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VOL. 5/ISSUE 15
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017
Veterans organization readies for the 2018 National Veterans Wheelchair Games Patrick McCallister FOR VETERAN VOICE
pmccallister@veteranvoiceweekly.com
The National Veterans Wheelchair Games is coming to Orlando next year. The co-sponsors — Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Department of Veteran Affairs — recently announced that the City Beautiful will be the site of the 2018 games. “We’re excited and we’re busy,” said John DeMauro, executive director of the Central Florida chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America. The Sanford organization is open to veterans with spinal-cord injuries and diseases. Most, but not all, of its members are wheelchair users. The annual wheelchair games started in 1981. The games move to different cities every year. They’ve been in Florida twice: Miami in 1991 and Tampa in 2013. Orlando couldn’t host the games until the VA’s Lake Nona medical center opened. Having a VA in-patient hospital nearby is a requirement for a city to host the games. Karen Shamlin is the Orlando VA medical center’s coordinator for the event. She helped organize the Miami games and has volunteered at three others. “It’s very inspirational,” she said. “It’s something everybody should try to participate in — as a competitor or volunteer — at least once in their lives.” Organizers expect about 600 veterans with
See SANFORD page 8
Photo by Wendy Dwyer Right, Chapel of the Four Chaplains board of directors member Larry Wapnick of Vero Beach stands with Dr. Shamsher Singh, a Port St. Lucie physician, who was the recipient of the prestigious Chapel of the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor Gold Medal, awarded to him for his selfless service in the community Feb. 5 at Temple Beth El Israel Synagogue, Port St. Lucie.
Doctor given prestigious 'Four Chaplains' award Mary Kemper STAFF WRITER
mkemper@veteranvoiceweekly.com
It truly was a day to remember. On Feb. 5, at Temple Beth El Israel Synagogue in Port St. Lucie, a man known and loved throughout the community was given a very prestigious award — and no one deserved it more. Dr. Shamsher Singh, known best for his involvement with Southeast Florida Honor Flight, was given the Chapel of the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor Gold Medal for, in the words of the Four Chaplains Foundation, “interfaith in action.” A little background — The Four Chaplains Award was inspired by the actions of four Army chaplains, representing different faiths, in World War II. On the fateful night of Feb. 3, 1943, the USAT Dorchester, carrying just over 900 troops, steamed toward Europe. A German U-Boat fired a torpedo, striking the ship below the water line, and she sank in just 18 minutes. Wounded and panicked soldiers were everywhere. Without regard to race or religion, the four first lieutenants organized the es-
cape to topside, calmed the panicked ones, helped the wounded to the upper deck and handed out life jackets. When those ran out, the chaplains gave their own away. The Four Chaplains were Rabbi Alexander Goode of the Jewish faith; Father John Washington, a Roman Catholic priest; the Rev. Clark Poling of the Dutch Reformed faith; and the Rev. George Fox, a World War I veteran and Methodist minister. These men knew each other already from Army Chaplains School at Harvard University, and were good friends. Each knew they faced danger wherever they went, but each felt bound to serve God and their fellow troops in any way that was asked of them. Witnesses who saw the four chaplains singing and praying together, arm in arm, as the ship went down, said it was something that would stay with them for the rest of their lives. It’s that spirit that inspired the forming of the Four Chaplains Foundation, and the subsequent medals given around the country to those who serve their community without regard to race, creed or religion. Dr. Singh exemplifies that service to the highest degree. He has given all his energy
See SINGH page 7