LEGIONNAIRES HONORED—Rodger French, Marinette County’s 2012 Legionnaire of the Year, is shown holding the certificate he received at the annual County Commander’s Dinner on Saturday, April 28. French is Commander of Pembine American Legion Post 461. Shown left to right are Marinette County Commander Harold Simon, Wisconsin District State Commander Denise Rohan, of Verona, French, and Elmer Mullard, Commander of Loomis Post 476, which once again was the first post in the county to go “over the top” in membership for 2012. Mullard is holding the traveling trophy that his post earned for its 123.8 percent membership achievement.

2012 Legionnaire Of Year French Honored At Dinner

“I may never understand God’s master plan for us, but I for one am very thankful that He has given us a servant’s heart, to not only don the uniforms of our nation’s armed forces, but to continue serving after taking those uniforms off,” Wisconsin State American Legion Commander Denise Rohan told the 80 persons gathered at Lynda’s Sky Harbor in Crivitz Saturday, April 28. Occasion was the annual Marinette County Council of American Legion Commander’s Dinner, which this year honored Rodger French of Pembine as Marinette County Council’s 2012 Legionnaire of the Year.

Rohan presented French with the coveted Legionnaire of the Year lapel pin and a certificate in his honor signed by Marinette County Commander Harold Simon and Adjutant Tony Magerowski. At the conclusion of the afternoon’s events, the red, white and blue floral centerpiece that graced the head table was presented to Nancy French in recognition of her involvement in Legion and Auxiliary activities.

French has been commander of the Pembine American Legion Post for 12 years. Under his command, the post built a war memorial in the Pembine Cemetery and instituted a program of giving full military honors at funerals throughout the area.

The post decorates veterans graves and participates in services in cemeteries at Pembine, Dunbar and Niagara for Memorial Day, hosts bingo parties four times a year for veterans at the VA Hospital in Iron Mountain, and is responsible for flags at the Beecher, Dunbar and Pembine town halls.

They present annual Veterans Day programs for students at the Beecher/Dunbar/Pembine school, sponsor a high school junior to Badger Boy’s State each year, and help out at the Pembine Community Picnic to support the three $600 scholarships given annually to local students.

“Today is about every veteran here,” French said in his acceptance speech. “It is for everyone who signed their papers promising to give their life for their country if necessary.”

“Only two forces ever offered to die for you. One is Jesus Christ, and the other is the American GI. One died for your soul and the other died for your freedom,” French concluded.

Simon presented Rohan with a certificate of appreciation from Marinette County Legion members.

Traveling trophy for being the first Marinette County post to go “over the top” in membership for this year was presented by Rohan to Loomis Post 476 Commander Elmer Mullard. Simon announced the post had achieved 123.8 percent membership, which he felt was not only the highest in Marinette County, but perhaps also highest in the state.

Mullard, on accepting the award, declared the thanks should go to his adjutant, “he does more work than I do on this.”

A special state award for support of Camp American Legion was presented by Rohan to Gene Albers of Oconto Falls, a former Coleman resident. The late father of Albers who was a Coleman dentist, was the first commander of the Coleman Legion Post. He was a World War I veteran. An older brother of Gene Albers, the late Keith Albers was killed in World War II. The football field at the former Coleman High School, now Faith Christian School, was named Keith Albers Memorial Field. It is now used as a softball field. Albers initially was honored at very formal presentation ceremonies during the state convention in January.

Simon introduced Rohan and listed the dizzying involvements and accomplishments that led to her being elected as the first woman ever to serve as Wisconsin State American Legion Commander.

Rohan joined the United States Army in 1974 and received training in the Quartermaster Corp. at Fort Lee, Va. Having been the honor graduate of her class she was asked to fill the role of instructor, Simon said, adding she gave up the chance to be among the first group of women ever to attend West Point Military Academy to wed her husband, Mike. The couple live in Verona, and have been married for 35 years. Their son, Nick and his wife, Angie live in a nearby community with their son, Sawyer.

Rohan has served the American Legion for over 28 years, and is a 20-year paid up member of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 333.

She was elected to the position of State Commander during the 93rd Department of Wisconsin convention in July of 2011, Simon said. Prior to that, she served a year as Department vice commander, two years as the Third District commander, was Department of Wisconsin historian from 2004 to 2008, and was Department Blood Program chairman for seven years.

While a post commander she established a Sons of the American Legion Squadron and chartered Boy Scout Troop 333.

On the national level, Rohan was appointed chairman of the American Legion Membership and Post Activities Committee by National Commander Foster during the fall 2010 National Executive committee meeting and continues to serve in that capacity. She has served on the Americanism Council and currently is vice president of the National Association of Department Historians. She and Mike are both 2006 graduates of the National American Legion College.

In addition to her work with the American Legion, Rohan served as an award winning Red Cross Blood Drive coordinator for 20 years and has held many leadership positions in the Sun Prairie United Methodist Church.

All that was in addition to her full time job as Assistant Bursar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she managed one of the largest student loan portfolios in the nation, Simon said, adding that when she retired in January of 2012 the university in her honor permanently retired her phone number and e-mail address.

After the introduction, Rohan was jokingly asked if she had ever regretted her decision to get married rather than attend West Point. “We’re still married,” was her reply. She laughed that her one regret was because they later made a movie about the first group of women at the military academy, “and I always wondered who they would have chosen to play me...probably Linda Carter...” Carter was the first woman to play the “Superwoman” movie role. Her husband, Mike Rohan was unable to attend because of an unexpected visit from out-of-town relatives.

Rohan said she was glad that her four years as State Historian had given her a chance to get out and know Legionnaires around the state, adding, “It’s just wonderful to see all the work that you do for fellow veterans for young people, and the entire community.”

She shared two weeks of activities in the busy life of a Department Commander. She and Mike had gone from baby sitting their 2-year-old grandson to attending an ROTC Military Ball on the UW-Madison campus. There, she said, “It was encouraging to meet so many young men and women who are willing to step forward and volunteer to be our future military leaders. These young men and women weren’t even teenagers yet when the Twin Towers fell 10 years ago, yet now they feel a sense of individual obligation to give back to and serve our great nation.”

The next morning they went to Ripon to listen to another group of young men and women in an oratorical contest on how the Constitution affected their daily lives. In addition to the contestants, Rohan said, “We got to hear firsthand from a former winner about how the American Legion Oratorical Scholarship program, attending a hearing at the state capitol on a veteran’s bill and the veterans she met along the way had changed her life.

After the radio contest, Rohan hopped a plane to Washington, DC where she received many briefings from staff about the Legion’s legislative concerns.

On the plane Rohan heard the story of American Legion National Commander Fang A. Wong, who was born in China and emigrated to America as a young man. He was awarded an American Legion Americanism School Award, and in a turnabout on the usual order of things, enlisted in the Military with the goal of becoming a member of the Legion post that had shown him so much kindness.

In Washington, Rohan and several other Legionnaires visited Wisconsin legislators to talk about concerns like protecting the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs from the 2011 Deficit Reduction Law, breaking the Senate log jam on many veteran related issues, including funding so military service members and their families do not suffer. She added that cuts to the defense budget would ultimately affect recruiting and retention rates in the all volunteer military. The Legion is also asking for 10 times the budgeted amount for major construction at VA medical facilities across the nation.

They met many young men and women who had attended Badger Boys’ and Girls’ state programs, and learned how their lives had been changed, and a girl whose Girl Scout Gold Award project involved helping homeless female veterans.

At Reagan International Airport, awaiting the plane that would take them home, they met the Wisconsin Adjutant General, who asked for Legion support on the exact same issues they had already identified as worth fighting for, and also discussed continued support of Veterans Job Fairs around the state, and support for business summits to help inform employers about the benefits of hiring well trained, disciplined National Guard, reservists and veterans.

There was some time for camaraderie, a visit to a car dealership where a Viet Nam Era veteran claimed the car he had won, and attending Dane County Government Days, at which they enjoyed a visit from the county K-9 unit and learned from the sheriff that the schools had not found time for officers to present assemblies on the importance of staying off drugs.

Then came a visit to Darlington where the American Legion Post was changing its name to honor a young soldier killed last fall in Afghanistan.

The next day there was a meeting in Milwaukee with Brigadier General Wilma Vaught, the first woman ever to achieve that rank, a visit to the American Legion Service office which was very short staffed but found time to get prompt service for a young veteran with acute post traumatic stress and get him admitted for treatment, and a stop to see Russ Peck, a past Wisconsin Department Commander and Past Adjutant who was working for the WDVA service office.

Friday morning breakfast with one of the National Guard Family Readiness Group leaders included discussion on how Legion families can help National Guard families when soldiers are deployed.

As her speech drew to a close, Rohan talked of meeting another immigrant to America, who remembered what life had been like before he came here, and thanked both Rohans for giving him such a great place to live.

“He wished he could make the people who were born here understand just how wonderful it is to live in such a great nation, where people can live free and achieve their dreams,” Rohan declared. “He took the oath of citizenship freely and wished that those who were born here would be required to take that same oath.”

“The American Legion exists because veterans need each other,” Rohan said as her address drew to a close, “but more importantly, our country needs our veterans.” She said true appreciation is expressed through deeds, not just words. The American Legion was founded in 1919, based on four basic principles: to insure a strong national defense, to improve Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation, to instill the ideals of Americanism and patriotism in the nation’s children, and to make sure the youth of our nation are taken care of.

Rohan said she is proud as she travels the state to see the fine things American Legion Posts are accomplishing, and is pleased that the entire American Legion family - which includes the Legion itself, the Legion Auxiliary, Sons of the American Legion and the American Legion Riders are working as a team, “to make sure we have a strong America, not just today but well into the future.”

Attendees at the dinner included Legionnaires, Auxiliary, family and friends, among them 9th District 1st Vice Commander Dale Oatman of Verona, who will be 9th District Commander after the state convention in July; French’s wife, Nancy; son Troy, of Quinnisec, Mich.; daughter and son-in-law Tammy and Chris Sheleski, of Green Bay with their daughters Emily and Caitlin Sheleski, and niece Donna Stepien of Pembine.

Others introduced by Simon included County Chaplain Ronald Kaempf and his wife Loretta, Elmer and Janet Mullard, First County Vice Commander Claire Bolander and his wife, Faye; Past District Commander Jerry Riley and his wife Judy, and Erv and Joan Krukowski, who have been volunteers at the VA hospital in Iron Mountain for 28 and 29 years respectively.

Bolander thanked all the posts that donated door prizes for the event. Bolander did not mention, but Simon did, that the Bolanders had donated a hand crocheted rug and the geranium plants that decorated the tables and were also awarded as prizes.

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