Although this year’s theme at the 111th Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention was “Salute to
Korean War Veterans,” I had the honor and privilege to attend the convention on behalf of Operation
Courage is Beautiful as a distinguished guest of the VFW’s She Serves Community and honoree at
the VFW She Serves Networking Session. My quick trip proved to be a heartwarming and inspiring
experience that will forever stay with me.

I arrived in beautiful Indianapolis the evening of August 23rd, 2010, to be warmly welcomed by the
lovely Ms. Cano “G” from the VFW Washington office. I then met the VFW Director of National
Membership Matthew Claussen and Associate Director Troy Danderson. From there, I joined the
informal She Serves evening reception where I had the privilege to hear about the projects, challenges,
initiatives, concerns, and achievements of some of the members of the She Serves Community.

Those in attendance included Command Sergeant Major (Ret.) Cynthia Pritchett, the Department of
Pennsylvania She Serves Chairman Barbara Loncar, the National Deputy Chief of Staff and MC Karen
Nigara, and Department of Minnesota She Serves Chairman Jaimie Bahl. (Yes, they also discussed the
title “Chairman”!)

At the She Serves Networking Session the next morning, I had the honor of listening to the wise words
and incredible experiences of Keynote Speaker Cynthia Pritchett, who is the longest serving female
Soldier and first woman ever to serve as a Command Sergeant Major, which she did for 27,000 coalition
forces in Afghanistan. During her speech, she stated that she hopes that women in the future will no
longer be recognized for being “the first woman,” but rather “the first person” to pioneer a certain
accomplishment.

Attendees of the Networking Session, including San Diego’s very own Marilyn Maxwell of Post 3787 in
Mission Valley, were (very) pleasantly surprised when Nashville recording star Ricky Lee serenaded the
crowd with “She’s An American Soldier,” a song he wrote in dedication to our woman warriors.

As he was singing and making his way through the crowd, I was extremely touched to see many of the
women veterans, some of whom are Korean War veterans, with tears streaming down their faces as
Ricky Lee sang the words:

It’s ten pm, and I tuck in Johnny.
The little boy cries, ‘Daddy, I miss Mommy. Will she be home soon?…
She’s a mother and daughter, she’s an angel to me.
She’s an American Soldier, she’s a hero to me.

He was singing about the women in the room, including Billie Hovey (Woman Veterans
Chairperson, Ca), Charine Zsalduko (District 7 Commander) and active Soldier Terri A., who was
on a very short rest and recuperation break. Terri decided to spend her time at the Convention
before heading back to Iraq in the next couple of days. (OCIB has since sent her and her fellow
female soldiers some care packages as well!)

Afterwards, CSM Cynthia Pritchett and I were presented plaques from the VFW She Serves
Community. Hers for her service IN the military. Ours for our service FOR the military.

At the end of the session, I walked away with a great sense of pride and humility all at once. I
was very proud of what these amazing women have done in their lifetime that has ultimately
opened up so many opportunities for those who follow in their footsteps. I was simultaneously
humbled to have been in the presence of these and the thousands of other veterans who
walked through the halls of the convention.

I know that there are many other troops serving overseas and risking their lives. All I can do is to
continue to express my appreciation through Operation Courage is Beautiful, to hope that we
can make a difference and bring a smile to our soldiers’ faces, and to inspire others to join our
efforts.

Thank you to our troops and veterans.

Very Respectfully,
Cindy Chan

Blue skies,

SSG Samantha M. B.
U.S. Division – Center Public Affairs

Chaplain Fuimaono and I wanted to let you know that we received the care packages of awesome feminine supplies. Our Female Warrior’s faces were priceless. They could not believe that someone would give them such big brand named feminine supplies out here. They were so appreciative and thankful and here are few photos so you can see for yourself what an impact this had on our Lady Warriors. One of our Marines from Security platoon cannot wear certain types of sunscreen because it makes her skin irritated, and it just so happens that one of the items in the special gift bags had the exact type of lotion she needed that would not cause her to have an allergic reaction. I cannot tell you how much it boosted their morale and confidence out here by knowing people care so much about them back home. This really meant a lot and thank from us as well.

V/R,
Chaplain Fuimaono and RP2 Paul Drachenberg
CLB-5 Religious Ministry Team

Briefly about me. I am a single Mom with 3 daughters. My girls’ pictures are attached. Stationed in Camp Pendleton and originally from Bakersfield, CA. I’ve been in the Marine Corps for 12 years. I’m currently in Southern Afghanistan and I’m responsible for getting supplies out to the guys fighting the fight. Well that’s me in a nutshell.

Again so very grateful for your thoughtfulness.

R/S,
1stLt Julie A. B.
Executive Officer

My name is Ashley.  I am a Corporal with a security company deployed to Afghanistan.  I received one of the bundles that were sent through one your care packages.  Several of the women from my section also received a bundle.  We are extremely grateful.  Thank you so much for your thoughts and for taking the time out of your lives to bring a little happiness to ours.

From a more personal note, I’m glad that I am able to receive some “girly” things… my husband isn’t too keen on shopping for such things.  I’m almost certain that there are several other women who are in the same boat.  Thank you again for your thoughtfulness.  I hope that this email finds you well and happy.

VR

Ashley R.

Cpl R., A. M.

H&S Security

Thank you for the goody bags all females received. You all hit the right spot with Neutrogena face wash, cosmetics, and my favorite sun block. Everything you do is very much appreciated by all of us here in Afghanistan. Please give my great appreciation to everyone who helped in any way at all. I don’t have a way of sending you any pictures of us yet, but when I do I will send some your way. Again I will say thank you u made my day and god bless.

Very respectfully

HM3 B.,CANDI

USN CLB-5 ENG COMPANY

I would like to give you all my deep appreciation for the things you sent. We just recently received the things you sent. Thank you from the females at Ops Platoon over here in Engineer company at CLB-5 forward.

Cpl W

First of all I would like to say thank you for all of your support. Second thank you for all of the goodies. We have a lot of females in our shop and we all got super excited to see the good products. Thank you so much. Attached is a picture of a few us in our Supply shop!

Thank,

Lcpl Kristyn S.

I would like to send our thanks for the wonderful care package you prepared for myself and the girls of 1st Platoon. Your package was the first piece of mail our platoon had received and the girls were very excited to see the lotions and different skin care products you sent. We placed the cards that were made for us near the entrance of the tent to keep a smile on our faces and to keep us all motivated. So on behalf of 1st Platoon Female Engagement Team (FET) we would like to say thank you.

Sincerely,
CPL Heather A. S. and the Girls of FET

v/r
Amy