The Sgt. Audie Murphy Club crest was designed by one of the original organizers of the club, Mr. Don Moore, a professional illustrator from Killeen, Texas. The colorized version was created from a copy of the original drawing by Richard Rodgers, Aud...
A club for noncommissioned officers in the U.S. Army Military District of Washington (MDW) is looking for energetic Soldiers who would like to volunteer and provide leadership in the civilian and military communities.
The MDW Sgt. Audie Murphy Club is a collection of noncommissioned officers from area Army bases, and the club president would like to see increased involvement so volunteerism and activities can be increased.
"I would say we have 25 to 30 [active] people," said current president Sgt. 1st Class Jessica Taylor. "I know the most active numbers are about 10 - I know that I can count on getting e-mails or phone calls from those 10. I would like to triple that. A normal club has 40 or so active members. The more people we have, the more events we can participate in."
The local Audie Murphy Club is currently volunteering for at-large work at the Cherry Blossom festival during the first weekend of April and to chip in at the Best Warrior competition. More club events are planned for late spring and summer.
"We have some fundraisers. We're going to do the Joint Armed Forces Services day on Andrews Air Force Base. That's a fundraiser. This is in May," said Taylor. "In June, we have the Audie Murphy birthday -- we always do a wreath-laying on the grave. That's one of our biggest events. We're trying to rally other Sgt. Audie Murphy clubs from other bases to join us for that."
The club's namesake, Audie Murphy, was the most decorated American Soldier of World War II and a Medal of Honor recipient. He is buried near the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery.
Taylor mentioned that Murphy Club memberships transfer from any Army installation. As for new members, Taylor emphasizes the Sgt. Murphy Club is based on leadership and volunteerism.
"Our main goal for the organization right now is to support the military and civilian communities," said Taylor. "We do volunteerism on both sides. In the Army, the Audie Murphy Club is installation-wide and covers one base. Here [in Washington D.C.] this club spans the entire National Capital Region, from Fort A.P. Hill to Fort Belvoir to Fort Meade to the Pentagon. We try to rally them all in, but many have special missions and our NCO Soldiers are tasked out."
Even though consolidating area membership is the biggest challenge, the club will tackle a number of huge projects during the warm weather months.
"We're planning a Fort Belvoir [summer] camp," Taylor said. "With the children of the Department of Defense, they are trying to bring in some Baltimore Ravens football players to have a football camp [clinic]. We will sponsor this and work as volunteers in July."
The club, not quite 13 years old, meets every third Wednesday at the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Dining Facility at 11:30 a.m. Active duty Army, Army National and Reserve Guard NCOs in the rank of Corporal through Sgt. First Class, who directly supervise Soldiers are eligible to become candidates for membership.
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