Goodbye to the Post

To the editor:
The Official American Legion Department Of Indiana notification was short and to the point. Due to the fact that Redkey Post 401 had not sent any certification of Post officers to the Department of Indiana for over two years, and had not transmitted any membership cards to the Department in over a year, the decision was put to the floor of the Department Executive Committee in the annual mid winter conference to pull the Post’s Charter.
That short statement is a sad final chapter to a long and honored tradition of service to the community by a once vibrant and integral part of the fabric of a small town.
I returned home from overseas U.S. Naval service in the early fall of 1989. At that time, I had already been inducted into what I considered, at the time, the much more elite Veterans Of Foreign Wars.
I had never seriously considered American Legion Membership at the time, due to it’s national admittance policy of just admitting any member who served during nationally set eligibility dates. The nature or location of service was not taken into consideration, as it was in the VFW.
After moving home to rural Jay County, it didn’t take me long to gain a respect for what The American Legion can mean to a small community when run properly. I started out just falling into ranks as a member of the Post Honor and Color Guard. We performed many ceremonial functions at burial services, schools, and of course the big one — our annual Memorial Day Ceremonies.
I rapidly became very proud of the fact that the relatively small Redkey Post performed five on-site Memorial Day Ceremonies every year at local monuments and cemeteries. The larger Posts around were routinely holding one or two at most, and we were doing five. I became proud to be associated with the Post, and joined.
In the ensuing years I rose up through the ranks and eventually became the public voice of the Post at these services, and expanded our footprint into local church pulpits on ceremonial occasions, and was always honored and proud to do so.
A few years ago, the Post as a functioning member of the local community simply ceased to exist. Membership declined and proper oversight of the operations of the Post ceased to occur. I have always been able to get some help to perform the Memorial Day Ceremonies, from the few who still care, but the actual physical Post has simply ceased to exist.
I can remember the squeals of children’s laughter that emanated from the meeting hall during the many Christmas Parties held there over the years. The years we had an award winning marching unit that won trophies in Honor and Color-Guard competitions. The sad days of funeral details when it wasn’t just a faceless old veteran, but a personal friend and Past Post Commander or Officer that we were honoring. The benefit events which we held to assist local residents who were. Being a pallbearer at funerals ranging from a decorated Two Star U.S. Army General, to the 8-year-old daughter of a friend of mine; the funeral for the 8-year-old was much more emotionally draining. The sponsorship of many little league teams down through the years, and even the aid to sponsor an American Legion Baseball program that had been absent for many years.
All of these and many other events were part of a vibrant and healthy organization, which was a part of the fabric of Redkey for well over 50 years. The Charter was founded in 1950, and has ended in early 2011. It is sad to see it gone. Many better men than I were at the helm of Post leadership down through the years, and this writer laments the passage into history of Post 401. I transferred out to another local Post several years ago, when I saw what was happening, and referred the many concerned members of which there were many who called me, to do the same, but for me it will just never be the same as our little post there in Redkey.
Sincerely,
James D. Fulks III
Past Post Commander,
Williamson-Smiley
Post 401, Redkey[[In-content Ad]]