Multiple missions on American Legion's agenda

From fundraising for a new veterans memorial at Lake Tye Park to coordinating the upcoming flag retirement and Memorial Day ceremonies, Monroe's American Legion Arthur Kincaid Post No. 58 has a lot on its agenda.

The American Legion is a nonprofit veterans advocacy organization chartered by Congress in 1919. The American Legion is similar to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), but has slightly different membership criteria. Chartered by Congress in 1936, the VFW requires that its members served overseas in a combat zone, while Legion members must have served during wartime. Legion bylaws specify seven different eligible wartime eras for membership.

Monroe's Post No. 58 was founded in 1919 and named in honor of war hero Pvt. Arthur Kincaid, who lost his life during World War I. Kincaid served in the Army with Company G, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Division, which trained at Fort Lewis. Soldiers in the 91st Division were deployed to France in June 1918.

According to newspaper archives, Kincaid was wounded and captured during fierce battle with German soldiers as American troops forged ahead on orders to take Gesnes, an area in France near the Forest of Argonne. He was taken captive and died in a prison hospital in Trier, Germany, on Oct. 29, 1918. According an American soldier that was with Kincaid just before his capture, Kincaid was "still standing erect pouring lead into the GermansGÇ¥ when he last saw him.

He died from his injuries, which included a broken leg and gas gangrene. Kincaid's lieutenant reportedly said the 30-year-old was a fine, brave soldier.

Memorial Day

Kincaid's remains were returned to Monroe in 1920, and he was laid to rest at the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Cemetery on Old Owen Road. Each year he is remembered, along with all veterans who have lost their lives, during a Memorial Day ceremony coordinated alternately by the American Legion and the VFW. Plans are currently underway for this year's event, said Post No. 58 Commander Larry Woods, which takes place on Monday, May 30, at the cemetery.

The ceremony will feature a display of American flags, all of which have adorned the caskets of military veterans. Per federal law, an American flag should not be allowed to touch the ground or lowered into the grave, so the Legion uses them during ceremonial proceedings. Legion members will post the flags during the early morning hours of Memorial Day, Woods said.

"All those flags that you'll see up there are casket flags that have been donated to us by families that want to honor their loved ones,GÇ¥ he said.

This year, Woods will be coordinating the event with Post No. 58 service officer Jerry Stackpole, who is a member of both the American Legion and the VFW.

Flag retirement ceremony

Flag advocacy is a priority for the American Legion, which passed a resolution in 1937 to provide a structure for the dignified disposal of American flags that have become unserviceable due to damage or wear and tear. Flag retirement ceremonies are performed in accordance with that resolution.

"We burn them. That's the way it has to be done; that is the proper way to dispose of a flag,GÇ¥ Woods said. "We collect them from anybody that wants to get rid of them.GÇ¥

Anyone who needs to dispose of a flag is welcome to use Post No. 58's refurbished U.S. Postal Service collection box inside the Donnetta Walser Building at 769 Village Way in Monroe.

"A lot of people throw them in the garbage, which is wrong,GÇ¥ Woods said. "Give them to us and we'll dispose of them the way they're supposed to be.GÇ¥

The laws governing the treatment, usage and disposal of the American flag are outlined in Title 36, Chapter 10 of the United States Code, which relates to patriotic customs. The laws, which are sometimes referred to as the Flag Code, stipulate that, "The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.GÇ¥

Post No. 58 will hold a flag disposal ceremony 4 p.m. Saturday, April 23, at Lake Tye Park in Monroe. During past events, the post has recruited a local Boy Scout troop to help perform the disposal. Flags too large to be safely burned during the event are taken to the local funeral home, Woods said, so that when a deceased veteran is cremated, their family members can choose to have a flag included with the body.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Through a collaborative effort last year between the Monroe Historical Society, the American Legion and Park Place Middle School teachers Tonia Boyle and Dottie Simoni, a spotlight was directed at Monroe's World War II monument at the north end of Memorial Field near the Sky Valley Education Center.

Post No. 58 installed the old stone monument in 1951, intending to go back and add the names of the Monroe soldiers that died in World War II.

For whatever reason, the memorial was never completed. Few in Monroe are even aware of the monument, which has fallen into disrepair over the years.

Feeling it would make an excellent class project, Simoni and Boyle had their eighth-grade humanities students research each WWII veteran from Monroe who died in the war. The project, Gone But Not Forgotten, culminated in student presentations at the end of the school year, which included a veterans panel.

The students also worked to raise money to help fund the monument restoration.-á

Since then, the Legion has been working to move the memorial project forward. Members decided the monument needed a more prominent location in Monroe and should honor all veterans, rather than only those that served in WWII. A three-person committee worked with the Monroe Parks Department to identify a space at Monroe's Lake Tye Park, after which the Legion received approval from the Monroe City Council to move forward with the idea.

Rather than attempting to move the existing structure, they hope to fund a new veterans memorial out of granite. Initial plans are to remove the brass plaque off the existing monument and transfer it to the new one.-á

American Legion members are selling military-themed Wrist Story fundraiser bracelets to raise funds and awareness for the new memorial, with plans to set up a booth at Monroe's Ben Franklin Craft and Frame Shop in upcoming months.

The American Legion meets the third Tuesday of every month at Brookdale Monroe. To purchase a bracelet or find out if you are eligible to join the American Legion, contact commander and adjutant Larry Woods at 360-793-1363.

For more information about the American Legion, visit www.legion.org.