We Mourn the Passing of Heroic War Veteran Lt. Col. John W. Peterkin
We Mourn the Passing of Heroic War Veteran
Lt. Col. John W. Peterkin
It is with the deepest sadness we announce Lt. Colonel John W. Peterkin passed away on Saturday morning, June 6, 2020. LTC Peterkin was our beloved friend, freedom-loving patriot and decorated heroic war veteran, long standing member of the Queens Village Republican Club, “Veteran of the Year” honoree at the 139th Anniversary Lincoln Day Dinner, U.S. Navy WWII Veteran, U.S. Army Korean War Veteran, U.S. Army Vietnam War Veteran, U.S. Army, Infantry, Retired, and New York City Police Officer, Retired.
He was one of the greatest, kindest and most beautiful souls we have ever known, always caring, always high spirited, always giving, loving his family and friends, active and involved in Veterans causes and Republican campaigns until his last moments. We love him and will miss him dearly. R.I.P. our dear friend and great American hero.
WE REMEMBER LT. COL. JOHN W. PETERKIN
Photos and Complete Bio on the Occasion of the Honoring of LTC John Peterkin as “Veteran of the Year” at the 139th Anniversary Lincoln Dinner, February 9, 2014
For a lifetime of service to his city, state and nation in his U.S. military and civilian careers in the City of New York, Lt. Col. John W. Peterkin is highly deserving of the “Veteran of the Year” award and the praise and gratitude of all Americans.
Veteran of the Year Honoree, Lt. Col. John W. Peterkin
Lieutenant Colonel John W. Peterkin (Ret.) U.S. Army, a decorated war hero who served in WW II, the Korean War and Vietnam, leads a humble life in the charming Village of Bellerose Manor, Queens. A descendant of Jamaican, Native American and African heritage, John lives with his Vietnamese wife, Ngoc Thi, and his two sons, Captain Sylburn Van Peterkin, who serves in the U.S. Army Reserves and as a Police Officer for the City of New York, and Captain James Van Peterkin Thach (Ret.) U.S. Army, who was seriously wounded while serving in Iraq, and now supports the Wounded Veteran Initiative helping his fellow veterans.
Only the limited circle of John’s closest friends and family have known of his lifetime of service to our city, state and nation up until now. He now has the opportunity to tell his story given the occasion of being honored at the gala Lincoln Day Dinner on Feb. 9, hosted by the Queens Village Republican Club, of which he is a longtime member. With a stellar line-up of speakers in the elegant setting of the famous Antun’s of Queens Village, the Lincoln Day Dinner is a commemoration of our greatest American president and the father of the Republican Party, Abraham Lincoln.
A modest man, John realizes the value of passing on the baton to the next generation so they too will understand that freedom isn’t free. While many of his peers have long been deceased, he is still going strong at a ripe age of 86 and will speak out to share the heritage of our great warriors who have sacrificed life and limb so that freedom and democracy will live.
Grand Marshals of the 2014 Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade
He served in WW II in June 1945 as a U.S. Navy Steward’s Mate, First Class, in the Pacific area of operations and was released from active duty in August 1946. John then served two combat tours in the Korean War from May 1950 when he was commissioned from the City College of New York ROTC program. He was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia, the U.S. Army Infantry School, where he received Basic Infantry Officers Training (BIOC) and went on to serve in Korea as a First Lieutenant. He was released from active duty in 1954.
John was recalled to active duty in Vietnam where he served two combat tours between 1968 and 1973 as a U.S. Army Major. His first tour of active combat in Vietnam was from 1969 to 1970, where he was a District Senior Advisor, responsible for directing a team of 3000 field personal to provide civilian and military assistance to 80,000 Vietnamese. He was then called to Puerto Rico, to serve as an advisor to the Puerto Rican Army Reserves. His second combat tour in Vietnam was from 1972 to 1973, after which he was reassigned to Fort Dix, U.S. Army training center in N.J., with the 9th Infantry Training Division. He was released from active duty October 1973 and reassigned to Fort Meade, Maryland as an Operations and Training Officer for Reserve Affairs on the General Staff. For his service in Vietnam, John received two Bronze Stars and two Air Medal awards. He received numerous service awards for every war and every area of operation in which he served.
For the next five years after his active military service, he traded his U.S. Army fatigues for a civil service uniform in the NYPD. He served the citizens of the City of New York as a Police Officer, Teacher in the Police Academy, and Criminal Investigator. As a Police Officer, he served in various Precincts throughout the city and affected over 5000 arrests resulting in a 70% conviction rate.
Since then up until the present time, John has been active in security operations, education and training on a management and executive level as Director of Security at New York City Technical College (CUNY), Senior Operations Manager at New York University, Security Operations Supervisor at Time Warner Inc., and Chief Operations Officer at First Central Security in Fresh Meadows, Queens.
September 11th Memorial Community Gathering On September 11, 2016 at Tribute Triangle Park in Glen Oaks Village
In the civil service sector John has been actively involved in public safety and security for several decades. His lifetime memberships in Veterans organizations include: the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, American Legion, Catholic War Veterans, Korean War Veterans, Knights of Columbus, Military Officers Association of America, National Association for Uniformed Services, 24th Infantry Division Association, Uniformed Services Disabled Retirees, and others. He sits on the boards of the 77th Reserve Officers Association at Fort Totten, the Hospice Care Network of Long Island and Queens, and the 307th Infantry Regiment Association at Fort Totten.
John’s broad educational background includes a BA from City College of New York, an MA from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is also a graduate of the US Army’s Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas and a graduate of the U.S. Dept. of State Senior Advisor Course.
For a lifetime of service to his city, state and nation in his U.S. military and civilian careers in the City of New York, Lt. Col. John W. Peterkin is highly deserving of the “Veteran of the Year” award and the praise and gratitude of all Americans. All local Veterans organizations and their membership are invited to participate in the honoring ceremony of Lt. Col. Peterkin at the commemorative Lincoln Day Dinner on Feb 9th.
Grand Marshal of Little Neck-Doglaston Memorial Day Parade
Democrats like the Mensheviks will go into the Dustbin of History
Statement of the Queens Village Republican Club
June 2, 2020
Democrats like the Mensheviks will go into the Dustbin of History
By Phil Orenstein
All it took was a spark, the tragic police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, to trigger the explosion of anger and frustration that the radical left exploited to orchestrate the violent insurrection across America they had been planning for months.
Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Vladimir Lenin
The radicals strike when then see weakness, and that is what they saw in the largely Democrat run cities where the major riots broke out. These professional agitators have a well-planned strategy for the violent takeover of America which they can never accomplish peacefully through elections. Hours after the video of Floyd began circulating the internet, militant Antifa, Black Lives Matters cells and other radical socialist groups began deploying to Minnesota to riot, according to Andy Ngo, an American conservative journalist who studies the revolutionary tactics of the radical left. The anarchist-communist group, Antifa has perfected the art of rioting and chaos, first breaking store windows, calling in the looters, and then burning the place down. It is encouraging news that Antifa, whose stated goals are to abolish capitalism and law enforcement in America, will be designated as a terrorist organization as President Trump announced on Sunday May 31st.
Antifa and an amalgam of radical leftist movements in America including Black Lives Matter (BLM), Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and the Bernie Bros, have taken a page from Lenin’s playbook of the Bolshevik Revolution. They follow in the footsteps of murderous dictators such as Lenin, Castro, Mao, Pol Pot, and Maduro, who exploited the poverty, chaos and turmoil of their societies to take over through violent insurrections, since they could never achieve power through a peaceful election process.
History is repeating itself now as we are witnessing the battle of the moderates versus the radical left within the Democrat Party. Lenin’s totalitarian Bolsheviks split from the more moderate democratic Mensheviks, who were the popular establishment party, violently seized power, overthrew the Tsarist regime, and ultimately established the Soviet Union. Lenin hated the Mensheviks more than the Tsar, whom he had executed along with his entire family. Along with capitalism and democracy, Lenin annihilated the Mensheviks and sent them, as Trotsky chided “… into the dustbin of history!”
These radical socialist movements, all enthusiastic supporters of socialist Bernie Sanders during the Presidential Primaries, will not be supporting Joe Biden, as DSA and others stated. Similar to Lenin and the Mensheviks, the radical socialists hate the establishment Democrats more than the president. The political war the establishment Democrat-media complex waged against the Sanders presidential campaign and the system rigged against him to defeat him the second time, pushed them over the boiling point to set off “the powder keg that is growing all over this country,” in the words of Nina Turner, former top aide for Sander’s presidential campaign, inciting the flames of riot and revolt across the nation.
It’s ironic that the rioters attacked CNN Headquarters in Atlanta, since CNN promoted the righteousness of the riots. But CNN, the media arm of the Democrat establishment, played a major role in the defeat of Sanders. After his Nevada victory, Sanders was poised to sweep the nation and win the Democratic nomination. Biden was dead in the water. This frightened the Democrat-media establishment, and CNN conspired with them to undermine the Sanders campaign, blasting his age, his health after a heart attack, his way too expensive Medicare and tuition reforms, his far leftist leanings, and alleging “sexism” at the CNN debate. It was a full court press to defeat Sanders as Super Tuesday was approaching. So former rivals united around Biden who all exited the race giving their endorsement, as the fear and trembling of a Sanders victory took hold. The leftists vowed that if the nomination was stolen, wait for the riots to start.
Most of the rioting is happening now in Democratic strongholds, as payback for their offences against the left. Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Minneapolis, St Louis, Washington DC, Cleveland, some of the most dangerous cites in America, now hotbeds of rioting and unrest have been totally controlled by the Democrat Party for 50 years or more. The radical socialists doing the looting, burning, and causing chaos, do not care about the poverty, unemployment, the failing schools, the crumbling infrastructure, over-regulated businesses, or the black, the poor or minority populations living there. Their aim is to create chaos and take over when the people are sufficiently cowed and afraid. Democrat mayors and governors are giving them carte blanche to create havoc and destroy property and human life, as did leftwing Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey who surrendered the Third Police Precinct to the rioters. On top of that, the son of Minnesota AG Keith Ellison, and City Council member, officially declared his support for Antifa. Voters throughout America need to rise up and kick out these soft-on-crime political has-beens.
Democratic governors and mayors have been weak and spineless as the riots have consumed their cities and the people were left terrified and hopeless. The riot at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn was a well-organized attack orchestrated by radical socialist groups throwing bottles, bricks, Molotov cocktails and other debris at police. Police were injured, some almost killed, but that didn’t prevent Governor Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio as well as other elected officials from taking the side of the rioters and calling for an investigation into police responses, and Senator Gounares (D-Brooklyn) blaming the police when they were trying to defend themselves. Senator Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) and many other New York City Democrat elected officials, said they will no longer accept campaign contributions from police unions and declared, “we deserve a police force that is held accountable for racist behavior.” Setting the stage for lawlessness and mayhem, New York City with its bail reform laws releasing criminals to the streets and emptying city jails, welcomes the professional agitators expediting their plunder.
In contrast, the mayors and governors of Republican cities and Trump strongholds, who refuse to placate the rioters, who are not afraid to stand up to the criminals and thugs looting and rioting in the streets of their cities, have set curfews and declared state of emergency orders early on and rioting has been curtailed. While Democrats have failed to protect American lives or property, Republicans have protected this country from foreign adversaries and domestic foes since 1861, when Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president emancipated the slaves and won the Civil War. In 1864 he defeated the Democratic nominee, former General George McClellan who wanted to make peace with the South and discard the victory that Lincoln and the Union was about to achieve. Teddy Roosevelt saved this country with “big stick” diplomacy, built up our military, and made America a superpower. Eisenhower defeated the Nazis and stood up to the Soviet Union. Ronald Reagan defeated communism and the Soviet Union and won the Cold War.
The Republican Party is historically the Party of law and order and strong defense. They have always championed the protection of the people and always will. In 1968, the chaos and storming of the Democrat National Convention and the riots that shook the nation, paved the way for the victory of Richard Nixon who ran for president on a law and order platform. History is now repeating itself. On Monday June 1st, President Trump called himself “the president of law and order” and promised to restore security and safety and mobilize the United States military to American cities to stop the rioting and looting and protect the rights of Americans. When chaos happens, people seek law and order, and will vote for Republicans. Rudy Giuliani recently said: “Don’t elect progressive Democrats if you want to be safe.” Just like the Mensheviks, the Democrat Party is headed for the dustbin of history.
Phil Orenstein is the president of the Queens Village Republican Club. Established in 1875, it is America’s oldest Republican Club. www.QVGOP.org. Historian, Jerry Matacotta was the advisor for this article.
The Streets of New York
The Streets of New York
By Joseph Concannon
Today those who live in NY have ceded all authority to the elected officials. This is wrong. Government officials are supposed to represent us and not rule over us.
Where else but in the City of New York could you find a group of artists, second amendment advocates, free speech firebrands all have their right to assembly swept away in a heartbeat and absolutely no one is talking about it. The Constitution of the United States of America is suspended in the City of New York, in broad daylight while oligarchs like de Blasio and Cuomo, his brother, and other big and small elected officials laugh behind closed doors.
What good is an alarm if no one is ringing the bell? Right here in Eastern Queens, not a word about how elected government officials have abused their power. Why aren’t these city and state officials standing up and shouting that a Governor or a Mayor cannot suspend the U.S. Constitution? It is our right to make those decisions and not have them made for us. In good times and in bad, we as a nation have weathered many storms and this virus is not the first and not the last. Let the government advise and let the citizens decide. Not one newspaper, not one reporter, not one group of freedom loving people brave enough to stand up and say this is still the USA and we have a right to be heard. It is my right to demonstrate whenever and wherever I choose. The government does not give us this right, nor does any politician. The U.S. Constitution resolves those powers. Never forget it. It is our right unless we cower to the very people who would have us locked up in chains in our very homes. This is nuts!
What kind of America is this? Today those who live in NY have ceded all authority to the elected officials. This is wrong. Government officials are supposed to represent us and not rule over us. New Yorkers have gotten it all wrong and it is way beyond time to fight back. New York, the land of handouts, and weak leaders, needs to move on and get this state and city back to fighting strength. The men and women must stand up in the face of this fading pandemic and take the safeguards but get on with life. Stop this craziness.
We live in a state where the most vulnerable living in nursing homes were fed to the lions as Governor Cuomo ordered COVID patients into those buildings. No greater loss of life was felt in any other sector than in those very institutions. The helpless, the frail, the weak, many left alone suffered the fate of the infection so ordered by the Governor of New York. What do we hear about it – crickets, just crickets!
People are scared to death to wander outside their homes. What wisdom is there in creating a culture and atmosphere of fear, uncertainty, and doubt? Yet this is exactly what New York officials have done with the help of friends in the media. The young and old are literally afraid to leave their homes. Locked out of our public parks, storefronts closed, supermarkets barren, and small businesses folding up quicker than you can say ouch. People are scared to death and no one owns that message more than the elected zealots in City Hall and the NYS Legislature. Not one of them standing up for the normal average everyday New Yorker. It is a disgrace, we have lost all reason, logic, and common sense in our “Sanctuary City”.
Voting matters and elections have consequences. I have said in many forums and during many political discussions that voting matters and elections have consequences and it has never been truer, than today. Each of us owns a stake in New York – call it an investment. Our shares should be a tremendous value, unless we squander every opportunity, we must change the course of history. Our founders have warned us, they have prepared the road for us and it is upon every individual to take that step forward with flag in hand and exercise our charge. Lest we’re ready to set the stage for a second revolution, voting is the sole solution to what ails the Empire State.
