Gentlemen,
We broke the record with Post attendance in 2015. My count is 12 members [our version of the Dirty Dozen] showed-up [up until this year we normally had between 6 to 8 for the parade]. I took about 25 photos & 15 are posted on Fb. Those other 10 are duplicates [or almost the same], some slightly out of focus & others just bad photography! If any of you have any additional photos, please advise and we can publish those as well.
It was very special for us all to have Dick Graff with us this year. He & Al Gabriel looked great in that WWII jeep! BTW, those 4 jeeps & the 3/4 ton Command Car are not the property of the National Guard as we thought. They are actually owned by individual members of VFW Post 1179 in Leesburg. So, in order to continue our use of those vehicles for our guys to ride in, I signed a contract with VFW for Dick, Al, Ernest Barnhardt, Chuck Thomas [our 1st CMDR] & others who may need to ride rather than walking ~ for the next 22 years! Oh yeah!!!
Another photo that I like a lot is below, did not include it on the Fb page because another similar one is there where it “appears” as if Al is the driving the jeep, Whoa! Look at the faces of the other guys here. I wonder what they were thinking? Perhaps, “OMG, he really is going to drive this vehicle, Holy Moly!”
(L-R): Richard Ryan; Chuck Loomis; Dick Graff & Al Gabriel
Perhaps Stan can post some of these photos on the Post’s website for purposes of our permanent Post’s history. I think that I have photos of our members participating in the annual Leesburg Parade from at least 2010 & a few from earlier years. Some among you may also have photos from earlier years. If so, please forward those to Stan for inclusion.
Congratulations gents, you were all magnificent! BTW, please check spelling of names, etc. & let me know if you find any incorrect. Our newest member, Gerry Christeson, marched with us & we welcomed him aboard as a very active member on that date!
Special thanks to Ken Canterbury for going above & beyond. His photo does appear herein because he served as our logistics guy helping Norm & Richard shuttle our crew & gear from Safeway to the parade staging area which allowed us to assemble in a timely manner. He was not in the parade itself because he does not yet a cover! Like a dummy, I failed to capture Ken in a photo. And, did not get good photos of Tony or Gerry. Notice: It is NOT mandatory that a member of our Post needs a cover or Legion shirt to be in the parade! To the contrary, every member is invited to participate, so let’s strive to get out around 25+ members for the parade next year & keep growing from less than squad size to platoon size & then someday to company size!
If you’ve forgotten how to pull-up the Facebook page, just type in “Leonard W. Kidd Memorial American Legion Post 2001” in your browser. You can simply click a photo to enlarge it, then right-click it and save it to your own computer, iPad or tablet. If you have a problem with that, just email me & I’ll send them to you in an email. All of our posted photos are in the PHOTO album, just click it to see them all & download them from that location as well.
After initial viewing of the Fb page, you can just type in “Leo” and connect with our page next time. At least that’s the way it works for me. Don’t forget to “Friend” your Fb page too! Thanks again, to you ALL.
Best wishes, Charlie
Charles M. McKinney, III
CMDR, Leonard W. Kidd
Memorial Post 2001
The American Legion
