Veterans Recognized By Selma United Daughters of the Confederacy Chapter

On Wednesday September 21, Veterans of WWII, Korea and Viet Nam were honored by Selma Chapter # 53 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy for their military service. Each veteran was presented a Certificate of Appreciation and given due recognition for their devotion to duty. SCV Camp 1524 Prattville Dragoon James Spears, a WWII era veteran was one of the recipients. Mrs. Pat Godwin, President of the Chapter, stated that she had wanted Mr. Spears to participate for quite some time and was happy that he attended this year. James served with the U.S. Army 15th Combat Engineers in southern Germany shortly after the war ended until he was relieved and discharged. The country was still chaotic during this time as the German surrender had occurred some number of weeks earlier. He attained the rank of Sergeant before his discharge. He is pictured holding his certificate in the last photo. Congratulations, James!

Also receiving a certificate was Dragoon Tyrone Crowley who was a veteran of the U.S. Navy from 1960 - 1964. He served primarily in the Pacific during this time. Tyrone related a story from his Navy days which was very entertaining to the assembly. He served on at least 2 ships during his tenure. Congratulations, Tyrone!

The first photo shows James, Larry Spears, Steve Tindoll and Teresa Tindoll (family members of James), Tyrone and his wife. James and Larry are in the second photo and Tyrone are in the third. 

Mrs. Godwin and the hostesses from the Selma Chapter had delicious refreshments for the group and they were very hospitable to the veterans. It was obvious that the veterans assembled were thankful for the recognition given and were most appreciative. Amoung the several veterans gathered were at least 3 more WWII vets. 

Our last item of business for the day was to stand and sing God Bless America, which on this day had a very special meaning. 

Prattville Dragoons Compatriot John Dennis Tackles Indian Hill Cemetery

John Dennis, who recently joined SCV Camp 1524 and has also joined the 33rd Alabama re-enactors, went to Indian Hill cemetery on his own on Tuesday September 18th and did an exceptional amount of work mowing and cleaning the grounds. We thank John for his initiative during this late summer Alabama heat wave to keep Indian Hill looking good. The first photo is before he started work and the last photo is after he completed his work. 

Millbrook's Robinson Springs Cemetery Clean Up Completed for September 2018 by SCV Camp 1524

After Dragoon Connor Lee cut the grass at Robinson Springs cemetery with his zero turn mower earlier in the week, other Dragoons worked on Friday 14 September to finish the clean up. All Confederate Battle Flags marking Confederate veteran graves were replaced and that did much to improve the appearance of the cemetery. We paid particular attention to Lt. (Capt.) Samual D. Oliver, an original Dragoon, whose grave was recently discovered by Tyrone Crowley. His flag and grave marker denoting membership in the Free and Accepted Masons is in the first photo. The next photo shows the completed cemetery work with new flags. The last photo shows workers Bill Gill, Larry Spears, Tyrone Crowley and James Spears (seated). Also reporting for duty were Don Owens and Douglas Beir Butler. 

Prattville Dragoons Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 Meeting for September 2018

The Dragoons conducted their monthly meeting on Thursday September 13th and it was another exceptional one with an outstanding speaker, program and camaraderie. There were at least 32 members and guests at Jim’s Restaurant in Prattville to hear Ms. Ryan Blocker speak about the Alabama Department of Archives and History’s Confederate regimental flag conservation effort. Ms. Blocker shared a Powerpoint presentation which showed examples of flags that have been conserved since this program was begun in the 1990’s by Curator Bob Bradley.  The conservation program and the flags are in good care with Ms. Blocker. One picture below shows 1Lt. Commander Harold Grooms presenting Ms. Blocker with a $500 check from Camp 1524 for the Confederate flag conservation effort. The Dragoons have been one of the most dependable and generous donors to the program over the years. 

Everyone arrived around 6pm to enjoy the Jim's Restaurant menu items and each other's company and the meeting began at a new start time of 6:45. The time for the program has been moved to start at 6:45 so everything can conclude before Jim’s closes at 8:00. 1LT Grooms communicated all the announcements at a brisk pace but with enough detail so we all understood the upcoming events, etc. Ms. Blocker then held everyone's attention with her Powerpoint display as the attendees expressed appreciation and surprise at the wonderful results of conservation efforts on these old “works of art” as she called them. The cost of conserving these flags ranges from a few thousand dollars to $15,000 or so depending on the material and condition of the flag. 

Chaplain Snowden showed his excellent slide presentation before the program began, sharing Dragoon activities and functions. Pictured below are a view of the early part of the gathering; Douglas Beir Butler and son Seth and 2 Lt. Commander Karl Wade making an announcement.

Announcing the Prattville Dragoons Camp Meeting for September 2018

September Camp Meeting

The Dragoons next meeting will be on Thursday September 13th at Jim’s restaurant on Hwy 31 in Prattville in the back right area which will be cordoned off for our camp.   Come early and enjoy a delicious dinner at Jim’s for some good downhome Southern cooking.  Chaplain Snowden will again provide his enjoyable updated slide show presentation during the dinner hour.  The camp meeting will begin at 7:00 and will feature Ms. Ryan Blocker from the Alabama Department of Archives and History to talk about the ongoing flag conservation project and the camp will present our annual donation for these continuing efforts.

Prattville Dragoons Chaplain's Column for September 2018

Chaplain’s Column

Do you know that God delights in hearing your prayers?  That may be hard to believe since we can’t even get an electrician or plumber to call us back, so why would God listen to our prayers? You would think that as important as He is, He would not have the time to listen, but He does.  Our prayers matter to God because we matter to God.  We aren’t just anybody, we are his child.

   You see when God saved us, he enlisted us.  He gave not only forgiveness for our past, but also authority in the present and a role in our future.  This life is on-the-job training for eternity. “If we endure, we will also reign with Him” (2 Timothy 2:12).

   Will God do what you ask?  Perhaps. Or perhaps he will do more than you could ever have imagined. Stand firmly on this promise:  “When a believing person prays, great things happen” (James 5:16). And because God’s promises are unbreakable, our hope is and should be unshakable!

   Please remember all those that are on our prayer list, 

Prattville Dragoons Commander's Column for September 2018

Commander's Column – Don’t be a Pacifist in the Face of Those Who Hate Us

I wanted to take the opportunity to communicate to the camp some recent developments which illustrate the tenuous position we find ourselves in this politically correct climate.  The recent edition of the “Confederate Veteran” magazine included an article, “Northern Hatred Masquerading as Virtue” by James Ronald Kennedy, one of the Kennedy brothers who presented at the last two Division Education conferences at the Doster Center.  In light of the recent toppling and damage to the Silent Sam Confederate monument on the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill campus, it was enlightening to read this article.  There is no place today for timidity or pacifism in proclaiming our Confederate heritage and Kennedy argues, no place for compromise.  He makes the point that we cannot hope to educate or negotiate with these fascist socialist anarchists as they hate not just the Confederacy and Southern heritage but traditional American values and the notion of American exceptionalism.  They hate Christians and are waging a war of “cultural genocide” on the Bible Belt and throughout the country.  Kennedy believes that this is an anti-establishment neo-Marxist political movement which will require a political movement to combat.  We need to support political candidates who do not shy away from proclaiming their support of traditional Christian values and the ideals upon which our country was established by the founding fathers and which our Confederate forebears attempted to promulgate but, we also need to be the men who actively, as the Charge implores, “Vindicate the cause for which they fought, defend the Confederate soldier's good name, guard his history, emulate his virtues, and perpetuate those principles which he loved.” 

We were alerted recently that apparently the Air Force has released new guidance on what awards may be worn on the AFJROTC uniform and have disallowed the SAR, DAR, SCV, and UDC awards on cadet uniforms.  It is not just an attack on Confederate heritage but on our American heritage.  It is not just Antifa but even the USAF.  The Division Commander has recommended that all camps need to increase their treasuries and to do so we are considering another fundraiser for November to coincide with Thanksgiving and/or the Iron Bowl.  It is important that we not shrink from these attacks and blatant hatred for our heritage and traditional values.  We need to be prepared to fight any attacks not just at the state and national level but at our local camp level also.  We are expanding our community outreach by participating with a booth in the Autauga County Fair, the first time our camp has had a presence at this week-long event.  2nd Lt Karl Wade has spearheaded this effort and is recruiting volunteers to man the booth which will be placed in a prominent location.   We are moving forward with plans for our social events including the Fall Muster at the Dismukes property and the Christmas Social at Buena Vista and hope to involve compatriots from the Brigade and nearby camps to make these bigger and better than ever.   We have been challenged to participate in Division and Brigade training events for the officers so that we establish lines of communication and partnerships to make us a stronger more cohesive organization.  We will continue our educational outreach to schools with in-class presentations and promotion of living history events but, we need camp members to approach their children’s and grandchildren’s schools to get us invitations to visit more schools.  We were challenged by the Brigade Commander to get the annual Division education posters into the hands of teachers at local schools.  The SCV Executive Director in the recent “Confederate Veteran” magazine implored all members to donate for the completion and endowment of the National Headquarters Confederate Museum as the flagship facility for the Sons of Confederate Veterans. 

Now is not the time to shrink in the face of the militant activism of those who hate us.  It is the time at the National, Division and local levels to make a concerted effort as activists ourselves or, as the new Commander-in-Chief described, as evangelists to proclaim the greatness of the ideals and virtues of our founding fathers, our Confederate forebears and our Southern heritage. 

Upcoming Events for Confederate Compatriots

Upcoming Events

Prattville Dragoons September Camp Meeting – Thursday September 13^th at 7pm at Jim’s Restaurant, Prattville

Autauga County Fair – Dragoons’ booth, Tuesday October 9^th thru Saturday October  13^th 5-10pm daily, Sat. from 10am

Fall Muster – Clay shoot and cookout, October 27^th at the Dismukes property, south Main Street in Millbrook

Prattville Bicentennial Fair - Friday and Saturday November 16-17, 2018 at the Doster Center, Prattville

Thanksgiving Canned Food Drive – October and November, to benefit the Autauga Interfaith Care Center

Prattville Christmas Parade  – Friday, November 30th, 7pm starting at the downtown courthouse - see the Dragoons entry

Christmas Social - Friday December 7^th at Buena Vista, Prattville AL

Christmas Salvation Army Kettle Bell Ringing – Saturday TBD in December, Prattville AL