Jim Monroe AVHOFS President Class of 2014

As you receive this edition of the Patriot, we are well into the holiday season. I sincerely hope each of you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving and took time to reflect on family and nation. We have all served our country and contributed to keeping it safe and secure while protecting our freedoms and way of life.

I share the following information:

2022 Annual Membership Meeting:   Each year we schedule an Annual Membership Meeting designed to inform membership of the activities and goals of the society. We were compelled to hold the 2021 meeting virtually, and while we had very good participation, we missed the comradery of being together in person. The 2022 meeting will be held at the Doubletree Resort located at 5401 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ  85205 on 13 January. The morning will begin at 9:00 a.m. with a social hour where coffee, juice and a continental breakfast will be available. This is an excellent time to reconnect with your fellow society members and catch up on what each of you are doing. The business meeting will be called to order at 10:00 a.m. A report will be made by the Treasurer and various committee members. New officers will be installed and begin their service. Contrary to past Membership Meetings, we will have a guest speaker. Dr. Alexander White, class of 2014, will be discussing his experiences in WW II as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps. His story is quite unique, and his presentation is one that you would not want to miss. I will be sending detailed information on the meeting to each of you over the next few weeks and I certainly hope to see many of you there.

Nomination Committee Recommends three to serve as Society Directors:
Gerry Berger, Nominating Committee Chairman, has advised that the following members are recommended to serve as Society Directors for the 2022 – 2023 term.

Karen Craig, class of 2020
Roy McClymonds, class of 2017
Peter Kloeber, class of 2018

Election of new directors will be held at the January General Membership Meeting. The elected directors will then take the Oath of Office and begin their service.

Two AVHOFS Members Honored as Grand Marshalls in Veterans Parades

Dr. Alexander White – Grand Marshall of the East Valley Veterans Parade:  Dr. White was selected as Grand Marshall of the East Valley Veterans Parade.

Joan Monroe with Dr. White prior to start of parade.

Dr. Alex B. White, Army veteran, was this year’s East Valley Veterans Parade Grand Marshal.

White was born in 1923 in the Krosno Ghetto in Poland. His family was later moved to the Luftwaffe Labor Camp followed by six months in the concentration camp at Krakow-Plassow. Except for a cousin, his entire family was killed in the holocaust. At 16, White was assigned to German industrialist Oskar Shindler’s factory in the Sudetenland. White was a glazier and a painter, both highly sought-after professions, which he later realized kept him from being killed. He worked there the last six months of the holocaust. He was liberated on the last day of the war, May 8, 1945.

He has said his hunger for knowledge then pushed him to get a medical degree from the University of Munich after which he immigrated to the United States. There he met Inez Libby and they married in 1953. Shortly after, he joined the Army.

Until the movie Schindler’s List came out, White had no idea he was on that list. It took 40 years before he told his son about his wartime experiences. His son encouraged him to write his memoirs, and Dr. White published “Be a Mensch: A Legacy of the Holocaust” in 2004. “Be a mensch” were the last words spoken to him by his father before he was killed at Auschwitz. A ‘mensch’ is a person of integrity and honor; Dr. White has lived by those words. After a long medical career, he and his wife now live in Scottsdale. Dr. White continues to speak and spread his message.

Christine Mahon

Christine Mahon – Army Grand Marshall of the Phoenix Veterans Parade:

AVHOFS Board of Directors member Christine Mahon, class of 2017, was selected as Army Grand Marshall of the Phoenix Veterans Parade. Excerpts from Cronkite News:
Christine Mahon was one of the grand marshals this year at the annual Phoenix Veterans Day Parade.  She was a chief nurse in the Army Reserve for 33 years. Mahon began her service in Phoenix in 1972 and ended her tour in San Diego in 2005. 

Mahon was completing her graduate degree in nursing at Arizona State University and working for a temporary nursing agency when a fellow nurse suggested the Army Reserve.  “And I thought, well sure, I could do that,” said Mahon, whose team was stationed in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm, the U.S. response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait during the Gulf War.  “We were a 300-bed life-and-limb combat support hospital,” Mahon recalled. “We were located 10 miles from the Iraqi border and had one-third of the casualties from 7th Corps. We had everything from very minor injuries to very serious life-threatening injuries.”  The reserve hospital was the only hospital in support of the 7th Corps during the war.  “Most of our patients were Iraqi prisoners of war, which was a challenge. We only had one person that spoke Arabic. They were very frightened of us. They were told we would do terrible things to them … but they were very appreciative of the care.” 

Mahon was the chief nurse of the unit responsible for nursing service.  “I was the first nurse to command at an Army Reserve hospital in California, Nevada, Arizona, so that took a little challenge,” Mahon said, noting she learned “how to deal in a man’s world when women were not always accepted in leadership roles.” Mahon said it’s important to not forget the veterans who died in battle or came home from conflicts with physical and mental scars from their war experiences. Families of veterans also made sacrifices. 

She remembers the heartache of leaving for war, including once when her youngest was 8.  During all her overseas deployments, including Operation Desert Storm in 1991, she kept the letters and drawings her children sent her.  Now, nearly 20 years after retiring from the Army Reserve as a colonel, still thinks about the hugs and tears when she returned home from the fighting.  “I regret not one minute from having done it,” Mahon said of her time in uniform.  Although leaving her family was difficult, she encourages others to do the same. She also wants America to honor military families.

Pat Little-Upah AVHOFS Vice President Class of 2014

For the past 14 years The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society has been proud to sponsor the annual Patriotic Awards Luncheon.  This event honors those non-veterans and companies/organizations who have gone above and beyond to support our veteran community.

We had more nominations this year for the Copper Sword and Copper Eagle awards than in our past history.  All of the nominations were outstanding, and the selection committee had a difficult task in choosing our awardees.

The Copper Sword award honors one non-veteran whose personal actions contributed significantly to the benefit and well-being of our military, our veterans, their families and their survivors, our communities, and our neighbors.  I am proud to announce that the awardee for the 2022 Copper Sword Award goes to Debbie Lee.  Debbie established the non-profit America’s Mighty Warriors in honor of her son Marc who was killed in action 15 years ago.  Her leadership and selfless service over two decades has resulted in America’s Mighty Warriors providing a wide range of support and services to the military community. 

The Copper Eagle Award honors private institutions or organizations which warrant recognition for services rendered to the Arizona Veterans community.  I am proud to announce that the awardee for the 2022 Copper Eagle Award is The Ability Center of Phoenix.  The Ability Center provides modifications to vehicles to allow Veterans to have the independence and mobility they need.  They work closely with the VA and the Veterans they serve.  They also have provided support, funding and events to raise awareness of Veterans needs and support numerous veterans organizations. 

Please save the date Friday, April 1, 2022, to thank and honor these awardees at our 15th Annual Patriotic Awards Luncheon at the Doubletree in Scottsdale. 

Jerry Wojtas AVHOFS Treasurer Class of 2011

With Thanksgiving behind us, we are approaching the Christmas season that comes as another calendar year draws to a close.  For your Hall of Fame Society, it is the mid-point for finances because we operate on a fiscal year calendar.

As we think about our loved ones and the many good times we have shared, I urge you to also think about those who would benefit from your contributing to our Century Club.  The scholarship they might receive on April 1st during our Patriotic Awards Luncheon, would go a long way to addressing college expenses.

The names listed below are Society members who have contributed since 1 July 2021.  We had some additional contributions in November bringing our total for this fiscal year to $6,366.00.  These names and those who contribute between now and 30 June will appear in this column each and every month.

And of course, when mailing anything at all to our Society, PLEASE be sure to use our complete address as shown below.

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

CENTURY CLUB DONATIONS (FY Goal is $10,000. Total to date is $6,366)

BLACK- up to $100  GREEN - $101-$199   BLUE - $200-$299   RED - $300 and above GOLD - $400 and above

Listed below are those who have contributed so far in 2021.

Roy McClymonds AVHOFS Quartermaster Class of 2017

The Country Store is now closed until March.  The Society challenge coins will be available now for $10 each, although they are not shown in the Country Store yet. The Country store catalog can be found on the AVHOF Website.  If you have a problem finding what you want, please feel free to contact me at (480) 694-2425 or my email at ramnpt@cox.net.

During this very busy year a number of “behind –the- scenes” activities have occurred or are in progress expressly to formally organize and structure the initiative to bring a Fisher House to Phoenix. The Fisher House Foundation website currently indicates “Recognized Need” for a facility in Phoenix. In early 2020, the Unified Arizona Veterans (UAV) Board of Directors at the request of Friends of Fisher House (our local interest group)  agreed to accept and hold donations for the project until a 501 (c) (3)  and registration with the Arizona Corporation Commission is accomplished. This important component is in progress spearheaded by David Lucier (2009). UAV Chair Lea Seago (2013) continues to invite support for this much needed asset in her contacts with the veteran’s community and beyond. We are pleased to note that the UAV, the JEWISH WAR VETERANS, courtesy of Mike Chambers and the ARIZONA ASSOCIATION, ARMY SECURITY AGENCY courtesy of Randy Schriver (2020), are our earliest contributors. We encourage UAV member organizations particularly to follow suit. Checks and money orders can be made out to Unified Arizona Veterans, or UAV. The “For” line should be annotated “Fisher House- Phoenix Inc”. The mailing address is:

Unified Arizona Veterans
P.O. Box 34338
Phoenix, AZ 85067

(Those interested in contributing by credit card should access the UAV website, www.azuav.org after December 15, 2021.)

As the title indicates, “Fisher House –Phoenix Inc” identifies the entity which will focus on more substantial individual, group and corporate donations as well as the project centerpiece, land acquisition. Former US Surgeon General (17th) and US Army Special Forces combat wounded veteran Dr. Richard Carmona has been tapped to be the Honorary Chairman for Fisher House- Phoenix. The working group includes retired US Army Colonel Robert Coutchie who was a force in bringing Fisher House to Las Vegas. Familiar Arizona Veterans Hall of Famer activists Pat Little –Upah (2014), Society President Jim Monroe (2014), PR Guru Gordon C. James (2015), Veterans Advocate Annie Remsburg, Michael Welsh (VAMC Phoenix),and Jerry Bernard (UAV Treasurer) are currently seeking veterans and community members to join in leadership and management of this life changing enterprise, which is much needed in the Phoenix area.

For further information , Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society members and friends are encouraged to contact those listed above or Reggie Yates (2013) UAV Board of Directors at : E: ryates173abn@gmail.com; M:602.373.0703. Much appreciated.

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 Jim Monroe at j.c.monroe@cox.net.

Known members that have passed in 2021.