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Several members of Pembroke Post 84, National Association of Black Veterans, gather at a recent meeting at the post building, 13161 East Central, Pembroke Township. Back row, from left: Mark Hodge, Dwayne Leftridge, Milton Murphy, Edward Howard and Jerry L. Hughes Sr. Middle row, from left: Vincent Craig Harrison Sr., Marlin Peoples, Carlin Peoples, Terry Roundtree, Rod Sessions, Bonita Jordan, JB Hamilton and Reggie Stewart. Seated, from left: James Glenn, Leonard Porter, Wanda Lewis-Fullmer, Herbert Griffin and Conrad Robinson.
Members of Pembroke Chapter 84 of the National Association for Black Veterans attend the group’s monthly meeting in Pembroke in 2019. The group meets at 10 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month.
Several members of Pembroke Post 84, National Association of Black Veterans, gather at a recent meeting at the post building, 13161 East Central, Pembroke Township. Back row, from left: Mark Hodge, Dwayne Leftridge, Milton Murphy, Edward Howard and Jerry L. Hughes Sr. Middle row, from left: Vincent Craig Harrison Sr., Marlin Peoples, Carlin Peoples, Terry Roundtree, Rod Sessions, Bonita Jordan, JB Hamilton and Reggie Stewart. Seated, from left: James Glenn, Leonard Porter, Wanda Lewis-Fullmer, Herbert Griffin and Conrad Robinson.
Daily Journal/Phil Angelo
Members of Pembroke Chapter 84 of the National Association for Black Veterans attend the group’s monthly meeting in Pembroke in 2019. The group meets at 10 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month.
The NABVETS are working to help veterans and to help their community.
NABVETS is the National Association of Black Veterans. Pembroke Post 84 has just celebrated its 12th year of service in Kankakee County. The group, 41 members strong, operates a chapter building across from the Pembroke Public Library.
Informally known as the “Blue Building,” the chapter house at 13161 East Central, Pembroke Township, serves a number of purposes. The NABVETS have been there for five years. It was originally a grocery store, but is now subdivided into four sections. One portion serves as a post, offering entertainment for the community. Chapter Commander Rod Sessions explained that Saturdays are karaoke nights, Fridays are line dancing. Thursdays are cards and games. On Wednesdays, a fresh food lunch is prepared for veterans.
The building also has a banquet area. That room can be rented for weddings, anniversaries, reunions and other types of events. Sessions said it will be donated for nonprofit events. The NABVETS also organize their own community activities there, including ones for Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve, a cowboy rodeo party in conjunction with the Lating rodeo and a “Wear White” gala.
The goal, Sessions said, is to eventually fill the entire building with activities.
“We are a veterans organization first,” he said. Sessions is a Navy veteran, who served aboard the USS San Diego out of Norfolk, Va. His ship would be sent to the Mediterranean, serving the entire fleet there. “But we also serve the community as well,” he added.
Just recently, NABVETS started showing Saturday movies at the center, giving local youth an activity.
National NABVETS dues are $25 a year, along with local dues of $20 a month. Funds raised through the rental of the banquet hall also help the treasury. NABVETS now has a raffle to raise funds for the three annual $500 scholarships they award. One scholarship each goes to graduating students at Momence, Kankakee and St. Anne high schools.
The group also visits the Illinois Veterans’ Home in Manteno, two to three times a year, bringing toiletries to the men and women living there.
Sessions said that the best way for veterans to join is to attend a meeting. Meetings are held at the chapter house at 10 a.m. on the first Saturday of the month. There would be an exception when that day falls on a holiday.
Sessions said NABVETS remains open to opinions and suggestions for chapter activities. Potential new members are always welcome.
The chapter organizes commemorations for Veterans Day and Memorial Day. Veterans Day includes a breakfast. Memorial Day will be marked at 10 a.m. May 29 at Angel of Peace Cemetery.
Sessions said NABVETS will point veterans in the right direction to get help they need.
“A lot of veterans,” Sessions said, “do not know how to file a claim.” Many, he added, mistakenly think their Social Security will be reduced if they seek veterans support.
Sessions said the area has a lot of homeless veterans who need help. The veterans can be proud, Sessions said, sometimes not applying for help when help is available — and needed.
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