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Bring troops home for holidays
(by Barbara Christian - October 09, 2008)
WINDOW ON MAIN STREET, BY BARBARA CHRISTIAN
Bring troops home for holidays
If you have ever been apart from the people you love during the holidays, then you know how lonely it is.
South Russell resident Kathy O'Donnell remembers how it was when she and her Navy husband, Bill O'Donnell, spent their first Christmas apart, he at sea and she at home with their newborn infant baby boy, Kevin.
"You have to do what you have to do," she said recently of the struggles of military family life.
Chagrin Falls Police Chief Jim Brosius, a Vietnam veteran, spent three Christmases away from home. He said that, while he missed his parents and brothers, his experience was slightly different. "We managed to have fun," he said of himself and his compatriots. "I was a young guy and not married, so ..." One of those Christmases, he was proud that he managed to send $150 home to his family.
So Kathy and Jim, along with members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Chagrin Valley Woman's Club, are joining in a project that is dear to their hearts: to see smiles on the faces of the 140 service men and women of the 135th military police company, which trains at the armory on East Washington Street.
On Nov. 11, which happens to be Veterans Day, the unit leaves the armory by bus for additional training at Fort Dix, N.J.
When Kathy and Jim approached commanding officer Edwin Santiago about a community send-off and how they could help, the CO said what he really wants to see is for all of his soldiers to come home for the holidays and have a few days with their families before shipping out to Kuwait in January.
Beginning Dec. 23, the troops get what is called "Christmas exodus." Jim said the thing is, there is no government travel money for them, so many will spend Christmas at the base.
Or maybe not.
Kathy came up with the idea of hiring charter buses to bring our local troops back to Ohio and their families. While logistics have not been worked out, it is possible that the buses will return to the armory, where families will be waiting to pick them up for the final leg of the exodus -- home.
Jim added that a large number of the men and women come from the Cincinnati area, so it might be worked out for the buses to continue on to that city.
This bus lift home to Ohio will cost around $20,000. The VFW is going to help for obvious reasons, and so is the Woman's Club, whose membership supports the military through its work with the USO.
While Kathy and Jim, the VFW and the Woman's Club are dedicated to the project, they cannot do it alone. They need help in the form of dollars. So a fund has been set up at the Chagrin Falls branch of Huntington Bank. Your donations, in the form of checks made out to "Christmas Exodus," may taken or sent to any branch.
Kathy added that she and Jim are still working on that Nov. 11 community send-off for the troops. We'll keep you posted.
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