Reynolds County VFW Post 6660 Newsletter
Randle Tolliver, Quartermaster/Adjutant
For veterans in crisis, the Veterans Crisis Line's number is "988” then press "1”.
Homebound veterans requiring assistance please contact any member, or call (573) 924-2382.
Veterans experiencing, or at risk of homelessness, please contact any member or the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at (877) 424-3838.
Buddy Check! Please call or go visit elderly or homebound veterans and see how they are doing.
Eligible veterans - join our mission and continue to serve. Please contact any member or (803) 924-0608 or (573) 924-2382.
The next Reynolds County VFW Auxiliary meeting will be on 27 Jume at 2:30 pm at the post in Centerville.
The next Reynolds County VFW meeting will be on 28 Jume at 2:30 pm at the post in Centerville.
Our Reynolds County cleanup project continues, but we will no longer collect tires or trash but will continue to assist folks in removing metal. Please call (803) 924-0608 or (573) 924-2382.
Last Sunday, we held our annual public Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony at the Reynolds County Courthouse by placing a wreath at the World War I & II Memorials. Pastor Ryan Welch of the First Baptist Church of Ellington provided the Invocation and Benediction. Our guest speaker was Representative Tony Harbison of the 144th District. Keagan Hines of Ellington gave a fantastic rendition of our National Anthem and Taps. Representative Harbison and Pastor Welch also participated in the wreath laying ceremony with the Post Commander Mann and the Auxiliary President. Commander Mann thanked those who joined us and shared his thoughts regarding Memorial Day.
Our next community outreach booth will be on 6 June from 9 am to 1 pm at the Sinclare Station in Eminence. A Post Benefits Advisor will be there to take your information & refer you to an accredited VFW Veteran Service Officer who will contact you and represent you to the VA for free.
Legislative news:
Please call Gov. Kehoe's office and request a special session to place a HJR 115 on the November ballot to provide ‘Disabled Veterans Property Tax and Homestead Exemption” for 100% service-connected disabled veterans. His number is (573) 751-322.
Please contact Congressman Jason Smith at (202) 225-4404 and ask him sign the discharge petition to force a floor vote for the "Major Richard Star Act” (H.R. 2102).
Now let us talk a bit about our history:
82 years ago, the battle to liberate Western Europe from a Germany controlled by the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NAZI) began. Codenamed Operation Overlord, also known as D-Day, 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces under the overall command of General Dwight David " Ike " Eisenhower landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The German forces were under the overall command of Field Marshal Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel. The German defense, known as the Atlantic Wall, was a 2,400-mile fortification of bunkers, landmines and beach and water obstacles as well as tactical air and armor support. The invasion, the largest amphibious military assaults in history, was planned for 5 June, however bad weather caused it to be delayed 24 hours. More than 5,000 ships and landing craft, supported by about 11,000 aircraft and naval bombardment, carried troops and supplies across the English Channel to France. Before the landing began at 6:30 am, thousands of paratroopers and glider troops landed behind enemy lines, securing bridges and exit roads. The objective of the assault was divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Strong winds affected the landing, particularly at Utah and Omaha. The Allies landed under heavy fire from gun emplacements that overlooked the beaches, and the beaches were mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes, metal tripods, and barbed wire; making beach-clearing difficult and dangerous. Casualties were heaviest at Omaha, with its high cliffs and heavy resistance, where there were over 2,000 American casualties. By day’s end, of the approximately 156,000 Allied troops that had stormed Normandy’s beaches, more than 4,000 Allied troops were dead with thousands more wounded or missing. By June 11, the beaches were fully secured and over 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and some 100,000 tons of equipment had landed at Normandy. In the following weeks, both heavy German resistance and a dense landscape of marshes and hedgerows challenged Allied progress across Normandy. By the end of June, the Allies had seized the port of Cherbourg and landed approximately 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles. The Allies had reached the Seine River and liberated Paris by the end of August, and with Germans withdrawal from northwestern France, the Battle of Normandy was over. The Normandy invasion was the beginning of the end for Germanys national socialist government, who surrendered on 8 May 1945. D-Day is one of the most documented events in history and most accounts cover the heroism of the Allied forces and the fierce German resistance. However, the extensive planning, including a large-scale deception campaign, is often overlooked. To learn more about D-Day, I recommend "Sand and Steel: A New History of D-Day” by Peter Caddick-Adams.
Bulletin Board:
The VA one-stop telephone number is 1-800-698-2411 and press "0” for assistance. The VA one stop website is VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs .
For local VA health care info contact the Poplar Bluff VAMC at (573) 686-4151 or www.poplarbluff.va.gov/services/index.asp .
For more for information concerning VA "End of Life” benefits and services see www.va.gov/initiatives/end-of-life-benefits/
Missouri Veterans Commission one-stop Benefits and Resource Portal is www.veteranbenefits.mo.gov . To pre-certify for burial in a Missouri Veterans Cemetery, apply at https://my.mo.gov/gsp?id=vcp_preapplication. For information on burial eligibility, visit https://mvc.dps.mo.gov/cemeteries .
To order replacement military service documents contact the National Archives, National Personnel Records Center at https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records or call (866) 272-6272.
For more information, call (573) 924-2382, email us at post6660@movfw.org or follow us at www.facebook.com/Post6660Reynoldsco and on X, Truth Social, and Instagram at VFW6660.
"Here to Serve”
