DAR Hosts Veterans Day Luncheon
A small table set for one, a white tablecloth, an empty chair, an inverted crystal goblet, a slice of lemon, grains of salt, a single red rose, a red ribbon, a burning candle, and a Holy Bible were all central to the Missing Man Ceremony at the Second Annual Veterans Day Program, November 10, hosted by the Martha Dandridge Washington (MDW) Chapter, National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) at First United Methodist Church in Dandridge.
Regent Jane Chambers conducted the solemn ceremony as a treasured part of the program that honored all veterans and focused on Vietnam Era veterans in this year of the Centennial Celebration of the WWI Armistice and the Semicentennial Commemoration of the Vietnam War. Each element in the Missing Man Ceremony represented some aspect of the remembrance of military personnel missing or killed in action. Kevin Poe, U.S. Army veteran who served in Korea and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, participated in the ceremony by lighting the solitary candle, and along with the Regent, rendered the ceremonial salute to all Prisoner of War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA) veterans.
Regent Chambers, herself a U.S. Army veteran of Desert Storm, welcomed veterans and family members of veterans, and other guests for the moving occasion. She noted that the NSDAR, founded on October 11, 1890, is “the oldest organization that stands today in celebration of the veterans that forged the path for this great nation. It was created to specifically recognize, memorialize, and honor” those veterans and has been dedicated to supporting all veterans since. She also said that Armistice Day which marked the end of World War I is the origin of our current Veterans Day.
Ellie Betts, Tennessee State Vice-Chair, Crossnore School and Children’s Home, highlighted the ways in which the NSDAR supported the World War I war relief effort. Because the NSDAR is nonpolitical, the focus of the organization was on raising money, forming chapter knitting circles, supplying “Comfort Kits,” creating Camp Hospitality Committees, teaching classes stateside on planting and canning food, and encouraging food conservation. Liberty Bonds sold in 1917 dollars amounted to $88,731,976, which in today’s dollars would be $1,749,954,003. The NSDAR also encouraged young members to attend service schools for military style training in stenography and telegraph operation. Many members also formed Red Cross auxiliary chapters and joined nurses training. Two hundred sixty of those women were called to serve abroad.
Before the U.S. entered the war and after, the NSDAR purchased food and shipped it to Belgium, sewed clothing, contributed to the Belgium Baby Milk Fund, sponsored children through the Fatherless Children of France Organization, and supported the plan to “rechickenize” France, as chickens were a food source that could rapidly replenish itself. “Donors were given the “I have a chicken in France” pin which no doubt caught people’s curiosity and potentially raised more funds,” said Ms. Betts.
Corresponding Secretary Jane Busdeker read the poem “In Flanders Fields” written by Canadian Physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae on May 13, 1915, to commemorate the death of a fellow soldier in the Second Battle of Ypres, Belgium. The conditions of war (nitrogen from explosives, rubble from destroyed buildings, and the bones of millions of men and animals) increased the lime content in the surface soil, encouraging the growth of the poppies.
Next, special recognition was given to veterans and a deceased veteran who served from November 1, 1955, to April 30, 1975, when the United States was involved in the Vietnam War. As a 50th Anniversary Vietnam Commemorative Partner, the MDW Chapter has made a commitment to recognize as many Vietnam Era service members as possible.
Before Carolyn Mitchell, Committee Chair, DAR Service to Veterans, presented certificates and pins to those veterans, she read a poem titled “The Quitter” by Robert W. Service, which she found glued into the front of her grandfather Henry Huthmacher’s diary. Huthmacher enlisted in 1913 and was sent to Arizona to serve in the mounted cavalry under General John “Black Jack” Pershing and rode into Mexico in a punitive attempt to capture Francisco “Pancho” Villa. Huthmacher enlisted to serve in World War I in 1917 and served in France until the Armistice in 1918.
The veterans who received certificates and pins are listed here by branch of service and name: U.S. Air Force: H. Fain Moody, James M. Vineyard, Mike Word, Robert Leonard Wyatt; U.S. Navy: Gerald Alfred Nannini, Robert E. Stultz; U.S. Marine Corps: Robert L. Ailey, Jr., Beth Arsenault, Richard J. Arsenault, Harold Wayne Schrader; U.S. Marine Corps/U.S. Army: James Allen Finchum; U.S. Army: Calvin R. Collins, Ed Franklin, Chuck Hawk (represented by his wife Susan Hawk), Leonard Laws, Jr., James E. Morgan, James Doyal Shoun, Gerald Allan Stallings.
Alfred E. Stallings, U.S. Army and son of Gerald Stallings, who served in Desert Storm, was also present.
Veterans of Vietnam and of the Vietnam Era present who had already been recognized were Don Bowery, Dave Gibbons, Phillip Mitchell, Jack Kramer, Sam Newman, and Pat Patrick.
Following the program and the prayer by Chaplain Elizabeth Finchum, everyone shared in a luncheon of savory meat and vegetable dishes and tasty desserts.
If anyone is a Vietnam Era veteran or knows of a veteran that is eligible for this special recognition, please contact the MDW Chapter for more information. The spouse or an immediate family member of a deceased veteran who is eligible can receive recognition on behalf of that veteran.
At the December 8 meeting at 10:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the First United Methodist Church in Dandridge, the guest speaker will be Cathy Gleason, Director of Life Outreach Center, and members will shower the Center with items from a “wish list” provided by Ms. Gleason. In addition, members enrolled in the New Member Class will continue to work on lessons following the meeting.
Anyone interested in learning more about the DAR may call Regent Jane Chambers (865) 591-3857 or Registrar Karen McFarland (865) 258-8670.
