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105th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 105-60
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE 97TH NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES
[SUMMARY OF MINUTES]
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
Louisville, Kentucky : : : August 17-23, 1996
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105th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Document 105-60
P R O C E E D I N G S
of the
97TH NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS
OF THE UNITED STATES
[SUMMARY OF MINUTES]
Louisville, Kentucky
August 17-23, 1996
March 20, 1997.--Referred to the Committee on National Security and
ordered to be printed
____________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1997
U.S. CODE, TITLE 44, SECTION 1332
NATIONAL ENCAMPMENTS OF VETERANS' ORGANIZATIONS; PROCEEDINGS
PRINTED ANNUALLY FOR CONGRESS
The proceedings of the national encampments of the United
Spanish War Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United
States, the American Legion, the Military Order of the Purple Heart,
the Veterans of World War I of the United States, Incorporated, the
Disabled American Veterans, and the AMVETS (American Veterans of World
War II), respectively, shall be printed annually, with accompanying
illustrations, as separate House documents of the session of the
Congress to which they may be submitted.
[Approved October 2, 1968.]
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
December, 1996
Honorable Newt Gingrich,
The Speaker U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Speaker: In conformance with the provisions of Public Law
No. 620, 90th Congress, approved October 22, 1968, I am transmitting
to you herewith the proceedings of the 97th National Convention of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, held in Louisville,
Kentucky, August 17-23, 1996, which is submitted for printing as a
House document.
Sincerely,
Larry W. Rivers
Adjutant General
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
ANNUAL MEMORIAL SERVICE
SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 1996
Call to Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Advance of Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Invocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
In Memoriam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Introduction of Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Memorial Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Introduction of William D. Chester, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Presentation of the Chapel of Four Chaplains
Legion of Honor Bronze Medallion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Benediction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Retiring of Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
JOINT OPENING SESSION
MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 1996
Advancement of Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Invocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Introduction - The Honorable Jerry E. Abramson,
Mayor, City of Louisville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Greetings - The Honorable Jerry Abramson . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Introduction - The Honorable Stephen L. Henry,
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Greetings - The Honorable Stephen L. Henry,
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Presentation of American Flag Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Introduction of Commander-in-Chief Spera . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Remarks - Commander-in-Chief Spera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Presentation of Awards to 1995-'96 All American Commanders
and National Program Winners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, The Honorable Jesse Brown . . . . . 23
Address by Secretary Jesse Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Presentation of VFW Gold Medal of Merit and Citation
to Ladies Auxiliary President Helen Lenehan . . . . . . . . . . 28
Response - Ladies Auxiliary President Helen Lenehan . . . . . . . . 29
Introduction of the Honorable Sonny Montgomery . . . . . . . . . . 31
Response - The Honorable G. V. ``Sonny'' Montgomery . . . . . . . . 32
Introduction - Dean Hoke, Chief Operating Officer
of the Military Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Remarks - Dean Hoke, CEO, The Military Channel . . . . . . . . . . 36
Introduction of Lieutenant General Lu Chao, VACRS Vice Chairman . . 38
Response - Lieutenant General Yu Chao . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Introduction - David Christiansen, Founder of Flags of Freedom
Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Remarks - Mr. David Christiansen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Introduction of Lieutenant General Kap-Jin Choi,
Korean Veterans Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Remarks - Lieutenant General Kap-Jin Choi . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Introduction - MOC Supreme Commander Gary Strauss . . . . . . . . . 43
Remarks - MOC Supreme Commander Gary Strauss . . . . . . . . . . . 43
RECESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
DISTINGUISHED GUESTS BANQUET
AUGUST 19, 1996
Pledge of Allegiance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Invocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Introduction of Master of Ceremonies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Introduction of Commander-in-Chief Paul A. Spera . . . . . . . . . 45
Presentation of VFW Hall of Fame Award, Gold Medal and
Citation to Billy Ray Cyrus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Response - Mr. Billy Ray Cyrus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Presentation of the Dwight David Eisenhower Distinguished
Service Medal and Citation to General William C. Westmoreland . . 48
Response and Principal Address - General William C. Westmoreland . 49
Benediction - National Chaplain Kell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
RECESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
FIRST BUSINESS SESSION
TUESDAY MORNING, AUGUST 20, 1996
Call to Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Salute to the Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Opening Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Report of Credentials Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Report of Committee on Convention Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Introduction - Lieutenant General Prabandh Itdhikul . . . . . . . . 56
Response - Lieutenant General Prabandh Itdhikul,
War Veterans Organization of Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Presentation of VFW News Media Award, Gold Medal and Citation . . . 58
Response - Mr. Al Santol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Presentation of Commander-in-Chief Special Award
to Mr. Mack Fleming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Response - Mr. Mack Fleming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Introduction of Brigadier General Wilma Vaught, USAF (Ret.) . . . 63
Remarks - Brigadier General Wilma Vaught . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Report of Committee on National By-Laws,
Manual of Procedure and Ritual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Presentation of VFW Armed Forces Award, Gold Medal and
Citation to General H. Hugh Shelton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Response - General H. Hugh Shelton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Introduction of the Honorable Jack Kemp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Address - The Honorable Jack Kemp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Remarks by General Colin Powell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Address by the Honorable Robert Dole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Report of Committee on National By-Laws,
Manual of Procedure and Ritual (Cont'd.) . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
RECESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
RECESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
RECESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
SECOND BUSINESS SESSION
WEDNESDAY MORNING, AUGUST 21, 1996
Call to Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Salute to the Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Opening Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Report of Credentials Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Introduction of Milton Metz, March of Dimes Representative . . . . 112
Presentation - Milton Metz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Report of Committee on National Bylaws,
Manual of Procedure and Ritual (Cont'd.) . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Report of Committee on Finance and Internal Organization . . . . . 115
Presentation of J. Edgar Hoover Award, Gold Medal and Citation . . 129
Response - Officer Joseph Alu, Sr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Response - Mr. Ken Porio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Response - Ms. Jackie Eagle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Presentation of VFW Emergency Services Award,
Gold Medal and Citation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Response - Lieutenant Michael P. Peery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Introduction of James L. Brazee, Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc.. 134
Address - Mr. James L. Brazee, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Presentation of VFW Americanism Award to Mr. James Lee Witt . . . . 136
Response - Mr. James Lee Witt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Report of Committee on National Security and Foreign Affairs . . . 138
Report of POW-MIA Subcommittee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
RECESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Introduction of Vice-President Al Gore, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Address - Vice-President Al Gore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Presentation of Field Contests and VFW Color Guard . . . . . . . . 148
Report of POW-MIA Subcommittee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Report of Committee on National Security
and Foreign Affairs (Cont'd.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Report of Committee on General Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Report of Committee on Veterans Service Resolutions . . . . . . . . 159
Report of Committee on Americanism and Community Activities . . . . 165
Presentation of Buddy Poppy Winners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Winners of Insurance Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Salute to the Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
RECESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
THIRD BUSINESS SESSION
THURSDAY MORNING, AUGUST 22, 1996
Call to Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Salute to the Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Pledge of Allegiance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Opening Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Report of Credentials Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Presentation of ``Consecutive Years of Membership''
Citation to the Department of Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Introduction of Syddia Lee-Chee, Department of the Treasury,
U.S. Savings Bond Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Presentation by Ms. Syddia Lee-Chee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Presentation of Golden Eagle Award to Commander-in-Chief Spera
by the VFW Political Action Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Introduction of Ladies Auxiliary President Helen Lenehan . . . . . 172
Response - Ladies Auxiliary President Lenehan . . . . . . . . . . 173
Introduction of Mr. James Chancellor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Presentation of Military Service Rings by Mr. Chancellor . . . . . 174
Presentation of James C. Gates Distinguished Service Award . . . . 177
Response - Mr. Richard Gray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Presentation of Employer of the Year Award/Large to DynCorp,
Fort Hood, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Response - Mr. Harry Frazier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Introduction of the Honorable Ross Perot . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Address - The Honorable H. Ross Perot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Presentation of Small Employer of the Year Award . . . . . . . . . 189
Response - Mr. Tom Stitt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Presentation of Local Office of the Public Employment
Service Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Response - Mr. Mike Olen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Presentation of Distinguished Service Award,
Gold Medal and Citation to Past Commander-in-Chief Allen F. Kent. 192
Response - Past Commander-in-Chief Kent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Distinguished Service Award, Gold Medal and Citation to
Past Commander-in-Chief, James Currieo . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Response - Past Commander-in-Chief Currieo . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Outstanding VA Health Care Provider Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Response - Mr. Santo Trombetta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Outstanding Health Care Provider Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Response - Ms. Yvonne Toth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Outstanding Volunteer Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Response - Comrade Joseph Schirmers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Outstanding Post Service Officer Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Response - Comrade Dennis Cauley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Introduction of Past Commanders-in-Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Introduction of National Sergeant-at-Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Visit of National Home Representatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Remarks by 1996 Buddy Poppy Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Nomination of Commander-in-Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
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