Celebrate Independence Day with Dode Morris VFW Post 1760 this July 4th! We will be open Sunday, July 4, 2021, at 1:00 PM. Veterans’ organization members and auxiliary members are always welcome here! Not a member but eligible for VFW membership or VFW Auxiliary? We want to talk to you about joining us. Come in out of the heat for a cold drink and a hot dog. The weather forecast is sunny, breezy, and increasingly humid. Join us in our beautifully renovated canteen. Please also take time this Fourth of July Weekend to reflect on our nation’s founding and the many sacrifices of men and women that made and kept our independence a reality! See a few resources below, including a link to the Declaration of Independence and Mesa celebrations planned. Be aware that the federal paid holiday observance is Monday, July 5, 2021.
Fund Raising
Our Auxiliary will be fundraising with a hot dog sale. We also have VFW “Buddy”® Poppies for donation, all Buddy Poppy donations going to veteran relief directed by our post commander or membership vote.
It has been a tough year plus, but we were blessed with two generous gifts, allowing us to keep operating and continue serving veterans and our community. Most recently, members came together to prepare and auction a donated Chevy Astro van! The sealed bid auction was a great success, at minimal cost to the post (emissions, title and registration, and vehicle detailing for sale preparation), and we will discuss where best to apply the proceeds at our July 17th membership meeting.
Independence Day Resources: National
You can find the downloadable image of the original, signed Declaration of Independence on the official National Archives website. This also includes the famous William J. Stone copperplate engraving completed in 1823. In an era before photographs and computers, this engraving was officially commissioned to preserve the image of the original document, which was already showing signs of fading and wear.
There is one line of text along the bottom edge on the back of the Declaration. It reads, “Original Declaration of Independence dated 4th July 1776,” This docket (identifying label) was visible when the document was rolled up for storage.
You are invited to join the Founders, virtual signing the Declaration of Independence:
Are you sure you want to sign the Declaration of Independence?
If you had been a member of the Second Continental Congress in 1776, you were a rebel and considered a traitor by the King. You knew that a reward had been posted for the capture of certain prominent rebel leaders and the largest British armada ever assembled was just outside New York harbor. Affixing your name to the document meant that you pledged your life, your fortune, and your sacred honor to the cause of freedom.
The whole text is available as a transcription of the Declaration of Independence. Here is how it starts [spelling and punctuation original, emphasis added]:
In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
Independence Day Resources: Mesa, Arizona
You can enjoy the Arizona Celebration of Freedom firework spectacular from the large parking area of the old Fiesta Mall. Mesa residents have used the vantage point of the elevated parking structure to watch Valley fireworks for decades. Admission is free, and fireworks should start at 9PM. The address is 1425 W. Southern Avenue, Mesa 85202.
Saturday, July 3
1425 W. Southern Avenue, Mesa 85202
(Fiesta Mall)
Parking lots open at 7 pm
Fireworks 9 – 9:30 pm
Please check the FAQ and General Information to ensure you have a great time at this public event.
