Former Lexington Rotarian, PP, WWII Veteran, POW Mark Moore, Jr. Remembered

 
Happy New Year. January 5th was a cold and blustery day. Rotarians and guest were treated to Caesar salad, steak, green beans and mashed potatoes. Twenty seven Rotarians and 4 guests joined us for the meeting. Our esteemed guests were Mark Moore’s wife Gladys, his daughter Pat and her husband Frank and Marcy Lucas. The pledge of allegiance was led by Connie N, one verse of America by PP Dan O and a beautiful invocation was given by PP Nick C. The welcome song was led by Charlie V.
 
Happy dollars were in abundance. I got the ball rolling with happy dollars for a very successful service project: Sand 4 Seniors. In the course of 2 hours on Saturday morning 16 Rotarians loaded 67 buckets with 50 pounds of ice melt each and delivered them to all corners of the town. Recipients were extremely appreciative and most appeared to have a clear need for the service.   We had a great turnout and I’d like to thank all those who were able to attend. Special thanks to PP Bob S for procuring the Rotary labels, PP Jim S for identifying an excellent form and source of ice melt and getting it delivered, Bob C for procuring the scoops, my wife May who helped me create the distribution map with push pins and labels, and last, but certainly not least, PP Jim F who worked closely with me to coordinate the project and to make Brookhaven available as a storage and staging area for the buckets of salt. I’d also like to thank Susan Snow at the COA who helped coordinate the program through the town.
 
There were other happy dollars related to the service project. PP Don M. was happy to have delivered a bucket to someone who wasn’t even on the delivery route and while she was most confused to be receiving this gift, she was also quite appreciative. Pres. Dave was pleased with how seamlessly the project was completed. PP Dan B fined himself for not being able to attend the project, but after the meeting picked up 2 undelivered buckets and completed the delivery. Thanks Dan. PE Dominic was happy to have GPS as he and PP David B drove in circles around their delivery addresses.
 
PP Nick was happy to have our guests at the meeting as he had many fond memories of time spent with them and reminded us that one of the great values of Rotary is the camaraderie that develops between members. Treasurer Donna L had happy dollars for a vacation in the Grand Caymans.   
 
Raffle donations were made by Ace Hardware, Busa Wines and Spirits, PP John O, Walpole Cooperative Bank, PP Doug H and the Rotary Club of Lexington
 
Our speaker was Mark Moore’s daughter Pat Carney and she related to us the WWII and POW experiences of her father. Mark joined the air force upon graduating from high school in July of 1942 and trained to be a pilot. He was assigned to the 384th bomber division and entered the war in July of 1943. He was stationed in England and flew missions in the B17-Flying Fortress. During his 8th mission, his plane was hit by enemy fire, caught fire and went down, but not until after the mission of bombing a factory was completed.
 
All 9 crew members survived, but Mark thought there were 10 on the flight that day and lived much of his live regretting that he had lost a member of his crew. It wasn’t until late in his life that he found out that the 10th crew member did not make that flight due to a cold and everyone walked away alive.
 
Mark was captured by the Germans and placed in solitary confinement, eating bread and water, sleeping on a mat on the floor, wearing wooden shoes and using a bucket as a toilet. He did not divulge any important information under interrogation and was eventually sent to a POW camp. Conditions were OK at the camp. They even had a Christmas feast. However, after Christmas, 80,000 prisoners, including Mark, were forced to March from Germany to Poland in the middle of the winter. Many died and they were forced to steal supplies to survive. In April of 1945 Mark was liberated by Patton’s troops and Mark returned to the US and was married 2 months later.
 
Mark was awarded medals for his service at a ceremony at Hanscom Air force base and was later invited to Poland to visit a museum where the wing of his B-17 flying fortress was on display. The Poles regarded Mark and the other allied soldiers as heroes.
 
It was a fascinating talk and afterwards there were photos of Mark in the service that we could enjoy.
 
Our upcoming meetings are as follows:
 
  • 12 January: Lexington Christian Academy
  • 19 January: No Meeting
  • 26 January: No Meeting
  • 27 January: Joint meeting with the Lions club. 6:30-8:00 at the Knight of Columbus hall
  • 02 February: Minuteman High School
  • 09 February: Cary memorial library
  • 16 February: No meeting   
  • 23 February: Waxy’s
 
Also, PP Nick C mentioned that the Chamber of Commerce is holding their annual meeting on January 20th. They would love to have more people in attendance. Talk to Nick for more details.
 
The 50:50 raffle was for $95 and was won by PE Dominic.
 
Keep warm
PP FS