VOL. XCIV, NO. 16 FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020 FREE God Bless ...

[Pages:32]FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2022 7

ROCKAWAY POINT NEWS

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P.O. BOX 940418 ROCKAWAY PARK, NEW YORK 11694 ? 718-634-8730

Serving

The Point Since 1925

Blessed Trinity Arts & Crafts Summer Sale

Sun. 5/29 9AM - 2PM Msgr. Connelly Hall

VOL. XCV, NO. 20

FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2022

FRE8

Operation Cookie A Success!

VFW Post 8540 Post Commander Col. Tom Sullivan adresses the crowd at Operation Cookie before the shipment headed off to our troops.

VFW

News

By Kevin McCann, Post Quartermaster

The Queens County Veterans of Foreign Wars has selected the Pfc. John G. McLaughlin Post as the Post of the Year. It is indeed an honor to be chosen, but it is an honor that only was bestowed because of the outstanding support of the people and every major organization in the Breezy, Roxbury & Rockaway communities.

Below is the page from the County program that describes the Post's achievements. We have had students

from the Little Red Wagon, St. Francis de Sales, PS 114, the Blessed Trinity Confirmation candidates, the Graybeards, the Al & Peggy DeMatteis foundation, both divisions of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Breezy & Rockaway American Legions, all three Volunteer Fire departments, the Catholic Club, the Mayor's Committee, the Hope for Heroes, the Sons & Daughters and DHL Express make the annual Packages 4 the Troops bigger and better every year. The generosity of Nanci Hollis & Rich Kourbage was instrumental in establishing the meal program for our homebound members and their caretakers. A special thanks to that wonderful group of ladies who along with Pauleen Brown & Mau-

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Col. Tom Sullivan and his VFW compatriots shortly before the Cookie convoy departed for JFK Airport.

On May 11th, the Girl Scouts of Nassau County aided by DHL Express, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Dees Nursery of Long Beach, and the Police Departments of Nassau County conducted Operation Cookie for the 20th consecutive year.

When the Girl Scouts have their annual cookie sales they ask if the donors would like to send a box of cookies to the troops overseas or first responders in Nassau County. This year 87,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies are being distributed by DHL Express to the soldiers in the 82Airborne Division now deployed in Poland and to the sailors on station assisting with the Ukrainian crisis as

well as local first responders. Tom Sullivan, Commander of the

VFW Post in Breezy Point and a recipient of the cookies on his five deployments to Kuwait, Iraq & Afghanistan reflected on how much he and the troops enjoyed getting a taste of home when overseas and truly appreciate not being forgotten.

The Girl Scouts of Nassau County have been shipping the cookies overseas through its partnership with DHL since 2005. During that time they have been responsible for the shipment of over 1,000,000 packages to US military bases in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

POST OF THE YEAR

P.F.C. JOHN G. MCLAUGHLIN

VFW POST 8540

ROXBURY, NYC

The P.F.C. John G. McLaughlin VFW Post is located in the Breezy Point sec on of the Rockaways in Queens, New York City. The Post was named in honor of John G. McLaughlin, one of nine men from the community numbering less than 800 residents at the me who were killed in ac on during WWII. When the Post was incorporated in 1958, to decide which name the Post would bear, the names of the nine men were put in a hat and John McLaughlin's name was chosen.

Today's membership represents every branch of military service and every conflict from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Kuwait, Iraq & Afghanistan. The Veterans of Post 8540 have a long legacy of military service, par cipa ng in the D-Day invasion, the Ba le of the Bulge, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Midway, the Chosin Reservoir, the TET Offensive, Khe Sanh, as well as most recently in Fallujah, Mosul, Baghdad, and Kandahar, among so many other important ba les in U.S. warfare history. Fortunately, un l this day, they s ll have three WWII veterans: a 100-year-old USMC veteran who fought on Saipan, a ninety-seven-year-old sailor who par cipated in major naval ba les in the Pacific, and a ninety-six-year-old Marine who served in China.

The sixty-seven-member Post is comprised of five women, two doctors, and a priest among the members who have served in every combat arms from aviator to ar llery and infantry, and con nue to serve their community un l today. The membership has also had two Major Generals, one of whom flew combat missions in WWII & Korea and was on ac ve duty during Vietnam, three West Point graduates, and members who have risen to Senior Staff NCO rank including two who were Chief Master Sergeants in the Air Force. But more importantly, the majority of its members were the enlisted men comprising the backbone of our military who performed on the small unit level in destroying the enemy.

Although VFW Post 8540 is rela vely small in number and does not have a building of their own, they are fortunate to call the Roxbury Volunteer Fire Department host to their mee ngs & events. Even without an official home, VFW Post 8450 is proof to the spirit of success of its Veterans and the community they support, whether through their annual Memorial & Veterans Day ceremonies, their support of the Wounded Warriors, the Rockaway Hope for Heroes Summer weekend events, providing the chemo and dialysis pa ents with hand made afghans and their support of the needy at Christmas me. Just as impressive, for more than fi een years, VFW Post 8540 has conducted their Christmas Packages 4 the Troops, where they have sent thousands of pounds of coffee, candy, comfort items, cigars and needed supplies to deployed troops in Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bahrain, as well as a Special Opera ons Group in Africa. Furthermore, in 2012, the Post started shipping its packages with the Proctor Hopkins Post 1896 (Jamaica, Queens) Opera on Holiday Cheer Program that sends Christmas Trees to the troops overseas via the courtesy of DHL Express. The en re Rockaway community involved with the local school children from St. Francis de Sales & the Li le Red Wagon School wri ng Christmas gree ngs, the Blessed Trinity Confirma on candidates making Christmas stockings, PS 114 collec ng and packaging individual toiletries, the volunteer Fire Departments, the Graybeards, two American Legion Posts, two different Ancient Order of Hibernian Divisions, the Al & Peggy DeMa eis Founda on and the generous people of Breezy Point providing the funding for purchasing the items, the VFW Post 8540 is proof that taking care of our Veterans, those s ll serving, and our Communi es, is a joint effort.

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ROCKAWAY POINT NEWS

FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2022

The Heslin Family invites you to join them

in celebrating the life of Annie Heslin

Saturday, May 21ST at 11:00 AM

St.Thomas More Church Breezy Point, NY

VFW News

(Continued from Page 1)

reen Dennelly have made hundreds of afghans for veterans in the Manhattan & Brooklyn VA hospitals. A special thanks to the Roxbury Volunteer Fire Department who host all our meeting and to Theresa Flanigan, the Cooperative Event Coordinator who helps us with everything from Poppy Drives to Veteran's Day Brunches. Also thank you to Elizabeth Welsome, her staff & the Junior National Honor Society of P.S.114 for the "dress-down day" fundraisers and to the Coozie Man Gerard Ward, the Sugar Bowl Bartend-

ers and the Grace family for the annual Irish Mike Dart Tournament in honor of Mike Grace. From those of us who have had the privilege of serving our country during a time of war, we thank all of you who have supported us all

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