Blue Ridge Sailors, Philippine Marines Beautify Cemetery

By By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Kenneth R. Hendrix, Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs

ANGELES CITY, Republic of the Philippines (NNS) -- Twenty-four USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) Sailors and 24 marines from the Philippine Marine Corps cleaned up a small cemetery as part of a community service project, Feb. 14.

"It always feels great to support others in need of help and give back to the community," said Information Systems Technician 2nd Class (SW/AW) Calithea A. Sheppard. "It was a great thing to do, and I learned a lot of history that I did not know about."

Clark Cemetery is home to the remains of 8,649 service members from all branches of the United States Armed Forces, as well as the Philippine Scouts, Philippine Constabulary and their dependents, dating back to 1900s.

Larry Heilhecker, Clark Cemetery chairman for Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) of the United States of America Post 2485, said the Navy and local service members in the Philippine armed forces are big supporters of the cemetery, and their contributions are always greatly appreciated.

"It never gets old seeing the Navy here volunteering their time," Heilhecker said. "We are glad to have you here anytime."

The cemetery relies on donations to maintain the grounds. VFW does not receive funding from either the U.S. or Philippine government, and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs only provides American flags and engraved marble head stones, according to Heilhecker.

In November 1991, the U.S. Air Force departed the Philippines, turning over ownership of the grounds to the Philippine air force. Two years later, the Clark Development Corporation (CDC) agreed to take care of the cemetery.

However, VFW decided to take ownership of the cemetery in November 1994, because the CDC did not keep the grounds up to standard, Heilhecker said.

"We rely on the help of volunteers from the Navy who come throughout the year and the paid local Filipinos," Heilhecker said. "It is great to see the Navy adopt us."

Information Systems Technician 2nd Class (SW) Kevin M. Abney, USS Blue Ridge, said it was gratifying to work alongside the Philippine marines and to meet someone who reminded him of himself.

"Like me, he has a wife and daughter," Abney said. "He joined the service because of how bad the economy got and wanted to make sure he could provide for his family. It's not every day you meet someone from another country who is similar to you."

VFW Ladies Auxiliary Has Tradition of Military Support

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

March 19, 2007 – Since 1914, members of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars have supported U.S. servicemembers and their families and worked to ensure that America's military veterans are never forgotten, auxiliary officials said. Today, the auxiliary's almost 600,000 sisters, daughters, wives, mothers and grandmothers carry on that tradition, Cara Day, director of communication and publications at the organization's headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., said.

"Auxiliary members support troops in a number of ways," Day said, including the sending of care packages to overseas-deployed military members, "adoption" of military units, sponsorship of servicemember-support programs at schools, and other programs.

The group partners with America Supports You, a Defense Department-sponsored program highlighting the ways Americans are supporting the nation's servicemembers.

"Everything we do is centered on honoring our veterans and helping them in any way possible," Day said. "Being able to share with 'America Supports You' what the nearly 600,000 members of this organization do for veterans and servicemembers is just one of the many ways we hope to tell them that we're here for them."

The Ladies Auxiliary also donates money to Operation Uplink, which provides free long-distance phone cards to servicemembers serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and other locales, Day said.

The Unmet Needs program is another auxiliary-sponsored initiative, Day said, where anyone can donate money that's used to assist military families in need by providing funds for mortgage payments, medical or grocery bills, car repairs and other purposes.
The Ladies Auxiliary also encourages skilled people like mechanics, lawyers and baby sitters to donate their time to help military families whose sponsors are deployed in support of the war against terrorism, Day said.

Most auxiliary members are in their 50s and 60s and thereby old enough to remember America's participation in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War, Connie Atkinson, the auxiliary's national secretary and treasurer, said.

"It's important to support the families of veterans, whether we're at war or not at war," Atkinson said. "We are the mothers and sisters and daughters of veterans and we know what our servicemembers and their families are going through today.

"They need all the support they can get. They need to know that America cares for her veterans," she added.

This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.