Showing posts with label veterans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label veterans. Show all posts

VFW officers offered Buddy Poppies at two local grocery stores this Memorial Day weekend

Monday, May 29, 2023

Newly elected 2023-24 officers of VFW Post 3348

As is traditional here, the members of VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Post 3348 offered Buddy Poppies and accepted donations for VFW programs in support of veterans.

This year VFW members were at Fred Meyer on Aurora and Town and Country at Shoreline Place. They offered the red paper poppies and small American flags.

The Buddy Poppies are made by disabled veterans. Poppies became associated with veterans who died on foreign soil with the poem by John McCrae, inspired by the brilliant poppy blooms among the rows of graves of American and Canadian soldiers in Flanders Field in Belgium during World War I.


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CORRECTION: MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE AT EVERGREEN WASHELLI AT 11am Monday, May 29, 2023 - flag placement at 10am

Sunday, May 28, 2023


Please join us for the 97th Annual Memorial Day celebration at Evergreen Washelli, 11111 Aurora Ave N, Seattle WA 98133. 

At 10am, We will have a flag placement at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery on the Washelli side. 

Veteran and Scout groups, along with members of the community, will place the flags at each of the markers in the Veterans Cemetery. The public is invited to witness and participate in this event. 

At 11am, we will have a Service of Remembrance. This will be a brief memorial service, including participation from the Washington State Guard, and members of the NW Junior Drum and Pipe Band. 



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Memorial Day Service at Acacia Memorial Park in Lake Forest Park

Saturday, May 27, 2023

Doves released during Memorial Day services at Acacia
Photo by Jerry Pickard
11:00 AM Annual Memorial Day Service
ACACIA MEMORIAL PARK and FUNERAL HOME

Please join us this Memorial Day Monday for our annual service at 11:00am on the grounds of Acacia Memorial Park for our annual Memorial Day Service. 

It is good that we gather as community to remember, honor, and celebrate those who gave their all in service to our country along with those whom we love who are no longer with us in this physical realm. 

For more information call 206-362-5525


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Memorial Day Service at Floral Hills

Floral Hills Veterans' Memorial photo courtesy Purdy and Walters

Memorial Day Service - Purdy and Walters at Floral Hills

Monday, May 29, 2023, at 11:00am, veterans, their families, and the public will gather for a Service of Remembrance at our Veterans Memorial site located in the cemetery at 409 Filbert Rd. Lynnwood, WA 98036

  • Saturday, May 27 at 10:00am, volunteers will place flags on the graves of veterans.
  • Monday, May 29 at 10:30am, the Service of Remembrance begins with a band concert performed by the Eagles and Letter Carriers Band. Our guest speaker this year is Shawn Baza, Navy (Retired).
  • Members of the Sno-King Chapter #423 Vietnam Veterans of America, and Purdy and Walters at Floral Hills present the program.

This event is open to the public.


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Memorial Day Luncheon and program at Senior Activity Center on Friday, May 26, 2023 free to all veterans

Friday, May 19, 2023


MEMORIAL DAY LUNCHEON, FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2023, 11:30am – 1:30pm at Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Senior Activity Center, 18560 1st Ave NE, Shoreline WA 98155.

Free to all veterans and their partners but RSVP is required by Monday May 22, 2023 by calling 206-365-1536

Keynote speaker Naval Station Everett
Commanding Officer Captain Joshua Menzel
Keynote Speaker Captain Joshua Menzel, originally from Frontier, Michigan, enlisted in the Navy in 1993, and was commissioned through the Nuclear Enlisted Commissioning Program in 1998.

At sea, he has served as Reactor Officer onboard USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70), Commanding Officer and Executive Officer onboard USS SPRUANCE (DDG 111), Reactor Training Assistant onboard USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76), Operations Officer onboard USS HOWARD (DDG 83), Reactor Mechanical Division Officer onboard USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72), and Damage Control Assistant onboard USS JOHN A MOORE (FFG 19).

Ashore, he served as an analyst for the Office of the Secretary of Defense - Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (OSD-CAPE), Assistant Surface Community Manager (PERS 41M), and on the Commander Naval Air Forces staff.

In July 2021, Menzel took command of Naval Station Everett.

CAPT Menzel earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Idaho and a Master in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University.

His decorations and awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (2 awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (5 awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (3 awards), and various unit awards and service ribbons.


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King County Council approves sending renewal of Veterans, Seniors and Human Services levy to voters in August

Saturday, May 6, 2023


The King County Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to send to voters a proposal to renew the Veterans, Seniors and Human Services levy for another six years. The current levy is set to expire at the end of 2023.

After the passage of the Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy renewal proposal by the King County Council, Executive Dow Constantine issued the following statement:

"I want to thank the King County Council for endorsing this critical renewal today and look forward to voters having their say in August. 
"Through this levy, we can continue to meet veterans’ basic needs, build connections among seniors, and support housing affordability, healthy living, and financial stability across communities.”

The proposal would start out at the same levy rate of $0.10 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2024, and would be projected to generate approximately $564.7 million during the six-year period. 

At that rate, the levy would cost an estimated $83.75 in property tax in 2024 to the owner of a median-valued home in King County (based on 2022 median value of $694,000).

With Tuesday’s approval by Council, the proposal will now be placed on the August ballot for King County voters.


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Gravesite Memorial held for WWII Veteran and Shoreline resident Joseph Mehelich

Sunday, April 23, 2023

21 gun salute for Joe Mehelich
By Doug Cerretti
Photos by Steven H. Robinson 
except as noted

World War II veteran Joseph (Joe) Peter Mehelich, a resident of Shoreline, WA passed away December 20, 2022 at the age of 99, three weeks shy of his 100th birthday. 

A gravesite memorial to honor Joe was held at Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery March 18, 2023 under the direction of Major General Ray Coffee, United States Volunteers-Joint Service Command (USV-JSC). 

Attendees from USV-JSC and Shoreline Fire Dept,
Station 65. Photo by Doug Cerretti
Participating in the ceremony were members of the Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Funeral Honors team and the 50th MP BN (D) and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8870 Rifle Honor Guard under command of Captain Frank Martinez.

In attendance were members of the Starr Sutherland, Jr Post 227 of The American Legion, members of USV-JSC, representatives from the Shoreline Fire Department, Station 65 (who mutually visited each other for years) and Joe’s daughters Marilyn Peck and Shirley Sell, grandchildren and great-children, additional family members, as well as friends and neighbors.

Artist Michael Reagan and Joe’s daughter Shirley Sell.
Pastor Tom Ruhlman and Major General Ray Coffey
in the background. Photo by Doug Cerretti
Pastor Tom Ruhlman from the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Shoreline, WA gave the eulogy followed by a 21-gun salute and a bugler sounding taps. 

The JBLM Funeral Honors team then made precisely 13 folds of the United State Flag (in remembrance of the original 13 colonies) as Major General Coffey read the meaning of each fold. 

Presentation of the Flag to Joe’s daughter Marilyn Peck
The team then presented the flag to Marilyn Peck. Captain Martinez presented Marilyn with three cartridges, one from each volley used during the 21-gun salute.

After the ceremony the JBLM Funeral Honors team stated that, “It was a privilege to conduct the flag presentation ceremony for this great man, we are all very grateful and honored to have been there.”

Joe was born January 11, 1923 in Montana on a rural farm with no running water or electricity. 

During the Great Depression Joe’s family did better than most as they could live off the land; Joe would trap rabbits and sell what the family did not need for $1 each. 

Joe Mehelich in WWII
Joe was drafted into the US Army in 1941. Little did he know that his combat experience would span almost the entire operation of the US Army in the western hemisphere. 

He started with General George Patton’s army in North Africa followed by the invasion of Sicily eventually ending up in Rome. 

He was then transferred to England where he was in the first wave at Omaha Beach on D-Day June 7, 1944

Only Joe and a couple of other soldiers survived from his landing craft. 

Joe rejoined Patton in the 3rd Army, breaking out of the D-Day beaches through France. 

He then participated in the Battle of the Bulge. Joe’s combat ended when he greeted the Russians at River Elbe signifying the end of the war.

The bugler playing "Taps"
Beginning at Omaha Beach, he was involved in 282 days of intense combat over a period from June 1944 through April 1945. 

Joe was a tank commander and medic and was on speaking terms with General Patton who would take in Joe’s advice and reports on tank operations in his sphere of influence. 

For his service to his country Joe received the Silver Star, Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. He received five stars on his Europe-Middle East-Africa campaign ribbon signifying the number of combat operations he participated in.

Portrait of Joe Mehelich by Michael Reagan
After a honorable discharge from the army, Joe moved with his parents to the Seattle area eventually getting a job with Pioneer Sand and Gravel and soon met and married Helen Bolstad in 1947. 

Joe lived most of his years in Shoreline, WA where he was a beloved member of the community. Joe and Helen had five children, 14 grand-children and 23 great-grandchildren. Helen passed away in 2016.

On a personal note, I had the honor to meet Joe last October when fellow American Legion member Larry Fischer invited me to join him in one of his frequent visits to his house. 

Joe mentioned how much respect he had for General Patton but little else of his wartime experiences. He probably did not want to remember all that he saw. 

Before Larry and I left, we told him we would be at his 100th Birthday Party. I was hoping to see Joe again.

Ceremonial folding of the flag

What kind of man was Joe?
He once came upon a German soldier on the battlefield lying wounded. He treated him and took him to a location where his fellow German soldiers would find him. The soldier asked Joe why he helped him and Joe said, “Because you needed help and I don’t hate you.”

Rest in Peace Joseph Peter Mehelich!

(Previous article on the occasion of Joe's 95th birthday)


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Fighters in Eastern Ukraine - Heroes' Café presentation

Saturday, April 15, 2023

Carl Larson shows where he served in eastern Ukraine. The ORKS are what they call Russians.
Photo by Dough Cerretti
Story by Jean Albertson,
Retired school teacher, Seattle Schools
Photos provided by Carl Larson, except as noted

I attended Heroes' Café Shoreline last Tuesday, April 11, 2023 and heard an American service man named Carl Larson, an US Army veteran of the Iraq war.

Larson's German comrade
was killed by artillery fire
He had just returned from an eight-month duty in Ukraine as a member of the International Legion for Defense of Ukraine. 

It was a privilege to meet him, and in doing so, put a face to all the news I hear, that can otherwise seem somewhat ambiguous.

The photos he took on the front lines while there showed a portrayal of what is really happening. He shows the face of a fellow soldier from Germany in his unit that was hit by artillery and killed, after 45 minutes of trying to cling to life.

A French soldier eating a tin of sardines
Photo by Carl Larson
There is another of a soldier from France sitting in a trench eating from a can of sardines (to him that was an absolute luxury.) 

If it weren’t for these heroic men and women holding back forces on enemy lines, we could be living in similar situations as those European countrymen.

Instead of deciding what to have for dinner tonight, we could be asking, “Will I have dinner tonight?”

As citizens in the US, we live privileged life styles in this free country and many feel entitled to them.

Members of International Legion for Defense of Ukraine, they come from all over the world.
So many lives unfortunately, were sacrificed for the freedoms we have today. I for one know it’s all too easy to sit back while listening to the news as others do, and think of it as “their problem.” 

 Carl’s Ukrainian Army Shoulder Patch
Western European countries know all too well from history (and the present) the threats close to them and what the future may bring.

It all appears distant to us. The world has seemingly gotten smaller, and there may be a potential knocking at the back door; that our freedom could be lost as well.

To support the Defense of Ukraine, go to this link for more information: https://www.spot.fund/UkraineDefenseSupport



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“Painting Away The Trauma Ii” Exhibition spotlights art created by veterans - April 26, 2023 at Shoreline Community College

Friday, April 14, 2023

Artwork created by Puget Sound area veterans engaged in art therapy will be spotlighted at "Painting Away the Trauma II" exhibition presented by WA AmeriCorps Vet Corps and Shoreline Community College. 

The exhibition will feature creative works illustrating what the military experience was like for veterans and how the arts and creative projects provide a platform to build community and connection. 

For more information, email vcn@shoreline.edu

Special guest veteran artist Michael Reagan of Edmonds has raised millions of dollars for charities across the country, primarily through his artwork. 

Through his The Fallen Hero Portrait Project, Reagan has created more than 8,700 portraits of the Fallen, free of charge for their families. 

Reagan will open the event with remarks and will be on hand displaying several of his works.



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U.S. veteran who fought in Ukraine will speak at Heroes' Café Tuesday April 11, 2023

Friday, April 7, 2023

Carl Larson fought in Ukraine
Shoreline Veterans Association and Heroes' Café is proud to host Carl Larson, U.S. Army Veteran of Iraq and a Veteran of the International Legion for Defense of Ukraine who will speak on his 'Personal Experiences from the Front,' Tuesday, April 11, 2023. 

Carl returned last August after several months at the front in eastern Ukraine. He was born and raised in the greater Seattle area.

Heroes' Café Shoreline is held the second Tuesday of every month from 9:00am to 1:00pm at the Seattle Scottish Rite Center, 1207 N 152nd Street, Shoreline, WA 98133

Coffee and Pastries (WINCO) will be available at 9:00am with lunch provided by Laurel Cove Retirement Community at 11:30am.

A Veteran program will start at 10:00am with a Formal Opening, Flag Salute and POW/MIA Flag Placement.

April birthdays will be acknowledged.

Veterans, Family, Friends and the Community are welcome. There is no cost for his event. Heroes' Café is unique among veterans' organizations in that there is nothing to join, you just show up.


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World War II Veteran and Shoreline resident Merlin Staatz is recipient of the Home Depot Foundation’s Campaign to Support Veterans

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Merlin Staatz with Team Depot. Photo by Shelley Staatz

By Doug Cerretti

WWII veteran and Shoreline resident Merlin Staatz was a recipient of the Home Depot Foundation’s Campaign, which aims to provide life-changing moments of support for individual veterans. 

Merlin, a member of Shoreline Post 227 of The American Legion, was honored to receive support from The Home Depot Foundation’s Campaign. 

Team Depot member working
on a flower bed.
Photo by Shelley Staatz
Team Depot, The Home Depot’s associate volunteer force made landscaping improvements, clearing out flower beds, replacing plants and laying out new bark. 

The project started last January and continued last week. The coordinator of the project was Perri DeMeritt, Home Depot Associate and Community Outreach Liaison. 

Shelley Staatz said, “My Dad is very thankful for the time and effort of Perri, Team Depot and the Home Depot Foundation.”

Merlin was born in Woodbine, Kansas in 1926 and enlisted in the US Army in 1944 at age 18. He soon joined the 43rd Infantry Division in the Philippines and was wounded as an Army scout, receiving the Purple Heart. 

After being honorably discharged, Merlin used the GI bill to obtain a bachelor’s degree at Emporia Teachers Collage and a master’s degree from Pittsburg State College. 

With degrees in hand, Merlin taught industrial arts in schools in Kansas, Oregon and Washington including King’s High School in Shoreline. He retired from teaching after 25 years.

Doug Cerretti and Merlin Staatz testing out the Home Depot donated bench they assembled.
Photo by Shelley Staatz

Giving back to veterans is personal to The Home Depot as more than 35,000 of the company’s associates are veterans or military spouses. 

Over the past 10 years, The Home Depot Foundation has helped renovate and enhance more than 50,000 veteran homes and facilities nationally, ensuring more of our nation’s heroes have a safe, comfortable place to call home that fits their individual needs.



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Heroes' Café hears from Carol Janssens and Faith about volunteering with Red Cross to aid Hurricane Ian victims

Monday, March 20, 2023

Service dog Faith wearing her 
Heroes' Cafe badge
Photo by Doug Cerretti
By Doug Cerretti

Carol Janssens and her four-legged friend, Faith, are volunteers for the American Red Cross Northwest Region. 

Faith, a Labrador, is trained as a support and therapy dog. They have two areas of expertise. The first is the Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) program which supports military personnel, veterans, and families including monthly visits to Heroes Café in Shoreline and Heroes Café in Lynnwood. 

Their second function is disaster relief: sheltering and reunification of families after fires and natural disasters such as tornadoes, floods and hurricanes. 

Damage around Ft. Myers
Photo courtesy of Carol Janssens
At Heroes Café Shoreline last Tuesday, March 14, 2023 Carol told attendees about their deployment to Florida after Hurricane Ian last fall. 

Hurricane Ian was the third-costliest weather disaster on record and the deadliest hurricane to strike Florida. 

The American Red Cross Northwest Region deployed 27 volunteers including Carol and Faith. 

After landing in Orlando, the team rented cars and drove to Ft. Myers near the center of destruction and joined FEMA in disaster relief.

Carol Janssens and Faith
Photo by Doug Cerretti
The destruction was widespread with 1000s of families in need. Carol served as the Reunification Manager directing 19 team members to help in the reunification of families. 

With power outages and cell towers destroyed communication was impossible except for the phone service Carol’s team had which allowed families to communicate with each other i.e., to let their families know they were safe. 

They also made wellness visits, arranged for doctor visits if needed and acquired needed medicines. 

Carol and Faith stayed in one of three FEMA tents which housed 2000 people. Fortunately, the tents were air conditioned as the temperatures in the Ft. Myers area rose to 90 degrees.

The dining tent fed 2000 aid workers
A fourth tent served as a dining hall and specialized trailers were on site that provided bathrooms with flush toilets (much better than Honey Buckets), showers and laundromats. 

After 2 ½ weeks Carol and her team moved to a hotel once their power was restored. 

Volunteers were given debit cards and encouraged to visit restaurants and stores to help the local economy. Carol and Faith returned home after 4 ½ weeks.

Legion member Fred Cornelius, Jr shared a
photo of his home near Ft. Myers
At the end of Carol’s talk, Shoreline’s American Legion Post 227 member Fred Cornelius, Jr. related that his house and car in North Port, 20 miles from Fr Myers was severely damaged. 

Only now, 6 months after the hurricane was Fred able to get a new roof and is now able to repair the extensive water damage to the interior. 

Mold fills the interior of Fred's home,
a result of 19 inches of rain and no roof.
Photo courtesy Fred Cornelius, Jr.
That happens when you get 19 inches of rain with no roof. Fred said it will take a long time for he and others to recover as there is a scarcity of most everything: contractors, building materials, gasoline and groceries. 

Food trucks make daily visits to his community. Power has not been restored in many areas and several roads are still impassible. Carol said that it will take years for things to get back to normal and for some, it may never get back to normal.

It will take years for Ft. Myers to get back to normal
It should be noted that the vast majority of American Red Cross people like Carol are volunteers. They are not paid except for expenses, whether helping families find housing after a local apartment building fire or traveling 3300 miles to Florida to aid hurricane victims. What a wonderful group of dedicated people!

To help the American Red Cross mission please donate money or, just as important, donate blood as there is a critical shortage. 

BLOOD DRIVE 

The Starr Sutherland, Jr Post 227 of The American Legion, 14521 17th Ave NE, Shoreline, WA 98155, is sponsoring a blood drive from 1 pm to 6 pm Friday, March 24, 2023. You can make your reservations for the Blood Drive using the "Shoreline" sponsor code at www.redcrossblood.org.

Heroes' Cafe Shoreline meets the second Tuesday of every month from 9:00am to 1:00pm at the Seattle Scottish Rite Center, 1207 N 152nd St, Shoreline, WA 98133. Veterans, Family, Friends and the Community are welcome.



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Red Cross blood drive Friday March 24, 2023 at American Legion

BLOOD DRIVE
 
The Starr Sutherland, Jr Post 227 of The American Legion, 14521 17th Ave NE, Shoreline, WA 98155, is sponsoring a Red Cross blood drive from 1pm to 6pm Friday, March 24, 2023. 

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Heroes' Café Shoreline hears about service dog program for veterans

Thursday, February 23, 2023

U.S. Army veteran with his service dog
By Doug Cerretti

Heroes' Café Shoreline was proud to host Don Lachman, US Army veteran, who spoke about his work with Brigadoon Service Dogs, February 14, 2023. 

Brigadoon Service Dogs, located in Bellingham, WA, provides trained service dogs for veterans, children, and adults with physical, developmental, and behavioral health disabilities to promote a more independent and enriched life. 

Don has been associated with Brigadoon Service Dogs for 15 years as a board member and volunteer veterans' advisor. Founded in 2004, Brigadoon Service Dogs has placed over 70 service dogs and has achieved accreditation with Assistance Dogs International, the industry professional standard for service dog programs. 

Don Lachman speaking at Heroes' Cafe
Shoreline. Photo by Doug Cerretti
Don explained to approximately 70 Heroes' Café attendees that there are three types of support dogs, service dogs, therapy dogs and emotional support dogs. 

Support dogs have the highest level of training and are the only ones that have complete access with their handlers even in places where “no dogs are allowed” and in airlines for example.

Service animals are trained to work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. The dog’s training is tailored to their future handler’s needs, such as retrieving objects, helping to manage anxiety and stress, and improving mobility and turning on lights or opening doors. 

Support dogs are highly trained and well disciplined, in laymen terms, they pass the “squirrel test” whereas lessor trained would not. The best breeds for service dogs are Smooth Collies, Golden Labs, Standard Poodles and Labrador Retrievers. Don mentioned that Poodles seems to be the smartest. Interestingly, offspring of support dogs turn out to be good candidates for service dog training.

Don with service dog candidate “Lil Donnie”
Brigadoon Service Dogs initiated a program in 2012 for veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and/or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). 

Veterans who are diagnosed with these conditions have a difficult time handling the stress and the memories of the events which affected their ability to perform day to day functions, interact normally with family and friends and maintain gainful employment. 

The name of this program is CHI – Canines and Heroes' for Independence. When teamed with a well-mannered service dog, the veteran is able to receive a vitally important reality affirmation when the dog is summoned. Tactile stimulation can be very calming in stressful situations. 

In addition, the dogs can be trained to nudge his partner to “snap” the veteran out of a frozen moment caused by anxiety, or wake him up from a nightmare or night terrors by turning on a light. 

In public situations, the veteran can give a cue for the dog to stand between himself and other people to reduce his anxiety. 

Service dogs are supplied at no cost to veterans.

Incarcerated veterans work to train service dogs
In a very unique program, Brigadoon Service Dogs manages four prison programs with the Washington Department of Corrections at Cedar Creek Corrections Center in Littlerock, WA, Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen, WA, Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, WA and Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell, WA.

In these programs the dogs are trained by inmates under the supervision of a Brigadoon trainer. 

Each candidate dog has training and behavior benchmarks. The dogs reside with the inmates, who are responsible for their care, including grooming.

The training program at Stafford Creek Corrections Center is unique in that incarcerated veterans serve as trainers for dogs that will go to a veteran. The focus is on raising and training service dogs for veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iran who are suffering from PTSD, TBI and/or mobility issues. 

This program benefits many – the animals who are trained to become service dogs, the client that the dog is placed will gain confidence, independence and self-worth, and the inmate who is given an opportunity to learn new skills that can lead to gainful employment on release. It’s Veterans helping Veterans. 

Don said that many of these inmates become some of the best trainers. In fact, Brigadoon Service Dogs recently hired one of these veteran inmate trainers when he was released.

Shoreline Veterans Association Chair Ray Coffey presenting
Certificate of Appreciation to Don Lachman for his presentation
 on Brigadoon Service Dogs. Photo by Doug Cerretti
It takes 16 months to two years to train a service dog at a cost of around $30,000. Brigadoon Service Dogs raises funds through grants, private donors, veteran organizations, an annual auction, hosted fundraisers and Brigadoon Biscuits. 

Starr Sutherland, Jr. Post 227 of The American Legion in Shoreline, WA is providing funds to feed two dogs being trained by veteran inmates that will be given to a veteran in need. For more information go to https://www.brigadoondogs.org

Heroes' Café is a monthly gathering for all veterans to focus on fostering positive outreach, interaction, and welfare within their neighboring community.

Heroes Cafe Shoreline meets the second Tuesday of every month from 9:00 am to 1:00pm at the Seattle Scottish Rite Center, 1207 N 152nd St, Shoreline WA 98133. Veterans, Family, Friends and the Community are welcome.

Photos courtesy of Don Lachman and Brigadoon Service Dogs except as noted



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Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services levy up for renewal

Monday, February 20, 2023

King County Executive Dow Constantine announced his proposal to renew the six-year Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services levy (VSHSL) that builds on the investments made over the past 18 years and ensures a wide range of programming. 

Programming that helps people and families transition to affordable housing, get job training, find employment, access emergency financial assistance, obtain domestic violence advocacy, receive behavioral health treatment, and other resources and services. 

The proposed levy maintains the existing tax rate.

The first Veterans and Human Services Levy passed in 2005, and since renewed in 2017 with the addition of senior services, has successfully served more than 27,000 veterans, servicemembers, and their families with fewer eligibility barriers than many federal programs. 

The funding reached more than 100,000 seniors through expanded senior programming, funded 675 bonuses focused on employee retention at 55 human services agencies, and launched DVHopeline, a countywide, 24-hour multi-lingual and multimodal domestic violence hotline that received 16,000 calls or texts and referred nearly 7,000 of those to additional support.

“For those who served our nation in the armed forces, and those that built our community into what it is today, this levy is the opportunity to ensure that no person is left behind in King County,” said Executive Constantine. 
“Together we can continue our investment into the 300 programs led by more than 150 community-based organizations – organizations that help ensure seniors have connection to community and veterans have a place to call home. This levy has helped more than 185,000 people in the last six years and I’m excited to see what it can do in the future.”

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Salomon bill would allow psilocybin use among adults over age 21 under supervision

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Sen. Jesse Salomon D-32
OLYMPIA—Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline) has introduced SB 5263 which would legalize and regulate the supervised use of psilocybin and make it available for wellness purposes. 

It would allow people aged 21 and over to undergo a psychedelic experience at a registered facility with appropriate supervision.

A previous version of the bill introduced during the 2022 legislative session failed to advance past committee. Like the previous bill, the 2023 version regulates supported adult use which has been shown in FDA-approved studies to provide users a safe and effective method to alleviate symptoms of depression, addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health disorders. 

Psilocybin has been shown to be effective at easing fear and anxiety in people with terminal illness and has also proven to increase emotional empathy, creative thinking, mindfulness, and insightfulness in patients.

This time around, the bill has already gained ample support across the political spectrum ranging from left to center to right. Almost half of the Senate has already signed on as co-sponsors, including two Republicans, the Senate majority leader, and the chair of the Labor and Commerce Committee, which will be hearing this bill.

“Combat veterans with PTSD and people recovering from addiction or mental health issues like long-term depression have been very vocal about how psilocybin has dramatically improved their lives when all kinds of more common therapy didn’t work for them,” said Salomon. 
“We are trying to integrate an ancient product into our relatively new system of health and law. With so many people in mental health crises, we can’t afford to deny them a safe and well-regulated path to wellness.”

SB 5263 is modeled after Oregon’s Measure 109 and Colorado’s Proposition 122. After close observation of Oregon’s law, valuable lessons were learned as to what will work best for this bill.

In a state where many residents live with mental illness and a large number have seen their mental health decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Salomon views psychedelic usage — monitored by trained professionals — as a key to healing for some people.

“We need to make sure there is a safe and responsible process to legally participate in psilocybin use in our state,” Salomon added.

Veterans have become leading advocates in the push to allow legal access to psilocybin, sharing personal stories about how their own experiences with psychedelics have helped them cope with trauma and helped treat their anxiety and depression.

The bill is expected to get a hearing in the Legislature in the next weeks.

Sen. Jesse Salomon, D-Shoreline, represents the 32nd Legislative District, which includes Lynnwood, Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, Seattle, Shoreline, Woodway, and unincorporated Snohomish County.



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It’s a Wonderful Life and Major Jimmy Stewart

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

By Doug Cerretti

One of the many things we do during the Holidays is watch Christmas movies. It’s a Wonderful Life starring Jimmy Stewart is on the top of my list. 

It’s a Wonderful Life is an example of the darker post-WWII movies reflecting the experiences of WWII. 

The movie was released in 1946 to mixed reviews and was unsuccessful at the box office, in part due to this dark nature with a theme of suicide during Christmas, “you're worth more dead then alive,” as Mr. Potter said.

Maj. Jimmy Stewart
Over the years, of course, it become a Christmas and cinema classic. 

This was the first movie Major Jimmy Stewart made after returning home from WWII. 

You may not have known that Stewart pulled strings to become a pilot in the Army Air Corps (he was too old) and additional strings to fly in combat (who wants to have a movie star KIA under your watch?). 

Stewart was a B-24 Bomber pilor
Stewart was assigned to the 8th Air Force as a B-24 Bomber pilot, 703rd Squadron Commander and 445th Bomb Group operations officer. 

He flew 20 missions over Europe and felt responsible for every airman that was lost under his command. 

Like many veterans he carried this emotional load home and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) although it was not recognized then. 

So when you watch It’s a Wonderful Life or any post-WWII jimmy Stewart movie think about this nuance. 

Below is a link to an article by Dave Kindy published December 2020 about Jimmy Stewart’s war years. 

Just another reason he is one of my favorite actors.

Dave Kindy (12/21/2022) Jimmy Stewart Owed His Most Memorable Holiday Performance to World War II.

Photos from HistoryNet.com



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After 100 years, together again

Monday, December 12, 2022

Myra Kinzie's remains sat at Butterworth
Funeral Home for 110 years. Photo by Doug Cerretti
Butterworth Funeral Home and Cemetery, a provider within the nationwide network of Dignity Memorial (funeral, cremation and cemetery locations) has been working with the volunteers of Missing in America Project (MIAP) over the past two years to identify the unclaimed cremated remains of veterans, spouses of veterans and dependents of veterans who had been left at Butterworth in Seattle and who were eligible to be interred with military honors in a national or state veterans cemetery.

123 of them were recently interred at Evergreen Washelli in North Seattle. See our previous article by Douglas Cerretti

Now Doug provides a follow up to the story

If you remember Myra Kinzie’s (1/8/1851-11/1/1912) unclaimed remains were 110 years old. She was the widow of Capt John Kinzie, US Army and a veteran of the Indian Wars. 

I had wondered what happened to him and I found out in the Spokesman-Review article that was published when the remains were transported to the Washington State Veterans Cemetery. 

John Kinzie (8/19/1850-8/10/1914) died two years after her and his unclaimed remains were interred at Washington State Veterans Cemetery five years ago. 

They had been separated over 100 years at different funeral homes. They are together now.

Commandant Kinzie with ROTC cadets at Washington State College
John and Myra were married April 17, 1872, he was 21 and she was 20 before his graduation from West Point. After retiring from the Army John became ROTC Commandant in 1898 at Washington State College, Pullman, WA (now Washington State University) and afterwards joined the Washington National Guard in Olympia.


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988 Lifeline license purchase supports suicide prevention for veterans

Thursday, December 8, 2022

Veterans advocates, mental health experts, and state agencies convened this week to reveal a new license plate emblem available for Washington drivers: “988 Lifeline – There is Hope!” Emblem funds support veteran suicide prevention efforts.

Washingtonians are invited to purchase a new license plate design to support suicide prevention. The new “988 Lifeline – There Is Hope!” license plate emblem was unveiled Tuesday by the state departments of Licensing and Veterans Affairs and Health. The new plate costs $18 and proceeds support veteran suicide prevention efforts.

Nearly one in five veterans lives with post-traumatic stress disorder, and veterans are lost to suicide disproportionately. Approximately 125,000 American veterans have been lost to suicide since 2001.

Gov. Jay Inslee accepted a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) challenge two years ago with a goal to reduce veteran suicides. Establishment of the 9-8-8 veteran support option and public awareness campaigns may let veterans know they have someone to call in a moment of crisis. Purchase and display of the new license plate may save a life.

988 is the nationwide, three-digit dialing code for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, introduced in July of this year. (see previous article)

The 988 dialing code connects people via call, text, or chat, to the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) where compassionate, accessible care and support are available for anyone experiencing mental health-related distress. 



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Pearl Harbor Day, December 7

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Dwight Stevens
By Doug Cerretti

Eighty-one years ago on December 7, 1941, future B-17 pilot and West Seattle High School senior Dwight Stevens* spied his future wife and future Boeing employee, sophomore Helen Braas* from a distance.

Helen Braas
He was surprised to see her this Sunday morning, as they had no plans to meet. 

She of course told him what she just heard on the radio, the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

Dwight said in an understatement, “I think our lives are really going to change.”

Ralph Henry Keil
Eighty-one years ago Seaman 1st Class Ralph Henry Keil, cousin of Shoreline resident Kathie Keil Crozier, was probably getting ready to go to breakfast aboard the USS Oklahoma when disaster struck at 7:50am. 

The attack at Pearl Harbor sank the USS Oklahoma with the loss of 429 Oklahoma sailors including Ralph Henry Keil. 

Keil’s remains were not identified until 2019.

There is a memorial brick for him in the Shoreline Veterans Recognition Plaza adjacent to the Council Chambers at Shoreline City Hall, 17500 Midvale Ave N.

On December 7, 2022, take time to think about those who served and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

*Dwight and Helen Stevens were long time residents of the Echo Lake Neighborhood in Shoreline.



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