But if the non-profit organization Bold Brave Courageous has anything to do with it, those wounded soldiers will feel remembered and appreciated. Members hope that a small comfort item, such as a pair of sweatpants, a CD or a book, hand-delivered, will help wounded veterans remember that people appreciate the sacrifice that they made.
"When you’re in that hospital, you’re all by yourself, practically," said Charlie Bass, a World War II U.S. Navy veteran. "Then, when you get something like that, and you realize that people appreciate what you did—it’s a considerate, great thing."
This Sunday afternoon, February 19, Buckley’s Inn Between in Hampton Bays will be hosting a Chinese auction to benefit the organization. The event, which will also feature a 50/50 raffle and a giveaway for a weekend in Cape May, New Jersey, will run from 1 to 6 p.m. Admission is free.
"I think it’s a particularly good cause," said Mark Shortall, the co-owner of Buckley’s Inn Between. Mr. Shortall’s partners are Jim and Teresa Cantwell. "Troops coming home wounded have nothing in way of comfort items—just their fatigues—and this way we can support the troops supporting us."
Volunteers for the New Jersey-based nonprofit organization deliver these comfort items in roller suitcases to injured soldiers in military hospitals. Hospitals that receive the organization’s donations are the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Additionally, last November, the organization delivered some "comfort bags" to wounded soldiers in Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Soldiers at the hospitals in Bethesda and Washington, D.C., have sustained some of the most serious injuries, according to John C. Dekas, a Korea and Vietnam veteran and an executive officer of the American Legion’s Hand-Aldrich Post in Hampton Bays.
Mr. Dekas said he was involved in a similar effort donating clothing, toiletries, and other comfort items to injured servicemen and women in the VA Medical Center in Northport.
"The reaction is outstanding," Mr. Dekas said of their deliveries. "A lot of these guys have the feeling that nobody cares about them anymore. It’s an absolutely incredible reaction we get."
Mr. Shortall said that supporting the organization wasn’t a decision he made based on politics, but rather on personal connections: this organization was close to his heart because he has a friend in the U.S. Army Rangers, David Cahill, who has been in Afghanistan for the past two years.
"I knew him from the Eastern Long Island Police Pipes and Drums," he said. "He wanted to do something for his country after September 11, so he joined the Rangers."
He added that Buckley’s was still seeking donations for the auction. Right now, the auction features items such as bottles of liquor, and golf balls and clubs.
"We’re hoping the event will be informative," Mr. Shortall said. "We’ll set up a stand describing what the organization does, and the kind of lift it gives to the troops."
Bold Brave Courageous was founded in December 2004 originally as a one-time fund-raising effort in response to military websites’ requests for donations of clothing, backpacks, and toiletries for wounded soldiers in the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center, according to the organization’s website, www.boldbravecourageous.com.
According to a letter written to Mr. Shortall by co-founder John N. Clemente, Bold Brave Courageous has delivered over 500 roller suitcases to the National Navy Medical Center and Walter Reed Army Medical Center and raised more than $100,000 in cash and donations.
Issue Date: Southampton Press 2-16-06
Copyright, The Southampton Press