August 2026 Newsletter
- Post #193
- 10 hours ago
- 6 min read
Commander's Corner
Legionnaires,
As summer continues to roll by, I hope this newsletter finds you all well. We are probably getting to the end of our strong heat spell, but I do ask that we all do our part to check in on our fellow legionnaires and vets, making sure that they are doing well with this heat.
A quick reminder that the regular Legion meeting is been pushed to the 18th of August due to the primary elections happening on the 11th. The SAL meeting has been switched to the 1st Monday of the month ongoing if anyone wants to attend and hear what they have going on.
This past month the Legion has had the annual garage sale going on, ran and manned by Kevin P. and his Crew, a few others have assisted on a regular basis, Chris Sam from the SAL and Tasha from the Auxiliary to name a few. I know I maybe missed some and I apologize. Thank you to all who assisted with that and due to the success Kevin has decided to shut the sale down early. With that said, the week of August 3rd we will be clearing out the bay and disposing of whatever is left behind. If able please come and assist, more hands will make for quick work.
This past month we had the opportunity to do the Honor Guard for our fallen comrade, Duane Peterson. Thank you to all those who were able to participate in that. We also assisted the Elk River American Legion with posting of colors at 2 events during the Sherburne County Fair.
I, along with a few others, had the opportunity to attend the County Council meeting held in Big Lake, you might have received the minutes of the meeting from Chris Sam, if not we will post them here to the website as well. There are a lot of good things happening and some good information being shared.
We will now move into final plans for the Pig Roast that will be held at the Legion Hall on Sept 26th. Dennis is looking for some assistance so please, if able, reach out to him and let him know that you can help.
Lastly, we have started the annual membership drive. The Becker post was recognized on multiple levels for our participation percentages from last year and achieving our goals before the end of the calendar year. I would love to see those same recognitions this coming year.
One final reminder of the August meeting date change and this month SPC Schmidt will be doing a presentation towards the end of our meeting around drill and ceremony.
For God and Country,
Lee Croal
Commander Post 193
Chaplain's Corner
Chaplain’s Corner
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for our many gifts you grant us. Lord, I pray for safety for our military, our teachers, and all that hold to “One Nation Under God”!
Lord I continue to pray for the elected liars be treated as the criminals many are. May they never be heard deceiving those that voted them in.
May your hands Lord, guide those seeking public office be a servant of the people.
May the remainder of the summer find you all safe!
God Bless all of you!
God Bless all services everywhere!
God Bless America!!
Chaplain Tim
Auxiliary President's Corner
Auxiliary,
July is just about done and it’s been a hot one. We hope and pray that everybody’s summer has been going well. Remember to check on neighbor’s, families, friends and anyone who is vulnerable to heat and dehydration. Be the one to make a difference.
Many of you may or may not have received your 2027 unit dues notice in the mail. We are keeping our yearly membership at $30 a year for another year. Please get those in as soon as you can and let us know if there’s anybody else that you know of or any other family members that would care to become auxiliary member.
Once again, we say thank you we appreciate you being a member of the Auxiliary and your time and talent in helping us out in all the ways that you do take care and enjoy the rest of the summer. God bless, and God bless America.
God bless America.
Sincerely,
Paula Hinds, President
Sons of The American Legion
Greetings Sons,
The biggest thing to pass along this month is that our meeting has been charged to the 1st Monday of the month. I realize this will cause a bit of a hiccup between meetings but hopefully it'll get worked out quickly. Our meeting this month will be August 3rd and next month will be on Tuesday September 1st in accordance with Labor Day.
Another glitch we are dealing with is a delay in our membership packet. Due to a problem with the company who prints our cards, everything is delayed. For those who are able, you can renew online. Otherwise, we'll have to wait a bit.
Some things to look forward to as we come to the end of summer will be our Saturday Lunches, Guns 'n' Cupcakes, fall craft sale and Toys for Tots. Hopefully these will be great opportunities to give back to the community and honor our veterans. One final note, before and after out August meeting, Kevin will need help tearing down the garage sale. If you are able, please consider lending a hand.
For God and Country,
Andrew J. Lee
SAL Commander
Membership Spotlight
What follows is an example of a completed worksheet and the write-up with the information provided. These are available through your commander or Mick Boll. Feel free to elaborate as much as needed to give a full picture. We are limiting them to a brief description. If you can also provide information regarding the photographs supplied, it would be much appreciated. All worksheets, write-ups and photos will be added to the Legion Historical Database.
Veteran You Serve Under Name: Rueben Delose Lee
Branch of Service: Army
Years of Service: 1942-1946
Years in Legion:
Question 1: Why did you join the military?
Entered in after working at a CCC camp in Wisconsin
Question 2: What was your Rating or MOS? Truck Driver
Question 3: Where did take boot camp? Did you have any secondary education & where? Where was your major duty station?
Question 4: Were you deployed? If so, where, for how long and how many times? Okinawa
Question 5: Did you see a USO show? Where and who headlined?
Question 6: Were you a part of or witness to any historical events? The Battle of Okinawa
Within the Legion, have you served as an officer? What events are you a part of?
Andrew Lee is a Sons of the American Legion member and has been associated with the Farmington and Becker Legion for over 30 years. He has held many officers’ positions such as Sgt. @ Arms, Chaplin, Vice Commander and Commander. He has been active in honor guard, parades, youth outreach as well as a number of fundraising events for veterans and their families. He is made eligible to serve in the SAL by his grandfather’s service in World War Two.
His Grandfather, Rueben Delose Lee served in the Army from 1942-1946 after serving two years in the 698th CCC Company at Camp Ettrick out of Ettrick, WI. While in basic training, Rueben tested into pilots training and spent 2 years learning how to fly. Due to the selectivity of the air core, Rueben was not selected to continue. He was then transferred to the motor pool and drove trucks in the Pacific theater. He was present at the battle of Okinawa. One of his stories was of watching Kamikaze pilots being shot down by AA guns. He said “it was like watching fireworks”. By the end of the war, Rueben made it to the mainland of Japan.
After WWII, Rueben moved around the country from Wisconsin to Georgia, back again and eventually ended up in Elk River, MN. He got married to Helen Berlin and had 2 sons, Roger & Tom. Rueben held many jobs including welding and bus driving. He was a member of at least the Elk River Legion for many years. Rueben passed away in 2001 from complications of Lung Cancer.
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