Senior Connections Senior Connections Jan 2019 | Page 2

Waverly American Legion Post 305
Members of Charles Clasessens American Legion Post No. 305 of Waverly conducted graveside military honors during the spring blizzard of April 2018.
JAN ENGELHARDT
Correspondent
Throughout 2018, the world commemorated the
100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
As part of that remembrance, Charles Claessens
American Legion Post 305 in Waverly published a
225-page book, “WWI: The Waverly Connection,”
which provides a brief history of World War I, and
profi les 149 individuals from the city of Waverly, and
Marysville, Woodland, and Middleville townships
who served in the war.
Waverly Post 305 is compiling a similar book
commemorating the service of local World War II
veterans, and hopes to publish it in a few years.
In addition, 2019 will mark more centennial
observances: the national charter of the American
Legion by Congress in September 1919, and the
original charter of Waverly Post 305 in October
1919.
Minnesota has a special connection to the history of
the American Legion, as the fi rst Legion convention,
during which the organization’s constitution was
adopted, took place in Minneapolis in November
1919.
Recently, several members of Waverly Post 305,
including Dave Holmes, Judd Meyer, and Dave Remer,
gathered at the home of current Post Commander,
Ken Borrell, to talk about the Legion’s community
activities, to share personal stories of their military
service, and to explain what makes Post 305 unique.
All four men agreed that the ceremonial duties
2
Senior
were among the Legion’s most important and
rewarding activities, such as providing honor guards
for funerals of veterans, or presiding at Memorial
Day observances in Waverly.
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Service uniforms
Post 305 is one of very few Legion posts in which
members wear their individual service uniforms
during ceremonies, instead of American Legion
uniforms.
Post Commancer Borrell explained, “We’re kind of
unique in that we march on Memorial Day with our
uniforms on that we had when we were in the service,
and when we do our military rites for funerals, we do
the same thing.”
Remer explained how special the tradition of
Memorial Day observances is for Post members, “I
got home [from Vietnam] in September of 1970, so
‘71 would have been my fi rst Memorial Day, and I
was pretty much hooked after that. I’ve been to every
one since, except in the year 9/11 happened. That
Memorial Day, we hauled our Harleys out to DC, and
I did the Rolling Thunder from the Pentagon parking
lot to the Vietnam Wall. That was the only year I
missed Waverly [ceremonies].”
Meyer, who has been a Legion member for 13 years,
added, “One of the things I think is particularly neat
is doing the funerals. Anyone who has any type of
Waverly Post 305 published a book detailing the World
military service, if they request, we go out and do it. War I service of 149 individuals from the community and
It’s always well received and appreciated. I think it is surrounding townships.
neat that we wear our own uniforms, so we will have
Connections January 2019
Senior Connections HJ.COM