COMMANDER'S COMMENTS
--Col. George Bascom
A brief report from Col. Fairbourn in Vladivostok: Years ago, some missionaries taught English at Russian universities; now, some of those students have joined the Church. They are now professional people (Drs., Engrs., etc.) and influencing others to join. Within a year, the 3 branches expect to become 7 or 8; baptisms by 7 couples and 26 elders is 3 to 6 per week per pair! Two people have been called on missions from the branch--to London and California! To give us an idea of how difficult it is for some to attend church, note: One older sister brings her 2 grandsons some 200 miles to Vladivostok on Saturday by train; they sleep on the floor of the RR station so they will be on time for Church! May we be as devoted to the Mormon Battalion!
PRESIDENT'S PRESENTATION
--Pres. Shirley Maynes
President Brigham Young prophesied that, "The Mormon Battalion will be held in honorable remembrance to the latest generation," and "Men and nations will rise up and bless the men who went in that Battalion." He also prophesied that the children of these men would bless their fathers for what they did. Recently, as I was adding to my scrapbook the current happenings of the Battalion, I concluded that many of us have and will continue to work diligently to honor these promises. I feel that a new, exciting era is coming for the men and women of the Battalion that will enable us to fulfill our sacred obligations and Pres. Young's prophecies. It is because of YOU that the original Battalion members are being held "in honorable remembrance."
U.S. MORMON BATTALION GOALS:--A POLICY STATEMENT
Eternal goal: Eternal Life w/Family
Earthly goals:
Support my family with employment; quality time; Leadership.
Sustain the prophet by Church activity; Priesthood duties.
Subject to these two goals above: Be active in the Mormon Battalion, to the extent possible, to help fulfill prophecy that,"Men and nations will hold the Mormon Battalion in honorable remembrance, and your children will rise up and bless their fathers who went in defense of their country."
To achieve these goals:
Be temple-worthy Priesthood holders.
Become a life member of the U.S. Mormon Battalion.
Collect family histories of Battalion men and women; and
See that our historian gets a copy.
Encourage temple ordinances for all these ancestors.
Honor their accomplishments by various programs/activities.
(continued on page 3)
Page 2 Valiant September 1999
COMPANY NEWS
Company "B" Sandy Capt. Don Shurtz, C.O.
We are as active as time allows! Eagle Scout presentations (2); Grave memorializations for Richard Sessions in Heber and for Wilford H. Hudson in Grantsville were under the direction of Pres. Shirley Maynes (Heber) and Maj. Robert Paul (Grantsville).
Members of the company participated in all of the many parades in July and August, as well as flag ceremonies for various groups. (Editor's note: Capt. Schurtz goes in for by-pass surgery on Tues., Aug. 31. Please remember him in prayers.)
Company A" Capt. Grant Wood., C.O.
We have been sorrowed by the deaths of two of our faithful members: Ruth Wood, wife of Capt. Wood, and Callie McMurdie's husband, Deward, who had just gotten his Class A uniform.
Despite our loss, Co. A participated in four July parades, many Eagle Courts of Honor, and two grave memorializations.
Santa Clara-St. George Cadre Lt. Reynolds Bluemel, Rep.
We are becoming known! We made Campfire presentations to scouts receiving their Trail Patch or Eagle neckerchief slide; Parades: July 4th with Kane Company; the color guard for the Washington County Fair in August; and we will be color guard for Santa Clara Swiss Days, Sept. 25. People are becoming aware of the Mormon Battalion and what it did for our country. With 13 members now, we expect to organize a company on Sept. 24th at our supper meeting. Everyone is invited to join us in Dixie!
K ane Company, Kanab Ltc. Howard Roberts, Jr., C.O.
At the flag raising ceremony in downtown Kanab, July 3, our 6-man color guard presented the colors, before Queen Kari Stirland sang the National Anthem, and our High School valedictorian, Duane Rennels, gave his talk, "What I Love about America." Then the Battalion and the American Legion lead the parade through town. On the 24th of July, our mounted color guard (3 flags), with the company marching behind, led the parade through town. That evening, the Battalion held a barbecue dinner at Jacob Hamblin Park for 380 people. The money we received goes toward purchasing our uniforms and needed supplies. Also, one of our company, Jim Geiger, participated in the Days of '47 Parade color guard in Salt Lake City, 24 July.
Company "D" Logan Maj. Brent Bryner, C.O.
We were the color guard for the Hyrum Parade this year. We also enjoyed our company trek to the ghost town of Chesterfield.
Deadline for material for November edition of The Valiant is October 15. Please: Send in your company news!
September 1999 Valiant Page 3
(Continued from p.1)
Methods:
Collect each man's/woman's history & achievements and make it available to others.
Publish the Battalion's story with OUR books: Tyler's A Concise History of the Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War, the Database, and Women of the Battalion, etc.
Recount inspirational events in their lives to various groups in religious or civic settings, or family home evenings.
Publish accounts of today's men & women who were inspired by them
Involve descendants in temple ordinances & grave memorials.
Give presentations on the achievements of one or more men.
Present a neckerchief slide to an Eagle Scout with the charge that he emulate the Battalion in his life.
Put articles in THE VALIANT to inspire the living to honor the dead. The editor welcomes your article!
Parade, when possible, in full unform; be positive in talking to interested individuals about joining.
Read Tyler's book continually to gain more insights and to be able to retell any inspirational segment.
Company Commanders:
Appoint someone to give "shadow leadership" to a new member to help him get his uniform (field).
GIVE THE NEW MEMBER A SPECIFIC DUTY, no matter how little it may seem; PUT HIM ON THE TEAM!
Involve his wife in the Auxiliary with a dinner assignment.
Build enthusiasm & support with a planned dinner meeting to hear an inspirational program (speaker; demonstration; entertainment).
Visit him/her in their home; get them to reading Tyler's History or Women of the Battalion to determine what his interests and abilities are, and how you can make use of them.
Put your meeting information in the local paper. Use Maj. Van de Water to help you do this. (See the handout by Maj. Van de Water on press releases.)
Exchange names of your best speakers/programs with other companies.
This list is not meant to be exhaustive; you may have some ideas which are better than these. Share them! The object of this list is to stimulate you with the realization that you are not alone in planning your monthly programs. You can be helped and can help other companies by sharing. Let us make our company meetings outstanding; not only in the dinner, but in the entertainment and/or spiritual food we serve.
* * * * * *
REMINDER! COMPANY COMMANDERS AND LADIES AUXILIARY PRESIDENTS:
You must have your year-end financial reports (September 30), turned in to National immediately. Ltc. Gaylen Maynes receives the Battalion; Nancy Williams receives the Auxiliary and then gives her report to Ltc. Maynes. He, in turn, must make a prompt report as the Mormon Battalion Finance officer, to the State Auditor over Non-taxable Organizations. Please be up-to-date on this!--Nancy Williams (see her address on the Auxiliary page), Ltc. Maynes' address: 9703 South 440 E., Sandy, UT 84070. Please do not ignore this message, Leaders. One company can hold up the entire report. Thank you for being prompt!
C
live Jackson, member-at-large, in ColoradoMy seminary-teaching daughter asked me to make a presentation to her class on the Mormon Battalion. We decided to make it at a fireside on Sunday. Both Rangely ward and Second ward came for a 1 1/2-hour presentation, and the next morning I showed the seminary class the MB video. It was a very successful week-end, and I have found two more descendants of the Mormon Battalion! (Editor's note: See what ONE MAN can do if he tries!)
A GUEST MESSAGE
(worth sharing!)
The following is Capt. Grant Wood's message in Company A Newsletter for June, 1999:
It is the goal of every man and woman to be successful in life. I have thought about this from time to time, and it is amazing to me what passes for success in most of our minds. If I can, I would like to appeal to your rationale for a minute, or your power of reason, if you will. What is the great goal in life, the goal recognized by almost everyone? That goal, not really thought of by some (but nevertheless is always present in some form of desire)--is it not this thing called success? If success is really our goal, how can it be measured? Can it be measured by the accumulation of money, as so many believe? If it can, why then are so many rich men failures, and how come so many poor men are masters of the art of living? For example: Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most successful statesmen of all time, left this world with his entire worldly estate valued at two rice bowls, one spoon, two pair of sandals, his spectacles, and a copy of his beloved Bhagavad Gita. Helen Keller, another outstanding success, succeeded in raising thousands of dollars to benefit her fellow blind-and-deaf brothers and sister of the human race. Yet she had only the barest of human comforts. There are many such cases. Now to my point: After WWII, a great cholera epidemic struck the Orient. It swept through India, the Malay Peninsula, Burma, etc. But never in China. You see, the cholera germ cannot survive in boiling water, and the Chinese drink hot tea almost exclusively. American doctors knew this, and when the epidemic threatened to run wild in the Philippines, they ordered the people to boil their drinking water. But it did no good. When doctors investigated, they found that the people were taking three or four teaspoonsful of boiled water daily--just like medicine--and then drinking unboiled water. As you know, it doesn't work that way, does it?
Neither does a half-hearted attempt to help others render us effective as a friend and brother or sister. The Lord can only do so much for us-- and that, is what he can do through us. I believe that which makes us successful (but not necessarily rich) is our efforts in behalf of others. As we teach people about the men and women of the Battalion and their willingness to endure hardship, and always with a willing mind, I believe we are teaching them to think in the eternal realm, even as did the Battalion. What greater success can any man have than to help others to think and act eternally? Will this not lead to the greatest success we can have in this life?
Thank you, Capt. Wood, for these stimulating thoughts!
WOMEN'S WRITES
NEWS LETTER OF THE LADIES AUXILIARY, U.S.M.B.
SHIRLEY MAYNES, President
Remember to hold your elections this month. The nominating committee will select women for the various positions. Vote them in by written ballot or by acclamation. Each new officer should be installed right after they are elected, with the company president or a member of the National Auxiliary staff to officiate. Use the installation procedure form. Any questions, please call me. Note: In order to vote, each woman must have paid her 1999 dues to the company. Right after the election, the president or secretary should send a complete roster of the new officers with address, telephone number, and husband's name if married, to: Nancy Williams, 1303 No. Devon, Kaysville, Ut 84037
MICHELLE TEEPLES, V-President
Two weeks after the tornado in Salt Lake City (August 11), we took our family to Memory Grove and the State Capitol. What a shock to see all the trees leveled. But at the Capitol, the Mormon Battalion Monument stood out. Without trees, it looked all new and more grand. I reflected on the day the monument was re-dedicated by Pres. Hinckley, and how proud of it we all were. I believe that Heavenly Father had a hand in protecting this wonderful monument. Not a tree fell on it. We can still go see it and remember those who came before us and settled this land.
With elections this month, we all have a chance to support those who are elected. If we ALL do this, the Battalion will be protected from the "tornadoes" that could bring chaos into our ranks. Let us protect the Battalion, just as Heavenly Father protected the Mormon Battalion Monument. Support our leaders!
COLLENE JAMESON, Materials Management
I wish to pay tribute to one of my committee in Co. A, who recently passed away: Ruth Wood, wife of Capt. Grant Wood. She was the epitome of Supporter, always ready and willing, and--what is just as important--most able to assist me in anything that was asked of her. I have found, in the last two years especially, a most talented and organized lady who was capable of any assignment. When Life dealt us lemons, she knew how to make lemonade! When we needed her musical talent, whether in the company or the battalion, she responded well with love and loyalty. I am most honored to have Ruth as a friend, as well as a member of our family (Our husbands are cousins, both being descended from Charles Jameson, Pvt., Co. E, U. S. Mormon Battalion). I know that Company A's loss is Heavenly Father's gain. I know that her love for the Battalion and its purposes, both past and present, will help to sustain her beloved Grant and her children in their righteous endeavors, and I know that through her example her family will feel the need to actively support the activities which she felt so strongly about partipating in. Thank you, Ruth, for being such a reliable "right arm" to me and the Battalion.
DAYLE WHITE, Historian
With the request from the Layton Heritage Museum for information regarding Mormon Battalion artifacts (for a forthcoming exhibit honoring Christopher Layton), the importance of having a PLACE for such artifacts and other memorabilia becomes obvious. We need a Mormon Battalion Library! At the present time, we are putting together a list of all known published material--books, periodicals, articles, pictures, family histories, etc.--about the Mormon Battalion. Please help us by sharing titles of any known material.--Maj. Clyde and Dayle White, Historians.
LUCRETIA HAWS SESSIONS
On August 27, 1999, family members, with the Battalion and the Auxiliary present, memorialized the grave of Lucretia Haws Sessions in the Heber City Cemetery. Lucretia, a daughter of Jacob Haws and Hannah Neil, was born 22 November 1802, in Logan County, Kentucky. While Lucretia was a young girl, her parents left Kentucky and purchased land in Illinois where they commenced farming. In 1821, Lucretia married Richard Sessions in White County, Illinois. In 1843, the couple were baptized members of the Church.
After many trials and persecutions, Lucretia and Richard and their children moved to Iowa with the Saints. It was at Mt. Pisgah that Richard, his sons William Bradford and John, and John's wife, Emmeline, enlisted in the Mormon Battalion. Emmeline went as a laundress. They were members of Capt. Jefferson Hunt's Company A. Lucretia was left at Mt. Pisgah with her other children; however, she had many family members to sustain her. In October, 1846, John and Emmeline left the Battalion in the sick detachment of Capt. James Brown, headed for Pueblo, Colorado, to wait out the winter.
Richard and William continued with the march to San Diego. After their discharge in 1847 at Ft. Moore, in Los Angeles, they left with the Levi W. Hancock Company for the Salt Lake Valley. Here they remained until the spring of 1848 when they left the area for Mt. Pisgah--and Lucretia and the family.
After re-uniting with his wife and loved ones, Richard moved his family to Mosquito Creek near Council Bluffs, Iowa. The family belonged to the Macedonian Branch of the Church there. In June, 1850, they left the area with the James Pace Company, arriving in the Valley within the same year.
The Sessions first settled in the Cottonwood area before moving to Provo, Utah. In 1859, members of the extended Sessions family settled in the Heber Valley. Richard became a prominent farmer and stockman. He was active in the Church, being a counselor to three bishops.
Lucretia Haws Sessions died 11 February 1876, and was buried in the Heber City Cemetery, Wasatch County, Utah. Family members said of her, "She was a spirited woman and a true pioneer." The Ladies Auxiliary is very proud and honored to place their beautiful bronze plaque on her grave. Her husband, Richard, was likewise honored by the Mormon Battalion on 7 August 1999.