NPC American Legion Post to honor WWII vet Metelsky, talk Ike, June 6

The anniversary of D-Day will include a status report on the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial and a ceremony honoring long-time NPC member and WWII veteran John Metelsky at a June 6 noon luncheon meeting of NPC American Legion Post 20 in the McClendon Room.

The ceremony and report portions of the meeting are open to all NPC members.

Metelsky, whose many photographs of NPC events are on display in the Club, is the only member of Post 20 who qualifies for American Legion membership for having served in the Merchant Marines during WWII. He also qualifies as an Army veteran of the Korean War. Members of the Merchant Marines suffered the highest casualty rate of any service in WWII -- one for every 26 who served and more than double the average for all services. D-Day found Metelsky in England on a tanker delivering high-octane fuel vital to invasion forces.

Also on hand will be Michael Rodriguez, deputy administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration, who will introduce a documentary on the Merchant Marine's role in WWII. He will present the Post with a Merchant Marine flag to complete a collection of military service flags purchased by Post members for use by the Club during NPC military luncheon speaker receptions and other events.

Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Carl Reddel, executive director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, and Victoria Tigwell, the Commission's deputy executive director, will show a documentary and provide a status report on the D.C. memorial planned to honor the 34th President and Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe who oversaw the June 6, 1944 Normandy landings in German-occupied France.

Congress created the Eisenhower Memorial Commission in 1999 but the memorial's initial design proved controversial and has undergone extensive revision. A final design was not approved until last year and a private fundraising effort to begin construction is currently underway.