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In honor of Veterans Day, the 4th annual Heroes’ Celebration will take place this Saturday at the Cincinnati Marriott North in West Chester. The event will benefit the Heroes’ Fund, which aids local military families in financial crisis.

The event itself will feature dinner, dancing, a cash bar, a silent auction and a raffle that will give away a 60” LED flat-screen HDTV and a Blue-ray home theater sound system. Tickets to attend the event are $65 each and $585 for a table of 10.

The event will feature guest speaker Colonel Dean Smittle, 700 WLW’s military analyst, and music from the Tom Daugherty Orchestra.

The Heroes’ Fund, according to the event’s press release, provides one-time financial support to active duty military serving in a combat zone and veterans who served in a combat zone who are currently residing in Butler, Hamilton, and Warren counties in Ohio.

Since its establishment in 2007, more than $52,000 has been awarded to area combat veterans.

More information about the fund can be found on the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty website. Tickets can purchased online and over the phone by contacting the Community Foundation at 513-874-5420.

Posted in: Events, News |

Tags: Tags: benefit, Cincinnati Marriott North, Cincinnati Marriott North West Chester, Community Foundation WCL, Community Foundation West Chester/Liberty, fundrasier, Heroes' Fund, Tom Daugherty Orchestra, Veterans Day, WCL Community Foundation

Faith Community United Methodist Church in West Chester will host its third annual “Salute to Veterans” program this Friday at 7 p.m. The event will feature two speakers who will share their stories.

David Sizemore of West Chester will speak on behalf of his father, James, and share his experiences in World War II where he went on 51 bombing missions aboard a B-17 in Europe.

“Every Veteran’s Day, my brother and I always call my dad and just tell him ‘thank you’ for what he has done for our country because he was only 17 or 18 when he went to war and he has been a real example to my brother and I for being a risk taker,” David said. “Not a foolish risk taker, but somebody who was brave enough to step out and do something that he felt like he was being called to do.”

James has discussed his time at war with David, telling him what it was like watching his former flight crew get shot down in action, what it was like bombing the enemy and hoping innocent lives were not lost and even what it was like having bullets enter the plane while in combat.

James plans on attending the event, but is battling throat cancer and might be unable to attend.

The other speaker, James Shaw of Lebanon, will talk about the Tuskegee Airmen on how they fought for their country despite racial prejudices.

“They (Tuskegee Airmen) were very important during World War II by escorting a lot of our bomber crews to and from their targets,” Shaw said. “At the same time, they were fighting segregation and racism in the United States. So, they were fighting on two fronts.”

Shaw, who grew up in South Carolina, was angered that it took him years after he first went to war to find out about the Tuskegee Airmen. And, while he is pleased that recent movies have been made about the group, he feels that “it was too late.”

During the event, Shaw, who is president of the Cincinnati’s chapter of the Tuskegee Airman, will also talk about his service in Vietnam War.

Faith Community United Methodist Church is located at 8230 Cox Road.

Posted in: Events, News |

Tags: Tags: David Sizemore, Faith Community United Methodist Church, James Shaw, Veterans Day, Vietnam veteran, World War II

In honor of Veterans Day, the 4th annual Heroes’ Celebration will take place at 5:30 p.m. next Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Cincinnati Marriott North in West Chester. The event will benefit the Heroes’ Fund, which aids local military families in financial crisis.

The event itself will feature dinner, dancing, a cash bar, a silent auction and a raffle that will give away a 60” LED flat-screen HDTV and a Blue-ray home theater sound system. Tickets to attend the event are $65 each and $585 for a table of 10.

The event will feature guest speaker Colonel Dean Smittle, 700 WLW’s military analyst, and music from the Tom Daugherty Orchestra.

The Heroes’ Fund, according to the event’s press release, provides one-time financial support to active duty military serving in a combat zone and veterans who served in a combat zone who are currently residing in Butler, Hamilton, and Warren counties in Ohio.

Since its establishment in 2007, more than $52,000 has been awarded to area combat veterans.

More information about the fund can be found on the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty website. Tickets can purchased online and over the phone by contacting the Community Foundation at 513-874-5420.

Posted in: Events, News |

Tags: Tags: benefit, Cincinnati Marriott North, Cincinnati Marriott North West Chester, Community Foundation WCL, Community Foundation West Chester/Liberty, fundrasier, Heroes' Fund, Tom Daugherty Orchestra, Veterans Day, WCL Community Foundation

West Chester resident and Vietnam veteran Forest Messer almost backed out of his commitment to attend a Veterans Day program Friday morning Madeira High School.

Veterans Day haunts him with painful memories of war. After his daughter convinced him to attend, Messer “almost lost it” at the event when “Taps” was played.

Messer is obviously not alone. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) haunts many of the servicemen and women who return home.

>>>STORY ON PTSD AND VETERANS FROM YORK DAILY RECORD<<<

Since his service time ended in 1968, the veteran from a small town outside Troy, Ohio, continues to heal.

Just this past year, he attended a Vietnam reunion in Fort Campbell, Ky., home of the 101st Airborne Division, with his special patrol unit, called the Phantom Force.

His unit had been meeting in Fort Campbell for the past eight years. This spring, Messer finally mustered up the courage to attend for the first time.

For Messer, it healed him “more than any treatment or medicine” he has had in the 43 years of life since his return from Vietnam.

He now claims to be doing better than ever.

However, Messer will forever struggle to share his story. (more…)

Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Forest Messer, John Hunt, Phantom Force, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Vietnam War, posttraumatic stress symptomatology, posttraumatic stress symptomatology Vietnam War, PTSD, PTSD Vietnam War, The Phantom Force, The Phantom Force Vietnam War, Veterans Day, Vietnam, Vietnam veteran, Vietnam War

Numerous chain restaurants will be offering special deals for veterans on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. West Chester restaurants offering specials include Applebee’s, UNO Chicago Grill, Little Caesars, Subway, T.G.I. Friday’s and Champps Americana.

Applebee’s, which is located at 6084 Mulhauser in West Chester, will be offering a free meal (choice of seven different menu items) to all veterans and active members of the military. For more information, visit applebees.com.

For all veterans and active members of the military – UNO Chicago Grill (9246 Schulze Drive) will be offering a 19.43 percent discount off food and non-alcoholic beverages, Little Caesars (8231 Cincinnati-Dayton Road) will be giving away free crazy bread, Subway (five West Chester locations) will serve up free six-inch subs, T.G.I. Friday’s (7656 Cox Lane – by Tylersville Road) will be offering a free entrée with a purchase of an entrée and Champps (Streets of West Chester) will give out free burgers.

There will also be various other restaurants in the Greater Cincinnati area that will have specials for veterans such as Outback Steakhouse, Bar Louie, BJs Restaurant and Brewhouse, Chili’s, Denny’s, Fox & Hound, Golden Corral, Famous Dave’s, Hooter’s, Texas Roadhouse and the Olive Garden.

The Military Wallet website, which lists these deals and others, reminds veterans and active military members to call ahead to verify locations, times and participation.

Urban Active is also offering free workouts all to veterans Friday.

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Tags: Tags: Bar Louie, BJs Restaurant and Brewhouse, Champps, Champps Americana, Champps Americana West Chester, Champps West Chester, Chili’s, Denny’s, Famous Dave’s, Fox & Hound, Golden Corral, Hooter’s, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Subway, Subway West Chester, Texas Roadhouse, TGI Fridays, TGI Fridays West Chester, Uno Chicago Grill, Uno Chicago Grill West Chester, Uno's Chicago Grill, Veterans Day, Veterans Day deals, Veterans Day deals Cincinnati, Veterans Day deals West Chester

The West Chester ▪ Liberty Chamber Alliance will honor veterans at its monthly member luncheon  from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. next Tuesday, Nov. 8, at Wetherington Golf Country Club in West Chester.

The luncheon speaker will be Lieutenant Colonel Jim Eriksen, who has served 28 years in the active Army and National Guard and is currently the Commander of the 2d Squadron, 107th Cavalry Regiment, Ohio Army National Guard located in Hamilton.

Eriksen began his military career as a ROTC graduate of The Ohio State University, served as an Army Ranger as well as holding numerous overseas and domestic deployments.

He is a recipient of the Bronze Star for Actions in Combat as a commander of a combat unit in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

The Wetherington Golf and Country Club is located at 7337 Country Club Lane.

To RSVP, visit www.TheChamberAlliance.com or call 513-777-3600.

The cost to attend for members is $27 and the cost for future members is $50.

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Tags: Tags: Chamber, Jim Eriksen, Lieutenant Colonel Jim Eriksen, luncheon, veterans, Veterans Day, West Chester Liberty Chamber Alliance

Dozens of local veterans were honored this afternoon on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2010, during a ceremony at the Voice of America Learning Center in West Chester. The event featured a speech from State Representative Bill Coley and a simultaneous proclamation by West Chester Township and Liberty Township trustees Lee Wong and David Kerns, both of whom are veterans.

The ceremony began at 12:15 p.m. with everyone in attendance singing the National Anthem and saying the Pledge of Allegiance together.

>>>PICTURES OF LOCAL VETERANS<<<

Then Wong and Kerns gave the proclamation (photo) to local representatives of the American Legion and to Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Coley then gave his speech, which honored the veterans so much he was given a standing ovation.

A light lunch was also provided after the ceremony.

Posted in: Events, News, Recreational events |

Tags: Tags: Bill Coley, ceremony, Lee Wong, Veterans Day, Voice of America Learning Center

While many local veterans will be publically honored on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, West Chester resident and Vietnam veteran Forest Messer will likely keep his story to himself. Messer won’t talk about his story of the war in order to avoid painful memories that always haunt him on this emotional holiday.

Messer, who grew up in small town outside of Troy, Ohio, has been keeping his story mainly to himself since March 18, 1968, when North Vietnamese troops ambushed his special patrol unit, called the Phantom Force.

The Phantom Force

During the war, the Phantom Force patrolled the jungle and villages of Vietnam looking for enemy troops and spies. Leading the way was Butch, a German Shepherd, who could sniff out the enemy and help the unit avoid mines and other traps.

When the North Vietnamese Army, or the Viet Cong, was nearby, Butch would stop. The Phantom Force would then call in air strikes or ground troops (187th and 503rd infantries) to take the enemy out. (more…)

Posted in: News |

Tags: Tags: Forest Messer, Veterans Day, Vietnam, Vietnam veteran, Vietnam War

A few national chain restaurants will be offering special deals for veterans on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Restaurants offering specials include Uno Chicago Grill, Applebee’s and Outback Steakhouse.

Applebee’s, which is located at 6084 Mulhauser in West Chester, will be offering a free meal to all veterans and active members of the military. Applebee’s is featuring a seven-item menu for veterans and active members of the military to choose from. For more information, visit www.applebees.com/vetsday.

Outback Steakhouse, which is located nearby at 11790 Springfield Pike, will be offering a free bloomin’ onion and a beverage (one non-alcoholic drink) to both veterans and active members of the military. For more information, visit the Outback Steakhouse website.

Uno Chicago Grill, which is located at 9246 Schulze Drive in West Chester, will be offering a free entrée or individual pizza with the purchase of an entrée or pizza of equal or greater value to both veterans and active members of the military.

Uno will also be donating 20 percent of checks to the Bob Woodruff Foundation from Nov. 12 to Nov. 25. According to its website, the vision of the Bob Woodruff Foundation is to provide resources and support to injured service members, veterans and their families. In order to donate a portion of the check, customers must print off a voucher located at www.unos.com/veterans.

Posted in: Business, Events, News, Recreational events |

Tags: Tags: Applebee's, Outback Steakhouse, UNO, Uno Chicago Grill, Veterans Day, Veterans Day deals

A ceremony will take place at 12:15 p.m. Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at the Voice of America Learning Center (VOALC) to honor students, staff and faculty at Miami University, who are veterans, as well as local veterans in the community. Ohio Representative Bill Coley will be the featured speaker at the event.

The ceremony will take place in the VOALC auditorium (Room 116).

The event will also feature a photo slideshow of veterans and those who are currently on active duty.

West Chester Township Board of Trustee President Lee Wong, who is a veteran, will issue a proclamation to be read at the ceremony.

Local representatives of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars will be on hand to receive the proclamations.

The Voice of America Learning Center is located at 7847 VOA Park Drive in West Chester.

Posted in: Events, News, Recreational events |

Tags: Tags: Bill Coley, ceremony, Lee Wong, Veterans Day