Can you be-leaf it’s already Fall?🍁

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An item from the Legion Magazine.

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Let’s Rekindle the Spirit of Unity this Patriot Day

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A timely item from the Wreaths Across American organization.

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Dear Michael Barbour,

Today, we solemnly observe Patriot Day, a day dedicated to honoring the heroes and remembering the victims who tragically lost their lives on September 11, 2001. On this hallowed day, we witnessed the extraordinary emergence from the hearts of ordinary individuals. In addition to the brave police officers and firefighters who heroically risked their lives to aid others, countless strangers also stepped forward, displaying unparalleled courage as they placed themselves in harm’s way to serve others.

The solidarity after the 9/11 attacks symbolized our strength and unity as a country, when Americans came together to support one another in the face of adversity. Today, we are reminded of our commitment to the principles of unity, patriotism, and service that carried our nation through the challenging days that followed that tragic day. Wreaths Across America Volunteer Cathy Pagano wrote this poem that shares a simple ask:

Dedicate yourself to bringing unity back into our nation. It must begin with each one of us.

We invite you to join Wreaths Across America’s yearlong mission to Remember the fallen, Honor those who serve, and Teach the next generation the value of freedom. Use the buttons below to explore opportunities to get involved.

Sponsor Wreaths

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Volunteer

Wreaths Across America, PO Box 249, Columbia Falls, ME 04623, United States, 877-385-9504

Remembering 9/11

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An item from a fellow veterans organization in the Bay Area that may be of interest to members.

Today, we pause to remember the morning of September 11, 2001—a day that forever changed our nation. For many of us, the images of that day are etched permanently into our hearts: the smoke rising from the towers, the bravery of first responders charging toward danger, and the grief of families whose lives were torn apart in an instant.

As Marines, veterans, and citizens, we honor the nearly 3,000 souls lost that day. We remember not only the victims, but also the countless acts of courage and compassion that emerged from the darkness—ordinary Americans who became extraordinary in their service to others.

For those of us who wore the uniform, 9/11 was more than an attack on our homeland. It was a call to duty. A new generation stepped forward, volunteering to defend our freedoms, knowing the risks, and embracing the responsibility to serve. Many of them never came home. We owe them, and their families, a debt that can never be fully repaid.

On this solemn anniversary, let us reaffirm our commitment to the values that unite us as Americans—courage, honor, and selfless service. Let us carry forward the memory of those we lost, not only in words, but in how we live our lives each day.

May God bless the fallen, their families, and all who continue to serve. And may we, as a nation, never forget.

Semper Fi,

Michael A. Rocco
Lieutenant General (Ret.), USMC
President & CEO

Marines’ Memorial Association & Foundation

Membership@MMAF1946.org

Remembering Mynarski: A marker and a broken treeline at VR-A’s crash site

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An item from the Legion Magazine.

The Mynarski Lancaster, a tribute aircraft owned and operated by the Warplane Heritage Museum of Canada in Hamilton, is one of only two Lancasters flying in the world. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]

Remembering Mynarski: A marker and a broken treeline at VR-A’s crash site

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

Nestled in a nondescript corner at the intersection of two pathways in the commune of Gaudiempré, southwest of Arras in northern France, there lies a stone marker commemorating the night in June 1944 that a Lancaster crashed in what is now the tree-lined cornfield behind it.

There were 7,377 Avro Lancasters built during the Second World War, 430 of them in Canada; 3,932 were lost. But this Lancaster, VR-A of 419 (Moose) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force, Tail No. KB726, was, as the stone notes, Andrew Mynarski’s Lancaster.

Pilot Officer Mynarski was the mid-upper gunner from Winnipeg who earned a posthumous Victoria Cross after desperately trying to save his trapped rear gunner from their crippled aircraft until flames forced him to jump. The rear gunner, PO Pat Brophy, miraculously survived the crash. On fire when he parachuted from the airplane, Mynarski did not.

A young Arthur Theodore Clarkson was sent to Canada as part of the British Home Children program. He would serve Canada during the First World War.

The British Home Children who fought for Canada

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

Arthur Theodore Clarkson’s trauma began long before the trenches.

Labelled incorrigible for skipping school in order to care for his widowed mother, the boy had been removed from his family, sent to a group home, and shipped off to Canada on Feb. 25, 1909, at age 11. From there, the British Home Child—one of more than 100,000 such children consigned to life in the Dominion against their will between the 1860s and 1940s—was housed by a Tilbury, Ont., farmer.

“He was whipped and beaten so badly,” said President Lori Oschefski of the Home Children Canada organization, which raises awareness of the program and its complex legacies. “He would sleep in an unheated attic without glass, where snow came in and piled up at his feet until they became swollen with frostbite. He was still sent out to work as the infection grew, and he was soon unable to get out of bed. And the farmer later came in and horse-whipped him and dragged him out for labour.”