For some time now, in fact much longer than the announced 2008 KWVA election period, a collection of non-members; expelled members; members on probation, some regular members and yes, even some who never can be members, have collectively joined (if you want to use that term) to attack the KWVA, a non-profit, state-chartered organization, the purpose and mission of which is to inform and serve Korean War Veterans and their families.

There are some who support this group, or are in it for whatever mischief they can do. We can't tell you who all they are, because most times, when they send one of their nasty emails around, they address it to themselves, and, 'undisclosed recipients.'   That's using your smarts, but I would characterize it more as deception. You can be assured that the email you see below with Clyde Hooks name on it, advertising his candidates for election is less hostile in attitude and language than most of what these people usually put out.  It's sole addressee is, you guessed it, 'undisclosed recipients.'  There are also a few websites where their hostility is posted, at least one of which clearly oversteps copyright laws, and perhaps libel laws also.

Read what they say here and when you get the March-April Issue of The Graybeards, read carefully what all the candidates have to say and carefully compare it with what they present to you in their Candidate Profiles. With the vote that you have, you literally have the future, if there is to be one, of the KWVA itself.  You might say that with over 16,000 members, how can these few malcontents prevail?   Sad to say, but I'm told that less than 5,000 of you vote each year for one reason or another.   However you exercise your right to the precious act to vote; I beg you, please help change that statistic upward.

So please read what KWVA Member Glen Thompson has to say below.   It may appear overlong, but if you care about our outfit for whatever reason, please take the time to inform yourself.   Glen says you can respond to him via email, but only if your questions and/or comments are civil & polite.   He's had enough of trash emails, sometimes containing opinion, sometimes outright lies, neither supported by credible evidence, that is if there is evidence put forth at all.  Please note that the comments he makes about quotes from emails are a matter of record. Although he put his email address is listed below his signoff, clicking on this will get you started on an email to him: gthomp@tx.rr.com

I am very careful with people who are not careful with the truth.   The problem with liars is that you never know when they are going to get you.   Maybe only the 'undisclosed recipients' know.

George E. Lawhon LR18750

Webmaster, KWVA California State Department

Glen Thompson is a charter member and the first Secretary/Treasurer of KWVA Sam Johnson Chapter 270.

He currently produces the Chapter 270 Newsletter.   He also serves as Treasurer, Membership Chair, and Newsletter Editor for the Greater Dallas Veterans Council, a coalition of over seventy veteran’s organizations in the Dallas area.   He has served on the Department of Texas Bylaws Committee and is presently serving on the KWVA Bylaws Committee.   While he is not a candidate for office, he feels strongly about what he has written in his observations and analysis below.

Let There Be Light exposes the destructive platform of a gang of KWVA candidates.  These candidates bill themselves as the Dickerson-Doyle ticket which refers to that slate’s top two candidates, Byron Dickerson for President and Michael Doyle for 1st Vice President.

On the following pages, Let There Be Light responds to an e-mail message broadcast by Clyde Hooks, a candidate for Director on the negative Dickerson-Doyle slate, which includes mostly criticism unsupported by reality or fact.

First, let’s introduce the two candidates at the top of the negative Dickerson-Doyle slate.

Byron Dickerson has occupied a seat on KWVA’s Board of Directors as 2nd Vice President, then as 1st Vice President.  His terms as Vice President are noteworthy in that he has done absolutely nothing.  In scanning the minutes of KWVA board meetings, you will be hard pressed to find one instance where Byron Dickerson introduced any new business.  He briefly served on the Reunion Committee but couldn’t handle that well.  In short, Byron Dickerson has been a do-nothing Vice President. We see evidence that a group of attack dogs I’ll call the Disciples of Destruction believe they can manipulate Dickerson, if elected.  To confirm this, look at electronic postings by Bob “I move to disband KWVA” Fuoco; Ken “This disgusting KWVA” Buckley, and John Kronenberger who make statements in the name of Byron Dickerson.  Seldom do we see a statement that can be credited directly to Byron Dickerson.

Michael Doyle as a KWVA Director holds the unofficial title of “Troublemaker” on the board.  When the board is not in session, he makes offensive comments to and about other board members and passes out written pages of complaints.  Yet, when the board is in session, Doyle has failed to introduce any new business before the board.  Mike Doyle is another do-nothing board member.

What KWVA needs most is competent leaders, who can and do deliver what they promise when they are seeking election.

The other candidates on the Dickerson-Doyle slate represent sour-minded candidates who offer many complaints, but make no positive recommendations.   Many simply mouth the rantings of Ken “This disgusting KWVA” Buckley; Bob “I move to disband KWVA” Fuoco, and John Kronenberger and his vicious, slanderous "John K Report."   Please note: Charles Smith; Sam Naomi, & Lynnita Brown are on probation.  Bob Fuoco and John Kronenberger have been expelled from the KWVA.

Good News!

On the positive side, most of the candidates for National office are well qualified individuals who will build on the solid foundation put in place by President Dechert and his administration.  KWVA’s membership is growing despite a death rate of over 11% during a recent 36-month period.  Jim Doppelhammer and Jake Feaster keep the membership database up-to-date ensuring accurate membership figures for the first time in several administrations. In submitting to three independent audits for the first time ever, members are assured that KWVA’s financial house is in order.  While those who yell the loudest about KWVA’s bylaws yet never propose an amendment, Bill Mac Swain has been the driving force in upgrading KWVA’s bylaws and in creating the Standard Procedures Manual.  The Graybeards edited by Art Sharp represents the top of the line in veterans’ magazines. 

Summary

• On the following pages, Let There Be Light will show you the flawed outlook of each candidate on the Dickerson-Doyle ticket.
• Then, I will show point-by-point why the Dickerson-Doyle Hate Slate is a recipe for disaster.
• Finally, you will see a list of all KWVA candidates in alphabetical order by office. 
  
• Watch for those flagged Not Recommended.

Acknowledgments

It is proper that I recognize those who helped me put this article together.  Jim Doppelhammer provided membership growth figures and he made several useful suggestions. I am grateful to Jake Feaster for his suggestions. I also deeply appreciate George Lawhon’s guidance.  Director Lee Dauster’s enthusiasm for this project has been inspirational.

Glen Thompson
LR 28718
gthomp@tx.rr.com

The Dickerson-Doyle Ticket Opposes a Federal Charter!

In choosing disgraced former member Robert Fuoco as their spokesman and campaign manager, Dickerson and Doyle signal their opposition to a Federal charter for KWVA. 

Fuoco has bragged loud and long about his e-mail, mail, and phone campaign urging Members of Congress to kill the KWVA Federal charter bills.  Yet, no one on the Dickerson-Doyle ticket has renounced Fuoco for this despicable act. 

The following e-mail message from Clyde Hooks summarizes positions by those KWVA candidates who oppose the giant strides made in The Graybeards, the KWVA web site, the membership information system, and KWVA’s financial position during the Dechert Administration.  Note: those invested in the destruction of KWVA, John Kronenberger, Bob “I move to disband KWVA” Fuoco, and Ken “This disgusting KWVA” Buckley, all support these candidates.

You’ll see my responses in blue text.

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From: Clyde Hooks [koreanwar1950@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2008 10:48 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Candidates Pledges for Board of Directors and Others
To all Members of the KWVA Board of Directors and Others:

We hope you will share this information with any other Regular Members of the KWVA that you know.

We take this opportunity to introduce ourselves briefly regarding our hopes for the KWVA and ask for your support in electing a slate of officers which will dedicate itself to improving not only the image of the organization but also the camaraderie and goodwill that should exist.  KWVA should be an organization devoted to recognizing the tremendous sacrifices encountered as a result of communist oppression and ensuring that these sacrifices are never forgotten.  This slate of officers will work toward this end without demeaning those who seek additional information or those who have differing views.  We will be open to all suggestions and be completely open with our actions.

Byron Dickerson
Candidate for President
    •After a thorough review, those who have been expelled, those with charges against them, and those on probation will be reinstated if the "Just Cause" charges are deemed inappropriate. 
Who will do this review, your anti-KWVA pals Kronenberger, Fuoco, and Buckley?  Under the member-approved bylaws, you need a 2/3 vote by the board to reinstate a former member.  Do you plan to toss the bylaws which calls for at least 2/3 of the Board, previous notice in The Graybeards, and at least 2/3 members before making any changes to it?

The Ethics and Grievance Committee will be dissolved--no organization of brotherhood needs such a committee.
How?  Do you plan to burn the member-approved bylaws to satisfy your personal whims?  It takes 2/3 approval by the board and previous notice in The Graybeards before you can bring bylaws changes to a vote by the membership.  You won’t see any changes in the bylaws until October 2009. 

Members must be respected. 
Do you show respect for members by attempting to override the bylaws they approved?  Is it your respect for members that causes you to lie about not receiving a quarterly detailed financial report showing each check by category?  Several of us KWVA members who attended the meetings at Bossier City, San Antonio, and Reno at our own expense accomplished more than you did at those meetings.  Would it not show respect for the membership to repay KWVA for your reimbursed expenses?  After all, you didn’t do anything except occupy a seat on the board. 

    •A new feature for The Graybeards will be a "Sound Off" column for members to speak their minds--whether agreeing or disagreeing with the administration and/or the organization. 
Now you want to destroy The Graybeards.  That magazine has improved greatly under Art Sharp’s editorship.  Unlike the previous editor who was arrogant and condescending, Art Sharp is approachable and helpful.  He and he alone makes all editorial decisions.  But evidently, you want your handlers, Kronenberger, Fuoco, and Buckley to exercise editorial control over The Graybeards.  Yep, we can all see where this is going. You want to turn The Graybeards into a scandal sheet where members can vent their spleen about everything under the sun.  Attorneys across the land are looking forward to that day.  By the way, do you agree with Bob Fuoco’s barrage of mail and e-mail communications to Members of Congress urging them to kill the bills granting KWVA a Federal Charter?   

•Every effort will be expended to make the KWVA a respected organization with a growing membership--not an organization that has suffered a decrease in membership.
You speak with a forked tongue! Even as death claimed 1,877 KWVA members between 02-08-05 and 02-08-08, membership grew under Jeff Brodeur’s able leadership as Membership Chair.  While death claimed over 11% of its members during that period, KWVA still had a net gain of 299 members!

Exactly how many of those new members did you recruit during your terms of office?  One E&G member, Doyle Dykes, recruited nine new KWVA members in 2007.  He recruited ten new KWVA members in 2006, six in 2005, six in 2004, and five in 2003.  Meanwhile, what were you doing to ensure membership growth? Simply warming a seat on the board at members expense doesn’t count.

Mike Doyle
Candidate for First Vice President
As a candidate of the proposed slate I will work to bring about changes which will give you, the members, what has not been very important in the near past--authority. 
Wrong!  Authority demands matching responsibility.  No member has the authority to act for KWVA unless the membership has elected him or elected officials have appointed him to a position.  Thus, no member has the authority to write checks against KWVA accounts unless the President has appointed him as Treasurer with approval from the Board. No legitimate organization would long survive by mindlessly handing out authority.

I, along with the others on our slate, will endeavor to run this wonderful organization for the members, all the members and not just a select few. 
Yet, you’ve chosen Bob Fuoco who circulated the e-mail “I move to disband KWVA” and Ken Buckley who wrote “This disgusting KWVA” in his e-mail as your spokespersons.  Which is it, a wonderful organization or this disgusting KWVA?

We wish to serve you not decide among ourselves what is the right path without asking you, the members. 
Yet, you and your troupe decided to ignore the bylaws and disrupt the meeting in San Antonio.  Your past actions indicate that you want to run the show.

We intend to have a completely transparent organization.
Does this transparency include confessing that you along with all other board members have received detailed quarterly reports showing each check written by category?
You have yet to renounce Bob Fuoco for his attempts to derail the Federal charter bills.

Glenn Berry
Candidate for Second Vice President
    •My intention as 2nd Vice president is to return the KWVA back to the rank and file members who have so long been left out and ignored. 
Specifically, how do you intend to “return KWVA to rank and file members”?  You need to think for yourself instead of repeating false claims by Fuoco, the disgraced former member who lobbied Members of Congress to kill the KWVA Federal Charter bill.

I will listen to each and every member who has a complaint and see that their rights as a member are upheld. 
You may listen to complaints such as those by disgraced former member, Bob Fuoco, who once posted the e-mail message, “I move to disband KWVA.”  But by satisfying Bob Fuoco, you take away the rights of most other KWVA members who do want a strong growing organization.  Which rights are you going to uphold?

I intend to see that every member's right in the 1st amendment to the Constitution of the United States--freedom of speech--is upheld.
Obviously, you either haven’t read or don’t understand the Bill of Rights.  They protect you and me from the government.  In no way does the 1st amendment take away the rights of any church, business, non-profit, or veteran’s organization to discipline its members for speaking against it.  You may speak freely and bad mouth anything, but in a free society, you must also be prepared to accept the consequences for your speech and behavior.  You seem to dislike the idea of taking responsibility for your words and actions. 
The full text of Amendment I to the United States Constitution follows:

 I will work with the other members of the board--to work as a team is the only way we can accomplish our mission.  
Your running mates, Dickerson and Doyle have shown a tendency to work against, not with the current board.  The Dickerson-Doyle duo is noted for its lack of accomplishments.  Is this Dickerson-Doyle template the kind of teamwork you plan to emulate?

 (Directors listed as received--for your vote to count, you must select only four (4).) 

Clyde Hooks
Candidate for Director
    •As I have served on bylaws and constitution committees in other organizations,  I feel qualified to chair a committee to simplify and clarify the KWVA Bylaws and ensure they protect the members and the honor of the those who have served. 
My term on the current Bylaws Committee has allowed very little of my input.
You’ve actually had your say and voted on every proposed amendment brought before the bylaws committee.  Did you expect your vote should count as two or three?  If you rule the bylaws committee, it is not a democratic process.   Is that what you want to do, have the final say on all decisions by the bylaws committee?

    •I would like to see the "Feedback/Return Fire" section of The Graybeards expanded to include concerns of the members regardless of whether they are in praise or critical of  the organization and its administrators.
You want to make The Graybeards another National Enquirer magazine with Bob “I move to disband KWVA” Fuoco, Ken “This disgusting KWVA” Buckley, and John Kronenberger throwing verbal bombs at any and every one.  The Enquirer has the money to deal with multiple lawsuits caused by that kind of journalism, KWVA doesn’t.

    •The Graybeards should not be used as an organ to promote the serving administration while at the same time criticizing those who might be in opposition to them.
Don’t mess with The Graybeards!  That magazine has significantly improved since Art Sharp took over as its editor.  Considering all the barbs you and other Disciples of Destruction have hurled at The Graybeards, Art Sharp has shown amazing restraint.

  The editor of the magazine shall endeavor to fully meet his responsibilities as outlined on page 14 of the Standard Procedure Manual with no personal input.
Read that section again.  Precisely what part of those responsibilities has Art Sharp not met during his term as The Graybeards editor? 

    •I would like for the new Board of Directors to make a thorough review of all of the disciplinary actions that have been taken in the past two years.
Yet Dickerson and Doyle were members of the board that took those disciplinary actions.  Delve too deeply into the actions or lack of actions by the Dickerson-Doyle duo and you expose their uselessness as mere seat warmers on the board.

Luther Rice
Candidate for Director
     •One of my first priorities will be to convince members of the new administration to restore full membership status to those individuals who have been expelled, suspended, or placed on probation by current office holders.
Are you sure?  Is it OK with you to reinstate the person who sent a barrage of mail, e-mails, and phone calls to Members of Congress urging them to kill the KWVA Federal Charter bills?  If you oppose a Federal Charter for KWVA, then say so.
    •In addition, the need, role and responsibilities of the E&G Committee needs to be investigated and clarified IF the committee is to be continued.
 Meaningless words.  If you had any interest in the role of the E&G Committee, you would have read the bylaws posted on the KWVA web site.  Had you seen something in the bylaws that needed changing, you should have sent in a proposed amendment.  You didn’t. 

David McDonald
Candidate for Director
I believe in the autonomy of the Chapters and hold a sincere respect for the ideas and concerns of every individual member of KWVA.
If by autonomy, you mean chapters may violate the bylaws and recruit new members without requiring them to join National, then you’re plan aims to destroy KWVA.  If your chapter wanted complete independence, why did it seek a charter with KWVA?  I don’t know about your chapter, but in my chapter, we independently elected our officers, chose our meeting sites, recruited sixteen new KWVA members last year, logged over three thousand eight hundred volunteer hours at the VA hospital last year, and took part in various patriotic events.  We don’t waste time complaining about National during our chapter meetings.  Didn’t during the Coon administration and don’t now.

There is currently a trend to place too much importance on organizational tiers. The premise being the higher the tier, the more important and authoritative the member.
It’s interesting that your running mate, Clyde Hooks is running on the platform of adding yet another tier, KWVA Regions.  If your complaint is about State Departments, most national veteran’s organizations have State Departments and many organizations have District Offices.

I hold true that all members are equal.
Not true!  Although all members have the same rights to participate in local and national activities, not all members participate.  Some members donate hundreds of hours each year to local and national events.  These active members have a greater impact on KWVA affairs at the local and national level than those who do nothing but pay their annual dues.  No, not all KWVA members are equal.

There should be no looking up or looking down. I will work to reverse this trend.
Meaningless words.  Maybe your chapter looks up and down, but in my chapter, we look ahead.  Perhaps you’ve spent too much time looking up and down and not enough time looking ahead.

I support the dissolution of the Ethics and Grievance Committee and a more detailed accounting of the finances of KWVA. 
If you wished to dissolve the E&G Committee, why haven’t you sent in a proposed bylaws amendment to that effect?  You talk, but I see no action.  How much more detail do you want on the KWVA financial reports?  Do you want a complete list of every transaction to fill several pages of The Graybeards?  Would you understand a transaction report?

My professional history qualifies me to help guide The Graybeards.
So, you’re a retired publisher, big deal.  Art Sharp needs no guidance from you. As The Graybeards editor, he does a magnificent job, thank you.  I love Art Sharp’s promise to accept chapter news any way he gets it, whether by mail, e-mail, or written on a napkin.  Art Sharp has kept that promise.  He doesn’t need a smart aleck ex-publisher telling him how to run The Graybeards.
    •I will work for unity and devotion of all our combined skills and energy to secure our National Charter.
Good grief, what are you saying?  Your “unity and devotion…combined skills and energy”, tells me nothing.  If you support a Federal charter, say so.  Note, though, the top of the ticket obviously doesn’t support a Federal charter.  Ask their campaign manager, Bob Fuoco, who lobbied Members of Congress against Federal charter bills.
Chapters and individual members can count on me to respond to their communications.

Luther Dappen
Candidate for Director
     •As a Director, I will do all in my power to ensure that a thorough review is made of the disciplinary actions taken on members with the thought in mind of reinstating all those who have been unjustly accused.
How do you know members have been unjustly accused?  You weren’t there during that long tedious process of review and hearings.  Do you know Bob Fuoco, for example?  As a previous member of my chapter, Fuoco has always been a loose cannon.  He brags about bombarding Members of Congress with appeals to kill the KWVA Federal charter bills.  For this alone, Bob Fuoco deserved disciplinary action.  Yet, you link up with the Dickerson-Doyle ticket which chose Bob Fuoco as its campaign manager.  God help us all!

    •I will endeavor to see that The Graybeards is never used as a political tool again as it was in the November/December issue and will support the necessary actions to insure this. 
If you only want to read negative stuff about KWVA, read the slime thrown out by Buckley, Fuoco, and Kronenberger.  But if you want to be informed about KWVA’s accomplishments, read The Graybeards. 

A magazine for members of an organization should never be used to degrade and/or slander another member.
 Specifically, which member has been degraded or slandered in The Graybeards? You might try reading The Graybeards instead of the garbage dispensed by Buckley, Fuoco, and Kronenberger.

William "Bill" Olson
Candidate for Director
    •As a Director I will strive to see that every KWVA members' right under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States--Freedom of Speech--is upheld. 
How many times must I explain that the authors wrote the Bill of Rights to protect the people from the government?  Nowhere in the Constitution will you find restrictions on churches, businesses, home owners associations, or veteran’s organizations which prevents them from disciplining their own members.  You need to think for yourself and quit letting that Brown woman lead you around by the nose.

I will diligently work with the other members of the Board to work as a team in accomplishing our mission toward this end and other matters.
 We sincerely thank you for your consideration.
The Dickerson/Doyle Slate for 2008
Sent by Clyde Hooks

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