® Volume 75 H March 2020 Providing Emergency Aid to Severely Disabled War on Terror Veterans and their Families Thank you for consistently It’s Not Too Early: Let’s Help being the most compassionate Struggling Disabled Veterans This Easter! “people and remembering our s you read this month’s Road to our heroes that grateful Americans heroes! My husband was Recovery Report, you’ll see a around the country haven’t forgotten feeling forgotten and fighting Acommon thread woven throughout their sacrifices. (Turn to page 8 to read a bad bout of depression this its stories: our holiday meals program, heartfelt “thank yous” from a few of the past Easter but you helped him “ which provides checks for a special meal hundreds of veterans who we sent a meals so much (and in turn helped to America’s disabled veterans and their check to this Thanksgiving!) our whole family) by lifting his families for Easter and Thanksgiving. But we need your continued support spirits to where we couldn’t. Holiday meals checks are one of the to make sure we’re ready this Easter! simplest ways we help our heroes – but We’re counting on you to help make — A. Gonzalez, their impact goes beyond “just” food sure we don’t have to turn away even wife of blinded veteran on the table for our struggling veteran one severely disabled veteran who needs families! The gift of a special meal help putting an Easter meal on the table brightens the day for military families for his or her family. We hope it inspires struggling to pay bills and feed their your generosity and warms your heart families … and reminds to hear the good your giving is doing for our heroes. Inside Your Road to Recovery Report: Your Generosity: Feeding Veteran Letter from President David Walker Families, Strengthening Veteran By the Numbers: Your Generosity at page 2 Marriages, and More! Work The Difference Your Giving Makes pages 4-5 page 7 All Year Long An Easy Way to Improve the Life of a Thanksgiving Gratitude From Heroes page 3 Disabled Veteran You Helped page 6 page 8 1414N-NL Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes H PO Box 96440 H Washington, DC 20090-6440 H www.saluteheroes.org H 1-888-447-2588 Letter from President David Walker Board of Directors Dear Friend of Our Wounded Heroes, Chief Master Sergeant Stephen Page* As usual, the winter months seem to drag on, but as I sit U.S. Air Force (Ret.) down to write to you my heart is still full from the good you Chairman of the Board and I did together this past Thanksgiving and Christmas to help Colonel Charles Bogle* U.S. Army (Ret.) our disabled heroes. Vice Chairman Bruce Kelly* In the months leading up to the holidays, the Coalition Secretary & Treasurer kicks it into overtime to help brighten the season for America’s Tom Sircher* War on Terror veterans. Distributing checks for holiday meals, Chairman Emeritus “Secret Santa” presents for veteran families, or emergency financial aid is truly a David W. Walker President & Chief Executive Officer rewarding experience. Matthew Cary* But the greatest reward and joy comes after the flurry of activity begins to settle Director and messages of gratitude and joy start pouring in from the heroes we helped. These *Independent Voting Board Member calls, notes, and emails are often powerful enough to move me to tears – stories of Ambassador Corps hope and redemption that are so much greater than you might imagine could follow a Major General John K. Singlaub U.S. Army (Ret.) simple gift of holiday cheer. Chairman Take, for example, the email we received below from disabled Army veteran Sgt. First Class Dana Bowman U.S. Army (Ret.) SSG Jamie P. After we helped Jaime and his family – a wife and two young daughters David Wetherell – with emergency financial aid to avert a car repossession and foreclosure on the their U.S. Army (Ret.) home, he wrote: Staff Sergeant J.D. Williams U.S. Army (Ret.) “With the help of Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes we are able to Master Sergeant Leroy Petry catch up with our mortgage and a car payment which we are a month U.S. Army (Ret.) behind. It reduces the stress in the house knowing that we will not Medal of Honor recipient be put under foreclosure warning with our bank and worrying about Senior Airman Daniel Acosta U.S. Air Force (Ret.) losing our home. Jack Scalia It meant a lot emotionally that there [are] a lot of good people like Bonnie S. Tyrrell your organization that are willing to help in difficult times especially Jimmy Gunn with the wounded veterans. It gave us hope to continue to recover Jeff Senour mentally, emotionally, and financially... Field Management Team I see the world as black and white and it is good to know that Donny Daughenbaugh U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) there are good and generous people in the world willing to help Vice President, Field Operations when asking for help is hard. I can’t thank you enough for Mary Jessie Herrera helping us keep our home and the car that my wife uses to go to U.S. Army (Ret.) Field Representative, West school and work.” Jorge De Leon Let that sink in. The generosity of donors like you kept a disabled veteran family U.S. Army (Ret.) National Spokesperson from becoming homeless and losing their car just weeks before Christmas. And it Shilo Harris may even have kept a struggling veteran, battling the demons of PTSD, from losing all U.S. Army (Ret.) National Spokesperson hope during the holidays. Colonel Martin L. Badegian I hope you’ll keep this story in mind as you consider giving again to help a hero’s U.S. Army Reserve (Ret.) Special Projects Officer family this Easter. And I hope you know just how grateful I am to have the support of patriotic Americans like you as we do everything in our power to help those who gave so much to defend our freedom. Gratefully yours, David W. Walker President & CEO ® 2 Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes — Over Fifteen Years of Service to Our War on Terror Heroes Your Coalition in Action Your Gift is Making A Difference All Year Long! From Easter to Christmas, Meals Brighten the Holidays for Severely Disabled Veterans or a severely disabled veteran worry and the opportunity to enjoy who’s struggling to pay the bills time together as a family. Our meals Feach month, the holidays can projects are another wonderful way quickly become a time of stress and patriotic supporters like you tell our despair instead of joy – especially for severely disabled veterans that you’re veterans with young children. That’s grateful for their sacrifice and that where our Easter and Thanksgiving they’re not alone – especially during Meals Projects come in. the holidays. Your gift helps provide thousands Right now our 2020 Easter of severely disabled veterans with $60 Meals Project is in full swing – and Veteran David S. shown above wrote: to enjoy a holiday meal. For a military your help is urgently needed to “I would like to express my gratitude family struggling to put any food on make it a success! Read more about for the generous gift that you sent to me and my family for Thanksgiving. the table, the gift of a special holiday it in the enclosed letter from retired We had a wonderful and delicious dinner with all the trimmings provides Major General Singlaub. meal which was purchased with your a welcome respite from desperate gift. May God Bless you all.” Emergency Financial Aid Helps Avert Veteran Homelessness and Hunger ur Emergency Financial government benefits, crippling veteran with everything from Aid (EFA) program is the disabilities keeping veterans from putting food on the table to keeping Obedrock of our mission to being able to work, and spouses who a roof over his family’s head ... provide direct, immediate financial serve as full-time caregivers too often paying medical bills or keeping the assistance to America’s wounded spells disaster for struggling heroes. lights on. Your gift can make all the warriors – made possible by the Your donation to the EFA difference to a wounded hero who generosity of patriotic Americans program is truly a lifeline to these otherwise might become homeless, like you. wounded warriors. Your gift goes go hungry, or suffer another The combination of delayed to work overnight to help a disabled frightening hardship. Your Holiday Generosity Provides Veterans’ Children with Presents “From Santa” nother way we support our Many of these wounded warriors veterans is through our Secret are already choosing between keeping ASanta and Christmas Angel their homes, paying the electric bill, and Projects. Generous donors like you putting food on the table. They don’t have help provide $500 Christmas gift money for extras like Christmas gifts. checks, which we send to veterans who The Secret Santa and Christmas Angel were severely wounded in Afghanistan Projects help these heroes make sure their or Iraq – so they can give their families kids get a few toys “from Santa”! a few Christmas presents. The Road to Recovery Report 3 Your Coalition in Action Heroes Freedom Weekend ... Your Generosity Is Strengthening Veteran Marriages n early November the Coalition HFW gives wounded veteran couples sponsored its third annual Heroes the opportunity to have a marriage building IFreedom Weekend (HFW) to experience together, surrounded by other strengthen marriages in our veteran veteran couples and without the kids. The community. We hosted 11 veteran program gives the couples relationship tools couples for four days in historic colonial to help them strengthen their marriages Williamsburg, Virginia, to bond with their by exploring communication, conflict spouses, build veteran friendships and resolution, and situation de-escalation.