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Help Honor and Reconnect Veterans

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Please help us help Veterans.  Any contribution is greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

My father-in-law had been out of the military for 40 years - he served during the Korean War.    A guy’s guy – he doesn’t really get out much and only has a few close friends that he sees from time to time.    One day, we’re talking about our time in the military, and asked, “If your buddies from the war were to have a reunion, would you go?”  His response surprised me, “I’d be on the next plane to Korea to see those guys again.”  That really hit a nerve for me.   All of us can identify with old friends lost.   But men and women who served in the military, during times of war and hardship, have a deep bond that can never be replaced.  They are brothers and sisters forever – no matter if they were born in the city, country, east coast, west coast.  They are family forever.

This was the inspiration behind VetFriends.com – to reunite Veterans across the U.S.  with their old buddies and proud memories… like a Facebook for Veterans.   

Over the last 20 years, VetFriends has helped tens of thousands of Veterans reunite with friends and share memories.  With a database of over 2.8 million members, we’re the largest Veteran Database in the country.  We’d like to do more, and need your help. 

Your donations will help millions of Veterans and their families share and relive their proud service time, passing on the legacy of their life for years to come.   Veterans will be able to share their stories with their families and locate old friends.   They can find pictures of places where they served that they hadn’t seen in over 50 years.   Sometimes a military unit photo is posted by another Veteran and others see themselves in the picture.   These stories can be shared with their families as a legacy of their life. 

Many Veterans leave the military in their 20’s – they assimilate into civilian life, start a family, have a career and lose touch with their service friends.   Oftentimes, they don’t talk about their military service until well into their 50’s – when they start to reminisce.  So much time has passed that they can’t remember their old friends' names.   They might remember some fun nicknames, but when they see pictures of faces and places – wow!  It's like a rush of memories and feelings overcome them.   Great times, great friends, great memories.   

So often I’ve sat with Veterans listening to their stories – their faces start to light up.   Memories they thought they’d forgotten come flooding back to them.   Seeing a picture of the base they served at or their barracks that another Veteran, there is usually a silence…followed by tears that turn into a smile.   You can feel the pride entering their hearts.   You really never know what’s hidden in their soul, their life experience until we listen and help them to recreate the memories.

A friend of mine’s brother was diagnosed with cancer.   It is likely that some of it started while he served in Vietnam with the 82nd Airborne.   His brother had not talked about his service over the last 50 years.   On one of his final visits with his brother, he talked for a long time about his military service – until that moment, he never knew how much his service meant to him.   He was so proud to have served with such great men.   That was the last time he ever saw his brother.

From time to time, we hear of stories from family members who have visited VetFriends.com hoping to get some information about their family member’s service.

A few years ago, a woman shared her story that her brother had been killed in Vietnam.   She found VetFriends.com and located a man who had been in her brother’s unit.   You can imagine her shock when she learned the Veteran had been there when her brother was shot and killed.   She flew to meet the man.   They had coffee.   He shared his old pictures and she shared hers.   They talked for hours about her brother and his time in the military.   As a result of his personal testimony, she was able to have a memorial ceremony for her brother with one of her state’s congressmen attending to present medals for her brother’s heroism. 

This is the mission of VetFriends.  To help our brothers and sisters reconnect, while providing lasting memories for family and friends.  Moments that are priceless.  Please help VetFriends continue this mission and preserve their legacies.


Here is how we intend to allocate funds:

Improve access for our Veterans, with interactive pictures, maps, stories, and updated tools to easily find old friends, as well as their legacy to share with family to share stories with family members.
Develop programs to give back to Veteran Retirement homes, introduce them to the resources available to them, but more importantly, letting them re-experience the joy and pride of their service.
Create a system for Veterans to easily convert their pictures, stories, maps and awards into photo books to pass on to their children and grandchildren.   A true legacy that can be passed down through generations.
 

So many things are possible today because of the brave men and women who have served and are serving in the U.S.  Military.   We appreciate all your help and support.

In May 2019, during U.S.  Small Business Administration’s National Small Business Week, VetFriends.com was recognized as the Senate Small Business of the Day.


Organizer

Dale Sutcliffe
Organizer
Mt. Pleasant, SC

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