Later we visited a 94 yr old WWII Naval Aviator. He had prepared snacks for us and showed us all the furniture he had made throughout his house. In the photo below, you can see him playing one of the guitars he handmade. He played several tunes for us. In the other photo is our ARW member, Genie, holding another handmade instrument. Again, we spent time with a very positive person ...a very talented WWII veteran with many medals for his service flying in the Pacific Theatre where he was the only one in his squadron to return on seven occasions.

What an inspiring day!

The purpose of the Caring for America Committee is to support the troops. We will be sending care packages to troops currently serving in Afghanistan, tentatively scheduled for April and November. There will be information about dates and location for packing parties announced at our monthly meetings as well as in the newsletter. The packing parties are fun and way to meet other ARW members while supporting our military!

Again this year, we are working to reach out to our wounded military and their families. This past year we have supported the wounded Marine Corps troops at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio.  Several of the Marines had a great opportunity to attend a UT Longhorns practice scrimmage.  After the scrimmage, Coach Brown and the team met with the Marines and posed for pictures (below).  Our friend and former UT offensive lineman and All American, Dan Neil, was instrumental in facilitating this event. 

A second event, Women of the Wounded Warriors, was a celebration of the wives and mothers of Marine Corps Wounded Warriors who are at BAMC.  It was a night to remember for those 25 wives and mothers who were pampered during the evening event at Saks Fifth Avenue in San Antonio.  It was a fun, uplifting evening, during which the women were all able to forget their difficult situations for a while.  They had hair and makeup done by Saks stylists and makeup consultants as the Saks team assisted, served a light dinner, and poured wine.  While everyone visited, laughed and occasionally shed a tear, the Unit Commander, LtCol Barnes, and his wife drew for raffle gifts for all of the honored women.  Each of the wives and mothers then received a gift certificate for $400, a 'goodie bag', and went shopping!  The raffle gifts, goodie bag items and gift cards were all donations from generous individuals and organizations.  ARW contributed to the gift cards, and our own Marjie Walters and Carol Cates contributed many items to both the raffle and goodie bags.  A very big THANK YOU to all of you who contributed and made this an incredible evening.