chaptersinaction Paying Tribute
MOAA chapter members conduct and support community- based programs that foster appreciation and respect for servicemembers and veterans and their families.
M
any older veterans re- side in the Hendersonville, N.C., area, which is home
to MOAA’s Western North Carolina Chapter (
www.wnc-moaa.org). So when chapter President Capt. John Knapp Sr., USN (Ret), read an ar- ticle in Military Officer about the We Honor Veterans program, he wanted his chapter to get involved. After seeing a presentation from local hospice officials, board members decided to partner with the program, and four members went through hos- pice training so they could perform end-of-life pinning ceremonies. Dur- ing the ceremonies, veterans or their families receive certificates of appre- ciation from hospice, while chapter volunteers present service-specific lapel pins and render a salute. Most veteran recipients are alert and talk- ative, but some are too ill to respond. “Some veterans are unresponsive,
but we assume and treat them as if they can still hear us,” Knapp says. “I had one wife tell me after we had finished the pinning ceremony at the bedside of her Vietnam veteran hus- band, who was unresponsive, that this was the only time he had ever been thanked for his military service.” Although chapter volunteers usu-
ally receive advance notice, some pin- ning ceremony requests are received during a veteran’s final hours. To
40 MILITARY OFFICER AUGUST 2015
date, chapter volunteers have fulfilled every request they’ve received and conducted more than 40 ceremonies with the help of the hospice chaplain. “The pinning ceremony only
takes 15 to 20 minutes, but in that time, we feel we’ve made a differ- ence,” Knapp says.
Visits to veterans In South Carolina, members of the Charleston Chapter (
www.charleston
moaa.com) honor veterans by bring- ing groups of Junior ROTC cadets to visit patients at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston.
day, when the work is done, you can just see how grateful and appreciative they are.
“ At the end of the
— Capt. James Karlen, USN (Ret), Southwest Virginia Chapter member
” Col. Josiah “Butch” Fuller, USA
(Ret), leads the program with the help of fellow chapter member Lt. Col. Robert Ticknor, USAF (Ret), who brings cadets from the Junior ROTC unit he runs at Fort Dorches- ter High School in North Charles- ton. Chapter volunteers, including
On the road: This month, Col. Barry Wright, USA (Ret), director, MOAA Council and Chapter Af- fairs, will visit chapter members in California. See MOAA Calendar, page 81, for dates.
President Brig. Gen. Ernest D. Brockman Jr., USA (Ret), accom- pany cadets to the VA medical cen- ter. During a recent visit, cadets met one of the first women to serve in the Marine Corps and a 91-year-old World War II combat veteran. “You have to remember, these high school cadets were toddlers when 9/11 happened,” Brockman says. “So meeting veterans and hearing their stories, particularly our older veter- ans, gives them some perspective on our nation’s history.” Veterans speak of their military service and how it affected their lives and their families, says Fuller, while cadets talk about their community service projects and awards they’ve received. Before leaving, veterans are given comfort-care items, reading material, puzzles, and playing cards, which are donated and collected by chapter members. “The response to the program has been very positive,” says Fuller. “Some of these veterans don’t get many visitors, and they feel good that someone came to visit them just because they are a veteran.”
Help for homeowners Members of the Southwest Virginia Chapter (
www.moaa.org/chapter/ southwestvirginia) honor veterans and their families through Rebuild-
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