St. Charles VFW Post #5036

06/06/2026

06/06/2026

06/06/2026

Today we commemorate the 82nd anniversary of D-Day. We honor the bravery and sacrifice of the Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944, a day that forever changed the course of history. May we never forget their courage and heroism.

06/05/2026

Today we remember a hero killed in action at the Battle of Midway 84 years ago: Lt. Cmdr. John Waldron, commanding officer of Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8).

After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1924, Waldron underwent Navy flight training and became a naval aviator in 1927. For the next decade, he gained command and flight experience, subsequently taking command of VT-8 shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

At the Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942, Waldron led a group of TBD Devastator torpedo bombers into an attack on the Japanese carrier group. Instructed to fly west despite a report placing the Japanese southwest, Waldron disobeyed orders and led his squadron directly to the enemy carriers. There he and his pilots made repeated attacks with MK 13 torpedoes, but badly outnumbered, the Devastators were shot down one by one. Waldron was last seen standing with one leg on his wing root and one in his flaming cockpit.

In June 1944, almost two years to the day after Waldron was killed, the Navy commissioned the destroyer USS Waldron (DD 699) in his honor.

06/05/2026

The day after Chinese troops expelled thousands of demonstrators from Tiananmen Square in Beijing, on June 5, 1989, a solitary, unarmed protester stood his ground before a column of tanks. FRONTLINE’s 2006 documentary “Tank Man” investigated the mystery surrounding this iconic figure — his identity, his fate and his significance for China’s leadership.

06/05/2026

Memorial Day 2026 Pics

Thank you to Dave (A VFW Member and his wife Jane) from IDT Photo for these pictures.

06/03/2026