|
WASHINGTON D.C. (March 25, 2008) - In 1967, Robert Hutchinson
was a young soldier serving in the jungles of Vietnam. He was
concerned that the men in his unit weren't getting enough mail from
home.
Sgt. Joe Artavia's letter home to his sister, Linda Patterson,
asking her to find a city to adopt his unit made a huge difference
to Hutchinson and his comrades, Hutchinson said.
"The adoption of our company by the city of San Mateo (Calif.)
and your personal dedication to our unit is a matter of great pride
to me as well as to many of my brothers-in-arms," Hutchinson wrote
in a recent letter to Patterson.
Though Artavia was killed March 24, 1968, he did learn that his
request had been fulfilled.
After a March 17 American Forces Press Service story highlighted
both the city and Patterson's 40-plus years of troop support,
others are following Hutchinson's lead and are contacting
Patterson.
Though she is hearing from veterans, she's also hearing from
current servicemembers regarding her organization, "America
Supporting Americans," which works to have communities across the
country adopt military units.
"We are hearing (of) a lot of units registering with (America
Supporting Americans). Even Navy Seabees have contacted us,"
Patterson said. "Hopefully some cities will start trickling in
soon."
Patterson also said she's excited about other opportunities to
share the history of San Mateo's relationship with Company A, 1st
Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
Currently, a display at the San Mateo Public Library conveys the
story. "There is talk about circulating a moving wall of this
history across the country hopefully to inspire others to join
(America Supporting Americans') Adopt a Unit program," she
said.
In addition, Patterson said she hopes to take a small contingent
of representatives from her organization to visit adopted units in
Iraq. The trip would be similar to the then-unprecedented trip she
made to Vietnam nearly four decades ago.
America Supporting Americans is also a supporter of America
Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and
companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home
and abroad.
Editor's Note: Military families can also avail
themselves of the Defense Department's America Supports You
program, which highlights home-front groups across the nation that
are providing a variety of services and support to troops and their
families. A listing of these groups and information about their
efforts is available at www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil.
|
