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Special Point of Interest:The dinner for the upcoming membership meeting will be buffet style. Patriotism, The Hot TopicJ ack Morgan and Fern Duckworth combined their oratory skills and dedicated since of patriotism to touch our hearts and souls with patriotic oration. Fern spoke of the flag and what it should meant to us. A portion of her subject matter is in the article below. Jack spoke directly of patriotism and what it should mean to us as TROA members. His oration follows.Totah Chapter Mission The Totah Chapter of The Retired Officers Association (TROA) is comprised of men and women in the four corners area who have served honorably as officers in the military services of the United States, from the era of World War II, the Korean “Conflict”, Viet Nam, Desert Storm, Gulf Storm, and various “skirmishes” in between, down to the present date, and also including peacetime assignments, at home and abroad. These men and women were, and are, committed to the ideals of America, including, specifically, abiding respect for our flag which, in turn, embraces the fundamental concepts of freedom of the individual as enunciated by our founding fathers, and as is set forth in and “guaranteed” by the provisions of the Constitution of the United States. The members of the Totah Chapter of TROA, and their spouses, in addition to supporting issues, legislation and policy, at the state and federal level, which they deem to be appropriate, that directly affect present and former military personnel, do also commit to avail themselves of the opportunity to influence, as they can, a resurgence of faith in and respect for our republic. This resurgence includes opposition to the forces of those who still support, directly or inadvertently, whether domestic or foreign, the development of a socialist or communist controlled United States. It includes our attempting to recognize the threat of the so-called “terrorist movement” around the world, insofar as it does or may impact our American system of government and way of life; and it includes supporting those programs that address this threat. This resurgence also includes a recognition that a responsible U.S. foreign policy must also include a commitment to develop a military posture, in the world as we now find it, consistent with and supportive of our foreign policy. We should support an eventual in-depth reassessment of both our domestic and foreign policies; and such a reassessment should include the U.S. military, outer-space, and telecommunications programs and objectives. We should insist that any such reassessments be as non-political as possible, and that they be conducted by technically qualified, competent and dedicated people. TROA, whether local or national, should adopt as a primary objective to expend our efforts to the end that patriotism be enhanced among our citizens of all ages, non-partisan and regardless of gender or race; and that there will be reestablished a new sense of support and respect for our constitutional form of government. Legislative Report from WashingtonEarly last month I took a trip to Washington for the annual WALLOW of the Military Order of the Carabao (Veterans of the Philippines). Knowing the vagaries of airline travel I left a day early so had an extra day there. I called TROA headquarters to make an appointment to see some of the staff. I met with COL Chris Giaimo, Director of Council and Chapter Affairs, whose office is right next to COL Jim Pauls’. When I told COL Gialmo that I represented the newest Chapter in TROA, he told me that the reason COL Pauls’ office was dark was because he was in Idaho chartering a new chapter. He sent his congratulations on our Chartering, said COL Pauls’ brought back a good report. We discussed some of the legislative activity TROA would be involved with. There will be a meeting in early April with the Legislative heads of all of the State TROA Councils to map out the strategies for the balance of this session of Congress. The general thinking, since this is a Presidential Election year, is that there probably won’t be a whole of significant major legislation passed. They will keep us informed and of course, THE RETIRED OFFICER covers those activities in depth. If you noticed in the February issue of magazine, the Colonel had a column on the same page as the report on our chartering. I went over to Capitol Hill to see if I could talk to some the Members about our concerns, but both houses were in recess, so there weren’t very many people around, even Staff. At least for that day, our Republic was safe. March Calendar
Remember MeSome people call me Old Glory, others call me the Star Spangled Banner, but whatever they call me, I am your flag, the flag of the United States of America... Something has been bothering me, so I thought I might talk it over with you. I remember sometime ago people lined up on both sides of the street to watch a parade and naturally, I was leading it, proudly waving in the breeze. When your daddy saw me coming, he immediately removed his hat and placed it over his heart... remember? And you, I remember you. Standing there as straight as a soldier. You didn’t have a hat, but you were giving the right salute. Remember your little sister? Not to be outdone, she was saluting the same as you, with her right’ hand over her heart. . . Remember? What happened? I’m still the same old flag. Oh, I have a few more stars since you were a boy and a lot more blood has been shed since those parades long ago. But now I don’t feel as proud as I used to. When I come down the street, people just stand there with their hands in their pockets and I may get a small glance, then they look away. I see children running around and shouting. .They don’t seem to know who I am... I saw one man take off his hat and then look around. He didn’t see anybody else with their's off so he quickly put his hat back on. Is it a sin to be patriotic anymore? If they’d only take a look at the memorial honor rolls sometime and see the names of those who never came back or gave their lives to keep this republic free, or read this on a monument in Arlington National Cemetery, “not for fame or reward... not for place or rank... not lured by ambition or goaded by necessary... but in simple obedience to duty as they understood it, these men suffered all… sacrificed all… dared all... and died”. Don’t people understand that when they salute me, they are actually saluting them? Perhaps it won’t be long until I’ll be coming down the street again. And if they salute me, I’ll wave back. Compiled by Fern McGee Duckworth Credits: Our Flag—Department of Defense Pamphlet (1958)
Some Thoughts About World War IIOur Armed Forces fought a war that lasted five years, eleven months and twenty six days. As General Yamamoto feared - the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, had indeed, “Awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve.” Once completely foreign names became household words, Normandy. St. Lo, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, The Bulge, Iwo Jima, Midway, Okinawa, Salerno, Casablanca, Hiroshima, Shweinfurt, Buchanwald , and Bastogne, where the word “NUTS” in answer to the German demand for surrender, echoed around the world like the shots fired at Bunker Hill. For it all we paid a terrible price, our hospitals filled and gold stars appeared along with the blue ones in windows across our land. My brother Kelly came home, he died young, but left a family to carry on his name. We sang light hearted songs about not sitting under apple trees and sad ones about blue birds that would again fly over Dover’s White Cliffs; about sentimental journeys and meeting in old familiar places. We danced the jitterbug, lived with ration books and without new shoes and silk stockings (about as much of a sacrifice for us American women as it was for Confederate women to give up their wedding rings during the Civil War). We collected scrap metal and saved grease to make ammunition. We planted victory gardens and women served well in every theater of this far flung war. Others went into factories to make planes, tanks, uniforms, ammunition and the mighty ships to carry it. “Rosie the Riveter” was born and became the grandmother of Women’s Liberation. We found that the people from the length and breadth of our country were worth knowing. And many of them we loved and married, as George Duckworth and I did on March 20, 1945. But from this war came much that was good. Eight of its veterans have been President of the United States and countless others have been Congressmen and served in State and local governments. Thousands took their military skills into civilian life and the “G.I.” Education Bill produced ministers, teachers, lawyers, doctors, stenographers, nurses, writers, artists, engineers, architects and many other professional men and women. For myself and perhaps thousands of others, it reaffirmed this eternal truth:
Know Your Members - 1Lt Fern McGee Duckworth
The WAAC was established on May 15, 1942. Kelly turned 21 on May 25th. On the 30th, we went to Durango where Kelly enlisted in the Air Corps and I submitted my WAAC application. It was sobering to learn that in the first two weeks, over one hundred forty thousand applications had been distributed and forty thousand fully qualified women were under consideration for two Officer Candidate classes of four hundred and forty women. Officer candidate allotments were by state, so my application was forwarded to Santa Fe. I took my first tests there on the 10th of June. On the 21st, I was at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas for an interview with an evaluation board of senior Army officers from the Pentagon. In mid July selections were announced in a radio broadcast and I was not one of them. I had mixed emotions of relief and disappointment. But I was glad I had tried. However, early the next morning I had a ca1l from the Pentagon saying that I had been selected and would be going in August. Fort Des Moines, Iowa was an old, very beautiful Army Post, but it was hot and humid. The long hours of calisthenics, marching drills, classes, parades and “GI Parties” for barracks inspections were a terrible ordeal for those of us from Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. All in all, we surprised our officers and enlisted men with our adjustment to Army routine, including the dreaded immunization shots and gas mask drills. Although our company officers had trained us well, they never understood our quieter sense of humor. At our last Saturday morning inspection it took them about three foot lockers to catch on when they found their pictures in the “sweetheart spot” in our foot locker lids. I was commissioned on September 12th, 1942 and learned I had been chosen to return to the Eighth Service Command, as a Public Relations Officer, with initial assignment in Santa Fe. On the train as the first WAAC “West of the Mississippi”, I was the subject of much curiosity and attention. After a short visit to Farmington, I reported to Santa Fe on October 5th. My assignment would be three-fold: to interest women in joining the WAAC; to convince post commanders to request WAAC companies; and to see that they were properly utilized. In the fall of 1943, I was transferred to 8th Service Command Headquarters in Dallas, Texas. I became the head of a Mobile Publicity Team. The team consisted of at least 2 officers and l0 to 12 enlisted men and women, who were drivers, clerks, radio announcers, scriptwriters, window dressers and artists. We publicized whatever the Army needed - Aviation Cadets, WACS, Nurses and Air WACS to name a few. We often did this in connection with community Bond Rallies, holiday celebrations, scrap drives, state and county fairs. My mobile unit consisted of a large trailer equipped as a functional working office; a transport truck with storage space for supplies and personal luggage; a small military bus and two staff cars. Set up in the center of a town, it was quite an imposing sight and caught a lot of attention, too. All military installations were closed to the civilians (unless they worked there), so we were easily accessible and often asked about family members in service. About all we could do was put them in touch with the proper authorities. But just talking to us seemed to help. Traveling as we did, we had to take care of each other. When several of the enlisted men were ill with a croup like flu, I took a jar of Vicks to them. I told them to rub it on each other and gave them pieces of flannel cut from an old blanket to cover it. I fixed them some potato soup and told them to stay in bed. A few days later, when I got sick, they came to my room with the jar of Vicks, a flannel cloth. And informed me that they were there to put Vicks on my back. Delighted at my obvious dismay, they produced the hotel housekeeper to do it for me. They then presented me with a bowl of potato soup and a single red rose. On a War Bond tour, I asked one of my sergeants (an older man) to “Please bring me a stack of posters”. A visiting male officer remarked that he wasn’t used to hearing an officer say “Please” to an enlisted man. My sergeant replied, “Sir, I’ve been with Lt. McGee for several months and we both know that what she really meant was “DO IT, DAMN IT”. My brother Kelly, while on his 19th daylight bombing mission with the 8th Air Force in England, he was reported as missing after a raid on Frankfort, Germany. He was taken to Stalag Luft 17-B in the Bavarian Alps and the war took on a new urgency for me. One sun up, I was at Temple, Texas airstrip watching planes coming in with casualties from the D-Day landings. I can still see the litters on the ground and remember how I felt as I saw hands reaching down to touch or pick up a bit of American soil. I knew then that I would never be really young or care free again. As the hospital filled, General Bethea, Hospital Commander, expressed an interest in having enlisted women trained as medical technicians. Others also saw it as a solution to shortages of the traditional male hospital personnel and the program was initiated. The Unit was disbanded shortly after Victory in Europe Day, which was May 8, 1945. This was the first time I had been without an assignment. But after a rather odd personnel interview, I received orders to Camp Swift, Texas and was only told that the 2nd Infantry (Indianhead Division) was going there. They were returning from a year of combat in France and Germany to be re-outfitted for an invasion of the Japanese mainland. On August 14, 1945, Japan agreed to surrender. It was hard to believe that the war was really over.
President's PageMembers of Totah Chapter: You might recall that during the past two meetings I have brought be subject of making patriotism one of our top goals or objectives. We all agree that there is a need in our country to honor country, flag, and parenthood. As a society we need to reemphasize everything for which our great republic stands. I believe Jack Morgan;s mission statement which provides a model we can follow: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, my
life, like so many others was changed forever. My youngest brother, Kelly wanted
to enlist. A bill was in Congress to create the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps
and I told him that when it passed, I’d join the Army with him. A brash
decision since the only thing I knew about the Army was, that if you got in
trouble, you were Court Martialed and shot at dawn.
I had been working in the Post Personnel
Office and was asked to stay on and establish a special unit to process soldiers
for separation. The soldiers were those whose records were incomplete, missing
or inadequate to qualify them for future veteran’s benefits. By this time, I
was engaged to a captain in the 2nd Infantry Division and we planned to marry in
March. The outfit moved to Ft. Lewis, Washington, so I agreed to stay for the
duration of the war plus 6 months or longer if necessary, I was separated on
March 21, 1946 and discharged in September.
