With Memorial Day Weekend 2022 upon us, Managing Editor Alan Brignall performed an e mail interview with Sharon Rayno, the Commander of Kirk-Casey American Legion Submit 366 of Seneca Falls since June 1, 2019. A local of Sonyea, Livingston County, she moved from Lewis County to the city of Fayette in 1994. She lived in Fayette for 11 years and town of Geneva for one more 11 earlier than shifting to her present house on Dawson Highway six years in the past. Here’s what Sharon needed to say:
AB: Are you able to inform our readers just a little bit about your navy background — personally, your loved ones’s involvement, and so forth.?
SR: Not just a little bit!!! In February 1975, at age 17, I entered the Army delayed-entry program whereas a senior at Mount Morris Excessive Faculty. I needed to wait till September to enter the service with a highschool diploma and be 18 years previous.
On Sept. 11, 1975, I entered the Army, touring to Fort McClellan, Ala., for primary coaching as a member of the Girls’s Army Corps. After primary I attended AIT at Fort Eustis, Va.
In 1976, the Army began integrating girls into the common Army, and, in 1978, the Army abolished the WAC and ladies have been absolutely built-in into the common Army, serving in the identical items as males. I accomplished three years and three months as a Transportation Specialist at Fort Bragg, N.C., and was honorably discharge as a Specialist 4/E4. I ETS-ed Dec. 8, 1978.
On the recommendation of my father about preserving my foot within the door, I joined the Army Reserves in June 1979. In September 1979, I attended SUNY Brockport, utilizing the G.I. Invoice. Whereas attending school, I joined ROTC (Reserve Officer Coaching Corps). I used to be one of many first to hitch the Simultaneous Membership Program, the place I used to be concurrently an energetic member of the Reserves as an officer-in-training and ROTC. I used to be additionally one of many first to take part within the early commissioning program and was commissioned Might 17, 1981, delaying entry on energetic responsibility upon completion of my school diploma. Throughout this time, I used to be assigned to the 98th Sign Battalion in Webster. I accomplished my bachelor’s diploma inside three years, graduated in August 1982, and entered energetic responsibility in November 1982 as a Sign Corps Officer (25B). I attended Officer Primary Course at Fort Gordon, Ga., and was assigned to Mannheim, then Germersheim Army Depot, FRG Germany, the place I held positions as Platoon Chief and Firm Govt Officer. After attending the Sign Officers superior course at Fort Gordon, I used to be assigned to the tenth Sign Battalion, Fort Drum, the place the tenth Infantry Division was being shaped. I served as Battalion Adjutant till March 1989.
I made a decision to request launch from energetic responsibility and joined the Army Reserves, serving within the 98th Division (IT) in items unfold throughout New York state. Positions held culminated from Firm Commander, Battalion Adjutant, Division Assistant G3 (Coaching/Operations) Officer and because the first feminine Battalion Commander of the Drill Sergeant Battalion positioned in Webster. I graduated from the Command and Common Workers School in 1994 and earned an extra department as Adjutant Common Officer (42) in 1998. I had orders for Iraq in September 2004, however because of again points, I used to be instructed I couldn’t practice up, so I used to be I retired October 2004, having served 10 years energetic responsibility and 19 years reserve.
Throughout my energetic service and since my retirement, I’ve continued to provide again by serving the neighborhood and its veterans in lots of capacities.
In 2007, I contacted Jack Hart, a member of Winnek Submit 396 in Geneva, inquiring about changing into a member of the Doughboy Coloration Guard. I used to be the primary “feminine” Doughboy, and since then, have participated in lots of parades, ceremonies, and occasions.
In 2008, at a seventh District Legion assembly, Paul Tagliaferri, a member of Joseph Gallipeau Submit 294 in Avon, requested me if I’d have an interest, as a feminine Army veteran, in posing in entrance of a home which will grow to be a house for homeless girls veterans. I assisted Rev. Mark Stiegler, then rector at Zion Episcopal Church, in writing and submitting a VA grant which, after its third submission, was authorized in October 2009 for $96,000. On Might 12, 2010, a dedication was held because the official opening of Zion Home, the primary transitional facility of its sort for ladies vets within the state and the second within the nation. I served as chairperson of the Zion Home Governing Board of Administrators till 2013.
I’ve been a member of the American Legion for 19 years. I’ve held positions as Submit 1st Vice Commander (Membership), Dwelling Corp. member, Adjutant and at present the Commander of Kirk-Casey Submit 366, Seneca Falls. I’ve been a member of many committees, given many speeches and shows in help of veteran occasions and ceremonies. I’m the treasurer of the Seneca County American Legion. I’m a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, life member of the VFW auxiliary, member of the Ovid American Legion/VFW Honor Guard, member of the Sampson Veterans Cemetery Advisory Workforce and member of the Forty and Eight veterans group. I attended the New York State American Legion School in 2008. I’m a constitution member of the Girls within the Army Service of America Memorial since 1997. I attended the dedication and the tenth and twentieth anniversary celebration of the memorial.
My grandfather James Alexander (World Conflict II); father, William Alexander (WWII); and brother, Keith (Vietnam), have been within the U.S. Navy. My brother, Tim, was an officer within the Air Drive. An uncle and my maternal grandfather have been within the Army. Many cousins, nieces and nephews have been additionally members of the navy in all branches.
My daughter, Sarah Walburn Prepare dinner, is an Army veteran, having served 5 years, and is a disabled veteran with an honorable discharge on the rank of sergeant.
AB: When did you first grow to be concerned with the American Legion as a corporation?
SR: I grew up within the Legion as a younger woman when my mother and father have been members of the Hally-Allen American Legion Submit 1341 in Sonyea. Later, after shifting to the Geneva space, I joined Manning-Lilla American Legion Submit 463 of Ovid, then Winnek Submit 396 of Geneva to hitch the Doughboys Coloration Guard, and now Kirk-Casey Submit 366 of Seneca Falls.
AB: What are among the most difficult features of commanding a neighborhood Legion publish?
SR: Not being from Seneca Falls, I didn’t know most of the members of the Legion, Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion. It took a while to gauge the local weather and emotions of the membership, to seek out out what their priorities are concerning their American Legion publish. I additionally wanted to achieve out and community with native folks, together with members of different non-profit organizations, police and hearth departments, city board members, enterprise leaders, and so forth.
AB: How about one thing extra obscure about commanding a Legion publish the common particular person won’t notice?
SR: The American legion isn’t only a bar. The American Legion is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit group with nice political affect perpetuated by its grassroots involvement within the legislative course of from native districts to Capitol Hill. Legionnaires’ sense of obligation to neighborhood, state and nation drives an trustworthy advocacy for veterans in Washington. The Legion stands behind the problems most necessary to the nation’s veterans’ neighborhood, backed by resolutions handed by volunteer management.
The American Legion’s success relies upon fully on energetic membership, participation, and volunteerism. The group belongs to the folks it serves and the communities through which it thrives (I quoted this from the Division of New York American Legion Web site).
AB: Membership in lots of fraternal organizations associated to navy service — Legions, VFWs and in any other case — has declined, partly the results of the U.S. being concerned in fewer energetic conflicts worldwide and older veterans passing away. Has the Legion hierarchy mentioned methods of respiratory new life into the group, and, in that case, what concepts are being put forth?
SR: Branding is an important strategy to get the phrase out about what the American Legion is doing. I imagine in publicizing the publish’s actions, recognizing native veterans, and supporting neighborhood youngsters and youth applications. Many members put on in public shirts, hats, and jackets with the identify of their publish and the Legion emblem proven on them.
Since 1919, the American Legion has been represented by its emblem. There’s now a brand new model mark that doesn’t substitute the symbol. As a substitute, each the symbol and the model mark are for use in particular purposes that can higher serve the American Legion going ahead. The American Legion model mark was created to handle the necessity to modernize the American Legion model to enchantment to the following technology of veterans.
In 2021, the American Legion launched a vivid new design on the American Legion-sponsored 48 automobile in the course of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Racing Collection, and thousands and thousands of followers acquired to see it each race. It’s clear, sharp, and efficient, even at 225 mph. The design has gotten rave evaluations, and now it is able to advance to all ranges of the American Legion.
In Might 2011, the Nationwide American Legion Govt Committee adopted a decision forming American Legion Rider teams the place all members of the American Legion Riders shall be present members of the American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary or Sons of The American Legion and supported by a Submit. This has drawn each younger and previous veterans who love using bikes to hitch and take part in tasks and occasions supporting veterans and households. Riders attend navy funerals, escort navy items returning house from fight excursions, conduct large cross-country fundraising occasions for wounded warriors from all providers, and have raised thousands and thousands of {dollars} for numerous native, state and nationwide charities. There’s a Legion Riders group on the Warner-VanRiper Submit 35 in Waterloo.
On July 30, 2019, President Trump signed the LEGION Act, which extends acknowledged wartime service to cowl beforehand unrecognized intervals of U.S. navy battle, again to WWII. Greater than 1,600 People have been killed or wounded in armed hostilities during times not beforehand acknowledged as wartime. The Act permits veterans who served outdoors the beforehand designed conflict eras to hitch The American Legion.
Moreover, in 2019, in the course of the American Legion’s a hundred and first Nationwide Conference, delegates authorized modifications to its structure and bylaws to switch the phrase “spouse” with “partner”, associated to the membership standards for the American Legion Auxiliary. Male spouses are actually eligible to hitch the American Legion Auxiliary.
AB: How a lot have you considered the importance of being the chief of the Legion publish within the city that’s the Birthplace of Girls’s Rights?
SR: I grew up with a sister and two brothers. In our family, all of us had chores. Boy or woman, we helped with cleansing, fixing, constructing, and collaborating in occasions that didn’t differentiate between woman or boy.
Within the Army, I hardly ever seen that I used to be the one lady within the room of males or that I couldn’t do a activity as a result of I used to be a girl. I took on the troublesome positions so I might rise in rank. I hardly ever cared whether or not I used to be accepted as a feminine or not. I used to be decided to perform the mission. I hated politics, so I used to be troublesome to work with if I assumed one thing didn’t make sense. I all the time instructed my troopers “suppose outdoors the field,” no matter what laws have been in place.
I’ve all the time been a champion for ladies’s rights. I’m in awe of individuals like Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Fact, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and so many others. Their braveness, drive, and dedication to what they believed in is admirable. Many individuals do not know the struggles these girls went by means of to benefit from the freedoms they’ve as we speak in consequence.
My favourite speech is by Sojouner Fact, “Ain’t I A Lady.” Partly she says, “I’ve as a lot muscle as any man, and may do as a lot work as any man. I’ve plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and may any man do greater than that? I’ve heard a lot concerning the sexes being equal. I can carry as a lot as any man, and may eat as a lot too, if I can get it. I’m as robust as any man that’s now. As for mind, all I can say is, if a girl have a pint, and a person a quart — why cannot she have her little pint full?”
AB: What are your impressions of the brand new house of the Nationwide Girls’s Corridor of Fame?
SR: Sadly, I haven’t been there but. I’ve toured by means of the previous place a number of instances, and it was nice!
AB: Is there a girl who has impressed you to grow to be the particular person you’re as we speak, and in what approach? Or did another person affect the particular person you’ve grow to be as we speak, and in what approach?
SR: My mom, Dorothy Mosley Alexander, was a real inspiration to me. Whereas a strict disciplinarian, she all the time supported my choices. She used to name me her “lil insurgent.” She instructed me tales of rising up as her father’s son. Which means she went fishing, ice skating and plenty of nontraditional locations together with her father. She was a Naval Nurse Cadet attending the College of Rochester throughout WWII. She liked being a nurse and caring for folks. She earned her non-public pilot’s license in her 50s, flew with my dad (he additionally had a license) to many locations and was a member of a flying membership that was predominantly males. She all the time urged us to save lots of our cash and do as a lot as we will whereas we’re younger.
One other inspiration is Gen. Wilma Vaught. She grew to become involved that the function of ladies within the navy was going unnoticed and pushed for a memorial because the chief of the Girls within the Army Service to America Memorial Basis. This resulted within the memorial being constructed on the entrance to Arlington Nationwide Cemetery. In 2000, Gen. Vaught was inducted into the Nationwide Girls’s Corridor of Fame.
AB: How for much longer to you suppose you’ll lead the Seneca Falls Legion publish?
SR: Might 31, 2022 — the tip of the legion 12 months — is the final day as Commander of the Legion. I believe three years has been time period of service.
AB: What are you most pleased with in your time as chief there, both when it comes to a brand new mission/initiative or bolstering one thing that was already in place?
SR: I’m all about applications of the Legion, i.e., youngsters and youth, supporting veterans, neighborhood service.
I deliberate and arranged a centennial Open Home on Sept. 22, 2019, celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the Kirk-Casey American Legion Submit 366. The publish was chartered Sept. 8, 1919. Paperwork, images, and shows have been accessible for viewing by the general public, depicting the 100 years of the publish’s historical past.
Our publish hosted state Sen. Pam Helming’s New York State Senate Veterans Corridor of Fame ceremony for Seneca County. The veterans have been nominated by household, buddies, and neighborhood members and acknowledged for his or her service within the Armed Forces and devoted service to our nation and communities.
We established a Legion baseball group, the Diamondbacks, in 2020 with Legion member Jerry Graziano as Supervisor. Due to many native companies sponsoring the group, we now have been profitable in fielding a group annually. Since 1923, American Legion baseball has contributed to the event of excellent sportsmanship and citizenship whereas offering healthful recreation for our nation’s youth.
Regardless of covid restrictions, we adopted steering in efficiently preserving the Legion open in the course of the pandemic. We have been solely closed one month to sanitize and put together to reopen. Additionally, we held an unpublicized, small Memorial Day ceremony at Academy Sq. following covid tips.
We acquired a grant from Dwelling Depot to renovate the landscaping in entrance of the Legion and place memorial and commemorative engraved bricks to honor and keep in mind members of the legion.
We hosted blood drives month-to-month, starting in Might 2020.
We established Kirk-Casey Submit 366 as a Commemorative Accomplice of the US of America Vietnam Conflict Commemoration Program. It’s designed for federal, state and native veterans’ organizations to help a grateful nation in thanking and honoring our Vietnam veterans. Offered certificates of honor and a lapel pin to Vietnam Veterans at legion conferences and different occasions.
We continued offering an Honor Guard to honor and supply navy honors for deceased veterans at native cemeteries and funeral houses.
AB: Memorial Day is Monday. What sort of feelings does this annual vacation/observance stir in you?
SR: The day represents a sacred day once we pause to recollect our fallen brothers and sisters. It is a crucial a part of being a veteran, ensuring the neighborhood remembers the traditions and recognizing those that paid the final word sacrifice.
I’ve participated in Memorial Day occasions for a few years in lots of locations, from inserting flags on the resting locations of veterans, marching in parades, to collaborating in ceremonies. Firing a salute and enjoying “Faucets” is probably the most shifting a part of the ceremonies.
AB: We’ve already talked about Seneca Falls’ reference to girls’s rights. And, after all, neighboring Waterloo is the Birthplace of Memorial Day. It appears fairly wonderful that little previous Seneca County has two designations this historic, doesn’t it?
SR: Sure, and I really feel grateful for all the companies, nonprofit organizations and the neighborhood that put a lot time, expertise, and treasures in selling these historic locations and preserving them for others to get pleasure from.
