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Ralph Wainright named as new Post 71 commanderBY SCOTT RODGERSecHtoria)(^a!kens!andafd c omT he Jesse C. Lynch Memo -rial America n L egi on Po st 71 has a new commander.Ralph Wainright will take over after Davi d Myers moved toNorth Carolina after a vote on Memorial Day.“It is an honor to serve as the commander of such a great veterans organization, the American Legion,'1 Wainright said. “I had been asked by the nominating committee for several years if 1 would accept the nomination for commander, but with other commitments I couldn't devote the time that 1 felt 1 needed to be a good commander. My fell ow Legionnaires were excited when they found out I was running for commander, and even more excited when 1 was elected to the hi ghest Po st po siti on.'1Wainright j oinedthe American Legionin 1995 atPost 9 in B runswi ck, G eorgi a. H e tra ns -ferred his membership to Post 71 in 2006.H e was born in White 0ak, Georgia, and said with the draft looking at him he decided to enlist in the Army He wras in the Ordinance Corps working on trucks and tanks. He had four overseas tours - three in Germany and one in Korea.SUBMITTED PHOTORal ph Wa in rig ht wil I ta ke ove r as the new commander of the Jesse C. Lynch Memorial American Legion Post 71.Stateside, he also had stops in Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Jackson for two tours and Fort Leonard Wood, in Missouri.“1 obtained the rank of First Sergeant, E-8, dunng my 24 yea rs o f servi ce,'1 Wainn ght said. “Afterretirement, 1 worked as an area training manager of several auto parts companies. 1 started in Brunswick, then moved to .Atlanta where I was covering 12 states and had 750 locations, and finally settled inNorth Augusta befiore retiring in 2012 Wainright said he plans tocontinue the programs inplace atPost71 to help veterans, widows, children of veterans and the community. He also hopes to get the community more involved with the Legion family“We are not just the American Legion, but we are a family,'1 he said. “We have the Ladies Auxiliary Unit71; ladies whose husband, father or grandfather served in the military may join the auxiliaiy. The Sons ofthe American Legion i s for young men that may not have served in the military, but their father or grandfather served. If you are a member of the Legion, Auxiliary or SAL, and have a motorcycle, you can j oin the Amen can L egi on Riders. The American Legion also has a Ceremonial Corps that performs military honors to our fallen veterans, and also presents the national colors to open and dosing ceremonies in the communities.“ The American Legion Riders ride escorts for veterans funerals, and also have a Post-level and statewide Legacy Scholarship Ride to raise funds for scholarships for surviving children of veterans that have given the ultimate sa crifice in the war on terrorism since Sept. 11,2001. This year, A LR. Chapter 71 presented a check to the department commander for $5,462, and the department commander will present a check to the national commander at the National American Legion Conference for over $52,000 raised by all chapters in South Carolina.'1The American Legion Department of South Carolina held its state conference the last weekend in May According to Wainright, one ofthe main topics brou^it up was membership.“ There are veterans all over the state, as wdl as in the North Augusta area, that are not members ofthe American Legion or other veterans organizations,'1 he said. “Cuirently, AmericanLegionPost71 has 342 members, and a lot of our members are veterans from WoridWarll and Korea and are passing away We need new members to fill the ranks ofthe Post so we can better serve veterans and the community. One of my goals is to increase membership, and retain the members we do have.'1Po st 71 ha s weddy breakfa st meetings at? a.m Wednesdays that are open to the public and prospective members. The monthly membership meetings are the last Monday o f ea di month at 6 p.m.
Newspaper Details
Aiken Standard
Aiken, South Carolina, US
Thu, Jun 11, 2015
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Carolyn W.
USA 20 Nov 2024
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