Wow, never have i experienced a total lack of response from vet organizations such as i have from attempting to get Take a Vet Fishing up and running. I now have 12 captains with able boats, willing to take someone fishing for a day, everything included..free..no cost to anyone, but the boat owner...
The lack of response even applies to Mike Macentire,after a week and still no reply to e-mails and phone calls...Ok, time to regroup,new strategy..new contacts..
Friday, March 18, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Donation Update...
Well, its only been about a week and the response has exceeded my greatest expectations
The folks at Sportfisherman and Hull Truth have been very generous, To date i have raised $350.00 towards my goal of $500.00 -Unbelievable!!
As i stated in my last post, i wanted this to go beyond this flight to DC, I wanted to find other missions and other groups looking to help Vets,especially the ones returning from The Sandpile. This war has been going on for 10 long years and has damaged allot of good men and women,both mentally and physically, lest we not forget the ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice....
Heres the thing... Americans are by nature, a patriotic bunch, we love our country, and we cherish our freedom, but we tend to take out our dislike of certain Government decisions on our Soldiers, Example - Viet Nam, our boys returned home only to be spit on, and called names. In todays world the effects are more subtle,but exist none the less, Young men go off to fight,while back home there spouses are left to languish,with little or no community support. The jobs they once had are given to another, The paycheck he/she used to bring home has vanished..leaving the spouse facing repossession or foreclosure..and few help. The cost of Freedom? Defending Democracy, we hear that alot, its tossed about by the spinners in DC,While the news leads us to believe its about real estate or oil, does it really matter? the point is, regardless of "The Reason" ,our soldiers enlist to defend our country, our freedom..nothing more. When the chips are down,off they go,young men/women, to a strange country,separated by thousands of miles, to fight an enemy hell bent on seeing the complete and total destruction of the United States. And weather or not you believe its a justified war...the fact remains..In there hearts..our soldiers believe defending Freedom,defending the USA is worth every drop of blood spilled.
Take 10 minutes and look around ,look what Freedom gives you..
You can rant about the Government without fear of reprisal, own a gun and hunt,travel without restriction,VOTE, march in protest, choose your religion, choose your political affiliation...Freedom, Thank a Vet.
Here are some support groups that help returning Vets and there family's -
http://www.veteransoutreachcenter.org/welcome_home.asp
Sign up, or check the schedule for returning vets, hit the airport and welcome home returning soldiers..thats,what? 30 minutes out of your life?
This is the one that can really make a difference..Wounded Warrior, How bad would it be to be young,and lose a limb..now how much worse to have it happen in combat...Then..come home and forgotton?...Check out this site..donate some time..Americans helping Americans keeps this Country strong..keeps us United.
Wounded Warrior -
http://woundedwarriorproject.org/
Donations :
Frank Smith -Seapower..Sportfisherman.com Thanks!!
Russ Carter
Robert Waz
Rodger Gerstung
Sydngoose. .Classic Mako pulls thru Thanks!!
Thanks Guys..
Rodger owns a sign shop down in Orlando,and offered to make me a sign showing all my supporters,I think a group photo with the vets and my supporters is a great idea..Thanks Rodger.
The folks at Sportfisherman and Hull Truth have been very generous, To date i have raised $350.00 towards my goal of $500.00 -Unbelievable!!
As i stated in my last post, i wanted this to go beyond this flight to DC, I wanted to find other missions and other groups looking to help Vets,especially the ones returning from The Sandpile. This war has been going on for 10 long years and has damaged allot of good men and women,both mentally and physically, lest we not forget the ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice....
Heres the thing... Americans are by nature, a patriotic bunch, we love our country, and we cherish our freedom, but we tend to take out our dislike of certain Government decisions on our Soldiers, Example - Viet Nam, our boys returned home only to be spit on, and called names. In todays world the effects are more subtle,but exist none the less, Young men go off to fight,while back home there spouses are left to languish,with little or no community support. The jobs they once had are given to another, The paycheck he/she used to bring home has vanished..leaving the spouse facing repossession or foreclosure..and few help. The cost of Freedom? Defending Democracy, we hear that alot, its tossed about by the spinners in DC,While the news leads us to believe its about real estate or oil, does it really matter? the point is, regardless of "The Reason" ,our soldiers enlist to defend our country, our freedom..nothing more. When the chips are down,off they go,young men/women, to a strange country,separated by thousands of miles, to fight an enemy hell bent on seeing the complete and total destruction of the United States. And weather or not you believe its a justified war...the fact remains..In there hearts..our soldiers believe defending Freedom,defending the USA is worth every drop of blood spilled.
Take 10 minutes and look around ,look what Freedom gives you..
You can rant about the Government without fear of reprisal, own a gun and hunt,travel without restriction,VOTE, march in protest, choose your religion, choose your political affiliation...Freedom, Thank a Vet.
Here are some support groups that help returning Vets and there family's -
http://www.veteransoutreachcenter.org/welcome_home.asp
Sign up, or check the schedule for returning vets, hit the airport and welcome home returning soldiers..thats,what? 30 minutes out of your life?
This is the one that can really make a difference..Wounded Warrior, How bad would it be to be young,and lose a limb..now how much worse to have it happen in combat...Then..come home and forgotton?...Check out this site..donate some time..Americans helping Americans keeps this Country strong..keeps us United.
Wounded Warrior -
http://woundedwarriorproject.org/
Donations :
Frank Smith -Seapower..Sportfisherman.com Thanks!!
Russ Carter
Robert Waz
Rodger Gerstung
Sydngoose. .Classic Mako pulls thru Thanks!!
Thanks Guys..
Rodger owns a sign shop down in Orlando,and offered to make me a sign showing all my supporters,I think a group photo with the vets and my supporters is a great idea..Thanks Rodger.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Paperwork sent out......
Started out the day filling out the paperwork required to be a "guardian" although its still 2 1/2 months away...i'm very excited ,It got me thinking, i hear about all these programs for returning Gulf War vets , and wondered if there was anything local , I've got some free time on my hands, so perhaps i can contribute locally. A friend of mine, Ace was promoting "Take a kid fishing" so why not "Take a Vet Fishing" ? I know of alot of boats headed out with only 1 or 2 guys on board, theres always room for one more.Googled it..and yup,sure enough its out there..in Texas. Texas?..what do they know about fat Reds and AJ's in Texas..gotta look further...
Talking to some friends about this trip, and it was suggested i take "My" Vet out to dinner,But, after a good 12 hour day,nobody wants to go anywhere but home. My wife suggested we "adopt" one, then set up a dinner out for another night..now theres a good idea. At lunch today i was asked why? why do this? why worry about these things ...Good question , i guess because i never paid much attention to anything other than my little world,Its a full time deal..wife..kids ...work..Then my Dad died..i knew he was in the Military and served in the U.S.Navy Armed Guard,as a gunner and semifore, but i never really thought about it, and never asked Dad about the War.
Among the items he left behind were notebooks from Navy Collage and photos of Europe,so i became interested, i wanted to find out all i could about Dads service,and
researched the Armed Guard, well the subject isn't as well mentioned as other branches of the service,but i did find a fellow by the name of Charles A. Lloyd who is the official publisher of The Pointer - an annual magazine published for and about Armed Guard servicemen,Mr Lloyd signed me up to receive a subscription..free. Keep in mind these guys are well into there 80's by now ,so the source material is becoming harder and harder to find. My research hit a wall when i found out the service records from the years Dad served had been destroyed in a fire....But..using what little i had i was able to locate the family's of two shipmates..i'm still waiting to see if they found anything in there attic....
Off on a tangent went i...after lots of time spent looking at websites and reading articles ,i realized..These guys fought in one helluva war,and it was fought for freedom,our freedom,and to look at the big picture,there a mostly forgotten bunch..oh yea,on Memorial day and the 4th we wave our flag and shout Horray..but all in all..its back to the rest home and a pat on the back. I've heard them called "The Greatest Generation" and they are, Selfless,Honest and Hard Working..traits seldom found today, and this generation..my generation, hardly gives them a thought, and what spare time i do have, i spend it doing things they fought for... freedom to go anywhere..do anything..freedom. So partly in honor of my Dad,partly out of Respect..i am attempting to allocate 20 hours a month to service to our Vets, This is step one..seems I'll figure out the rest as i go........
Gotta mention this..I posted on another great site named The Hull Truth...
received excellent feedback as well as donations...Like Boats?..Fishing? hit it up -
http://www.thehulltruth.com/dockside-chat/335716-honor-flight-vets-dc.html#post3589193
This is the link to Armed Guard -check it out..
http://www.armed-guard.com/
If you wish to donate:
Steve Gould
156 Cool Run Court SW
Ocean Isle Beach,NC 28469
PAYPAL -marine4003@yahoo.com
Talking to some friends about this trip, and it was suggested i take "My" Vet out to dinner,But, after a good 12 hour day,nobody wants to go anywhere but home. My wife suggested we "adopt" one, then set up a dinner out for another night..now theres a good idea. At lunch today i was asked why? why do this? why worry about these things ...Good question , i guess because i never paid much attention to anything other than my little world,Its a full time deal..wife..kids ...work..Then my Dad died..i knew he was in the Military and served in the U.S.Navy Armed Guard,as a gunner and semifore, but i never really thought about it, and never asked Dad about the War.
Among the items he left behind were notebooks from Navy Collage and photos of Europe,so i became interested, i wanted to find out all i could about Dads service,and
researched the Armed Guard, well the subject isn't as well mentioned as other branches of the service,but i did find a fellow by the name of Charles A. Lloyd who is the official publisher of The Pointer - an annual magazine published for and about Armed Guard servicemen,Mr Lloyd signed me up to receive a subscription..free. Keep in mind these guys are well into there 80's by now ,so the source material is becoming harder and harder to find. My research hit a wall when i found out the service records from the years Dad served had been destroyed in a fire....But..using what little i had i was able to locate the family's of two shipmates..i'm still waiting to see if they found anything in there attic....
Off on a tangent went i...after lots of time spent looking at websites and reading articles ,i realized..These guys fought in one helluva war,and it was fought for freedom,our freedom,and to look at the big picture,there a mostly forgotten bunch..oh yea,on Memorial day and the 4th we wave our flag and shout Horray..but all in all..its back to the rest home and a pat on the back. I've heard them called "The Greatest Generation" and they are, Selfless,Honest and Hard Working..traits seldom found today, and this generation..my generation, hardly gives them a thought, and what spare time i do have, i spend it doing things they fought for... freedom to go anywhere..do anything..freedom. So partly in honor of my Dad,partly out of Respect..i am attempting to allocate 20 hours a month to service to our Vets, This is step one..seems I'll figure out the rest as i go........
Gotta mention this..I posted on another great site named The Hull Truth...
received excellent feedback as well as donations...Like Boats?..Fishing? hit it up -
http://www.thehulltruth.com/dockside-chat/335716-honor-flight-vets-dc.html#post3589193
This is the link to Armed Guard -check it out..
http://www.armed-guard.com/
SEA POWER MARINE
8752 NC Hwy 99 S
Bath,NC 27808
Owner - Frank Smith
100 ton Master Captain
USCG
If you wish to donate:
Steve Gould
156 Cool Run Court SW
Ocean Isle Beach,NC 28469
PAYPAL -marine4003@yahoo.com
Thanks!!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
May trip to DC..Assisting WW2 vets
I've never done this before, so please bear with me...This site is for my upcoming trip to Washington DC. The purpose of this trip is to bring World War II veterans to DC and visit the memorials placed in their honor.
The idea came from some school kids who thought it would be great to honor the vets by allowing them to see their memorial for free.
6 million men & women served..1000 die each day,remaining are in there 80's...you get the idea...
My wanting to accompany and assist the vets started about 2 years ago..but with 2 small kids..and life, I kept postponing the trip, as with most procrastination..there are consequences..namely..the vets list has about reached its end. Time to fish..or cut bait. Looking at my financial situation,i realized spending $5-600 for this trip would place a toll on our finances..I'm a carpenter..you know the rest.
So here's what i thought, perhaps if i posted my dream on a couple of websites i frequent, asking folks to help me finance this trip. My first choice was http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/, its a great site for ..as the name implies...people who love fishing! Well..that was a sucess!! a fellow fisherman, screen named, Seapower is contributing $200 bucks...Great start.
My second choice is Classicmako.com.. there members and i ,share a passion for 40+ Y.O. Makos..Lets see what happens.I Thank You for your words of encouragment and support. Enough about me..this is about the vets.
Here is the link to Honor Flight and info related to the program -
http://honorflightmyrtlebeach.com/
http://www.honorflight.org/
http://honorflightmyrtlebeach.com/next-flight/
For now i will post donors and there names if they wish, and further down the road..i am creating a photo log of the trip , and "My" Vet....stay tuned!!
DONATIONS TO DATE
Capt.Frank Smith
Russ Carter
Robert Waz
Rodger gerstung
Capt. Aaron Rodgers
Thanks Guys !!
The idea came from some school kids who thought it would be great to honor the vets by allowing them to see their memorial for free.
6 million men & women served..1000 die each day,remaining are in there 80's...you get the idea...
My wanting to accompany and assist the vets started about 2 years ago..but with 2 small kids..and life, I kept postponing the trip, as with most procrastination..there are consequences..namely..the vets list has about reached its end. Time to fish..or cut bait. Looking at my financial situation,i realized spending $5-600 for this trip would place a toll on our finances..I'm a carpenter..you know the rest.
So here's what i thought, perhaps if i posted my dream on a couple of websites i frequent, asking folks to help me finance this trip. My first choice was http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/, its a great site for ..as the name implies...people who love fishing! Well..that was a sucess!! a fellow fisherman, screen named, Seapower is contributing $200 bucks...Great start.
My second choice is Classicmako.com.. there members and i ,share a passion for 40+ Y.O. Makos..Lets see what happens.I Thank You for your words of encouragment and support. Enough about me..this is about the vets.
Here is the link to Honor Flight and info related to the program -
http://honorflightmyrtlebeach.com/
http://www.honorflight.org/
http://honorflightmyrtlebeach.com/next-flight/
For now i will post donors and there names if they wish, and further down the road..i am creating a photo log of the trip , and "My" Vet....stay tuned!!
DONATIONS TO DATE
Capt.Frank Smith
Russ Carter
Robert Waz
Rodger gerstung
Capt. Aaron Rodgers
Thanks Guys !!
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