STRONG FOR VETERANS is excited to host our Program on Coming Home on 14 November at the Oregon Historical Society. We will also host a Veterans Town Hall (see below), a Closed session for Veterans only to share their stories. Please help spread the word.

STRONG FOR VETERANS Program on Coming Home
* 14 November 2018 – Oregon Historical Society, 1200 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR 97205
* 5:30 p.m. – Reception
* 7:00 p.m. – Program
* 9:00 p.m. – Wrap up

PRESENTATION SPEAKERS
* Former POW Lieutenant Colonel Tony Marshall, USAF, Retired – Tony Marshall was born in Washington, DC in 1946, and raised on a tobacco farm in nearby Maryland. He was accepted by the US Air Force Academy, graduating in 1968 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics. He completed Navigator training and Electronic Warfare Training and was assigned to the F-4 fighter aircraft. Following training at MacDill AFB, Florida, he was assigned to the 13th Squadron, Udorn Airbase, Thailand, flying combat missions in Southeast Asia. On his 266th mission he was forced to eject over enemy territory and was captured. A Captain at the time, Tony was held as a POW from July 3, 1972 until his release on March 29, 1973. Upon his return to active duty, Captain Marshall completed pilot training and was assigned to the F-4C at George AFB, California. He flew the F-4D at RAF Bentwaters, England, and then served as an Air Liaison Officer with the US Army in Frankfurt, Germany. He returned to the cockpit flying the F-4G Wild Weasel at Clark AB, The Philippines and George AFB, California. After 22 years of service he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, Command Pilot, with 480 hours of combat time, 3000 hours in the F-4, and 3600 hours total military flying time. His military awards include 4 Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Purple Heart, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and 16 Air Medals. Following his retirement from active duty in 1990, Tony was hired by United Airlines and logged 12,000 hours flying the DC10, B747, and A320 aircraft out of Los Angeles. He retired from United in December 2006. Tony is a member of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) and a member of the Los Angeles Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. (TAI).
* Grant Coffey – Gold Star Dad, Father of Keaton Coffey. Marine Cpl. Keaton G. Coffey, 22, of Boring, Oregon was assigned to 1st Law Enforcement Battalion, 1st Marine Headquarters Group, Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California. He died May 24, 2012 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations. Grant Coffey, a retired Portland Fire Battalion Chief and longtime coordinator of the Hazardous Materials Team, is honored to serve as President of Tribute to Honor, a 501(c)(3) non-profit established in 2001 right after the 9/11 New York tragedy and expanded in 2017 to include US Military and their families.

VETERANS TOWN HALL
Taking inspiration from Sebastian Junger’s TRIBE:  On Homecoming and Belonging, SFV is excited to host a Veterans Town Hall as part of our evening programs. This is a closed event for Veterans to share their stories with the Veteran community. Both Tony Marshall and Grant Coffey will attend. Light refreshments will be served.
*14 Nov – Oregon Historical Society Hatfield Room – 1500-1800
*Veterans only
*No photos
*No recordings
*No sharing Veterans’ stories outside the room
*No exceptions

Details at http://strongforveterans.org/

First a few words about our upcoming meetings in November and December.

The November meeting will be 11:30 to 1:00 at the Old Spaghetti Warehouse on November 14^th.  This meeting celebrates the November 10 birthday of the US Marine Corps.  We will have a cake to celebrate.  If you are a Marine, please make a special effort to join us.  If you have a friend who is/was a marine, plan on bringing them.

Also, at our luncheon in November we will be honored to have Sara Carlson, daughter of Ed Carlson USNA ’66 and Tony Marshall, former POW and USAFA ’68. They are in town for the “Strong For Veterans” program the evening of November 14^th.

The December meeting will be 11:30 at the Old Spaghetti Warehouse on December 12^th.  At this meeting we honor the Greatest Generation.  As the number of WWII vets is rapidly diminishing we are expanding the meeting to honor both WWII and the Korean Conflict Vets.  If you have a friend/relative who was in either of these conflicts, please bring them to our lunch.

For both meeting we are encouraging all of you to bring a toy to support the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program.

While the football season has been a bit of a disappointment to date, I predict a stunning upset of Army December 9^th.  Plan on joining us at Big Al’s to watch and celebrate the victory.

For those of you that missed the opportunity of serving in the submarine force, there is a recent movie release called Hunter Killer.  Tim Myers recommends.

Lastly the Alumni Association and Foundation is kicking of a major fundraising event this month titled “Called to Serve Daring to Lead”.  Doug Ballard and I will be attending a kickoff meeting in Annapolis November 8^th and 9^th.  We will give an update at our meeting on the 14^th.

We are starting to plan for next year’s August Chapter picnic.  If anyone has any ideas or would like to assist in the planning and execution, please let me know.  We are tentatively planning on having it at the same location as this year.

Remember, Chapter Challenge Coins can be the perfect Christmas gift.  See Frank Swientek.

We are still in need of a chapter Secretary.

Mike

Bear Army