Post 165 Adjutant Jeff Jewell welcomes National Commander James A. LaCoursiere, Jr. to California
On February 3, several Gold Star Families and The American Legion (TAL) National Commander James A. LaCoursiere, Jr. were heartily welcomed and honored by TAL Rago-Christopher Post 165 and TAL Auxiliary 165, several Legionnaires, local officials, and fellow Veterans.
The special and sold-out dinner at the Vacaville Veterans Memorial Building at 549 Merchant St was among the many times that Gold Star Families have been recognized, but it was the first time that a current TAL national commander attended a special TAL Post 165 event.
The dinner’s special recognitions were rendered to Gold Star Families Kevin and Leanne Graves, John and Wendi Hallett, Heidi Hannah and family, Roxane Langevin, William and Mary Shea, Pat Sheehan and Yvette Mosbarger, and Mary Tollefson.
Roxane Langevin was the guest speaker. She became a Gold Star Mother in November 2007 after losing her eldest son Corporal Sean Langevin who served gallantly during Operation Enduring Freedom with the US Army’s elite 173rd Airborne “Sky Soldiers” Brigade. According to the VA.gov article “From Gold Star to Guiding Star Roxane welcomes Veterans at VA Livermore,” volunteering connects Roxane to her son Sean in a special way, brings her great joy, is a meaningful way to express her gratitude to those who served, and she lives by the quote, “What you do matters and will make a difference in people’s lives, and If I can help turn things around for even one person, then, I’ve done my job.” Roxane’s mission connects-the-dots with the importance and urgency of “Be The One” initiative.
TAL National Commander LaCoursiere was TAL Post 165’s special guest. This was first time in their 105-year history that a current TAL national commander was locally honored, according to Jeff Jewell, the current Post 165 Adjutant, the 2023-24 Department of California Sergeant-at-Arms, and a forever-active and multi-tasking Legionnaire.
National Commander James A. LaCoursiere, Jr. (center), accompanied by former District 5 Commander Warlito Moises (left) and current District 5 Commander Paul Del Rosario (right) during visits to local posts
LaCoursiere reiterated the urgent and important message, as well as the actionable tools and resources, on the Be The One webpage that “Today, the No. 1 issue facing the veteran community is suicide. The mission of TAL’s Be The One initiative is to reduce the rate of veteran suicide. We’re actively working on lessening the stigma associated with mental health treatment and empowering everyone to take appropriate action when a veteran or service member may be at risk – one life at a time. Whether you’re a veteran or the friend or family-member of a veteran, you can Be The One [to prevent suicide].”
To further emphasize his strong commitment and the consistent need to stem this public health crisis, LaCoursiere‘s personalized “challenge coins” – also known as medallions – have the inscriptions of “American Legion, Be The One, 2024-2025, Loyalty, Unity, Valor, National Commander.”
One of the few times that a TAL National Commander visited locally was in December 2021 when, despite a heavy storm, Paul E. Dillard the was honored by TAL Napa Post 113 – video at https://youtu.be/OY2Kj3etg_Y. He also visited Travis Air Force Base and several TAL posts in the North Bay Area.
For more recent suicide data on Servicemembers (Dept of Defense) and Veterans (Dept of Veterans Affairs), please visit https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3964785/department-of-defense-releases-its-annual-report-on-suicide-in-the-military-for/ and https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/docs/data-sheets/2022/2022-National-Veteran-Suicide-Prevention-Annual-Report-FINAL-508.pdf
The American Legion Rago-Christopher Post 165 was originally chartered on 30-December-1919 making it one of the earliest Posts to come into existence. The post is named after Frank H. Rago and William Ellis Christopher, two of Vacaville’s first casualties in the “Great War” we now know as WWI. Please visit www.vacavets.org/organizations/american-legion-rago-christopher-post-165/ for more information.
Author: Nestor Aliga
Nestor Aliga was born in the Philippines and migrated to Vallejo, CA in 1967. He was in the US Marine Corps from 1974 to 1976 then in the US Army from 1976 to 2008. He is a life-member of the Big-Three, www.CALEGION.org, www.VFWCA.org, and www.DAVCAL.org.
