November - CSA Fraternal Life

We Won’t ForgetDear Sisters and Brothers,As has been our practice for the pastfew years, our issue this month is dedicatedto CSA’s veterans. There aremany. It is estimated that at least6,000 of our members served in theSpanish American War, World War Iand World War II. CSA members evenfought in the Civil War – 23 of themon the side of the Union!Of course, these numbers do notreflect the conflicts in Korea,Vietnam, The Gulf War, Bosnia, Iran,Iraq or Afghanistan. It’s a sad fact oflife that since CSA’s beginnings in1854, there has never been a shortageof wars to fight or lives to be lost.The courageous men and women ofthe American military should be honored,not just in November onVeterans Day, but all year. Theirphysical, emotional and financialneeds should be attended to and, forthose of us who have reaped the benefitsof their service and sacrifices,their stories of valor and heroismshould be repeated down through thegenerations.National ProjectDonationsOur list of veterans grows each year.Maybe one year, the list will growshorter. Maybe in a future Novemberissue of the Journal we can report thatour country is at peace and all bootsare on the ground here. Maybe therewill be no reports of incoming IED’s,stealth bombers or collateral damage.Maybe the only wars fought will bewith paint guns and toy weapons.Maybe media reports will be overwhelminglypositive with good newsbecoming headlines and lead stories.We can dream and we can pray wewill experience such a day in our lifetime.Until that day, CSA Fraternal Life willcontinue to post colors at our events,and pledge our allegiance to the flagat all Get-Togethers, Lodge andDistrict Council meetings. We willcontinue to recognize Flag Day andhonor the symbol of our nation’s commitmentto the vision of its foundingfathers. We will continue to urge ourGerri Romanelli,CSA Fraternal Directormembers to assist, honor and recognizeour veterans and active servicemenand women whenever possible.And, most of all, we will be evermindful of the freedoms we enjoy thathave been hard won and honorablyobtained.Fraternally,Gerri Romanelli, Fraternal Directorgromanelli@csalife.comt o d a y ’ s f r a t e r n a lAs we are in the fourth quarter of 2013, any donations forthe National Project need to be sent NOW.Your lodge must then submit all requests for matchingfunds to the Home Office. In turn, matching checks will berequested and sent to National Project recipients by theend of the 2013 calendar year.Requests for matching funds sent in January 2014will not be honored or matched.Read the Journal online at: www.csafraternallife.orgNOVEMBER 2013 — CSA JOURNAL — 5