Membership
Meeting Minutes
In accordance with the National Constitution, transcribed copies of all Rolling Thunder® meetings are digitally recorded and kept on file for a minimum of eighteen months. Board of Director meeting minutes are confidential, and are not posted on this website.
The custodian of all minutes is the Chapter Secretary.
It is our policy to publish a 'draft' of the membership meeting minutes so members can view them and request a change or clarification if necessary. Only the current (last meeting) draft is available for comment. When the minutes of the previous meeting are read at the next membership meeting and voted on to accept, the draft will then be replaced with the current draft minutes.
Draft and Final meeting minutes are available in the members only secure area. You will need the password to view these documents. Please note: you only need to enter your password once to view all secured documents.
The custodian of all minutes is the Chapter Secretary.
It is our policy to publish a 'draft' of the membership meeting minutes so members can view them and request a change or clarification if necessary. Only the current (last meeting) draft is available for comment. When the minutes of the previous meeting are read at the next membership meeting and voted on to accept, the draft will then be replaced with the current draft minutes.
Draft and Final meeting minutes are available in the members only secure area. You will need the password to view these documents. Please note: you only need to enter your password once to view all secured documents.
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To view the current Draft Minutes, click on the picture - > |
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To view the final published minutes, click on the picture -> |
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New Member Packet
A new member packet, which contains information about the Chapter is located in the secure area of the website. You will need the password that was provided to you. Please click HERE to review these documents.
Member Roster
The member roster is updated every 90 days. The current roster is available in the secure area of the website. You will need your password to view the file. Members are encouraged to review the roster and notify the webmaster of any changes.
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Click on the picture to enter the secure area -> |
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Membership Information
The following information is an excerpt from our National Constitution.
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TAPS
This page is dedicated to Rolling Thunder® Inc Florida Chapter 1 members who have passed on
"In your hands, O Lord,
we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters.
In this life you embraced them with your tender love;
deliver them now from every evil
and bid them eternal rest."
we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters.
In this life you embraced them with your tender love;
deliver them now from every evil
and bid them eternal rest."
Thomas W, Mann
07/03/1943 - 09/27/2020 |
Tom Mann, Rolling Thunder® Florida Chapter 1 member passed away on September 27, 2020, at the age of 77. He was in the care of Hospice at the time of his passing. Tom is a U.S. Air Force and Vietnam Veteran.
We are grateful for the support that Tom provided to the Chapter through his music. Three of his songs are featured here on our website. His energy and willingness to help further the cause of the Chapter will be truly missed. Tom will be inurned at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery. |
Mario Esposito
10/16/1946 - 03/25/2020 |
Mario Anthony Esposito went to be with our Lord on Wednesday the 25th of March at Cape Canaveral Hospital. He will be greatly missed by his loving wife Linda Esposito, his daughters Melissa Esposito-Setler and Diane (Reese) Esposito, his granddaughter Madison Setler, his brother Ralph Esposito and his wife Joanna Esposito, as well as his nephews, nieces, cousins and friends that have become family.
Mario was born on October 16, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from William Cullen Bryant High School and went on to proudly serve four years in the US Navy on the USS Forrestal during the Vietnam War. He moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia in 1980 where he worked as a cable splicer for Verizon Communications until he retired in 2001. In 2015, he moved to Merritt Island, Florida with his wife to enjoy retired life. Mario was an active member of MI church, a member of Action Pro shooting team, Rolling Thunder Florida Chapter 1, Disabled American Veterans, and Knights of Columbus. He enjoyed fishing and spending time with family and friends. In recent years, many of his favorite times came from creating precious memories with his granddaughter. Mario lived his life to the fullest and encouraged those around him to do the same. He continually gave of himself to others, mostly through his larger than life personality. His remarkable sense of humor, which often included playing jokes on others, always brought laughter to many and light in difficult times. It was just one of the many reasons Mario was loved by so many. Linda and Mario are outstanding members, and he will be missed by the Chapter family. |
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Homer Ray Roof, age 75, a resident of Cocoa Beach, Florida and Shelby Ohio, died Saturday August 10, 2019 at his home in Shelby.
Born August 29, 1943 in South Webster, Ohio to Wilbur Eugene and Alice (Hale) Roof, he was a Shelby and Mansfield resident the majority of his life, before moving to Florida in 2014. He was employed with AK Steel in Mansfield, a leading producer of flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, and retired after thirty plus years of service. He was a member of the Moose Lodge, Rolling Thunder Chapter 1 of Florida, and the Kiwanis Club in Florida. Homer farmed for many years and was very passionate about the use of his heavy equipment. He loved playing poker, fishing and riding his motorcycle. Homer will be remembered for his outgoing personality and his desire to make sure everyone was having a great time. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one brother Clifton Roof. |
Homer Roof
08/29/1943 - 08/10/2019 |
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Lloyd Camp
08/01/1943 - 01/05/2019.
08/01/1943 - 01/05/2019.
Lloyd served his country in the U.S. Army as a Military Policeman, and saw duty in the Republic of Vietnam. He was a loyal member of the Chapter for the past three. He died at the Hospice facility in the Cape Canaveral Hospital. He will be sorely missed, and our thoughts and prayers are extended to his wife Teresa and the rest of his family.
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Gerald Walter
04/20/1933 - 12/23/2015
04/20/1933 - 12/23/2015
On December 23rd, 2015, Rolling Thunder® Florida Chapter 1 lost our beloved Board member and former POW Gerry Walter.
During WWII, SSG Gerry Walter had been assigned to the 763rd Bomb Squad, 460th Bomb Group and was reported MIA on July 19, 1944, as a result of an air combat mission over the vicinity of Munich, Germany. Gerry's plane was shot down, he suffered numerous injuries, and was taken prisoner by the Germans. He was returned to U.S. control on April 26, 1945.
Gerry was an active member of Rolling Thunder®, Florida Chapter 1. He was twice elected as a Board member, and he and his wife Flo participated in the Memorial weekend runs in Washington, D.C., The Ride Home in Andersonville, GA, and he could be counted on for Board and General meetings. In 2015 alone, he and Flo had participated in over 50 events.
Gerry will be sorely missed and our thoughts and prayers are with Flo and the family.
During WWII, SSG Gerry Walter had been assigned to the 763rd Bomb Squad, 460th Bomb Group and was reported MIA on July 19, 1944, as a result of an air combat mission over the vicinity of Munich, Germany. Gerry's plane was shot down, he suffered numerous injuries, and was taken prisoner by the Germans. He was returned to U.S. control on April 26, 1945.
Gerry was an active member of Rolling Thunder®, Florida Chapter 1. He was twice elected as a Board member, and he and his wife Flo participated in the Memorial weekend runs in Washington, D.C., The Ride Home in Andersonville, GA, and he could be counted on for Board and General meetings. In 2015 alone, he and Flo had participated in over 50 events.
Gerry will be sorely missed and our thoughts and prayers are with Flo and the family.
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Robert C. Smith
1923 - 12/31/2013
1923 - 12/31/2013
On December 31, 2013 we lost another former POW hero and Chapter 1 member, Robert “Bob” Smith.
Bob was inducted into the U.S. Army as an infantryman July 29, 1943, in Nashville, TN. After extensive training in the U.S. and northern England, he was transferred to the 83rd Infantry Division, where he ultimately boarded a ship from Wales bound for Omaha Beach in Normandy. They arrived in France on the 4th of July 1944.
Not long after arriving, Bob’s company encountered unexpected heavy enemy opposition. They were caught in a cross-fire of machine gun fire and mortars of the German 17th SS Division near the town of Saint-Lô. Many men in his company did not survive, and Bob was captured. He had severe shrapnel wounds to his left arm and back.
For the next 300 days Bob was a prisoner of war, primarily at Stalag VII-A where he and other prisoners were forced at bayonet-point to rebuild German rail lines routinely bomber by the American forces.
The winter of 1944 was the coldest on record in Germany and Bob contracted pneumonia. He was taken to a prison hospital run by the British where he overheard German guards telling hospital workers where to bury him when he died.
However, Bob recovered and joined other prisoners on work details in Freising and Landshut. After an especially heavy bombing in April 1945, the prison guards suggested that for safety reasons, they would lead the prisoners to Switzerland, where the guards would surrender to the Americans. So pretending to be a work detail, the group slipped away. Eventually the prisoners met a platoon of the 80th Infantry, and were taken to Regansburg, Germany, then on to Camp Lucky Strike on the French coast.
After a leave at home, Bob went to Miami Beach for R&R and then to Tallahassee to guard German prisoners. Bob was discharged December 4, 1945. He has 8 medals: Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Ex-POW medal, European Theater of Operations, Good Conduct, American Defense, American Campaign, and Combat Infantry.
Bob and his wife Nita are members of Rolling Thunder®, Inc. Florida Chapter 1, and he will be dearly missed.
Bob was inducted into the U.S. Army as an infantryman July 29, 1943, in Nashville, TN. After extensive training in the U.S. and northern England, he was transferred to the 83rd Infantry Division, where he ultimately boarded a ship from Wales bound for Omaha Beach in Normandy. They arrived in France on the 4th of July 1944.
Not long after arriving, Bob’s company encountered unexpected heavy enemy opposition. They were caught in a cross-fire of machine gun fire and mortars of the German 17th SS Division near the town of Saint-Lô. Many men in his company did not survive, and Bob was captured. He had severe shrapnel wounds to his left arm and back.
For the next 300 days Bob was a prisoner of war, primarily at Stalag VII-A where he and other prisoners were forced at bayonet-point to rebuild German rail lines routinely bomber by the American forces.
The winter of 1944 was the coldest on record in Germany and Bob contracted pneumonia. He was taken to a prison hospital run by the British where he overheard German guards telling hospital workers where to bury him when he died.
However, Bob recovered and joined other prisoners on work details in Freising and Landshut. After an especially heavy bombing in April 1945, the prison guards suggested that for safety reasons, they would lead the prisoners to Switzerland, where the guards would surrender to the Americans. So pretending to be a work detail, the group slipped away. Eventually the prisoners met a platoon of the 80th Infantry, and were taken to Regansburg, Germany, then on to Camp Lucky Strike on the French coast.
After a leave at home, Bob went to Miami Beach for R&R and then to Tallahassee to guard German prisoners. Bob was discharged December 4, 1945. He has 8 medals: Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Ex-POW medal, European Theater of Operations, Good Conduct, American Defense, American Campaign, and Combat Infantry.
Bob and his wife Nita are members of Rolling Thunder®, Inc. Florida Chapter 1, and he will be dearly missed.
