Black Mountain VFW celebrates 75 years with Veterans Golf Tournament
Post 9157 honors legacy with Fourth Annual fundraiser
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
September 12, 2023
VFW Post 9157 Senior Vice Commander and U.S. Marine Corp Veteran Justin Rice prepares for the Veterans Golf Tournament, which will return for its fourth year, Sept. 15. Photo by Fred McCormick
An annual fundraiser will pay homage to the local veterans who established a Swannanoa Valley resource for their brothers and sisters in arms, at 1 p.m., Friday, Sept. 15, when the Black Mountain VFW Post 9157 hosts its Fourth Annual Veterans Golf Tournament at the Black Mountain Golf Course.
The event will represent the culmination of a weekend-long salute to the 75-year history of the local nonprofit organization, also known as the Green-Leagon-Simpson-Lindsey Post.
The tournament will honor the legacy of the post, as it charts a course for the future, according to Commander David Hana.
“We will have written descriptions of the four men who the post is named after,” Hana said of the ceremony that will open the event, which begins with lunch and registration at 11:30 a.m. “We will also express our gratitude for all previous 33 commanders in the post’s history.”
One of approximately 6,000 VFW chapters in the country, the Black Mountain VFW is named in honor of longtime commander Charles Lindsey, whose brother was killed in action, and three local service members lost in World War II. The local community grieved the loss of three natives in March of 1945, when U.S. Marine Robert Simpson and Navy Seaman Charles Leagon were killed in Iwo Jima, Japan. Sergeant William V. Green lost his life that same year in the Battle of the Bulge.
Post 9157, established in the years after the Second World War, became a community center for veterans who returned to the Swannanoa Valley from battle. It remains a vital point of connection for its approximately 90 members, all of whom served in conflicts on foreign soil.
Black Mountain VFW Commander David Hana and Quartermaster Brittany Deyton will celebrate the legacy of the Green-Leagon-Simpson-Lindsey Post, Sept. 15, in the Fourth Annual Veterans Golf Tournament at the Black Mountain Golf Course. Photo by Fred McCormick
“We all signed up to protect freedoms, and we try to continue that service today by giving back to our local community,” Hana said. “We’re trying to maintain the legacy of this place where veterans come for camaraderie, help, direction or support, if need be.”
For many members, like current quartermaster and Army Veteran Brittany Deyton, who served in Afghanistan, the VFW can help ease a “sense of loss” that comes with leaving the military.
“You don’t have the same bonds with people in the civilian world that you do with the people you serve with,” she said. “This is a place where all veterans can have that. We’ve all had similar experiences, or at least understand each other’s experiences, and that’s part of the bond.”
The organization launched its annual golf tournament in 2019 as a fundraising and community outreach initiative. Last year, the event honored the 10 Owen/Black Mountain High School graduates who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.
“This year, we wanted to recognize the history of this post, which has been an important part of the community for so long,” Hana said of the fundraiser. “It’s not just the VFW, but this building has been here for a long time. It used to be a meat market, and we still occasionally have people who come in today and still remember when it was a market.”
While the 2022 golf tournament raised money for indoor renovations in the Purple Heart Pub, the post plans to address aging infrastructure this year.
“This post has a special significance to a lot of non-members, too,” Hana said. “A few years ago, a woman came in here and told us her father was a commander here years ago, and he had recently passed away. As we were talking, her mother walked in and was in tears because she had been part of the auxiliary and hadn’t been in the building in years. They held a celebration of life for him here and it was a great day. The mother passed away a few years later, and we held a similar gathering for her.”
Strengthening relationships outside of the building is another priority for the post, according to the commander.
“We’ve been doing a lot of work in the community these last few years,” Hana said. “We built a local exercise station at Cragmont Park, we’ve participated in food drives for the Veterans Quarters in Swannanoa, the Black Mountain Home for Children and other local organizations. We’ve also done volunteer work for several nonprofits in the area.”
The Veterans Golf Tournament will feature teams of four, and registration for the event will remain open through the morning of the event. Individual golfers can sign up for $100 at purpleheartpub.org, while the entry fee for four-player teams is $400. Lunch is included in the registration, and the public is invited the attend opening ceremony at 12:30 p.m.
“The ceremony will include a presentation, the playing of Taps and a guitar performance of the national anthem,” Hana said. “We have a bus load of veterans and residents from Highland Farms coming for the ceremony, while the tournament itself will consist of fellow veterans, members and community supporters from around the country.”
The Purple Heart Pub will host concerts, Sept. 15 and Saturday, Sept. 16. The weekend of festivities are designed to celebrate the the Green-Leagon-Simpson-Lindsey Post’s connection with the community while keeping preserving the stories of its veterans.
“Seeing the amount of outreach this post has done over the years while researching its history for this event really highlighted what an important role it has played in this community through the years,” Deyton said. “A lot of work went into making this place what it is today, and it’s important that we celebrate those efforts.”