How You Can Support Our Veterans - RyeVets.org
This site was created to honor the service of all our veterans.
Rye American Legion Post #128 was chartered on July 16, 1919 and was the first veterans organization in the City of Rye. It is among the oldest Post's in the country and still going strong after 100 years. The American Legion is a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. It is the nation’s largest veteran’s service organization, committed to mentoring youth and sponsorship of wholesome programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow service members and veterans.
Please consider making a donation. The funds raised will be designated to help hospitalized and out patient veterans at regional Veterans Hospitals to assure that their needs and the needs of their families are met. Post 128's Auxiliary annually contributes Christmas and holiday gifts to hospitalized veterans.
Make A Donation
Please read more here for a complete list of Post 128 activities benefiting both community and veterans.
JOIN RYE POST 128
The Post is always ready to welcome new members. Please see eligibility requirements and the application form below.
ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION:
If you have served federal active duty in the United States Armed Forces since December 7, 1941, and have been honorably discharged or are still serving – you are eligible for membership in The American Legion!
APPLICATION FORM Please complete the application form and return to Post at mailing address on form.
JOIN THE SONS OF AMERICAN LEGION
We are looking to launch a Sons of American Legion squad in Rye. We are in early phases and will be applying for a charter in coming weeks. Here’s some info below on the Sons of American Legion. You can also find more information
Here
Sons Membership Eligibility Requirements
All male descendants: sons, grandsons, adopted sons and stepsons of members of The American Legion, and such male descendants of veterans who died in Service or who died after their honorable discharge from such service, shall be eligible for Membership in the Sons of The American Legion.
There shall be no forms or class of membership except an active membership.
For more information or to join, contact Tim Moynihan at [email protected]. Click here to download application here: salapplication
JOIN The AMERICAN LEGION AuxilIary
The American Legion Auxiliary is the world’s largest women’s patriotic service organization. Through its nearly 10,500 units located in every state and some foreign countries, the Auxiliary embodies the spirit of America that has prevailed through war and peace. Along with The American Legion, it solidly stands behind America and her ideals.
Auxiliary Officers
Nancy Collins at [email protected]
Mary de Barros at [email protected]
Robin Latimer at [email protected]
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INTERNSHIPS
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WRITE A BIOGRAPHY - 1 PAGE VERSION
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WRITE A BIOGRAPHY - DETAILED VERSION
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 RyeVets.org- Internships
To honor the men and women of Rye, N.Y. who served their country.
Thank you for volunteering to help Ryevets.org as part of your Senior Internship Program at Rye High School. Our goal is to create brief biographies about our 1,450 WWII veterans, so that future generations can read about of these men and women’s lives and not just a name on the wall. Historically speaking a project of this scale has never been attempted in the U.S. or anywhere else. What you will write in the coming days and weeks will become a part of the history of Rye, and serve as a template for other communities. So, once again welcome to becoming part of History.
Okay, let’s get started: Make sure you have shared a Sponsor Acceptance Form
Over the last decade most of our research has been spent on the WWII veterans. We have created a page for each veteran with specific information and links to their past in order to create a short biography for each.
Your internship is a four week program. Our expectation is for you to complete two veteran’s biographies per day. Each should take you no more than 2 hours to complete. Obviously the first one might be a little bumpy with a little trial and error, but we are also confident that once the learning curve kicks in each of you will get the knack of this quickly.
We will be providing each of you with a weekly list of 10 veterans to research- please wait until you get your designated veterans to begin. At the end of each day by 4pm you will submit your two finished biographies. You may also opt to submit all 10 completed biographies by 4pm Friday at the end of each week. Once we review them they will be posted on the website and you cited as Author.
The following are some general tips and directions I also shared with the Community Service kids:
-Okay, before you get started: remember internet research can sometimes be tricky. Don't get frustrated, just keep trying and exploring and re-trying.
1. You should watch the video on the homepage- it's only 2 minutes. It features mostly Rye-guys and the large plaque in front of the Rye Library (RFRR) is now on the Eastside of City Hall
2. If you have never visited our website, it would be very helpful to poke around, explore, read a couple of veteran biographies and get a feel for what we are trying to accomplish. Also think you might be impressed with what these young people did, most of whom were only a year or two older than you are right now.
2. Then go to the About Us tab: https://www.ryevets.org/aboutus.asp. Now you're at the right spot. It is helpful to read the narrative to get a sense of the work accomplished to date - scroll down to the very bottom of the page and you'll see in red type- "How to Write a veteran's biography" and read steps 1,2 & 3 carefully & watch the video….this will make sense once you begin
PLEASE read these sample bios written by RHS volunteers-- these are your models. Refer to them when you think you are finished.
https://www.ryevets.org/arthur-f-narr-us-navy-ww2...
https://www.ryevets.org/eugene-m-white-us-army-ww...
Questions? Contact me, or Chris Maloney ([email protected])
Good Luck and thank you.
Rgs.,
Dave Ball
[email protected]
For those of you who don’t know me, I am a 1973 graduate of RHS, a recently retired teacher from RHS/RMS with more than 30 years experience teaching kids at Rye and a 7th generation Rye-guy. My dad ( RHS Class of ‘44) served in WWII as did many relatives. So, that is part of why I am involved in Ryevets.org. It’s also because as a history teacher, I find the stories behind the names on the plaque at City Hall fascinating and they need to be an integral part of our communal history. The founder of Ryevets.org, Chris Maloney, has a very similar story as mine and he began this initiative in 2012.
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In an effort to reduce duplication, all volunteers will be sent the name(s) of a veteran by Ryevets.org along with login credentials for Ancestry.com. Please address any questions to [email protected]
Please follow below instructions and videos on how to create a simple biography for our veterans.
WRITE A VETERANS BIOGRAPHY (Tip Follow videos to expedite) Note
videos have no sound.
List of all Sources to be used include - Census Records, High School Yearbooks, the Rye Chronicle(1900-1980), Obituaries. You may include any current information on veterans page to assist you. Please have a blank Microsoft word document open to gather and organize your information.
Step 1 - Open RyeVets.org and go to the veterans page you were assigned.
Step 2- In another tab open and LOGIN TO ANCESTRY.COM with login credentials sent to you. (Must be logged in for links on veterans page to work.)
Step 3 - From the veterans page you were assigned click on link that says “1940 Census”. It brings you right to that individual’s record.
Click here for How To Search Census Video: (This record has basic info, Father and Mother’s Name, Siblings, Fathers occupation, income, etc.) Use this info to create short narrative, see example below in Blue italics.
Step 4 – Rye High School Yearbooks in Ancestry.com ( Tip if the veteran has a picture, his graduation year is already in the short bio next the picture. ex. Rye High School Graduate, Class of 1937 )
Click here for How To Search Yearbook Video: Note all high school interests ( Baseball, Golf, Finger Print Club, etc.) and add to biography, see example below in Orange italics.
Click here to Search Yearbooks Use setting as shown in video(State, City, School, Year)
Step 5 – Search Fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html to search old Rye Chronicle Articles.
How To Search Rye Chronicle Articles Video: Go to the veterans page you were assigned. Under the tab, "Search Newspapers", there is a link to Fulton site, link brings you to a search box where you would copy and paste example ("Frank J. Russo" Rye NY Chronicle)
Tip Search results differ when including middle initial, in this case you would search Frank J Russo and Frank Russo
A list of articles will appear as search results, by the year published. Click on link to article, veterans name is highlighted on page, copy and write notes of interest. It helps to keep Article information organized. Organize all in Chronological Order for your Biography. Pre 1941 or pre high school, War Years 1941-1945, Post War 1946 +
Example: Played Donkey basketball at the YMCA. See below Orange italics.
Use Rye Chronicle articles to gather pertinent life information. Copy and Paste information into your word document.
Step 6 – Got to veterans page. Click on the Tabs "Biography" and/or "Extended Info" here you will find more veteran information including obituary (if found) and maybe other items of interest to be incorporated into the final biography. See below Green italics.
Incorporate this information into what you have already gathered to complete Biography
Completed Bio might look like something below Example
"Frank J. Russo was born on 12/15/1918 and he lived at 118 Maple Avenue in Rye, New York. (Street View) Rye was a small town with a population of 9,865. Frank's mother Grace owned this home and it was valued at $1,600 ($30,400 in today’s dollars). The members of the household included his brother Leonard and his three sisters Antoinette, Mary and Margaret. Frank's mother was born in Italy and Frank and his siblings were all born in New York. In 1940, at the age 21, Frank was a middle child and his mother was 51 and had an elementary education. Frank was a Rye High School Graduate, Class of 1937 and the time the census worker recorded his occupation as a Caddy. All the family were parishioners of The Church of the Resurrection. Frank enlisted and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II
Frank was a Rye High School Graduate, Class of 1937. During his high School years he was active in many sports and clubs including baseball, golf and the Finger Print Club. Growing up in Rye Frank was an active member of the YMCA. He participated in softball, boxing and even in an exhibition basketball game played while the players rode donkey's.
Frank enlisted in October of 1942 and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II." Mr. Russo served as an armorer who worked on P-51 Mustang Fighters. His job was to keep the fighters guns in perfect working order. On July 27, 1947, he married Connie Allevl at the Holy Name of Jesus Church in Valhalla.
Mr. Russo was employed as an executive at Pitney Bowes in Stamford, Conn., and he worked for Pitney Bowes for 40 years, retiring in January 1986. He was president and director of Pitney Bowes' Federal Credit Union. He was also president of the Pitney Bowes Oval Club and a member of the North White Plains Volunteer Firemen's Benevolent Association.
He was a parishioner of Resurrection Church in Rye. Mr. Russo is survived by his wife; three brothers, Anthony, Rocco and Lawrence, all of Rye; three sisters, Dorothy Lamp, Rose and Lucy LaBrusciano, of Rye; a daughter-in-law; and two grandchildren. Mr. Russo was devoted to his family, said his son. "He was not only my father, but my best friend". A brother, Joseph, and a sister, Lee died earlier."
Authors Name
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FINAL STEP
Request for veteran discharge records. On your WWII Veterans page, there is a link to a form SF-180. This form is populated
with the information, gathered over years of research, required to request the
discharge record specific to this veteran. The discharge record would tell us many
things needed to complete the service part of their biographies.
Please click on the link example: SF-180 Request Discharge Record for Frank J. Russo
Please print the SF-180 PDF file of the veteran assigned to you and mail it to below address.
National Personnel Records Center
(Military Personnel Records)
1 Archives Drive
St. Louis, MO
63138-1002
Please copy your completed biographies into a word document and send as an attachment to [email protected] . Please include all those to be cited for their work.
Thank you for your time and effort, we hope you feel a great sense of pride in your achievement!
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We need your help solving the Puzzle!
"Who lives, Who dies, Who tells your story?”
Our goal is to create 1450 brief biographies about our WWII veterans, so that future generations can read about of these men’s lives and not just a name on the wall.
The Rye veteran’s project as of today encompasses over 2100 men and women who served in WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Over the last decade most of our research has been spent on the WWII veterans. We have created a page for each veteran with specific links to their past in order to create a short biography for each. On every WWII Veterans page, there is a link to a form SF-180. This form is populated with the information, gathered over years of research, required to request the discharge record of each veteran. The discharge record will tell us many things needed to complete the service part of their biographies.
Many of you might have spent some time recently doing puzzles. This project is a 2100 piece puzzle with each piece having dozens of pieces. The links to the pieces are completed. We need your help compiling the information from them and creating a narrative. We have written instruction below and have created short instructional videos on how to accomplish this.
Individuals or families will be linked to historic archives and other various sources to briefly mine the available information and create a short biography. All participants in the project will be cited on the veteran’s page for their authorship.
For years our community listened to the names of veterans who died being read out during Memorial Day Services on the Village Green. We needed somebody to tell us who they were, and we have committed ourselves to tell their stories. Today we are asking for your help to bring their stories to life and make them more than just a name on the wall.
As Lin-Manuel Miranda once asked “who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” Let us be the solution to that problem. Please consider adopting a Rye veteran and help writing a short bio and solving the puzzle. You can take pride in being part of project never attempted by any other community.
In an effort to reduce duplication, all volunteers will be sent the name(s) of a veteran by Ryevets.org, along with login credentials for Ancestry.com. Please contact us at [email protected].
Please follow instructions and videos on how to create a simple biography for our veterans.
Part 1- Pre War Biography Before 12-7-1941
Part 2- War and Post War Years Biography 1941
Part 3- Form SF-180 Request for Veterans Discharge Record
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