THE SLATTERY SCUTTLEBUTT

THE SPRING 2026 NEWSLETTER

of the MCL SLATTERY DETACHMENT #206

EDITOR: Janice Smiell

Our Slattery MCL Officers

CAMARADERIE

“a spirit of trust and goodwill among people closely associated in an activity or endeavor”

Lyons VA Community Living Center Visits with the Veterans

MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONIES 2026

ROSE EVENTS

AWARDS

Recognition is appreciated, but service is never conditional.

Updates from the State (Department to Detachments):

WELLNESS & BETTER LIVING

Wellness in 2026 takes us back to basics and emphasizes consistent, small, and sustainable lifestyle shifts rather than perfection or intense, unsustainable regimes.

Here is a deeper dive into physical activity tips to continue on our journey to attain, optimize, or maintain our wellness.

Keep On Movin’

-submitted by Karyn Winaker

Every day, you hear about keeping strong. You have to keep a strong mindset, you have to keep a strong work ethic, you have to keep a strong sense of calm in the midst of the chaos and craziness of today’s hectic world.

One of the simplest ways of keeping strong is starting with an obvious aspect: Keeping your body strong.

Many studies have been done on the benefits of getting more exercise. Something as simple as a 20-minute daily walk can improve lung function, increase circulation, improve sleep, and even contribute to digestive health. With so many positives, it’s hard to justify not at least trying to increase our daily physical activity.

Now, while TV commercials for gym memberships blast us with images of young, fit 20-somethings smiling as they curl weights, the reality is that many of us are too busy to arrange for 2-hour blocks of time to drive to a gym, get in a full workout (including cardio), shower, and return to our day. Additionally, the expense of a gym membership can be a deterrent, especially if you know that you might have commitment issues and don’t want to waste money on something that you may not take full advantage of.

You don’t need to pay for expensive fitness classes or invest in the latest tech gadget to tell you how many steps you took today in order to strengthen your body.

There are many ways to incorporate strengthening movements into your everyday routine without sacrificing important resources like time and money.

• • Sit, Stand, Stretch
  • If you have a sedentary job, make it a point to stand up every hour or so.
  • Taking the opportunity to get in some stretching and deep breathing while you refill your coffee or head out to lunch can not only improve your muscle tension and loosen your joints but can also clear your mind and improve your focus.

  • Take The Stairs

  Assuming you don’t work or live on the 30^th floor, taking the stairs more often is a convenient way to get a light cardiac workout, as well as improving balance and strengthening bones by getting in some weight-bearing exercise. The best thing about this method is the more often you do it, the easier it becomes.

  • Park Farther Away

  Another easy way to add exercise to your day is to park farther away from your destination than you ordinarily might. Especially in the summertime, you might appreciate parking your car under a tree at the other end of the lot, rather than fighting for a hot spot closer to the door.

  • Don’t Be A One-Trip Wonder

  There is no reason that you have to bring all of the groceries into the house in one trip. It might be quicker, but no one is timing you to get the job done faster. You will get more exercise by taking fewer bags and multiple trips. Just remember to bring the frozen things inside first!

These little actions can add up to good benefits for your body and your mind. Like many other skill sets, creating positive muscle memory can produce good habits that improve your physical strength, posture, and overall health. It doesn’t take long to see and feel improvements in your muscle strength and flexibility. Making conscious choices to improve your physical health also goes a great way toward developing your mental and emotional strength as well and taking care of ourselves should always be a priority.

Your speed doesn’t matter: Forward is forward.

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER:

This website and/or newsletters do not provide medical advice.  Consult your licensed medical practitioner as this site is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

If you think that you have a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room immediately.

FIRST WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH (unless posted otherwise):

APRIL

3 April 1945

On Okinawa, Marines of the III Amphibious Corps continued to make good progress all along their front, clearing Zampa Misaki and seizing the Katchin Peninsula, thus effectively cutting the island in two. By this date (D+2), III AC elements had reached objectives thought originally to require 11 days to take.

5 April 1947

Five Marine guards were killed and eight wounded when attacked by Communist Chinese raiders near the Hsin Ho ammunition depot in Northern China. This last major clash between Marines of the 1st Marine Division and Communist forces occurred shortly after withdrawal and redeployment plans from China were issued for the 1st Division and 1st Marine Aircraft Wing on 1 April.

6 April 1991

Iraq today accepted the U.N. Security Council’s tough resolution formally ending the Persian Gulf War in exchange for President Saddam Hussein’s agreement to give up all weapons of mass destruction and pay damages for its seven-month occupation of Kuwait. This step will pave the way for the return home of 373,000 American troops from the gulf region, some of whom said today that they were pleased by Iraq’s acceptance of the resolution because it will speed their departure.

10 April 1959

Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr. was named as one of the original seven Project Mercury astronauts selected for space training. The seven astronauts, all volunteers, were selected by NASA from an initial group of 110 leading military test pilots. Three years later, on 20 February 1962, Col Glenn would become the first American to orbit the Earth.

12 April 1918

Marines of the 4th Brigade suffered their first gas attack on the night and early morning hours of 12-13 April when the Germans bombarded the 74th Company, 6th Marines near Verdun with mustard gas. Nine Marine officers and 305 enlisted Marines were gassed and evacuated, and 30 Marines died from the effects of the gas shells which hit in the middle of the reserve area cantonments in which they were sleeping.

15 April 1962

Marine Corps operational involvement in the Vietnam War began on Palm Sunday when HMM-362 with its Sikorsky UH-34s arrived at Soc Trang in the Delta south of Saigon. The task unit was called “Shufly” and its first operational employment involved lifting Vietnamese troops into battle.

18 April 1983

One Marine Security Guard was killed and seven were wounded when a large car bomb exploded just outside the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. Lance Corporal Robert McMaugh was standing guard at Post 1, just inside the front entrance when the bomb exploded outside the door. The explosion killed 61 people including 17 Americans. LCpl McMaugh was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on 26 April.

21 April 1951

Marine carrier-based airplanes made their first aerial contact with enemy planes over the Korean front lines. Captain Philip C. Delong shot down two YAK fighters and 1st Lieutenant Harold D. Daigh destroyed one more and damaged another in the heavily defended Pyongyang-Chinnanpo area. Both pilots were with VMF-312 flying from the USS Bataan.

27 April 1805

First Lieutenant Presley N. O’Bannon, who with seven other Marines was part of a force of Greeks and Arabs led by American Consul William Eaton, raised the United States flag for the first time over a conquered fortress of the Old World at Derne, a stronghold of the Tripolitan pirates. Two Marines were killed and one wounded in the assault on the walled city.

28 April 1993

The last A-6E Intruder departed from Marine Corps service. Marine All Weather Attack Squadron 332 transferred the last Marine A-6E to St. Augustine, Florida, and prepared for the squadron’s transition to the F/A-18D and eventual movement from Cherry Point to Beaufort, South Carolina.

30 April 1975

The fall of Saigon marked the end of the Vietnam War and the collapse of the South Vietnamese state. The North Vietnamese Army captured Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, and the city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City within 24 hours.

MAY

2 May 1946

Marines from Treasure Island Marine Barracks, under the command of Warrant Officer Charles L. Buckner, aided in suppressing the three-day prison riot at Alcatraz Penitentiary in San Francisco Bay. WO Buckner, a veteran of the Bougainville and Guam campaigns, ably led his force of Marines without suffering a single casualty.

5 May 1983

In Beirut, Lebanon, a UH-1N helicopter carrying the commander of the American peace- keeping force, Colonel James Mead, was hit by machine gun fire. The six Marines aboard escaped injury. Colonel Mead and his crew had taken off in the helicopter to investigate artillery and rocket duels between rival Syrian-backed Druze Moslem militiamen and Christian Phalangists that endangered French members of the multinational force.

8 May 1995

In the wake of the most devastating storm to hit the New Orleans area in more than 200 years, a group of Marines and sailors from Marine Forces Reserve demonstrated the quick response synonymous with the Navy/Marine Corps team. Within 24 hours of being called, Marines assisted in the evacuation of 2,500 civilians, and Navy corpsmen treated scores of flood victims.

8 May 1945

Today the war in Europe ended.

10 May 1945

The 22d Marines, 6th Marine Division, executed a pre-dawn attack south across the Asa River Estuary and seized a bridgehead from which to continue the attack toward Naha, the capital of Okinawa.

15 May 1862

Corporal John Mackie, the first Marine to earn the Medal of Honor, was commended for service in the USS Galena during action against Confederate shore batteries at Drewry’s Bluff which blocked the James River approaches to Richmond.

16 May 1945

The 22d and 29th Marines continued the attack against Half Moon Hill, a day characterized by the 6th Marine Division as the “bitterest” of the Okinawa campaign. By the 18th, the famed “Shuri line” had been broached.

17 May 1950

Armed Forces Day is a holiday that honors the United States military and is celebrated annually on the third Saturday in May. The day was established by President Harry S. Truman in 1950 to recognize the unification of the military branches under the Department of Defense.

18 May 2023

On Aug. 31, 1949, Defense Secretary Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the armed forces under one agency — the Department of Defense. In an excerpt from the Presidential Proclamation of Feb. 27, 1950, Truman stated: “Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America’s defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, toward the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense.”

20 May 1949

On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under the Department of Defense.”

22 May 1912

First Lieutenant Alfred A. Cunningham, the first Marine officer to be assigned to “duty in connection with aviation” by Major General Commandant William P. Biddle, reported for aviation training at the Naval Aviation Camp at Annapolis, Maryland, and Marine aviation had its official beginning.

23 May 1988

The V-22 Osprey, the world’s first production tilt-rotor aircraft, made its debut during rollout ceremonies at Bell Helicopter Textron’s Arlington, Texas, facility. More than 1,000 representatives from the military, industry, and media, gathered to hear various speakers, including Gen Alfred Gray, Commandant of the Marine Corps, praise the versatile rotor craft designed to meet the needs of 21st Century battlefields.

26 May 1969

Operation Pipestone Canyon began when the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines and 3d Battalion, 5th Marines began sweeps in the Dodge City/Go Noi areas southwest of Da Nang. It terminated at the end of June with 610 enemy killed in action at a cost of 34 Marines killed.

29 May 1991

Elements of a joint task force that included the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade departed the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Bangladesh after nearly two weeks of disaster relief operations following a devastating cyclone. The joint task force delivered tons of relief supplies using helicopters, C- 130s, and landing craft in Operation Sea Angel.

JUNE

REMINDERS & REQUESTS from the Editor

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