COMMITMENT …
Peter J. For=
bes
National Commander
Last year we trave=
led to
Eagle Butte, South Dakota with Veteran Service Officers to assist veteran
members of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe – Lakota Akicita. We made the commitment and followed
through … we committed to returning for follow up in 2005 and we have=
now
done that with a visit by Jeremiah Simpson, Veteran Service Officer
… we fulfilled <=
b>our
promises.
Jody T=
apio,
a VSO from SD-01, worked closely with Jeremiah in honing his skills as a
VSO. Jody is the future house
manager for the Promise, South Dakota UVBH and he is now also accredited to
provide VSO support for all veterans.
&nbs=
p; We
committed to going back to Promise, South Dakota to start the refurbishment=
of
the old Promise Day School after obtaining a lease from the Cheyenne River
Sioux Tribe. We had the trail=
er and
van loaded to the gunnels. We
stopped off in Cleveland, Ohio where we picked up foodstuffs from Ohio Post=
10. There was probably not an inch of =
spare
space both in the trailer and the van.&nbs=
p;
The travel party included Loy Smith, National Board Member and Comma=
nder
of Post LA-04, Thibodaux, LA; Michael Breighner, National Board Member and
National Master Sgt-at-Arms; Joe Sherman, Sgt-at-Arms Post PA-35, York Coun=
ty,
PA and me.
&nbs=
p; Our
first day saw us stopping for the night in Iowa where after a late dinner we
all collapsed only to begin again the next day at 6 a.m. Everyone read books and conversed =
while
I did the driving.
&nbs=
p; The
second day we arrived late in Pierre, South Dakota dreaming about having on=
ly a
half a day to go to get to our destination of Promise, South Dakota. Getting there is only half the fun=
!
&nbs=
p; Now
picture leaving Pierre, South Dakota heading on South Dakota 1804 for
Promise. We saw literally hun=
dreds
of pheasants, grouse and partridge, deer and turkeys. And then we turn off on the Promis=
e Road
and the first thing we see is a herd of buffalo. We knew we were close. As we continued to travel along th=
is
gravel road we came upon a young buck standing in the middle of the road
defying us to continue – we acquiesced and let him pass.
We arrived at Promise and immediately started to unload the van a=
nd
trailer –no easy task. =
&nbs=
p; Bob
and Patsy Marshall met us at the Beacon House – Bob is the Post Comma=
nder
for Post SD-01. After j=
ust a
brief site inspection we knew we were in trouble when not one of the utilit=
ies
that were supposed to be turned on actually worked.
The electricity was, in fac=
t,
connected but connected to a pole of wire that went nowhere. The phone system had a fault and t=
he
water system had a leak – we were batting a thousand. We finally convinced the electric
cooperative that they had put the meter in the wrong place and they agreed =
to make
the long trip out to fix the problem. Once we had electricity we could get
underway.
&nbs=
p; Bob
Marshall became our telephone receptionist at the house along with other
duties. Finally, the phone was
working but then again most of the calls were for Bob. Bob honed his skills by seeking a =
mower
and assorted equipment.
&nbs=
p; We
attempted to find a plumber or excavating company to fix the water leak but
this proved fruitless. Finally
Terry Ducheneaux’s son and grandson came to our rescue. In fact, Terry Ducheneaux came to =
our
rescue many times both for our renovation needs as well as our inner needs =
for
food. The hospitality Terry
afforded us was nothing short of exceptional! Terry became a great supporter and
champion for veterans.
&nbs=
p; Weedwacker
Patsy Marshall was like a woman possessed.=
Every time any of us looked up Patsy was out there wacking the
weeds!
After making many phone cal=
ls
seeking somebody with a mower to slash the grass down on twenty-five acres =
of
property Leon and Gilbert Red Dog turned up. They were going to bring their rid=
e on
mower and let Patsy drive it. So
… that afternoon Leon produced the mower and immediately Patsy took o=
ver
the operations – imagine what she could do on a mower!
Bob Marshall’s nephew=
had his
bobcat and he cleaned up the driveway, helped move some of the broken sidew=
alks
and got the area surrounding the house looking great! The propane tank came and was inst=
alled,
got moved and got installed again. The West is still wild!
We saw Leon come back the s=
econd
day and Patsy eagerly waited to drive the mower. Leon got it off the pickup truck a=
nd
then I saw it being pushed back onto the pickup truck - seemed there was a
gaping hold in the crankcase – no more riding mower. Patsy was distraught – she h=
ad to
go back to the trusty weedwacker.
We stayed in the Beacon Hou=
se for
the first night and having no water, no heat and no toilets left everybody a
little full in the face. They=
were dedicated
but …not that dedicated. So,
we needed to move to a motel about thirty miles away. During our excursions to Mobridge
seeking building materials we met a lot of veterans – some have alrea=
dy
become members.
We removed old insulation around the basement and restored and
replastered, powerwashed the building and the handicapped ramp, painted doo=
rs,
erected the flagpole and affixed the UVBH sign to the building. We got the handicapped ramp and de=
ck
painted, security lights fitted, the boiler donated by Peerless Boilers down
into the boiler room along with the hot water service all in one piece R=
11;
no small feat!
We got the commercial stain=
less
steel six-burner stove donated by Frank Amalfitano of the United Veterans
Beacon House Program in New York into the kitchen.
We installed water pipes to=
take
water away from the building.
&nb=
sp;
Patsy and Bob
Marshall presented a hand-made Eagle Quilt and a Star Quilt to the organiza=
tion
to be used as fund-raisers.
Patsy’s mother has done the beautiful handwork and we will be
auctioning them off on E-bay in the near future. They also made sure that Loy Smith=
had a
great birthday – bringing most of the fixings for a meal along with t=
he
traditional birthday cake!
A=
time
of real pride was when we could affix the United Veterans Beacon House sign=
to
the building. Shown in the ph=
oto in
the front row are from the left:
Leon Red Dog and Michael Breighner; in the back Patsy Marshall, Bob
Marshall, Joe Sherman and Loy Smith.
In writing this column I re=
alize
that while it didn’t seem like we had accomplished a lot in the week =
we
were in Promise we really did get a great deal done. We will need to make additional vi=
sits
to Promise and each time we will be closer to getting veterans into this Un=
ited
Veterans Beacon House.
We had support from VVnW &a=
mp; The
Veterans Coalition Post SD-01 - Lakota Akicita. However, it was a pity that=
Post
SD-02 could not put aside their pettiness to help veterans. Post SD-02 members were notified o=
f our
plans and the need for help and we are disappointed in their lack of
participation.
We believe our next trip in=
the
spring will see a greater enthusiasm as now the Native American Veterans can
see that we are fulfilling our promise.
If you are interested in do=
ing
something to help, contact us – you too can have some adventures in t=
he
Wild West and bring to fruition the dream of housing Native American Vetera=
ns
in a United Veterans Beacon House!
You will feel a real sense of accomplishment so I hope you will join=
us.
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