Our post regularly hosts the Mountaintop Cornhole players on most Friday evenings. If you’re interested in joining, feel free to contact Jason Post at 518-337-9406 for more details. It’s always a great time seeing who can land that perfect shot!
This week, our post will hold elections for new officers, including Commander, Quartermaster, Adjutant, and Trustees. I’ll share the results next week. With new leadership, we’re optimistic that fresh ideas and positive changes will help move us forward.
Now in our 98th year, we are committed to reaching our 100th anniversary as a proud part of the Windham community. Over the years, many veterans have come through our doors, representing service from the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the War on Terrorism, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
The tradition of veterans who have served in foreign wars remains strong here in Windham. If you are a veteran and eligible, we encourage you to consider joining our post.
I have an update on GI Bill for veterans. VA has announced it is taking steps to help the estimated more than two million eligible veterans maximize use of their GI Bill education benefits following the Supreme Court ruling in Rudisill v. McDonough and the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ruling in Perkins v. Collins.
VA will automatically assess veterans’ eligibility, prioritize reviews for current or recently enrolled students with less than three months of remaining benefits, and update its adjudication systems to fully apply the Perkins decision.
The rulings may allow qualifying veterans to receive up to 48 months of combined benefits under the Montgomery and Post-9/11 GI Bills. Prior to VA’s announcement, the VFW joined with other parties in ongoing litigation to ensure that the law is applied correctly and that veterans are not denied benefits due to restrictive interpretations inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Announcements and internal guidance, while meaningful, do not resolve whether all affected veterans are receiving the benefits to which they are entitled, and do not, by themselves, eliminate the need for judicial review.
The VFW will continue to monitor implementation closely and remains committed to ensuring that veterans receive the full measure of education benefits provided under the law.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced no identifications or burial updates this week. With that, I bring you a WWll hero. His name is Norman Kleis. Norman Jack “Dusty” Kleiss was born on March 7, 1916, in Coffeyville, Kansas.
His parents were John Louis Kleiss and Lulu Dunham Kleiss. In 1934, Kleiss accepted an appointment to the United States Naval Academy. He graduated in June 1938, standing 245 in his class of 438 graduating midshipmen. Of these, 421 served in World War II.
On May 27, 1941, Kleiss earned his nickname when he made an unauthorized landing at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa, located on the south shores of Oahu.
After serving as the tow-sleeve aircraft during a gunnery exercise, Kleiss landed his SBD in front of the tower, hoping to find a safe field to haul in the tow-sleeve. Unexpectedly, his plane's prop blast churned up a giant cloud of red dust, preventing two squadrons of Marine Corps fighter planes from landing on the runway.
The tower control operator called over the radio, "Unknown dust cloud, who the hell are you?" Without responding, Kleiss took off for Naval Air Station Ford Island, hoping that no one had identified his plane.
After landing, one of his squadron mates, Ensign Cleo Dobson, told Kleiss that he had seen the whole thing. Dobson joked, "Welcome aboard, Dusty!" For the remainder of his career in the Navy, Kleiss went by that nickname.
On June 4–6, 1942, Kleiss fought in the Battle of Midway. On the morning of June 4, Kleiss accompanied thirty-two SBD dive bombers led by Enterprise's air group commander, Lieutenant Commander C. Wade McClusky, on a search to find the Japanese carrier task force led by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo.
After several hours of searching, McClusky's group spotted a lone Japanese destroyer, the Arashi, and changed direction to mirror its heading. In a few minutes, McClusky's pilots caught sight of the main body of the Japanese fleet.
At 10:22 (Midway Time), Scouting Six attacked the Japanese carrier Kaga. At least four pilots from Kleiss's squadron and the accompanying squadron (Bombing Six) scored direct hits.
Dusty Kleiss was the second pilot to score a hit, putting his 500-pound bomb and his two wing-mounted bombs into the forward section of Kaga's flight deck, right near the Rising Sun insignia.
In five minutes, three United States dive bomber squadrons had mortally damaged three of the four Japanese aircraft carriers. On the afternoon of June 4, Kleiss accompanied another dive bomber mission launched from USS Enterprise, this one led by Lieutenant W. Earl Gallaher.
Gallaher's dive bombers located the fourth Japanese carrier, the Hiryu, and fatally crippled it. Again, Kleiss scored a direct hit on the bow, one of only four or five pilots to do so.
On June 5, Kleiss accompanied Enterprise's dive bombers on their third mission of the battle, one that failed to sink (or damage, for that matter) a lone Japanese destroyer, the Tanikaze.
Then on June 6, Kleiss accompanied Enterprise's dive bombers in a mission that helped sink the Japanese cruiser Mikuma. Kleiss's bombs struck near Mikuma’s smokestack.
Kleiss was the only pilot to score three direct hits with a dive bomber plane during the Battle of Midway. For his participation in the battle, Kleiss received the Navy Cross in November 1942.
For four years, Kleiss worked on a memoir, Never Call Me a Hero: A Legendary Dive-Bomber Pilot Remembers the Battle of Midway, which was edited and finally published posthumously by co-authors Timothy and Laura Orr on May 23, 2017, by William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins.
The memoir focuses on Kleiss's experiences during World War II. He was born on March 7 1916 and passed away on April 22, 2016 at the age of 100.
Remember all who served our country and all those still serving. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers. God Bless America.
Marc Farmilette, PDC – Commander VFW Post 1545
Dusty Kleiss with his Distinguished Flying Cross, May 1942
