NEWS FROM THE HUT  by John Hamilton

Why Are the Flags Out?

There is a new federal holiday signed into law by President Biden celebrating the end of slavery in the USA on June 19^th, and it is called “Juneteenth”. The American Legion, Post 142 will be putting out flags on Main Street every June 19^th in celebration of this very historical day in the life of every Black American. Thank you to Jimmy Himes and Babo Carter for responding to this last-minute requirement.

Origin of the holiday

Black Americans have been celebrating the end of slavery in the United States for generations with a day called Juneteenth. The celebration started with the freed slaves of Galveston, Texas. Although the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in the South in 1863, it could not be enforced in many places until after the end of the Civil War in 1865.

What does “Juneteenth” mean

The term Juneteenth is a combination of the month of June and the day of the month nineteenth. The holiday has also been called Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day. The national reckoning over race helped set the stage for Juneteenth to become the first new federal holiday since 1983, when Martin Luther King Day was created.

The Soldier’s Cross Installation

Babo Carter has led the charge for the Soldier’s Cross to be installed at the A.J. Powell Memorial Cemetery. Back in June of 2020 Babo wrote an article about the Soldier’s Cross that appeared in the Hominy News-Progress dated June 3, 2020. Babo wrote about a fund raiser in process for the Soldiers Cross to be carved out of a tree stump in the Hominy Cemetery. Unfortunately, the tree stump was removed before the required funds were collected to pay the artist, Clayton Coss, to carve the Cross. Eventually the funds via donations from many Hominy residents were collected to move forward with this project. The soldier’s Cross is completed and will be installed and dedicated at the A.J. Powell Memorial Cemetery this coming Saturday, June 26, 2021, at 8:00 AM. If the weather is really bad, we might be holding the dedication inside at the Hut. Pictures were taken of the Legionnaires present along with the carved Soldier’s Cross that will be place at the cemetery near Bill Starks grave site, a WWII Bataan Death March in the Philippines survivor at the A.J. Powell Memorial Cemetery in Hominy.

New Look Coming for Post 142 Members

The Post 142 members have decided to get some Post 142 Legion polo shirts made for the members. They will be the color purple [for Hominy Bucks]. Price is to be determined at a later time. Babo Carter will be handing this effort through a local merchant. We are currently collecting shirt sizes from those members who are interested. We will arrange to mail shirts to out-of-State members who would wish to have one. They will have to email or call the Adjutant who has the list. We have only collected sizes from the members in attendance so far. If you were not at our last meeting on June 17th, and regularly attend, please reply with your shirt size to the Post Adjutant.

45^th Infantry WWII

A couple of weeks ago, Chris Maxwell from the Hominy News-Progress sent me an e-mail with the photo below of the 45^th Infantry Division in front of the then Hominy Armory, now the Hominy Police and Fire Departments prior/during WWII. This picture was brought to Chris Maxwell by the daughter a former Hominy resident, Alice Neighbors. No specific year or date was identified on the picture. Alice Neighbors’ daughter found the picture with her mother’s things, but never knew it existed. If anyone has any additional information about this picture, please contact the writer of this article through the Hominy News-Progress newspaper.

The information provided by Alice Neighbors daughter that is listed above is all we currently have. If anyone that reads this article has any additional information attached to this picture and about the servicemen pictured here, please contact the Hominy News-Progress or the writer of this article

Until further notice, our regular Legion meeting will be the third Thursday of each month. Our next meeting will be on Thursday, June 17^th at 7:00 PM. The Sons of the American Legion meetings have been suspended until further notice, depending on the future COVID-19 situation. We have resumed the tradition of the dinner at the meetings now on the third Thursday of each month. The Monday morning Koffee Klatch meetings have been resumed at 8:00 AM. If you are a veteran, come by for our monthly meeting, and/or the Monday morning Koffee Klatch meetings. Several of the Post 142 members meet on Wednesday’s at Daylight Donuts on OK-99 around 8:00 AM in Hominy for coffee and breakfast treats. If you have a good story, it may end up in print. Also, keep up with us at the Post 142 website “americanlegion142.org” and Hominy Legion on Facebook.