American Legion Post 212 hosted another enjoyable breakfast on Saturday, August 8, sponsored by Cooke-Campbell Mortuary. The morning began with an invocation from Arnold Smallin, Chaplain of the Tri-County Veterans Honor Guard, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Adriana Montoya, commander of the NJROTC at UCHS. Next was the Chow Line, which included eggs, sausage, and biscuits and gravy catered by Food City; and fresh fruit, orange juice, and coffee.

The program commenced with a bit of WWII history: what was VE-Day? (Victory in Europe); when was it? (May 8, 1945). Not only did the high school senior not know the answer, neither did her NJROTC instructor! Jacob redeemed himself by correctly guessing that VJ-Day meant “Victory in Japan”, which occurred on August 15, 1945. Those dates are significant because Breakfast Captain Norman Gillen’s father was transferred from Key West, Florida to Treasure Island, San Francisco after VE-Day to support the war in Japan. He was discharged from the US Navy in January 1946, never having left the United States. This is one of multiple military accounts detailed in “The Walter and Eleanor Gillen Story”, which was one of five door prizes given out.

Emcee Gillen also announced that a National GWOT (Global War on Terror) Memorial is being built near the Lincoln Monument in Washington, DC, scheduled to open in late 2028.

Each branch of service was recognized next, with seemingly equal representation from the Army, Marine Corps, and Navy. A moment of silence followed, in honor of Gold Star families, our Fallen Soldier table, and in memory of Lynn Sexton, a past commander of Post 212 who recently passed away. Arnold Smallin was describing how compassionate Cooke-Campbell Mortuary is toward their clients and that they are so supportive of the Honor Guard, when their funeral director, Doug Osborne, made a surprise appearance to say “Hi and thank you" to the assembled veterans.

The program wrapped up with a reminder to support 33 Hardware’s motorcycle ride, Customer Appreciation Day and car show on Saturday, September 12, following our September breakfast at The American Legion, 140 Veterans St, Maynardville.

One final note – our Food Pantry freezers have been restocked and are filled with frozen chicken breasts and thighs, all FREE! Stop by on Thursday, August 20 from 3-7 PM, or Monday, September 14 from 6–8 PM to pick up some chicken. For any questions, contact adjutant@ALTNPost212.org.