Memorial Day 2012 - Keep Veterans In Your Thoughts

Memorial Day 2012 is fast approaching and the flags will be flying and the parades will be marching. After the ceremonies many people will put the veterans out of their thoughts for another year. This would be a good time to change that way of thinking.

I am a member of the Lions Club and we are for the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that helps returning soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq deal with their physical and mental disabilities. We are selling tickets for the May 30 Lake Erie Crushers game for $9 with $3 from every ticket going directly to Wounded Warrior. There will be a salute to our veterans, American Legion Post 211 will have its Rifle Squad and Honor Guard will present the colors, and there will be a 50/ 50 raffle. Tickets can be purchased through Thursday, May 24 by contacting myself at 440-381-9843 or at my email at jimangus59@aol.com. To make donations directly to the charity and receive a tax deduction, go to https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/group-fundraising/avon.

While being involved in this project, I have gotten an education in human nature and giving. We were contacted by a senior couple who organized their retired friends into a group of twenty and even tried to apologize to me for not doing more!  The hsband is a Vietnam vet and although he never said it, one wonders if he felt so strongly about Wounded Warrior because of what he and his returning soldiers had to deal with in a hostile homefront. 

Another experience I had was with a landscaper who was working on the weekend trying to catch up on his work. He took time out of his work day to meet up with me and not only bought tickets for himself, he gave me cash to buy tickets for veterans to attend the game-on him. He offered to bring his family to help serve the vets at the pre-game dinner that the is sponsoring-all at their own cost. The landscaper further told me that he has taught his young children to walk up and thank a veteran they meet-something we all need to do more.

What started out as another fund-raiser, has turned into a learning experience for me. With good people who are all around us, organizations like Post 211 that supports our entire community, we are all beneficiaries of the soldiers who have put their lives on the line for us and our freedom. So this Memorial Day, whether or not you decide to purchase tickets for the Wounded Warrior benefit-do something concrete to say thanks to a veteran.