Jim Monroe AVHOFS Vice President Class of 2014

I hope this finds you and yours safe and well.  We are certainly living through a very different time for our nation and we all are doing things quite differently than we have in the past.

Our President, Gerry Berger, is traveling and will not be submitting an article for the August Patriot.  I have been in communication with her; she and Ernie are having a great time seeing old friends and attending a wedding.  Safe travels, Gerry.

SCHOLARSHIPS:
You are aware from last month’s Patriot that we were successful in presenting our scholarhips, a procedure that would have been accomplished at the Patriotic Awards Luncheon had the Corona issues not interfered.  I can report that all scholarship checks have been cashed and this process is complete.

AVHOF SELECTION AND INDUCTION OF THE 2020 CLASS:
Several of you have asked the status of those selected for induction into the AVHOF – 2020.   Corona has impacted this process and the Unified Arizona Veterans plans for an induction ceremony.  The UAV issued an update on this matter at their General Meeting last Saturday, July 11.  The update follows:

• AVHOF Nomination Submission Period is now closed for the Class of 2020.
• The AVHOF Screening Panel evaluated 56 nomination submissions and asked 13 Nominators to resubmit their nominations with corrections for next year’s class.
• The AVHOF Selection Panel completed its evaluations of the 43 nominations for this year’s class via a Zoom conference on the 19th of June, recommending 24 outstanding veterans as Selectees.   The UAV Board of Directors certified the list of Selectees and initiated background investigations on the 26th of June.  
• Upon the successful completion of the background checks, the Selectees will be forwarded to the Governor for approval.  If approved by the Governor, the Selectees become Inductees.  This normally happens sometime in August.
• The UAV Chair will then telephone the Nominators of the new Inductees and ask them to notify the Inductees of their selection for this year’s class.  Letters to the Nominators of the non-selectees are mailed at this time, asking that they update their nominations and resubmit them for consideration for next year’s class.
• Due to the continuing and ever-changing guidance on restrictions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, UAV’s Board of Directors conducted a Zoom conference during which the following basic plan for induction of this year’s AVHOF Class was developed:

• The official date of the induction will be on Friday, the 23rd of October, but the inductees will receive their honors at different locations during the last two weeks in October. 
• The state will be divided into three areas: a Northern area, a Southern area, and a Great Phoenix area which will be subdivided into three smaller areas.  A small official party will travel to these areas to make the presentations.  Individual Groups of three to six Inductees in these areas will be honored at 15-minute intervals, keeping within COVID-19 guidelines, including the wearing of masks whenever photographs are not being taken.   
• The Inductee will be allowed to have one person accompany them at the presentation.
• Inductees will receive a presentation box containing all items normally given to an Inductee at a normal Induction Ceremony.

On July 14, I received the following from Dylan Dalzotto, Chairman of the UAV. It further explains plan for the class of 2020.

Dylan J. Dalzotto,Chair, Unified Arizona Veterans AVHOF Class of 2015

Update: ARIZONA VETERANS HALL OF FAME and 2020 INDUCTION

Unified Arizona Veterans (UAV) planners continue to process the 24 files recommended by the 2020 Selection Committee and approved by the Board of Directors (BOD) on this past July 2. Those files have been passed on to an Arizona certified, private investigation firm to conduct background checks on each selected nominee in accordance with due diligence requirements specified in UAV Bylaws and operating instructions. We expect to receive the report from the investigators on or about July 27, after which a review packet will be submitted through the Arizona Department of Veterans Services to the Office of the Governor for final approval. This part of the process in the past has taken up to eight weeks, and no information will be available until it has been completed. We at UAV look forward to sharing the good news with you as soon as all parties have been notified.

Given the Governor’s guidance and COVID-19 restrictions and projected trends, the Board of Directors at the aforementioned meeting formally cancelled the 2020 Induction program which, in a normal year, would attract more than five hundred guests. Instead, a small group including Carol Culbertson ( ’07) , Lea Seago (’13) , Rob Welch (’16) , Reggie Yates (’13) and myself has been charged by the BOD with coordination and conducting separate ceremonies in the Northern (Flagstaff), Central (Maricopa County) and Southern (Tucson) sections of the state before October 31 to honor the Twentieth Anniversary Class. The ADVS Director, Wanda Wright (USAF ret) has graciously agreed to assist along with our partners in the VFW, American Legion and the DAV.

A request has been submitted to the Governor’s Office to proclaim Friday October 23 as Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Day. Each new member will be presented the AVHOF plaque mounted certificate and lapel pin, support pin, the Governor’s Proclamation, congratulatory letters from the UAV Chair and the President of the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society in addition to the engraved AVHOF Medallion. The 2020 class will be recognized at the next actual induction ceremony which will include a class photo. Details on the location and dates for each regional presentation will be posted on the UAV website www.azuav.org, a news release and the Facebook and Twitter social media sites.

Dylan J. Dalzotto
Chair, Unified Arizona Veterans
AVHOF Class of 2015

AVHOFS MEMBERSHIP ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING:
The Annual Business Meeting has tentatively been scheduled for Wednesday, November 4.  The plans for the meeting have not yet been made due to Covid-19 restrictions.  We will take a fresh look at this situation in August and September, making a decision on whether to hold a normal meeting or do a virtual meeting.  The last three Board of Directors meetings have been virtual (ZOOM) meetings and have actually worked very well.  We certainly would like to have a regular meeting when we can all come together to conduct our business and reconnect.  However, we will make a decision on this which keeps everyone’s safety as the primary consideration.  If you have suggestions or comments on this issue, please forward them to me.

Even though times are slow, be assured the Society and your board of Directors remain active.  BoD meetings are now virtual meetings and we are very much engaged in how to continue the business of the Society during these rather trying times.  Please feel free to reach out to us should you have questions, suggestions or concerns.  Be safe out there my friends.

HENRY ONG PASSING:
I am sad to announce that Henry Ong, class 2005, passed away on July 2.  Paula Pedene, class of 2019, produces the weekly AZ Republic column “Veterans Voice”; her column last week was devoted to Henry.  With her permission, the column follows:

Veterans Voice Column
By Paula Pedene

Remembering Ex Prisoner of War Henry Ong Jr.

Henry Ong Jr. in his U.S. Army uniform while in service during World War II.

This week, my heart is a bit heavier as I share the loss of one of my friends, Henry Ong Jr. 

I met Ong in 2002 when he became one of the Phoenix Veterans Day Parade Veteran Grand Marshals.  That year we honored six ex-Prisoners of War.  Ong, a Chinese American, and U.S. Army Tech Sergeant, was captured during World War II when his plane lost altitude and he parachuted to safety, unfortunately landing on enemy soil.

Although he faced many challenges from the year-long suffering he faced as a Prisoner of War, Ong persevered in life. He believed in making the world a better place. He did so through successful business ventures, through community leadership and by being a gracious example of a stalwart friend to the many lives he touched, including mine. 

In recalling his service during World War II, Henry Ong Jr. wrote: “It is still painful to recount the ordeal of August 6, 1943, the prison camps, the Force March and World War Il in general. We were young and strangers to each other, but by the grace of God, we were assembled as a crew and developed a bond of trusting comradeship that would stay for the rest of our lives. I am proud of the members of my crew, the B-24, the Trade Winds, and the B-17. We were the best crew in the Bomb Squadron and had the most completed bombing missions flown before being shot down.”

Ong was liberated by the British Army on May 4, 1945 and reunited with the U.S. troops later. He celebrated the VE-Day (Victory Europe) May 8, 1945 in Brussels, Belgium, precisely a year after his first bombing raid when the target was the Brussels railroad depot.

He returned to America via a Liberty Ship in June of 1945. He was honorably discharged in October 1945 and was the only Chinese American captured as a prisoner of war in the state of Arizona.

Ong and I served on the Phoenix Military Veterans Commission upon its creation in 2004.  I said farewell to him before his passing on July 2 at the age of 98. 

As a tribute, I have posted his story A War Remembered online at https://www.paulapedene.com/blog/remembering-ex-prisoner-of-war-henry-ong-jr/
 
Photo credit:  Photo courtesy of the family of Henry Ong Jr.

Jerry Wojtas AVHOFS Treasurer Class of 2011

In the bottom left hand portion of each check, there is a line to write information about the check.  You might write Century Club or Veterans Court or Scholarships or whatever.  I want to say ‘Thank You’ to those Society members who take an extra step when they send in a check for your Society and complete the line.  Your treasurer appreciates that notation very much.  It makes it easy for me to determine exactly where you want your money to go.

We are making good progress in trying to reach our Century Club goal of $7,500 this year.  As of the end of July we had reached $6,665.40.

I wish to inform you that as of 1 July your Society has adopted an operating budget based on a fiscal year that begins 1 July and ends 30 June the following year.  We did that because that is the way the IRS has us reporting each year.  While we are fortunate that we don’t have to pay any federal taxes, we do have to file to show what happens to any and all funds we receive and spend.  That involves submitting a 30+ page report.

Our monthly financial records are available for any Society member to view.  They are provided on a monthly basis to our Society board members.  Should you have an interested in viewing a monthly report, please contact me and I’ll email the reporting form to you.  You can reach me at 623-544-4477 or by email at jp7wojtas@gmail.com.  And as always, our mailing address is as it appears below.

Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame
4980 S. Alma School Road, Ste, A2-619
Chandler, AZ 85248-5545

Black - up to $100  GREEN - $101-$199   BLUE - $200-$299   RED - $300 and above

The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Country Store will open September 1, 2020 and will remain open for the entire month of September. Please try to submit your requests before the end of September as I will order the requested items as soon as I close the store on September 30th.

Roy McClymonds
AVHOFS Quartermaster
Class of 2017

Kathleen just received a donation of over 100 colorful hair bows for baby girls, and 75 finger toothbrushes.

The AVHOF Society is a major supporter of the MOMS Program (Maternity Outreach for Moms), in conjunction with Veterans First, Ltd. and the Phoenix VA.  Many thanks to the Society for their generous support of our women veterans. 

Request you let us know as soon as you know of an inductee’s passing.  If available, we would like to know the inductee’s name, date of passing, funeral and memorial service details, and a copy of the obituary.  Send notices to Gerry Berger at bergergerry@hotmail.com

Known members that have passed in 2020:
Earl Milford (Class of 2012) passed 19 May
Henry Ong, Jr. (Class of 2005) passed 2 July 
Jose Aldecoa (Class of  2014) passed 19 July
Leo Pimple (Class of 2011) passed 20 July

Many of our Society members are very active in their communities.  You are invited to send me copy-ready articles with good quality pictures of our “members in action”.  Be sure to identify the people in the pictures.  We will select photos with articles as space allows.  Please send to me (Tom Hessler) at tjhessler@cox.net.