Veterans turnout for picnic

Veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War shared stories and enjoyed each other’s company on Feb. 18, at the first of what could become a quarterly event.

“We didn’t know if 15 or 100 would show up,” said American Legion Post 68 Commander Paul Taylor who also served as a cook for the picnic. “We probably had around 100 show up. We hit our goal. We’re hoping to have one each quarter.”

Veterans and their families enjoyed grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, all the trimmings, coleslaw, potato salad, homemade desserts and drinks.

The women of Post 68 Auxiliary festively decorated the Legion Hall in a belated celebration of Valentine’s Day with red table decorations and flower pedals on each table.

Taylor said the event was played as a social event instead of a meeting.

“We made sure we didn’t have an agenda,” he said. “This wasn’t a meeting. It was just a time for veterans of all ages to get together.”

Taylor and Post 68 Adjutant Hoyt Collins said they hope to encourage younger veterans to attend future events.

“Those younger veterans can learn a lot from us older guys,” Collins said. “We’ve already been through a lot that they’ll go through down the road.”

Taylor said he’d also like to see more women join their ranks.

“We have a lot of female veterans in the area that haven’t joined,” he said. “We’d love for them to attend a few meetings or events like this and then hopefully they’ll decide to join.”

James Dingle, a member of Carter Sullivan American Legion Post 204, attended the picnic and talked about the dwindling membership at both posts.

“Our memberships are decreasing,” Dingle shared with Taylor. “We need more younger members, but the interest doesn’t seem to be there.”

Taylor, Collins and Dingle agreed that having events like the picnic where veterans and their spouses and children can get together informally would hopefully encourage younger veterans to join.

Taylor said Post 68 is considering honoring veterans with memorabilia from the various wars displayed on the walls inside the American Legion Hall on Sunset Drive in Manning.

Anyone interested in joining Post 68, the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 960, Disabled American Veterans or the Post 68 Auxiliary, call (803) 481-8775 for more information.