THE NIGHTS THE LIGHTS WERE OUT IN PROMISE, =
SOUTH DAKOTA
Loy Smith
National Board Member/Post LA-04 Commander
&nbs=
p; The
van and trailer were loaded to the max as we set out on our long and tiring
trip to Promise, South Dakota. With Peter Forbes at the helm and along with
Mike Breighner and Joe Sherman I was traveling to South Dakota to help with=
the
beginning renovations on the United Veterans Beacon House at the former
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe – Lakota Akicita Veterans Center. Along the way we stopped in Clevel=
and,
Ohio to pick up foodstuffs for the Promise UVBH from Gary Curran, Post
OH-10. Now with every
conceivable space filled in the van and trailer we moved forward.
&nbs=
p; I
wanted to go on this trip for the same reasons that I have been on other tr=
ips
– to help veterans less fortunate than I am because if a veteran is n=
ot
going to help a veteran, who will?
I have skills that help when renovations=
are
needed in a UVBH. I am retire=
d and
since I have been involved with the organization and working on projects I
probably need to look for a job just to get some rest.
&nbs=
p; As
a National Board Member I have made a commitment to do all that I can to
support the programs of the organization and I believe that there is no bet=
ter
way than to do it than “hands on”.
&nbs=
p; The
long trip of over 1600 miles to Promise was made in two and a half days =
211;
we traveled 4,000 miles all together.
We saw buffalo, pheasant, grouse, horses, mule deer, whitetail deer,
cattle and acres and acres of sunflowers and miles and miles and miles of r=
oad. I didn’t do any of the drivi=
ng but
believe me it is tiring just to ride in the van for that long.
On the first night we staye=
d at the
house. It was an adventure be=
cause
there’s no water and no toilets working yet and it was pretty cold.
Just doing the shopping for
supplies we needed was a challenge because it was twenty-eight miles one wa=
y to
get anything. There were only=
three
small stores where we could shop and it required visits to all three stores=
to
get close to what we needed to work
We worked on unloading the =
trailer,
getting the boiler and water service in place, power washing the exterior,
running new water lines to take water away from the building and generally
starting the renewal of the building.
We worked hard but there is still a lot to do.
I made many new friends within the tribe and o=
n two
occasions we were treated to great dinners by Terry Ducheneaux – great steaks, pork and gra=
pe
salad! I celebrated my birthd=
ay
while in Promise. Danny LaPla=
nte
brought the chili and Patsy and Bob Marshall brought the buffalo barbeque,
burgers, beans and all the trimmings for a great meal along with a beautiful
birthday cake. We celebrated =
after
working flat out all day but it was great.
Mike, Joe and I participate=
d in a
traditional sweat with Leon Red Dog, Spiritual Advisor with the Lakota
Akicita. The sweat was a very
spiritual experience and one that I will remember forever.
Bob is Post Commander for P=
ost
SD-01 and Leon Red Dog is the Vice Commander for SD-01.
This tells you of just some=
of the
experiences in Promise. We made the whole 4,000 trip with no major
incidents. We worked long day=
s,
traveled back and forth to Mobridge where we eventually had to get rooms to=
be
able to shower and sleep. We =
have a
lot more to do.
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