rapidfire
Spouse Spotlight
G
erry Tausch, known to many servicemem- bers as “Ms. Gerry,” spent decades volun-
teering even before she founded Grass Roots 4
the Troops, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, in 2007. Grass Roots provides handmade comfort items for patients in VA and military hospitals in the U.S. and abroad and has extended its services to homeless veterans.
What prompted you to start Grass Roots 4 the Troops? I love trying
to make a positive difference, daily. Mother Teresa guides me: “Never say you have nothing to give! Give a smile! It may be what that person needs most.” My other
polestar was my hero husband, with whom I shared 52 years of marriage. ... When we met, Roland was a cadet company commander. ... As a college freshman I first visited a VA hospital [and] found it terribly lonely, and for the past 62 years I have been a volunteer.
Tell us a little bit about what Grass Roots
does. Some [volunteers] knit skullcaps to warm heads [on] frigid nights [in] Afghanistan or sew comfort pillows, cooling ties, ditty bags, stoma covers, and other hospital patient needs. Others
focus on ... hard-to-get items or seek nec- essary donations to support shipping expenses, purchases, and so forth. I have never led an organization with more dedicated volunteers. ... They sew or knit from California to
New York and send donations from Oregon to Florida.
What recognition has meant the most to you? [In Au-
gust], we created a new Web site, GrassRoots4
theTroops.org. The last thing I do, before turn- ing off the computer, is … note the number [of site visitors]. I always feel as if I am saying good night to all those
we support and pray everyone stays safe. My first act [in the morning] has become checking the visitor counter. I find myself thinking of these overnight visi- tors as silent sentinels, watching over the troops while I sleep.
— Donna Budjenska
Attention! Check out these military-related entertainment offerings.
BOOK Islands of Hell: The U.S. Marines in the Western Pacific,
1944-1945 (Zenith, 2010).
This pictorial history with hundreds of photographs and full-color maps cov- ers the Fighting Leather- necks’ fierce combat for
the Marianas, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
MOVIE Severe Clear
(Sirk Productions, 2009).
Composed entirely of foot- age captured by actual Ma- rines in the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines at the outset
2 8 MI L I T A R Y O F F I C E R MAY 2 0 1 0
of the 2003 Iraq invasion, Severe Clear provides an inside look at the chaos and complexity of war.
BOOK Once a Warrior — Always a Warrior: Navigating the Transi- tion from Combat to
Home (GPP Life, 2010).
Being back home can be as difficult, if not more so, as time spent in a combat zone. This book focuses on what’s neces- sary for servicemembers and their families to navi- gate the transition.
MO
PHOTO: SCOTT GARRITY
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