$$ support for troops

[wink]

You have all seen the ubiquitous yellow wrist bands from Lance Armstrong's Living Strong Foundation. Here is a great opportunity to start something as big and support service members the world over, especially those injured in the war on terror. GI-braclet. org will send you a purple (Purple Heart purple) wrist band for five dollars and donate every single penny to one of five military aide charities. You can choose from organizations such as Wounded Warrior Project, Fisher House, and Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. This project has been around for just a couple months. Word is getting around slowly since they have no big name promoter like Lance Armstrong. This is a wonderful way to make a small donation go a long way. Ditch the cowardly yellow band (love ya Lance ) and be the first on your block with a courageous purple wrist band.

http://www.gi-bracelet.org/GIBracelet/index.html

 

[A4sForever]

I like ..... I think I'll get one.

It reminds me a little of the POW-MIA Vietnam bracelets (below) we used to wear, except the Vietnam bracelet was name-specific, if one desired.

 

[shortncurly]

There are also Freedom Bands . SO much better than those gay LiveStrong bracelets. (No offense to anyone... I just don't like Lance Armstrong very much, and I think a lot of people wear those bands to be trendy, rather than to show support for cancer research, which is their real purpose... ok, stepping down from the soap box now...)

 

[snow85]

A4s-- what ever happened to all the pow-mia vietnam bracelets? i know that some are in museums/ memorials, and i'm sure that people kept some.... but what about the others?

 

[Grant]

Around here some of the veterans groups have been setting up tables outside the entrances of Walmart and places like that, selling those bands. Their signs say that the money goes to charity, but who knows...

 

[wink]

The purple bands that say "For those who serve" are legitiment and a great program. Anyone can have the latex bands made up for a small price from web based companies and then sell them for whatever profit or purpose they want. The GI-bracelet.org folks pass through 100% of every penny they get to the charities listed. Their financials are transparent. You are right to wonder where those other vet groups spend their money. That said. GI-braclet.org has authorized other groups to resell their purple "For those who serve" bands. That would be ok since GI-bracelet would have already gotten it's $5 for known legitiment charities.

 

[PropStop]

Another way all y'all can support troops:

My dad is a member of the Navy League in my home town and they support an amphib named after my town. They have amassed over TWO TONS of books, DVD's, and various other things to send to those Marines and Sailors. The COB is the POC for the boat and has been especially appreciative of the support for the guys. He can't begin to tell us how much it means to these guys to fill the ship's library with books and movies. Also, it is easy and cheap.

Please look up your local Navy League or branch equivalent that is sponsoring a particular unit and donate items to be sent to our guys. These items aren't really for the O's, they are directed at the E's.

This gi-bracelet is also an excellent way to throw a bone to our guys; thank you wink of bringing it up.

Most of the people on this board ar O's and I think we all should throw a few bucks in the direction of things that help out our young E's.

There enduth my soap box.

 

[A4sForever]

A4s-- what ever happened to all the pow-mia vietnam bracelets? i know that some are in museums/ memorials, and i'm sure that people kept some.... but what about the others?

I still have mine --- (then) LTJG Richard Willis Minnich Jr, VF-162 (F-8's) , USS Oriskany, January 4, 1968. When I sent for it, I requested a "junior Naval Aviator" ... probably some sentimental thing about "bonding" with him, in my early '70's mind. Dick Minnich's remains were returned to the US and his family in 1985 -- kind of makes you wonder who was keeping them and why all those years ??? That was when I put his bracelet away in my footlocker.

LCDR Richard W. Minnich's name now resides @ Panel 33E 039 , National Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, Washington, D.C.

Historical aside: The POW/MIA Bracelet Campaign was initially kicked off by a group called VIVA (Voices In Vital America), a Los Angeles based student organization that produced and distributed the early bracelets during the Vietnam War -- try to find a contemporary counterpart now?? The group was rebuffed by both Ross Perot and representatives of Howard Hughes in the early attempts at obtaining $10,000 in start-up money. Entertainers Bob Hope and Martha Raye were brought on-board as honorary co-chairmen to add "weight" to the project after someone donated the brass and copper and labor to make the first bracelets.

There are some outlets that still sell the Vietnam POW/MIA bracelet. I cannot personally vouch for any of them, but the below link still has LTJG Minnich's name in their database ....

http://www.memorialbracelets.com/index.html

History: Fighter Squadron 162 (VF-162) was established on 1 September 1960 as a unit of newly formed Carrier Air Group 16 (CVG-16). However, the Hunters, equipped with F4D-1 Skyray fighters, made their first deployment with CVG-6 on board the USS Intrepid (CVA-11) in August 1961.

Upon return in February 1962, VF-162 transitioned to the F8U-1 (F-8A) Crusader. After one deployment to the Western Pacific in September 1963 on board the USS Oriskany (CVA-34), VF-162 upgraded to the F-8E version of the Crusader.

Deploying in April 1965, VF-162 flew combat air patrols, escort, and strike missions over Vietnam and Laos, losing one F-8E to an SA-2 missile; the pilot was rescued.

The Hunters headed again to the war zone in May 1966. During this deployment, the Hunters lost five F-8Es and one pilot to enemy action. One was flown by Commander Richard Bellinger, who was shot down by a North Vietnamese MiG-21. Bellinger got his revenge three months later, shooting down a MiG-21, the first downed by a Navy fighter. The fire that devastated the Oriskany two weeks later ended the deployment.

The Oriskany returned to action with VF-162 in July 1967, in a deployment that would cost the air wing 39 aircraft to enemy ground fire, including four VF-162 F-8Es and three pilots (note: one of them Dick Minnich). One Hunter pilot downed a MiG-17 in December 1967, and two Hunters each destroyed locomotives with the imaginative use of heat-seeking Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.

VF-162 transitioned to the F-8J in 1968 and deployed to the Tonkin Gulf in 1969 on board the USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14). The Hunters made their final deployment to the Tonkin Gulf in March 1970 as a unit of CVW-8 on board the USS Shangri-La (CVA-38). VF-162 was disestablished on 29 January 1971. (article from USNI Proceedings, Mar 2002)