Underneath the civilian clothing worn by members of Conifer’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12009 lay the hearts and minds of some of America’s heroes, the veterans of wars fought far from home.
It doesn’t matter what uniforms the soldiers wore in combat; what matters is that they qualified to serve, and sometimes they continue their service by helping other vets make it through tough times.
Kirk Rosa, the commander for VFW post, is good at spotting a veteran who needs a hand.
“We take care of our own,” Rosa said, “and if we don’t take care of each other, who will?”
Rosa uses his experience from seven overseas deployments and a 20-year stint in the Navy to help those who are working through issues from readjustment to civilian life to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
“The Mountain Resource Center is frequently a first contact for veterans, and the first thing they do is refer them to us,” Rosa said.
Last year alone, the post spent over $10,000 helping veterans and their families. The post will help veterans and those on active duty, in the reserve or in the National Guard even if they aren’t VFW members.
“We will assist them if they ask us,” Rosa said.
Post 12009 has helped with electric bills, medical costs, travel costs and even a month’s mortgage payment.
Helping other vets
The veteran community is fairly tight-knit, and Rosa and VFW members hear about vets who need help. Rosa said he has no problem making a phone call to offer help, and he often encounters the issues civilians hear about but will never understand.
Many vets deal with the recurring effects of PTSD. Rosa directs them to programs that help vets and their families learn how to deal with emotional and psychological issues, so they can move down a path toward healing.
However, Rosa said many vets don’t like to share their war experiences with civilians and sometimes even with other vets. Many view their experiences as private and personal, and even among troop members who served together, war experiences differ and are as individual as the person who experienced them.
Rosa is familiar with those problems that face vets, and he’s always willing to listen and help.
“Soldiers need to know what their mission is,” Rosa said, He applied that philosophy while in the service and now to get at the heart of any problem that comes his way.
Monthly breakfasts
Sometimes those problems include running out of potatoes to feed a hungry crowd.
On the third Sunday of each month, post members gather in the wee morning hours to make preparations for the monthly all-you-can-eat VFW breakfast at Beaver Ranch in Conifer. The kitchen crew starts around 2 a.m. preparing the menu that will feed as many as 300 people, and it’s a well-oiled machine of precision.
Crews prepare 80 pounds of potatoes, 100 biscuits, two gallons of homemade green chili, sausage patties and slabs of bacon, five-dozen eggs, 15 pounds of pancake mix with a touch of vanilla, 40 gallons of orange juice and over 300 cups of coffee.
In the windows of the meeting hall hang flags that represent each branch of service, and small American flags stand at attention.
The cost for the all-you-can-eat breakfast is $7, and it is served from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Volunteer efforts
Recently, the national VFW honored the Conifer post for its many community service hours. Members volunteer to help with the Conifer Music Festival, the color guard leads the Conifer Christmas parade, and recently members have begun to visit with World War II veterans at the Life Care Center in Evergreen.
Rosa tells the story of a vet at the Life Care Center, one who served proudly, but since coming to the center had become withdrawn and wouldn’t communicate. After a visit from VFW members, Rosa said he came out of his shell and began to talk again.
The post also participates in food drives, and this year it collected 250 pounds of food. It collected toys for Christmas and donated more than 100 turkeys to St. Laurence’s Church in Conifer destined for food baskets for needy families.
Last year, it donated 325 turkeys to area organizations.
The turkey give-away is even written into the post’s bylaws.
Members of Post 12009 also donate money to Operation Uplink, a program to give phone cards to troop members so they can call home while deployed.
On Memorial Day and Veterans Day, the post hands out 10,000 poppies, and 12,000 are on order for 2010. Post members stand outside local stores and offer poppies to passers-by in hopes they will wear the poppies to show support for troops and veterans.
VFW Membership
Membership is open to veterans who served in overseas campaigns, and the post’s roster is at around 80 vets who either are lifetime members or continuous members who pay $30 a year to join.
Rosa said the post could make arrangements to help members pay their dues if needed.
Conifer VFW members span the range of wars: active servicemen and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to four World War II veterans.
To qualify for membership in the VFW, a veteran must be a U.S. citizen and must have performed honorable service in the U.S. armed forces. That service must have entitled the applicant to an award of a recognized campaign medal. Membership status is awarded after applications are reviewed and approved.
Even if a veteran doesn’t qualify for the VFW, there are still ways to connect with other service personnel around the world.
For Conifer-area vets, Rosa and the VFW 12009 members will be there to help them find the way.
Rosa said the post has great camaraderie, and members get the job done. That includes everything from pancake breakfasts to providing support to someone in need.
“We won’t let any vet fail,” Rosa said, “not on my watch.”
Box:
* Veterans of Foreign Wars website:
www.vfw.org
* VFW meetings are at 6 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at the Mountain Resource Center
* VFW monthly breakfast is from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. on the third Sunday of each month at Beaver Ranch
From the High Timber Times December 30, 2009
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