American Legion Post 111 celebrates 105th birthday with award ceremony
By JONATHAN SNYDER
The American Legion’s Grover Sheets Post 111 celebrated its 105th birthday on Saturday, complete with awards for years of membership and personnel of the year.
Post Commander Bob Buehl opened the celebration by introducing the guest speaker and the leading candidate for Indiana Department Commander for 2024-25, Robert Burkhart.
Burkhart has been a member of the Legion for 32 years. He served in the U.S. Army of Active Duty, the Army Reserves and in the Indiana Army National Guard. He retired in 2013 at the rank of First Sergeant and was deployed in 2005 to Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Burkhart is a member of Post 87 in Alexandria and he’s held post commander, adjutant and 1st vice commander positions in Post 87.
Burkhart spoke about the need to confront the escalating crisis of veterans’ suicide in his speech. He discussed supporting the American Legion’s “Be The One” program, which looks to tackle the root cause of the tragedies. According to the American Legion’s website, suicide is the No. 1 issue in the veteran’s community, with an estimated 17-22 veterans taking their lives daily.
Be The One seeks to create opportunities for those with mental health needs to speak out and get needed support. The program seeks to provide resources in communities and give peer-to-peer help for those struggling.
Burkhart also discussed supporting the Veterans and Children’s Foundation, which gives a cadre of leaders who are both competent in their roles and ethical in their practices. Burkhart urged Post 111 to support these programs with the same fervor as they have in the past.
At the celebration, Det. Cliff Thomas was awarded the Law Officer Of The Year by Police Cheif Kyle Randall. Randall cited Thomas’ care and compassion for young ones involved in crimes against children. Randall stated that it takes a special person to work cases where children are victims and that every single investigation he is on means something to the victim and their family.
Lt. Landon Eads was also awarded the Firefighter Of The Year by Lt. Jim Platt. Platt stated that Eads has a passionate heart and is fully dedicated to the fire territory. Eads joined the department in 2017 as a paid on-call firefighter and moved to a full-time role in 2022. Eads was recently accepted as a State of Indiana Fire Service Academy instructor. Eads responded to 187 off-duty calls during 2023.
“Thank you cannot be said enough times,” Platt said.
Jeff Moss was awarded the Legionnaire of the Year for his involvement since the mid-1960s, according to Buehl. Moss has always helped set up for monthly breakfast among other helpful thing he has done for the Legion.
“He’s always got too many irons and too many fires,” said Buehl. “He’s deserving of the Legionnaire Of The Year because of that dedication.”
The Legion gave out certificates for continuous years of membership in both the Sons of American Legion and in the American Legion proper. Randy Hoy and Linus Harrold have been members in the S.A.L. for 30 years, with Bruce Wolf, a member for 45 years. Mike Allread was also given a certificate of appreciation for his membership.
For continuous service in the American Legion Proper, Darrell Ball, Larry Hunter, Dewey Randall and Robert Zeis have been members for 50 years. Dennis Redding and Truman Andrews have been members for 60 years and Lloyd Sills has been a member for 70 years.
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