“The Continental ship Providence, now lying at Boston, is bound on a short cruise, immediately; a few good men are wanted to make up her complement."

--Marine Captain William Jones, Providence Gazette, 20 March 1779

FIRST MARINE DIVISION ASSOCIATION

Report:  1st Marine Division Association

75th Annual Reunion

August 16-21, 2022

Arlington, Virginia

Last photo credit: USMC

Reunion attendees enjoyed Evening Parade at Marine Barracks Washington D.C.

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Members,

We are back! We had to skip two years, but we finally got back to having our Reunion for the first time since the pandemic! We gathered in Washington, D.C. We visited the Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia, and enjoyed the Friday Evening Parade at 8th & I. At our farewell banquet, Assistant Division Commander  BGen James A. Ryans spoke and roused a standing ovation. Everyone had a great time.


A major business item was resolved in the General Membership meeting. Association By-Laws had allowed every officer, with the exception of President, to serve multiple terms. The President was limited to a single term. Now, the President may serve two two-year terms.


I'll tell you, you spend the first year as President just getting your feet wet, and when you have figured out how the organization runs, it is time to turn over command. This change should give us a smoother running Association for the future.


The final accounting for this Reunion is in. We are about $3,000 in the black.

 

Members voted to meet again next year, in Las Vegas. That should be another great gathering.


My most gracious thanks go out to all who worked so hard to make our comeback Reunion a success.


Planning for the commemoration of the 81st Anniversary of the founding of the 1st Marine Division has begun. Staff and Southern California Chapter will be meeting with the Division next week.


Visiting Camp Pendleton is at its best in January/February. Watch here for news.


Semper Fi


Gerard "Jerry" Corrento

President, 1st Marine Division Association

jcorrento@verizon.net

215-840-2257

FROM DIVISION

Invitation to 1st Marine Division's

247th Marine Corps Birthday Ball

Thursday, November 10, 2022

Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen,


The Commanding General, 1st Marine Division and the Commanding Officer,

Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division, cordially invite you and a

guest to join us on Thursday, 10 November, 2022 as we celebrate the 247th

birthday of the United States Marine Corps.


The birthday ball will be held at the Pechanga Resort Casino, Temecula, CA.

The cost is $75.00 per person.


Cocktail hour is scheduled for 5:00 PM, followed by the Birthday Ball

ceremony at 6:30 PM, then Dinner and Dancing.


The ballroom closes at 11:59PM.


The attire for the evening is dress blue "A" or evening dress for military and black tie for civilians.


Onsite childcare from 4:00 PM to 11:59 PM can be provided for $120 per

child. If onsite child care is desired please contact 1stSgt McCrary at

ryan.mccrary@usmc.mil


Please RSVP "Yes" or "No" by 21 October 2022, at the link below. (*If

the hyperlink does not work, please copy and paste the link into your

browser).

https://einvitations.afit.edu/inv/anim.cfm?i=691987&k=046843007350


Ticket purchases can be made in cash to 1stSgt McCrary or via Venmo.

Please see the attached Venmo information. Please purchase

your ticket by October 21st. Please contact 1stSgt McCrary at

ryan.mccrary@usmc.mil or (252)-665-3550 for further details.


Thank you for your time. We look forward to seeing you at the ball!


Very Respectfully,


Grant Hubble

First Lieutenant, USMC

Protocol Officer

1st Marine Division

Email: grant.hubble@usmc.mil

Purchase tickets at Venmo

FROM HEADQUARTERS

Wishing a Happy 80th Birthday to

FMDA Vice President

Mike Galyean

SCHOLARSHIP

Marines:


Attached is the G/L for The Fund for September reflecting all transactions through 30 September. The asset base contracted another $54K in September due to the “market” realization that the Biden Administration has driven to country into a deepening recession on top of the late August announcement by Jerome Powell of the Federal Reserve warning that we are in treacherous economic waters requiring significantly more upward interest rate adjustments. Through 30 September, The Fund has paid out $27,500 in scholarships for 11 approved students with 12 approved students remaining in the queue.

 

Ms. Doris Bunnell, attorney for the Blair Hunter Estate, has been in the hospital since early this year and transferred responsibility for making distribution of the estate to the Barnes Walker Law Firm. The Barnes Walker Law firm has not yet released the distribution from the estate nor have they responded to our inquiries regarding the distribution. Additionally, the probate attorneys for the LtCol. John Stevens estate have not released the $10,000 gift to the Scholarship Fund though the estate was probated last November.

 

Total assets held by The Fund as of 30 September = $937,037.52

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Semper Fidelis,

 

Jerry

 

Your Scholarship Fund continues to be in good health in a very fragile market environment and Mr. E. B. Bartlett continues to ably guide The Fund through these stormy economic waters to help protect The Fund’s asset base.


Reminder … Please someone apply!!!!

My job is open so if anyone wants to submit his or her name to the Fund Board of Directors for the CFO position, it is open and available for consideration by the Scholarship Fund Board of Directors as I am more than ready to retire at 76 and I am not getting any younger as each day passes. A candidate should have basic accounting and financial reporting skills and be capable of preparing federal and state tax returns as well as other statutory reporting requirements and pay for postage out of pocket (i.e., donate postage and stationery, envelopes, etc.). The CFO should be willing to handle all statutory reporting requirements pro-bono (these are the ways that cash expenses are minimized for the benefit of The Fund). I have handled all tax and statutory filings for 2021 pro-bono, as in the past.

Download FMDASF General Ledger Spreadsheet 
CHAPTERS
Central Florida Chapter's Sept/Oct Newsletter
Central Florida Chapter website
Visit Desert Cities' Website

Silicon Valley Chapter

Marine Corps Birthday Lunch

November10, 2022

Hi All,

 

The Marine Corps Birthday Luncheon this year is on Thursday, November 10th

  

Noon to 2:00PM, at the Moffett Field Museum, next to the Historic Hangar One

 

Add this to your calendar NOW! Invite a Marine or Corpsman friend.

  

This event is catered by the Pasta Market of Los Altos-$40 fee to cover costs

 

No host bar of beer and wine, lunch at 12:30

 

The Guest Speaker is Col. Scott Leonard, USMC (Ret)   

    

He is an Early Planner on Force Design 2030 and Military Secretary to the Commandant of the Marine Corps

 

Don’t forget to RSVP. Limited space!

 

RSVP by Tuesday, Nov 8th to Mike Welsh mikewelsh53@hotmail.com       415-999-0302

Southern California Chapter


Newsletter:  The Breed, October 2022

Get The Breed - October 2022 edition
HEALTH

From Marine Corps Times

VA botched thousands of Camp Lejeune water contamination cases


Veterans Affairs processors in recent years mishandled more than one-third of all disability claims related to water contamination issues at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, potentially cheating as many as 21,000 veterans out of financial compensation, a government watchdog said Thursday.


A new report from the department’s inspector general said errors in claim effective dates and retroactive payments alone affected nearly 4,000 veterans and totaled about $14 million, but that accounts for only a small portion of the mistakes.


The majority of the mistakes — affecting more than 17,000 veterans’ cases — came because staff prematurely denied claims without requesting additional evidence of injury and exposure to the contaminated water.


“Veterans were not informed of the specific evidence needed to support the claim before the decision … Some of the veterans’ claims might have been granted if veterans had been notified of evidence needed to decide their claims,” the report stated.

Read the full story at Marine Corps Times
Download the 2 page flyer
Read more at the VA
NEW MEMBERS

Welcome aboard to our newest members


CPL ROBERT J. BONDERUD

MRS VIRGINIA GINNY CISNEROS

COL JEFF B. CLARK

ANDREW L. CONLEY III

MICHAEL JAMES CRANE

BEVERLY ROSE FRANZ, Sponsor: Joe Franz

JOSEPH G. FRANZ JR

CPL JOHN (DUKE) R. HALL

E-4 STANLEY MICHAEL KOSZOWSKI

DON CHARLES LOBERG

PFC JOE MARINO

HOWARD STANLEY PETIT JR

SGT DENNIS IRWIN STRUEBING

RAY EARL TAYNOR

DR VIVIANNE CISNEROS WERSEL

CARY ROBERT WILLIAMS

CPL RALPH M. WITKIN

TAPS

We are again searching public records to update our Taps Report. The older listings here are due to our mailing list cleanup service not being perfect, so a Lost Patrol effort finds some long missed passings.


Please contact HQ when you hear of a fellow Marine passing, so that we may pay our respects here, and keep our members informed.


Recent reports are in boldface.


ELBURN 'COOP' COOPER, 5 Sep 2022

SGT JOSEPH J. CORNELL,18 Sep 2022

OLGA V. FINCHER,4 Sep 2022

GYSGT PETER J. FITZPATRICK JR, 16 Sep 2022

RONALD L. GETCHELL, 18 Aug 2022

PHILIP B. HATCH JR USN(RET), 16 Dec 2017

SGT WALTER J. HAUBER, 24 Jun 2019

CPL JAMES A. HAUER, 22 Jun 2012

CPL GIL D. HAUGAN, 19 Jun 2014

CPL MELVIN A. HAUGE, 1 Sep 2019

SGT KENNETH W. HAUSELT, 30 Nov 2009

LTCOL ALBERT J. HAUSSKE, 1 Oct 1999

HMCS JOE B. HAVENS USN(RET), 27 Apr 2018

CPL JOHN R. HAWBAKER, 22 Mar 2008

MRS BARBARA HAWKINS, 4 Oct 2015

CPL WILLIAM H. HAWKINS, 23 Jan 2021

MRS VIRGINIA HAWLEY, 5 Feb 2021

CPL LEIGH STEWART HAYDEN, 3 Oct 2013

CAPT ROBERT A. HAYDOCK, 31 May 2022

PHM2 JOHN JAMES 'J.J.' HAYES, 30 Jan 2016

SSGT ROBERT D. HAYES, 3 Jul 2010

SGT ARCHIE W. HAZZARD, 4 Jun 2019

MRS RUTH O. HEAD, 1 Feb 2010

SGT WALTER H. HEADWELL, 1 Jan 2015

SGT JAMES E. HEALD, 16 Jan 2021

SGT JAMES F. HEALEY, 19 Mar 2013

SGT JAMES L. HEALY, 16 Jan 2020

MAJ JOHN F. HEALY, 23 Nov 2021

MAJ PAUL E. HEALY, 20 Aug 2008

CPL JOSEPH J. HEANEY, 8 Oct 2006

CAPT VIRGIL I. HEAP, 7 May 2009

SGT ELDON E. HEATH, 22 May 2015

SSGT PHILIP HAROLD HEATH, 25 Nov 2021

COL ALFRED D. HECK USMCR(RET), 2 Dec 2019

MRS MARY HECKE, 12 Apr 2021

GYSGT DAVID C. HECKMAN, 8 Sep 2017

ORVILLE R. HEEMAN, 5 Jul 2011

CPL J. T. HEFLING, 18 Aug 2009

LEIF A. HEGG, 27 Jan 2008

MRS ANNE HEIM, 4 Jul 2017

CPL TOM J. HEINSINGER, 2 May 2020

PFC ROY S. HEINTZ, 6 Apr 2015

HANS R. HEINZ, 2 Nov 2017

SGT EDWARD R. HELFERS, 3 Nov 2011

CPL CARL G. HELGESON, 9 Jul 2019

LYNN C. HENKLE, 31 Jan 2018

SSGT JOHN J. HENNESSY, 5 Apr 2015

SGT L. H. HENRIKSON, 8 May 2021

JIMMIE J. HENSELL, 6 Jun 2020

MR FRANKLIN D. HENSLEY, 22 Feb 2018

PFC AMOS G. HENSON, 24 Apr 2019

LAURENCE HERBERGER, 29 Sep 2022

WILLIAM F. HERZOG, 18 Nov 2008

VINCENT E. HESLIN, 13 Apr 2016

DELBERT D. HESS, 4 Dec 2013

CAPT LEROY R. HESS, 27 Jul 2015

HM2 J. F. HESSMAN, 1 Mar 2007

SGT JOHN C. HETRICK, 6 Jul 2020

MRS MARY HICKEY, 2 Dec 2019

MAJ STEWART M. HICKEY, 30 May 2017

SGT THOMAS E. HICKEY, 6 Jun 2018

CAPT JOHN L. HICKMAN, 13 Oct 2016

CAPT CHARLES R. HICKOX, 28 Mar 2020

ALFRED L. HICKS, 1 Oct 2004

PFC DARRELL D. HICKS, 25 Apr 2020

MSGT JOHN T. HICKS, 15 Oct 2021

SSGT GERARD F. HIERRO SR, 24 Nov 2011

CPL JOE F. HIGDON, 21 Jan 2019

PFC GEORGE J. HIGGINBOTHAM, 28 Jul 2014

CPL THOMAS F. HIGGINS, 26 Jun 2018

CPL DONALD E. HILES, 17 May 2014

GEN JOSEPH P. HOAR, 17 Sep 2022

MILLARD HALDON MCCLUNG, 3 Jun 2022

1STSGT CARL R. MORTENSON USMCR, 2 Oct 2021

SAM PACHECO SR., 22 Sep 2022

CPL CARLOS G. RATCLIFF, 26 Jan 2022

PATRICK MICHAEL SMITH, 18 May 2022

CPL JAMES A. WEINBERG, 26 Jul 2022

MSGT HARRY ROBERT WILLIAMS, 1 Feb 2016

Headquarters Office (760) 763-3268
President Jerry Corrento's email: Jcorrento@verizon.net
Please visit our website: www.1stMarineDivisionAssociation.org
Website currently down. We are working on it.

First Marine Division Association
P.O. Box 9000, Box # 902
Oceanside CA 92051

(760) 763-3268

Thank you for reading the Blue Diamond News. Please contact us with corrections, suggestions, and content you would like to see.

Semper Fidelis