Jan/Feb 2001

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=110 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03df0f21egerdp.jpg"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="03e203c0.jpg" border=0 width="32" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#66334C" FACE="Arial" ><B>The DAVA Lighthouse</B></FONT><B>      |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The DAVA Lighthouse"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> back to<B>  </B><A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DAV Monthly Magazine Newsletters"><U><B>DAV Monthly Magazine Newsletters</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03cf2f02egerdp.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="id77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nov/Dec 2000"><U>Nov/Dec 2000</U></A></div> <div> <B>Jan/Feb 2001</B></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03ff0f03.jpg"> <div> <B>Being There for Veterans</B></div> <div> <B>Carol A. Gray, DAVA National Commander</B></div> <div> <B>(Jan/Feb 2001)</B></div> <div> It was an extremely sad day when our nation received news of the terrorist attack on the USS Cole, which claimed the lives of 17 sailors and left 39 other crewmembers burned and injured.</div> <div> I listened, along with the rest of the nation, to the news and read about the tragedy, and I felt a deep sense of loss as I watched the memorial service unfold at the sailors' homeport in Norfolk, Va. </div> <div> During this time I received a deeply poignant message through the Internet from U.S. Navy Reserve Commander Kathryn M. Janosco. Commander Janosco is affiliated with the DAV Auxiliary through her mother, Kay Egan, Commander, DAV Auxiliary State Department of Florida, and the widow of a WW II Navy veteran. </div> <div> In referring to how the American public would react to women returning home in body bags, Commander Janosco stated that the reaction was no different in its sorrow for the sailors, and was as it should have been. She later commented about how the DAV and the Auxiliary do so much for so many veterans. </div> <div> Commander Janosco's words reminded me of the young men and women who serve our country. They are volunteers who willingly serve and demonstrate the ideals and principles we value today just as we valued them in the past. They are brave, strong, and committed. They know the risks, and they go in harm's way just as generations of Americans before them did. They are the sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters of those generations who stepped forward to protect our freedoms. And just as the generations who preceded them, these new veterans can rightfully be called heroes. The future of our nation rests in their hands, and they are proving equally worthy to the task. </div> <div> As members of the DAV Auxiliary, we know the pain and anguish the families of the personnel of the USS Cole are facing. We are also aware of the anxiety of all families with loved ones stationed in volatile areas of the world. That is why we must be there to let our Auxiliary light shine as we offer our compassion and understanding to those who need us. </div> <div> We must also be ever mindful of the hush of apathy that so often shadows our nation's concerns for veterans and military personnel when we are not at war. As Auxiliary members, we must not only be ready to help veterans and their families when they face difficult times, we must also work to educate our national leaders on the issues facing veterans, in conjunction with DAV legislative efforts. </div> <div> The work we do on behalf of disabled veterans and their families is tremendously important. That is why we need a strong and viable membership to continue to be an important voice for our nation's heroes -- those who have paid the price for our freedom with their blood and those who continue to protect us in the 21st century. </div> <div> For a brighter tomorrow for disabled veterans and their families, won't you let your auxiliary light shine on membership today?</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> E-mail to Carol Gray</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:cgraymich@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:cgraymich@aol.com"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-571/aniGif.gif" alt="DAVA National Commander" border="0" align="bottom" width="90" height="36">  </U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>