Pat Little-Upah AVHOFS President Class of 2014

Dear Society Members,

Memorial Day is always a time of reflection as we look back and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country.  As I reflect back, I think about my time as a nurse in Vietnam.  When casualties would come in they would always ask you to care for their buddies first even if they needed the help more themselves.  As I reflect back, I know those who did not make it are still asking us to take care of their buddies. I know you are in the Hall of Fame because over the years you have spent countless hours volunteering to do just that.  I ask this Memorial Day that we honor those who did not come home by continuing to respect their wish by taking care of yourselves and your fellow veteran brothers and sisters. 

It is an honor each year for the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society to place a wreath at the National Cemetery.  There are no ceremonies that we participate in that are more important than those on Memorial Day.  I know that many of our membership attended similar ceremonies around the state. Please see the article and pictures on a few of these. 

On June 17th I will be going to the In-Memory Program at the Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C.  This program honors Vietnam Veterans who have passed away after the war due to the effects caused by the war.  I will be honoring my brother David Thomson and will share more about that experience in the next newsletter. I wish we did something similar at every memorial for every war.  Wars do not end for those who have been in the military when the last bullet is fired.  There are after effects that continue to claim lives.   

We are a small but truly dedicated group of Veterans and we would like to learn more about what you are continuing to do and the organizations that you are working with.  Articles can be submitted to either me or Tom Hessler.

If you are struggling with illness or just not able to get out and see others, we want you to know that there are fellow Society members who want to be there for you.  As you know, we do participate in the funeral ceremonies of our fallen members.  I want to thank member Robert Filbey for his help in connecting us with family after the passing of Donald Eskam.  Thank you to member Dean Hager who agreed to present the flag and read the citation at the services on June 3rd in Yuma.  We are working on a plan to collect next of kin information on our membership because it can be difficult to find information in a timely manner when someone passes.

Thank you for all you do for the society, your fellow veterans, and this great country we reside in. 

he 16th Annual Patriotic Awards Luncheon, held on April 28, 2023, was a great success and for those Society members who attended, we hope you enjoyed it!  With just over 300 registered for the event, and 290 in attendance, this was the largest PAL we’ve hosted since 2018. Conducted again at the Doubletree Resort by Hilton in Scottsdale, we received many positive comments about the event, the selection and outstanding achievements and contributions of this year’s Copper Award and scholarship recipients, and the inspiring remarks by our guest speaker, U.S. Air Force Colonel (Retired) Thomas Kirk, Class of 2020.  

This year, we were proud to present two Copper Eagle Awards with the first award going to the Arizona Coalition for Military Families, the organization that created the seamless network of resources we all know as “Be Connected.” The second Copper Eagle Award was given to Mike Nye’s Instrument Repair Shop, a business that helps veterans grow and heal through music. The Society also presented our Copper Sword Award to Lee Huff, an outstanding advocate for veterans. The Unified Arizona Veterans presented their 2023 Copper Shield Award to former Arizona Representative, the Honorable Walter Blackman, and presented their Copper Star Award to Wanda Wright, the former Director of the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services. All of this year’s recipients are known for their engagement with the veteran community and their tireless advocacy and support of Arizona military members, veterans, and their families.

The Society and UAV also presented scholarships to ten outstanding high school students and veteran scholars during the event. With almost $40,000 awarded, this was the largest number of scholarships given in several years!  We are pleased to announce that one of the scholarships presented was given in partnership with the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Department of Arizona. This new $5,000 scholarship is named in honor of U.S. Marine Corps Captain Robert J. Puskar who fought gallantly during the siege of Khe Sanh and at Dong Ha, Vietnam from 1967-1968. He was also an active member of the Scottsdale MOPH Chapter 790 and involved with the Marine Corps Foundation and MOPH National Scholarship Program.  We extend our sincere appreciation to Mrs. Dottie Puskar and the MOPH, and to our special Program/ Scholarship Sponsors and all our Century Club donors who made these scholarships possible.

Another first for the PAL this year was the recognition of two outstanding VA employees. Starting this year, the AVHOFS initiated a program to provide recognition to an outstanding employee at each of the three VA Medical Centers. We received nominations from the Phoenix VA and Northern Arizona VA Medical Centers and selected Mr. Darin George, a Nurse in the Mental Health Unit at the Phoenix VA, and Ms. Shannon Harper, a Logistics Management Specialist at the Prescott VA. In addition to their attendance at the PAL, we will be conducting individual recognition ceremonies at each facility within the next month.

Please join us in congratulating all of this year's award and scholarship recipients – they are each truly deserving of the recognition they received, and we appreciate their contributions and support of Arizona’s veterans. We would like to thank all those who attended the luncheon, the wonderful members of our PAL Committee who spent countless hours preparing for this event, and all our partners and sponsors who continue to support the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society.

For those of you who did not make it this year, we look forward to seeing you in 2024!  If you know a deserving individual, organization, or business, please consider nominating them for next year’s Copper Eagle or Copper Sword awards; the criteria and nominations forms can be found on our website at www.avhof.org  The deadline for submission is October 31st.  Please feel free to contact Pat Little-Upah at patupah@gmail.com if you have any questions on the nominations process or need assistance.

Photos of the PAL can be found on the Society website.

Pat Little-Upah and Karen Craig, PAL Committee Co-Chairs

This is a sample of the new USID Retired and Dependent ID card. (DOD Released)

New cards also now work at TSA Airport Checkpoints. 
The DOD recommends that military retirees and military family members who have identification cards with indefinite expiration dates get the new next generation of the USID card, when convenient, within the next three years. The older, paper-based, green hued ID cards will be phased out and replaced with the next-generation IDs, which are more durable and have enhanced security features, by December 31, 2025.

The new IDs and the active duty’s Common Access Cards now work at Transportation Security Administration security checkpoints at all U.S. airports. A software upgrade resolved a two-year issue with reading the new DOD ID cards. 

National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona

Each year the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society is invited to participate and lay a wreath at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix.  This year Vice President Karen Craig represented the Society in the presentation of the wreath.  The Society was recognized along with other key statewide Veteran organizations represented by Pat Little-Upah, President on stage.   Society member Rick Romley served as the Master of Ceremonies.  Governor Katie Hobbs presented a proclamation and Bradley Phillips, the Executive Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration – Pacific District, did a historical outline of Memorial Day.  Keynote speaker, Sergeant R. J. Mitchell U.S. Marine Corps who served three deployments as a combat veteran and earned the Navy Cross brought the reality of Memorial Day home to the audience.  Sergeant Mitchell told of the losses incurred by his unit as they entered the city of Fallujah, Iraq.  As he was speaking, and I looked out over the audience, I could see how visibly moved many were as they remembered fallen buddies, friends, children, fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sisters and brothers. 

Pat Little-Upah, President and Karen Craig, Vice President with the AVHOFS wreath

Governor Katie Hobbs with President Pat Little-Upah and Gene Crego, Chair of Unified Arizona Veterans

Mountain View Cemetery

Nancy Fassbender Class of 2020 and Chuck Byers Class of 2018 presenting the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society wreath.

On May 29, 2023 Mountain View Cemetery in Mesa, AZ had their Memorial Day event to honor all the fallen soldiers and veterans who are interred there.

It was a fantastic morning.  We had the Josh Roy band performing before the ceremony.  The American Legion Post 27 hosted this event this year and presented the colors.  The AJ Mounted Rangers escorted the flag by horseback and stood at attention throughout the ceremony.  We also had many organizations honoring the fallen and presenting wreaths.  Chuck Byers and Nancy Fassbender presented the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame wreath. The AJHS Navy JROTC presented the 13 folds of the America Flag.

In closing, we had dual trumpets performed by the Apache Junction High School playing TAPS with the white doves being released.  If you would like to see a short video of the highlights, please find it here. 

Nancy Fassbender who is also the coordinator for the Wreaths Across America for the Mountain View Ceremony has started the sponsorship for Wreaths to be laid on December 16th for the Wreaths Across America Remembrance Day.  We will honor all Veterans who are interred at the Mountain View Cemetery.  Those who wish to sponsor a wreath, please go to www.wreathsacrossamerica/az0190p and pay directly there or you can send your check made out to Wreaths Across America to Nancy Fassbender – 4657 S. Desert Dawn Dr.  Gold Canyon, AZ  85118.  The wreaths to sponsor are only $17 each!  If you have any questions, please contact Nancy at 520-280-4715.

Yes, the cubby reporter was traveling last week. This time the cubby reporter went to Washington DC!

I went for a week to attend the May 11th thru the 13h 50th Vietnam War Commemorative National Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans event. WOW… they did such a fantastic job honoring the Veterans.

I asked Jan Snyder, who was the President of our VFW Post 7968 Auxiliary to go with me. What a great traveling partner!

The first day of our week’s stay, we went to Nebraska Breakfast and met with the Congress and Senate personnel from Nebraska and listened to what they are doing on the Capitol hill.

Then we went to the Arlington Cemetery. Although, I had been there before, I can never get enough appreciation for all the Veterans who served and died for our country. We were honored in observing two changing of the wreaths from family members honoring their Veteran as well as the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

One note we found out while touring the Cemetery on the Trolley they have there, is if you go on a weekend, they will take you to the Iwo Jima Memorial. Unfortunately, it was Wednesday when we were there and was unable to go there. The reason it is on the weekends is that they hold about 26 funerals a day during the week.

Thursday thru Saturday, Jan and I enjoyed the Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans event. Jan represented her post, and I represented the AZ Veterans Hall of Fame as well as the Purple Heart Chapter 2560.
This event had two separate fields of booths as well as a section for mobile units. So, there was quite a lot of walking. There was also entertainment going on throughout the 3 days.

Jan and I decided that we would take Uber rides while we were there as the Metro system was not very friendly to the places where we wanted to go. I had never taken an Uber and wow I sure got spoiled quickly. But it was so much cheaper than renting a car, driving in the hectic city, trying to figure out how to get there as well as parking.

I am posting a couple pictures as well as the closing ceremony video. Unfortunately, the video has a lot of blanks in it. Jan and I were honored to be up in the VIP section, and you can see us quite a bit. We are third row back center aisle! The best frontal picture is the feed line of 1:33:45 to 1:33:52! Here is the video!

Sunday, we decided to take the town Trolley and view the city. We hopped off and on a couple of times, but we mainly wanted to listen to the history of the city.

Monday, we took a tour of the Capitol. We had a private tour by one of the staff members, (Scott Sipchen) of Congressman Biggs’ office.

One thing we chuckled at was that DC has restaurants hidden! (At least we thought so!) We saw so many food trucks (see picture) bumper to bumper in the city. So, it was an adventure finding food.

So that wraps up my cubby report! Jan and I came home happy and tired. Each of us are now relaxing in our comfy recliners for a few days. #VWCWelcomeHome23.

Sunland Memorial Park

Jerry Wojtas, AVHOFS Treasurer and a number of society members attended the Sunland Cemetery Services in Sun City.  Members of the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society were recognized during the ceremony.  There was a flyover by the Falcon Warbirds and the cemetery hosted a BBQ afterwards.
Pam and Jerry Wojtas were present along with Sam Young Class of 2012,  Phil Hanson Class of 2004, and George Van de Langeryt Class of 2018. 

John Black (Class of 2016) represented our Society as our flag bearer during the Memorial Day ceremony at the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery.   Major ceremony participants included Sierra Vista Mayor Clea McCaa and Major General Christopher Eubanks, Commanding General of the US Army Network Enterprise Technology Command.

Jerry Wojtas AVHOFS Treasurer Class of 2011

The month of April was consumed by our Society members working to make our Patriotic Awards Luncheon a big success.  Those of you who attended the luncheon know they accomplished their mission.  The Timothy Day Foundation contributed another sizeable amount so that our Century Club goal was reached.  In fact, we now stand at $11,300 contributed to date.  Thank you so much!  Of course, our campaign has another two months to run.  We may have a new target goal for next year! 

This year we awarded $24,500 in scholarships!  That figure far surpasses anything we have awarded in the past.  But we were getting the message from many of you that some people won’t apply if the amount is too small.  We listened to you and sure enough, you were right!

And here is the COMPLETE mailing address that should be used whenever you mail anything to our Society.  If you don’t use the STE. A2-619, which is our P.O. Box, we won’t get your mail! 

ARIZONA VETERANS HALL OF FAME SOCIETY
4980 S. ALMA SCHOOL ROAD
STE. A2-619
CHANDLER, AZ 85248-5545

Below are the members and others who have contributed since 1 July of 2022.  Our Society really appreciates the fact that some of you have started contributing more than once during the year.  Every dollar counts!

CENTURY CLUB DONATIONS (FY 2022-2023 Goal is $11,000. Total to date is $11,300)

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

Roy McClymonds AVHOFS Quartermaster Class of 2017

The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society (AVHOFS) maintains a Country Store for members who want or need items that are AVHOFS specific.  This year the spring country store opened 1 February through 15 March.  The reason for this change is I will not be available 1 May through 15 July and I would like to take care of our member’s requirements.  The Country Store is NOW CLOSED.  We try to open the fall country store shortly before the Induction ceremony.  That way new members can order items that hopefully can be worn shortly after their induction.

The country store catalog can be found on The AVHOFS website.  If you have problems finding what you want, feel free to contact me at (480) 694-2425 or my email at ramnpt@cox.net.

For our members who are active on social media, please note that we’re now on Instagram in addition to the Society Facebook page that we’ve had for several years.  Please find us and keep up with all our activities @AVHOFS

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 Pat Little-Upah at patupah@gmail.com.

Known members that have passed in the past twelve months.