Brunswick Town DAR Chapter Held Their February Meeting on Valentine's Day

 

Brunswick Town Chapter celebrates Valentine’s Day on this 14th day of February, as well as the fact that February is National Heart Awareness Month where all women are encouraged to wear red!

                                              Lt. Col. Ronald Edward Storz

It was the height of the Vietnam War. Every day we would all turn on the nightly news to hear Walter Cronkite give the rundown of what was happening a world away as our own boys were fighting in the rice fields far from home in a war none of us truly understood. One of those brave young men was Ronald Storz. Born in South Ozone Park, NY in 1933, he was an O3 in the United States Air Force. He was flying on April 28, 1965 and was shot down. He was captured by the North Vietnamese and placed into a prison camp known as the Hanoi Hilton and later into the worst section - Alcatraz. Other cell mates like John McCain and Brigadier General Robinson Risner were cell mates. Storz was the only one who didn’t make it home alive. He lapsed into a coma in April of 1970 after five years in captivity as a Prisoner of War and subsequently died. His remains were returned home to his wife, Sandra, and daughter, Monica, on March 6, 1974. Ronald Storz was awarded the Air Force Cross, The Legion of Merit and The Prisoner of War Medal posthumously. His daughter Monica has been fighting ever since to make sure he receives the Medal of Honor. The others have. He didn’t live to tell his story. They did. Monica Storz, who lives in Leland with her husband Henry Lovell, another Vietnam veteran, will share the story of her dad and what it was like to grow up being a member of a Gold Star family from the Vietnam era. And how the fight for his freedom still continues to this day. In the book, THE PASSING OF THE NIGHT, by BGEN Robinson Risner, who shared a cell next to Storz, summed up the last days of his life in one paragraph. “When making their report on the POWs in 1973, the North Vietnamese said that Ron Stortz "died in captivity." Ron Stortz died as he lived - a brave American fighting man who considered his principles more valuable than his life.” Copyright 1973 Ballentine Books, pages 63-71 A Hero Left Behind 2 Brunswick T Monica Storz, who lives in Leland with her husband Henry Lovell, another Vietnam veteran, shared the story of her dad and what it was like to grow up being a member of a Gold Star family from the Vietnam era. And how the fight for his freedom still continues to this day. In the book, THE PASSING OF THE NIGHT, by BGEN Robinson Risner, who shared a cell next to Storz, summed up the last days of his life in one paragraph. “When making their report on the POWs in 1973, the North Vietnamese said that Ron Stortz "died in captivity." Ron Stortz died as he lived - a brave American fighting man who considered his principles more valuable than his life.”

               Information provided by the Brunswick Town DAR                     public relations chair

The Wreaths Across America 2 for 1 Sale was a huge success for our DAR chapter. We were able to purchase 87 wreaths which turned into 174 wreaths. Some additional checks have been processed and our chapter has 214 wreaths as of February 15^th. There still are a few wreath orders to be processed. We also have some outstanding checks that I was able to get from my neighborhood. That means we will have more wreaths to add to the total when they are processed. So, we can take a breather for a few months and not worry about purchasing wreaths. In September, when we get back to DAR meetings we will see where we are with the wreath purchasing and go back to trying to get enough wreaths to put a wreath on the grave of each Veteran. We need 5,126 wreaths. Our group is in the Number 1 position on the website for purchasing wreaths. The 1812 Commissioner Charles Gause Chapter is in the number 2 position. They have 90 wreaths. They also have a few checks that need to be processed. So, the number will be a little higher. If anyone is so inclined to purchase a wreath just click  There are directions to purchase a wreath by calling the main number. Don’t forget that you can just give our treasurer, a check made out to Brunswick Town DAR Chapter, who will order wreaths with her debit card. Thank you so much for all of your support this year for our December 14, 2024 Wreaths Across America event. I highly encourage you to purchase a wreath by credit card either online or by phone. Ask your WAA coordinator to assist you. She is your blog manager.