By Lee Webber
With the 248th birthday of the U.S. Navy coming on Friday, October 13 fast approaching, I thought it a good time to remind readers about the Guam Council of the U.S. Navy League and how they can become members.
The Navy League of the United States was incorporated in 1902 and an early benefactor was President Theodore Roosevelt. He donated a portion of the monies he received from the Nobel Peace Prize to the cause and said: “It seems to me that all good Americans interested in the growth of their country, and sensitive to its honor, should give hearty support to the policies which the Navy League is founded to further. Further-more, there is a special need in a matter of such importance to all of us, which is not yet the special business of any of us, that a society should be formed to watch with a jealous eye the general interest. For the building and maintaining in the proper shape of the American Navy, we must rely upon nothing but the broad and far-sighted patriotism of our people as a whole; and it is of great importance that there should be some means by which this patriotism can find an effective utterance. Your society offers just the means needed.”
The Guam Council of the U.S. Navy League was chartered on June 4, 1958 with 47 charter members and has remained in existence since that time.
The objectives of the Navy League are to foster and maintain interest in a strong Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine as integral parts of a sound national defense and vital to the freedom and economic prosperity of the United States.
Members serve as a means of educating and informing the American people with regard to the role of sea power in the modern era and the challenges involved in maintaining strong national defenses.
They also work to improve the understanding and appreciation of those who wear the uniforms of our armed forces and to better the conditions under which those modern day volunteers live and serve.
Finally, they work to educate and train our youth in the customs and traditions of the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and the Merchant Marine, through the support of an active and vigorous U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps and the promotion and recognition of the national ROTC/JROTC programs.
You may wonder who can join the Navy League?
Any citizen of the United States who wants to support and advance the objectives and purposes mentioned above is eligible as a regular member. Commissioned and Warrant officers, or enlisted personnel of any branch of the armed services are not eligible for membership while on active duty; however, spouses of active duty personnel are eligible for membership in the Navy League.
If you would like to know more about how you can become a member of the Guam Council of the U.S. Navy League, feel free to call Maggie Cruz at 671-929-4429.
Let’s make Guam Great Again!
Esta.
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Lee P. Webber is a businessman and civic advocate, the former publisher of the Pacific Daily News, a former president and publisher of the Honolulu Advertiser, and a former director of operations for USA Today International/Asia
