Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Memorial Day Celebration Honoring Medal Of Honor Recepient LCPL Emilio DeLaGarza



Looking for something to do on Memorial Day in Northwest Indiana? Join us as we memorialize the life and sacrifice of Medal Of Honor Recipient Emilio DeLaGarza!

This is quite a story. A few years back we began working to erect a memorial to honor Emilio's accomplishments. We raised funds and actually had a granite piece created by the same folks (Rogan Granite, Lynwood, Illinois) who created the Vietnam Wall in Washington DC. Well, over the course of the project, we have come to know the DeLaGarza family and through much research, were able to locate the actual Navy Corpsman who worked on Emilio during the battle!

His name is Corpsman Sam Lyles, he currently lives just outside of Birmingham, Alabama and he is joining us for the dedication and, for the first time, will be meeting Emilio's family. This event is what Memorial Day is all about!

When: Monday, May 30, 2011 11:30 am (Program will last approximately 50 minutes)

Where: Veteran’s Memorial, 9710 Calumet Avenue, Munster, Indiana, (2.5 mi South on Calumet from 80/94)

Event Description: The Calumet Detachment of the Marine Corps League is honoring Lance Corporal Emilio DeLaGarza who earned the Medal Of Honor in Vietnam. This event is being marked by the installation of a monument in his honor as well as a ceremony in which we are introducing the ACTUAL NAVY CORPSMAN who was with and attempted to save the life of Emilio Delagarza at the time of the incident. The DeLagarza family currently resides in Chicago, Illinois and Hammond, Indiana and have never met the Corpsman, Mr. Sam Lyles, who is travelling from Birmingham, Alabama to take part in the ceremony.

Medal Of Honor Citation:For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a machine gunner with Company E, Second Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division, in the Republic of Vietnam on April 11, 1970. Returning with his squad from a night ambush operation, Lance Corporal De La Garza joined his Platoon commander and another Marine in searching for two enemy soldiers who had been observed fleeing for cover toward a small pond. Moments later, he located one of the enemy soldiers hiding among the reeds and brush. As the three Marines attempted to remove the resisting soldier from the pond, Lance Corporal De La Garza observed him pull the pin on a grenade. Shouting a warning, Lance Corporal De La Garza placed himself between the other two Marines and the ensuing blast from the grenade, thereby saving the lives of his comrades at the sacrifice of his own. By his prompt and decisive action, and his great personal valor in the face of almost certain death, Lance Corporal De La Garza upheld and further enhanced the finest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

Supporting Links:
LCPL Emilio DeLaGarza Wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilio_A._De_La_Garza
Munster Memorial Website http://www.communityveteransmemorial.org
Calumet Detachment website: http://www.indianamarines.com

Persons in attendance:Mr. Sam Lyles, former Navy Corpsman who attempted to save the life of Emilio DeLaGarza
Ms. Renee Lugo and family, Daughter and family of LCPL Emilio DeLaGarza
Portage High School Marine Corps JROTC
Congressman Pete Visclosky
Local Veterans and community residents

Contact Information: Commandant Bill Schroeder, 219-789-2722 (cell), Bill@IndianaMarines.com

Thursday, August 26, 2010

235th Marine Corps Birthday Ball

Our annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball is right around the corner. This year's birthday ball will be held on November 13th, 2010 at 6:00 at Villa Cesare in Schererville, Indiana. Each year Marines, FMF Navy Corpsmen, veterans of other branches, and the general public come together to celebrate the birthday of our beloved Marine Corps. Each year the gathering has grown as our guests return with their friends. Tickets will certainly sell out this year as the interest is amazing, please buy your tickets quickly!


"We love the Calumet Detachment Birthday Ball and would not miss it for anything! The event is world class...the speakers are always super exciting, dancing all night, and so many raffle prizes that it seems like everyone is a winner. This event makes me remember how great it is to be a Marine!"Former Marine CPL Jim Flynn is pictured here with his wife Kathy and 2009 Guest Speaker GYSGT Nick Popaditch "The Cigar Marine." Guests this year will certainly have an evening full of outstanding events!

As in past years we will be treated to a performance by Portage High School’s Marine JROTC Drill Team. If you have seen these future Marines perform in the past, then I need not explain further, but in case you have not, I will. Picture an 8th and I style manual of arms performance complete with twirling and tossing of weapons and perfectly timed movement. These young men and women truly define the words dedication, discipline, and determination. Do not miss this performance.

This year’s guest speaker will be a WWII Navajo Code Talker Marine who will deliver a presentation which will be unforgettable. We feel very fortunate to host a true piece of history!

As most know, all proceeds from this event go towards the Calumet Detachment’s ability to support local and national Marine Corps Charities like the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, Marine Corps Scholarship Fund, The Wounded Warrior Project, and this year, the Navajo Code Talker Museum. Funds are raised through our raffles, this year we have some HUGE items that will be won at the ball! Some of them are:

• 7 night vacation for two to Hawaii (air and hotel)

• AR-15 Rifle

• 9mm Beretta Handgun

• Numerous downtown Chicago dinner/overnight packages

• Local merchant packages

• Cash drawings

• And MUCH more…

Ball Details:

235th Marine Corps Birthday Ball

When Saturday, November 13, 2010 6:00 PM Dress

Formal Attire

Venue Villa Cesare 900 Eagle Ridge Drive, Schererville, Indiana 46375

Cost 50.00 Per Person Includes:

• Dinner

• Open Bar

• Guest Speaker

• Drill Demonstration

• Traditional Marine Corps Birthday Celebration

• Ability to win HUGE raffle prizes

• Music/dancing that spans all eras

• Camaraderie and fellowship Marine Corps Style!

Tickets will sell out, purchase your reserved seats today. Bring friends, the public is not only welcome, we LOVE sharing our history with other patriotic Americans.

For more information, visit us at www.IndianaMarines.com or call 219-262-9575

CLICK THE VIDEO BELOW TO CHECK OUT THE FUN HAD BY ALL AT LAST YEAR'S BALL!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Calumet Detachment Marine Corps League Shootout


Last weekend a group of Marines, our Corpsman, and some family and friends gathered for some time on the range. Thanks to Don Scott, our Senior Vice Commandant, we had a safe, well organized range that allowed for familiarization fire on the M1, M14, M16, AK47, 9mm, 45, several shotguns, and even a black powder rifle.

Plans are underway to develop a Calumet Detachment Shooting Team, with legitimate Marine Corps snipers on the team, we should be a force to be reckoned with come spring!

You can follow this blog here or join our Facbook page for more timely updates on our activities!

234th United States Marine Corps Birthday Ball








Hello Marines, families, and friends in Northwest Indiana! I am proud to report that we had a great time celebrating our 234th Marine Corps Birthday Ball in Schererville, Indiana on the 14th of November.



Our guest speaker this year was GYSGT Nick Popaditch, who you may know as "The Cigar Marine." Nick gave a very motivating presentation dealing with his career as a United States Marine, his injuries that forced his medical retirement, and his life of recovery that followed. Nick joined us with his beautiful wife April, and his unsurprisingly polite son Nick Jr. I came to know Nick after seeing him speak in Hammond, Indiana and cooresponding with he and April in preparation for the ball. In doing so, I read his book, Once A Marine, which chronologicals his experiences. What an honest, very motivating read.

Back to the ball...

This year we were joined by 368 of Northwest Indiana's finest United States Marines, their families, and friends as we celebrated with a great dinner, awesome music by Partytime DJ, dancing, and of course raffles galore! Thanks to the generous contributions of those who attended, we were able to raise close to 10,000 for our Marine Corps Charities that include the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, The Marine Corps Scholarship Fund, and others that support all things Marine.



>Nick Popaditch was so very generous with his time, stopping and sharing his experiences with all who wanted to visit. His humble character was further validated with me after the following happened...Nick, my wife and I were driving to my house for the "after party" when I was thanking him for coming. I asked Nick if he ever had an experience whereby he looked forward to spending time with a person and hoped that they were "the person" that he hoped that they would be. (I have been let down so many times by posers or those who put on airs) He replied that he had. I further said...well, that happened to me tonight...he paused for about 30 seconds and said "wait...are you talking about me?" I said of course! What a great example of a Marine's Marine!


Nick joined a group of us back at my house where the fellowship continued until nearly 4 am. Stories were shared and enjoyed by all!
Plans have already begun for next year's Birthday Ball...please join us on November 13th, 2010 at Villa Ceseare in Schererville, Indiana for the 235th Birthday Ball celebration!
If you would like to become active in Northwest Indiana's premier Marine Corps Veteran's organization, please contact Bill Schroeder at 219-789-2722. We meet the 4th Wednesday of every month at the American Legion Hall on Wiggs street in Griffith, Indiana. These informal, yet well attended meetings will reignite that brotherhood we all experienced as United States Marines. Here you will rub elbows with Marines and Corpsmen that fought at Iwo Jima, the Chosin Resovoir, Vietnam, Grenada, Somalia, Desert Storm, Iraq, Afganistan, as well as those who proudly served in peacetime! Ranks span from PFC to Major General..please join us!DIV>
Semper Fidelis.