Letter to the Editor: Stressing Importance of Being a Member

By Tom Humphrey Commander American Legion Post 39 Orangeville

Dear Editor,
Once upon a time there was a veteran who never joined any organizations. All his life, he took benefits and entitlements won for him by veterans service organizations.
He has a 10 point preference, a G.I. home loan, he had gone to school on the G.I. education bill, veterans employment even got him a job, among other things. But still he refused to join.
On his death bed he told his wife, “Please do something for me, I want to be buried in a national cemetery, have a military marker and I want a veterans organization to provide an honor guard and be my pallbearers.”
“But you never belonged to any veterans organizations,” his wife exclaimed, “why do you want them for pallbearers?”
“Dear,” he replied, “they’ve carried me this far, they might as well carry me the rest of the way!”