The SAR MAGAZINE is the official quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution published quarterly.
Issue link: http://sar.epubxp.com/i/258013
WINTER 2013-14 27 CALIFORNIA SOCIETY The CASSAR Fall Board of Managers meeting was hosted by the Harbor Chapter and held at the Hacienda Hotel at the Los Angeles International Airport. CASSAR President J. Stephen Hurst and Harbor Chapter President James R. Gill orchestrated the festivities. PPP The Sacramento Chapter and the Gold Country Chapter of the CASSAR once again participated as the honor guard in the Wreaths Across America ceremony at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon, Calif. The Sacramento Chapter, represented by President Russ Kaiser and Compatriots Vince Gantt and Steve Rainville, has participated as the honor guard in this cere- mony since it was established in 2005. During the last few years, guardsmen from the Gold Country Chapter have joined with the Sacramento Chapter to provide the honor guard. This year, the Gold Country Chapter was repre- sented by CASSAR Past President Keith Bigbee, CASSAR VP North Ron Barker, Chapter President Dale Ross and Compatriots Bill Graber, Gordon Clark and Barry Hopkins. The honor guard's role in the ceremony is for two honor guardsmen to escort two representatives from each of the six branches of the service, with the Boy Scouts represent- ing POW and MIA troops, to place wreaths on their ser- vice flags and return them to their seats. Two honor guardsmen then escort members of the Anne Loucks Chapter of the DAR, who have organized this ceremony each year, to lay a wreath for our patriot ancestors at the base of the U.S. flag. A video of the 2006 ceremony in Dixon resulted in the decision to make Wreaths Across America a national SAR event in 2008. The attendance at the ceremony this year was estimated to be more than 3,000. This is one of the few such ceremonies in the nation in which a wreath is placed at every gravesite. This year more than 10,500 wreaths were laid. Those making remarks included CASSAR Exec. VP Jim Faulkinbury, who read President General Joseph Dooley's proclamation. Orange County Chapter At its October meeting, the Orange County Chapter wel- comed special guest speaker, retired U.S. Navy Capt. J. Charles "Charlie" Plumb. Plumb graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and went on to fly the F-4 Phantom jet on 74 suc- cessful combat missions over Vietnam. On his 75th mission, only five days before he was to return home, Plumb's plane was shot down. He was captured, tortured and imprisoned in an 8-by-8-foot cell, spending the next 2,103 days as a prisoner of war in communist war prisons. Karen Richards, wife of Compatriot Hugh Richards, pre- sented a Quilt of Honor to Plumb. During his nearly six years of captivity, Plumb distin- guished himself among his fellow prisoners as a profession- al in underground communications and served for two of those years as the camp's chaplain. His military honors include two Purple Hearts, the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and the P.O.W. Medal. CASSAR Color Guardsmen with President General Joe Dooley, from left, Bob Taylor, Dan McKelvie, Jim Faulkinbury, Jim Blauer, Steve Renouf, Henry Lucas and Jim Fosdyck. (Photo by Un Hui Yi, wife of Compatriot James Fosdyck) Twenty-two CASSAR and Ladies Auxiliary members participated in the Wreaths Across America observance at Brea. Eleven compatriots wore uniforms and five Ladies Auxiliary members wore Colonial-era attire. Among those participating were Daniel Shippey as Gen. George Washington and Larry Wood of the Orange County Chapter, James Gill of the Harbor Chapter, Richard and Spencer Knock of the Silicon Valley Chapter, Karl Jacobs of the Harbor Chapter, and Daniel McKelvie, John Dodd, Jim Blauer, Kent Gregory and Jim Fosdyck of the Orange County Chapter. (Photo by Un Hui Yi) WINTER_14_sar26-40.indd 27 2/4/14 11:28 AM