Dear Brothers;

I wish to thank everyone who helped make the Memorial weekend re-dedication ceremony a success, either by helping out or by attending. I was very pleased to see so many members in attendance. I especially want to thank Barb and Jim Hagenow for doing the POW/MIA ceremony, Larry Pinkerton for his very appropriate prayer, Leon Hubner and the VFW Post 1130 Color Guard, Mr. Rudy Legner on the trumpet and Dave Lantz for his very moving speech. There were other people, who helped out also, too many to mention here, but you know who you are, and without helpers things just wouldn't get done. As a result of all us pulling together we had a wonderful ceremony which the families of the 37 LaPorte County men who were killed in Vietnam truly appreciated. Now we have a monument we can REALLY be proud of. If you haven's seen the monument since it was finished, it is in Soldiers Memorial Park on Pine Lake Ave. in LaPorte.

On Saturday June 12 we had our work detail and cleared the trees, weeds, thorns, vines, etc. from the embankment between the VFW Post 1130 building and the shoreline of the lake. I would like to thank John and Renee Zupko and John Jr. and Nick, Larry Pinkerton, Pat McGrath, Don Hix, and my wife Beverly for all pitching in to get the job done. The weeds and trees were intertwined with vines and sticker bushes, and it was 92 degrees that day, all of which made for a miserable time. But we all did our part and now the embankment is beautiful again. I only wish our turn out were as good as the Christmas Party when we were giving away free food and drinks. We sure could have used a few more bodies

The LaPorte 4th of July parade is rapidly approaching; do you have your uniform ready yet? All you need is cammies and a boonie hat, and you're in. This year since the 4th is on Sunday; the parade starts at 1:00 PM not 11:00. We will meet in the parking lot of the bread store at the corner of Linclonway and Adams at between 11:30 and noon. I hope to see a good turn out this year.

1999 ANNUAL DUES ARE NOW DUE. 1999 MEMBERSHIP CARDS WILL BE SENT OUT IN THE JULY NEWSLETTER. IF YOUR DUES ARE NOT PAID YOU WILL NOT GET A NEW CARD. SEND $12.00 NOW TO VIETNAM VETERANS INC. P.O. BOX 8589 MICHIGAN CITY, IN. 46350