Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, June 1, 2019

VFW 3208 CONTINUED

she announced the opening last week of a VA healthcare clinic 
in Arcadia to serve the San Gabriel Valley, which has been lacking 
a VA facility. This clinic will be a temporary fix until the 
VA establishes a larger, permanent full ser-vice clinic here in 
the SGV in the next 3 to 5 years. She thanked the VFW for 
their support and advocacy over the last 7 years as she worked 
toward bringing these fa-cilities to the region, and that is why 
she has named the Post her “Non-Profit” of the year.

In addition to the honor for the Post as a whole, Congresswoman 
Chu presented certificates of Congressional recognition to 
Post members Rev. Baker, WWII tail-gunner Ken Anhalt, Bud 
Switzer, who served in the Korean War, Stanley Pinta who 
served in Vietnam, and former Post commander David Loera.

Assembly member Holden spoke next and also thanked the 
Post for bringing the community together each year to “…pay 
remembrance to those who laid their lives on the line and did 
not come home, but were on the battle fields in foreign lands 
fighting for our freedom and to preserve our freedom and to 
preserve democracy around the world. He thanked Congresswoman 
Chu for her “steadfastness and hard work to bring a 
very important service to our veterans in the San Gabriel Val-
ley.” He spoke of his father, former State Senator and long-time 
LA City Council member Nate Holden, who lied about his 
age to enlist to serve as a military po-liceman in Italy during 
WWII, and a 100-year old uncle who served and how lucky he 
is that they are still hear today.

Commander Ohara spoke following Assembly member Holden. 
She referenced the famous General George Patton quote, 
that “it is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, 
we should thank God that such men lived,” noting that “…
They sacrificed everything for the noblest of causes, and it is 
up to you and me to carry their memory forward in an effort 
to repay a debt that can never truly be repaid…What we really 
must do to honor their sacrifice, is to live what they died for, 
live the America they died for, a country of freedom, equality, 
opportunity and unlimited promises…They gave up their 
todays for our tomorrows.”

She then paused to remember the lone VFW member that 
passed away since last year’s ceremony, WWII veteran Art 
Contreras.

Following the speakers, members of the Post participated in the 
traditional laying of the wreaths, with Paul Puccinelli leading 
the crowd in “God Bless America” and performing Taps.

Following the ceremony, the Post provided a free lunch to the 
crowd from Bean Town.

3


Mountain Views-News Saturday, June 1, 2019 


WALKING SIERRA MADRE by Deanne Davis


“It is imperative that the sacrifices made by the fallen not fade 
into the ether. We believe that a veteran, a person – anyone – has 
two deaths, once when their breath leaves their body, and the 
second time is when no one is able to talk about them or say 
their name. That is why its important for communities to come 
out and honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. It’s really 
getting the community around remembering those people and 
making sure that they are never forgotten.” Rachel Charles, 
Acting Director of the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona

There have been so many pictures everywhere you look this past 
weekend, leading up to Monday, Memorial Day, of small flags 
adorning graves, stretching as far into the horizon as the eye can 
see, as friends and family of those who gave all gather together to 
remember. There was one on Facebook that especially touched 
me of my grandchildren, Nicole, Blake and Luke Simon, at 
the Los Angeles National Cemetery, to visit the grave of their 
grandmother, Margaret Ineson, who was a Navy nurse. They 
were pretty small at the time the photo was taken, which made 
it so sweet to see.

There were families and children galore at Sierra Madre’s own 
Memorial Day Observance at Pioneer Cemetery, which was 
so good to see. Rev. Thomas Baker of St. Rita’s Church, during 
his invocation said, “Their names may fade with the passing of 
generations, but never let what they have done be forgotten.” 

As always, good to see Congresswoman Judy Chu, who spoke 
with such pride about her father who served during WWII as 
an Army Radio Communications Sergeant at the Pacific front 
in Okinawa. She also spoke of her success in finally getting a 
Veteran’s Health Clinic here in the San Gabriel Valley. Judy has 
labored for seven years to achieve this goal and she was thrilled 
to announce that last Monday, the Department of Veteran 
Affairs (VA) officially opened a Veteran’s healthcare clinic 
in Arcadia, called the San Gabriel Valley Community Based 
Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). 

Even though this was just the first week of operation, the clinic 
already had a full schedule of patient visits, offering everything 
from primary care to telehealth (In case you’re wondering what 
telehealth is, here’s the definition: the delivery and facilitation 
of health and health-related services including medical care, 
provider and patient education, health information services, and 
self-care via telecommunications and digital communication 
technologies.), to basic laboratory services. This is the 
culmination, the fruition, of years of trying to achieve this goal; 
VA healthcare right here in the area which is home to more than 
45,000 U.S. Veterans. Judy wanted to specially thank our Sierra 
Madre VFW Post 3208 for their donations and time spent in 
many meetings working as advocates, raising awareness for this 
health clinic. These folks were there with her every step of the 
way in making the VA clinic a reality.

Ms. Chu also presented Certificates of Congressional 
Recognition to Kenneth Anhalt WWII Veteran, Bud Switzer, 
Korean Conflict Veteran, Stanley Pinta, Vietnam Veteran, 
Dave Loera, Vietnam Veteran, and Cindy O’Hara, Post 3208 
Commander. Ms. O’Hara quoted General George S. Patton, “It 
is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we 
should thank God that such men lived.”

Assembly Member, Chris Holden, - again we are astonished by 
how tall he is! – spoke of his father, who lied about his age, he 
was only 16, and enlisted to fight in WWII. 

It was such a beautiful day to be there in our Pioneer Cemetery, 
where my beloved John rests, to thank these Veterans who 
are still with us and to remember those who have gone before 
us. As I saw somewhere else this past week, “before you slap 
burgers on the grill, remember Inchon and Heartbreak Ridge 
and Chosin Reservoir, where heroic Marines fought to their 
last breath against overwhelming odds. Remember Khe Sanh 
and Hamburger Hill. Remember Ramadi and Fallujah and 
Kandahar. It’s easy to forget the fallen, especially on a day when 
the sun is shining and we are so blessed with the tremendous 
good fortune to live in peace.” (Laurie Roberts, USA Today 
Network) The great photo of our Post 3208 Veterans and all 
who officiated at the Memorial Day Observance is courtesy of 
Chuck Seitz.

“Home of the free, because of the brave.”

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 

Star of Wonder the CD is now on TuneCore! Take a look!

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.com/@playwrightdd

“Sunrises & Sunflowers Speak Hope” is coming soon!

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com