September Meeting Agenda
Tonight is our September MCL meeting. I will not be there; however, Roger will be leading the meeting. Dinner will be available.
We meet on the third Thursday of the month at 1830 (6:30 pm) at the Brentwood Veterans Memorial Building. 757 1st St, Brentwood, CA, United States, 94513
Agenda
Community Meeting (VFW, AL, MCL and BVMB hosts) we are hosting a community meeting to discuss the new fire station.
Open Community Meeting on Tuesday October 10th at 7PM (1900 hours) 757 1st St, Brentwood, CA, United States, 94513
We need flyer made and handed out in Brentwood.
We need to start planning for the Marine Corps Ball
Tentative date 10 NOV 2023 (Friday night)
Where do we want to have it?
Option 1 host it at the hall and have Jerry from Sticky Chicken cater it with
Option 2 the Sugar Barge (like last year)
Option 3 Smith’s Landing Seafood Grill (more expensive)
Option 4 Zephyr Grill & Bar
Other options?
Dance (October 20, 2023, 6 pm)
We need to sell 100 tickets. (AL and VFW also selling)
$10 per ticket
Judy Hester has the tickets at the meeting, take some and sell them
We want to use this as a recruiting event so please also invite other veterans that are not members of the VSOs.
Rider escort on Saturday October 7th, 2023 (See below)
Meet with the Brentwood Mayor and Police Chief (October 11)
We may need someone to lead this effort. Roger from AL has stepped down.
Associate member Paulette Coopper’s father, Marine Veteran, passed away today.
Howard Carpenter (12 SEP 1934 – 21 SEP 2023) He was a radio operator in the 1950-60’s
He attended as our guest in 2008
He had dementia
Please take a moment of silence for him.
Delta Diablo Detachment 1155, Marine Corps League, Memorial Wall https://www.mcl1155.org/memorial
Homes for our Troops
October 7th 2023, 9:30 am https://www.hfotusa.org/building-homes/veterans/kgarcia/
1900 Willow Lake Road, Discovery Bay, CA 94505
Ceremony followed by light lunch
Looking for you to attend and wear your MCL shirts and covers to support this wounded Marine.
Article on member Michael Emerson’s trip to Ukraine
Michael Emerson was also at the Pentagon on September 11th.
Rider escort on Saturday October 7th, 2023
Hello Riders and Supporters of Veteran Rider's groups. I have received a request for a special Rider escort on Saturday October 7th, 2023, for a Severely Injured fellow Veteran. Please read the request below and respond to me if you're able to attend this escort. It's a very worthwhile escort. I urge all Veteran Riders and Riders supporters to show your support for all Veterans by attend. My contact number is 510.414.0194 my email address is cigarsmokingcsm@gmail.com or you can contact Bill Weber the Commander of
VFW Post 10789 757 1st Street Brentwood, CA 94513. Phone 925.584.1452 (mobile) Email VFW11B@gmail.com.
Regards,
Shadow
American Legion Riders
District 9 (Rolling 9's)
Kyle Gracia Event
Kyle Garcia was inspired to join the military by his grandfather and uncles, who also served. He joined the Marines shortly after high school, serving two tours in Iraq in 2007 and 2009. He deployed a third time to Afghanistan in 2011, as a scout sniper with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines. On Nov. 7, 2011, Sgt Garcia was on a foot patrol in Sangin, Afghanistan, when he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED). He immediately lost his left leg in the blast and sustained severe damage to his right leg. Now medically retired, Kyle lives in Northern California with his wife Crystal and their young son Louis. He is a volunteer writer coach through the organization Writer Coach Connection in his area. He is also an avid poker player. He attended law school in St. Louis, Mo., graduated with his J.D. and LL.M in 2020 and passed the CA bar in 2022. He is planning to become an associate attorney.
Pursuing these goals is difficult for Kyle while living in a home not adapted to his injuries. Because of his amputation and the injuries to his right leg, he experiences weakness, known as drop foot, which makes walking steady difficult. Stairs have become his biggest obstacle, as he has had several falls using them. Additionally, he has trouble accessing his backyard because the land is sloped, limiting his playtime outside with Louis. A specially adapted home from Homes For Our Troops with automatic doors and an open floor plan will resolve these issues for Kyle. “The home will virtually eliminate all of the stress and uncertainty I currently have for planning to acquire an adaptable home near my family,” he says. Kyle is choosing to build his home in Northern California, to be close to family and the VA’s prosthetic department. Kyle and his family are grateful to be receiving the new home, which will provide a better quality of life for them. “The home will eliminate the one major cost in my life, which would free my time and resources to give back and make an impact in the lives of others,” he says.
Michael Emerson’s Ukraine Trip
Emerson’s mission to serve and give to his country and community goes back decades. At the age of 19, citing a love for his country and influenced by many of his family members who were in the military, Emerson enlisted in the Marines on April 26, 1982 to be an Infantryman. At that time, Emerson said he didn’t think he was on a path that was going to make him happy. “I didn’t have enough money to go to college,” said Emerson. “I wanted to serve my country. Most of my family were in the Army, but I had a great uncle that fought in World War II as a Marine. I had an uncle who was a fighter pilot in France in World War II.
A lot of my grandparents and uncles joined. On my mom’s side, there were musketeers and generals. I like the reputation as the greatest fighting force in history. I didn’t want to be a cook or a clerk. If I was going to be in the Marines, I wanted to be highly trained on how to survive.” Emerson says as a result of their visit to Ukraine, he and Campos now have direct contacts with Ukrainian veterans hospitals, refugee hospitals, orphanages, and widows and families of dead and missing Ukrainian soldiers, a Warriors Veterans Organization, the Ukrainian Military, along with a church group that provides support to them all.
Once a Marine, Always a Marine, Semper Fidelis
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