Spirit & pride shine through VFW efforts for troops: across the country, VFW came out to boost morale among deployed service personnel and their families

VFW Magazine, August, 2003 by Janie Blakenship

As the nation braced itself for the inevitable Iraq War, Posts from Batavia, Ill., to Belleville, N.J., geared up for an important VFW mission: troop support. Yellow ribbons were brought out just in case, Blue Star flags ordered, and deploying units adopted.

For the majority of young men and women, heading to war was a first. VFW members remember what it is like going to war for the first time. So they make the transition smoother by offering reinforcement on the home front.

In Moscow, Idaho, Post 2905 and the Chamber of Commerce spearheaded a care package drive. Don Meyer, Post commander, remembered some of the basic items he would have liked in Vietnam and came up with a care package list.

Most "troop bags" included batteries, writing tablets, pens, gum, shampoo and sunscreen. Students in the Moscow school system also contributed letters and drawings for each of the 150 bags. "We had a lot of community support for this project," Meyer said.

The bags were shipped to Iraq on April 18 from Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington.

Louisville, Ky., Post 1170 teamed up with the Boy and Girl Scouts, as well as with UPS, to pack 300 "goodie boxes." The packages were given to a unit of the Kentucky Air National Guard, soon to be deployed.

Post 1197 in Batavia, Ill., has long been known for its support of troops in times of both war and peace. Members launched "Batavia Cares" to jumpstart the community into creating gift packs to ship overseas. According to Ralph Gebes, Post public relations officer, the response has been tremendous.

"The list of supporters for our program continues to grow daily," he said. "And we've received such gracious letters from the troops."

One soldier wrote: "I just received one of your care packages ... it all will come in handy. It does everyone here good to know that people back home care about and support us."

The more troops deployed to Iraq, the more items were shipped overseas. Post 7591 members in Madison, Wis., shipped 450 pounds of necessities to Kuwait on March 21, only two days after the war began. The care packages were sent to one soldier who distributed them. In Dubois, Pa., Post 813 mailed 100 boxes of toiletries and snacks to Iraq.

Others, like Post 10406 in Cochrane-Buffalo City, Wis., went so far as to take out ads in local newspapers to solicit items for care packages. Members there received such things as lotion, wet wipes, beef jerky, pocket-sized Bibles and puzzle books.

As much appreciated as the care packages surely are, telephone cards remain the most popular item. That's where Operation Uplink comes in.

'We Can't Forget Them'

VFW's Operation Uplink, a program that provides pre-paid phone cards to troops and hospitalized veterans, grew in popularity during the war. It even received recognition in the March 28 edition of USA Today, which noted that more than 1 million phone cards had been distributed since November 2002.

In Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Graham Crutchfield of Post 9894 launched one of the largest Post fund-raising endeavors ever. Through a series of newspaper articles and ads, more than $15,000 was raised for this phone card program.

"Phone cards are sent directly to the Coeur d'Alene Press and the Post Falls Press, and relatives of overseas troops can pick up the cards there," Crutchfield said. "Every penny donated went to the purchase of the phone cards. There are no administrative costs involved."

He said the original goal was to raise $12,500 for cards for Kootenai County military families, but that has been surpassed and continues to grow.

In Wisconsin, members of the 107th Maintenance Company received phone cards before deploying. Then-District 11 Commander Cal Wells and members of Posts 3032 and 8021 of Viroqua and Westby, Wis., respectively, visited the National Guard unit days before deployment to deliver the phone cards.

Post 5303 in Woodsfield, Ohio, received a $1,000 donation, which kicked off its Operation Uplink fundraising campaign. To date, the Post has collected more than $2,000, according to Susan Paulus, publicity chairman.

"A lot of people think the war is over and that we don't need donations" Paulus said. "That's just not true. We still have men and women over there, and we can't forget them."

Founded in 1996, Operation Uplink has backed troops from the Balkans to the Middle East for seven years.

One way Posts can distribute phone cards en masse is through VFW's Military Assistance Program (MAP). MAP's Adopt-a-Unit program assists Posts in "adopting" units overseas and stateside.

In Fawn Grove, Pa., Post 7133--among the smaller Posts--has delivered more than 400 calling cards to military personnel. It has received kudos from deployed troops, too.

"Your generous contribution is greatly appreciated and will not be forgotten," wrote Air Force 1st Sgt. John Sizemore of the 175th Logistics Squadron. "I salute your Post."

Another Pennsylvania Post recently adopted a Pennsylvania National Guard unit--A Co., 2nd Bn., 112th Inf. Post 1754 in Huntingdon hosted a luncheon for the Guardsmen and presented them with phone cards.