Legion walkers hit the beach

Prior to assuming the top job at The American Legion, National Commander Dale Barnett was a high school basketball and track coach. But to the Department of Virginia, Barnett assumed the role of head cheerleader during The American Legion Walk for Veterans at Virginia Beach last Saturday.

“Today, out here on the beaches of Virginia Beach, Virginia, we have our Legionnaires, we have our juniors (young Auxiliary members),” Barnett said to a local television news reporter. “We have our Sons, we have our Auxiliary…We’re going to tell you how excited we are to walk on the beach here at Virginia Beach. 1.2.3. HOOOAHHHH, American Legion!”

The enthusiasm for the event wasn’t just limited to Barnett. National President of The American Legion Auxiliary Sharon Conatser pointed out that the inclusion of American Legion Family members makes these events more successful.

“I liked seeing the families walk with us on the beach,” she said, referring to the approximately 80 participants who walked the mile in the sand. “We had junior Auxiliary and young S.A.L. members walking with the Legion. The Virginia American Legion Family enjoys a great relationship with one another.”

Immediately prior to the walk, which occurred behind the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel and Conference Center, Barnett addressed the department's executive committee at its spring conference.

“I’ve been so blessed with so many memories of these walks,” he said. “It started up in Manchester, New Hampshire, with two World War II veterans that were well up in their nineties that walked with me. I was in Hartford, Connecticut, and we were walking with the Auxiliary and they started singing God Bless America while walking through the toughest neighborhood in North Hartford. I was in Puerto Rico and we walked behind two oxen and an oxen cart that had our banners hanging, and we walked through a village to the grave of a Medal of Honor recipient. What a memory!” Barnett said.

Barnett continued to share memories of every department walk that he participated in. He then implored the committee to create their own memories of the Virginia Beach event. “There was a lady on the plane with me and we got to talking,” he said. “She asked me why I was coming, and I told her about the awareness walk. I found out that her husband was a retired aviator and that she wanted to come today to participate with her family. So if there is someone that you don’t recognize, I want you to talk to them and always ask the question, ‘Would you like to join?’ I don’t know what the memory will be, but I know tonight that we will have a special memory of this walk.”

The memory for most was the picturesque sandy shore, which Past National Commander Daniel Dellinger said worked out well, even if it was not the intended location. “We originally thought about having it in the city itself, but the city wasn’t cooperating. There were all kinds of insurance and permit issues. But we’re happy to have the commander here and to be a part of it.”

One of the event’s main organizers, northern district membership chairman Dave Wallace, believes the event was an important tool to raise community awareness about veterans and The American Legion. “There are so many types of runs and walks for various causes these days, why not something that gets to the heart and foundation of what and why The American Legion was created in the first place?” he said.

Wallace suggested that other American Legion communities consider organizing a walk of their own. “A post needs to be seen and heard within their community on a regular basis or they will be forgotten. You know that old saying, ‘Out of sight, out of mind?’ That is exactly what will happen if you don’t remain in the public eye. These walks are easy to put together and the kits to assemble a walk for promotion, etc., are available to every post. All they have to do is take the initiative to plan it.”