Barbecue Pits and Brotherhood: When the SAL's Grill Caught Fire

The powerful bonds of military family legacy come alive in this candid conversation with members of the Sons of the American Legion Squadron 6 from Corinth, Mississippi. Commander Randy Leos, alongside dual members Terry Phillips and Jim Horton, share their personal journeys into an organization that honors veterans through meaningful service.

"We're more than just a bunch of guys sitting in a room," Commander Leos explains, highlighting how the Sons support the broader American Legion family through everything from cooking events to parade participation. With 45 members on their roster, Squadron 6 represents one of the larger SAL units, though like many volunteer organizations, they face the challenge of converting membership into active participation.

The conversation reveals deeply personal motivations for joining – honoring fathers and grandfathers who served in conflicts from World War II through Vietnam. This sense of continuing family military legacy through service emerges as a powerful theme throughout the discussion. As Jim Horton eloquently states, "You have to be a member to understand it. We all work together. Sometimes we fuss maybe, but that's what families do."

From their adventures with a flaming barbecue grill at their first community fundraiser to their ambitious plans addressing veteran homelessness, Squadron 6 demonstrates how the Sons of the American Legion creates meaningful impact. Their participation in Veterans Day parades, wreath-laying ceremonies, and other community events showcases their commitment to honoring those who served.

Ready to discover how you can honor your family's military service while making a difference for veterans? Join the Sons of the American Legion Squadron 6 at their meetings every second Thursday at 6PM in Corinth, Mississippi, and become part of a legacy of service that spans generations.

Transcript

Introduction to Veterans Sound Off

Jerry Allhands 0:00

This is the Veterans Sound Off Podcast. Hard work, work, let's get it going. Let's go. I'm your host, jerry Allhands, a veteran of the US Air Force and Army and a Mississippi Pass Department Commander of the American Legion. Each week, we will visit an American Legion post and visit with the Legion family there. As we travel the state, we'll visit with other groups and organizations that are serving America's veterans and their families. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast and mark your calendars as next Monday we return to in the Upper Northeast corner of the state and visit with the Legion Riders of Perry, a Johns Post, number six. This podcast series is made possible by the financial support of listeners such as yourself. For more information on how you can support our mission, please call 662-902-6658. Again, that's 662-902-6658. On today's episode, we sit down with members of the Sons of the American Legion Squadron 6 in Corneth Mississippi.

Meet the Sons of the American Legion

Jerry Allhands 1:14

Let's talk a little bit today about the Sons of the American Legion. We have traveled to Northeast Mississippi and today we're talking with the Sons of the American Legion. They're going to introduce themselves coming from my left to the right, and we'll start with Nacho Mama.

Randy Leos 1:29

My name is Randy Leos.

Terry Phillips 1:34

I'm the commander of Squadron 6, Post 6 in Corinth Mississippi, and I'm Terry Phillips.

Jim Horton 1:42

I'm a dual member of both the Legionnaires and the Sons of the American Legion and Jim Horton. I'm also a dual member of Post 6 as well as Squad 6 of the American Legion.

Jerry Allhands 1:52

Could I get somebody to please begin our show today with a?

Terry Phillips 1:57

prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you, lord, for all the many blessings you've given us. Lord, forgive us of our shortfallings. Lord, thank you for the opportunity to be here today and support the Sons of the American Legion and the American Legion and all the veterans. Lord, be with us as we go about our day, keeping you foremost in everything we do. In Jesus Christ's name, we pray. Amen.

Jerry Allhands 2:21

All right, we're with the Sons of the American Legion, squadron 6. That's post-6. In what city? Again, corinth. See, everybody said it differently. Jim, how do you say it?

Jim Horton 2:34

Corinth.

Jerry Allhands 2:36

Terry Corinth, randy Corinth he and I got something in common. I ain't even going to try, I love it, it's Car-Rent, car-rent.

Jim Horton 2:48

See, now I can do Car-Rent. Well, that's it.

Jerry Allhands 2:52

Car-Rent Car-Rent. I can do that. Where's Tina? Let's talk about the Sons of the American Legion. What is the Sons of the American Legion?

Randy Leos 3:04

Well, we're part of the American Legion. What is the Sons of the American Legion? Well, we're part of the Legion family. The Sons are exactly what it sounds like we're the Sons of Veterans. To be a son, you either have to have a father, grandfather, that has served or is serving in the military. That's where we come in. Our main job is to support the Legionnaires here at the post. As far as you know, when we have cooking events or any events, we, you know. Whatever we have to do we park cars, sweep the floors. Whatever you know we have to do to help the Legion, to help the veterans, is what our organization really is about.

Jerry Allhands 3:41

I know about that sweeping the floor business.

Terry Phillips 3:43

Yeah.

Jerry Allhands 3:44

Yep, yep, definitely. How does somebody become a son of the American Legion?

Randy Leos 3:50

Like I said before, you have to have a grandfather or father that was in the military, either past or present, and you come, you fill out the application form, we give it to our adjutant, he sends it, reviews it, that you come back with $20, and we pretty much get you in there. I mean, as long as your background comes back. You're actually from the military family.

Jerry Allhands 4:17

All right, and does your parent, father, mother?

Randy Leos 4:21

My grandfather was a World War II veteran.

Jerry Allhands 4:24

Okay.

Randy Leos 4:25

What branch?

Jerry Allhands 4:25

of service. He was in the Army.

Randy Leos 4:26

In the Army was a World War II veteran. Okay, what branch of service he was in the Army. In the Army he was.

What Makes SAL Special

Jerry Allhands 4:29

World War II.

Randy Leos 4:30

World War II. Yes, sir. Your father, grandfather.

Jerry Allhands 4:32

Grandfather Okay, I was going to say you look awfully young.

Randy Leos 4:35

Yeah, yeah, I like that. We're a young family.

Terry Phillips 4:51

Terry, what makes you eligible to be in the Sons of the American Legion? My father was in the Army and then I joined the American Legion and found out that I also qualified to be part of the Sons of the American Legion. So I'm a dual member because my father was in the Army.

Jerry Allhands 5:03

And you were in which branch.

Terry Phillips 5:04

I was in the Army also, and you were in which branch I was in the Army also. What did you do? Well, artillery and in the Fire Direction Control Center, and then ended up doing supply. I was in for 30 years, both with the Army, the National Guard and the Army Reserve, but all Army, all Army. So you couldn't be special like me.

Jerry Allhands 5:23

You could have been Air Force and Army. No, and the Army Reserve, but all Army, all Army. So you couldn't be special like me. You could have been Air Force and Army.

Terry Phillips 5:28

No, I stayed all.

Jerry Allhands 5:29

Army 30 years, 30 years. Thank you for your service. Thank you, appreciate you very much. Jim? What makes you eligible for the SAL?

Jim Horton 5:36

My father, World War II veteran. He was stationed in the Pacific. What branch of service was he in? Stationed in the Pacific? What branch of service was he in? He was in the Army, all right.

Jerry Allhands 5:46

And I see you've got a Legion cap on, so what branch of service were you in?

Jim Horton 5:51

Navy, navy, yes, navy, yes. Okay, about what years? 78. 83. Yeah, 83.

Jerry Allhands 6:07

He knows your years.

Jim Horton 6:08

Yeah, he knows.

Jerry Allhands 6:11

I like it Well. Thank you for your service. We appreciate you very much. Tell me something about the Sons of the American Legion that nobody knows, Randy.

Randy Leos 6:20

That nobody knows, that nobody knows.

Jerry Allhands 6:23

Nobody.

Randy Leos 6:27

Well, what nobody knows, that nobody knows Nobody, yeah. Well, what nobody knows is that we're really trying to be as equal as we can to the rest of the Legionnaires here as far as the Auxiliary, the Riders and the Legionnaires, the Sons. You know, when I come here, we weren't really doing much and I want to change that and that's kind of, you know, what we got in our mindset as sons is to change. You know that we can help support the building. You know, as far as expenses, we got a roof that we need to put on and we just want to pull our weight, you know, and not be equal with the legionnaires and everybody, but show that we can really help out. You know, and that's what we're trying to do. So a lot of people don't know that they just, you know, I mean, we're more than just a bunch of guys sitting in a room. You know we're. We want to, you know, be more part of this than we actually are how many members do you have in the?

Randy Leos 7:25

There's 45 of us.

Jerry Allhands 7:26

What 45? You have 45 members, yeah.

Randy Leos 7:30

In the SAL yeah.

Jerry Allhands 7:31

In this squadron.

Randy Leos 7:32

Yes, yes, we do. Now how many members come to the meeting? All right Okay that's a different story. You get five or six, all right, but we have 45 members that are sal what are you doing to change that as far as coming to a meeting?

Randy Leos 7:53

well, we're trying to get it. You know, we're trying to get it's, it's, it's. The problem is that everybody says yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll be there, we'll help you out, we'll, you know, do this and uh, then we, you know, when it comes to meeting time, nobody's there. So what we're trying to do is we're trying to get it out there that, hey, we need help. You know, I mean, uh, we do a lot of uh, we've, we've recently bought a, a barbecue, uh, pull behind barbecue. That we go to events, different events too. We, we did it the first year, we did okay and um, so we need people, you, to help us with that stuff. You know, I mean, there's a core of us that really are doing most of the work when you know we need more help.

Jerry Allhands 8:32

Okay.

Randy Leos 8:32

That's basically it and trying to get help. You know, I mean it's word of mouth, you know, but, like I say, it's just nobody's really interested. I guess I mean it's sad to say, but how do you communicate with your membership?

Randy Leos 8:45

We Facebook, you know I mean usually just by mouth. You know, at the events. You know we try to recruit as well we can. You know we get asked a lot of questions but getting them down here is a challenge. So I think if we get more things going on here, like we got line dancing, we've got other events going on here that you Line dancing. Yeah, that's not me. I'm from Chicago. But you know it is what it is and it's fun, so I don't participate.

Membership Challenges and Community Involvement

Jerry Allhands 9:21

Actually, you don't line dance.

Randy Leos 9:26

I've never line danced, no.

Jerry Allhands 9:27

I mean, I heard it's pretty easy. They just draw a line on the floor.

Randy Leos 9:29

Well, it looks pretty simple, but you know, so does driving, and there's a lot of accidents, so I don't think we need to go to line dancing.

Jerry Allhands 9:38

Well, can you sing?

Randy Leos 9:40

Oh yeah, I can sing. Sure, you know, I play some instruments. I play the radio, AM and FM, you know. I mean just still stuff like that.

Jerry Allhands 9:53

So, in other words, if 45 members of the Sons of the American Legion show up on a Thursday night, I would sing. You would sing and line dance, and line dance. So there's the challenge, folks, if you are a Sons of the American Legion, member of Squadron 6 in Carneth Mississippi.

Randy Leos 10:11

I thought I was bad.

Jerry Allhands 10:13

Y'all come on down here and this man from Chicago will line dance.

Terry Phillips 10:20

He will sing.

Jerry Allhands 10:21

He will play an instrument that is not an AM FM radio. So there's the challenge.

Randy Leos 10:26

Kazoo I got a kazoo.

Jerry Allhands 10:28

All right, see, I just increased your membership by one.

Randy Leos 10:33

Thank you, Y'all don't know it. On the video and on the audio here, See I just increased your membership by one.

Jerry Allhands 10:36

Thank you. Y'all don't know it on the video and on the audio here, but somebody out in the other room has got barbecue going and everybody's stomach in here is growling at about the same time, so bear with us a little bit.

Jerry Allhands 10:46

Let's talk again about the membership. Here You've got 45 members, which is one of the largest memberships of the SAL I have come across yet in all the interviews I've done that's why I was stunned for a moment. So congrats on that, and I'm assuming a lot of these members are dual members, I hope. If not, 45 members in the SAL is pretty good. Getting five or six together is still a pretty good deal of a job, so good deal as well. So look forward to that. Why did you join the Sons of the American Legion?

Randy Leos 11:22

Well, I was living in southern Illinois and I was working with a lady that was in charge of the auxiliary for Post 280 in Benton, illinois, and she invited me to come to the post and she introduced me to the commander and people like that, and so I got to talking to the commander of the post and he asked me if I was interested in joining the Suns and I told him yeah, and so that same night he signed me up and I became a member of the Suns and then a year later I moved down here and I joined the Suns here and I was here for a year. I was the Sergeant at Arms when I started and then I became Commander. This is my second year as Commander, so I'm pretty new to this, and it was a way to help veterans that you that you see, you know I mean, uh, everybody takes it uh for granted what we got. You know our freedoms, you know, hey, hey, we can do this. We can say that, well, if it wasn't for these veterans, we wouldn't be doing any of that, and so this is a chance to give back to what they've done for us. You know we can never equal the sacrifice they made, but at least we can help them out as far as food, clothing, maybe even a house or something, I don't know. It's to give back to veterans. That's the main reason I'm here. It's not about this guy or that guy, it's about the veterans. That's what this is all about for me.

Jerry Allhands 12:49

I appreciate that, Terry. Why did you join the Suns?

Terry Phillips 12:54

Well, one of the things that I have found out is a lot of people don't know about the sons of the American Legion, and I really didn't know about it until I joined the Legion. But not only am I in the sons because my father was in the Army, but I have several other relatives that served and I see it as a way to honor them my father, my uncles that were in World War II, korea, vietnam and so honor all of them by being part of the Sons of the American Legion.

Jerry Allhands 13:31

You've enjoyed it.

Terry Phillips 13:32

I have, I have, and one thing I'll say is that the Sons participate in everything that is done here at this post, in this squadron. It really is a family. The Sons of the American Legion, the auxiliary, the riders, the legionnaires, they all work together in every event that we have.

Jerry Allhands 13:55

Jim, why did you join the Suns?

Jim Horton 13:59

Partly the same reasons that Terry did. Also, like I said, my father being a World War II veteran, it's kind of like my way of honoring him, as well as all the other veterans. I know we're all talking about family, but it really is, and you have to be a member to understand it. We all work together. Sometimes we fuss maybe, but that's what families do, so it's no big deal there, you know, and it's nothing major.

Jerry Allhands 14:32

How long have you been in the SAL?

Jim Horton 14:34

I've been. Let's see, we joined about the same time, A little less than a year.

Jerry Allhands 14:40

Yes, so you're the newbies. Yeah, we're the newbies All right and Randy, you've been in combined.

Randy Leos 14:49

I've been in it for two years back home in Illinois. I've been in it for two years back home in Illinois and then this is my third year here that I've been with. So six years altogether.

Jerry Allhands 15:01

Now you realize that, now that you're here, this is home now, right?

Randy Leos 15:03

Oh yeah, this is my home post. Now you don't get to go back home because you know I still got my key card to get in over there, All right, let's talk about some of the events that's happened in the past year that the sal has been involved in.

Key Events and Future Plans

Jerry Allhands 15:17

What's, uh, what's the most? What's the one event that stands out the most for you, randy?

Randy Leos 15:22

well, it was, uh, it was last year. We, uh, we first got our, uh, our grill. And uh, we went out to iuka for our first uh event. You got Days, I believe it was called, it was some festival, anyway. We went out there and our grill was on a wooden frame and anyway, so we start cooking and, sure enough, the grill gets hot, so the wood starts burning and all we have is bottled water to put this out with. So me and Michael Bloom he's our treasurer, our adjutant um, we were on the grill and he said, uh, what are we going to do if it burns? And I said we're going to cook on the ground. And uh, so we, we got that uh, so we had to take her home, and pulling her home was a you know, I mean there's a fire, you know. And uh, so we get back home with it. And then I took it to my shop and I put all steel in there, so we got rid of the fire hazard. But that was our first go out and it was a good time. Even with the fire, it was a good time. So events like that stick out in my head.

Randy Leos 16:27

And then we went on and did the Glow Hope. That was a balloon thing here at the airport and we did all right there. We did real well. As far as raising money, what is that? At Glow Hope, they have air balloons. It's for cancer and it was a festival they had out here at the airport. What's the name of that airport? Roscoe Turner Airport. They have it every. Well, they didn't have it last year but they have it every year and it's just to raise money for cancer awareness and stuff like that. They have balloons, hot air balloons that you ride in for rides and stuff like that, and we sat out there with the vendors. It was good turnout, it's a good time, good cause, and that's our festivities and stuff.

Jerry Allhands 17:14

So, being around those hot air balloons, they didn't let you have a barbecue, did they?

Randy Leos 17:17

Oh yeah, we had ours going, oh yeah.

Terry Phillips 17:20

We were burning, Burning yeah.

Jerry Allhands 17:23

Terry, what stands out for you this past year?

Terry Phillips 17:26

Well, the suns being part of some of the other events the freedom ride that we had. Some of the other events the Freedom Ride that we had, putting flags out at the National Cemetery, laying wreaths, veterans Heritage and the Veterans Day Parade. The signs are part of all the events that are going on.

Jerry Allhands 17:51

Let's talk about the Veterans Day Parade. How did you get involved with that? What did y'all do?

Terry Phillips 17:55

We built a float and had both the float and walkers and the float was regarding our Wreaths Across America. That was the theme for our float so that we could get word out the auxiliary doing the race across America. We were also walking and passing out pins to veterans and poppies to to ladies in the crowd. No burning barbecue no burning barbecue and we also had our riders participating that day also, so we had some motorcycles in the in the veterans Day parade also.

Jerry Allhands 18:35

How many folks do you think were involved in the parade itself?

Terry Phillips 18:38

From all the different community. Sure Gosh, I don't know, there were hundreds. And then there was, at the end of the parade, there was speakers. Both our chief of police and our sheriff spoke, and they're both veterans and so they members of the american legion too right uh if not, we'll fix that I think they are and we try to get them more active, but in their roles in the community they're they're very active, uh, otherwise involved there you go jim.

Jerry Allhands 19:13

What stands out for you? This past year in the SAL, an event.

Jim Horton 19:18

Well, let's see, Based on the time I've been in the parades, there's always, you know good, the Suns is always active in the parades, active in the parades and they help with a multitude of things that the Legion does as a whole. They're always there, they're always dependable. You can count on them.

Jerry Allhands 19:44

I like that, Randy, coming up this next year. What's the plan for the SAL? What big events you got coming up? What's?

Randy Leos 19:52

the plan for the SAL. What big events you got coming up. Well, recently it's you know, I really didn't realize it the homeless problem that we're having here for our veterans. So I think, as a post, we're going to try to do something to raise money for the homeless. So that's number one on our list to our list to uh create events to make money for the homeless veterans that are here, and not just here in our town but, you know, in in other areas as well. Um, but I but I think our focus is going to be for the homeless vets this year, um creating what events we can create. We've uh, me and uh nora Moreland, the commander of the Legionnaires, have talked to a gentleman about wrestling, having a wrestling show here. So hopefully, with stuff like that, we can help out and raise some money for these homeless vets that are on the street.

Jerry Allhands 20:48

Bringing wrestling back to the Mississippi.

Randy Leos 20:50

Bringing it back home. Yes, sir, yeah.

Jerry Allhands 20:53

You know there's a problem there, right. Uh-oh yeah yeah, junkyard Dog, he's gotten old.

Randy Leos 20:59

He died like in 87. I'm a wrestling nut dude, I got old, but he would. Yeah, he was great. Oh, he was awesome.

Jerry Allhands 21:09

Man, we could talk wrestling for a while and get totally off the subject oh, we totally could.

Jim Horton 21:14

Yes, we could then again.

Jerry Allhands 21:15

Uh, um, we could talk about that burning barbecue pit one more time well, it was, it was hot, it was hot let's get it going, let's go.

Why Join the Sons of American Legion

Jerry Allhands 21:25

let's pause for a moment to hear from some of the people who have helped to make this episode possible with their financial support. A very special thank you to Dean and Judy Graves of Mount Vernon, missouri, for their financial support. Dean passed away recently without ever hearing the podcast, but he believed in this project and his support helps to make each episode possible, and for that we say thank you, hi this is Judy Graves of Mount Vernon, Missouri, inviting you to listen to the next episode of the Veteran Sound Off podcast.

Nora Moreland 21:59

Hello, my name is Nora Moreland. I am a proud US Marine, the granddaughter ofa World War II US Navy veteran, Adelbert Shea, who served in the Pacific Theater, the wife of a combat corpsman and a mother of an active-duty Marine. I would humbly ask you to sponsor the Veterans Sound Off podcast. Each episode tells the stories of what we in the American Legion do locally and around the world. Thank you.

Wreaths Across America 22:28

You can join in the mission to remember our fallen heroes, honor those who currently serve and their families, and teach younger generations about the value of freedom. A $17 donation to Wreaths Across America sponsors a fresh balsam remembrance wreath. These wreaths have become a symbol of America's respect for those who have served and no longer walk with us. Sponsor a wreath today. Visit wreathsacrossamericaorg or call 877-385-9504.

Jerry Allhands 22:58

To buy a wreath. Call Carlene Parker at 662-415-6743. Again, that's 662-415-6743.

Nora Moreland 23:11

Hey, this is Kobe Stewart from Springfield Missouri, inviting you to catch the next episode of the Veterans Sound Off podcast.

Jerry Allhands 23:18

The Veterans Sound Off podcast is made possible by you, the listener, and we need your help in keeping this podcast series going. Your continued financial support enables us to produce these episodes. Call 662-902-6658 today and we'll give you all the details on how you and or your business can become a sponsor. And now back to this episode of the Veterans Sound Off Podcast. Hard work, hard work, it's what they say Hard work, hard work.

Jim Horton 23:46

I'm a pain Hard work, hard work.

Jerry Allhands 23:48

We can. We can talk wrestling for a while and get totally off the subject.

Jim Horton 23:51

Oh, we totally could.

Randy Leos 23:52

Yes, we could.

Jerry Allhands 23:53

Then again we could talk about that burning barbecue pit one more time.

Randy Leos 23:57

Well, it was, it was hot, it was hot.

Jerry Allhands 24:02

Man, we've got a lot coming up this next year. Talk to me about SAL training. How do you get trained in the SAL?

Randy Leos 24:09

Yeah, there's a course that you can take. You can go to the National when they have their meetings and stuff and they offer different courses, like the commanders and things like that. Myself I really wasn't trained or ready for to step in here, you know, but I thought I could do it and I'm, I'm trying, you know, and that's how you can do. You know I'm, you know, kind of learning on the fly. There's a lot of things I don't know, but I've got. John Peebles was here. He was the commander when I began and so if I had questions I could call him, Michael Bloom, as well as Mike Hurst here. Tina, all these guys have helped me, you know I mean.

Randy Leos 24:51

So, as far as training, yeah, you gotta you got, but you, you know, I mean you can train, but things change. You know you got to be able to adjust and and move with the flow of things. You know I mean you can have something planned and something could happen and you got to go a different way. You know, I mean I don't care how much you practice, train, train, train. You know I boxed before this and you know I mean train, train training is great, but when you get hit in the mouth. Oh, the training goes out the window and you know there's something different here. You know, so you got to be exact. Oh, there's a joke in there somewhere.

Jerry Allhands 25:31

I think I better leave that one alone. Let's talk a little bit about what happens at an SAL meeting here at the Post.

Randy Leos 25:39

Well, first we have the family meeting out there, then we get dismissed to our own areas. We usually go in, we come to order and we discuss what past business we had, what's coming up in the future, like for the sons. We cook for the sons of the Confederate veterans. On Mondays we cook for them. So we go over what we're going to cook and things like that. We discuss, you know, ways to make some more money, of course and that's usually about it, you know and pretty much dismiss. You know we pretty much get to business and take care of it.

Jerry Allhands 26:16

How long does an average meeting last for you?

Randy Leos 26:18

It could go from a half hour to 45 minutes, depending on what we're discussing, you know, because sometimes, you know, there's a little debate debate, so we've got to go through our little voting. So it depends on what the situation is. There's a lot of things we like to discuss and talk about it. Even if it didn't resolve, we'll resolve it at the next meeting.

Jerry Allhands 26:40

But you meet on the same night as the Legion, yeah every second Thursday of the month at 6 o'clock. Second Thursday of the month, 6 o'clock. Second Thursday of the month, 6 o'clock.

Randy Leos 26:48

Yeah, we eat at 6 and we start the meeting at 7.

Jerry Allhands 26:50

Okay, give me the street address here 511 South Tate Street, corinth Mississippi. And the zip code 388-34.

Terry Phillips 27:02

There you go.

Jerry Allhands 27:03

GPS. It's a wonderful thing. It'll get you here. You may get lost getting here, but you'll get here sooner or later. So is the guy who got lost once before. What's the future look like for you with the SAL here?

Randy Leos 27:17

The future here. I'd like to keep doing what I'm doing now. Maybe one more year and then somebody else should be ready to step in and take over as commander, but I would still like to stay. You know, of course I'm going to stay and be a member of the Suns, you know. I mean this is pretty much you know. And so, yeah, my future here is pretty much staying here and doing what I can do. I'm also a rider, so Well, that explains the vest.

Jerry Allhands 27:45

Yeah, I'm, also a writer.

Randy Leos 27:46

Oh, that explains the vest.

Jerry Allhands 27:46

Yeah, I was going to ask you about that.

Randy Leos 27:47

Well, you know, Nora lets me wear it every now and then, so I look important. But yeah. So yeah, I'm a writer.

Jerry Allhands 27:55

Does your mother know that you're a writer?

Randy Leos 27:58

Well, I don't want to talk about my mom now. We'd have to do this in Spanish. No, I believe.

Jerry Allhands 28:07

Terry, how does the future look for you with this al? What do you see happening with this unit, this squadron?

Terry Phillips 28:12

I would like to say, both with the the squadron and with the post some of the members that are not active to become active, uh, and also being able to reach out to others. Like I said I, I was not really aware of the sons before I got involved, and so I'd like to get that awareness out there more to some of the other people in the community that have those fathers, grandfathers or parents that were veterans. Get them involved in the sons.

Jerry Allhands 28:46

What could you do to reach out to the other 40 plus members of the squadron to let them know you know, come on, join us. Yeah, I mean.

Terry Phillips 28:54

I would like to for us to do a phone tree and reach out to them and talk to them about one of the things that I feel would be helpful is to find out from them what they would like to see the Suns doing and then get them involved in participating in that. You know those events. I think giving them something to do specifically and get them involved.

Jerry Allhands 29:21

I like that.

Terry Phillips 29:22

I may try that in my own post there.

Jerry Allhands 29:25

I like that, Jim. What do you see?

Jim Horton 29:28

I see a bright future for Squad 6. I'm proud to be a member of it. I want to continue being one. We're always trying to come up with a new idea, a new project that we could take hold, you know, and I just see us moving forward.

Support and Episode Closing

Jerry Allhands 29:45

Randy, what would you say to somebody on the street who is just you just handed them a pamphlet of the SAL and they are hesitant to join because they don't feel like they've got time.

Randy Leos 30:00

Well, I would. First I would ask them, you know, I mean, you know, are you proud of, are you proud of, your country? Are you, are you proud of the men who fought to give you this? You know, I mean, this is not, you know, just some organization that we'd like to get together and play cards, and you know BS around. You know this is a serious deal. You know, if you want to get into something to really help the community and help veterans, this is the organization for you. You know, I mean that's all you can really say. You know, I mean, if you can't see that, then I don't want you as a member anyway. You know, I mean seriously, if you're not here to help the veterans, you know you've got to be appreciative for what you've got. You know, every time you walk across the street, every time you get something to eat, every time you make a phone call that was paid for by veterans, you know.

Jerry Allhands 31:00

So, you know, come out and help us give them back a little bit. Terry's same question If you met somebody on the street, you've given them a pamphlet about the SAL and they're interested in joining. But they, you know, just I just don't have the time, and you know, would you encourage them to go ahead and join anyway?

Terry Phillips 31:11

I would, because the things I've found over the years, the, the people that are the usually do the most, are involved in a lot of different things. I mean they, they're active, they're, they're busy. They say they're busy, but those are the people that if you get them involved in your activity, they'll do the work also. But like Randy had said about I believe that service should be the top thing for them, that if they want to provide a service and if their parent, grandparent, was a veteran, then they should have that feel that they want to serve also, and they may not have served in uniform, but they can serve their country and serve the veterans.

Jerry Allhands 32:00

That did I like that, Jim, same question. You're reaching out to somebody and they're on the edge. They want to join, but they don't feel like they've got time to share.

Jim Horton 32:12

I think they should join. I mean, you know everybody, sometimes they think they're pressed for time, but there's always a way to make time if it's something that you're truly interested in and something you want to do. And the Suns is a great way to honor the veterans. It gives you something to focus on, it gives you a goal and you're helping the veterans. You know. Anyway, you know which is, you know, the main thing you want to do. Anyhow, that's why we're all here, right? So I think everybody needs to join. Join, so give it some thought and come join us oh, yeah, and come join us randy.

Jerry Allhands 32:54

Uh, anything that we've not covered that you feel like we need to cover?

Randy Leos 32:58

um, not really. I mean, we're all. You know, this is a family organization. You know Everybody here is on the same page as far as helping veterans and doing what we can to help the community as well. Carleen Auxiliary, they do a lot of work here and you know, and the sons, we need to step up and start helping out a little more, I think. So that's really our goal, you know, I mean so, but I think that anybody that wants to join a good family, a good legion, a good post, this is the post.

Jerry Allhands 33:35

And Terry, if you would please give us a closing prayer.

Terry Phillips 33:37

Heavenly Father. Thank you, lord, for this opportunity to be here today with our family. Lord, we pray that you watch over us as we go about our day. Keep us safe In Jesus Christ's name. We pray Amen.

Jerry Allhands 33:51

Thank you so much for allowing me to be here today. I hope you've enjoyed yourselves and it wasn't that hard on you. I mean, we did catch a grill on fire.

Jerry Allhands 33:59

I appreciate that one, and that was our visit with Squadron 6 of the Sons of the American Legion, an integral part of the American Legion family of the Perry A Johns Post 6 in Cornuth. We want to say thank you to the members of the Post 6 family who made financial and physical contributions to the support of this podcast. If you would like to support this podcast, please call 662-902-6658 for more information. Be sure to join us next Monday morning as we return to Corinth and visit with the Legion Riders of Perry A Johns, post 6.

Jerry Allhands 34:33

A very special thank you to Jonathan Michael Fleming for his musical talents. You can find his CDs and videos on Facebook, instagram, amazon Music and YouTube. We hope you've enjoyed this episode and look forward to your feedback and ask that you subscribe to and share the Veterans Sound Off podcast with your friends and family. If you have a comment, suggestion or questions or you would like to become a supporter of this podcast, please call 662-902-6658 and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. This has been a production of All Hands Media LLC, with offices in Rinalara, mississippi. All rights reserved.