THE Military Order of Foreign Wars Hawaii Commandery
newsletter Vol. III, Issue 1, May 1, 2014 Commander’s Comments. Aloha Companions and Commandery Supporters! We are now engaged in our signature program, presenting our Leadership and Academic Excellence MOFW medals to Cadets in Hawaii, Guam, and Japan. I would like to once again take this opportunity to say Thank You to Veterans United Foundation for their grant of $2,500, which covered all 74 medals and postage costs. Special thanks also go to Mr. Mark Roberts, Store Manager at the Wal-Mart Store #2314 in Waipahu, for the donation of 49 picture frames for the certificates. While we are off to a good start, we are at risk for several schools where we do not yet have a volunteer to make the presentation. We urgently need your support! Please check your calendars to see if you can be the one to make a difference in the life of a young cadet. Arthur N. Tulak, COL, U.S. Army, HI MOFW
Chaplain’s Corner Greetings to fellow Companions and Commandery Supporters, I was reflecting on the last three months of my life. As some of you know, on 4 January I was living my life - went to the gym, had a nice walk with my wife, etc, and then, by that evening, I couldn't walk. I had severe pain in my lower left leg and a few days later, the top of my left foot was numb. The following week was a time of appointments, an MRI, lots of pain pills, and my Doctor referred me to Tripler Army Medical Center. I saw a surgeon on 14 Jan and went in for surgery, first thing in the morning, on 16 January. The surgeon said a disc in my back had flattened a nerve bundle and that caused the inability to walk (plus lots of pain, etc.). The advantage of an emergency situation is that my decision matrix was tremendously shortened. I’m sure some of you are wondering what I did or if I did anything different. The answer is, “no.” I did nothing unusual, just having a normal Saturday.
I can’t help but think of the sudden mudslide in Washington State, the most recent Ft Hood murders and suicide, the high school student who knifed a number of his fellow students, and the list can go on. People who went to work, school, or to bed – just living life and then….life as they knew it changed. I imagine that all of you have had situations similar to mine. Perhaps not as extreme as the examples I wrote above, but traumatic in its own way. Did you feel alone? Did you feel like you were imposing on someone else’s time? Did you feel like the challenges should be over NOW and everything back to “normal” tomorrow? If so, you are not alone. I know I experienced everything above. Now for the challenge question….where was God in all these tragedies? For me, it was the knowledge of the constant Companion, the true Healer, and the One who brings hope and stability to seemingly impossible situations. I have also learned that God uses people around me to remind me that some things just take time to heal and arrive at a new “normal.” The fact that our Order uses the motto “God and Liberty” is not by accident. God is first and through God we discover liberty. I believe the lesson is to remember to place God first and no matter what happens in life, we will have comfort in the constant Companion. This knowledge is where liberty, or freedom, is discovered. I also find strength in this knowledge and I hope you do, too. I am walking about one and a half miles per day now. I’m still on my cane and I can’t drive yet, but the fact that I can walk and do some things on my own, again, is a very freeing feeling. It will take time, but I believe those who have experienced the tragedies above will also experience freedom in their lives again empowered by our prayers and faith in God’s providence. I pray that you, too, will re-dedicate yourselves to your faith tradition and strengthen that Spiritual muscle because we never know when life as we know it will suddenly change. God Bless and Peace. David M. Terrinoni, Ch, Col (S), USAF
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