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Fall is here and that means one of the best times of the year is here as well - Veterans Day! There will be many events and ceremonies to attend that will show support for our active duty military and veterans and thank them for their service and sacrifice.
The first of many events will be this Friday when a new San Diego County Veteran of the Year is announced. We received many outstanding nomination packages of veterans making substantial impact in the veteran community. A panel of judges reviewed nominations for the individual San Diego County Veteran of the Year, the Will Hays lifetime support of veterans and the non-profit and for-profit organizations of the year. If you have purchased a ticket to the luncheon then you will be the first to know who is the new winners and to congratulate the recipients.
One of the first duties of the VOY is to participate in the Mt. Soledad ceremony and the San Diego
Veteran's Day parade. This year's theme is "70th Anniversary of World War II Victory and Peace."
It is a great time to be on active duty or a military veteran. Please stop by the museum on Veterans Day for an open house and free admission. And remember, it is always ok to thank a veteran for his or her service - even when it's not Veterans Day.
Captain Sheldon Margolis
USN (retired)
Executive Director
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What's going on at your museum? (Museum events or museum partners)
- Nov. 6: San Diego County Veteran of the Year Luncheon (Scottish Rite Center)
- Nov. 8: American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes event (10 a.m. to 4 p.m)
- Nov. 10: Operation Dress Code clothing drive ends
- Nov. 10: Free Tuesday admission to the museum for San Diego County residents
- Nov. 10: Arts for All (2 to 4 p.m.) and Arts for Veterans (6 to 8 p.m.)
- Nov. 10-Dec. 16: Toys for Tots Annual toy drive
- Nov. 11: Veteran's Day Parade on Harbor Drive (11 a.m.)
- Nov. 11: Veterans Museum Open House (1 to 4 p.m.)
- Nov. 26: Thanksgiving Day - Closed
- Dec. 24: Closing at 1 p.m. for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
- Dec. 31: Closing at 1 p.m. for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day
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Last month
Flowers from No Man's Land Book Reading & Signing
We had a wonderful turnout of over 40 people for a book reading and signing on a Friday night. The program featured a video and presentation of the story of Alfred Earl Jones who served in the U.S. Army during World War I. He was assigned to the 82nd Division, First Army of the American Expeditionary Forces and fought in the Saint-Mihiel Offensive and the battle that ended the war, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Alfred came home from combat and never spoke of the horrific things he witnessed during the war. He lived until the age of 91.
When the author's grandmother passed away (at almost 108 years old), the family found a mysterious bundle of letters tied together in the bottom on an old trunk. The letters were all addressed to Alfred's mother during his time spent on the front lines in World War I. Inside the bundle of letters there was a small bouquet of flowers pressed into tissue paper. The inscription read, "picked in no man's land" (referring to the territory between opposing trenches heavily defended by weapons and artillery).
Aleeta Renee Jones (granddaughter and author) and all four of Alfred's children were at the event and answered questions and signed books for the attendees.
The Whorton's Celebrate their 40th Anniversary and Renew Vows at the Museum.
Jerry and Tommie Lou Whorton celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary and renewed their vows at the museum. The wedding party at the renewal of vows all wore wearing period Scottish regalia in October. We wish them the best and were delighted to host this unique event.
Halloween
Comes to the Museum
Pirate Haley Sansoucie guarded the entrance to the museum and our Gift Shop on October 31st greeting visitors and bringing the Halloween spirit to the museum.
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This month
Operation Dress Code
In conjunction with
The California Department of Veterans Affairs, The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and the non-profit organization The Dress Code, the Veterans Museum hosted a news conference to kick off Operation Dress Code. We will be a drop off location for women's business clothes, shoes and accessories through November 10.
The mission is to provide military women with the clothes needed for a successful transition from active duty to civilian life. Female veterans will have an opportunity to "shop" for business clothes and accessories on November 14. The boutique experience is free for veterans. Active duty and veterans can go to:
The Dress Code to register for the event and select an appointment time.
Volunteers are needed to help sort the donations on November 13 and to help on the shopping day. To volunteer or to find other drop off locations in San Diego, log on to The Dress Code site listed above.
In the first days, the museum has collected over 350 items and more than 6 boxes of donations! The museum's pink bin will be displayed at the Veteran of the Year luncheon - no better time to clean out your closets!
Veteran of the Year Luncheon
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| (Left) Will Hays, Veterans Museum Chairman (Center) 2014 Veteran of the Year Bill York (Right) Luis Monteagudo, Director of Communication for County Supervisor's Office |
The San Diego County Veteran of the Year Luncheon will be held at the Scottish Rite Center in Mission Valley on November 6
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San Diego veterans were nominated for Veteran of the Year, six veterans for the lifetime supporter, and 7 companies and non-profit organizations for recognition for their support of veterans.
VETERAN OF THE YEAR NOMINEES ARE:
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Veteran
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Sponsoring Organization
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| Angel Avila |
VFW Post 10577 |
| Bruce Bailey |
Mt. Soledad Memorial Association |
| Don Barnard |
Vietnam Veterans of America,
Chapter 472 |
| Edward Berger |
Poway Veterans Organization |
| Michael Caruso |
San Diego Rotary Club 33 |
| Kim Coronado |
Mitchel Paige Detachment 1207 Marine Corps League |
| Bonofacio "Bo" Gonzales |
California State University,
San Marcos |
| James Jones, Jr. |
Council Member Jerry Kern,
City of Oceanside |
| Lewis Meyer |
Military Order of the Purple Heart, Sunny Jones Chapter 49 |
| Robert Muth |
San Diego Veterans Coalition |
| Rebecca "Jan" Noz |
UCSD Veteran Staff Association |
| Manuel "Manny" Otero, Jr. |
US 4 Warriors Foundation |
| Darryl Peralta |
Military Order of the World Wars |
| Carol Pirro |
Veterans Village of San Diego |
| Greg Stoner |
Bulldog Detachment 835
Marine Corps League |
| Randall Treadway |
VFW 1st District of California |
| Steven Williams |
VFW Post 5867 |
| Kristine Wunder |
Mitchell Paige Detachment 1207 Marine Corps League |
WILL HAYS LIFETIME SUPPORT AWARD NOMINEES:
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Veteran
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Sponsoring Organization
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| Angel Aviles |
VFW Post 10577 |
| Don Barnard |
Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 472 |
| Morton Jorgensen |
San Diego Air and Space Museum |
| Terry Magee |
Support The Enlisted Project |
| Jon Nachison |
Mental Health Systems |
| Randall Treadway |
VFW 1st District of California |
Nominees for THE VETERANS ALLEGIANCE and MERITORIOUS SUPPORT OF VETERANS AWARDS for Corporate and Non-Profit Organizations:
| Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center at SDSU |
| The Elizabeth Hospice |
| Ladies Auxiliary, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Sunny Jones Chapter 49 |
| North San Diego Business Chamber of Commerce |
| San Diego American Legion District 22 |
| Support The Enlisted Project (STEP) |
| US 4 Warriors Foundation |
| Waxie Sanitary Supply |
2015 Veteran's Day Parade
A celebration of the
70th Anniversary of World War II and America's Greatest Generation
The San Diego Veterans Day Parade on November 11 is on Harbor Drive and is free of charge to view or to participate. President Eisenhower dedicated November 11 as Veterans Day in 1954, and called upon all citizens to participate. As Veterans Day is observed nationwide, the San Diego Veterans Day Parade recognizes the contributions of all of our Veterans from every branch of Armed Forces in all eras of service. 
The 2015 Parade starts at 11:00 a.m. November 11, 2015, on N Harbor Drive.
The start line is in the vicinity of the Fountain Plaza in front of the County Administration Building.
Grand Stands on the west side of N Harbor Drive between the Start Line and Ash Street will have one Reserved Section with "Honor Seating" Section reserved for World War II Veterans, and several open sections with seats available for first come first served.
The one mile route proceeds on N Harbor Drive past a long row of grand stands, and past Broadway, and past the USS Midway, and continues on Harbor Drive one block east to Pacific Highway to turn LEFT onto Pacific Highway to finish there in the Dismissal Area.
Museum Open House on Veteran's Day
The Veterans Museum will open it's doors to the public at 1:00 p.m on November 11, Veteran's Day, upon the conclusion of the Veterans Day Parade. Come see America's history and learn the story of veterans on this memorable day. Admission is free to the public.
Toys for Tots Collection Site
November 10 to December 16
The Veterans Museum will host a donation box to collect Toys for Tots for the US Marine Corps Reserve annual holiday Drive. Come down and bring a new unwrapped toy for a boy or girl and drop it in our box.
For more information contact the museum at 619-239-2300 or [email protected]
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STORIES FROM THE
MUSEUM'S ARCHIVES:
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June and Ernie Hinsdale, c. 1943
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Technician 5th Class Ernest Hinsdale - Combat Aviation Engineer with the 13th Air Force
During WWII, Ernest Hinsdale served in the US Army's Corps of Engineers from 1943-46. He saw combat in the Pacific theater in New Guinea and the Philippines while assigned to the 356th Aviation Engineer Battalion. During the invasion of New Guinea, the were right behind the landing forces and repaired the damaged runway at New Hollandia to open up a forward landing base for American aircraft. After New Guinea, they participated in the invasion and liberation of the Philippines.
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Ernie's WWII army uniform with 13th Air Force Patch and ribbons.
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The loss of Hollandia made the Japanese strategic defence line at
Wakde
, to the west, and all Japanese positions to the east untenable and the Japanese
18th Army
was faced with a 400-mile retreat through the jungle. The Allies quickly made the Hollandia airfields operational and were able to mount bombing raids on Japanese positions as far west as Biak, rendering them useless for air operations.
The Hinsdale family donated his uniform and many other items pictures a Japanese postcard and a section of the instrument panel of a Japanese wrecked plan obtained at Hollandia Airport, New Guinea. He also sent home a souvenir hand painted coconut from New Guinea, all of which are now part of our collection.
His uniform has been displayed at the museum, on the USS Midway during a WWII gala, and as part of Fleet Week's Coronado Speed Festival honoring WWII service men and women.
Painted Coconut souvenir from New Guinea, c. 1944
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Ernie with a dump truck in New Hollandia, c. 1944
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865th Engineer Aviation Battalion Yearbook now in the Museum's library, c. 44-45
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Hollandia airfield after raids by 5th Air Force. Over 100 Japanese planes were destroyed on the ground during the attacks. 1944
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From Ernie's photo album taken at Hollandia, 1944.
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Museum News
Amazon Smile Supports the  Veterans Museum with Donations
Did you know that you can support the Veterans Museum every time you shop online at Amazon.com by signing up with
AmazonSmile? It is a simple and automatic way for you to support the Veterans Museum
at no cost to you. By signing up and shopping at
smile.amazon.com, you'll find the exact same low prices with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to the Veterans Museum.
To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to
smile.amazon.com from the web browser on your computer or mobile device with your existing Amazon.com account or create a new account. You will need select the charity of you choice and we encourage you to
type in and select the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center. Amazon will remember your selection and then every eligible purchase you make at
smile.amazon.com will result in a donation to our museum.
You may also want to add a bookmark to
smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile.
Search our Museum Library Catalog
Working on a project? You can explore our Military History Reference Library catalog to see what is in our library.
Did you know that the museum has a military history reference library with over 10,000 volumes including multimedia available to our members and researchers? You must be a museum member to access the library. It is not a lending library, but a resource to be used and explored.
Click on this
link
or enter this address:
Learn to Swing Dance at the Museum
On Tuesdays, 2PlySwing comes to the museum to hold advanced swing dance classes for dancers who know the Lindy, Jitterbug & Charleston.
But if you are new to swing dancing you can learn from the ground up by contacting 2PlySwing at: 2PlySwing New Dancers. 2 PlySwing holds classes and dances in multiple locations around San Diego in addition to our museum.
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Arts for All and
Arts for Veterans
The second Tuesday of every month, Tony the Vet holds two free sessions. From 2 to 4 p.m., children and families are invited to make cards for veterans and view a free puppet show.
From 6 to 8 p.m., our museum hosts free creative art classes (literary, performing and visual arts) for veterans. These classes are facilitated by Tony LoBue, Veteran, artist, and teacher of the creative arts and will include guest artists and speakers.
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We want you...to volunteer!
The museum would not operate without the support of its volunteers. Groups and organizations volunteer to do day projects such as organizing museum archives, painting, etc...
Individuals volunteer each month as docents, in the library and gift shop, to do research and be oral historians as well as administrative and event work. No matter where your skills lie, there is a volunteer job waiting for you!
We would like to thank
Deborah Frazier, Janet Napute and Natalie Slattery as recent volunteers to the museum. We appreciate the time you gave us!!
To download a volunteer application form, Click here
You can also find out more information by contacting the volunteer coordinator at: [email protected].
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A Video Look Back at Naval Training, Station San Diego
In 2010, our museum volunteer, Charles Hansen, created this video of the Naval Training Center at San Diego and its transition to Liberty Station. It has received over 40,000 hits on
You Tube since then. It has a great sound track: "Sounds of the Sea" by the Norman Lubbock Choir, which can be purchased on iTunes for any of you navy history buffs. Take a look, just click on the picture link below which will take you to the youtube.com page. Click the "Like" button and we can see how high we can push the views.
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Recent Donations to the Museum's Artifact Collection
Suzanne Dooley-Bailey of San Diego donated MPC and foreign currency
Madelyn Graham of San Diego donated Uniforms and artifacts of Sgt. Robert H. Graham, US Army Air Corps photographer during WWII.
Desert Storm captured Iraqi helmets from the Burgan Oil Fields, c. 1992
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Iraqi army personal hygiene kits, c. 1992
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Nathan Hall of Escondido donated a collection of artifacts picked up at the Burgan Oil Fields in Kuwait during the first gulf war, magazines and books.
Marvin Holmberg of San Diego donated a Yearbook from NTC San Diego, 1957
Company 592, started 4Jan57.
Donald Kochackis of Chula Vista donated three photographs of WWII POW messages and C-141 aircraft.
Charles Law of San Marcos donated a framed print titled "Magic Carpet Ride" of soldiers flying in a Huey in Vietnam. The print is signed by the artist, Joe Kline and is numbered 623 of 1000.
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Magic Carpet Ride by Joe Kline captured this icon (Huey) of the War in one of it's most fulfilling roles, bringing a load of grunts back from the bush.
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Karl Lopez of Oceanside donated 22 books and three manuals to the military history library.
Michael Mann of La Jolla donated a smoking jacket made from a Navy blanket purchased by James K. Mann in Shanghai China,1945.
William Murray of Chula Vista donated a collection of WWI pamphlets, documents and cards, and menus from 1919.
Jim Newhall of Coronado donated a 1950 era navy officer's sword belt.
Michael Ridolfi of Boston MA donated military artifacts and a scrapbook from his tour aboard the USS McKinley (AGC-7) from 1959-1962.
Tara Scanlan of Manhattan Beach, CA donated two WWII American Flags from the Navy Armed Guard and flown on the USS David Johnson may 8th 1945
Paul Wood of Ramona donated an army air corps WWII Leather Flight Jacket
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Ted O. Atwood
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Barbara Beeby
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Kathleen Brigham
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David Buller
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William Craw
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Benjamin F. Dillingham, III
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Duane Dubke*
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Shirley A. Ferrill
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Charles Hansen
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Thomas Hitchcock
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Gem Holcomb Family
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Charlie Idyk Family
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Patricia B. Langston
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Loren Page
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Greg Palazzolo Family
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Fatima Payton Family
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Michael I. Sloan
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Sarah M. Young
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* Life Member
Click here to
Become a Museum Member
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SeaWorld Waves of Honor: Free admission for veteran and three guests
Extended to
Dec. 31
SeaWorld® San Diego is honoring the men and women who have previously served as members of the U.S. armed services with a special admissions program. Starting July 16 through Dec. 31, the park is offering complimentary admission to military veterans and up to three additional guests.
Veterans must register online at www.WavesofHonor.com in advance, and verify their proof of service through the ID.me qualification process. SeaWorld is working with ID.me to provide an online verification of former military personnel in a secure and privacy-enhancing manner.
Once veterans and their guests have registered online, they can bring their e-tickets directly to the park's entrance turnstiles. Tickets must be obtained and redeemed by Dec. 31, 2015.
To register for your free tickets on their website, Click here
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STAY CONNECTED ON UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON OUR
SOCIAL MEDIA SITES
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Know someone who would like to see this email?
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The Veterans Museum at Balboa Park, 2115 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101
| (619)239-2300 |
[email protected] |
www.veteranmuseum.org
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