| Camp LeJeune Trip |
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| Vets deliver for Marines By Jim Poole Duty called to the Cobleskill Veterans, and they answered the call. With help from others, seven veterans took a busload of goods to Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, to Marines recuperating from wounds suffered in the war in Iraq. Though the trip lasted just a weekend, October 7-9, planning started several months ago. The Cobleskill Veterans, an association of members of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and AMVETS, learned of the Marines’ needs from Assemblyman Dan Hooker, a major now serving at Camp LeJeune. ”We got his e-mail, we called back and forth, and one thing led to another,” said Larry Bush, one of the local veterans making the trip. Cobleskill Veterans began soliciting books, movies and more, and plenty came in. ” We were in a scrounging mode, so we’d take anything,” Mr. Bush said. The collection also meshed with the Veterans computer center project (See related story.), so they also had six rebuilt computers to take to Camp LeJeune. They originally planned to use cars or pick-ups to make the trip but then asked to use one of Schoharie County’s Public Transportation buses. Veterans got permission from the county Board of Supervisors, the state Department of Transportation and the federal government, and the bus was theirs for the weekend. The bus left the Cobleskill VFW Post at 6am October 7 with volunteer driver Dick Bartholomew at the wheel. Besides Mr. Bush, others making the trip were Bill Lundquist, Terry O’Neill, Bunk Bingham, Paul Dunphy, Irv Pickett and Don Mackey. They arrived at Camp LeJeune after 8pm that night and were met by Major Hooker, who gave them a tour of the camp the next morning. The Veterans distributed their goods, then went shopping to buy more: A grill, two dartboards, foosball table, air hockey table and X-box games. There were nine recuperating Marines at the base, though many more were expected. We spent some time with these heroes, shaking hands an sharing war stories,” said Mr. Mackey. The trip had one unexpected side benefit. Visiting Camp LeJeune brought back memories for the Cobleskill Veterans, many of whom served more than 25 years before. Most noticed the barracks were more comfortable, and the chow “was far better,” Mr. Pickett said. After spending just a day at the camp, the Veterans boarded the bus early on October 9 and arrived back in Cobleskill that night. Helping with travel arrangements and other affairs were Patricia Cooper of the county Public Transportation office; Mike West, county attorney; Stephanie Mielnik, DOT Rural Program Manager; Faye Ellison of the Federal Transit Administration; and the Board of Supervisors. And we want to thank Dick Bartholomew, Mr. Bush said. “Without the help of all these people, this trip would have been much more difficult. |
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