MEMBERSHIP NEWS
Congratulations are in order for Bill Fadely and Whit Sculley. They both have made the commitment for life membership. Our past President and founding member, Lou James has left our membership rolls. It is my personal gut feeling that one day soon, we will see another outstanding Chapter being formed down south somewhere. Good luck Lou and thank you. You will be missed but never forgotten.

NEXT MEETING
Remember, our meeting Saturday, April 8th, will be our adopt-a-road project. starting at 10:30AM on Palmyra Church Road in Edinburg. We will meet in the parking lot of Waterbrook Brethren Church, 4392 Palmyra Church Rd., Edinburg. In case of inclement weather we will hold our regular meeting at the VFW Post at 11:00AM. I have the orange safety vests, trash bags, and will obtain some latex gloves for sanitary purposes. If you should be allergic to latex, please bring your own work gloves. It is understood that not all of us will be able to walk the distance needed - don’t fret - we will need a few good folks to drive us to various starting points along the route. Palmyra Church Road is just South of Edinburg off Route 11, opposite the Cemetery.

CHAPTER JACKETS
Thanks to the folks at Chapter 710, Galax, I have been in contact with someone who can make jackets for our Chapter. These are light lined, nylon, baseball jackets at a cost of $35.00 for sizes S-XL. Larger size jackets are an additional $2.00 per size increase (XXL-$37.00, XXXL-$39.00, etc.) This price includes the jacket and full back embroidery. Susan said she would be willing to embroider our names and sew on the VVA patch at no extra cost. Also, at no extra cost she will embroider our Chapter number under the VVA patch on the lest breast side. We would need to supply the VVA patch (regular, life or associate member $3.00 each) This price does not include shipping. I hope to have one in the very near future so you can see the finished product prior to committing. I do have a photo available.

EMPTY INK CARTRIDGES
Please save those empty ink cartridges. Ask your children/grandchildren to save them for you. Maybe your local library can give you a few of their empties. Staples will allow a $3.00 rebate for those empty cartridges. I have been using them for the newsletter for two years now and could use some help. Please bring them with you to the next meeting or whenever you can.

VIETNAM POW AND POW BOOK AUTHOR TO SPEAK
Chapter 227, Vietnam Veterans of America invites all veterans, friends, and the general public to attend the April 20, 2006 chapter meeting at Neighbor’s Restaurant, 262D Cedar Lane, Cedar Lane Shopping Center, Vienna, Virginia at 7:30PM. Commander Everett Alvarez, Jr. USN Ret, the first Naval aviator prisoner of the Vietnam War, will discuss his POW captivity, and Mrs. Taylor Kiland, author of “Open Doors: Vietnam POW’s Thirty Years Later”, will discuss the lives of several POWs since their release in 1973. For more information, call Len Ignatowski at (703) 255-0353 or visit their web site at www.geocities.com/vva227

WHEEL CHAIR FISHING BOAT
Planning a trip to the Tampa, Florida area? MacDill AFB Marina in Tampa Florida has available a pontoon fishing boat modified for Veterans who use wheelchairs. Vets and their families have free use of the boat as long as they pay for the gas. The 24 foot ‘Miss Beverly’ is equipped with a wheelchair ramp, a 75 HP Mercury outboard motor and additional safety features for mobility impaired individuals. Volunteers are available to meet and greet and escort users through the MacDill entry gate and pilot the boat. For boat reservations, call the Marina at: (813)828-4983. For a list of volunteers and their phone numbers, call the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Florida Gulf Coast Chapter in Tampa at: (813)935-6540.

OLD DOMINION 100 MILE ENDURANCE RUN
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for June 3rd. We will need a few volunteers to man several aid stations throughout the 100 mile course. This is great exposure to people from all over the Country and let’s them know that the VVA exists. Normally they hold a meeting at the Shenandoah Fair Grounds the evening before the event. Point of contact is Ray Oksa or Roger Stevens.

MEMORIAL DAY ACTIVITIES
As there are several activities planned for Memorial Day, we will let you know as soon as possible which ones we will be participating in.

SERVICE FOR PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN SEAMAN FROM PEARL HARBOR ATTACK
HICKAM AFB, HAWAII - More than 1,500 Sailors, Soldiers, Marines and civilians who died on Dec 7, 1941 during the attack on Pearl Harbor were never identified. While about 1,000 of the unidentified are interred aboard the USS Arizona. Some 330 others are buried in graves marked “unknown” at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl). Now one of those unknowns has a name.

In October 2005, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command identified the remains of Seaman 2nd Class Warren Paul Hickok, a U.S. Navy service member,, and a Kalamazoo, Mich. native, missing in action from the Pearl Harbor raid. Services for Hickok were held on March 29 at the Punchbowl.

POW/MIA UPDATE
U.S. PERSONNEL MISSING FROM THE VIETNAM WAR. Since February 1st, the number listed by DoD as missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War is still 1,807 - 1,382 in Vietnam, 364 in Laos, 54 in Cambodia and 7 in PRC territorial waters. Over 90% of the 1,807 were lost in Vietnam or in areas of Laos and Cambodia under Vietnamese control.

FROM SHABOOMS KITCHEN
From Palm Sunday to Passover to Western Easter to Orthodox Easter---April is full of times to try this yummy ham. I hope you enjoy it as much as Roger and I do.

1 7-9 pound fully cooked smoked ham (shank, with bone)
Whole cloves
1 cup apricot preserves
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (spicy is best)
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch ground ginger

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Use a large sharp knife and cut fatty surface of ham in a diamond pattern about 1/8"-1/4" deep. Insert whole cloves in each diamond, using as many as desired. Place the ham in a large roasting pan (at least 13x9x2). In a small bowl, combine apricot preserves, mustard, ground cloves and ginger; spread all over ham. Pour about 1 cup of water into the bottom of the pan. Bake about 25 minutes per pound or until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
Remove ham from the pan to a platter; tent with foil and let rest at least 30 minutes. Using a sharp carving knife, carefully cut and remove and discard the fatty layer from the ham. Cut away and discard any burned portion from the lean edges. Slice and serve warm.

Questions? Suggestions? For more information about joining our Chapter, please e-mail us!

MAILING ADDRESS
VVA Chapter 936
P. O. Box 299
Basye, VA 22810

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