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HONOURING
THE VETERANS
The
following article was sent to us by Mr. Roger Mansell, a fellow
POW researcher and writer in the US. It sure is something to think
about.
“I
thought you would like to see San Francisco's efforts to honor our
fallen military. This is from the San Francisco Chronicle. The following
gives you an idea:
"Memorial Day commemorates those
brave Americans that gave the ultimate sacrifice to their country
- their lives.” Yet according to a front page story that appeared
in the S.F. Chronicle on May 27th 2000, veterans had to beg the
city for funding in order to put on their annual Memorial Day Parade.
San Francisco Veterans have received
a pitiful $1,000 from the City to put on their annual commemorative
parade. How does this compare to the other parades and cultural
events that the city funds? Read on . . . .
The organizer for the Cinco
De Mayo and Carnival Parades gets a combined: $162,500. The Gay
Men's Chorus get $49,000 and not to be undone, their rival group
the S.F. Chanticleer gets a whopping $116,000! But that pales in
comparison to what this foursome makes on a per capita basis: the
Kronos Quartet - $96,000 (4 lucky musicians).
Now check out what these groups
receive --- S.F. Film Society - $94,000; Chinese New Year Parade
- $77,000; S.F. Mime Troupe - $76,400; Lesbian Gay Freedom Parade
- $67,000; Frontline (Gay Film Festival) - $54,000; Columbus Day
Parade - $45,000; Asian American Film Fest - $40,000; Jewish Film
Festival - $35,000; Cherry Blossom Parade - $40,000; The Cartoon
Museum - $34,000; Theater of Yugen - $30,000; The Climate Theater
- $30,000; Autumn Moon Festival - $30,000; St. Patricks Day - $29,200;
The American-Indian Festival - $27,000; The S.F. Youth Arts Fest-
$23,000; Martin Luther King Observance - $21,000; Philipino Arts
Fest - $18,000; Juneteenth Fest. (African) - $13,000; Samoan Flag
Day - $12,000; S.F. Butoh Fest - $12,000; El Grito (Mexican) - $10,000;
Russian Festival - $8,000; Min Sok Korean Fest - $7,500; Aloha Festival
- $7,000; Vietnamese Lunar Fest. - $5,000 - and FINALLY --- MEMORIAL
DAY - $1,000!!!
Some honour , eh!!! Way to go San Francisco - where’s your heart?
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In
Memorium
Since
our last issue we have lost several more of our beloved FEPOW
family. Our sincerest sympathy goes out to their families
and next-of-kin, with the assurance that they will not be
forgotten!
Geoffrey Quilter - Bdr.,
5th Field Reg’t., R.A. - passed
away in early January this year. A friend to all FEPOWs and
one who could always be counted on to cheer others when the
going got rough - both as a POW and also throughout his life
after the war. I had the privilege to meet Geoffrey last year
and he was always smiling. A supportive member of the Norwich
FEPOW Club, he will be missed by his many friends and former
mates.
Bert Martin - Gnr., 80th
Anti-Tank Reg’t., R.A. - passed
away in Rosebud Nursing Home, Australia on April 29. A recent
discovery, Bert was happy to find former POW friends Sid Dodds
and Ray Goodman living near, and to know of the building of
the Kinkaseki Memorial in honour of the men of Kinkaseki and
the other camps on Taiwan.
Martin Kepple - Lieut.,
Royal Corps of Signals - passed
away on May 8. Martin was one of the few officers left from
Kinkaseki and the other Taiwan camps, and he has contributed
a great deal to our knowledge of the POWs’ story. He was very
supportive of our work right from the start, and we became
good friends through our correspondence. We met in England
last summer and our friendship deepened. I will miss him very
much - he was a real gentleman.
Peter Turnbull - L/Bdr.,
3rd Anti-Aircraft Reg’t., - also
passed away on May 8, according to a letter received shortly
thereafter from his daughter who had been trying to contact
us. She said her dad did not talk of the war or his days as
a POW, but it is too bad that we did not reach him in time
with the news of the Kinkaseki Memorial and all that has been
done here in his honour.
Whatever
else we fail to do We’ll never fail to think of you!
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