On Friday, March 29, 2024, American Legion Post 41 will host Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day at the meeting hall at 1515 Sam Houston Blvd. in Houston.
Doors will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a free hotdog lunch and other drinks and snacks provided.
All veterans of all services are welcome; come on in to enjoy a deluxe hotdog and meet fellow veterans in your community. Service officers will be there with information about VA benefits under the PACT Act, AFFF exposure, and a wide range of older health threats including nuclear and chemical exposure. Some of our Post 41 Vietnam veterans have arranged interesting displays of equipment and items from “In-Country.”
To be clear, everyone who served in any military branch during the years of the Vietnam War are considered Vietnam veterans. For more information, check with Ron Jones at the Military Museum on Grand Avenue in Houston; open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
I’ve been hearing public-service announcements on the radio (105.7 FM “The Watchman”) about the PACT Act and AFFF firefighting foam. Every ship in the Navy carried a supply of this stuff, and it was also at every Naval Air Station and shipyards. The long-term health problems associated with contact are still being assessed. If you were in the Navy or worked at a shipyard, you were certainly exposed. Google “AFFF Exposure.”
Please remember to make plans to attend our Armed Forces Appreciation Day event on May 18, 2024, at the Intercounty Electric Cooperative auditorium in Licking. Our funding campaign is still under way!
Texas County veterans organizations:
•Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 473 meets at 6 p.m. on the last Thursday of each month at their Post Meeting Hall on Highway 63 north of Cabool.
•American Legion Post 559 will meet at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at the VFW Post 6337 meeting hall in Licking. Post 559 has been revitalized by past members and will be looking for new ones.
•Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6337 in Licking meets at 5:30 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at its Meeting Hall on Main Street just south of Highway 32.
•Fleet Reserve Association Branch 364 meets at 2:30 p.m. every fourth Sunday of each month at the American Legion Post 41 meeting hall in Houston. The FRA exists to serve all veterans and active-duty members of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard.
•American Legion Post 41 meets at 6 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at its meeting hall on the west end of Chilton Oil Company in Houston, (just north of Pizza Hut.) Changes to membership eligibility now allow U.S. veterans of all branches and periods of service to join the American Legion.
Houston resident Robert E. Simpson is a retired U.S. Navy chief electronics technician who served from 1969 to 1990. Email gfjjkaa@gmail.com.