Back on March 29, our American Legion Post presented Vietnam Commemoration Day at the Post 41 meeting Hall in Houston.
Even though I served during the Vietnam War, I was rendering military honors at the funeral of a veteran and barely got back in time to have a hot dog before the event ended. Looking around at all the grey-haired soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, I realized that the YOUNGEST Vietnam veteran would be 68 years old. It seems obvious; that conflict ended 50 years ago. For those of us that lived then, the memories are still fresh; it’s the traumatic memories that last the longest.
This is it, my last chance to put in a plug for Armed Forces Appreciation Day on May 17. We plan on having Veteran Service officers and representatives from local, state and national Veterans’ organizations including our new “improved” VA, local banks and health checks from Texas County Health Department. Fox Funeral Home will have someone to answer questions about funeral arrangements.
Hopefully, all of the veterans organizations listed below will have tables of their own; they are always looking for new members! A deluxe hamburger and chips lunch will be served free of charge throughout the event. Also, there will be a raffle for a queen-size patriotic quilt hand-crafted by one of our church ladies in Raymondville. Every veteran will receive a ticket for drawings for silver dollars every half-hour.
The event will open at 0930 and close at 1400 on May 17, 2025, and we’ll have banners set up pointing the way to Intercounty Electric Co-op Auditorium on Maple Street in Licking.
Texas County area veterans organizations:
- Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 473 meets on the last Thursday of each month at 1800 at their Post Meeting Hall on Highway 63 north of Cabool.
- American Legion Post 559 meets at 1800 on the second Tuesday of each month at the VFW Post 6337 meeting hall in Licking.
- Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6337 meets each third Monday of the month at 1730 in Licking at their Meeting Hall on Main Street just south of Highway 32.
- Fleet Reserve Association Branch 364 meets at 1430 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 1800 on the second Thursday of each month at their 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.
- Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7222 meets at 1800 on the first Thursday of each month at their meeting hall just east of Summersville.
Houston resident Robert E. Simpson is a retired U.S. Navy chief electronics technician who served from 1969 to 1990. Email gfjjkaa@gmail.com.