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Hello everyone, this is Leo Logo from Dayton, Ohio. I'm here in Mobile, Alabama
today, May 13th outside the Fiesta Hotel. This is one fabulous place, 20 stories
high and Alabama's tallest hotel. 31st Infantry Dixie Division Society is
having their ninth annual reunion here this weekend May 14th, 15th and 16th.
Nice sunny day today, 73 degrees. Weather forecast is for sunny weekend
temperatures in the middle 80s. Talk to you later.
I'm hitting the parking lot outside of Fiesta Hotel.
I'm gonna take a little more film here.
This building is 28 stories high.
I'm hitting the parking lot outside of Fiesta Hotel.
We're inside the Fort Whitey's Armory here this evening and getting ready for a seafood dinner.
We're in that pot out there right now.
It's such a great joy and blessing to be an American. Every time I see the American flag, I hear our great nation's alma mater.
Father, we truly give the grace, thanksgiving. Creator of the heavens and earth, the builder and the maker.
The taker away of nation. And Father, we thank and praise thee for the greatest nation the world has ever known.
May she continue to work for peace in the world among the other nations as we do today.
Father, there are those that are so unfortunate. Our hearts go out to those that we sometimes see on televisions.
And there we realize that they are in great need and want and the American people are trying so hard to be helpful.
We thank thee, we love thee, we praise thy watchful care upon our nation as that thou shalt be with all that we are privileged to fellowship with this evening and through the weekend.
May they make their abode trip back to their abode safely in thy presence with them in Jesus Christ's name we ask. Amen.
Thank you, chaplain.
My name is Charlie Kinsall. I'm from Montgomery, Alabama, and I'm the acting emcee for tonight.
It's a little bit nostalgic for me to be standing on this stage in this auditorium.
I started my military career in this armory and the troops from the Mobile Area were all assembled in this auditorium on December 16, 1950,
when we were sworn into the United States Army prior to our departure from Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
All of you that went to Fort Jackson were sworn in on January 16. I'd like for you to just stand.
Let's see how many of the Fort Jackson troops we have here tonight.
Thank you for that introduction.
So, as Assistant National General, I get a lot of hard jobs like coming down here and talking to this fine group of people.
It's really an honor for me to get to do this. I looked at some information that Mr. Rice sent me,
and looking at that information I saw General Taylor Harden's picture out there,
and General Harden, who was Colonel Harden at the time, was my first battalion commander when I got into the National Guard back in 1953.
If you do a little quick arithmetic, listen to when I join, you'll realize that in June of next month,
I will have 40 years in the Army National Guard. I'll be in Alabama.
Looking around this group, Earl Capella and Ray Rowe Jones, they did 167 when I was over there.
I noticed my old weapons platoon sergeant, Sergeant Marshall O. Gilbert, sitting back here.
I think he later became the first sergeant that would come to be in the 167.
And then I didn't see him. I'm a 117th Field Artillery's friend.
So, any 117th people here tonight, I can tell my artillery story then.
Sometimes you're needed, and none of them are here.
But it's a great honor for me to be here.
I got into the National Guard right after the unit there in La Verne, it was the 117th at that time.
After they came back from the mobilization during the Korean War, I had just finished high school.
My first cousin was the AST there in La Verne, and he recruited me.
He said that recruiting me was no problem, but getting my daddy and his daddy to let him talk to me was a problem.
He didn't have the problem getting me in the Guard.
It's one of the best things that ever happened to me. It's meant so much to me.
He sent me off to OCS. He said that before I went to OCS, I couldn't even look anybody in the eye and talk to them.
But after going through OCS at Fort Sill, that changed quite a bit.
I gained a lot more self-confidence.
I would have come home from Fort Sill, but I didn't know how to get back.
So, I never had been out of Crenshaw County before.
I didn't know how to get back. They sent us out there on a train.
I didn't know how to negotiate my way back from out there.
But it is a great honor for me to be here with you tonight.
I'd like to spend a little time talking with you about where the Alabama Guard is today and where we hope to be going.
Air Guard units are activated in the College of Duty, so we have something like 5,200 people who are in the College of Duty here at the Esplanade Shield as we storm.
The first tactical reconnaissance aircraft to fly in the Esplanade Shield as we storm in Saudi Arabia,
where the National Guard's 117th reconnaissance wing, the combat communications in the theater were installed.
And then, our personnel for the Air Guard is 226 combat communications group.
We had 27 Army Guard units with some 3,700 personnel that were deployed to the first military area.
Alabama had 10 percent of a total of 37,000 Guard troops.
So we had a well represented here at Desert Shield as we storm, and our troops did an outstanding job.
We are striving to modernize or maintain a modern Guard.
We have received or just started receiving, this is one October of last year, a patient today, a member of the patient,
with the unit, with the aircraft, well that's been shot down, it's good, for the rest of the evening with you, and once again thank you for allowing me to share with you in your reunion.
Thank you.
Applause
A little of what he thought you would find interesting, we have over 288 people in attendance tonight, and we think that's a very good turnout.
Glad to have all of you here.
Applause
I'm Assistant National General of the Alabama National Guard, and I represent the General, the Asset General, about Plains South.
Wow, pretty good territory.
Applause
Is there anyone else outside who would like to come to step in before we start this business meeting, the General meeting?
Thank you very much, I'm Gray Harrison, we're going to move into this meeting, I think, quickly and quickly, we do have several important items,
a lot of them are going to be particular times consuming, I call the meeting to order, let's end the room at this time, good, you can announce the invocation for us please.
I'd like to call the meeting to give thanks to you, the fellow candidates, for now getting together and sharing this review of Plains South with me and your friends,
and the activities throughout the day, and to give thanks to all the people we have, and to serve our country, and to serve the entire community.
I'm really humbled to be here this morning, the Vice President of the Society, this is Charlie Rolco, elected this morning, but as you know, Charlie's not able to be with us,
so thoughts and prayers, and if anyone left on the card going to him, he'll be outside in order to be signed.
Declared fourth resin, and an item of old business, we're going to run down the same sequence we had yesterday for the board meeting, board record meeting.
I'd like to ask Greg Raffsholman for his training of the floor this time, reference.
The recording period, 1st of June, 1992 to the 12th of May, 1993.
Go to the mic.
I see a report, the recording period is 1st of June, 1992 to the 12th of May, 1993.
So we give you the figures, the balance starting out the bank, $4,384.89, total receipts for the year, $12,950.89,
and the reimbursements, $14,593.75, and then left a bank balance of $2,742.03.
The total net worth of the Society involved with the supplies, $27,285.55 net worth at the General Accommodation Journal.
We also have in the life membership, it's what is in money making, it's in CDs, $19,200.
That gives you the number of life membership that's been paid in.
That is my financial report.
Thank you Ralph. Are there any questions?
One question, is that $19,000 in the life membership, that included the net worth account for $7,000?
That included the net worth account.
Take that back.
Oh yes, that's it, yes.
We have a motion and a second that the report be adopted.
Is there any other discussion? Any other questions or discussion?
Keep in mind that the life membership is going to a separate fund and we cannot spend that money.
The only thing we spend from that is the revenue we have from the life membership.
That gives us a little bit.
In time we may decide to spend it, but I think we'd like to see it get a little larger.
I think we're barely keeping up with the place at this time.
The annual return on that is slightly over 5%, which in the present market seems to be about as good as any.
Move the question.
All in favor accept the trade report, say aye.
Aye.
Opposed, nay.
So ordered and it's unanimous, Mr. Secretary.
Thank you.
To move things along, I'm going to throw just a few items myself.
You had a master roster for sale out here at $6 a copy.
That's approximately the cost. That's very close to the actual cost of the roster.
I know there's some corrections, additions, and deletions.
Sadly enough, the remainder of that roster periodically was going to update that.
So if you might get a copy of the roster that I have, I'd certainly encourage you to because it's good information.
If you find a way that someone has died that family members that have their own address, some of the addresses are not current.
But we're going to update that periodically, properly and annually.
So if you're going to collect new paper, there will be a little form and that will be filled out for addressed corrections and deletions.
Just be aware of that.
Roy Wright reminds me that he has a display board out here on the various memorials we have at Camp Landing, at Camp Shelby, the most recent one, Camp Atterbury.
There's been some correspondence on that.
There's a long one, Memorial Wall, I guess you could say, at Atterbury.
I didn't stay around the division long enough to see Atterbury.
I didn't even see Longhorn.
But I've been to Atterbury.
I'm very impressed with it.
And I think if you have seen it, you are also, if you've not seen it, I suggest to you when you're in that part of the country, go by.
You get a little bit nostalgic at the time.
And I think that these reunions will become a little more nostalgic.
Is there any other old business to come before the society at this time?
Any other old business?
We move on to new business then.
And I suppose the first item would be the time and place committed before it.
We move very quickly this morning.
I think there's a little bit of a progression in the audience.
Bill and his family are back across the Bay.
And Bill chaired the time and place committed before it for the 1994 reunion.
Let me move out in front of the mic so I can talk.
And I'll lift the voice a little bit so you hear me.
I don't want to bow in over to this thing.
And if you can't hear me, please play something.
To recognize the national society that we really are, we touch most of the 50 states
and I think actually probably touch all of the 50 states and the territories if we had current rosters.
We look at a number of locations for next year.
We thank for our 10th reunion, it may be well, to move out of either Mississippi or Alabama.
We've had several invitations to bring this reunion back to Mississippi for next year.
Good, good invitations.
They love to see us.
But to emphasize the national nature of the society, we have looked at another location.
Bill narrowed it down to the shortest of two and he came up with Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina.
I heard a couple of drones.
Bill Ray says that he'd like to see us go back up there and put up a little tent city where our family didn't see us.
They don't see me.
They really would not.
We'd have to go back in January though.
I'm not sure we could get cold white and salt anymore, but it's a good salt and I like it.
I like my wife to know what I'm talking about.
Really would.
So the Fort Jackson, Columbia, South Carolina area, again, from the same weekend in May.
The other location on the short list, Camp Landing, Florida, in St. Augustine.
I talked with the agent general of Florida last week.
We have a very warm invitation from down there to come back to Camp Landing in the St. Augustine area.
We have a number of 35 or 40 members or potential members of the society down there who could probably get to serve on some of the committees.
Within legal limits, the agent general's office will do all they can to support and host this reunion.
We polled the board of directors yesterday and the tendency was to favor Camp Landing.
And gentlemen, my question to you is what's your pleasure?
Think about it a moment and then we'll take a straw vote.
As I think the final negotiations, we'll lock in one of those two locations for the next few weeks.
Yes, sir?
Well, gentlemen, I'd like to move that we go to Camp Landing.
We are part of the division in 1940 with the 124th infantry from Florida.
And they're very manly, still in part, and we had to convince them that we would bring a lot of their major membership and a lot of them probably would attend it.
Also, General Bob Blanchard, who's been in the center for that many years.
He was also the G4 of the division, General McClellan was also the agent general there serving 124th in the division.
So I think it would be tying into a lot of the elderly general of this division.
Plus the fact that maybe it's getting on the time that if we're going there, now would be a good time to go there.
Camp Landing has a museum there, they have a memorial there, and they're interested in getting us to go there.
So I would like to move to next year we have our convention, same second to a weekend, the May at Fort Miami, D.C.
The question was when, what weekend it is, it's the weekend of Armed Forces Day.
I believe, and I had to look at the calendar to see how the numbers fall, but I believe it will be the second weekend in May next year.
Isn't that Mother's Day? Isn't that Mother's Day weekend?
May 9th.
I think that's the first weekend.
Next weekend.
Correct me if I'm wrong, sir, didn't we not have a, a convention like this one year ago?
No, sir.
This society has not had one.
The 1.24th is.
Well, the division society, I think they were down, I think some people were down to the dedication of the money.
But the society as such is not held at the Angel Reunion, St. Augustine area.
So far as the time is concerned, we do not want to conflict with Mother's Day, we would want it to be the weekend after Mother's Day.
Does anyone want to speak before Jackson?
You know, we talked about it really truly, I'd like to go to Jackson, but it's a lot of these gentlemen here that won't be here.
So why not let's go while they're here.
Yeah, that's young people.
We can be sitting there.
Well, I thank you.
I thank you.
Well, from both of us, this morning is well taken, and I think in a year or so after this we will go back to Fort Jackson, Columbus.
I mean, 2021, 22.
The 20th is Friday, the 3rd is Friday, and, uh, thank you.
20th, 21, and 22 May of 1994 at St. Augustine in Camp Blanton.
We have a motion on the floor, a second.
I'm going to ask a discussion while...
Both of us will be back then.
I just wanted to say that we've been here a good while, but I thought the motion was amended here. Go to Blanton this year and go to Jackson next year.
What I hear from the audience is one year at a time, what we favor Blanton or Fort Jackson in 95 would give it preference for consideration.
I don't think we need a second amendment to the motion, but certainly we'll be sure the time is wasted maybe for 95.
Okay, ready for... ready to vote on the motion.
I'm going to favor the motion as follows, which is Camp Landing, 2021, 22 May, or that weekend of 94.
Say aye.
Aye.
Opposed?
First, the unanimously.
Thank you.
That unanimously was my wife's decision.
It is our decision.
I'm just going to verify that it's not obviously the headquarters that...
That is correct.
And we've had a very warm invitation from the military department of the state of Florida.
And they offer all the support that they can within reasonable parameters.
A couple of items of inspiration, John Boyd tells me that he will have this video set up in the hospital room after we break here.
For those of you who missed it last evening, the video on the history of the division.
And I would encourage you to, if you didn't see it last evening, please try to get to it this morning. It's going to be great.
In the hospitality room.
John, are you back here on the beginning?
On the third floor.
Paul and Amy on the third floor, that's correct.
Okay.
Paul and Amy on the third floor.
Which is across the lobby at one level up front.
It's 40 yards, actually.
It is.
I'm going to ask Herman Price to report on the nomination.
And remember, since Bill Gresham has not come in yet, he's probably tied up in traffic.
When you go out to Mississippi and Alabama, I'll say you have to be at the Mississippi.
You go out to the Mississippi.
Okay.
Did you second Bill Gresham's nomination to 10th City at Fort Jackson?
I didn't think he made it to 10th City at Fort Jackson.
I'm just wondering how that was going to work.
I think I better sit down and wrap this up.
Your nominee is completed from Alabama, not from West Virginia.
It's a split.
It's a split in all.
Did you all pronounce it?
Did you?
Clarence Ray, Bill Gold, and myself.
Bill had tripled my pass this past Monday.
He could not be down here this weekend.
We talked many times.
We discussed with a lot of people.
And our biggest problem was to take the secretary.
Is Charles Norris in the room?
No, he's the trail getting ready to send some people who can't take the secretary.
Okay.
So anyhow, Charles did agree with Charles Norris, who lived in Montgomery, worked in Montgomery,
is a technician that's agreed to take the job for just one year.
This is, of course, we have a problem.
See, our Florida, at one time, was a secretary, a secretary dropped by the wayside,
and some other people took it.
But then Florida agreed to take it last year, and that's the care that's this year.
The only problem, Lord, why is that if you do it again, you will not have a wife.
So Lord, we had to go to church.
Anyway, Charles, I think you'll do a great job, really.
We have good members, good directors, who consent to serve,
and you agree without consent, we don't have much of a board member.
But we do have here two people who,
Charlie Jensen, who crossed lower, who both stand up, let you speak to the senior.
We got Charles Jensen to be on the camp, so I can't say anything about that.
Oh, no.
Now, only this sick group of great people, they have to just live there on this thing.
The board of directors had to do that.
For the people coming on from Mississippi, the recommendation I made,
the general I made for me, of course, is that I will become the president.
The board from Mississippi will be Chester Holloway from Indianola,
which is near Greenfield, the western part of the Delta,
Colin Robertson from Jackson.
Since the board meeting yesterday, we clarified a point.
Vernon Bullock from Tolentown has resigned.
I have his letter of resignation.
He's the incoming president of the 155th Society,
and says he doesn't have time to do justice to both.
The recommendation for Mississippi is that Scottie Sale,
who is now head of the board in Sherman's Fire this year,
but the recommendation is that Scottie take Vernon's place in the meeting on the board.
The second vice president would be Keele Sims from a longtime division member
from Columbus, Mississippi, which is over on the eastern border of the state.
The lowers are the recommendation from Mississippi, which would fill the board.
If I may add one other comment here, we hope in time, perhaps next year will be the time,
as we're sure we have an interest and support from across the country
to add board members from anywhere in the 50 states or territories.
People who have time to participate and want to participate,
and perhaps the fax machines and video telephones,
we could conduct some annual board meeting.
It's been very difficult until now to get a board together twice a year
with travel involved in the traveling states.
That's the recommendation from Mississippi you have all about.
May I ask the people from Mississippi to stand please?
The new members, Keele, Keele Sims, Scottie Stafford in the back in the strike area,
Corey Robinson is out here this weekend, and Corey has a serious family illness,
or any family he's finding, and Justin Holloway is riding with Biddy Gresham,
and Jesse Lowclough is probably going to be one of them.
Yes.
Well, he's been keen on us as the vice president, of course.
Did everybody get a, or did everybody get a copy of this list so everybody's made a wish?
No.
They don't.
All the board members got it out of that coming day,
and they had to take a case in the room for their last public meeting.
Would it be appropriate, you think, for the board members to get up here
and let these people look at them and see who they are?
I think all those people will be listening to make huge,
every chief of them trying to make innovative problems.
I think chief has the new strength to come out and first of all.
Well, maybe we all got to do this until we get a vote on this thing.
I don't know if we all got to do this.
I'll vote.
Yes.
The chairman and I move that the nomination committee be accepted
and that the secretary of state and chair be authorized to catch the unanimous balance
for the election of the nominees for the nomination committee.
Thank you, Mr. President.
In discussion.
Question.
Yes.
Question.
Do you want to say the board members up here and see what they look like?
Yes.
You're my camera.
Well, how about that? I've got a camera.
The answer, yes or no?
Yes.
Well, let's get the board members up here.
Thank you.
I believe that everybody agrees with that.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The question was, the chairman of the board, the next chair,
I do not have the person's acceptance in writing.
I have it in hand for not to make an announcement, a formal announcement,
but I am virtually certain that it will be Al Hopkins,
who is now the vice-chairman from Gulfport, Mississippi.
What we're trying to do at Mississippi is touch all corners of the state,
and Al has been a very good member.
He is the post of manager at Camp Shelby this weekend
and can't leave the post in case something goes wrong.
He'd be a little too embarrassed to talk to him.
And a lot of us would like to rather have him in the gate with him.
He'd have it no matter as long as somebody was there.
A great guy and many of you know him.
May I ask a question?
Yes.
Mr. President, the way the guy grades you, is it all right?
Thank you for bringing that up.
It's not entirely ill.
Everyone outside the state posted to go to when I was directly affected.
We mailed some 1,600 letters signed by a number of Mississippians
that went to everyone outside the state of Alabama.
And we realized Friday that we should have mailed the same letter to everyone
so you'd have some feeling for us.
The guy took advantage of the situation to form the association.
I'd like to ask you not to have any acrimonious remarks or comments to them.
We think we are one society.
We think in time these wounds will heal.
And we are a nationally-oriented society for the entire division.
We'd like to move forward and let that be the membership.
There are some members of the association in Mississippi.
There's been some confusion over membership dues paid,
whether they were paid through the society or the association.
The board voted yesterday.
In all occasions where a person was confused and thought he was being refused to the society,
we'd actually picked up as a member of the association that we honor that membership for a year.
So I think we're beginning to move away from it and put things behind us.
Are there any other questions? Does that answer the question?
We need to do something about that.
Are there any words that you made mistake in saying that you were a member of the association?
Just your membership won't be honored for one year.
Because I'm not aware of any cases where life memberships.
Now, if you made a check out for a life membership through the society and we failed to pick it up,
it may well have gone to the address in Jackson where a guy picked it up as a member of the association.
But I'm not aware of any of those specific cases.
But your membership will be honored.
We'll worry about the administrative errors later, but your membership will be honored.
I know the real issue is the address, but it gets very moral and clearly.
But I'm just wondering if there's a difference between the two, society and the association.
And we got members of the one thing and one other, Jackson County, and a lot of much, much stale sense of the community.
And we realized the only letter that's come out from the society was, well, there were 11 also.
But the most recent letter in the attempt to clarify the issue, it went out to mail into some 1,600 and distribution of about 300 more.
That's it. That's it.
And without getting into the minutia of what started it and who did what, it's water under the bridge, it's behind us, and we think we're one organization.
And we're going to move forward.
I mean, friends with everyone in the association hope that in time we will have one organization.
Many people want to belong to both, and that's fine.
I only belong to one in that society.
I think you may expect that.
Who is going to continue to recruit?
Guy Green.
Oh, Guy Green.
In case of a three-year membership to the association, are you going to honor the membership for three years?
I think we'll do that one year at a time, but I think simply make a copy of a check or some record out of the incentive board,
and my personal preference is to honor it for whatever period it was.
But the action yesterday was just for the one year, for the next year.
But please, no harsh words, nothing of that sort.
We love everybody, we're comrades in arms, and I think in time we'll come back together.
Any more questions about that?
Exactly, exactly.
In all hope of our mobilization, the majority of our members were from Mississippi and Alabama in 1950, 1940, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida.
If you go back to World War I, the 39th Division was Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
We've got a long heritage, and let's be one organization as far as possible.
I would encourage you back home to continue to form your local clubs, or whatever you prefer to call them, chapters or clubs,
by organization if you like, or by home community, and let's continue to generate as much activity as we possibly can on behalf of the 31st Division.
But whatever name you want to call it, out first sign.
I mentioned at the board meeting yesterday, we have a number of museums springing up.
I had a nice talk with Jim Gamble a long time friend last night.
I would simply urge you, if you have any member of media that's appropriate for a museum,
and you don't intend to keep it and be sure it's properly kept, protected in your own bandage, please get it in an appropriate museum.
The museum over at Camp Shelby is fine, the one in Alabama is fine, Florida is fine.
I'm not trying to sell the one in Camp Shelby.
It's not a 31st Division museum.
The only organization that has enough member of media again at this time to have a separate section at Camp Shelby is the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
The Japanese-American Combat Team that trained at Camp Shelby, a great bunch of people, an absolutely magnificent bunch of people,
the most highly decorated regiment in the Army.
They had people at the dedication of the museum a couple of weeks ago.
Their society paid for air conditioning the entire building.
Another person over there contributed most of the cost of paying the parking lot, things of that sort.
But again, you get real nostalgic when you go in there and see somebody.
So if you have some member of media that's appropriate for that, they'd love to have it.
But more importantly, if you have some member of media, please get it in the museum some way away and be careful.
I have just a couple of things that I'd like to do right now and move on.
Is Shorty Albright here this morning?
Shorty, would you go up, please?
And you and Earl McCallum, mind stepping up here, please.
These are a little more than trinkets.
These gentlemen have served the board so well.
And these are cufflinks with the crest of Mississippi honor.
Appreciate your service on the board this past year.
And I hope you continue on the advisory board of Mississippi.
Thank you so much, Earl. Thank you.
We have a special guest in the audience this morning.
We're having Curtis Wheatley and Williamson in the audience this time tonight.
Okay? Okay. We will pay our appreciation to him tonight.
We have an announcement.
Floyd, do you want to make an announcement about the trip this afternoon?
It seems like every time I touch something, it comes out wrong.
That you won't have to worry about after today.
Now, gentlemen, we need you to go out to the restoration desk and see John Frank
and tell him which one of the tours that you really want to go on.
Many of you signed up to go to the Alabama Memorial Battleship Park
and also to Bellingrath Garden.
Bellingrath Garden is a 15-mile satellite.
Battleship Park is back towards Florida this way,
and you can't make them both in the same afternoon.
What we would like for you to do is go by and tell John which one you want to go to.
And if you want your refund, we'll be more than happy to give it to you.
But if you would like to make a little donation to help pay for that $500, $600,
these three buses that's going to cost us, we will gladly accept it
and hug you in the neck and Joe will give you a kiss.
We'll be happy for giving us the donation to help pay for the buses.
We are sorry about the misunderstanding I am that was in the paper
that people thought that you could go to both of them on the same day.
I am sorry that I didn't distinguish and did do a better job of laying that out
when I laid the paper out.
But let me tell you, if you want to put a newspaper out, don't do it with one man.
I like the way crazy.
Get three or four people to help you, especially get for some guy Hoffman newspaper
that will help you, and you will do a better job than I did.
And I hope you do better next year with your newspaper that comes out.
This is all I have.
Please identify yourself to which one you want to go on so we can tell you
at 1 o'clock in the parking lot on the south side of the building.
That's the south side of the building.
Okay. Thank you, jobs.
South side of the building, what we'll have the buses to be loaded.
And we will have a guy there to go with you to whichever part that you want to go
and make sure that you get there.
Any questions?
What time is the bus to return?
The bus should be coming back in here between 4.30 and 5 o'clock.
No later than 5.15, so you'll have time to wash your face and hands,
clean your toes, put on your coat and tie, and look as sharp as I will crush you
standing up here now tonight.
They're going to be making some pictures and we're going to look good for everybody.
I can't move no better than I do.
I don't give a what I do.
Still wearing my 1300?
You're burning.
1300 or 1 o'clock.
Somebody asked me what 1800 was.
I said, well, you deserve such an epic year.
I said, do you know what 1800 is?
No.
I said, that's 6 o'clock.
In the afternoon, not anymore.
What about the later days?
I don't know about the later times.
I'm an army man, right?
Thank you, Floyd.
Thank you so much.
And from all of us, we're very grateful for the time and effort and energy
and light and blood you put into this side for several years.
And Floyd has promised us this.
He's promised us that he's going to stay quite active, just not on quite a regular basis as he's been.
Other than that, I'm not sure what kind of legal counsel he was going to need, but he had no alternative.
Is there any other new business to come before the society at this time?
Any other new business?
I have one.
Yes, sir?
Mr. Chairman, I wondered if it would be appropriate to promise up to date on the current status of the books to be published.
Thank you.
I'll do it the way I can.
Boy, can you go me no man.
Bob Banks, have you heard from Journal Publishing Company?
I have not, Mr. President.
I have not, I.
But I'll tell you what, I have heard from you guys from 40 to 45.
In the next publication, or within the next month, you will be getting a letter from a guy in Nashville that's republishing
and going to put on sale this book from 40 to 45.
How many of you got one of them?
The old greenback book from Blandon Day, 40 to 45, they're going to redo that book.
And it will be something in the newsletter to everybody if you like to check, collect more of what this division has done.
Journal Publishing Company has not, after the letter that I sent to them, the only thing that I've heard that they work slow,
but they're a good publishing company.
We hope that you will hear that.
I've had about 50 new members that I've heard from that have sent their money in from California, Washington, Oklahoma, Minnesota, New York,
and they've called me and said, I've ordered me one of them books, what will I get?
I'm sorry, gentlemen, I can't tell you, but I will do this.
I've got a phone number at home and in your newsletter you will be getting it over, there will be something in it about it.
That's all I can tell you, Mr. President.
I'm sorry, I don't know.
And I don't know much more either. I'm going to be in Nashville next weekend, a lot of work next week,
and I'm going to follow up on this with the name I have in mind.
My understanding was that they were a few names short of the number they needed to publish the book.
If they will publish a book, it may be another year, a year and a half.
Also, they were confused by the association versus the society.
To clarify that to them, I think we should clarify.
What we want to get is all the formal numbers of the 31st of Asian in the book we get.
We'll follow up on that and watch for your newsletter or newsletter to cover it and bring it up today as much as possible.
Any other questions?
Very importantly, I'd like to have a call meeting of the board, all members of the board, up front after we adjourn for just about two minutes.
We have one more important item to make.
Yes?
Mr. Chairman, would it be appropriate at this time to take a minute and read the purposes of the stroke committee,
as set out in the corporate paper, which were filed in 1985?
Would you please?
Several have asked me time and time about it, and this is the corporate one, in 1985.
It is the original corporation.
That's the society that General Karras has been talking about here.
I thought you might like to hear what the purposes were initially set up for, because this is really what the orchestrate hopes to be doing.
And really, it's a gathering of those who have served in the Nixon Division.
Some of you served World War II.
Some of us served in Korean situations.
But in the corporate papers that were filed, it said the purposes of the corporation sometimes occurred to the society.
And that's what we are, the society, the Nixon Division society.
They'll be patriotic, historic, fraternal, benevolent, perpetuate friendship, promote patriotism, national strength, freedom,
and encourage participation, appreciation of the national, regional, and state history.
Now, I'm not going to bore you with all the corporate things.
There's one other area of this.
We don't get together that often, so I thought it might be helpful just to know what your purposes are.
I think you can be extremely proud of the purposes of the society that we have.
The commitment of purpose.
Members of the 31st Infantry Nixon Division Society shall have as its members any person voluntarily wishing to associate,
as such, who served in the Nixon Division or any of its attached or assigned units and provided at the board of directors,
shall cause a membership committed to function,
receive applications for membership in the past, funnest thing.
All of the members are joined together to promote the everlasting friendship which began during service World War I,
continued during World War II and the Korean War, and continues to the present,
and to nurture the memory of those who gave their lives for the cause of freedom throughout the world,
and to promote and maintain patriotism throughout our land to the end that our country will always be involved with,
or called freedom, if you'd like to know of that.
Thank you, sir. Thank you so very much.
Applause
That's what it's all about.
I think that's very appropriate. I'm really grateful for the bringing that up, sir.
Chair, I will entertain a motion to adjourn.
Movers and seconders in favor?
Aye.
Unanimous. General, we adjourn until next, until next this evening.
Thank you.
Membership meeting here in the...
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