Veterans Day 2019
Today, on behalf of the Kassel Mission Historical Society we honor, once again, our Veterans both past and present. Though our mission is to perpetuate the memory of those that served in the Kassel Mission, we are among many organizations that exist to recognize and/ or support Veterans. We try to do our little piece in preserving the stories and relics of the Kassel Mission and consistently honor our Kassel Mission hero’s, a small and courageous group among the 16 million + that served.
That said, we would like to say to the 18 million + veterans alive today: Thank You for your dedicated military service and sacrifices! Among you are just under 500,000 having served in WW2 (remarkably), 2,000,000 that served in Korea, 7,000,000 that served in Vietnam and 3,000,000 that have served in the War on Terrorism.
Do we do enough for our Veteran’s - given what they have sacrificed for us? What has been their personal Return on Investment? According to the statistics, 73.4% of all US veterans have a VA service-connected disability rating. Among those, more than 76% feel that their service-connected disability has prevented them from getting or holding a job in the past. Returning from service, we can be sure, has always been full of challenges and difficulties – but in today’s world it appears to be even more daunting. There is a lot to be done, for certain, and we all could do a little more on our part. At KMHS we have consistently expressed our gratitude to the Kassel Mission vets past and present – they are family. But do you know any other veterans that you can express your appreciation to?
The closest veterans I know - other than my dad, (former 1st Lieutenant, B24 Navigator, WW2 POW), are my brother in law Jack Stermer and a dear family friend Jerry Pitman, both whom served in Vietnam. The experience I have had with these 2 veteran connections has been remarkable when it comes to helping others.
Late in my father’s life, after my mother had passed, Jack Stermer (as well as both my sisters) spent a lot of personal time helping my father - even housing him for close to 2 years. They certainly did more than their best to help the old vet out in the later years of his life despite the challenges. Jack also spent an extraordinary amount of his personal time over many months working with the VA to help my father with his unfulfilled disability claims. My dad had given up long before. Jack jumped in after learning of such and after dozens of letters and copious numbers of phone calls over many, many months, working through the challenges of the VA bureaucracy, he succeeded in getting my father his full disability benefits. That would never have happened with out Jack and most would have given up long before. Thank you Jack for your military service and your unselfish persistent to help another veteran!
Jerry Pitman has been a fantastic resource for KMHS since joining our organization. Fluent in German, married to a wonderful German woman, Susie, (from the Bad Hersfeld area) both were instrumental in the success and logistics of our recent group visit to the 75th Anniversary tribute on 9/27/19. Jerry also served in Vietnam, was seriously wounded in a firefight and has long been an active member and former chapter officer of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. This is truly a wonderful organization that provides numerous services for veterans such as claims for compensation, pension, medical care, education, job training, employment, as well as identifying and helping homeless veterans. ( www.purpleheart.org) Jerry gave a wonderful speech at the 75th Kassel Mission Memorial tribute on 9/27/19 - focusing on the challenges of our warriors who have experienced the battlefield, noting that you truly have to be there and experience such to really understand. It was a moving homily with many coming up to him after the ceremony. Jerry, thank you for your military service, your unselfish participation in KMHS and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
So to all – if you know a veteran, family or otherwise, make it a point to express your appreciation anytime, not just Veteran’s Day. If you see someone in uniform or an older vet wearing a tell-tale hat – take a moment to say thanks too. In the end it’s what we all can do to help improve their personal return on investment.