Thurmont AMVETS Post 7, Thurmont
Thurmont AMVETS Post 7, located at 26 Apples Church Road in Thurmont, is now open for lunch and dinner every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, from 12:00 to 7:00 p.m., with weekly specials on Thursdays and Fridays. They also offer a bucket of domestic beer for only $13.00! Check out the advertisement on page 53.
Mark your calendars for A Night At The Races, hosted by the AMVETS Post 7 Ladies Auxiliary, on Sunday, March 22. The event is to benefit Lions Club for the Gold Stars Memorial wall to be installed at the Memorial Park in Thurmont. Admission is free, and it’s open to all ages!
The AMVETS Post 7 Ladies Auxiliary holds a Bingo every third Wednesday of the month at 5:00 p.m. Play Bingo this month on March 18. View the advertisement on page 28.
Sons of AMVETS Post 7 is hosting a Catfish & Chicken Fry on Saturday, March 14, at the Post on Apples Church Road in Thurmont. Doors open at 3:00 p.m. Dinner is held from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. The cost is $20.00 per ticket (available at the bar). Soda and “AMVETS milk” are included! The public is welcome. You must be 21 years old or older to attend. Check out the advertisement on page 47.
Thank goodness spring has finally arrived! The spring flowers are in full bloom and beautifying this wonderful world. I am sure that after all that snow, we have plenty of yard work that needs done. Don’t forget to check on the elderly, Veterans, and any Active Duty families in your neighborhood to see if they need assistance.
Spring at the Legion is looking very busy, with all kinds of events for Members and the Community! We have Ham & Turkey Night with the Easter Cake Silent Auction on April 3; Veterans Luncheon on April 11; Gun Drawing on May 2; SAL Car Show June 13; and a new event this year: 250th Anniversary Community Day. Plans for all these are just starting, but they are sounding like lots of fun! Hope you can join us!
We are always talking about checking on our Veterans, but now we need to switch gears. We need to pray for our Active Duty. If you know of any Active-Duty service members, please check on their family. They may need some sort of assistance or someone to talk to. Let them know that the Legion is here for them.
History of Vietnam Veterans Day: The Vietnam War was a lengthy and costly conflict between Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It occurred from November 1, 1955, to April 30, 1975—a total of 19 years before the fall of Saigon. As Vietnam’s principal ally, the participation of the U.S. significantly determined the fate of the war. In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy sent a team to Vietnam to report its conditions. It was found that there was an American buildup of economic, military, and technical aid to Ngo Dinh Diem to defeat the Viet Cong. Due to the “domino theory,” which suggests that if one Southeast Asian country falls, the others will follow, Kennedy increased the American aid in Vietnam. By 1962, the U.S. military presence in the country reached up to 9,000 troops.
By March 1965, U.S. aid continued in Vietnam, with the support of Lyndon Johnson, Kennedy’s successor. By June of the same year, American troops reached 82,000. A month later, 100,000 more troops were delegated, and 100,000 more a year later. By November 1967, the number of U.S. troops reached 500,000; however, 15,058 were killed, and 109,527 were wounded.
On November 5, 1969, there was a massive anti-war movement in Washington. More than 250,000 Americans participated, calling for the withdrawal of military troops from Vietnam. On March 29, 1973, U.S. President Richard Nixon officially withdrew the American combat forces from Vietnam. A year later, the first Vietnam Veterans Day was held.
