AUXILIARY ADVISORY COMMITTEE ESTABLISHED
February 2005

Editor’s note: In July 2004, MOAA’s board of directors established an Auxiliary Advisory Committee and asked it to consider how MOAA might better serve auxiliary members. The committee also must advise the chairman and the board about current and future MOAA programs, plans, and policies as they pertain to the recruitment, retention, and representation of the surviving spouses of uniformed services officers. Carolyn Epling was selected chairperson for the committee. This was her first article printed in The Affiliate.

At a stop during her 2004 campaign, Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) addressed a large audience, many of whom were from the military community in Albuquerque, N.M. She thanked the auxiliary members of the Military Officers Association of Albuquerque for educatiing her about the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) “widows tax.” She also told us that members of Congress are faced with thousands of bills and it is impossible to understand all of them. continue reading

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The above title is the Cover Story in the Sept 24,2007 issue of U.S. News & WORLD REPORT. In it is an outline of filmmaker Ken Burns’s new WW II series, The War, a 14-hour PBS documentary. On September 23, PBS will begin airing it.
Unlike the legions of other WWII documentaries, The War, is a kind of bottom-up look, i.e. told not from/by celebrity generals or politicians, or an interest in strategy or the distraction of weaponry but from so-called ordinary people.
There are no armchair experts in the film. If you weren’t in the war or waiting anxiously for someone to come back, you’re not in it.
From the article quote Burns’s design is to tell the story of the conflict through four American towns (Mobile, Ala.; Waterbury, Conn.; Luverne, Minn.; and Sacramento, Calif.), the people who lived there, how they experienced the war, and how the world changed as a result. It relies heavily on the voices of ordinary soldiers and civilians. Unquote.

Following is a message received far too late to participate in the event.

Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 12:01 PM
Subject: The California Museum - Conversation with Ken Burns

To all:

• We just received information about an event tomorrow, Thursday, September 13, 2007, in Sacramento, at the California Museum for History, Women and the Arts, from 10:45 am to Noon.
• Please read the message below and the attached Media Advisory for more information.
• Veterans need to RSVP by 5 pm today, by calling 916.653.1752, and identify themselves as a Veteran.
• Seating is limited.
• Please contact other Veterans in the Sacramento area and let them know about this event.
• Sorry for the short notice.

A CONVERSATION WITH KEN BURNS
Ken Burns talks with World War II vets, students and community members about his new documentary series, The War, moderated by KFBK radio host Kitty O’Neal
at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts

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NEEDED TO SPEED NATIONAL TO CHAPTER COMMUNICATIONS

The Auxiliary Member Advisory Committee is looking for an auxiliary member in every chapter, someone to serve as a liaison between the national committee and your chapter. We have been looking for an efficient, cost-effective way to relay messages from our committee to auxiliary membership nationwide, and this plan seems to fit the bill. But we can’t make this operational without volunteer help from our valued military widows. continue reading

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MEETING THE NEEDS OF AUXILIARY MEMBERS

The Auxiliary Member Advisory Committee was formed by MOAA’s board of directors in March 2004 to help meet the needs of auxiliary members and encourage them to be more active in the association. The committee members–Carolyn Epling, chairperson, Albuquerque, N.M.; Margery LeTourneau, Alexandria, VA; Paula Muth, Belleville, NE; Anne Patton, Encinitas, CA, and Violet Smith, Clearwater, FL–all are auxiliaries and military widows.

Our efforts include examining MOAA’s programs, plans, and policies as they relate to the three Rs (recruitment, retention, and representation) of MOAA’s auxiliary members. Keeping in mind those three Rs, we focused on developing programs that would recruit, retain, and represent auxiliary members of MOAA. We identified the need to create a survivor outreach program. Over the past year (2004), the program has tracked down the names of military officers who have been killed since Sept 11, when the war on terrorism commenced, and enlisted council and chapter members to contact the surviving spouses to offer support. continue reading

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FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT’S D-DAY PRAYER
June 6, 1944

My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith. They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong.

He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph. continue reading

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MEMORIAL DAY 2007

It was raining “cats and dogs” and I was late for physical training. Traffic was backed up at Fort Campbell, Ky., and was moving way too slowly. I was probably going to be late and I was growing more and more impatient.

The pace slowed almost to a standstill as I passed Memorial Grove, the site built to honor the soldiers who died in the Gander airplane crash, the worst redeployment accident in the history of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

Because it was close to Memorial Day, a small American flag had been placed in the ground next to each soldier’s memorial plaque.

My concern at the time, however, was getting past the bottleneck, getting out of the rain and getting to PT on time. continue reading

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IDOL DISAPPEARS OVER ENGLISH CHANNEL
Paris, December 24, 1944

Americans have apparently lost one of their most beloved music-makers, the band leader Glenn Miller, who left civilian life to play with the Air Force Band.

December 15, 1944, a cold, wet and foggy afternoon, Glenn Miller departed RAF-Base, England in a Norseman C-64 aircraft. The flight was to take Glenn Miller and other passengers to Paris. However, the flight never made it. It is believed the aircraft encountered icing conditions over the English Channel and crashed.

No traces of the aircraft have been found.

Hopes that he might yet turn up were dimmed today when the 40-year old Miller was officially listed as missing and presumed dead. continue reading

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