Veterans Corner

Community Contributed

By Jesse Church

Aloha, all my fellow veterans and residents of Molokai, old Jesse here with all the veterans news and upcoming events.

Well, I must say that when I went to the general membership meeting on Friday, April 24 at the new Veterans Center, it was wonderful being at a Molokai Veterans Caring for Veterans (MVCV) meeting in our own building. The meeting was called to order at 10:04 a.m. by Commander Sam Makaiwi, with approximately 25 members in attendance. All reports were read, and accepted as read. Vice Commander Longie Dudoit announced that veteran service officer Ray Sambueno will be on Molokai on Tuesday, May 19 from 8 a.m. to noon, if you need help with a VA claim or any other VA-related problem, now is the time to make an appointment, call the vet center at 553-8387. Also the vice commander announced that there would be a VA workshop on Molokai at the vet center from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 20, so mark it down on your calendar, and write those questions down.

Commander Makaiwi is asking for volunteers for a wide variety of jobs, saying they are not sitting around doing nothing, and they need help with the building we have now, being so much bigger than the bunker was. They need one more watch commander for Monday, Wednesday or Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., duties range from answering the telephone, and questions giving tours of the Veterans Center, and being a general goodwill ambassador for Molokai’s veterans.

There will be a Memorial Day program, but the time, place and details have not been worked out yet. Commander Makaiwi said that we need a veteran with strong organizational and planning skills to take over the chairmanship of the Memorial Day planning committee, and finalize the plans for the Memorial Day program. So if you possess the necessary skills, or are interested in helping in the many other jobs, please call the commander at 553-8387. Commander Makaiwi has announced some changes this year in putting flags on veteran graves starting this year the MVCV, and the Boy Scouts will only put flags on veterans graves, not on all the graves, as has been the case in past years. But if you have a loved one interned here on Molokai and would like to have flags on your loved ones graves please stop by the Veterans Center for flags to put on graves, and there’s no charge. Please get your flags early as there is only a limited supply.

If you have not been to the new Center yet, you should stop down and see the place, I’m sure that you will be impressed.

To all our active duty service members, and our veterans, and the people of Molokai who support them I send you all a big mahalo. If anyone has any questions, suggestions, or news please contact old Jesse at 553-3323. I continue to depend on the information you give me. Everyone have a wonderful week, and remember that old Jesse loves you all dearly, so until next week. Aloha.