When you’re driving in your car, you might see a bumper
sticker that reads “Support our Troops” or a similar message or maybe you see
such a message on a shared Facebook picture. You might see it on a t-shirt or
on a television commercial. There are so many ways to state that you support
our military service members, but when it comes down to it, how are you
actually supporting them? Is stating on social media, the bumper of your car,
or your clothing that you support them enough? Here are some suggestions of
ways to put actions to your words of support…this is not an all-inclusive list,
but just some things I thought of.
·
Pray for them and their families. Pray for their
safety while deployed and in training. Pray for their families who have to take
up the slack while the service member is away. Pray for them as military life
can be stressful. Pray for our country’s leaders as they made decisions that
directly affect the safety and wellbeing of our troops and their families. Pray
for our wounded troops and their families and their lives will never be the
same. Pray for the families of those who died in service to our country. Pray
for those who came back with invisible wounds and challenges.
·
Write letters. I know that with email and social
media, it’s easy to just type out a message and hit send, but there’s something
about a handwritten letter that is special. When I was in college, I usually
had an empty mailbox, but I knew that pretty much every week, I could count on
one letter from my Grandma. The letters were often about what she and Poppa did
that week or where they went out to eat, but the fact that she took the time to
write me and mail me a letter was so special. Now, I’m not comparing college
life to a deployment except that I was young like so many of our soldiers and I
was away from home, family, and friends that I grew up with. That’s where the
comparison ends. Deployed soldiers go through so much, and it’s nice for them
to receive mail from people who care about them.
·
Care packages. No matter who you are, most of us
love to receive a package full of goodies and things we need, but when you can’t
just go to the store and buy that stuff yourself and you can’t bake them
yourself, they’re even more important. During Justin’s deployments, I learned
how to stuff as much as I could into a flat rate box. I tried to send plenty
for him and enough for him to share. Sadly, some of these men and women don’t
have anyone willing/able to send them even the most basic necessities. Justin’s
guys always knew that if they needed hygiene items or snacks, he almost always
had extras…now not all snacks were things he was willing to share (like the
coveted bacon jerky), but for the most part, he was quite generous with his
goodies (like fudge).
·
Be an informed voter. Now, I understand that not
all informed voters will vote the same way that I do. We hold different values.
I get that, but one of the scariest things for the future of our nation is the
people who don’t care about where the politician stands on policy and votes solely
based on who promises them the most freebies. In the words of JFK, “ask not
what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.” Too
many people are asking for a handout with no regard for what they can
personally do to make our country better. I get that some people have
legitimate needs and need assistance to keep food on the table, but welfare and
such should not be a career opportunity. Our service men and women put their
lives on the line. They are unable to put down roots, and they live a somewhat
nomadic life for years, and sometimes decades. They don’t do it for the pay
because let’s face it, the pay isn’t that great if you were to calculate an
hourly rate. When the government can’t get along, it’s their pay and care that
is threatened. I could go on and on with this one, but I’ll stop here. Vote for
what’s best for our country as a whole, not for what’s best for your personal
wallet.
·
Keep politicians accountable. What’s been
happening at the VA hospitals is unacceptable. I refuse to point fingers at
which side is responsible for the mess, but I will point fingers at every
elected official for being responsible to fix it. Our veterans deserve better.
Whether they chose to serve or were drafted, they still served our country and
did their part to keep us safe. They deserve for our country to take care of
them when they return.
·
Support organizations that support active duty,
wounded, and all veterans. Be informed on which groups actually help veterans.
Some groups have high overhead costs, and choosing a different group might
stretch your dollar further. I understand that money can be tight these days,
but you can support with your time and talents as well. Find a local
organization that fits your abilities and ask how you can help. Non-profit
organizations can’t survive without volunteers.
·
Don’t forget them. Just because they aren’t
currently deployed or the wounded are out of the hospital doesn’t mean
everything is good. So many may be home from war, but they often bring the war
home with them. I’m not just talking about PTSD. War changes a person, and each
deployment is different and will change them in different ways. Sometimes it
can be a struggle to integrate those changes into “normal” life. For the
wounded, they struggle to find a “new normal”. Life will never be as it was.
Just because they’re better enough to be out of the hospital doesn’t mean that
their journey to recovery is over. These things take a toll on families as
well. I may not have ever deployed, but I’ve been through three deployments
with Justin. I’ve changed with each one. Sometimes it’s a struggle upon return
from a deployment to mesh two changed people and find how everything fits back
together under one roof. This past year has been a struggle to adapt to being
around each other more than…well, more than we’ve ever been around each other.
And that’s on top of the other things we’ve had to adapt to like smaller living
space, medical issues, and a whole long list.
That’s just a handful of ways
you can show your support. There are many more, but I’d like to switch
directions and tell you about some people who are actively supporting our
family and others. This past weekend, there were two things going on that
directly helped our family. They took place in two different states that are
hundreds of miles away from each other. One was in our hometown of Palm Bay, FL
and the other was in Sharptown, MD.
A few months back, a story
about Justin ran on the front page of the Sunday edition of our hometown
newspaper. The reporter and cameraman had come up to Walter Reed to interview
Justin in person and see what our life is like up here. Shortly after the
article ran, we were contacted and informed that our hometown would like to
give us a house. The city had acquired some foreclosures and wanted to renovate
one and give it to us. They would also make it wheelchair accessible! The
project grew from there and now the city plans to expand this program to about
20 families at this point. The city is working alongside a local veteran’s
non-profit and many businesses and individuals are getting involved. The list
of local sponsors keeps growing. This past Saturday, there were 25-30
volunteers out at the house working on putting a primer coat of paint on the
interior walls, yard work, and much more. My parents were out there working alongside
them helping to make this house what will soon be our home. It’s humbling to
see so many, most of whom we’ve never met, doing so much to help us have a home
where we won’t have to make do to accommodate Justin’s wheelchair like we have
to do almost everywhere outside of Walter Reed. It’s amazing! I’m so proud to
say I’m from Palm Bay/Brevard County where people and local businesses are so
military minded and put actions to the words “we support our troops”.
Saturday's group of volunteers
Some of the local businesses who have donated resources, skills, and time. If you live in the area and need any of their services, please consider supporting these places.
I’ve mentioned Sharptown and
Heroes Haven several times before, so I won’t go into the full background, but
what started out as a hunting trip has become so much more for our family.
Saturday was their annual Heroes Haven crab feast fundraiser. We were able to
get away for the weekend and attend the dinner. One of the guys from a previous
year even flew in from California to attend the crab feast. This community
definitely knows make people feel welcome and show their support. Every tickets
for this event was sold out and there were people on waiting lists in case
someone cancelled. I got a little emotional when the DJ sang "God Bless the U.S.A." and people all over the room stood and sang with him. These people proudly support our troops, wounded and non-wounded. While this wasn’t our first return trips since the Heroes
Haven hunting trip back in October, this was the first time Justin was up and
walking. I’m so glad they were able to see such visible progress in how Justin’s
doing. Sharptown truly has become our haven while we’re in Maryland. After
spending time with such wonderful people and being able to relax away from the
hustle and bustle of being so close to D.C., we all felt refreshed. Corey came
back with a basket full of goodies that someone won for him in the silent
auction. It was an all-around great weekend. I’m so thankful for this community
who has made us part of their family. I’m excited for the next group that will
get to experience Heroes Haven.
I don’t say all of this to drum
up support for us, but to thank the amazing people who have been there for us
even when we were complete strangers. We have an amazing family and awesome
friends. Not all service members are so fortunate. People have called me strong
for sticking by Justin’s side through all of this. I don’t see myself as
strong. I made a promise on our wedding day to be with him for better and for
worse, for sickness and in health. Sticking with him just makes me faithful.
Now Justin, he’s strong. He pushes himself hard and doesn’t let things keep him
down. I’m so thankful that he’s a fighter. It would make my life harder if I
had to constantly be pushing him to get better, if he gave up. Though I wish he’d
push himself a little harder when it comes to things like taking out the trash,
but we’ll get there…I hope. lol Even if we don’t, I’m still thankful for him
and everything he does/can do.
for more information about Heroes Haven:
for more on some of the non-profits who have helped us on our journey:
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