By Robert Steele
Hello, fellow Elks! Before I tell you about Young-McCool VFW Post 12220, I want to introduce myself. My name is Robert Steele and I have lived in Anacortes since December 2021 and in the Pacific Northwest since November 2018. I joined Lodge 1204 just this past June. I am currently honored to serve as the commander (like the Exalted Ruler) of Washington’s newest Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Post, instituted April 1st, 2023, here in Anacortes in our Lodge Room.
If you have lived on Fidalgo Island for a few decades, you may remember that a VFW Post existed in Anacortes previously. VFW Post 4481 was instrumental in getting the Veterans’ Memorial wall erected and dedicated at the center of Causland Park. Unfortunately, aging membership and lack of new recruits forced Post 4481 to surrender its charter; since that day veterans on Fidalgo looking for a VFW post drove to Sedro-Wooley or Oak Harbor for comradeship.
In 2022 and early 2023, the dedicated efforts of the Commander of Whitehead-Muzzall Post 7392 in Oak Harbor, Charles ‘Chuck’ Bond, garnered 48 veterans living here in Anacortes, 28 of whom were not previously members of the VFW, who wanted to join in creating a new post on the island. With sufficient members for a new post, in February I joined Chuck in searching for a suitable location to host our nascent organization. We considered the Salvation Army, the Depot Arts Center, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles before we walked into Elks Lodge 1204. I was amazed at the welcome we received from the moment we entered. Our Secretary, Stacey, was adamant that the Lodge was the perfect place for the VFW to hold the ceremony, and to continue as home to our young organization. I am so grateful for the welcome the Elks (now my Elks brothers and sisters) have shown to the VFW members. Despite being only a few months old, we feel we have a home, a place we can come to, knowing we are welcomed. Thank you.
So, with our location settled, we sent out invitations to all and sundry for our big event. The Lodge was full of visitors that day, having a few drinks to settle our nerves, taking photos, and even partaking of the sumptuous spread an anonymous local business owner catered through Gere-A-Deli (even I don’t know the name of our benefactor, as they contacted me through a third party to remain completely anonymous). Various dignitaries from the Department of Washington VFW organization and local Anacortes citizens (including Mrs. Yadi Young, the widow of one of our namesakes) arrived and were seated. The big moment had finally arrived!
It was a ceremony of pomp, circumstance, speeches, and laughter. The Washington Department Commander, Paul Herrera, swore in the new officers of the post, and then the new members. Every member received a special lapel pin denoting them as Charter Members whose names will be listed on our formal charter.
The picture shows us taking the oath of membership to the VFW.
We chose to name our post after two Anacortes veterans: US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Orren Young and US Navy Commander William Cameron McCool. LTC Young received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Vietnam while serving as a helicopter pilot. Gerry lived on Guemes Island with his family until his death in 1990. CDR McCool was the pilot of the ill-fated Columbia space shuttle which crashed in February 2003; Willie perished along with the entire crew of the shuttle.
In the four months since we instituted, we have met monthly in the Lodge Room, working together to determine a path forward to serve veterans in our community while enjoying the comradeship of fellow veterans with the common background of service to our country in conflict on foreign soil. We have adopted Causland Park and meet monthly to beautify that space, cleaning out overgrown garden beds and pulling weeds from between the bricks surrounding the Veterans’ Memorial Wall. We have an outreach and membership recruiting booth at the Farmer’s Market every Saturday.
On Memorial Day, several of our members passed out poppies at our local grocery stores, reminding fellow Anacortes citizens to remember our fellows who gave the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation’s lofty ideals.
Most recently, we joined with American Legion Post 13 and the Elks Lodge in the Anacortes 4th of July parade.
Notice Mayor Miller on the fire engine, he is a charter member of the post
If you are a veteran who served overseas I encourage you to join Young-McCool Post 12220,
as we work to improve the lives of veterans in our community. #StillServing
Elks pledge “So long as there are veterans, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks will never forget them.” The Elks National Veterans Service Commission takes that pledge one step further, and promises
service to our nation’s veterans and military members, with a special focus on service to those in need.
Thousands of Elks volunteers give generously of their time, energy and resources to serve veterans and military members each day, to ensure that pledge is not an idle one.
Today, our volunteers provide direct service to veterans in more than 330 facilities each month. Through our grants to Elks Lodges, we connect with veterans and military members in their communities, providing them with services where they live. We help veterans rehabilitate and thrive through adaptive sports programs and therapy kits. And our Welcome Home initiative is reaching out to some of our most vulnerable veterans: those who are experiencing homelessness.