The Oklahoma History Center, in association with VillagesOKC, the local offices of Humana, Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight, Navigating Medicare and the Force 50 Foundation, is proud to host a pinning ceremony honoring all the servicemen and servicewomen, active or reservists, who served anywhere in the world during the Vietnam War-era. Family members of any veteran unable to be present may also receive this pin. The event will be held in the Devon Great Hall of the Oklahoma History Center on Friday, March 29, from 10 a.m.-noon, with doors opening at 9 a.m. This event is free and open to the public.
March 29 was designated as Vietnam Veterans Day by the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, to be commemorated with annual nationwide events. Guided by the stipulations in that act, only Vietnam War veterans and their families are recognized. However, the Vietnam War Commemoration organization is providing recognition pins to honor any US veteran who served on active duty or in the reserves in the US Armed Forces at any time during the period of November 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975, regardless of location, Vietnam or otherwise. Family members of any veteran unable to be present may also receive this pin.
The keynote speaker will be Colonel “Chuck” DeBellevue, who has been deemed “Ace of Aces,” one of only five to achieve that status from downing six North Vietnamese MiGs. He logged 550 combat hours while flying 220 combat missions, with 96 over Vietnam. His decorations include the Air Force Cross, three Silver Stars, three Legions of Merit, six Distinguished Flying Crosses, 18 Air Medals and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Device. In 2012, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame and received the Congressional Gold Medal.
Also speaking will be Colonel Peter Plank, one of the founders of the Liberty Jump Team. This team has taken more than 100 World War II veterans back to the battlefields of Normandy and Belgium at no cost to the veterans. “Taking them to the battlefields they fought in and the villages they liberated is a humbling experience. Being a part of the Liberty Jump Team preserves the memory of those that came before us alive. We owe them that,” says Plank.
Michael Do, an Oklahoma City businessman, will speak on behalf of the Oklahoma City Vietnamese community and the South Vietnamese military. Music will be provided by the 145th Army Band, known as “The Governor’s Own.”
The Oklahoma History Center is located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr. in Oklahoma City. It is open to the public Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
The Oklahoma History Center is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, National Archives and is an accredited member of the American Alliance of Museums. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit https://www.okhistory.org.
L-R Richard McQuillar, Deborah McQuillar, Leo Webster, Cloris Webster, Rick Huston, Leslie Harris. Started VetChat in Leo’s home.
Chaplain Don Udell offers spiritual encouragement and prayer for veterans and service members.L-R Carle Evans, Shirley Moore, Sue Bruce “Three of our Vet Chat Widows”L-R Deborah McQuillar AF SMSgt E8/RET, Petty Officer 1st Class (E6) Amy Petersen, Barbarah Curry AF MSgt E7/RET “Three of our Vet Chat Women”
Story and Photo by Van Mitchell, Staff Writer
Leo Webster, a 24-year Air Force MSgt/E7 RET, knows first-hand the importance of communication when helping other veterans.
In July 2018 he started Vet Chat, a monthly meeting where veterans can gather and communicate with each other and learn about resources that are available to them.
Meetings are held the second Saturday of each month at 9 a.m. in the lobby of Cornerstone Church located at 9900 SE 15th Street in Midwest City.
Vet Chat allows veterans and service members to network and fellowship while learning about the resources available to Warriors, spouses, family members, and widows.
The program’s goal is to give a source of support while also connecting and encouraging veterans by sharing stories in passing of useful advice, information, or resources.
Topics include education benefits, VA burial benefits, Wills, Power of Attorney, disability rating, housing and spousal benefits.
“We strive to connect our veterans with local agencies, organizations, and civic groups that specialize in assisting our heroes and their families,” Webster said. “The goal of this group is to be a source of support while also connecting, encouraging and motivating veterans.”
Webster said Senior News and Living will host a Veteran’s Resource Fair at Cornerstone Church on Saturday, Sept. 14 from 9 a.m. to noon in lieu of the regular Vet Chat meeting that day.
Webster said the idea of Vet Chat began while sitting in church.
“I was sitting in church one day and just looking around at the number of veterans in my church. And being a 24-year Air Force veteran myself, I said, “We need to start talking to each other.” This is just going on in my mind,” he said. “So, I invited a group of veterans to my house to have lunch.”
Webster said he and the rest of his invited guests sat in his living room and started talking to each other.
“You put a table full of food out, you can get a lot of people,” he said. “We started thinking about what are the things that we can just start helping veterans with? And obviously benefits and services and things that were available to veterans. So, I just ran a poll around the table and said, ‘Okay, what are some things? Just write down some things that you think that we can work on.’ Each person came up with a list of things they thought.”
Webster said the Vet Chat meetings outgrew his living room.
“We met in my living room at my house for a long time, but it just mushroomed,” he said. “I asked my pastor, Ron McKey, at Cornerstone Church if I could just start using the foyer in the church. He said absolutely. He said anything that we can do to help our veterans is welcomed.”
Webster said initially the Vet Chat meeting started with around eight veterans, but has grown slowly, but steadily.
“We started off with about eight people, and we’ve had as high as 57 people,” he said. “I would love to have over 100 veterans attend the Vet Chat meetings each month.”
Webster said he gets self-satisfaction from helping others.
“If someone needs something and I can help them, I feel that if I don’t do it, then I’m not fulfilling my calling of giving back,” he said.
Webster said the military teaches toughness, but that process has its challenges.
“Being in the service, us veterans are tough. We don’t ever want to admit that we have challenges, or we have aches and pains,” he said. “I’m a veteran and tried navigating applying for VA disability myself and ended up discouraged. My experience was frustrating like many others, but I had a gentleman, a good friend of mine said, ‘Leo, I’m not going to let you give up.’ He came to my house and picked me up and said, ‘We’re going down to the VA. I’m going to sit with you and you’re going to do this. He loved me through the process and just kept on loving me. And I’m comfortable right now.’”
“We help our veterans, their spouses and especially their widows.” Webster noted. When Sue Bruce lost her husband, the only thing she was sure of was she needed someone’s help. “They supported me through every part of the process. I had no clue as to all the benefits that were available to me. They just did everything, like family.” Bruce said. Carla Evans and her husband came on a Saturday earlier this year, seeking information primarily for her father and also her husband. Just weeks later her husband unexpectedly passed away. Evans said, “I could not have made it through that time without Leo and Vet Chat.
Webster said we also look out for our active service members.
“We have several wonderful retired women, like Barbara Curry, AF MSgt RET and Deborah McQuillar AF SMSgt Ret who love to support and mentor active duty females.”
Webster said he wants Vet Chat to be a safe harbor for every veteran.
“I want Vet Chat to become the model place in Midwest City where veterans can come and know, first of all, you’re at a safe place,” he said. “What you share with us is not going to be put on Facebook, it’s not going to be put out online. You are in a safe place. We are here to help you, and it’s going to be very private and confidential what you share with us. I just want to be here for our veterans. Being a veteran myself, I know how complicated it is and I just want to make life easy for these heroes and give them a safe place to just come and hang out.”
Webster said he works hard to earn each veteran’s respect.
“I have been there (Air Force) for 24 years, and I worked hard to earn the respect of the people that I serve,” he said. “And I venture to say everybody that comes to Vet Chat will tell you how hard I work to earn their respect. And I believe they all respect me, I really do. Because I don’t take anything for granted. I’m persistent when I know that I’m doing something that God would want me to do. I’m passionate about it, and I don’t want to leave any stone unturned. I want to do it with all my heart.”
Webster said while he enjoys how Vet Chat helps veterans; he will never be pleased until every veteran’s need is met.
“Yes, I am happy to see how the program is growing, but I will never be pleased until I know every veteran’s needs or services of what they need is met. And I’ll probably never accomplish that, but that gives me the drive to keep pushing every time,” he said. “Our goal is to assist our veterans to get everything that they’re entitled to. I want to be a friend to my fellow heroes, and not just be there for them.”
For more information about Vet Chat contact Webster at (405) 202-0661 or via email at lcweb@cox.net or contact James McQuillar at (405) 659-2116 or via email at jmcquillar@cox.net. See our Resource Fair Flyer on page 22
Dear Savvy Senior, I understand that the Veterans Administration has a benefit that can help veterans and spouses with long-term care costs. We recently had to move my elderly father into an assisted living memory care facility, and my mother will probably need care too in the near future. What can you tell me? Searching for Aid
Dear Searching,
The Veterans Administration (VA) does indeed have an underutilized benefit that can help wartime veterans and their surviving spouses pay for a variety of long-term care costs.
This benefit, called “Aid and Attendance,” is a special pension that’s paid on top of existing VA pensions for eligible veterans and surviving spouses. In 2024, it pays a maximum of $2,727 a month to married veterans; $2,300 a month to single veterans; or $1,478 a month to a surviving spouse. The money is tax free, and can be used to pay for assisted living, memory care, nursing home or in-home care services.
Currently, around 156,000 veterans and survivors are receiving the Aid and Attendance benefit, but many thousands more are eligible who either don’t know about it or don’t think they qualify. Eligibility Requirements
To qualify, your dad must have served at least 90 days of active military service with at least one day of service during a period of war, and not have been discharged dishonorably. Single surviving spouses of wartime vets are eligible if their marriage ended due to death.
In addition, your dad will also have to meet certain thresholds for medical and financial need to be eligible.
To qualify medically he must be either disabled, or over the age of 65 and need help performing basic everyday living tasks such as eating, bathing, dressing or going to the bathroom. Being blind or in a nursing home due to disability or receiving Social Security Disability or SSI also qualifies him. Single surviving spouses have no age restrictions, but they must require help with basic everyday living tasks to be eligible.
To qualify financially your parents “net worth,” which includes assets and annual income combined, must be below $155,356 in 2024.
To calculate this, add up your parent’s assets, which includes their personal property (like investments, real estate, etc.) excluding their primary home and vehicles. And tally up their income over the past year (including Social Security, pensions, interest income from investments, annuities, etc.), minus any out-of-pocket medical expenses, prescription drugs, insurance premiums and long-term care costs over that same period of time.
The VA also has a three-year lookback to determine if your parents transferred any assets to ensure they would qualify for benefits. If so, they may be subject to a penalty period of up to 5 years. How to Apply
To apply for Aid and Attendance, you’ll need to fill out VA Form 21-2680 and mail it to the Pension Management Center (PMC) for your dad’s state. You’ll need to have your dad’s doctor fill out the examination information section. Or you can also apply in person at a VA regional office near your parents.
For more information or to download application forms see
https://www.va.gov/pension/aid-attendance-housebound. You can also call the VA at 800-827-1000 if you have questions.
If you need some help, you can appoint a Veteran Service Officer (VSO), a VA-accredited attorney or claims agent to represent your dad. See
https://www.va.gov/ogc/apps/accreditation/index.asp to locate someone.
If your dad is eligible, it can take months for his application to be processed, so be patient.
You should also know that if your dad’s Aid and Attendance application is approved, the VA will send a lump sum retroactive payment covering the time from the day you filed the application until the day it was approved. Then your dad receives monthly payments going forward.
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit https://savvysenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.
Maj. Gen. Rita Aragon (retired) pins Navy veteran Eddie Roach during a past Vietnam War era ceremony at the Oklahoma History Center Museum. Both are VillagesOKC members.
By Marilyn Olson, Executive Director, VillagesOKC
March 29 will be a full day of celebration and commemoration for VillagesOKC members. It’s National Vietnam Veterans Day, and two major events will fill the day. A morning ceremony at the Oklahoma History Center Museum will honor all Vietnam-era veterans. An afternoon ceremony at Del City High School will recognize the character and sacrifice of 1st Lt. James Robert Kalsu.
VillagesOKC is partnering with the Oklahoma History Center Museum, the local offices of Humana, Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight, the Force 50 Foundation and Navigating Medicare to host a pinning ceremony honoring all the servicemen and servicewomen, active or reservists, who served anywhere in the world during the Vietnam War-era. Each will receive a lapel pin inscribed with “A Grateful Nation Thanks and Honors You.”
The event will be held in the Devon Great Hall of the museum 10 a.m. to noon, with the doors opening at 9:00 a.m. This event is free and open to the public.
At 1 p.m. that afternoon, a larger-than-life monument to Kalsu will be unveiled at the Del City High School stadium which bears his name. At 1:30 p.m. in the Del City Performing Arts Center there will be a Vietnam-Era Veteran pinning ceremony and premier of the documentary “Uncommon Character – the Legacy of James Robert Kalsu.”
Kalsu was a stand-out student and Del City High School football star, an All-American at the University of Oklahoma, and Rookie of the Year for the Buffalo Bills, who became the only active professional athlete killed in action in the Vietnam War.
“If our children and grandchildren are to truly value the freedoms we have, it will be experiencing events like this where men and women are honored for their character and selfless acts of valor,” said VillagesOKC Executive Director Marilyn Olson. “VillagesOKC values our veterans and intends to continue finding ways to honor them.”
According to a release from the museum: “March 29 was designated as Vietnam Veterans Day by the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, to be commemorated with annual nationwide events. Guided by the stipulations in that act, only Vietnam War veterans and their families are recognized. However, the Vietnam War Commemoration organization is providing recognition pins to honor any US veteran who served on active duty or in the reserves in the US Armed Forces at any time during the period of November 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975, regardless of location, Vietnam or elsewhere. Family members of any veteran unable to be present may also receive this pin.”
The keynote speaker will be Colonel “Chuck” DeBellevue who has been deemed “Ace of Aces;” one of only five to achieve that status from downing six North Vietnamese MiGs. Altogether, he logged 550 combat hours while flying 220 combat missions; 96 over Vietnam. His decorations include the Air Force Cross, three Silver Stars, three Legions of Merit, six Distinguished Flying Crosses, eighteen Air Medals and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Device. In 2012, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame and received the Congressional Gold Medal.
Family, duty, and giving back are some of the hallmark virtues that Army veteran Clyde Houston has lived by.
Family and friends gathered on July 13 at the Montellano Event Center in Oklahoma City to celebrate his 104th birthday and paid homage to a man who made a positive impact on so many lives.
Houston was one of the Greatest Generation born in Porter, Oklahoma on July 17th, 1920.
Houston faced many challenges and according to his family, he never wavered on his duties as a soldier and a father. He served in the U.S. Army from 1941-1945 as a Quartermaster military occupational specialty and provided troops with supplies and logistical services.
Houston grew up during the Golden Age of American Sports and emphasized the value in good physical fitness and sporting activities. Throughout his lifetime, he continued to teach the importance of maintaining good health and physical fitness with his own athletic children and shared this love of sports with all the neighborhood kids.
To help teach kids the value of sporting activities and get kids involved with different athletics, he built a neighborhood basketball court to give his children and local kids an outlet to play sports, build teamwork skills and prepare these young men and women for life lessons that you can only learn from playing sports.
“My dad was kind of the caregiver for us and the neighborhood kids too,” said Deborah Lynn Furman, Houston’s daughter. “When my dad would cook, he would make sure the kids in the neighborhood, he provided them if they wanted to eat, they were welcome to it. He played basketball with the kids. That is how most of us learned how to play sports because my dad taught us. My dad was a hands-on dad. My dad got out there, played with the kids in the neighborhood, played with his kids. That’s the kind of man he is.”
Houston grew up in humble surroundings in Haskell, but later became a well-known high school athlete.
“My dad was a basketball star with his school, Haskell High School and played football and baseball,” Furman said. “He loved baseball and even played against (Negro League and Major League Hall of Famer) pitcher Satchel Paige (as adults). Back then my dad said they used to go to these little towns (across the country) and play and they would run them out of town because they did not allow Blacks.”
Throughout his military service and civilian career, Houston held several jobs and positions but none of those careers were as important as his role as husband to his late wife of 70 years Dolly Jewel Durham Houston and father to his eight children.
Houston has 22 grandchildren, 57 great-grandchildren, and 26 great-great grandchildren.
“My dad was the kind of man that we all would sit down at the dinner table and eat together. My parents did that daily,” Furman said. “He taught us how to honor the elderly. He taught us how to be respectful and mindful of people’s feelings and to be kind and giving.”
Furman said giving back was important to her father and his faith.
“My dad was a real giving person,” she said. “If it were something that a church member was lacking, like not having food in their house, my dad would take a sack of groceries to those people. My dad instilled in us that you had to have a good work ethic. You had to be honest, and you could not take anything that did not belong to you. You had to work for what you wanted because he did that. And my dad took care of us. We never wanted for anything, and with eight kids, that is a task in itself.”
Furman said her father was proud of his military service but added that his experience was shadowed with the way Black soldiers were treated.
“I will put it this way, my dad said they weren’t fair about certain things. It was certain jobs that the Black soldiers were assigned to,” Furman said. “And my dad was a Quartermaster. He took the supplies around to the different platoons.”
Furman said her father taught his children to not be prejudiced and treat people how you would want to be treated.
“My dad didn’t curse,” she said. “My parents didn’t use profanity. We weren’t subjected to that. We had loving parents. My dad is easy going. My dad was the kind of person, like at Christmastime, my dad, if you give him a pair of socks, he is happy. You give him anything. He didn’t want us to grow up being like that (angry) because he felt like eventually things would get better and eventually it did.”
After separating from the military, Houston worked for Spartan Aeronautics before moving from Haskell to Oklahoma City.
“My mother wanted to move to Oklahoma City where her mother was, so my dad got on at the post office downtown,” Furman said. “He later worked construction and hurt his back and retired.”
Furman said faith has been her father’s bedrock in life.
“My dad wakes up every morning praying to God, every morning,” she said. “Faith is very important to him. My dad was a member of Church of God in Christ, my mother was Methodist, so it was different from what my mother was accustomed to. But once my mother married my dad, she joined the Church of God in Christ and that is all I know. I know that faith, love, and being decent and honest is the main objective that my parents taught us. And to believe in God and always trust in Him because that is your source.”
Above: Chandler with Children in front of uniform donations
World War II Army Veteran, Leland D. Chandler, donated his service dress uniform, awards, decorations, military documents and artifacts to the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Training Support Facility, Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
In January of 1941, Leland Chandler enlisted in the Army at 18 years old, served during WWII and was stationed at the Corregidor Islands in the Philippines with the 60th Coast Artillery. At the young age of 19 years old, Chandler was captured and taken to Japan and listed as a prisoner of war. During his three-and-a-half year status as a POW, Chandler worked as a steel mill laborer with 12-hour shifts, slept on the workroom floor, required to perform under grueling conditions, if he was healthy enough to work-he was given a bowl of rice a day to eat and was beaten when he physically couldn’t perform his laborious duties.
“There were 400 of us that went into that Japanese prison camp and when we were freed, only 53 of us came out, Chandler recalled as his children unveiled his service uniform and awards during the recent donation to the Fort Sill Museum.
Chandler weighed approximately 190 pounds when he went into the Japanese POW camp and when the remaining survivors were liberated, he weighed only 58 pounds.
“They told me I wouldn’t be able to have children, we’ll I’ve proved them all wrong. Heck, they never thought I would live this long and I’ve proved them wrong on that one too!”, Chandler said.
Three of Chandlers’ five children brought their father to Ft. Sill and were happy to help their Father donate his service memorabilia to the museum.
“We all talked about what we wanted to do with Dad’s military history and we all agreed, that it wouldn’t be right to split up his uniform and awards and that we wanted it all to be in the same place to be properly preserve to maintain all this history,” Linn Woodworth, Chandler’s daughter said, “Now we have a place that his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids can come to see all of our Father’s history in one location.”
“Our facility is the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Training Support Facility. We have three facilities here at Fort Sill-the Field Artillery Museum, Fort Sill Museum and the Air Defense Artillery Training Support Facility,” said Correy Twilley ADA Training Support Facility Curator. “Ours is a new training concept that uses history to develop our Soldiers, weapons and tactics.”
“We are ultimately a training facility and we have an obligation to teach our young AIT [Advanced Individual Training] students and OCS [Officer Candidates Students] that attend these courses about this part of our history so they can learn about the past in the hopes that we are not doomed to repeat it,” Twilley said, “We are grateful for this unique and well-preserved piece of Mr. Chandler’s history. With this donation, he is helping to educate the future generations of service members and their families who walk through these halls. So much of WWII history has been lost and Mr. Chandler and his family has helped us preserve this piece in time to teach those future generations about his contributions to our nation’s heritage.”
Chandler continues to defy the odds, at a very spry 101 years old, Mr. Chandler holds the title of centenarian and continues to puzzle the medical experts.
Chandler attributes his extraordinary good health to medical care he receives at the VA and his family that has taken such good care of him throughout the years.
“I’m 100 percent (VA service connection) and the VA has taken excellent care of me and they have done everything they needed to do for me and my wife-they are outstanding,” Chandler said.
“One of the best things the VA could have done for my Father is to ensure our Mother was also taken care of-this was a huge relief to me and our entire family,” Chandler’s daughter Linn Woodworth stated. Unfortunately, On December 1, 2023, Chandlers’ wife passed away, just four days after celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary.
Chandler encourages other Veterans to find out if they are now eligible for VA healthcare because the rules and laws have changed over the years. Although, Chandler gives some sage words of advice to Veterans and says to come to the VA prepared.
“Bring in the right paperwork, the documents you need to get them into the system,” Chandler said. Ask yourself, do you have what you need to back it up?”
When asked the question about Veterans who may be reluctant to come to the VA to find out if you are eligible or not, he gave some fatherly words of advice.
“Well, that is your own fault, if you don’t go in and find out-I don’t have any sympathy for people who don’t do the right thing. I don’t know about other places, but I know the VA where I belong, that is the way it works.”
Chandler added, “I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for my family and the excellent care they have given to me over the years.” Chandler said, “I don’t know what I’d do without them.”
For more information about OKC VA HCS, visit our website at the below link: https://www.va.gov/oklahoma-city-health-care
Senior News and Living sponsored a pop-up resource fair at the American Legion in Norman on Monday, May 13th. Here are a few highlights from the event.
Jim Buck, a retired Navy veteran and general manager of the Norman Firehouse Subs delivered sandwiches to the Post. While he was there, he also talked with a Veterans Service Officer about his benefits. Post 88 has a high success rate for settling claims.Brandon Wallace, right, an Army veteran and President of Flag Poles Honoring our Veterans chats with a veteran attendee at FPHOV table. This all volunteer organization installs flag poles (free of charge) in the yards of Oklahoma veterans. For more information see their website www.fphov.orgStretch Zone practioner, Josh Johnson, M.S.E., was giving complimentary demonstrations of the the Stretch Zone process.Stretch Zone practioner, Josh Johnson, M.S.E., was giving complimentary demonstrations of the the Stretch Zone process.
Esports program, which is designed to reduce veteran suicide by providing an environment of a connection.
Lebron Post 58 Chaplain George Shafer stands next to one of the gaming platforms that is part of the Bunker 58 Esports program at Lebron Post 58 in Guthrie.
Suicide has no single cause and no one approach can end it-but prevention is possible, especially when Veterans find support before a crisis happens.
That’s the mission of the American Legion Lebron Post 58 in Guthrie with its Bunker 58 Esports program, which is designed to reduce veteran suicide by providing an environment of a connection, teamwork, and camaraderie for local veterans.
“Bunker 58 started as an idea between three Legionnaires a couple of years ago,” said Army veteran and Lebron Post 58 Chaplain George Shafer. “We were sitting around drinking coffee, and one of our members read an article in the National American Legion Magazine about a partnership with a gaming organization. And in that article, it explained to us that eSports provides a level of camaraderie, accountability, and competition that veterans crave. We began the process of looking into what it would look like to get that program at our post here in Guthrie. And we began looking at the cost and looking into the internet, and considering where we could potentially run the program.”
Shafer said the process began of reaching out to Regiment Gaming, which is the nation’s largest veteran-only gaming community in the country.
“I was able to make contact with Chris Earl, who’s the CEO of Regiment, and that began a working relationship with both Regiment and Paradox Customs to get the computers,” Shafer said. “Our committee worked tirelessly from February until July, getting the room designated, getting the room prepared. We coordinated with the community. We coordinated with many entities to help make this happen. And finally, on July 10th, we had our grand opening.”
Shafer said the grand opening was a success.
“It exceeded our expectations dramatically,” he said. “We were hoping on a Wednesday afternoon to hopefully get 10 or 20 people to come out and look at what we were doing. We ended up having over 100 people show up. We were able to speak with veterans and attendants who had never stepped foot into an American Legion before. We were able to procure new memberships coming from a younger demographic. And the response that we got from our immediate community was overwhelmingly special.”
Shafer said Bunker 58 is a passion project for Lebron Post 58 members.
“Many of our committee members are enthusiastic about this project because we know somebody who has succumbed to being part of the 22 a day,” Shafer said, in reference to the number of veteran suicides per day. “Our goal is to have this program up and running so that it is a safe place to land for any veteran who finds themselves struggling during the holidays, starting with Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving through the week after New Year’s, is our target goal to get good at facilitating, mentoring, and assisting veterans through this new venue.”
Shafer said each Esports committee member is being trained how to operate the gaming equipment by Brent Lemmons, vice-chair of the Esports committee and former Esports coach at Guthrie High School.
“We’re training our committee members on how to operate the equipment,” Shafer said. “We will train up the entire committee on how to start up, run, diagnose, fix, assist, get people onto gaming platforms, working with the different areas of hardware like the mouse, the keyboard, the headset, the controller, the towers.”
Shafer said when the training is finished, the goal is to host game nights and tournaments.
“We’d like to have beginner nights where people just step in and they learn about what Esports is, and how they can take advantage of it,” he said.
Shafer, like other veterans, has had his share of struggles since leaving the military.
He said his faith and a support network has helped him.
“I am a veteran that has struggled,” he said. “I’ve been out of the military for 10 years. I have struggled with the aimlessness, and the lack of passion, feeling worthless, feeling empty, feeling void.”
Shafer said his struggles help him better help other veterans.
“When I see that in somebody else, I’m able to recognize it,” he said. “Not because I’ve experienced exactly what that person has experienced, but it rekindles my desire to ensure that nobody ever feels that way again. To ensure that they understand that they’re made in the image of God, in the image of their creator, and that they have worth, and that they have value. Even if they no longer wear the uniform or serve the country, they still have value and they still have worth, and they still have things that they were put on this planet to do. And if I can help them get through this short, temporal period of feeling empty, it’s my honor to do that.”
According to a 2023 Military Times article, video games have gone hand in hand with military service since the 1990s when service members would take their Nintendo or Sega Genesis consoles on deployment with them. While much has changed in the quality and quantity of gaming services and platforms, one thing has remained constant: Military members love video games.
They love them so much that the Navy, Army, Marine Corps, Air Force/Space Force, and Coast Guard have established esports teams. The services founded these teams to modernize outreach and recruitment efforts and show a different side to military service.
Shafer said the long-term goal of Bunker 58 is to give veterans an outlet to turn to instead of suicide.
“The long-term goal is to end veteran suicide. So, do I believe video games are the answer for veteran suicide? No, I do not. I believe that Esports are a methodology to reaching potential veterans that could be struggling,” he said. “And that is our responsibility. Do we want veterans to come out and play video games? Of course. Absolutely. We want to provide that environment. We want the environment to be safe, we want it to be warm, we want it to be engaging. But when people pull me aside in my role as a chaplain to discuss matters of faith, suicidal tendencies, financial hardships, joblessness, I believe that is the core of the program that will eventually begin to save lives.”
For more information about Bunker 58 call the Lebron Post 58 post at (405) 282-2589.
At 97, Gillaspy Shares Tales of Courage, Service, and Resilience.
From serving in WWII to building a family farm and becoming a beloved storyteller, legacy spans generations.
Story by Richard Stephens, Jr.
Mr. Sam Gillaspy during his service in the Marine Corps, 1945-1946. The vehicle may be one he drove at Camp Pendleton.
Mr. Sam Gillaspy, age 97, is a member of the Greatest Generation, a precious and small (100,000 remain) group of men (and women) who served our nation during WWII. Everyone calls him Mr. Sam and he lives in Midwest City.
He is physically strong, slim, and walks straight without bending over or using any physical aid. Over time, he has lost much of his hearing, some memory and speaks with difficulty.
Joining the Marine Corps
“I was 17 and the United States needed men awful hard. So, I entered the Marines (enlisted on February 28, 1945, with a delayed report date) and I still had about three months of (high) school left,” Mr. Sam said. His parents gave permission to enlist. Why the Marine Corps? According to Jeannie Vollmer, his partner, he felt that the Marines were the toughest Service.
Was he strong enough to join? Mr. Sam laughed and said, “Oh yeah. Back then, yeah, I was.”
Training at Parris Island
After graduating high school, the Marines sent Mr. Sam a letter assigning him to active duty service, effective June 5, 1945. He remembered, “You got five days to get everything (ready to go). And so, it took us five days to get from Oklahoma City to the east to the ocean” at Parris Island, South Carolina, for basic training.
Was the training hard? “Yes, and I did pretty good…I made it the middle” (a good training record).
“They taught me how to fire a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle)…It’s a long…bigger than a rifle and it has at the end of it, a tripod. You laid down and (moving arms left to right) and shot…like a machine gun.” Mr. Sam likely fired the Browning M1918A2 Automatic Rifle, which was the WWII production model used by servicemen after 1940. “They put me to do it and became real good …We learned how to tear them down and get them back together. We did that for several days.”
There was field training too. Wearing backpacks, men held their BARs and crawled under barbed wire into live fire zones to practice wartime skills.
“Live ammunition. We didn’t know. They (instructors) were shooting. It was bang, bang. They told you that if you get up, they will shoot you. You die…And you had to just to squeeze through the wire. And some of the boys…had holes in their backpack…because they’re already big men and (it was) a small width. I was down where it (the fire) didn’t hit me or my pack. I made it just fine.”
Assignment at Camp Pendleton
After training, “We went from Parris Island…from east to the west…to San Diego, California…And we didn’t know where we were going. We got out of the train, standing on the pier in the middle of the night…and there was a big boat with planks (gangway). I had never seen such a ship like that – it was a monster thing.”
The Marines formed up. A man called their names alphabetically, starting with “A.” “All the boys were going upstairs (into the ship) as they called their name.
“Then, all of a sudden, this guy comes up with a jeep and said something to the guy that was reading the names. He said, ‘You, you and you fall out and follow this man in the jeep.’ And I was the third one. They put the three of us in that jeep and we drove and drove way up to (Camp) Pendleton” (California), Mr. Sam said.
The others left on the pier? “And all the rest of them, they ended going into the ship. Those that went out (on the ship), some of them came back, some of them didn’t. I guess it was meant for me to stay right there.
“They needed somebody to take care of the general’s car. They put me doing that.” Private Gillaspy’s occupation was officially “Truck Driver.” He serviced the vehicle and kept it shined.
Mr. Sam saw men coming back from being stationed in the Pacific theater of operations. “I was able to talk with them. This one man, I don’t know why, it’s been so long, he gave me his rifle that he came from the war…” because the man had used it shooting Japanese. “And he said, ‘…he couldn’t take it anymore’…And he gave it (rifle) to me. And I was able to put it in my barracks.”
Time Off
During days off, Mr. Sam and friends sometimes went to Los Angelas to United Services Organization (USO) parties. Hitchhiking was common.
USOs were a place to relax with talking, dancing and drinking. “What was nice was, Hollywood ladies would come up to me and ask, ‘Would you like to dance with me?’ I said, ‘Yes, Ma’am, but I don’t know how!’” he said, laughing.
Coming home
“My time ended (enlistment). They gave me my big footlocker…When it was time (to leave), they took us to the post gates.” Mr. Sam did what others did: hitchhiked home. “It was five minutes and this big Buick with a man driving it (pulled up). He said, ‘Which way are you going?’ Mr. Sam replied, ‘I’m going to Oklahoma City.’ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I’m going to Tulsa. I’ll take you and it won’t cost you nothing.’”
That’s how Mr. Sam got home after serving in WIWII. He was discharged as a Private First Class on August 26, 1946, after serving a bit more than 14 months.
Post war
Mr. Sam worked for Dolese, a well-known cement maker, for 40 years starting in 1949. He met Betty, his future wife, and once married, had two daughters, Rita and Cynthia. They built a home on 42nd Ave. and Kelly Ave. in Oklahoma City.
In 1961, Mr. Sam bought a 160-acre farm in Luther containing a small house built in 1889. He drove concrete trucks full-time for Dolese and farmed part time. Once he added rooms and electricity to the house, Betty, Rita, and Cynthia moved there in 1968. Unfortunately, Betty died of a heart attack soon after. They grew wheat and alfalfa, fed 80 Hereford cows and raised chickens and rabbits.
Mr. Sam is well known at Arcadia’s Round Barn. He started storytelling and giving tours soon after the barn’s renovation in 1992. He explained posters and pictures on the first floor and showed visitors the former hayloft on the second floor that hosted many dances.
Although he stopped storytelling at the Round Barn in 2020, lucky visitors can still catch him there when he stops in to say hello.
Postscript
Was Mr. Sam glad he served in the war? “Oh yeah, I was,” he said, smiling broadly. “I enjoyed all of it.”
Asked he had a philosophy on living life or what makes for a good life, Mr. Sam thought for a minute. Chuckling, then smiling, thinking through his answer, he replied, “I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I don’t chase wild women.” (Laughed). His is a life lived well.
