Awards Night at Gen. Smedley D. Butler Det, Marine Corps League

On Tuesday evening, February 6, at its monthly meeting, the General Smedley D. Butler Detachment 741, Marine Corps League, recognized members with Certificates and Awards for service rendered during 2017. The Detachment has numerous committees and organizations through which the services are rendered. These include, among others, the Honor Guard which provides over 100 grave side ceremonies annually for departed veterans, the Help Us Help Others (HUHO) program which collects funds to provide services to veterans not provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Americanism Team which provides education on the American Flag at local elementary schools, the Veterans Affairs Volulntary Service (VAVS) which also provides services to veterans, the Toys for Tots program which collects new toys over the holidays for needy children, the Adopt-a-Highway program which cleans Bishop Hollow Road four times annually, and the Young Marines which promotes the mental, moral and physical development of its members who are between the ages of 8 and high school graduation.

Above are photos of members receiving Certificates of Appreciation and other Marine Corps League awards based on their participation. Those depicted are, top to bottom: 1. Commandant Jim Flynn and Marine George Boyagian; 2. the Commandant and Marine and Chaplain Chris Bush; 3. the Commandant and Marine and Jr. Past Commandant Dominic D'Alessandro; 4. the Commandant and Marine and Sergeant-at-Arms Bud Davis; 5. the Commandant (c.) Marine and Detachment Director Paul Donohue (l.), and Dominic D'Alessandro; 6. the Commandant and Marine Earle Drake.

Also at our meeting was Patricia L. McGonigle, a volunteer with The Walter Reed Society which works to benefit the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) and its educational, patient, treatment, and research activities. It is sponsoring a Veteran's dinner on St Patrick's Day. Her photo is at the top, above.