COLUSA, CA (MPG) – Colusa VFW Post No. 2441 and the Maxwell American Legion Post No. 218 came together with the community – and past and present service members – at the annual Veterans Picnic on Saturday.
The event, held in Veterans Memorial Park in Colusa, consisted of a lunch and raffle, and raised money to support services for veterans, their families, and other veteran groups.
The well-attended event sold out quickly, but organizers adjusted to accommodate people who came after the start of lunch. A passerby, a retired U.S. Navy master chief, on vacation from Wisconsin, saw the activity and Post flags in the park, and stopped to join in, said VFW Member Rich Paletta.
“We sold 300 tickets and still had to recycle some,” Paletta said. “It was a great turnout and was probably the biggest turnout we ever had. It was phenomenal.”
Paletta said the community was very generous in donations, as they are every year.
Figuratively, however, there were several empty places at the table in the absence of Gene Beauchamp, Sonny Weber, and several other VFW and American Legion members who died this year.
Beauchamp, who died on Jan. 11, was among the first of the Vietnam War veterans to take an active leadership role in the Colusa VFW, which was previously dominated by World War II veterans.
Beauchamp seldom talked publicly of his military service but was deeply devoted to his country, his friends said. He was one of the nation’s highest decorated service members, awarded the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars for valor, a Purple Heart, and fourteen Air Medals during his three years of active duty with the U.S. Army, and three years in the reserves.
Beauchamp, who was 74, was a member of the Colusa VFW and Maxwell American Legion.
VFW Post 2441 recently lost William “Sonny” Weber, who died July 11, and Carl Reister, who on June 27.
Weber served as a Boatsman on board the U.S.S. George during the Korean War; Reister served two tours of duty in Vietnam.
Two Smith & Wesson pistols were donated Saturday in their memory.
Since the last Veterans Picnic, the American Legion lost longtime members Raymond Gonzales, who died on Feb. 16., and Robert McGeoghegan, who died in 2022.
McGeoghegan was the organization’s last World War II veteran, serving in the Pacific through the end of the War in the U.S. Navy. Gonzales served in the U.S. Army in Korea.
As part of Saturday’s festivities, the VFW American Legion Post donated money to support the Maxwell American Legion Ladies Auxiliary and the Yuba-Sutter Stand Down.