 live. It's a 12 o'clock block. I'm Jay Fidel. This is ThinkDec. This is the military in Hawaii actually here on Thursday. And we're going to talk about American veterans of Hawaii. We're going to meet some of them. We're going to meet the organization with Monica Fallo, Donovan Lazarus, and Ronald Lam. Wow, they're all on the screen. Great to have you guys here. Monica, say hi to the people. Aloha from Ella Beach. And this is Monica. Follow your public affairs officer. And I want to thank you for tuning in and listening to what we're going to share with you today. Why don't you introduce Donovan and Ronald, will you? Most definitely. You have Commander Donovan Lazarus, who's our commander here for American vets in Hawaii. And then we have Ron Lam, who's our first vice commander. Go ahead. Thank you. Okay. So first, Monica, let's talk about what it is. American veterans in Hawaii. What kind of organization is it? Where is it? And what does it do? Most definitely. For our American veterans organization, we are here in Oahu. And we are currently at a new location here in Ella Beach. We're literally right on Erica's point outside the gates of Copping the Beach home as your landmark. And we're very excited. We will be having our grand opening and our fundraiser on November 11th. So anywhere from 9 to 11, our mission is to be able to advocate and really represent all our veterans, active, retired family members in every aspect of what they have did for our United States. And we are here to represent an airy arena. And we have all our retired and military that donate their time, such as Commander Lazarus and First Vice Commander Ron Lam, who put an over 75 year service time into this organization. We are a chartered congressional organization out of Washington, D.C. And we are the Hawaii location. We're very pleased to announce of our opening. And we want to formulate this to bring this into a great family atmosphere, being coming out of COVID. And that's what we're here for. We want to just be the landmark of Hawaii and say that we're here to serve all our military veterans afar. And what's your position with American veterans of Hawaii? Yes, my position is I am the public affairs officer. So I'm in charge of making certain that everyone in the world knows who American veterans is and what our purpose is and our mission statement is. And we serve with excellence. Thank you. Okay. So let's take a look at your slide so we can get a handle on the event coming up and what you've got in your materials to describe what American veterans does. Yes, Jay. Thank you to the to the slide. You see our live. We will be doing an Instagram live being that our platform now is a lot of online. And I think that's going to be the new wave of technology now. I believe this is our forefront into the new century. So our next presentation will be tomorrow. It's a live Instagram will be sending links out to everyone and you're welcome to join in. We can do question answers. I'll be sponsored by Leanne over with the Colville Banker. So we'll talk about that on the flyer. And I believe our presentation is tomorrow at one. Good. You've been busy, huh? Yes, sir. We don't sleep. We work 24 seven, 365 days. We're here for our soldiers and our heroes to serve us on the front line. So we're here on the home front, on the soil in the United States of America to say I'm available to take your call 24 seven. That's how much we appreciate our family members that serve the armed forces. Thank you. So we have a couple of other slides. Then why don't we describe those? What is this one? Yes, that there is your mission statement. Well, that one's just a brief overview right there of what our organization will be about. And I can let Mr. Donovan talk about that one right there. Commander, can you enlighten us about the brief history? He has a lots of experience and is very well notable member of the armed forces. Commander. Oh, thank you so much, Monica. Aloha, everyone. Aloha, Jay. Thank you so much for providing this opportunity for us. As Monica mentioned, the history or the overview of the AmBets organization is that we're a congressionally chartered organization. AmBets were founded by World War II veterans. From 1943, veterans returning from World War II on the college campuses across the United States, 12 different campuses. They got together and wanted to start their own organization. They didn't want to join American Legions, DAV, and VFW. They just wanted their own. And so eventually they got together in 1944 and nine out of the 12 groups and established the American veterans of World War II. In 1947, President Truman signed public law, making it a congressionally chartered organization. Since then, the name has changed to American veterans for to Korea and Vietnam. In 1984, it was changed one last time to be American veterans or AmBets for short. Each time, of course, they had to receive authorization from the Congress. With it being American veterans or AmBets, it's the most inclusive veteran service organization in the United States. It's the fourth largest, but it's the largest, most inclusive veteran service organization that includes or it's open to reservists in National Guard, even if they haven't deployed to the combat zone. All branches service, whether you're on active duty or not, you can join American veterans or AmBets. And that's really it in a nutshell. Do I have to have had a career or can I just be a reservist that did my reserve time on active duty and then got out? Exactly. Do I qualify? Oh, absolutely. Even if you have served one day in the military, reserved on whether your first day from basic and AIT, first day at your reservist duty station, whether Army Reserve, Army National Guard, Marine Reserve, or what have you, yes, you are eligible to join. So can I belong to more than one of these organizations at a time? Like can I belong to AmBets and also VFW and also the American Legion? Oh, yes, of course. We encourage all our members to join them all. Myself, I'm a life member of American Legion, VFW, Veterans of Foreign War, DAV, Disabled American Veterans, and so and of course AmBets. So I'm a life member of all four. You can join as many as you're eligible to join and we encourage that. It's very important. So what does it mean to be the commander, Donovan? Are you the senior veteran member of the organization? Is that what it is? Yes, but you know, I'm really, I have a long history with AmBets here in Hawaii, maybe a little bit lenty, but I'll share it. Please stop me when you think I'm going a little bit too far. In 2006, I was assigned with the Joint POW MIA Accounting Command JPEC. It's now called DPAA, Defense POW Accounting Agency. Well, in 2006, we were sent to the AmBets National Convention in Las Vegas there to provide updates on our recovery operations. That is where AmBets National Commander asked me to join, to start a charter here in Hawaii because the one that was here prior, the charter members couldn't continue. You know, they're aging and things like that and just in that, you know, just wasn't able to. And so JPEC, my fellow team sergeants and team leaders started a charter here for AmBets back in 2006 and we have carried on ever since. I was the department commander or then post commander and we, you know, have been doing all we can for a junior ROTC, which maybe later we could talk a little bit about our programs. And ROTC, that's there at the University of Hawaii, besides the Arizona Memorial. That's what really got our attention as active duty guys, you know, doing the MIA mission. And yes, it's very important to take time to ensure that our World War II veterans aren't forgotten because we're losing so many of them. AmBets is the one that built the Arizona Memorial Shrine Wall. We have a memorandum agreement with the National Park Service from the first wall and we've rebuilt it three times last time in 2014. But in 2006, Superintendent Linz, he wanted to raise funds or to ask AmBets to resurface the wall because the names needed to be, you know, repaired and so it's more readable, you know, more legible, right? And, you know, we raised about $7,000 between us and folks at the National Headquarters to resurface the wall. And it, you know, took time to raise the funds. We didn't have a lot of, as we were always deploying, you know, we didn't have a lot of time and what have you. So that became more focused or sort of like or rallying cry, you know, to get everyone to join the organization. And of course, our ROTC, that was the other big thing that got our attention to join. So how many members do you have in the organization here? So initially, when we started, we did have, you know, like 700, 800 members. Now we just have over 500 members. But we will be able to grow a lot faster. A lot of our members were active duty guys when we started and they PCSed off the island. So you have people who have recently been in the service in AMVETS, I take it, people who've been to Afghanistan and the like, come back and gotten out and then they join AMVETS. Is that what happens? Oh, absolutely. But we do have members that are serving currently. You know, when the Congressional Charter for AMVETS is a 501C19, it's a military membership organization, not really just for veterans, a military organization, a military membership organization for World War II veterans initially, right, of then current and past members. Since then, you know, like I mentioned, the bylaw has been changed and approved by the Congress to change the name to allow more folks to serve or become members of AMVETS. So AMVETS consists of active duty service members as well. That's great. So, Ron, you're the first, what is it, first vice commander, that means you serve with Donovan, you assist Donovan, you're the number two guy in the Hawaii organization. What do you do in that role and why? My role basically right now is to fill in where Donovan can't. He's the only person I know that works 25-8. But in short, you know, maybe I can do this, Jay. I'd like to give some insight because a lot of people like myself, seven years ago, I was not a part of any veterans organization. And I had no interest in being connected to the military anymore. I served and that was it. I was a civilian. But when I met Donovan, I thought, well, maybe I can help out a little bit. And so I just went with him. There's just a handful of us, went to some job fairs, and I thought, well, okay, I've been involved here in business for decades here in Hawaii. I did business at Bishop Street, okay, downtown. I was an executive for several financial institutions. So that's my background. Your name sounds very familiar to me, Ron. So I thought, I'll help with the job fairs and maybe help some of these troops that are transitioning from military to civilian and helping with job interviews or connections. And so that's how I began. And that's all my vision was at that time. Come to realize later that Donovan had a great vision, which is being realized now. But I wanted to say this, not to bring attention to myself, but so that others out there that can hear me can relate to what I'm saying. I served in the military and I joined, so I wouldn't be drafted. And that was back in the late 60s. And Vietnam was raging. So I ROTC, commissioned from college. I saw that that was the safest way for me to go into the military. So I was fortunate to be assigned for three years in Germany. I was a signal officer. And quite a problem in the army, in the army. Yes. So when I got out, I was tired of the army and military, and I wanted to be a civilian. Well, some of my family, friends and classmates went to Vietnam. And most of them that survived are suffering or one thing or another. And two of my classmates were killed in action in Vietnam. So you can see the feelings that we had. The war was just not a popular thing. And it was a very negative thing. And so that was the time. So when I joined Donovan, I thought, well, maybe I can help out a little bit. And then one thing led to another. And then Donovan had me volunteer here with the VA to represent ambits. I thought, Jesus, I've never done this before. But we're not looking for experience. We're just looking for people that are willing just to be available. So that's what I tried to do with Donovan. I said, Donovan, I don't have any background and skills maybe that you would need. But I'm here to do whatever you need me to do if I can. So Donovan, it must have been more complex than that. You liked Ron for other things too, right? He presented to you and he was bringing certain value to the organization. Both of you guys, Army guys, both significant careers in the Army. Why did you want to hire, so to speak? Hire may not be the right word. Why did you want to bring Ron Lam in? Yes, sir. You know, we're all volunteer organization. So we wanted folks that really want to give back. They will really care and want to give from the heart. And Ron was always dependable. He was always there to help us with our career fears and what have you. He's just a very dependable person and then very mature and have a lot of experience in business and so on and so forth. You know, Ron is from a family that has so many uncles really served in World War II. And, you know, M Betz was born out of World War II. World War II started here in Hawaii. M Betz is the only congressional, congressional chartered World War II organization, you know. And so it means a lot and Ron and his family have contributed so much. His uncle, he has five uncles that served in World War II. I'm not mistaken. So, you know, although he, because, you know, he explained after Vietnam, it was just that time and he just wanted to, you know, just focus on his family and just being a civilian. He's really all of what we are about because we had, especially during that time, 2006, right? And I'm going to try and wrap this up, right? So in 2006, bear with me, the unemployment rate was so high, you know, for veterans. And with Ron, that was, we had his full support. He was always there to help to set up for these career fears at the Blaisdell and elsewhere. And he knew the business community was pretty valuable to you. Yes, he knew the business and connect us well. So he was an asset for sure. So Monica, you know, I'm getting a picture here of an organization who wants to, you know, get veterans involved, get them into the organization, want to give them a soft landing from the service, wants to give them, if you will, a social and nostalgic experience on whatever service they had. And the organization can provide them more than just a social experience and a nostalgic reverie. It can actually get them jobs and it can connect them with the business community, as I'm sure Ron does. So my question is, you know, how much activity do you have in that regard? How successful are you? And does this event you're talking about, by the way, you can hold up the big poster. Yes. There you go. Okay, perfect. Veterans day. This is very important. November 11th, as I recall it. How successful are you in doing that and connecting veterans who may not have an easy connection, connecting veterans to the community for jobs, for, you know, for all kinds of, you know, community connection. What is that like and how is it working in a world where everybody who's come out of the service now was a volunteer, you know, Ron Lam's career is sort of like mine. I went into the Coast Guard. I didn't want to get drafted. It was around the same time, Ron, we must be related, I think. And, you know, and that was a different time. Now we have a time where there was no draft. Now we have a time when, you know, you go in as a volunteer, it's a different environment. And when we come out, the question is, what is the civilian community going to be respectful and helpful and take you in, so to speak. So can you talk about that, Monica? Yes, most definitely. Well, with myself, I'm bringing to the table 30 years of experience. I started at the age of 14 in Japan, and I took my first job in the Navy resale operations. And from there on, while I was in school, I had a passion to serve my community. I'm a very patriotic child. I have to thank my father, Mr. Iofalo, who was the voice of the Navy in San Diego, California, who no longer is with us, is resting at Miramar National Cemetery. So because of the 30 years of experience, I myself really wanted to join the Air Force and become a fighter pilot. I didn't have the opportunity. So what I did become is after being a military spouse, and it was all affiliated with military everywhere I turned was military. My brother was in the Air Force, so 20 years, who's now retired in Idaho. My dad was in the Navy. My uncle, his brother, was in the Marine Corps, was a sergeant major, went twice, I believe four tours to Vietnam. And then we also served in the Army in the Green Marais and the National Guard. I currently have a son that's stationed in the Air Force, my son-in-law in San Antonio, Texas. So we breathe and we wake up. We sleep military. So because of that passion that I can say I was born with, I want to make this a service to my community. And what we can bring to the table is because I'll call myself the millennial of the Vietnam babies. So I believe that with my experience and relationship with different age groups, I really strongly believe that we can bring everybody from 2020 in this really exciting year, and we can bring them and retrain, reset, regroup, and just rebuild. And I believe if we bring that one-on-one with families in the military and civilian community, we will make an impact and give hope to society one more time. We will develop jobs, we'll bring them in, and we will even exercise every talent skill that all our members here with American veterans have to contribute to this society that we live in today. So that's my overview. Hey, I'd like to pose a question to all three of you or get into a discussion about this. You know, I think it was Ron that said he's very patriotic. We all are, all four of us for sure. And right now we live in a country where maybe that's not, you know, unanimous. Some people do not respect, you know, people who have been in the military. Some people haven't been within miles of the military. Nobody in their family has served. They don't have a clue what it's like. They do not do national service their whole lives. And in a way, you know, that's very corrosive. Myself, I regretted the end of the draft because I thought the draft connected people to the military, connected people to the country, and that you had to do some national service. This is good for you and good for the country. One of our themes, you know, here on Sync Tech is that we are the country, all of us, especially you. And the country is us. It's all together. And we can never forget that. And I just wonder what that sort, what that whole concept plays for you in terms of, you know, the way the country works, the way the country feels about the military and the veterans, and the way the veterans and the military feel about the country in these difficult times. Donovan, what are your thoughts about that? Well, you know, I, it's a very, very good question, right? And I appreciate it taking the time because that's something that we must always take the time to talk about in our community, especially with our young folks, because one of our most important, I guess, challenge is how can we help young children or students, right? That's maybe moving on from high school to college to want to serve, not just in the military, but also in the community. So if we can help them to find their purpose, that is huge. And so I believe through our children, our future leaders, especially with our junior ROTC program here in Hawaii, we do so well. We have 26 high school in the junior ROTC program. And for many years, including Ron, who would present medals to the awardees and usually two per school. And at the University of Hawaii as well, they have two detachment, they just stood up another detachment and maybe detachment a month ago. Here in Hawaii, I think we really do well. Here on the Ewa Kapolei side, we have a lot of patriots here. I do believe that we need to get back to teaching civics in school, for sure. And, you know, we have different programs to promote Americanism, right? And whether it's a poster contest, in order to draw, maybe paint a picture of the flag, and then we have our essay contest to write about what it means to, you know, the individuals that's writing that particular essay. And we will provide grants, we've done that, and we'll continue to do that. But I do believe with COVID, it's been challenging. And, you know, unlike during, after really the Vietnam War, oh, difficult it was for everyone. And since we've had many recognitions of service members, great press, which is, you know, it's comforting for service members returning home from the battlefield. And they need a welcome. Yeah, so the welcoming home is huge, means a lot. And the parades are very important, like on Veterans Day, when we are able to and Christmas parades to have service members and veterans out there in the parades. And young kids, they see that and is like, yeah, so we're taking care of our veterans, we're taking care of our service members. I think I can join. Yeah, it gives them a connection to the country. That's what patriotism is about. So Ron, Ron Lam, what are your thoughts about this? This is a very important issue. It goes way beyond just the veterans in Hawaii. It goes to the heart of the country. We have forgotten so much about the way things should work. And the veterans are the fellows who gave us the gift of a working democracy. How do you feel about their role now and the way the country is going with respect to the military? Okay, I feel that. But first of all, my view of everything is I'm basically a Christian. I don't say very much about it and I don't talk about that. But when I'm in a company of people like we have here, with Monica and others that have jumped on board with us, I hear them refer to God a lot. And it warms my heart because that's what I feel, that this nation was founded on that premise and we can't move away from it too far or that's what causes trouble. But we don't push religion on people. We push the values that make society work. And with the military, it is a big advantage because the military teaches us skills, discipline, the very things that Jay that you said, it would be great, man, if it was required for everyone in this nation to have to serve one year in the military, I think it would help people grow up and appreciate what we have. But beyond that, I wanted to say that my motivation for doing what I'm doing and why I've stuck with Don Donovan is because I love the people. I pay attention to who, you know, when I first met Monica, I thought she's God's sin. You know, I wasn't praying for it, but maybe it was an inner prayer I had and here she is with all her resources. And you know, this is only one of many examples. And that's why I believe that the work that we're doing is bringing people together that have the values and the discipline that will make this country successful and great. So it's more than just your daily experience here. Because my 25 by 8 Donovan, you know, we only have a minute left, Monica, and I wanted to give you some time to close. So Monica, you know, what have we learned in this discussion? What should we take away from this discussion about the, you know, the American veterans and vets in Hawaii? It's very important that you guys do your work. It's very important that you exist and you act as a home base, if you will, for veterans. But tell us what you'd like to leave with us today. Yes, most definitely. First and foremost, Jay and Fidel, we here at American Veterans Hawaii would like to thank you very much for your services, for the armed forces. Thank you. And giving us this opportunity, I have two words. It's forgotten to freedom. And that's what I want to say. Forgotten is our veterans back to freedom. So we are here to make a global impact and let everyone know in the United States, international global markets, we stand on the map, we're very tiny on the little island, but we will develop a personal one-on-one touch with conditional estimates. And that's what I wanted to say. Thank you very much, Jay. Forgotten and freedom. Thank you so much, Monica. Thank you, Donovan. Thank you, Ron. Thank you. Really appreciate you coming around and exposing us to this, something we may not have known about. We know a little more now. We wish you well in every regard. Aloha. Aloha.