Memorial Day Remembrance, Saturday, May 28, at the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet
The public is invited to attend a Memorial Day Remembrance at the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet Saturday, May 28 at 10:00 a.m. The event will take place in their Food Court in the middle of the second row, Row B.
Chapter 1011 of the Vietnam Veterans of America will begin the remembrance by presenting the American flag, and will also honor veterans in the audience by presenting flags for the five branches of the Armed Forces.
Well-known Arizona performers, The Needham Twins, will sing the National Anthem, and other patriotic favorites.
Children are also welcomed at the event. There will be face painters and balloon magicians to entertain young and old alike from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
Before and after the remembrance, adults and children are invited to write notes and color pictures to go into ‘Packages From Home’ care packages. Packages From Home sends thousands of care packages to military personnel serving in the Middle East every year, and will not send a package out without including a personal note or picture in it.
The Jewish War Veterans Copper State Post 619, a significant contributor to the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Hospital and Arizona StandDown, a three day event serving homeless and at risk veterans and their families will participate as well.
Mesa Market Place is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. and is at 10550 E. Baseline Rd., Mesa, AZ 85209, at exit 193 Signal Butte Rd. and Hwy 60. Info: 480-380-5572 and www.mesamarket.com. Fully handicapped accessible. Free Parking, admission, and entertainment.
The public and all service people are invited to participate in Mesa Market Place Swap Meet’s Beirut Barracks Bombings Remembrance at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 22 The POW MIA KIA Honor Guard will officiate and lead the remembrance.
The event is free, and will take place in the Main Food Court in the middle of the second row: Row B.
Before and after the remembrance, adults and children are invited to write notes and color pictures to go into ‘Packages From Home’ care packages headed to service people serving in the Middle East.
Here is some background information about the Beirut Barracks Bombings. On October 23, 1983 in Beirut, Lebanon, during the Lebanese Civil War, two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces—members of the Multinational Force (MNF) in Lebanon—killing 299 American and French servicemen.
An obscure group calling itself ‘Islamic Jihad’ claimed responsibility for the bombing. Suicide bombers detonated each of the truck bombs.
In the attack on the building serving as a barracks for the 1st Battalion 8th Marines (Battalion Landing Team – BLT 1/8), the death toll was 241 American servicemen: 220 Marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers, along with 60 Americans injured, representing the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since World War II’s Battle of Iwo Jima, the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States military since the first day of the Vietnam War’s Tet Offensive, and the deadliest single attack on Americans overseas since World War II.
The Mesa Market Place is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and is at 10550 E. Baseline Rd., Mesa, AZ 85209, at exit 193 Signal Butte Rd. and Hwy 60. Info: 480-380-5572 and www.mesamarket.com. Fully handicapped accessible. Free Parking, admission, and entertainment.
The public is invited to attend a Veterans Day Remembrance at the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet Saturday, November 5 at 11:30 a.m. The Motorcycle Color Guard of America will begin the remembrance. by presenting the American flag, and will also honor veterans in the audience by presenting flags for the five branches of the Armed Forces.
Gary Gallagher, a Vietnam Veteran, will provide the keynote address.
The Jewish War Veterans Copper State Post 619, a significant contributor to the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Hospital, and other veterans’ facilities will participate and will provide info about the upcoming Arizona StandDown event, a three-day event serving homeless and at-risk veterans and their families.
The Patriot Youth Corps will remember those who gave their lives by performing the Salt Ceremony.
Before and after the remembrance, adults and children are invited to write notes and color pictures to go into ‘Packages From Home’ care packages.
The Mesa Market Place is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and is at 10550 E. Baseline Rd., Mesa, AZ 85209, at exit 193 Signal Butte Rd. and Hwy 60. Info: 480-380-5572 and www.mesamarket.com. Fully handicapped accessible. Free Parking, admission, and entertainment.
The public is invited to attend a Pearl Harbor Day Remembrance at the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet Saturday, December 3 at 11:30 a.m. in the stage area of the Food Court in the middle of the second row, Row B.
The Motorcycle Color Guard of America will begin the remembrance. by presenting the American flag, and will also honor veterans in the audience by presenting flags for the five branches of the Armed Forces and the POW MIA flag.
The Brookharts will sing the National Anthem, and other songs.
The Patriot Youth Corps will remember those who gave their lives by performing the Salt and Wounded Warrior ceremonies.
Precious few who survived attack Pearl Harbor Sunday morning, December 7, 1941 are left. Our World War II and Korean War veterans have long advocated for better care for more recent veterans through lobbying and service organizations like the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the American Legion, the VFW, and even the Veterans Administration.
And the Vietnam Veteran, who was shunned in the 1960’s and 1970’s by the public, is an advocacy powerhouse, partnering with Korean War Veterans to insure that Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans are cared for and honored properly, something denied to them.
This remembrance is not only to remember the 3,581 service people who died or were wounded because of the attack on Pearl Harbor, it is a tribute to the continuing sacrifices made by surviving Veterans and their families to insure that the returning veteran is supported and has an honored place at the American table.
Before and after the remembrance, adults and children are invited to write notes and color pictures to go into ‘Packages From Home’ care packages.
The Mesa Market Place is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and is at 10550 E. Baseline Rd., Mesa, AZ 85209, at exit 193 Signal Butte Rd. and Hwy 60. Info: 480-380-5572 and www.mesamarket.com. Fully handicapped accessible. Free Parking, admission, and entertainment.
You’re invited to attend our Memorial Event at the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet Saturday, May 27 from 9:00 a.m. until Noon. The event will take place in their Food Court in the middle of the second row, Row B and on Row C, just behind the Food Court.
It will be an action-packed event. There will be Military and First Responder equipment exhibits. Both the Military Exhibit and Children’s events will run from 9:00 a.m. until Noon.
There will be a Remembrance, including the presentation of our Colors, at 10:30 a.m. in the Food Court.
Children and Grownup Activities: There will be lots of face painting, balloon art, coloring, drawing and note-writing, for both kids and grownups.
Exibits and Displays: There will be two very unusual vehicles on display: a Vietnam era helicopter, Series III OH-6a Hardbelly Cayuse Loach, and a Vietnam era M35 Deuce-and-a-Half cargo truck.
Both have been restored and come with an amazing history. This helicopter served in Vietnam from 1970 to 1973, and survived six crashes while in service.
Twenty and Thirty foot scale models of both the USS Phoenix Submarine and the USS Arizona Destroyer will be on display.
The USS Phoenix is a 1/15 scale model of the nuclear powered submarine USS Phoenix (SSN-702,) named after our city. The Phoenix was a Los Angeles-class submarine that was 362 feet long and, on the surface, had 32 feet of the ship under water. The USS Phoenix is sponsored by the Perch Base Chapter of the United States Submariners.
The USS Arizona is a large scale model of the destroyer that was lost on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor, Hawaii with no advance warning.
The Arizona Army National Guard, Mesa Police Department, and Mesa Fire Department will also exhibit equipment.
Stop N Shop Military Surplus, located in Apache Junction, will exhibit equipment and be there to answer questions.
The 10:30 a.m. Remembrance: The Motorcycle Color Guard of America will begin the remembrance by presenting the American flag, and will also honor veterans in the audience by presenting flags for the five branches of the Armed Forces. There is nothing like National and Branch Service flags flowing in the breeze behind a motorcycle.
Western singer Cord Price will sing the National Anthem, and other patriotic favorites. Vietnam Veteran and Purple Heart recipient, Chuck Byers will present the Keynote address.
The Patriot Youth Corps will perform the ‘Missing Man’ Ceremony and the ‘Wounded Warrior’ Ceremony.
Author Keith Warren Lloyd, who wrote Above and Beyond, about WWI pilot Frank Luke, Jr, will speak about the flying ace. Luke AFB is named after him. Lt. Frank Luke, Jr. was a Phoenix native who along with several hundred other pilots, gave the Allied Forces the advantage needed to win the war.
The Jewish War Veterans Copper State Post 619, a significant contributor to the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Hospital and Arizona StandDown, a three day event serving homeless and at risk veterans and their families will participate as well.
Here’s what will happen to all the colored pictures and notes that will be created at this event: Packages From Home sends thousands of care packages to military personnel serving in the Middle East every year, and will not send a package out without including a personal note or picture in it.
All of your creations will be delivered to them to remind our active duty Armed Forces personnel that they are remembered and are appreciated. Many of them are parents, and it means a lot to them to get an original piece of art from a young person. For more information about Packages From Home, go towww.packagesfromhome.org.
Mesa Market Place is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. and is at 10550 E. Baseline Rd., Mesa, AZ 85209, at exit 193 Signal Butte Rd. and Hwy 60. Info: 480-380-5572 and www.mesamarket.com. Fully handicapped accessible. Free Parking, admission, and entertainment.
Nancy Fassbender shows the cover of her book, ‘My Fallen Hero.’ which tells the stories of Pinal County veterans who died in combat. On the table is the notebook in which she first kept the stories.
Author Nancy Fassbender will be in the Mesa Market Place Food Court on Saturday, November 4, from 8am to 1pm. She would love to meet local veterans, and will be signing her book, ‘My Fallen Hero.’ Please plan on stopping by to meet her.
Here is an article written about Nancy Fassbender:
Author Nancy Fassbender honors Pinal veterans killed in combat
(This article was written by Bill Coates at bccoates@cox.net. Published in ‘Pinal Central’ www.pinalcentral.com)
GOLD CANYON — Nancy Fassbender placed a three-ring binder on her kitchen table. Between the covers were some 70 stories about sacrifice.
All are different. But all have two elements. The people behind the stories have a connection to Pinal County. And all died in combat.
Fassbender, 63, spent three years researching and writing their stories.
“I’d get up every morning to do this,” she said. “Three o’clock was really not uncommon, because it’s quiet. Nothing but solitude.”
These are, after all, stories calling for quiet reflection. Stories about men — they are all men — who died for their country. You can debate if they died in a Good War. Or an unpopular war. But all died on our behalf.
Quiet reflection, though, doesn’t call for a funeral march. The stories in Fassbender’s binder aren’t meant to be read with “Taps” playing in the background. They’re one- and two-page biographies filled with courage, chance or even a bit of humor. The story of Mathew Juan has all three.
He was born in Sacaton. Still a teen, he left his home to join the circus. Soon after, the Great War had erupted in Europe. Now it’s known as World War I. By 1917, America had been drawn into it.
Young men were being drafted. But Juan had an out. He was a member of the Gila River Indian Community. And, at the time, Indians were exempt from the draft.
The rule didn’t always work in practice.
“Walking down the street in Wichita Falls, Texas, he was arrested for not having a draft registration card,” Fassbender said.
He didn’t fight it. He joined the Army instead. He lied about his age and changed his name to Mathew Bennett Rivers. He sent a postcard to his parents. He shipped out on the Tuscania, bound for France. It was sunk by a German U-boat.
More than 200 American soldiers were killed. Juan survived. He ended up in the first American attack on German territory. Machine-gun fire ended his life as he charged a stronghold.
He was awarded the Silver Star.
Judging by its cover, the binder could be mistaken for a dry report. It’s not. It’s a work of care and compassion.
“I gave my heart and soul to this,” Fassbender said.
That’s probably something she hadn’t anticipated. She started out compiling names and stories as part of a simple research project for the Pinal County Veterans Memorial Foundation.
The foundation was set up to raise money for a memorial to fallen veterans from Pinal County. It has some $95,000 in the bank. Another $5,000 and it can break ground. The city of Casa Grande has already donated the land, a parcel at Ed Hooper Rodeo Park.
Fassbender got involved in 2010. She was living at Sunscape RV Resort in Eleven Mile Corner. A retired accountant, she had moved there from Nebraska. She had a personal connection to veterans. She served in the 1970s as a helicopter mechanic in the Nebraska Army National Guard.
At Sunscape, she delved into her family tree. Her research led to a book and CDs. It was thorough and engaging. And it came to the attention of the Sunscape manager.
He told her about the memorial foundation. He said they needed somebody to research the county’s fallen veterans. She was glad to do it. She started out with a bare list of names. Some misspelled. Many omitted.
Fassbender took to the internet. The library. Old newspaper clippings. She spoke to relatives and friends of the fallen if she could locate them.
Her research led to William Wesley Patterson. Patterson was killed by a sniper in Vietnam. It was 1967. He was an 18-year-old Marine.
He never knew his son, conceived before he shipped out. The son was adopted. He became a Marine himself. His adoptive father was a Marine. Fassbender’s research had completed the circle.
Over time, Fassbender shared some of her stories with me as well — stories that led to columns.
I wrote about Billy Swearengin, a navigator in World War II. Swearengin was killed when his plane went down over Germany, just weeks before the war’s end.
Fassbender put me in touch with Billy’s brother Max. He told me about Billy and their time together. Max died in November, months after I spoke to him.
I wrote about John Michael Turner, thanks to Fassbender. He was killed in Vietnam. I spoke to Turner’s father, a retired Army colonel. Fassbender made it all possible.
But that’s just the tip. The rest of the iceberg lies in Fassbender’s binder. Flip to any page and you’ll find a story worth your time.
Sgt. Katsumi Leonard Takasugi fought in World War II.
Before heading off to combat, he visited his family. Like many Japanese-Americans, they had been relocated to an internment camp. The Gila River reservation in their case. Takasugi noted the irony. He wore the same uniform as the soldiers guarding his parents.
Though from California, Takasugi enlisted in Pinal County. That met one requirement for inclusion in Fassbender’s binder. He met the other fighting in Italy, where he was killed.
He’s among 20 WWII heroes in the narrative. Other wars had their own fallen heroes. WWI, four; Korea, five; Vietnam, 35; Iraq and Desert Storm, three.
Their names will be etched on the memorial’s wall. So will many others whose stories Fassbender didn’t tell. It wasn’t for want of trying.
“I researched over 250 names,” she said.
She simply couldn’t find information on many of them. The further back, the harder it was. For WWII, the wall has many more names than stories — 109 in all. For Vietnam, it will have 37. Fassbender was able to write about all but two.
Added up, the stories would fill a book. And, in fact, a book is in the works.
“My Fallen Hero” by Nancy Fassbender will be out in February. Other war stories — beyond those of the fallen — will share the pages. Fassbender writes about the Great Escape from a German POW camp. Dogs and pigeons in war. And the Monopoly game’s role in combat.
Proceeds from the book’s sale will benefit the veterans memorial.
Fassbender will be at the Mesa Market Place to sign copies.
For more information, query the memorial foundation at info@pcvmf.org or visit its website at www.pcvmf.org.
Veterans Day Remembrance, Saturday, November 4, at the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet
The public is invited to attend a Veterans Day Remembrance at the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet Saturday, November 4 at 11:30 a.m. The Motorcycle Color Guard of America will begin the remembrance by presenting the American flag, and will also honor veterans in the audience by presenting flags for the five branches of the Armed Forces.
The Patriot Youth Corps will remember those who gave their lives by performing the Salt Ceremony.
Local author, Nancy Fassbender will share information about her book, My Fallen Hero, which tells the stories of Pinal County veterans who died in combat. She will also autograph books she sells.
Before and after the remembrance, adults and children are invited to write notes and color pictures to go into ‘Packages From Home’ care packages.
The Mesa Market Place is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and is at 10550 E. Baseline Rd., Mesa, AZ 85209, at exit 193 Signal Butte Rd. and Hwy 60. Info: 480-380-5572 and www.mesamarket.com. Fully handicapped accessible. Free Parking, admission, and entertainment.
The public is invited to attend a Pearl Harbor Day Remembrance at the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet Saturday, December 2 at 11:30 a.m. in the stage area of the Food Court.
Cord Price will sing the National Anthem, and other songs.
The Patriot Youth Corps will remember those who gave their lives by performing the Salt and Wounded Warrior ceremonies.
Author Nancy Fassbender will speak about U.S. Navy Ensign George Hellworth Gilbert, who served and lost his life serving on the USS California, during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Nancy Fassbender penned, ‘My Fallen Hero,’ about Pinal County service people who gave their lives in wars and conflicts to protect our freedoms.
Precious few who survived attack Pearl Harbor Sunday morning, December 7, 1941 are left. Our World War II and Korean War veterans have long advocated for better care for more recent veterans through lobbying and service organizations like the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the American Legion, the VFW, and even the Veterans Administration.
And the Vietnam Veteran, who was shunned in the 1960’s and 1970’s by the public, is an advocacy powerhouse, partnering with Korean War Veterans to insure that Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans are cared for and honored properly, something denied to them.
This remembrance is not only to remember the 3,581 service people who died or were wounded because of the attack on Pearl Harbor, it is a tribute to the continuing sacrifices made by surviving Veterans and their families to insure that the returning veteran is supported and has an honored place at the American table.
Before and after the remembrance, adults and children are invited to write notes and color pictures to go into ‘Packages From Home’ care packages.
The Mesa Market Place is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and is at 10550 E. Baseline Rd., Mesa, AZ 85209, at exit 193 Signal Butte Rd. and Hwy 60. Info: 480-380-5572 and www.mesamarket.com. Fully handicapped accessible. Free Parking, admission, and entertainment.
Vietnam Veteran Remembrance, Saturday, March 17, at the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet
The public is invited to attend a Vietnam Veteran Remembrance at the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet Saturday, March 17 at 11 a.m. in the stage area of the Food Court.
The Motorcycle Color Guard of America will begin the remembrance. by presenting the American flag, and will also honor veterans in the audience by presenting flags for the five branches of the Armed Forces and the POW MIA flag.
Keven Moen will sing the National Anthem, and other songs.
The Patriot Youth Corps will remember those who gave their lives by performing the Salt and Wounded Warrior ceremonies.
Army Medic, Chuck Byers will ‘Welcome Home’ fellow Vietnam Veterans, will share his tour in Vietnam and reflect on the faithfulness of Vietnam-deployed troops to their mission and to one another.
The Arizona Military Museum will set up a display of Vietnam-era militaria for this event. The museum is located at Papago, at the Arizona National Guard base at 52nd St. and McDowell Rd In Phoenix. It is run by the Arizona National Guard Historical Society
The Vietnam Veteran, who was shunned in the 1960’s and 1970’s by the public, is an advocacy powerhouse today, partnering with Korean War Veterans to ensure that Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans are cared for and honored properly, something denied to them.
This remembrance is not only to remember the more than 58,000 service people who died, it is a tribute to the continuing sacrifices made by surviving Veterans and their families to ensure that the returning veteran is supported and has an honored place at the American table.
Before and after the remembrance, adults and children are invited to write notes and color pictures to go into ‘Packages From Home’ care packages that will be sent to Armed Forces personnel serving in the Middle East.
The Mesa Market Place is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and is at 10550 E. Baseline Rd., Mesa, AZ 85209, at exit 193 Signal Butte Rd. and Hwy 60. Info: 480-380-5572 and www.mesamarket.com. Fully handicapped accessible. Free Parking, admission, and entertainment
The public and all service people are invited to participate in Mesa Market Place Swap Meet’s Beirut Barracks Bombings Remembrance at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 20. The POW MIA KIA Honor Guard will officiate and lead the remembrance.
The event is free, and will take place in the Main Food Court in the middle of the second row: Row B.
Before and after the remembrance, adults and children are invited to write notes and color pictures to go into ‘Packages From Home’ care packages headed to service people serving in the Middle East.
Here is some background information about the Beirut Barracks Bombings. On October 23, 1983, in Beirut, Lebanon, during the Lebanese Civil War, two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces—members of the Multinational Force (MNF) in Lebanon—killing 299 American and French servicemen.
In the attack on the building serving as a barracks for the 1st Battalion 8th Marines (Battalion Landing Team – BLT 1/8), the death toll was 241 American servicemen: 220 Marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers, along with 60 Americans injured, representing the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since World War II’s Battle of Iwo Jima, the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States military since the first day of the Vietnam War’s Tet Offensive, and the deadliest single attack on Americans overseas since World War II.
The Mesa Market Place is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and is at 10550 E. Baseline Rd., Mesa, AZ 85209, at exit 193 Signal Butte Rd. and Hwy 60. Info: 480-380-5572 and www.mesamarket.com. Fully handicapped accessible. Free Parking, admission, and entertainment.
