With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it is easy to forget the true meaning of Christmas. Often times we become so consumed with shopping, baking holiday treats, and planning family parties, that we often overlook the true meaning of the yuletide season.

Gene Shurtz sees the holidays in a different light these days. The 66 year old, who was a 1st Lieutenant in the Army, spent his Christmas 30 years ago stationed in Vietnam.

“Well the saying always goes ‘you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone,’” Shurtz said. “When you are isolated like that in deployment overseas, you spent a whole year, if you weren’t evacuated or injured in battle, away from your family and friends. It is very difficult.”

Shurtz is also the chapter president of the Vietnam Veterans of Greater Toledo, and he and his fellow veterans are working to make this Christmas a little brighter for service men and women and their families.

“We wanted to do some social functions, and we are trying to achieve some fellowship with some social functions,” Shurtz said. “The idea is to connect veterans with each other, and a Christmas party is a nice way to do that.”

The Christmas party will be held Monday December 21 at the Hooters restaurant on Monroe Street, but the party designed to bring some extra holiday cheer is just on part to the group’s mission.

The greater Toledo chapter is an arm of the Vietnam Veterans of America (V.V.A), whose mission has been not to forsake a group of veterans the way Vietnam veterans were.

“When we came back, the more traditional groups, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, did not allow us to join,” Shurtz said. “The political unrest at home made us unpopular, and that is why the V.V.A. has come to be.”

Shurtz and the rest of the chapter work tirelessly to help veterans of not just the Vietnam veterans but veterans of all wars.

“We do things to help ourselves and other Vietnam vets, but we are open to helping all service men and women, regardless of the war they served in.

The Toledo chapter meets one Sunday a month, at the Petro Stopping Center in Oregon, to discuss issues affecting veterans, plan events, and work on projects all in the name of serving their fellow veterans and their community

“The group marches in parades and is present at civic functions,” Jerry Eversman, an associate member of the chapter said. “Our main goal is to be resource point for information on medical care for our veteran’s as well. We are trying to get our veterans connected, and that is what they work on everyday.”

Shurtz said that there has been an influx of calls from veterans who have just come back from serving in the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Most of the calls I get are guys who are current veterans,” he said. “They are on the edge of foreclosure or being evicted maybe. Maybe they need help getting the contact for the Veteran’s hospital and we help them get that setup.”

The group also was instrumental in getting a monument erected in the memories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice and laid down there lives in Vietnam.

“The city of Oregon and Jerusalem Township erected a monument to all those who served from 1957-1975,” Eversman said. “The monument listed those citizens from Oregon who lost their lives overseas, and we played a big part in getting the monument completed. The chapter collected the donations and then organized the funds to help get the monument erected.”

The aforementioned Christmas party is just one more opportunity for the chapter to gather the veterans and continue to help them network.

“That’s what this is all about,” Shurtz said. “We did an event in the fall and that was very successful and this is kind of our winter activity to keep reaching out to our fellow brethren.”

True to the group’s mission, Shurtz and Eversman welcome all veterans who served to come out and partake in the festivities on December 21st.

“All veterans of the United States armed forces who served from 1957-1975 are welcome,” Eversman said. “If your father, brother, or family member served, we would like to see them. Even if you just want to come and thank these guys for serving our country, those folks are welcome too. It’s a chance for all of us to pay tribute to these great men and women.”

Tags: Vietnam vets

This entry was posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Community.
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