UPDATE Regarding EVENTS

With thousands of like-minded followers, Patriot Connections has been dedicated to providing our veteran, military, first responder and patriot community with a comprehensive resource of events in NJ, PA and the surrounding areas for the last 10 years - including resources for veterans and first responders. Whether it's information on upcoming 5K Runs/Walks, Sporting Events, Job Fairs, Town Hall Meetings, Motorcycle Runs, Ceremonies, Dinners, Dances, Honor Missions, Welcome Homes, Golf Outings, or Resources for our Veterans, Military and 1st Responders. 

November 2021 - Over the last couple of years (including COVID), many events were cancelled/postponed and most organizations have chosen to list their events on social media platforms such as Facebook. Due to decrease in organizations listing their events directly on the Patriot Connection website, we primarily just list events on the Patriot Connections Facebook Page. Feel free to visit our Facebook Page for upcoming events and submit your events there. 

 

 

11 Mar

29th Annual Veterans Prayer Breakfast

03/11/2017    
9:00 am
On Saturday, March 11th, the Camden County Freeholder Board and Veterans Advisory Committee will host the 29th Annual Veterans Prayer Breakfast. The Freeholder Board uses this opportunity to honor veterans from all branches of service for their sacrifices and contributions to our grateful nation. This annual service provides an opportunity for the community to show our collective gratitude to the more than 33,000 veterans living throughout Camden County. Saturday, 11 March, 2017 0900 Hours Chews United Methodist Church 319 Black Horse Pike, Glendora, NJ Please RSVP to Camden County Veterans Affairs Office at 856-374-5801.
11 Mar

Women Veterans Conference & Information Fair

03/11/2017    
9:00 am - 3:00 pm
The MyVA New Jersey Veterans and Community Collaborative Network is hosting a conference and information fair for women Veterans. Come share your experiences as a woman Veteran using your healthcare and other benefits in New Jersey. Engage with other women Veterans during the panel and information fair. VA representatives, and other service providers will be in attendance. FREE LUNCH PROVIDED FREE CHILDCARE PROVIDED. Space is limited!!! Please contact Jennifer Myers at 973-297-3384 to reserve space for your child(ren) no later than March 6, 2017.
11 Mar

Chili Cook Off - VFW Pennsauken

03/11/2017    
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Get your apron on and show off your stuff! Prizes for best chili in three categories: Mild, Medium or Mean. Enter one or more, but you MUST sign up by March 3rd. Call the post (856) 317-9081 after 4:00PM weekdays or after 11:00AM weekends if you can’t stop in. More info contact Chuck at rtg-mars@hotmail.com
VFW Annual Chili Cook-Off

VFW Annual Chili Cook-Off

03/11/2017    
2:00 pm
Is yours the best Chili in town?  Let's have a taste test.  Prizes for the best in each of three categories: Mild Medium Mean No entrance fee.  $5.00 to taste and judge.  Call or come in to sign up by March 4th, please
11 Mar

Chili Cook-Off - Blue Knights MC

03/11/2017    
7:00 pm
Blue Knights Rock Chili Cook Off March 11th at The PigPen, 7 Fourth Ave., Patterson. $20 includes Food, Beverages and Chili. Live Music by "Unhinged". Trophy and cash prize for best Chili. Cash also for 2nd and 3rd . Contact AJ in advance to enter your chili 386-264-1531
11 Mar

Second Saturday Covered Dish Night

03/11/2017    
7:00 pm
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Glassboro Memorial Post 275 Wilmer Street Glassboro, NJ 08028 Bring your favorite “Irish” dish tt share! Featuring Greg Armstrong Featuring the Seductive Sounds of Greg Armstrong! Enjoy Greg Armstrong with his warm resonant, smooth style and on spot delivery as he pays tribute to Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, & Bobby Darin. You never know who may stop by to entertain us! Please come out and support the Post and enjoy the Camaraderie of your fellow Veterans. Invite your friends to join us
 


PATRIOT CONNECTIONS DOG TAG PROJECT

The Patriot Connections DOG TAG PROJECT MISSION: Return dog tags that were lost and found to the veterans they belong to or their families. If you believe we may have your dog tag please contact Director of Research/Returns Sue Quinn-Morris at squinn9807@aol.com or 856-495-7270.

THE DOG TAG COLLECTIONS

SOUTH JERSEY COLLECTION – This collection of dog tags (450) journey home began in 1993 from DaNang and China Beach area in Vietnam where they were being sold in shops. Gloucester County Time Reporter Jim Six asked the then Deptford Police Chief Ray Milligan to purchase as many as he could and bring them home, as Milligan traveled back and forth to Vietnam for Operation Smile. He brought back 450 of them and gave them to Jim Six. Over the years several people/organizations worked with Jim Six on returning some of the dog tags. In 2010, he gave the rest to us to try and locate and return the rest of them. With much effort and research, we have located many, completed returns and have more returns underway throughout the United States. 

BOUGOURD COLLECTION - This collection of dog tags began their journey home after British Army/Navy veteran, Aaron Bougourd, received them from the family of Major Thien in 2006. Bougourd had been volunteering for the Father Ray Foundation Orphanage in Thialand when he met Major Thien, and helped him find his lost family in Vietnam. Thien, a South Vietnamese officer living as a refugee. Major Ly Kim Thien was commissioned as an officer of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force in 1964 and served in several capacities throughout Vietnam up until the fall of Saigon in 1975. It was after this that he was sent to a communist reeducation camp, where he was tortured and forced to denounce his anti-communist beliefs. In 1994 he escaped Vietnam on foot through Cambodia and on to Thailand, which is where Aaron Bougourd met him. Thien’s family, as a token of appreciation, gave Bougourd some dog tags they had found at Ben Hoa Air Base. Aaron, a resident of the UK, reached out and sent some of the dog tags to Patriot Connections Dog Tag Project to help return them. Returns are underway. 

SANTAYANA COLLECTION - Touring the Ho Chi Minh trail in 1998, Wall Street trader Manny Santayana stumbled onto a Vietnamese man who made a living out of extracting bombs from the ground, grinding up the metal and selling it for profit. Sometime he would stumble upon dog tags from U.S. soldiers, which he would collect and store in an ammo bag under his bed. Santayana paid him $100 for 105 dog tags and brought them back home.Over the next several years, he was able to make some returns to dog tag owners, but he eventually became too busy to continue with the research. He then enlisted the help of Senator James Beach, who formed a committee for dog tag returns – Quinn-Morris has researched and facilitated returns from this collection. The collection is stored in the NJ State House.

HUTCHINGS COLLECTION - In December 2012, Jack Hutchings, a prominent businessman in Florida,  had been traveling on his yacht in the Solomon Islands. There, the villagers gave him some American WWII dog tags they had found. He brought them home in hopes of getting them returned to the veterans/families. . Upon returning home, he stumbled across a newspaper article in the Orlando-Sentinel about the dog tag return to USMC Vietnam veteran, James Alderman that we did. This prompted him to contact us in hopes that we could located and return the dog tags to the veterans/families they belong to.

MISC COLLECTIONS - From time to time we are contacted by people that have found dog tags and are looking for help in returning them. As long as they are looking to do so with NO CHARGE to the veteran, we do aide them in finding and returning.

Organizations helping with Dog Tag Project The following organizations have and continue to aid with the return of the dog tags nationwide; Nam Knights of America MC, American Legion Riders, VFW Riders, Warriors Watch Riders, Patriot Guard Riders, various American Legion Posts and VFW Posts. Returns have taken place in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida, Illinois, New York, Arizona, Tennessee, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Ohio, Maine, Kentucky, Washington DC, Oregon, Texas, California, Washington and Michigan.

It is essential to the Project that the dog tags are handled and delivered to the veterans and/or their families in a dignified manner.  From the moment the dog tag is handed off, to the moment it reaches the hand of the veteran, the dog tag is well cared for and attended to, to ensure that it arrives to the veteran/family safely. If you believe we may have your dog tag, or a dog tag that belongs to a family member or friend, please contact Director of Research/Returns Sue Quinn-Morris at squinn9807@aol.com or 856-495-7270.

* Over 100 dog tags have been reunited with the veterans/families they belonged to. Please bear with us as we update the dog tag return stories and dog tag lists *