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“We have a huge care-package program,” he noted, adding that the local chapter will send them anywhere — all it needs is an address. “Those packages keep them connected to home; it lets them know people are thinking about them.”
Elaborating, he said the packages can be per- sonalized, and many are, but there are many staples — personal-care items, beef jerky, snacks, sunscreen, and wet wipes, which can and often are used to clean weapons.
But there are many other ways in which the local USO carries out its mission, starting with the Monday dinners served at the base (the cafeteria is closed that night). There are usually 125 to 150 people who partake, including some area veter- ans, he said, adding that meals are delivered to those serving at guard posts, on the runways, and other locations.
There’s also a food pantry at which service members can buy items; that facility also provides items to veterans in need.
The agency also marks deployments and homecomings, and it will also help take fallen ser- vicemen from the area to their final resting place. It will assist servicemen and women in transition with furniture and other needs, said Tracy, and even provide small loans to those in need.
Then there’s the Pathfinder program that assists those transitioning from the service to the workforce.
“We’ll help them put together a résumé and learn how to interview,” he explained, adding that participants in the program are assigned a ‘scout’ who will assist in a job search on many levels.
There’s also the Bob Hope Legacy Reading Pro- gram, he went on, a program that enables service-
men and women to be recorded while reading a portion of a book or poem. That tape will then be sent to a designated family on a specified date, such as the holidays.
“
and my favorite charity. I like everything we do — and I get to laugh everyday, so that makes it even better.”
Finishing Touch
“That’s just another way that those off serv- ing their country can stay connected,” Tracy noted, adding that this has been the simple yet all-important mission of the USO from the beginning.
For him, as noted, it’s not a job, but rather a passion.
“It’s a wonderful organization and my favorite charity,” he said. “I like everything we do — and I get to laugh everyday, so that makes it even better.”
It’s a unique mission, and for 80 years, it’s been mission accomplished. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
It’s a wonderful organization
The USO facility at Westover Air Reserve Base provides servicemen and women with a number of services and needed items, including books to read in what’s known as the ‘relaxing room.’
those days were the ones when the care packages arrived. “During the war, my best buddy was my mom; she sent care packages all the time, and it was pretty awesome. Now ... I’m just passing it on.”
And in all kinds of ways.
The care packages might be the best-known and perhaps the most symbolic part of the mis- sion, he said, adding that the proud tradition is carried on today.
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