December '12 Companion Bulletin

Austin, Texas Chapter

The Association for all Military Officers Companion Bulletin- December 2012

Words from the Commander: SEASON'S GREETINGS! We are not meeting this month, but you are reminded that the Austin Military Officers Association of America will have their annual Holiday Dinner Dance next Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at Camp Mabry beginning at 1830 hours. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear and dance to classic big band music. So, if you are not a member of AMOAA and would like more details or would like to attend, contact me at 426-5146.
Last month, we had a wonderful turnout for our evening gathering at Abuelo's Restaurant. The feedback was very positive as all were pleased with the ambience of the patio and its lovely fountain and the most agreeable weather. Thank you Companion Rudy for the suggestion and making the arrangements.
In January, we are scheduled to have another lunch meeting. Although a final place has not been selected, we have had several strong recommendations to return to Marie Calenders. We will let you know the decided location in the January Companion. An informal poll was taken at the last meeting to determine interest in our participating with members of the Georgetown and Killeen MOWW Chapters in a Saturday afternoon lunch and shopping excursion in scenic Salado. The primary purpose is to become acquainted with other central Texas Companions and their spouses and friends. All expressed an interest, but participation, of course, will depend on the date and other factors. As soon as we get more definitive plans, you will be informed. Finally, as we end another year as members of AMOWW, we must look forward to preserve the viability of our chapter and do whatever we can to promote its support and growth. Hint, hint! Peggy joins me in wishing you HAPPY HOLIDAYS! -Leon Holland, Col USA (Ret.)

Next Meeting. December 12
Christmas Dance at Camp mabry Main Dining Hall
with MOAA. The cost is $ 35. Please join us at 1830 hours

In a new study published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke, older, non-disabled people who regularly engaged in physical activity reduced their risk of vascular-related dementia (loss of memory) by 40 percent and cognitive impairment of any etiology by 60 percent. The protective effect of regular physical activity remained regardless of age, education, changes in the brain’s white matter and even previous history of stroke or diabetes , researchers said. “We strongly suggest physical activity of moderate intensity at least 30 minutes three times a week to prevent cognitive impairment,” said Ana Verdelho, M.D., lead author of the study and a neuroscience researcher at the University of Lisbon, Santa Maria Hospital in Portugal.

Foods to avoid: Frozen meals, processed cheese, snack cakes, soda, powdered creamer, lunch meats, and white bread

Called “Methuselah with Wings,” the Gooney Bird refuses to go away. Of 10,636 DC-3s manufactured in the USA, 400 are flying today,

The VA has purchased land for two new national cemeteries in Florida. One is between Daytona and Melbourne and the other in the Tallahassee area. (Lake front property in 20 years) The VA operates 131 national cemeteries in 39 states.

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MOWW SCRIPTURE AND COMMENTARY
December 2012, Chaplain Ernie Dean
A Great Light!
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They lived in a land
of shadows, but now light is shining on them. You have given them great joy, Lord;
you have made them happy. (Isaiah 9:2-3)
We ponder the ways of the world. Why so much despair and aggression? Why such an enormous difference between the "haves" and the "have-nots?" Why so much darkness? So many dark behaviors?
Actually the darkness is not our problem, for there is more to darkness than the absence of light. It was all dark until God decided to create light; and so night and day, dark and light, have existed since the beginning of creation. (Genesis 1:3). We know many good things happen in darkness. A seed sprouts in darkness under the protection of the earth. An embryo develops into a child in the darkness of a mother's womb. Much of creation rests during the night. God created day and night-and pronounced it good.
No, our problem is not darkness; the problem is how we use it, playing like we are God. And this creates a negative darkness, a total darkness, a darkness of our own making.
That special time of the year commonly referred to by Christians as Advent and Christmas is at hand. This is a time of light, to help us find our way. There is no greater blessing than to live in realized hope, that is, hope that builds up and encourages. And that hope is here! The life-giving hope that is known as God's steadfast and eternal love is all around us. God reaches out to us and asks, simply, that we reach out to God in return. This is our challenge, our opportunity, to help ourselves come out of the darkness we have created and live by God's Light to the World in God's Light to the World.
So, during this holy season, whatever your faith community, acknowledge that God calls all of us once again, in ever more powerful ways, to cease hiding our arrogant and prideful choices in our own darkness and to come to the Light of God. Come to where life is new.
Come to where life is ever emerging and we, the believers, find true and lasting joy. God relishes the happiness that shines over us when we are at one with God and with one another, when our choices and behaviors reflect God's Light and bring light and peace to all God's children. The question has been asked, "How can I give of myself to you so you might be fulfilled?" Come now, let us be the people God calls us to be. The Great Light, the Light of the World goes ahead of us to show us the way and also goes with us every step we take. May God be praised in our walk with the Light.
Most Americans “fell back” 4 NOV, setting their clocks back one hour as Daylight Saving Time officially ended at 2 a.m. and we returned to Daylight Standard Time. There were a few exceptions. Hawaii, Arizona, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands don’t follow Daylight Saving Time. Most industrialized countries in the world including the U.S. observe some type of daylight saving time and return to standard time in the fall, with Japan, India, and China being the major exceptions. Antarctica observes Daylight Saving Time, even though it has 24 hours of daylight much of the summer. It’s so it follows the same time as its closest contacts in Australia and Chile at supply stations. The Navajo Nation observes Daylight Saving Time, part of which is in Arizona, which does not. Completely within the Navajo Nation is the Hopi Nation, which doesn’t observe Daylight Saving Time either just like Arizona. So for several months, the Hopi Nation stays with Standard Time, surrounded by the Navajo Nation on Daylight Time, which is in turn surrounded by the state of Arizona on Standard Time. You don’t need a watch to tell the time, you need a GPS map. After getting cranky over losing an hour of sleep last March, we revel in the ability to sleep in an extra hour. But it’s small compensation for the afternoon commute to suddenly be in the dark.
The first national monument to pay tribute to military dogs will be unveiled in California in just two months. The U.S. Working Dog Teams National Monument will honor every dog that has served in combat since World War II.

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AUSTIN MILITARY ORDER OF THE WORLD WARS MEETING SCHEDULE
SEPTEMBER 2012 - MAY 2013 (Schedule is subject to change)

12 Dec. - MOAA dinner dance Camp Mabry
10 Jan. - Informal - lunch - 11:30 a.m. TBD
14 Feb. -Formal/regular evening meeting at 6:30 p.m. (with program)
Crowne Plaza Hotel6121 North IH-35512-323-5466
14 Mar. - Informal - lunch - 11:30 a.m.
Mimi's 10515 N. MOPAC EXPY. 512-241-0309 (Opposite end from Home Depot)
11 Apr. - Informal - dinner - 6:30 p.m. TBD
9 May --- Formal/regular evening meeting at 6:30 (install new officers)
Crowne Plaza Hotel6121 North IH-35512-323-5466

Chapter Officers
Commander Col Leon Holland 335-1224
Vice Commander
Treasurer Col Andrew McVeigh 261-6272
Adjutant Mrs. Patricia Egan 750-1399
Chaplin LtCol Ernest S. Dean 477-5390
Youth Leadership Conference LtCol Thomas W. Anderson 445-4480
ROTC Awards Col Leon Holland 335-1224
Newsletter & Web Site LtCol J. Robert Howard 848-0285
Schedule:
1830-1900 - Social
1900-1905 - Invocation
1905-1945 - Dinner
2000-2045 - Program
2045-2100 - Adjourn.

Arlington National Cemetery on 22 OCT made available to the public a massive electronic database detailing the gravesites of the roughly 400,000 people buried there. Cemetery officials built the database over the last two years to verify the accuracy of their records brought into question by reports of misidentified graves. Prior to 2010, the cemetery used paper records and maps to track who is buried where. On Monday at the Association of the United States Army convention in Washington, the cemetery debuted an interactive map available through its website and through a free smartphone app. It uses geospatial technology to hone in on specific graves and can also be searched by name. It can be accessed through the cemetery's website http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil.

Battle of the Coral Sea
    In the wake of their stunning victories in early 1942, the Japanese sought to extend their control by taking all of New Guinea and occupying the Solomon Islands. This would eliminate the last Allied base between Japan and Australia as well as would provide a security perimeter around Japan's recent conquests in the Dutch East Indies. It was also hoped that the operation would draw the US Navy's carriers into battle so that they could be destroyed. To accomplish these missions, three Japanese fleets sortied from Rabaul in April 1942.
    While one moved towards Tulagi in the Solomons, another sailed south towards the main Allied base on New Guinea, Port Moresby. These invasion forces were screened by Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi's covering force centered around the carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku and the light carrier Shoho. Arriving at Tulagi on May 3, Japanese forces quickly occupied the island and set up a seaplane base. Alerted to Japanese intentions by radio intercepts, Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief of the US Pacific Fleet, dispatched the carriers USS Yorktown and USS Lexington to the Coral Sea to protect Port Moresby.
Fighting Begins:
     Led by Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher, Yorktown raced to the area and launched three strikes against Tulagi on May 4, 1942. Hitting the island hard, they badly damaged the seaplane base and eliminated its reconnaissance capabilities for the coming battle. In addition, Yorktown's aircraft sank a destroyer and five merchant ships. Steaming south, Yorktown joined Lexington later that day. Two days later, land-based B-17s from Australia spotted and attacked the Port Moresby invasion fleet. Bombing from high-altitude, they failed to score any hits.
     Throughout the day both carrier groups searched for each other with no luck as cloudy skies limited visibility. With night setting in, Fletcher made the difficult decision to detach his main surface force of three cruisers and their escorts. Designated Task Force 44, under the command of Rear Admiral John Crace, Fletcher ordered them to block the probable course of the Port Moresby invasion fleet. Sailing without air cover, Crace's ships would be vulnerable to Japanese air strikes. The next day, both carrier groups resumed their searches.
Exchanging Blows:
    While neither found the other's main body, they did locate secondary units. Japanese aircraft attacked and sank the destroyer USS Sims as well as crippled the oiler USS Neosho. American aircraft were luckier as they located Shoho. Attacking the Japanese carrier, they sank it with heavy losses. The sinking of Shoho led Lieutenant Commander Robert E. Dixon to radio the famous phrase, "scratch one flattop." On May 8, both fleets found each other and launched all of their aircraft. Arriving over Takagi's force, American aircraft hit Shokaku three times setting it on fire and putting it out of action.
    Zuikaku, hidden in a squall, escaped any major damage. While the US pilots were having success, the Japanese were hitting Yorktown and Lexington. The former was hit by a bomb, while the latter was struck by both bombs and torpedoes. Damage crews raced to save Lexington and had contained most of the fires when a supply of aviation fuel exploded. With the crew unable to extinguish the flames, Lexington was abandoned and sunk to prevent capture. Blocked in their advance and with Crace's force in place, the overall Japanese commander, Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue, ordered the invasion force to return to port.
Aftermath:
    A strategic victory, the Battle of the Coral Sea cost Fletcher the carrier Lexington, as well as the destroyer Sims and the oiler Neosho. Total killed for the Allied forces was 543. For the Japanese, the battle losses included Shoho, one destroyer, and 1,074 killed. In addition, Shokaku was badly damaged and Zuikaku's air group greatly reduced. As a result, both would miss the Battle of Midway in early June. While Yorktown was damaged, it was quickly repaired at Pearl Harbor and raced back to sea to aid defeating the Japanese. (About.com Military History)