With the coming of the New Year our local post, the A. and T. Mautausch Post 11326 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, began our twenty-first year of service to the city of Cheney and the surrounding area. Our mission is to serve veterans of our armed services and to support activities of our local community.
One service we accomplished in 2007 was the refurbishing of the veterans monument in the city park (which was later renamed Veteran’s Park) by installing lighted stone benches and placing a lighted flagpole next to the monument.
Since then, our post has been responsible for caring for the lighted flags around the clock.
During this project, Cheney High School art students built a brick seat for the memorial with the names of World War II servicemen, who were killed in action, painted on ceramic tiles affixed to the bench. At this time, we also created an area for memorial bricks to be displayed with the names of service members engraved on them. These were ordered and placed by family members of any service person who was in the Armed Forces. Citizens can still order memorial bricks to be placed to honor present or past members of the military.
On Memorial Day 2010, our post held a ceremony remembering two fallen heroes from Cheney: Chief Warrant Officer Clint J. Prather, U.S. Army, who was killed in Afghanistan and Staff Sgt. Chad Caldwell, who was killed in Iraq.
Both men were graduates of Cheney High School. Names of both men were engraved on the memorial obelisk in the park.
As an ongoing service to the community, our post has been proud to sponsor Cheney Cub Scout Pack, 356, each year and support the scouts and their leaders.
Further to our post mission, we provide services to all veterans in helping them interface with the Department of Veteran Affairs.
Any veteran wanting further information on post membership, veteran’s benefits or ordering a memorial brick can contact Tom Strongin, Post 11326 Commander.
Merle R. Craner
Cheney
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