WASHINGTON – Sept. 29 is National Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Day, celebrating one of the largest and most established organization of war veterans in the United States. It is a day celebrated not only by its members at Posts throughout the country and around the world, but also by the generations of veterans, service members, their families and communities that have benefited from the continued service of our great organization.

Established on this date in 1899, a group of 13 veterans from Spanish-America war and Philippine Insurrection joined together to form what would become the nation’s largest and most dedicated group of combat veterans. Originally called the American Veterans of Foreign Service, the new organization differed from previous veteran fraternal societies as it not only opened membership to all ranks from all branches of service, but also to veterans of all foreign wars. In doing so, the young organization ensured its relevancy to every generation of veteran from that moment on into the future.

Since its inception, the VFW has been unwavering in its devotion “to honor the dead by helping the living” and has been on the front lines of veteran advocacy in Washington, D.C., for more than a century. From leading the charge in demanding compensation for WWI veterans, to the establishments of the Veterans Administration, the national cemetery system, the GI Bill of Rights and last year’s PACT Act, the VFW has proved itself as one of the most powerful and influential voices on Capitol Hill.

The VFW’s selfless service goes far beyond legislation advancing veterans’ benefits. Through its network of service officers and claims representatives, the VFW helped veterans recoup $11.9 billion annually in VA disability compensation and pension benefits, ensuring veterans and their families get the care they earned and deserve. The VFW has also provided financial assistance to military families valued at more than $12.9 million since 2004; awarded more than $12.3 million in scholarships to more than 2,700 veterans and service members since 2014; and donated nearly $45 million annually to local community service projects thanks to the hard work, charity and commitment of the more than 1.4 million members of the VFW and its Auxiliary. Our years of military service may be behind us, but we are still serving our fellow veterans, our communities and our country.

Show your support by honoring all members and veterans in your community. On this VFW Day, everyone is invited to celebrate the tradition of continuous service and steadfast devotion that defines the VFW on social media using the hashtags #VFWDay and #StillServing.

Happy Birthday, VFW – “No One Does More For Veterans!”

Mark Little had been thinking about renovations for some time, but he hadn’t considered a Home Depot grant until a fellow VFW member from a different Post brought it up.

Little, commander at VFW Post 4736 in Greenfield, Ohio, took it upon himself to follow through with the suggestion last year by contacting his local Home Depot.

“It was out of curiosity, but I reached out and asked the manager how I would go about applying,” Little said. “They instructed me on how to apply for a grant through the Home Depot Foundation.”

The local Home Depot then sent a few staffers over to Post 4736, asking Little to describe the work needed in detail before measuring parts and coming up with an estimated cost for approval from the Home Depot Foundation.

Expecting a long wait, Little was surprised with the Foundation’s quick approval for a $7,000 grant to help renovate the inside of Post 4736’s 5,000-square-foot clubhouse.

“It was hardly a wait at all,” Little said. “The grant didn’t include manpower, but we had about 18 volunteers between the local Home Depot and our Post members.”

The 18-man volunteer crew began by removing the old, tar-stained drop-ceiling and panel-hanging framework, as well as the air conditioning and heating ductwork and diffusers. They then set up a new drop-ceiling, framing materials and panels, adding fluorescent lighting throughout the clubhouse.

“And we only had to close the Post down for about a week,” Little said. “It was a very good job, considering even the ventilation and diffusers in the ceiling had to be torn out and replaced. That took a lot of work.”

What began on March 6 of last year concluded four days later when Post 4736, under Little’s leadership, reopened its doors to members on March 10.

For Little, welcoming Post members into the clubhouse following the project brought a sense of relief as he looked up and didn’t see the “nicotine-stained” ceiling that kept him up some nights.

“It was a really outstanding transformation,” Little said. “We have a brand new, clean and healthy clubhouse now. And that’s a testament to the hard work our Post and Home Depot volunteers put in. I’m deeply grateful to them for making this a reality.”

With the inside of the Post rejuvenated, Little has since set his sights on the outside.

This year, Post 4736 was approved for a 50/50 grant in partnership with Greenfield’s Facade Improvement Program, which sets out to revitalize its historic downtown area.

“This project will help us renew the front of our building with a new structure, windows, paint and signage,” Little said. “When opportunities like these are presented, we must take advantage to maximize our building and facilities for our members for years to come.”

The project, according to Little, is slated for completion at the end of this year.

This article is featured in the 2023 September issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., senior writer for VFW magazine.

Along the Gulf Coast of Florida, VFW Post 9236 in Hernando Beach celebrated the back-to-school spirit by donating more than 850 backpacks to its community this summer.

The Post, about 52 miles west of Tampa, Florida, spread the wealth of backpacks across several avenues to help a wide variety of families in need by providing them with something as essential as a backpack for school.

“Realizing that so many families are currently struggling to provide essentials, it means the world to me to be able to facilitate these donations to Hernando County families,” VFW Post 9236 Commander Jason Spencer said. “Every little but helps, and we’re thrilled to help.”

They donated 150 backpacks to a local high school teacher and VFW Post 9236 Auxiliary member, 200 to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office for their annual giveaway, as well as 500 toward a Florida-based supermarket chain’s annual “Stuff the Bus” event.

“They stuff school buses at each of their stores,” VFW Post 9236 Auxiliary President Lisa Spencer said of Publix, an employee-owned supermarket chain headquartered in Lakeland, Fla. “They were extremely grateful to have backpacks for the supplies to be put in.”

Every Fall season for the past five years, the Post and its Auxiliary also have collected supplies to fill backpacks for homeless veterans. They host a drive to collect socks, gloves, beanie hats, personal hygiene products, shelf stable snacks, hand warmers, can openers and other comfort items. Each backpack receives a special blanket either sewn or crocheted by the Auxiliary.

“We collect items through the Fall months and stuff and distribute the backpacks in early December,” Spencer said. “We love helping our veterans and doing community service. That’s what the VFW is all about.”

For more than a decade, VFW Post 7059 members in Farmville, Virginia, have devoted themselves to honoring all veterans spending their twilight years within the confines of local hospice care.

Unwilling to let their predecessors sit in obscurity, Post 7059 members in 2013 began visiting The Woodland, a local hospice housing several veterans, where they have since hosted a ceremony spotlighting each member’s service on Veterans Day.

“A speech is given to thank the veterans for all they have done, and to let them know they are not forgotten,” said Dean Lord, past commander of Post 7059 and an avid volunteer. “Each veteran is personally given a salute, a U.S. flag and a poppy. Our Post members then stay and listen to these veterans tell us their stories.”

Despite strict regulations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Post 7059 members have not only continued to visit The Woodland every Veterans Day, but they have found other ways to honor their aging predecessors.

In 2021, Lord, then Post commander, joined his fellow Post members in teaming with a hospice program ran and operated by the Centra Southside Medical Center in Farmville. Through the program We Honor Vets, VFW members such as Lord serve as volunteers in bringing comfort to aging veterans through compassionate listening and a respectful acknowledgment of their service.

“When a veteran under hospice care is identified, a team is sent out to meet with the veteran and present them with a pin and a certificate of appreciation,” Lord said of the We Honor Vets program. “We also listen to their stories. Some of the ones I’ve heard have been about World War II battles in France, battles in the Pacific and battles fought during the Korean War. It’s honestly a pleasure listening to the recounting of conflicts from these heroes.”

Lord added that Post 7059 members have continued to gather in hopes of planning ways to be more active in the recognition and pinning process held by the We Honor Vets program.

Along with the Post’s eldest member, Joe Baldwin, 96, a WWII, Korea and Vietnam veteran, many members also have engaged the younger generation of veterans in the area about joining the cause.

“Most of our Post consists of Vietnam-era veterans, and we are encouraging younger veterans to participate and continue our traditions,” Lord said. “We must always look to the future, but never forget the past. These recipients at hospices are a great resource into past events and we, today, can learn a lot from them.”

This article is featured in the 2023 September issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez, Jr., senior writer for VFW magazine.

VFW Post honor guards conducting three-volley salutes at funerals for veterans and service members has been a time-honored tradition practiced since the organization’s founding in 1899. While many know that VFW Post honor guards use firearms to salute their dearly departed fellow veterans, most may not know where those firearms and ammunition blanks come from.

The Army-Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, which is in Warren, Michigan, issues ammunition blanks it receives from the Joint Munitions Command, located in Rock Island, Illinois. The command then sends the ammunition free of charge to VFW Posts across the country. Without those donations, many veterans would not receive military honors after their passing.

Former VFW Administrative Operations Director Johnathan Duncan said that the relationship VFW has with the Army’s Joint Munitions Command and the Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command is one VFW cherishes.

“It is a valuable one to not only the VFW but to those families who are able to have VFW honor guards at the funerals of those who gave so much to this country,” Duncan said.

Matthew Wheaton, a spokesman for the Joint Munitions Command, said that in 2022 the command supplied 3 million rounds of ceremonial ammunition across the United States to several veterans organizations, including VFW.

According to VFW’s Congressional Charter, the organization has a duty to “perpetuate the memory and history of our dead.” Duncan said that the main way VFW has done that is by conducting
ceremonial honors at veterans’ funerals.

“I think it is a critical service to the families whether they are members of the organization or not,” Duncan said. “We are able to provide these honors because of the ceremonial ammo and rifles that are provided to us. Three-volley salutes are used to perpetuate the memory and history of our dead, and to recognize the fallen comrades who gave all.” (See sidebar on p. 37.)

Providing ammunition for ceremonies is a traditional mission for Joint Munitions Command. Since the end of World War II, the Army has supplied ceremonial ammunition to veterans’ organizations for the purpose of military honors, according to a press release.

Telacy Biles, a logistics management specialist for the Joint Munitions Command, said that in recent years, requests for blank ammunition have increased.

“It has gone up because you have a lot of people who have gotten older, so the veterans’ organizations see an increase in funerals,” Biles said.

Only authorized organizations that have been issued weapons through the Army-Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command are eligible to order, receive and be issued blank ammunition. Those with privately owned rifles or rifles borrowed from another organization are not eligible to receive blanks.

For more information about the ceremonial rifle program, visit https://www.tacom.army.mil/ilsc/donations/rifles or call 586.282.9861.

This article is featured in the 2023 September issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Dave Spiva, associate editor for VFW magazine.

In December 2020, one of Alabama’s best-kept secrets was brought to light when signs honoring Escambia County’s two Congressional Medal of Honor recipients were unveiled.

Held at the Atmore City Hall Auditorium in Atmore, Alabama, the unveiling and dedication revealed the signs, to be placed along U.S. Highway 31, as part of joint resolutions by the Alabama State Legislature to commemorate two of its own sons.

These signs commemorated the deeds of Army Cpl. Sidney E. Manning and Army Sgt. William Wayne Seay, who earned the awards 50 years apart. Manning’s heroism came in 1918 during World War I, while Seay earned his medal during the Vietnam War in 1968.

For their heroics, a portion of the highway between Atmore and Flomaton, Alabama, is now named the Cpl. Sidney Manning Memorial Highway, while a segment of the federal thoroughfare between Brewton, Alabama, and Flomaton is named the Sgt. William Wayne Seay Memorial Highway.

Among the many who attended the unveiling was Billy Gates, commander of VFW Post 7016 in Atmore. Gates said he was among those who were unaware the county had two individuals who earned the country’s highest award for valor under fire.

“I’m ashamed to say that I’ve been in Escambia County since about 1970, and until it was brought to my attention about two-and-a-half years ago, I didn’t know we had two Medal of Honor recipients in the county,” Gates said. “I found out that not anybody else in Escambia County knew, either. That is shameful, but that is what’s happening to patriotism today.”

Gates added that Bobby Lanier, the Post’s membership committee chair, brought the fact to his attention, then worked tirelessly to raise the funds and arrange the placement of the highway signage.

The Post commander said most of the funding for the signs – about $7,000 – came from small donations, but he noted there were some who made larger contributions to the project. Gates cited Southern Pine Electric Cooperative, Escambia County Historical Society, Harvey Casen, Wanda Sorenson, Ronald Hendricks, Shawn Rounsavall and Sandy Hardee as major donors.

Atmore Mayor Jim Staff delivered brief remarks during the program, as did Flomaton Mayor Dewey Bondurant and Breton Mayor Yank Lovelace, before Alan Bowser, commander of the VFW Department of Alabama, gave his keynote address.

Bowser, an Army veteran, said there is a bond and a brotherhood that is formed by those who have been in combat. He added that Manning and Seay personified the word “hero,” which he noted is much overused today.

“Doing what you’re doing in this community today is part of that bond, a part of the history of America,” Bowser said. “These two gentlemen are now forever in our history. People use the word ‘hero’ nowadays, and it is distorted. These two men didn’t wear a mask; they didn’t wear capes. They weren’t professional football players, basketball players or baseball players. They were soldiers. These two gentlemen did the ultimate in what we are supposed to do – keep each other safe and continue the mission.”

Bowser then provided a brief account of the actions that made the two local men worthy of the Medal of Honor. This was followed by Alabama State Rep. Alan Baker, who talked about the fundraising effort that made the roadway renaming project a reality.

Following the speeches, family members of each MOH recipient posed for photos with a facsimile of their respective honoree’s commemorative sign. This included Manning’s family, who was represented by his granddaughter and his great-grandson. The Seay family, traveling from Indiana for the ceremony, was represented by the medal recipient’s brother, William Steve Seay, as well as his sister, two nephews and nieces, respectively.

The unveiling ceremony concluded with Alabama State Sen. Greg Albritton, who read the joint resolutions he introduced in the state senate that eventually received approval from both of the state’s legislative bodies.

This article is featured in the 2023 August issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Don Fletcher. Fletcher is a contributing writer and VFW Post 7016 member in Atmore, Alabama. He also works as a reporter for his hometown newspaper, the Atmore News.

Last year, the idea struck Karl Erickson, who carried it to his VFW Post 246 in Minneapolis for financial help in lifting the idea off the ground.

An ambitious project impacting thousands of kids in and around the Twin Cities, Post 246 quickly voted on funding Erickson’s magnum opus: bringing free woodworking and birdwatching workshops to 10,000 inner-city fourth-graders.

“I’ve always believed that all I can hope to do is dream big, and execute bigger,” said Erickson, an Iraq War veteran who deployed twice with the Minnesota Army National Guard in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. “The VFW is a staple in the community here, so who better to help students around the area than our Post.”

Erickson came up with the idea following a career transition in September 2022. He had left his job as a physical education teacher at a charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota, and joined a local nonprofit for at-risk youth and young adults.

After more than six years as a teacher in St. Paul, Erickson had grasped that most fourth-graders carry short attention spans if the material lacks interest or novelty, and most of them don’t have a hobby that serves as a gateway to life skills. He crafted his project to address both concerns.

Erickson also reached out to more than 200 teachers across the Twin Cities who scheduled his workshop, sending each one surveys for self-administered statistics, which gauged the impact of the experience.

“I wanted to send a pre-workshop survey, and then a post-survey to see if anything had changed among the students,” said Erickson, the Program Manager of Woodworking at Elpis Enterprises, a nonprofit that provides young adults between 16 and 23 years of age with job training. “Before the workshops, 70 percent of the kids said they didn’t birdwatch. And that has changed tremendously following the workshops.”

Since November, and with help from his colleagues at Elpis and more than $11,500 from Post 246 to date, Erickson has been able to teach birdwatching and woodworking workshops to more than 2,000 students across 27 schools.

The donations to Elpis help fund staff and a team of at-risk and homeless-impacted interns, who themselves fabricate the birdfeeder kits.

The funds also go toward purchasing additional supplies that include such things as plexiglass, iron rods to hang the birdfeeder, as well as bird seeds that get packed into every students’ completed birdfeeder.

“We go to each school with all of the jigs, hammers, clamps, drills and nails and rotate 20-30 students every 30-40 minutes through the building workshop,” Erickson said. “The goal in all this is to make the kids feel confident, make them feel empowered. They sometimes hold their birdfeeder up after a workshop like they’re holding a $100 bill in their hand.”

Erickson also has used funding from Post 246 for another ambitious Elpis project, dubbed the Land of 10,000 Urban Ice Anglers, which fields free ice-fishing trips. Elpis, with help from VFW volunteers and others, has sent more than 570 students on ice-fishing excursions to date.

“I coordinate with schools as well as law enforcement, having both the St. Paul Police Department and their Police Activities League police cadets help students go ice fishing,” Erickson said. “They have also helped students in St. Paul schools build their birdfeeders as a way to cultivate better trust with law enforcement.”

As Erickson continues to reach for both goals of teaching 10,000 kids the art of birdwatching and woodworking, as well as ice fishing, respectively, he also wants to encourage members of other VFW Posts to do the same.

“If there are other veterans into this, there are so many opportunities for us veterans to train and work with schools around our communities,” Erickson said. “This is about uniting. Most of the teachers that have responded to me have said they’d like this to be an annual tradition in their classrooms. It’s up to us younger veterans to carry the VFW mission forward.”

This article is featured in the 2023 August issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., senior writer for VFW magazine.

For the past 12 years, family after family has asked, “Why are they so kind?” The question refers to the community welcome and support experienced by combat-wounded veterans and their families during a week spent at a cabin in Custer, South Dakota.

The cabin experience, offered by the 501(c)3 non-profit called Operation Black Hills Cabin, is a therapeutic respite for disabled veterans and their families. It is no secret that when a service member is wounded in combat, it affects the whole family. The structure of the family is permanently altered as it focuses on providing the care the veteran needs, and “family time” takes a back seat to the recovery process. Military families have observed that time is of the utmost importance, but it is lacking in their new normal daily lives.

Operation Black Hills Cabin responds to this need and provides unparalleled quality family time. The peaceful, leisurely environment gives them an opportunity to disconnect from the stress of their post-combat daily routine and reconnect with each other.

The idea for Operation Black Hills Cabin originated in February 2011. Jeff and Pat Baird were watching a segment of the “The Oprah Winfrey Show” about the difficulties faced by a combat-wounded Afghanistan veteran and his family. At the conclusion of the segment, Oprah challenged the audience and viewers by saying, “What can you do to help?”

The Bairds are a retired military couple, each of whom served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and North Dakota Air National Guard. They felt a special bond with the wounded veterans who were coming home after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wanting to do more than simply write a check, the Bairds decided to capitalize on the “paradise” where they live – the Black Hills.

“What better place to provide a chance for these families to reconnect with each other and enjoy our area and all it has to offer,” Pat said.

And so, Operation Black Hills Cabin was born.

SAYING ‘THANK YOU’
The concept was immediately embraced by Custer City and the surrounding community because it was seen as a way to say thank you to the veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice.

Perhaps the kindness and compassion shown by the community coincides with the fact that so many of the volunteers, donors and supporters of the operation are veterans themselves. These vets have seen combat in Vietnam, the Gulf War, the Balkans as well as Afghanistan and Iraq, so they know first-hand the sacrifices involved in military service.

Operation Black Hills Cabin is run entirely by volunteers and donations. The Cabin itself was donated by the South Dakota Housing Authority. It was escorted 375 miles to Custer by the Patriot Guard Riders.

The 1,200-square-foot cabin sits on a wooded one-acre lot that has been leased from the city of Custer for 30 years for $1 per year. It is handicap accessible and has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a fully stocked kitchen and laundry room.

There is no television or internet at the cabin, but the families stay free, and they have a wide variety of possible activities in the Black Hills.

The local business community enthusiastically supports the cabin, and each family is given coupons for free admission to many local attractions, such as Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial and Custer State Park. Free or reduced-priced meals at local restaurants also are provided.

Many of the volunteers and supporters are not only veterans from all branches of military service, but also are members of VFW Post 3442 in Custer.

This includes four of the five members of the cabin’s board of directors. Jeff and Pat served on active duty in the Air Force during the Vietnam era and subsequently in the North Dakota Air National Guard.

While assigned to the 23rd Bomb Squadron as a B-52 Tailgunner, Jeff deployed twice to Southeast Asia in 1973. His unit operated from U-Tapao Air Base in Thailand and Andersen Air Force Base on Guam. Jeff is a VFW Life member. Pat is a life VFW Auxiliary member.

Martin Mahrt, another VFW Life member, is a decorated Vietnam War fighter pilot. Assigned to the 333rd Tactical Fighter Squadron based at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand from 1965-66, he flew the Republic F-105 Thunderchief on 102 combat missions in Vietnam.

The fourth board member, Mary Burns, is a VFW Auxiliary member. She is married to cabin supporter Dale Christensen, a Vietnam War veteran who is a VFW Life member. Christensen served in the Air Force as a patrol dog (K-9) handler. Deployed to Vietnam from 1971 to 1972, he served with the 12th Security Police Squadron at Phu Cat Air Base and the 483rd Security Police Squadron at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base.

The fifth board member, Ione Fejfar, was a prominent member of the Custer business community and is a native of South Dakota.

VFW Post 3442 supports Operation Black Hills Cabin. It donates, in collaboration with Jenny’s Floral, a bouquet of fresh flowers to each family on their day of arrival at the cabin. It also donates a free dinner to the family during their stay when the VFW is serving meals.

More than 150 local businesses, churches, schools and various organizations support the cabin, along with hundreds of individuals, all of whom have contributed time and a wide variety of unique items and services.

Donations to the cabin are only limited by people’s imaginations. Area quilt guilds make and present a Quilt of Valor to eligible veterans.

Another local resident donated Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine flags so that each family would not only see a U.S. flag at the cabin during their stay, but also the flag of the veteran’s service.

The 34th Aircraft Maintenance Unit at Ellsworth Air Force Base, along with the students of the South Dakota School of Mines, built a Healing Hike course on the cabin’s property. The hike is a path that winds around the property and includes picnic tables, benches, a hammock and inspirational quotes sand-blasted into the rocks along the way.

It is a quiet, natural setting for reflection and viewing local wildlife. A Custer Boy Scout, for his Eagle Scout project, built and donated a shed to store supplies and lawn maintenance equipment for the volunteers who maintain the property and clean the cabin every week.

The local elementary and high schools also contribute. For example, one Custer High School senior raised funds to buy and donate a microwave oven. This past spring, the fifth-grade class at Custer Elementary School donated $747, which they raised at their annual Living History Fair.

The cabin operates from Memorial Day to the end of September and can host up to 17 families a year. Since its beginning, 139 families from 36 states have stayed at the cabin.

The biggest challenge Operation Black Hills Cabin has faced over the years is getting the word out about this unique opportunity for qualified veterans. To qualify, a veteran must be a minimum of 30 percent combat injured from any post-9/11 military operation. Warrior Transition Unit members also are eligible. Qualified veterans can apply at any time. The application and further information are available at: www.
operationblackhillscabin.org.

This article is featured in the 2023 August issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Retired Army Col. Deborah Hanagan who is a volunteer with Operation Black Hills Cabin.

A battle-worn Marine of 30 years, Sgt. Maj. Lance Nutt cannot tell the story without tearing up.

He and members of his Sheep Dog Impact Assistance team, a group of war veterans and retired police, fire and emergency response officers, were helping clean up the devastation of a tornado that ripped through Wynne, Arkansas, in March.

The EF3 twister with wind speeds of up to 165 mph sliced through the eastern Arkansas Delta town, killing four people and leaving a mile-wide path of destruction.

Nutt and his “Sheep Dogs” traveled to Wynne, set up camp at a nearby state park and began walking through the town and offering aid.

“We came across a man who had lost the roof on his home,” Nutt said. “There were three large oak trees that had fallen in his yard, and he was using a small chainsaw. You could tell he had taken all day to clear one tree with that little chainsaw. You could see the exhaustion on his face.”

He offered assistance to the man, who looked back at him skeptically.

“He wanted to know how much we would charge,” Nutt said. “I told him we were here to help.”

The Sheep Dogs cleared the three trees within an hour, and the man, who earlier seemed defeated by his own progress, began smiling and laughing with Nutt’s team.

‘A DESIRE TO SERVE’
The tale is symbolic of Nutt’s Sheep Dog Impact Assistance program. Veterans who return after serving in conflict and retired police officers, firemen and EMTs suffering from the stress and trauma
of their jobs all have their own fallen trees to deal with.

“Our nation’s heroes have a desire to serve,” said Nutt, a life member of VFW Post 3031 in Rogers, Arkansas.

He said when a veteran’s tour of duty ends, his or her sense of purpose may end as well. After a life of intense service, suddenly they find themselves sitting on the couch with nothing to do, Nutt added.

That is where problems arise. Veterans’ suicide rates are alarmingly high as a result. Last year, according to the National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, 6,146 veterans took their own lives. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for post-9/11 veterans, accounting for 22.3 percent of all veteran deaths.

“We were helping the town of Wynne begin their recovery,” Nutt said. “But we are also helping our individuals begin their own recovery.”

The Sheep Dogs Impact Assistance program idea was triggered in Nutt’s mind during the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. While with the Marines, Nutt brought a group to Louisiana to help those in need.

“We lost men in combat in Iraq,” he said. “That was part of the job. I came home, and I was thankful, but some of our brothers did not. And others who did come home started killing themselves. I thought, ‘How, as a leader, did I fail them? I became angry and began blaming myself. Then Hurricane Katrina came, and I watched. Here we are failing the public again. I had to get up and do something.”

Nutt was sworn into the Marine Corps by his father, a retired Navy aviator, in 1988.

The younger Nutt deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield/Storm. He later attended the University of Arkansas at Monticello, where he earned degrees in business management and communications.

He returned to the Marines in 1995 and served as a recruiter and instructor until 2000.

Nutt then left the Marines to manage corporate sales for major retail marketing companies in northwest Arkansas.

But with the war on terror in full swing, Nutt re-enlisted, joining the 3rd Battalion, 24th Marines in 2003.

“I grew up with the company of heroes,” he said, referring to his family who also served in the military. “The definition to serve was ingrained in me the day I was born.”

‘SHEEP DOGS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS’
In 2010, Nutt created the Sheep Dogs. It began slowly, mostly in Arkansas. His team would travel to disaster sites, helping locals deal with ravaging tornadoes and floods. Newspapers began reporting about the teams’ work in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Kentucky and other areas, and attention grew.

“It changed how I felt about myself,” he said. “Helping is healing. Helping others can help yourself.”

Gene Roberts, the owner of a pizza restaurant in northeast Arkansas, was one of the first Sheep Dog members in the Jonesboro, Arkansas, chapter.

Roberts volunteered at first; he later became a police officer and then officially joined the Sheep Dog organization.

He and Nutt were friends in college, and Roberts traveled to southern Louisiana with Nutt after Hurricane Katrina.

The impact of the group came to him and, like Nutt, he becomes emotional when telling the story.

A young soldier returned from Afghanistan. He had been injured and was using a walker and wheelchair. Someone told the Sheep Dogs that the man did not have a ramp leading to his home and he had to negotiate steps.

“The Sheep Dogs went to his house with donated materials,” Roberts said. “We built a porch with a large staircase and wheelchair ramp. His family said they could not afford it, but we told them it would not cost them anything. We got a picture and a hug and it was worth it. There was not a dry eye out there when we were finished. Sheep Dogs take care of business.”

The first few years for the Sheep Dogs were “nasty,” Nutt said. It was constant trips to disaster scenes. He saw the vast devastation of tornadoes in Joplin, Missouri, and Birmingham, Alabama, and flooding in his home state.

Then, things slowed down.

“We needed to fill in gaps between the disasters,” he said. “What do we need to do to get off the couch?”

That was the mantra of his new programs. Nutt developed “Get Off The Couch,” a program designed to bring Sheep Dogs together for camping and hunting trips, fishing and other events just to maintain the camaraderie they need.

He also created Warrior PATHH for posttraumatic growth help with a seven-day training program.

“It is the next step of life,” Nutt said. “It is the second mountain. We climbed the first one already [with combat and service] and now we are faced with the second one. This truly defines our legacy as human beings.”

Participation in the Sheep Dog Impact Assistance program has grown to 20,000 members in 20 states.

“It has been amazing,” Nutt said. “I am beyond proud of what this is. We lost veterans because they gave up on themselves. We are reminding people never to give up on themselves.”

VFW Department of Arkansas Commander Jeffrey Byrd, a member of Post 2330 in Searcy, Arkansas, said his VFW Department wants its members to join with other organizations to help veterans.

“We encourage all our local VFWs to partner with the Sheep Dogs,” Byrd said. “Many of the groups like Sheep Dogs and We Are The 22 are all doing the same thing – helping veterans.”

There is a deep brethren among veterans, he added. He believes in the power of his “buddy checks,” times when he picks up his cell phone and sends quick text messages to fellow veterans.

“It’s a two-second text just to check on others,” Byrd said. “You are reaching out to let them know you’re there.

“There’s not been a sense of real belonging at times. You’re seeing the closing of local VFW chapters. Sheep Dogs allow retired veterans to go and talk about their experiences with others without people judging them.”

Arkansas currently counts 72 VFW Posts with approximately 10,000 members.

Jonesboro VFW Post 1991 opened its doors earlier this year for the Sheep Dogs to present their program and to recruit members, Commander Robert Murphy said.

“Anything that can get people together will help,” he said.

The Sheep Dogs also have worked with We Are The 22, a group dedicated to helping veterans in volatile situations. During a recent Sheep Dog meeting in Jonesboro, members of that group also briefed each other about their programs.

Wes Holt, a member of the We Are The 22 Arkansas chapter, said that in the five years his organization has been in existence in Arkansas, members have lost only one veteran while responding to 500 calls in the state.

“We help de-escalate things,” Holt said. “If you have law enforcement coming to a situation with a veteran with a gun threatening to harm himself with lights and sirens going, it won’t go well. The only real reason why we do it is because we are all brothers.”

Several Sheep Dog members also are involved in the other assistance programs.

The northeast Arkansas Sheep Dog group has 12 members and meets the third Thursday of each month. If they are not planning outings or assistance programs, they are just gathering together to see each other.

In February, Gene Roberts was given the 2022 Northeast Arkansas Sheep Dog of the Year award for his work.

“This is personal,” Roberts said “We have friends who may be in trouble emotionally and need help. Sheep Dogs help keep the wolves away.”

This article is featured in the 2023 August issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Kenneth Heard. Heard is a former newspaper and television reporter based in Jonesboro, Arkansas. He currently is the media information director for the Craighead County (Arkansas) Prosecuting Attorney’s office.

Since 2019, VFW Post 2667 and its Auxiliary members have donated canned food and peanut butter and jelly to the One Roof Ecumenical Alliance Outreach in their hometown of Newnan, Ga., as well as Bridging the Gap, the Salvation Army and The I-58 Mission.

According to Janet Alford, secretary/historian of Post 2667 Auxiliary, members are encouraged to bring jars of peanut butter and jelly to the monthly meetings. Those are then taken monthly to one of four community groups committed to helping food insecure families.

“To date, we donate more than 100 jars of peanut butter monthly,” Alford said. “As of July, we have donated a total of 4,848 jars of peanut butter, 1,354 jars of jelly and various canned goods. These donations have amounted to more than 12,000 pounds and an approximate value of more than $10,000.”

Alford said that in 2022, Auxiliary members began making birthday kits to donate to the pantries. Kits include cake mix, party plates, napkins, candles, frosting and pan to bake the cake in. Six birthday kits are donated each month.

“Our members have been very generous with their donations and our food pantries are very grateful for our donations,” Alford said. “We definitely feel like we are making a difference in our community. This is a project that every VFW could to in their community and it would make such a difference.”