Yellow Ribbon Career and Benefit Fair
Are you a veteran or military family member?
Clackamas Community College offers the services, classes and programs you need to reach your goals.
Save the date!
What: Veterans Career
and Benefit Fair
When: Saturday, June 26,
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: Clackamas Community College
Open to all veterans, active military and family members!
Email: vetinfo@clackamas.edu
“You’ve served your country. Now let us serve you.”
41 INFANTRY BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM DEMOBILIZATION CEREMONIES SCHEDULED FOR TIGARD AND ROSEBURG FRIDAY
SALEM, Ore. – The remaining soldiers from the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team are scheduled to return to Oregon, April 30, for ceremonies in Tigard and Roseburg.
The Tigard ceremony will be at the Maison Armory, 6700 SW Oak Street, at 10:00 a.m., and will be for Headquarters & Headquarters Company, IBCT, along with Detachment 1, Bravo Company, 1-186 Infantry.
The Roseburg Ceremony will be at the Roseburg High School gymnasium, 400 West Harvard Avenue Roseburg, at 4:00 p.m. and will be for Bravo & Charlie Companies 1-186 Infantry, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and Maj. Gen. Raymond F. Rees, The Adjutant General, Oregon National Guard, are scheduled to attend both ceremonies.
Each ceremony will have approximately 100 soldiers, making them the last of the 41 IBCT troops to return from their 10-month deployment to Iraq.
Busses are scheduled to transport the troops from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., directly to each ceremony.
Post Officer Installation
Our new officers will be installed prior to the general meeting.
Member Photos
Have your portrait taken by a professional photographer for use on this web site to help other members remember who you are.
Don’t Let This Grieving Father Stand Alone
You’ve seen the outrageous case on television and in your newspaper.
VFW National Commander Thomas J. Tradewell, Sr., calls it “… a travesty at best that borders on obscene.”
Albert Snyder, grieving father of fallen Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder, has been ordered by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to pay legal costs to Westboro Baptist Church. These costs were incurred when Mr. Snyder sued over the hateful and despicable protest the church waged during his son’s funeral. Now, the landmark case has moved to the U.S. Supreme Court, and his court costs continue to mount.
This is the ultimate insult!
As patriotic Americans, we cannot stand by and allow the memory of a fallen hero to be tarnished … we cannot allow the father of a slain Marine to be treated with such utter disrespect!
The VFW is calling on you to sign our Declaration of Support. All signatures will be delivered to Mr. Snyder on Memorial Day with a full Color Guard Ceremony.
Let’s show Mr. Snyder that we stand proudly beside him in his battle to honor the memory of his beloved son.
Five VFW Members Win Awards from Tualatin Chamber of Commerce
Each year the Tualatin Chamber of Commerce has an awards ceremony to honor local individuals for their impact in our community. On Thursday we saw five VFW members receive awards:
Small Business of the Year: Dave Dalton of Dalton's NW Catering
Rookie of the Year: Jonathan Crane, Tualatin Life
Chamber Volunteer of the Year: Kevin Ferrasci O'Malley
Outstanding Community Service: Daniel Payne, Tualatin Web
Networker of the Year: Jerry Preator, Take Shape for Life
In his honor
VFW’s Cpl. Matthew Lembke Hall dedicated
By Stover E Harger III
The Times, Aug 26, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009
Jaime Valdez / The Times
NEW HALL, NEW NAME – Claudia and Dale Lembke, next to their daughter Carolyn, officially dedicated the new home of the Tualatin VFW Post 3452 as the Cpl. Matthew Lembke Hall, which was named after their son who died July 10 after being injured in Afghanistan.
On a bright Wednesday morning in Tualatin, the message was clear. The ultimate sacrifice of Cpl. Matthew Lembke should never be forgotten.
Temporary lettering on the window of the new location for the Tualatin Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3452 showcases a new name, the Cpl. Matthew Lembke Hall. But soon a permanent brass plaque will be erected, letting those who pass by remember the Tualatin Marine, who died July 10 after sustaining injuries in war-torn Afghanistan.
The new hall, at 18820 S.W. Boones Ferry Road, was dedicated Wednesday with about 100 dignitaries, VFW members and locals in attendance. In the front row were Matthew’s parents Dale and Claudia Lembke and his sister Carolyn. Smiles graced their faces while speaker after speaker talked highly of the young man.
Right after Matthew’s name was placed on the building, Dale Lembke said he was right out there with his camera. Both he and Claudia say it is a great honor.
“We are very honored,” Dale said. “It is exciting. We told all our relatives.”
The new VFW hall is located on the top floor of one of the oldest structures in Tualatin, the historic red brick “Robinson building.” Although the building was constructed in 1912, the new hall feels sparkling new. A fresh coat of paint, nice furniture, a state-of-the-art kitchen and decorations fill the space that the VFW Post hopes will be an important spot, not just for veterans, but for the greater community.
Trying to find a new location — so they could move out of the worn-down and now demolished “Patriot Hall” at 8455 S.W. Seneca St. — has been a nine-year process, said Dale Potts, spokesman for the VFW Post.
Private developer David Emami, who owns both old and new locations, kindly let the VFW transfer their lease to the Boones Ferry location, Potts said. If it wasn’t for Emami — who, along with his wife Diana, was also honored Wednesday with the very first “VFW American Patriot Award” — Potts said the move wouldn’t have happened. The VFW just weren’t able to find a suitable space for a low enough price.
“I almost thought it wasn’t going to happen,” Potts said.
The Boones Ferry building, once the Robinson’s Store and more recently Rich’s Kitchen, was set to be demolished by Tualatin’s development commission a few years ago, but Emami stepped up in 2006 to put out the money to preserve the dilapidated structure.
The decision to name it after Lembke was a unanimous one, Potts said, and the least they can do to honor the much-loved soldier and 2005 Tualatin High School graduate.
Lembke was wounded on June 24 by an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Now Zad, Afghanistan. He died in July from an infection from his wounds.
“I can not bring Matthew back to you, but I can tell you his name will always be here,” Emami told the Lembke family at the dedication.
The previous night a reception was held, in part, so the Lembke family could be presented with special medallions from the Bend Band of Brothers veterans group.
“The whole community, as you know, mourns, and is thankful…” Ogden told the family at the private reception.
Bill Bussey, a Vietnam veteran, presented the family with the honors, he said, as respect to the service of the brave young man.
Oregon’s only living Medal of Honor recipient and Bend Band of Brothers member Robert Maxwell also came to the reception and dedication to pay his respects. Maxwell used his body to cover an enemy hand grenade during World War II, garnering him the high honor.
“I think it’s great that this community has chosen to do that,” he said about the VFW naming the hall after Lembke.
Lembke was the 115th military member with ties to Oregon to die in Afghanistan, according to a letter from Gov. Ted Kulongoski that was read at the dedication.
Ron Holland, commander of VFW Post 3452, said he hopes the new hall can help the Post become even more of a part of the community, and help returning soldiers with free seminars, finding jobs, and getting physical and mental health care.
As part of this outreach, the Post hopes to create a Men’s Auxiliary group to help boost their small membership. The Auxiliary would be for relatives of people who served in a war, similar to the already existing Women’s Auxiliary. They need 40 members to get it started.
As people filled the hall after the dedication, many spoke of how much of an improvement the new location is.
“I just think that young people are going to want to be here,” said Tualatin Chamber of Commerce CEO Linda Moholt. “It’s beautiful, it’s not a dump anymore.”
Tualatin VFW to name new hall to honor fallen Marine
Veterans of Foreign Wars post will dedicate Cpl. Matthew Lembke Hall at Boones Ferry on Aug. 26
By Stover E Harger III
The Times, Aug 6, 2009, Updated Aug 6, 2009
TUALATIN — Along with a fresh location, the local VFW Post has a new name, the Cpl. Matthew Lembke Hall, designed to honor the Tualatin Marine who died July 10.
A dedication of the Lembke Hall is set for August 26 at 9 a.m. with numerous dignitaries from the city, county and Oregon Legislature planning to attend. There will also be a day-long open house where people can check out the new facilities, now housed in one of the oldest structures in Tualatin — the historic red brick “Robinson building” at 18820 S.W. Boones Ferry Road — which was built in 1912.
When Tualatin Veterans of Foreign Wars members were planning their move from the now demolished 58-year-old building at 8455 S.W. Seneca St. to the 3,000-square-foot Boones Ferry location, they thought they would keep the same name — the “Patriot Hall.”
But the news of Lembke’s death moved the members so much that they felt it was only right to honor him. Everyone was in agreement, said Dale Potts, the spokesman for the Tualatin VFW Post 3452, it would be dedicated to the much-loved Marine.
“It kind of hit a lot of people at the same time,” Potts said.
Lembke died from an infection after an IED blast exploded under him while on patrol late last month in the Taliban-heavy region of Now Zad, Afghanistan. His death shook up many in the city who praised the soldier as a loving, dedicated and cheerful young man.
Naming the hall after Lembke shows respect to him and will help remind people of the sacrifices that all soldiers give for their country, Potts said.
Bend resident Robert Maxwell, Oregon’s only living Medal of Honor recipient, will present Lembke’s family with special medallions at the dedication. The post will also be giving out their first civilian honor, the “Tualatin VFW American Patriot” award.
The Boones Ferry building, once the Robinson’s Store and more recently Rich’s Kitchen, was set to be demolished by Tualatin’s development commission a few years ago before private developer David Emami stepped up in 2006 to put out the money to preserve the dilapidated structure.
Marine Matthew Lembke of Tualatin buried at Willamette National Cemetery
by Paige Parker, The Oregonian
Monday July 20, 2009, 9:41 PM
Family and friends gathered Monday to bless and bury Marine Cpl. Matthew R. Lembke, an Oregonian who died this month following severe injuries sustained in June.
The son of Claudia and Dale Lembke of Tualatin and brother of Carolyn, Matt Lembke, 22, is the 131st military member with ties to Oregon to die as a result of serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
At his graveside service at Willamette National Cemetery in Happy Valley, Gov. Ted Kulongoski called Lembke, “the best Oregon has to give.”
More
» “Oregon Marine gravely wounded, losing both legs after bombing in Afghanistan”
» “Marine Matthew Lembke of Tualatin dies of injuries suffered in Afghanistan”
» “Marine Cpl. Lembke’s body is returned to Oregon”
“Your son, if he’d come home, would have made our state a much better place,” Kulongoski told Lembke’s parents.
A sniper, Lembke was serving his third combat tour when an IED exploded during a late night foot patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He lost both his legs. He underwent several surgeries and held on for 18 days before dying July 10 at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
The priest who gave Lembke his First Holy Communion only 14 years ago eulogized him at a funeral Mass at the Catholic Church of the Resurrection in Tualatin. “We still do not know why now,” said the Rev. Paul Peri. “He was so young. Perhaps, then, rather than ask a question we can never fully answer, we should ask instead, ‘Why did he live?’”
The answer, he said, could be found in the presence of the 800 mourners who filled the church. Lembke, Peri said, had a quiet faith, a noble soul and a spirit of self-sacrifice.
He was born Nov. 4, 1986, graduating in 2005 from Tualatin High School, where he played football and landed the nickname “Lumpe.”
Thomas Boyd, The OregonianClaudia and Dale Lembke take a final moment at the Willamette National Cemetary at the casket of their son, Marine Cpl. Matthew R. Lembke, 22. Matt died July 1 at Bethesda Naval Hospital from injuries sustained in a June 22 explosion in Afghanistan.
Lembke attracted friends easily. Hundreds recently learned of him online through a Facebook group, and thousands more through The Oregonian, which featured him in a July story as he battled his injuries.
Fellow Marines flew in from across the country to attend his funeral. The 20 young men closest to him pinned red roses to their lapels in Lembke’s honor; they also gave one to his father, Dale Lembke, said Nick Carney, a high school friend.
Over the weekend, Carney and another friend pored through old photos of Lembke, compiling a DVD to give to his family.
“Because he was always smiling in every picture it was hard to narrow down which pictures to put in,” Carney said.
Police halted traffic on Interstate 205 to make way for Lembke’s funeral procession, which traveled 16 miles from Tualatin to the cemetery. One elderly man stood at the shoulder of the road next to his camper, holding a flag and saluting each passing car.
In a shelter at Willamette National Cemetery, those who loved Lembke pressed in close to his parents and sister.
From the hillside up above them came three sharp volleys; from the grassy stretch just behind them came bugle notes. The honor guard’s heads bent to the task of perfectly creasing Lembke’s flag. Kulongoski kneeled to present it to Lembke’s mother, Claudia.
And when 20 weeping young men and his father passed by Lembke’s silver casket, each left him his rose.
– Paige Parker; paigeparker@news.oregonian.com
Marine Matthew Lembke of Tualatin dies of injuries suffered in Afghanistan
Cpl. Matthew Lembke was on his third tour of duty when he was wounded in Afghanistan. This photo was taken during an earlier tour of Iraq.
by Julie Sullivan, The Oregonian
Friday July 10, 2009, 5:04 PM
Cpl. Matthew Lembke, a Tualatin man serving his third combat tour, died Friday at Bethesda Naval Hospital from complications from his blast injuries suffered in Afghanistan.
The 22-year-old Marine sniper had been patrolling on foot June 22 when an IED exploded. He lost both his legs and sustained internal injuries.
Archive
» “Oregon Marine gravely wounded, losing both legs after bombing in Afghanistan”
He was flown to the U.S. Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany where his parents, Claudia and Dale, and sister Carolyn, joined him. Last weekend, he was flown to Bethesda in Maryland where he underwent several surgeries.
Lembke, who was nicknamed “Lumpe” by a high school coach, was a popular Tualatin High Timberwolf student/athlete with a deep pool of friends. Within hours of his wounding, one friend launched a Facebook group that swelled to 318 members. Other family friends launched a web page and a trust fund for him at U.S. Bank. Marines recovering from wounds from Afghanistan flocked to the family at the hospital.
Lembke’s story, which was featured in The Oregonian July 8, drew national response from members of the Second Marine Expeditionary Brigade headquartered at Camp Lejeune to Richard Davis, the president and CEO of U.S. Bank, where his mother, Claudia, works in the Machine Tool Finance Group.
Scott Jones, whose son Garrett, a Marine from Dundee, lost his leg in 2007 wrote saying, “Both my wife Phyllis and I SOO want to reach out to the Lembke family. We want them to know there is a Marine family living near them who has been through what they are going through.” Garrett Jones eventually returned to duty and is planning to attend Western Oregon University.
But Lembke’s wounds were catastrophic. Doctors began performing surgery every other day to combat infection, which observers say is a common complication because of the debris associated with such blast injuries. He was mostly sedated, but at some points, had blinked his eyes and squeezed the hands of his mother, father and sister.
On Wednesday, they reported that after a morning surgery, Lembke began to take a turn for the worse. “Pray for my brother,” Carolyn posted. “… all of a sudden, things are not looking so good.”
The family camped at the ICU waiting room Thursday night. They reported he did not appear to be in pain. Lembke died about 9:30 a.m. Friday PST, his mother said.
First Lt. Joseph Cull, his platoon commander, wrote the family from Afghanistan. He had met Lembke last year when Lembke was one of 50 Marines to try out for a specialized platoon. He was one of seven who passed all examinations, and events, and was selected. Cull wrote that he was 100 miles away, at another position with a different team; when he received the message that Lembke was wounded.
“We had been operating for about 4 days straight, and sleep was short at hand for myself, and other Marines in the platoon. I came back from the radio, with Staff Sergeant Bustamante and we just sat down, silent and very much awake, regardless of fatigue. Soon word spread, our actions where mimicked by others all around, not due to the degree of Matt’s wounds, but because of the severity of his character, his bond with others and more importantly the profound respect all within our battalion have for your son’s professionalism and solid character.
“You have 26 sons, who are praying for his recovery every day, regardless of what we do, what hostilities are encountered in our day he is with us, in our actions and thoughts.”
Eighty-three Marines have died in Afghanistan between 2002 and July 7. Two more, Lance Cpl. Roger Hager, 20, of Gibsonville, N.C. and Master Sgt. John Hayes 36, of Middleburg Fla. died July 8 in the same area where Lembke was serving, Helmand Province.
Lembke is survived his parents, Claudia and Dale, of Tualatin; sister, Carolyn Lembke, of Sherwood; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. Services are pending.
Julie Sullivan: 503-221-8068; juliesullivan@news.oregonian.com
Brunch
Feb 11, 2012Men's Auxiliary
Feb 16, 2012Brunch
Feb 18, 2012Brunch
Feb 25, 2012Brunch
Mar 3, 2012Men's Auxiliary
Mar 15, 2012
Events
Schedules
The Post meets on the first Monday of each month at 7 pm.
Everyone is invited to brunch every Saturday from 10AM – Noon at Cpl Matthew Lembke Hall. Cost is donation only.
Ladies Auxiliary meeting is at 1:00 p.m., the first Monday of each month.
Men’s Auxiliary meeting is at 6:30 p.m., the third Thursday of each month.
Deployed family members support group, last Friday of each month 5:30PM to 7:30PM.
Local VFW News
-
Retired USAF Pilot is Speaking on Feb 11th
Feb 3, 2012
-
Professional Handyman Services
Jan 25, 2012
-
Help a Vet Find Work
Jan 23, 2012
-
Chamber Networking at the VFW Post
Jan 22, 2012
-
Santa Visits
Dec 23, 2011
-
VA Hospital Visit
Dec 15, 2011
News and Resources
- DD-214
- Federal Benefits for Vets
- National VA Council
- National VFW
- Oregon Dept of Vet Affairs
- Oregon VFW
- Oregon VFW (Twitter)
- Veterans in the news
- VFW in the news
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- Vietnam War Resources
