DAV Department of Michigan

06/17/2022

Comrades and Friends,

On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger of the Union Army landed in Texas with news that the Civil War had ended, and all slaves were now free. Please join our department in celebration of the liberation of African Americans from slavery on this Juneteenth holiday weekend.

05/29/2022

Comrades and friends,

On this Memorial Day weekend, the DAV Department of Michigan joins you in solemn remembrance as we pay homage to our Brothers and Sisters in Arms that have paid the ultimate sacrifice defending our great country.

“The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart….should swell into a mighty chorus of remembrance, gratitude and rededication on this solemn occasion.” – Abraham Lincoln

We honor our fallen by continuing to share their stories with the children of tomorrow. We also honor the families of those lost, as they bear a burden only they can comprehend.

We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to all of our members and friends who remain dedicated to serving our veteran community every day; Together we recognize that the cost of every day spent under our blanket of freedom has been paid by our fallen heroes, and is continuing to be paid by those that love them most.

May we never forget the cost freedom.

Yours in Comradeship,

DAV Department of Michigan

02/28/2022

02/07/2022

The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Expeditionary Operations Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces.

02/06/2022

Berry Gordy Jr.

Service: Army
War: Korean War
Notable for: Known as the founder of Motown Records in Detroit, Berry Gordy paved the way for what became a revered Motown sound that included pioneers of music like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson and The Temptations.

Gordy, however, spent his early life as a journeyman. He dropped out of school to pursue a career as a boxer, which was cut short after the Army drafted him to serve during the Korean War in 1951.

When his service ended in 1953, Gordy found himself an employee on an assembly line at the Ford Motor Company in Detroit. He began writing music then, which he parlayed into a career by borrowing $700 from his father to form his own company to make and sell records.

Motown Records earned the distinguished honor of being the most lucrative and highest-earning African American business for more than 25 years. Gordy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama in 2016.

02/06/2022

In the first year of the Iraq War, seven soldiers were captured and held prisoner by the Iraqi forces. Specialist Shoshana Johnson, America’s first Black female prisoner of war.

02/03/2022

Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Sr.
1940: First black general officer in the regular Army and the U.S. Armed Forces

Benjamin Davis
Davis entered the service during the war with Spain as a temporary first lieutenant of the 8th U.S. Volunteer Infantry. In 1899, he was discharged from the service. In June of the same year, he enlisted again, this time as a private in the 9th Cavalry. He then served as corporal and squadron sergeant major, and on Feb. 2, 1901, he was commissioned a second lieutenant of Cavalry. Davis served as an inspector for the Inspector General and later as a special investigator for the Secretary of War's Advisory Committee on Negro Troop Policies. His investigations of discrimination and racial disturbances brought to light the problems of a racially closed military.

02/02/2022

Delphine Metcalf-Foster, National Commander

Delphine Metcalf-Foster, a disabled U.S. Army veteran, was elected National Commander for the more than 1 million-member DAV at the organization’s 2017 National Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Vallejo, California native’s military career included service with the U.S. Army Reserve, 689th Quartermaster Unit, 6253rd Hospital Unit and 6211th Transportation Unit, Letterman Army Medical Center. She retired from the Army Reserves with the rank of first sergeant in 1996.

Metcalf-Foster was injured in January 1991 while serving in Saudi Arabia in support of Desert Storm/Desert Shield. At the time she was supporting the Grave Registration Company mission. She was medically evacuated to Germany for care and treatment.

Metcalf-Foster is a life member of DAV Chapter 21, Vallejo, California. She currently serves on the First Data Military Advisory Council and is a member of the DAV Department of California Claims and Service Committee, and has served as Chairman for the DAV Department of California Resolution Committee. Metcalf-Foster also completed a four year appointment as a member of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on Women Veterans in November 2015.

A retired Quality Assurance work leader from the Alameda Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, Metcalf-Foster’s leadership has been sought at the local, state, and national levels. She served as chairman of the Hospital/Volunteer Intern Committee, National 16th District Executive Committee, and has served as director and treasurer for DAV at the national level.

A graduate of Solano Community College and Sonoma State University, Metcalf-Foster majored in psychology and liberal studies. She currently resides in Vallejo, California, and is the mother of three children, Linda, Shawn and Dana.