not have to be repaid.

Benefits include $335.50 per credit hour, $1,000 a year for books and a housing allowance.

Veteran's Affairs To Open Medical Annex

The VA Maryland Health Care System will open an annex next spring in the former world headquarters of Catholic Relief Services in Baltimore to help keep up with an increase in its patient population, fueled largely by a new generation of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Health system officials said the eight-level building on West Fayette Street in downtown Baltimore will be renovated starting later this summer or early fall and will contain a mix of outpatient services for veterans and administrative offices for the health system.

The project, less than four blocks east of the Baltimore VA Medical Center on North Greene Street, marks the center's first expansion since it opened in 1993 and is intended to help alleviate a space shortage there. It will bring about 250 VA employees to the Fayette Street property.
"We are decompressing our overcrowded facility on Greene Street so we can provide proper care for our patients," said Regina Litvin, a space planner for the health system.

The Fayette Street property has been vacant since Catholic Relief Services moved to the former Stewart's department store at Howard and Lexington streets in 2007. The health system, an affiliate of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, intends to lease the bulk of the building for five years, rather than purchase it.

Besides the 137-bed medical center on downtown Baltimore's west side, the health system has inpatient facilities at the Loch Raven VA Community Living and Rehabilitation Center on Loch Raven Boulevard in Baltimore and the Perry Point VA Medical Center in Cecil County.

The downtown center, which employs about 1,780 people, is the busiest facility in the Maryland system. From October 2009 through June 2010, the downtown center admitted 4,636 inpatients and had 312,343 outpatient visits. By contrast, the Perry Point center admitted 758 inpatients and had 93,884 outpatient visits during the same nine-month period, officials said.

Since 2001, 2.1 million service members have deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense. Of those, 40,000 have been wounded in combat. And according to a study by the RAND Corp., a think tank, nearly one in five of them may be returning home with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Representatives say the health system needs additional space close to its Greene Street medical center to serve its growing patient population, including veterans returning from recent wars and older veterans with ailments.

They say the health system also wants to accommodate advances in medical technology, support research, and to provide more outpatient services and clinics as well as specialized services, such as those for women.

The health system sought proposals more than a year ago from developers who could lease space close to both the downtown medical center and the University of Maryland Medical System and selected a proposal from 209 West Fayette LLC, a business group that had purchased the Fayette Street building from Catholic Relief Services.

The project almost unraveled earlier this year when the business group faced the prospect of losing the building to foreclosure after defaulting on a loan from PeoplesBank of York, Pa. An auction of the building was canceled at the last minute to give both parties more time to work out a way to accommodate the health system.

The project was revived this summer after 209 West Fayette LLC surrendered the property to PeoplesBank and the bank formed a subsidiary to hold the building and serve as a landlord to the health system. The bank's subsidiary hired a development company to oversee a $2.5 million renovation and is leasing the property to the health system.

The lease calls for the health system to occupy 56,000 of the building's 70,000 square feet of space. It will also get 100 parking spaces in a nearby garage. The health system plans to begin a second round of renovations and "tenant fit-out" work after it takes possession of the building in early 2011.

About half of the leased space will be dedicated to clinics for outpatient services such as rehabilitation therapy. The rest will be for administrative departments, including human resources. The renovated building is expected to be ready for occupancy by late March of 2011, several months behind the previous schedule.

"There's been a little bit of a delay, but otherwise it looks like it's going to turn out pretty well," said George Szwarcman, director of real property services for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Harry Swift, general counsel for PeoplesBank, said the bank doesn't typically hold and renovate investment properties, but this arrangement was the best way to keep the project moving ahead.

"We're a bank," Swift said. "It's not our general business to renovate an eight-story building in downtown Baltimore, but at this particular time it was an opportunity that presented itself … and we took it."
www.baltimoresun.com

The Newest NASCAR Sponsor ~~ The GI Bill

In an effort to bring more attention to veterans education benefits, the GI Bill will sponsor a car in a Sept. 11 NASCAR race in Richmond, Va., and is also one of the sponsors of the race itself.

The Air National Guard is the chief sponsor of that Sprint Cup Series 400 race, which will be called the Air Guard 400.

The idea, according to Veterans Affairs Department officials, is to get the GI Bill plastered on a racecar and frequently mentioned by broadcasters to spread the word about the availability of the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Sponsoring the race and a car in the race is part of an outreach program aimed at getting more people to use the year-old GI Bill benefits program.

The combined cost of sponsoring a car and the race will be about $420,000, a significant part of a $1 million advertising campaign that also includes buying ads in college newspapers and in online publications to try to reach eligible service members and veterans, VA officials said.

Having a racecar painted with the GI Bill as its sole sponsor, having the pit crew dressed to match the car and doing some pre-race promotions will cost about $200,000, VA officials said. Serving as an official race sponsor will cost another $250,000. Sponsorship will result in frequent mentions of the GI Bill and its purpose during the nighttime race on the oval track, officials said.

NASCAR is a good way to reach service members and veterans, VA officials said, because marketing surveys show that one-third of NASCAR fans are veterans or personally know a veteran. The Defense Department also advertises at NASCAR events because of marketing surveys that show race fans have a greater interest in military service than people who don’t watch NASCAR events.

An added benefit of being a race sponsor is that NASCAR events are broadcast on military radio and television networks, VA officials said.

“We wanted to do more than just reach veterans and influencers that are thinking about school … we wanted to also reach those folks who could be going to school but may not be fully aware of the benefit,” VA spokesman Nathan Naylor said.

www.navytimes.com

Workshop For Veteran's

At a workshop to be held on August 7 at the American Legion Post 56 in Cheriton, eligible veterans will be able to apply for VA benefits, file for health care, sign up for free counseling, enroll in the Va. Employment Commission and work with representatives from half a dozen state and federal agencies.

The event is sponsored by the Va. Department of Veterans Services, Eastern Shore Community College,and the Virginia Employment Commission, and work with representatives from a half-dozen state and federal agencies, and will be held from 10 AM until 1 PM at the Legion Post at 21210 Bayside Road in Cheriton.

During the three hour workshop, veterans and their family members will be able to complete more than half a dozen processes:

Begin claims process for VA benefits.

File the VA Health Benefits Enrollment Eligibility From 1010 EZ.

Sign up for free counseling and referral services from the Norfolk Vet Center.

Get help from the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program for combat stress and traumatic brain injuries.

Enroll with the Virginia Employment Commission and begin the job search process.

Order a copy of their DD214.

Remember this date:

August 7, 2010 at the American Legion Post in Cheriton.

Call Wendy Ainsworth at 787-5862 for more information.
www.shoredailynews.com

Nurse In Times Square Photo Dies

The woman depicted in an iconic photograph kissing a zealous American sailor in a 1945 Times Square photo died Sunday at age 91.

Photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt captured the shot, which was first published in Life Magazine a week later. The nurse's identity was unknown until the 1970s, when Shain wrote to Eisenstaedt that she was the woman in the photograph.

In his autobiography "The Eye of Eisenstaedt," the photographer writes: "I was walking through the crowds on V-J Day, looking for pictures. I noticed a sailor coming my way. He was grabbing every female he could find and kissing them all young girls and old ladies alike. Then I noticed the nurse, standing in that enormous crowd. I focused on her, and just as I'd hoped, the sailor came along, grabbed the nurse, and bent down to kiss her."

Life Magazine acknowledged Shain as the woman in the now famous picture, and since then she has become a WWII icon herself. Shain was frequently invited to memorials, wreath-layings and parades.

"My mom was always willing take on new challenges and caring for the World War II veterans energized her to take another chance to make a difference," her son Justin Decker said in a statement, MSNBC reports.

"Now if this girl hadn't been a nurse, if she'd been dressed in dark clothes, I wouldn't have had a picture," wrote Eisenstaedt. "The contrast between her white dress and the sailor's dark uniform gives the photograph its extra impact."

Shain died at her Los Angeles home on Sunday. She leaves behind three sons, six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

www.msn.com

"Thank A Veteran Night" At American Legion Post No. 93

POCOMOKE CITY -- In celebration of Memorial Day, the American Legion Post No. 93 of Pocomoke City, Md., will sponsor a "Thank a Veteran Night" on Friday, May 28.

Guest speakers will include Pocomoke's Mayor Mike McDermott and Tim Corbin of Pocomoke City. Corbin will share some of his many stories from his days as a pilot for former President George W. Bush.

Dinner for this event will begin at 6:30 p.m. and speakers will follow. Everyone is invited to come and show his or her support for our men and women in uniform.

Veterans, friends and family members of American Legion Post No. 93 will also place American flags on the grave sites of fallen veterans on Thursday, May 27. To participate, meet at the American Legion Post No. 93 at 5 p.m.

For more information about "Thank a Veteran Night" or the placing of flags, call Arthur Bishop at 757-824-38.

www.delmarvanow.com

Wounded Veterans Ride Bikes Through Baltimore

( Written by: Brent Jones)
Sgt. Miguel Antia, an Army Airborne Ranger whose body is peppered with seven gunshot wounds from a 2005 attack in Iraq, survived that incident only to find himself suffering from a debilitating disease he contracted while on duty in South America last year.

Antia has spent the past five months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, battling leishmaniasis, a disease caused by parasites that causes skin sores and spleen damage and nearly paralyzed him permanently. Bedridden until the past couple of months, Antia has since undergone a speedy and somewhat miraculous recovery, leaving him strong enough to participate Thursday in a 13-mile bike ride through Baltimore designed to help other injured veterans.

"I volunteered to do this ride because it is taking care of our own," Antia said. "It helps our morale. If your morale goes down, then everything else goes south."

Antia and more than 30 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are riding bikes for three days in Maryland to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit group that provides services to those injured in combat.

The cyclists departed Thursday afternoon from Under Armour headquarters in Baltimore for a three-hour ride, followed by trips to Andrews Air Force Base and Annapolis today and Saturday.

Most of the cyclists lost limbs during the wars and use adaptive equipment to bicycle.

Sgt. Larry A. Draughn Jr., 22, said he was participating in his first organized bike race. Draughn did so without his legs, which he lost after stepping on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan last May.

Draughn spent months going from hospital to hospital, learning how to live with his injuries.

"It's great that people support us and the other wounded vets," Draughn said. He joined the Marines in January 2007 after proposing to his girlfriend. "I knew I was going to be starting a family, and I wanted to serve my country."

Army Sgt. Jack Schumacher lost his right leg last year after a bomb went off in Afghanistan. A Washington native, Schumacher, 25, has served since June 2005 and done tours in Iraq.

Dozens of Under Armour employees and other onlookers cheered the veterans as they set off for the Baltimore ride.

"It's awesome to see people come out and spend their free time with you just to support you," Schumacher said.

The project is in its seventh year, switching from cross-country rides the first three years to regional routes since 2007.

Vice President Joe Biden helped launch this year's tour, welcoming the veterans at the White House on Wednesday before they rode through the streets of Washington.

"We do it to assist the warriors in their rehabilitation," said Steve Nardizzi, executive director of the Wounded Warrior Project. "It gives them the opportunity to get out of the hospital and see that they can be physically active again."

The route took the riders from the Inner Harbor to Fells Point, through East Baltimore, Lake Montebello and Waverly, and back downtown.

It was Antia's first time participating, and he said he plans to use some of his vacation after he returns to duty to volunteer in future rides.

"I feel great," said Antia, originally from Greenwich, Conn. "Everybody helps each other push up hills. The support we get, it's good."

www.baltimoresun.com

Holiday Mail for Heroes makes it easy

For the third consecutive year, the Red Cross and Pitney Bowes are joining forces to send seasonal cheer to soldiers, veterans and their families during the holiday season through the Holiday Mail for Heroes program.

Holiday Mail for Heroes makes it easy for all of us to say "Thanks!" and "We're thinking of you!" to these brave Americans, particularly to the millions of soldiers, like my brother-in-law Chris (aka "Sgt. McHottie") and his team, the ODA 7315, who will be overseas and away from our families during the holidays.

Here's how it works:

1. Between now and the cut-off date of Monday, December 7th, you send a card to:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

2. Pitney Bowes screens the cards to make sure they're safe (no hazardous materials) and forwards them to participating Red Cross chapters nationwide.

3. The Red Cross sorts and reviews the cards, and distributes them to service members, their families and veterans

It's so easy you could fit it in with your errands today!

They do have some basic rules:

• Sign all cards.
• Address them to "Dear Service Member, Family or Veteran."
• There's a limit of 15 cards per person or 50 for a school class or business group.
• Please bundle groups of cards in single, large envelopes.

To keep the program streamlined, safe and consistent, they ask that you not:

• Send letters.
• Include personal information such as home or email addresses.
• Use glitter because it can aggravate the wounds of hurt soldiers.
• Include inserts of any kind -- they'll be removed in the screening process.

According to the Red Cross, there are over 1.4 million men and women serving in the U.S. armed forces, and over 24 million veterans. This is the perfect way to thank them, and their families, for serving their country, with a holiday greeting!

VIA

Remembering Our Veterans

Today is Veteran's Day.It is a day chosen to celebrate and give thanks to those brave men and

women that sacrifice their lives so that we may live freely in this great country known as the

United States of America. It will be a day of celebrations, flag waving, parades, patriotic music,

along with hand shaking and pats on the back.

Even if you have no celebrations to attened today be sure to thank a soldier. Most families today

have at least one member in their family that has served our nation. And if not, make it a point

as you travel through your busy day to see just how many veterans you do know. A veteran

could be your mailman, your preacher, a teacher, coworker, or just the guy next door. Take a

moment to thank them for sacrificing their lives so that all of us can sleep safely at night and

rise in the moring to go about our ways freely.

Take time to call a veteran on the phone and thank them. Take time out of your busy day

to listen. Listen to their stories. By listening and learning from them we can understand

and appreciate more fully and deeply what they did and why. Don't let any of the ones you know

think for a second you are not grateful.

Please don't forget to display your yellow ribbons and bows. If yours is currently faded and

frayed replace it. It is just a small symbol to show these great American's we care and they

are not forgotten. And by all means fly that great American flag!

Send a soldier a letter or postcard. Go to this website http://www.anysoldier.com/. This site gives any

information needed for mailing anything from letters to packages. Another website is

http://www.soldiersangels.com/. Here you can find so many wonderful things you or your family or organization can

do for those in the armed forces.

Get a group together to crochet or quilt a warm blanket/lap cover for any of our soldiers. They need

our help now more than ever. They need to know that we care!

Thankyou Gary, Cousin Greg, Todd, Patrick, Ronnie, Don, Mr. Hawkins,

Cousin Bobby, Larry and a very special thankyou to POW Lt. Col. Carlyle (Smitty) Harris and all others for caring enough to serve, fight and defend our wonderful country.

Proud to be an American