Our own branch was featured in the recent issue of the Legion Magazine for one of our virtual services.
Click here on on the image to enlarge.
For a PDF version, click legion-magazine_janfeb21.pdf
The service in question was the Commemoration Day/Memorial Day one we hosted on 01 July 2020. To view that service, click here.
An item from the Legion Magazine.
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An item from a fellow veterans organization in the Bay Area.
 As we approach the Diamond Anniversary of the Marines’ Memorial this November, we’re taking the time to reflect on the past 75 years. Through wars, recessions, civil unrest and, most recently, a worldwide pandemic, the Marines’ Memorial has stood resolute and unwavering in honor of all who have served.
The history of our nation and our Armed Forces are the lifeblood of this Living Memorial. Around every corner, in every hall, on every floor, our mission to Commemorate, Educate and Serve shines brightly.
To celebrate, we invite you to join us on this historical commemoration of your Club “Marines’ Memorial: 75 Years in the Making.” From now until November, you will receive monthly emails giving insight into a special part of the history of your Club. The stories told and the memories made under the roof at 609 Sutter are priceless. Thank you for an incredible 75 years!
For the first installment, we wanted to take you back (WAY BACK!) to before World War II and the need for a Living Memorial in San Francisco arose. This building we know and love was something VERY different before our founding in 1946…  In 1923, the City and County Federation of Women’s Clubs decided to erect a building “at the Southwest corner of Sutter and Mason” and “designed as a club home for the women of the State.” Originally budgeted for $1,000,000, this building took a little more than 3 years to complete, finally costing $1,750,000 with a grand opening held on May 31, 1927. The purpose of the San Francisco Women’s Club is very much the same as the Marines’ Memorial! The many rooms, auditoriums and dining facilities were for “lectures, forums and discussions of public interest.” Once opened, there was “not a woman in California but will find some features of interest to her…as an exclusive place to dine and entertain…offer personal contact with cultural ideas and people… (and) out-of-town women will find it a comfortable home, admirably situated in the heart of city life.”
 During World War II, the then-named Western Women’s Club became a part of The United States Naval Reserve (Women’s Reserve), better known as WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). The women of WAVES hosted many members of the United States Marine Corps through WWII until those same Marines purchased the building in early 1946. Without the women who began the planning for this building in the Roaring 20’s, who knows what our modern-day Marines’ Memorial would look like! Take a look at some of the original newspaper articles about the women’s club below! To see larger versions of these and other articles, visit our Marines’ Memorial Foundation Facebook page HERE.
Marines’ Memorial Association & Foundation 609 Sutter St. San Francisco, CA 94102 Copyright © 2020, All rights reserved |
A newsletter from one of our fellow Canadian organizations in the Bay Area.
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We recently received this request for information. If any member have any details that they are able to share, please contact Paul Ritchie directly at mbb624-at-shaw-dot-ca.
I am writing to you on behalf of the Calgary Highlanders Regimental Museum and Archives.
To summarize a long story, we have a bass drum, which started life some time before 1917. The period before 1917 is described in a 1940 newspaper article but cannot be verified.
In 1917 through 1918, it was used by a Canadian Army band (17th Reserve Battalion). Following that, it was used by various bands in Alberta during the interwar period. It was given to the Calgary Highlanders in 1940 and used until approximately 1952. The next information I have is that the drum was donated to a Royal Canadian Legion pipe band by James P Gilsenan in 1977. Lastly, it was donated to the Calgary Highlanders by David Maisch on Labor Day weekend 1981. We have retained it since then.
I would like to discover more about the drum during the 1952 – 1977 period. Are there any Legion members who recall anything about this drum, the band it was donated to, the donor (James P Gilsenan) or the circumstances under which it was donated?
Enclosed is a rundown of the information I have on James Gilsenan.
Best regards
Paul
Attachment: Gilsenan, James P Life Events.pdf
Royal Canadian Legion, US Branch #25 