"Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering." 
--Theodore Roosevelt
GySgt William D. Weisgerber
1930 - 2019
PVT William D. Weisgerber, Platoon 10, MCRD San Diego, April 1949
GYSGT Weisgerber, January 2012
Marianne and Denny at Marines Memorial Club, 2017
Banquet MC Weisgerber and Executive Assistant to the President June Cormier at the Reunion banquet in Colorado Springs in 2018.
Chaplain Weisgerber leads the Memorial Service in Colorado Springs, August 2018.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Dear Members,
It is my sad duty to report the passing of our longtime comrade and friend, William Denny Weisgerber on December 4.

Denny served as our Vice President 2011-2013, and Chaplain from 2017, and on several Committees. At meetings he could be counted on to keep us civil and on track.

You can read a fuller list of his accomplishments in the links below. Here are some highlights:

He enlisted in 1949. He earned the Navy Cross in Korea in 1952, as well as the Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, Korean Campaign Medal with two stars, United Nations Korea Medal, Navy Unit Commendation Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Combat Action Ribbon, and National Defense Medal.

He served on the City Council of Milpitas, California for 12 years, including 3 two-year terms as Mayor. He was involved with Rotary, and many volunteer services.

In 2011, in recognition of a lifetime of achievements, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus selected Denny Weisgerber for honorary promotion to Gunnery Sergeant.

His brilliance shined when he MC'd our banquets and lead memorial services at our Annual Reunions.

You will be missed, Denny.

June adds she will miss Denny's kindness and cheerfulness. And, she thanks you all for your continuing support and comfort for her. She is regaining strength every day.

We'll be talking of memories of Denny at the Anniversary Commemoration next month, as well as enjoying the company and comradery of those present. Hope to see many of you there.



Semper Fi, 

Jerry Johs


DJC
From Headquarters
Come join us for our 79th Anniversary Commemoration aboard Camp Pendleton, California in late January and enjoy a mild winter among friends. January 29-31, 2020.

Click the button below to download your Registration Form.

Our next big event is this summer's 73rd Annual Reunion. Set for Washington, D.C., Friday, Aug 14 - Sunday Aug 23, 2020. Details to come.

You can keep current on the Association events at our website:
Members
Operation Santa
14 December, Long Beach, California
From: BILL SANDLIN <billsandlin@yahoo.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 23, 2019, 04:04:42 PM PST
Subject: Long Beach VA's Operation Santa

Three of us attended the Operation Santa meeting at the Long Beach VA a couple weeks ago. I attended another meeting at the VA a few days ago to get an update on Operation Santa. Sorry, I am a little late getting this out to you.

The Operation Santa event will be December 14th . This is for the veteran families that would not have Christmas if it wasn’t for this help from other veterans. The event will have food, games, music, toys, face painting, and Santa and elves.

Contact Ellis if you would like to sponsor a family or want to become more involved with this event. You are welcome to come to the party if you are sponsoring a family. They need donations for toys and could use someone to pass out hot chocolate to the families. Let Ellis know if you can help or have some other ideas. I will be taking pictures.

Bill Sandlin
**************
Good morning Everyone,
 If you haven’t reached out to the family you have adopted, please do so. Please reach out to the family and let them know that you received their information from the VA stating that the social worker requested them to be a part of Operation Santa and that you are their sponsor. Go over what is on the form and clarify any questions or concerns, ensure what they are asking for is correct and if it the item is to high dollar, ask for a second gift request, as you are only allowed to spend a certain amount of money. 

Also relay to them, that they will receive another invitation to our event on Dec 14 th.

Ellis McClure,  B.S HCM, MPA
Service Specialist, Voluntary Services
Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center
5901 E. 7 th  Street
Long Beach, CA 90822
Office: (562) 826-8000 Ext. 4672
Iwo Jima Association of America
Reunions & Symposium
See the World
8—20 Feb 2020 50th Anniversary of Operations in I-Corps: Operation Texas Star 1970 & the Tet Offensive & Battle of Hue City, Chu Lai – Da Nang – Hoi An – Con Thien - Quang Tri - Dong Ha - Rt 9

25 Apr—8 May 2020 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War —1970 “Delta to the DMZ” & Mili-tary & Helicopter Operations in I-II-III & IV Corps War Zone C – An Loc – Tay Ninh – Bien Hoa – An Khe – Pleiku – Qui Nhon

26 Aug — 7 Sep 2020 50th Anniversary of the Vi-etnam War —1970 “Chu Lai to the DMZ” I-Corps & Op-eration Jefferson Glenn
Football
Bring your family to the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
4 January 2020, Fort Worth, Texas
‌
KA-BAR/EK
The Association receives 6% of each sale of the KA-BAR/EK
SEMPER FI FUND

The Semper Fi Fund is caring for veterans from all U.S. military service branches. See below for details of services provided.
MILITARY SERVICE RECORDS
MILITARY SERVICE RECORDS, AWARDS, AND UNIT HISTORIES
(See the attached pdf file, or go to the URL at bottom here)
 
A New Congressional Research Service Publication on U.S. Military Service Records, Awards, and Unit Histories
 
The Congressional Research Service has just published a short reference document that might be of interest to many:
 
The guide provides information on locating military unit histories and individual service records of discharged, retired, and deceased military personnel. It also provides information on locating and replacing military awards and medals. Included is contact information for military history centers, websites for additional sources of research, and a bibliography of other publications, including related CRS reports.

 
GENERAL FUND DONATIONS
USAA
New Members
MAJ DAVID E. MARVIN,
Sponsor: MGen Robert F. Castellvi
Taps
We are again updating the database from Social Security records.
Recent reports are boldface.

JOHN F. BOHLANDER, 13 Aug 2019
SSGT CHARLES E. BOHLIG, 18 Jan 2012
MRS IRENE BOISVERT, 18 Jan 2013
CPL HARRY L. BOKEMEYER, 5 Oct 2017
LTCOL THOMAS H. BOLER, 20 Nov 2008
SGT WILLIAM R. BOLLINGER, 2 Dec 2016
SGT ROBERT E. BOLTON, 11 Dec 2010
SGT BERNARD RAY BONAR, 17 Mar 2010
CPL DONALD W. BONESTEEL, 13 Jan 2010
SGT ANDREW J. BONGIORNO, 6 May 2017
PFC JOHN L. BONNER, 15 Oct 2010
CHRISTOPHER L. BONOMO, 16 May 2017
SSGT PHILIP C. BOOTY, 12 Feb 2015
GYSGT ESCOLASTICO C. BORBOA JR, 27 Mar 2006
SSGT WILLIAM J. BORGIO, 17 Oct 2019
JOSEPH J. BOTTI, 20 Feb 2013
SSGT HAROLD R. BOURGEOIS, 9 Dec 2002
CPL ROBERT A. CARROLL, 25 Nov 2019
SGT ROY E. CURTIS, 17 Oct 2011
CPL I. P. HOLST, 11 Dec 2014
CPL CHARLES T. PAYNE, 14 Sep 2008
SGT GEORGE PAZ, 17 Jun 2017
PFC ARTHUR A. ROBINSON, 4 Jan 2014
CPL CHARLES W. SEALEY, 29 Mar 2006
CPL GEORGE C. SEBERGER, 31 Jul 2018
PLTSGT JACK R. SEELER, 2 Aug 2015
PFC FRANK R. STERBINSKY, 20 Jul 2008
GYSGT WILLIAM D. WEISGERBER, 4 Dec 2019
MAJ HERB (FRITZ) J. WERNER, 25 Oct 2019
HM2 DOUGLAS W. YANTZ JR, 15 Feb 2002

Challenge Coin
Association's Challenge Coins Available
From: Steve "Doc" Lakernick

These Challenge Coins commemorating the 50th anniversary of Tet 1968 are available to members. The price is $5 per coin, plus shipping.
 
Headquarters Office (760) 763-3268
President Jerry Johs Email: geronamo0122@gmail.com
Please visit our website: www.firstmardivassoc.com

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

(760) 763-3268