Military Monday - Toys for Tots - Chicago 1956

In 1956, my father was stationed in Chicago with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves and was part of the Toys for Tots campaign.  Here in the photo, my father and mother and the mayor and his wife are among the individuals looking on as the young “Tot” joyously receives her gift from Santa.

Toys for Tots - Chicago, IL
(Left) Capt. Frank and Betty Andersen, (Center) "Tot" and Santa, (Right) Mayor Richard J. Daley, and his wife Eleanor
Christmas 1956

Toys for Tots began in 1947 when Diane Hendricks asked her husband, Bill, a major with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves in Los Angeles, to deliver a doll she had made to an agency that gave toys to needy children at Christmas.  But, when he discovered that no such agency existed, Diane encouraged him to start one.  That Christmas, Bill and a group of other Marine Reservists delivered 5,000 toys to needy children.

Their project was so successful that, in 1948, the Marine Corps adopted the Toys for Tots program and expanded it nationwide. 

Bill Hendricks, a Marine Reservist on weekends, was in civilian life, the Director of Public Relations for Warner Brothers Studio.  This enabled him to convince a vast array of celebrities to support Toys for Tots.  In 1948, Walt Disney designed the Toys for Tots logo, which we use today.  

In 1956, Nat "King" Cole, Peggy Lee, and Vic Damone recorded a Toys for Tots theme song written by Sammy Fain and Paul Webster.

In 1995, the Secretary of Defense approved Toys for Tots as an official activity of the U. S. Marine Corps and an official mission of the Marine Corps Reserve. 

Since 1947, Marines have distributed more than 400 million toys to more than 188 million needy children in approximately 500 communities across the United States and Puerto Rico.  The initial objective that remains the hallmark of the Toys for Tots program today is to “bring the joy of Christmas to America’s needy children.”  Without a doubt, the U.S. Marines have held true to that objective.

For more information on this great program, click on Toys for Tots Foundation.

©2011 – Frank’s Daughter All Rights Reserved

Military Monday - Herschel Lander with the 4th Corps Balloon Group

Corp. Herschel S. Lander, World War I

My husband's great uncle, Herschel S. Lander
(23 Jun 1890-28 May 1940), son of Warren and Annah Lander, was in France during World War I with the American Expeditionary Force, 4th Corps Balloon Group.

On back of World War I Postcard Photo reads the following:

Mr. W. J. Lander & Family

A Merry Xmas
  &
A Happy New Year
Corp. Herschel S. Lander
Headquarters Co. Balloon Group
4^th Army Corps
Am. E.F.
A.R.O.775.

World War I Balloon units of the U.S. Army:

• 1st Corps Balloon Group consisted of the 1st, 2nd, and 5th Balloon Companies.
• 3rd Corps Balloon Group consisted of the 3rd, 4th, 9th, and 42nd Balloon Companies.
• 5th Corps Balloon Group consisted of the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 12th Balloon Companies.
• First U.S. Army Balloons consisted of the 1st Corps Balloon Group which consisted of the 11th and 43rd Balloon Companies.
• 4th Corps Balloon Group consisted of the 15th, 16th, and 69th Balloon Companies.
• 6th Corps Balloon Group consisted of the 10th Balloon Company.

Air Service World War I posters fromWikipedia

For more information, go to www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records

©2011 – Frank’s Daughter All Rights Reserved

Military Monday - School, Wedding, and Korea

June 27, 1950. Truman orders troops to South Korea to participate in a UN force that will help repel North Korean troops from the country, the beginning of U.S. involvement in the Korean War.

One year later, on June 30, 1951, Frank Andersen, U.S.M.C., takes a short break from his Communications studies in Quantico, Virginia to marry Betty Cosby in her home town of Richmond, Virginia.  He returns to his studies and graduates in August.

August 1951-Communications School Graduation-Quantico, VA

Frank Andersen (third row back, second from left)

The following month, Frank ships out to Korea.  He will be stationed there as a communications officer from September 1951 through June 1952.

©2011 – Frank’s Daughter All Rights Reserved

Military Monday - and Sports: USMC Camp Pendleton Football



1967 5th Service Batalion 5th Marine Division Football Team

©2011 – Frank’s Daughter All Rights Reserved