Thanks to all who donate to this worthy cause. My son has been the recipient of many care packages during his multiple tours in Iraq.
I would say that most of the care packages going to Iraq are sent by family members and when a group does something like this it lightens the load of family members at home. If you have personally sent a care package to Iraq you know the postage is just about as expensive as the contents of the package. It can get very costly. Please give all you can to this very worthy effort. Thanks especially to those who are giving their time to make this happen.
I want to share with you some other ways that you can help our Troops especially those who have been severely wounded. You can donate your time by volunteering at your local Disabled American Veterans (DAV) office. You can also volunteered at the nearest VA Hospital. There are many ways to help and in most cases just cost you a little time well spent with a wounded military member who just needs a friend. There is a VA hospital in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Montgomery and Tuskegee. Many cities have large outpatient clinics. This would include Bessemer, Dothan, Gadsden, Huntsville, Jasper, Madison/Decatur, Mobile, Oxford and Florence.
Most of you know that my son was severely wounded Easter Sunday 2005 by an IED while serving in Iraq. We spent several weeks at Walter Reed. What made Walter Reed so special was the tremendous volunteer network. Most of the Volunteers worked full time jobs and volunteered on nights, weekends or whenever they were off work. These people are a special breed. The compassion and love was overwhelming. These people do seek not personal recognition. The love they have for our wounded drives them to help and knowing they can make a small difference is enough.
There are many wounded soldiers in Alabama that need your help and from my personal experience let me share with you what normally happens to a wounded veteran.
Most spouses of wounded veterans cannot deal with the medical issues that they will have to face and soon after or before the disabled veteran goes home the spouse files for divorce normally taking everything with them. This happened to my son. She took everything including his truck and all their money and leaving him with nothing and not even a way to go. The divorce rate for wounded veterans is very high.
There are many veterans in the state of Alabama that need our help. You can do many things to help these men and women. If you have house hold items such as cleaning supplies, washer and dryers that you may be replacing. Bedroom furniture, appliances etc.
It took almost two years for my son to be stable enough to be medically retired from the Army. While he was recovering his wife did not pay any bills in his name. He did not find this out until he came home. His credit was ruined, had no vehicle and no home. In a sense he was a homeless Vet. My wife and I purchased a home for him in our name. We also had to pay the down payment. All the utilities are in our name. He is paying the note and utilities out of his disability check. We had a lot of help with furnishing the house. We had help from Still Serving Veterans in Huntsville, Operation Homefront, Babcock Furniture, AAA Cooper Trucking and many private citizens. When you get ready to replace appliances or furniture and they are in good shape think about donating them to a Veteran in need.
I say all of this to let you know that there are not very many who have parents that can or will help. Last Christmas a man who volunteers at Still Serving Veterans (SSV) drove all the way down to Mobile from Huntsville to bring my son's children christmas gifts. After he left Mobile he was driving to Fort Rucker at Enterprise to pick up a bed they were donating to a disabled Vet in Montgomery whose wife had left and took everything. He did not even have a bed to sleep on.
The monetary cost for my wife and I has been enormous but I do not regret for a minute spending the money. We were just lucky to be able to do this and could not have done it all without the help of many organizations and individuals. Most families cannot afford the expense that comes with Wounded Warriors.
Most people probably are not aware of the hardships our wounded face. I wanted to post something just to bring awareness to the problem and let you know that you can make a difference.
If you would like more information on how you can help I can give you contact names and numbers. Just send me an e-mail or pm. Remember you can make a difference.
