Officers of the newly-formed Becker chapter of the Sons of the American Legion (SAL) were sworn-in at a special ceremony at the Legion building on Wednesday night.
Regional officers from St. Cloud conducted the swearing-in ceremony, followed by the presentation of the official charter documents to the new squadron.
Former SAL National Commander Doug Bible Adjutant Bob Foss and Commander Michael Fernlund came to Becker to conduct the official induction. Sworn-in were Commander John Fischbach, Vice-Commander Sean Boll, Adjutant Mick Boll, Finance Officer Ken Gates, Chaplain Walter Eads, Jr., and Sgt. at Arms Andrew Lee.
An unexpected break in the legislative schedule allowed Rep, Jim Newberger (R-Becker) to attend the ceremony, though he commented that the lawmakers would be working “around the clock’ as the Monday midnight deadline looms for the current session in St. Paul.
Newberger spoke about his family and their time in military service, noting that his father had been a gunner’s mate in the U.S. Navy in WW II, taking part in a number of island invasions in the Pacific. He also brought along some family heirlooms, a pair of gas masks his great-grandfather and great-uncle had used in the trenches in France in WW I.
At the conclusion of his remarks, Newberger also filled out the application for membership in the organization, and said that he was “very excited” to see the group forming in Becker, and that he would continue to be involved with this and other issues pertaining to veterans in his district.
In addition to the SAL officers and Rep. Newberger, others attending the ceremony included Lee Brown, Caleb Boll, Jesse Fischbach, Gary Kern, Nate Larson and his son Nicholas, age 3, John Riebel, Milo Olson, Marty Immerman and Ed Radke.
Following the official ceremony, the new SAL members discussed a number of upcoming events they plan to take part in, and also discussed dress uniform clothing for use in parades and other official functions.
