June 2, 2007
Falcon-Peyton Memorial Post 2008 is established in 2007 in Falcon, Colorado. The Temporary Charter is signed by the Charter Members and certified by William Marshall on June 2nd, 2007. The Temporary Charter is submitted to Department of Colorado and National.
Falcon-Peyton Memorial Post 2008 Charter Members:
Alva E. Bendure III
Robert D. Bates
Charles W. Farrell
Shan Gallagher
Ovid Graves
Bruce E. Gronczniak
Clarence D. Harris
Brian Heflin
Geoffrey M. Hegdahl
Katherine A. Isabella
Raymond B. Jordan
Robert Keiley
Bengt (Ben) Monson
Bill Romine
Daniel N. Spain
Jennifer C. Spain
Donald L. Sullivan
Joel Theriault
Falcon-Peyton Memorial Post 2008 First Officers:
*Alva Bendure - Commander
*Robert Bates - Senior Vice Commander
*Theodore Fransk - Junior Vice Commander
Anthony Pizzi - Adjutant
*Keith Moulton - Finance Officer
*Gerald Roby - Sergeant-At-Arms
*Charlie Farrell - Chaplain
Jeffrey Houchin - Historian
*Katherine A. Isabella - Service Officer
*Denotes Charter Members
May 15, 2008
In May 2008, the name of the post was officially changed to American Legion Dane R. Balcon Post 2008 in honor of Army Specialist Dane R. Balcon, the first person in the Falcon community to lose his life in combat. Dane was born on 27 April 1988, at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. He joined the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) at Warren High School, San Antonio, Texas. After moving to Colorado Springs in 2004 and then later to Falcon in 2005, Specialist Balcon led the JROTC at both Sand Creek and Falcon High Schools as the Armed Drill Commander. In 2007, he enlisted in the Army as a Fire Support Specialist. He attended Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training with 2nd Platoon, Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, and 40th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Upon graduation, Specialist Balcon received his first duty assignment to 3rd Squadron 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood, Texas. He deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in Balad, Iraq, on 7 July 2007 and on 5 September 2007 he completed his mission--doing what he loved--serving his country. Dane R. Balcon was laid to rest on 14 September 2007 at Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver, Colorado.
Aug 18, 2008
Post 2008 held its 1st Annual Golf Challenge at the Fort Carson Golf Course. Active duty, retired military, and the general public were all invited and enjoyed a beautiful day on the course. We raised enough money to keep the post’s community activities going for the year. After this first event, the challenge has been moved to the Antler Creek Golf in Falcon, Colorado.
Nov 11, 2008
On Tuesday, 11 November, at 1100, American Legion, Dane R. Balcon Post 2008, conducted a celebratory ceremony at the Dane R. Balcon Park to honor Falcon, surrounding communities, and the nation’s veterans. This was the first and hopefully will be a standing Falcon tradition to honor the men and women who have and continue to serve our country. There was a good turnout from the local community and members of our post who enjoyed watching the Sand Creek High School ROTC perform. A small reception followed the ceremony at the West Woodman Hills Community Center. Post 2008 would like to thank all who were involved for making this a great event.
May 23, 2009
American Legion Dane R. Balcon Post 2008 and local Boy and Cub Scout Troops 228, 231 and 159, placed flags on veteran's graves at Eastonville Cemetery to honor the veteran's service to our country. The flags remained at the cemetery through Memorial Day. This is the second time Post 2008 has placed flags at the cemetery and they plan to continue the tradition every Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
In the past, a Colorado Springs VFW placed flags on the graves. The Falcon American Legion Post decided to take on the responsibility of this event as part of its continuing community involvement. Historically, the American Legion and the Boy Scouts have a long-standing working reputation and both local organizations plan to continue their working relationship to better the Falcon community.
Dane R. Balcon Post 2008 Commander Al Bendure pays his respects to a Civil War veteran after placing a United States flag in the Eastonville Cemetery. There are three Civil War veterans buried at the cemetery. Also pictured are Post 2008 historian Jeff Houchin and his son Wyatt.
May 26, 2011
Post 2008 worked with Woodmen Hills Metropolitan District to build a Memorial Wall for the Woodmen Hills Community at Balcon Park. The wall is for both military and civilian memorials. Woodmen Hills sold two large plaques and 42 smaller tiles to place into the wall. The center piece was to be the plaque from Balcon Park dedicating the park to Dane R. Balcon. Post 2008 was able to find volunteers to construct the wall, donate supplies, and donate their time. All that was asked from Post 2008 was to provide manpower and donate $400 for mortar. The volunteers to do the work and donate supplies were: Ken Mann, Bill Ryan, and John Ruppert. With the help of several members of Post 2008, the construction began May 26. The plan was to complete the wall before Memorial Day weekend and dedicate it during a ceremony on Memorial Day. However it took longer than expected and the wall was not completed until June.
Aug 27, 2014
The new American Legion Riders program in Falcon was officially installed on Wednesday, 27 August, 2014 at Dane R. Balcon Post 2008 with Frank Serrano selected as the President of the Chapter. Frank thanked everyone for their help, including Post 38 members for their help in getting the charter completed. The first meeting for the Legion Riders is 12 September at Latigo Community Center. The Post 2008 ALR Officers are as follows: Frank Serrano (President), CJ Baker (Vice President), Edward Miller (Secretary), Jim Williams (Treasurer), Nathan Nidiffer (Sgt-of-Arms), John Hymer (Road Captain), Bob Deck (Chaplain), and Tony Phelps (Historian)
Dec 7, 2014
American Legion Post 2008 Ladies Auxiliary was established on December 7, 2015, with Dee Levesque selected as the President of the organization.
Dec 08 2015
The Son's of the American Legion program in Falcon was officially installed on Tuesday, 08 December, 2015 at Dane R. Balcon Post 2008. The new Executive Board was sworn in left to right: Stone Carney, Justin Serrano, Jake LePage, Jason Serrano, and David Noble.