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It’s difficult to envision a VVA chapter that is
more heavily involved in supporting active-duty troops and
their families than Burlington County, Chapter 899 in Bordentown,
New Jersey. Under the leadership of Chapter President Michael
Engi, First Vice President Curt W. Anderson, Second Vice
President Thomas Jellick, Secretary John Leskom, Treasurer
Don Mohr, and an active Board of Directors, this central
New Jersey chapter, which was formed in 2002, has made the
most of the fact that its members live close to two large
military installations, Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base.
The
chapter has made a strong, concerted effort to reach out
to military families, their children, and veterans at Dix
and McGuire. They have held send-off ceremonies as troops
head off to serve in Iraq and other overseas destinations;
they have held regular Welcome Home ceremonies for troops
coming back to Fort Dix from overseas. “To date,” Engi
said, “several thousand soldiers have been met at the
door with a vigorous handshake and welcome home.”
That’s
just for starters. Working closely with the family support
units at Dix and McGuire, the chapter has become a sponsor
of the installations’ Hearts Apart
programs, in which chapter members sponsor breakfasts, birthdays,
and pizza parties for the children and spouses of our deployed
military. The chapter also helps sponsor Military Appreciation
parties that are held at the chapter’s meeting place,
along with a monthly Patriots’ Breakfast for active-duty
personnel.
Chapter members who make regular visits to Walter
Reed Army Medical Center in Washington also meet with the
wounded soldiers of the Medical Replacement Battalion at
Ft. Dix. “Our
veterans spend time with the troops once a week from 7 p.m.
to midnight,” Engi said. “We play cards, shoot
pool, watch TV, and sometimes just talk. We bring food and
snacks with us that are not usually found in the mess hall,
and both sides share a comradeship not found anywhere else
but between veterans.”
Chapter leaders say they are
proud to live up to VVA’s
founding principle, “Never again will one generation
of veterans abandon another.” And they know that their
efforts are replicated all over the nation by other VVA chapters. “Many
chapters are involved in similar causes and initiatives that
for one reason or another never get the fanfare they so rightfully
deserve,” Chapter 899 Board Member Joe Meheski said. “So,
in a way, this mention in The VVA Veteran is also a tribute
to those chapters that likewise provide programs and support
to our troops and their families.”
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2008, Vietnam Veterans of America. All Rights Reserved. 8605 Cameron
Street, Silver Spring, MD 20910