Washington -  The tough job of keeping our world safe from terrorism often falls to our men and women in uniform.  They are bearing the light of freedom to people in Iraq and Afghanistan, just as their brothers in arms before them have done so in East Asia, the South Pacific, in Panama and Kosovo, and on the beaches of Normandy.

For their bravery, we award them medals and salute their sacrifices.  Their stories are woven into the fabric of our families and our communities.  While they are serving the great cause of freedom, however, there is another force mobilizing at home, and we all have a role to play.

Our troops are doing double duty: they serve in a miliary unit and they serve in a family unit.

The separation a military family must endure during a time of overseas deployment is perhaps the greatest hardship of war.  The tests of military deployment are even more unexpected and severe for the families of Missouri National Guard members and reservists.  In most cases, it is the family breadwinner who is called to duty from a military family.  From the much-needed income for the household budget to the comfort of sitting down to a family dinner together, military men, women, and children must adjust to the absence of a valuable member of the family.

But just as in combat, no military family goes into battle alone.

The Missouri Veterans of Foreign Wars, who have experienced the challenges and trials of serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, are leading the charge to help military families in our state.  While their loved ones serve, the members of the VFW are working with state, local, and military officials and volunteers to help families cope with the added burden. 

The volunteers of the VFW in this program know from personal experience that the battle on the home front is just as important as the battle for freedom overseas.

The program of assistance, called the Hidden Heroes project, is making up for part of the void left by Missouri’s brave National Guard members and reservists who have been called up and deployed.  Hidden Heroes is providing food, household products and gifts items from five Armory locations in our state, including the Armory in Cape Girardeau.  Just as important, volunteers in the project are planning dinners, banquets, and picnics for military spouses and their children.  By making donations ranging from toys at Christmas to tickets for concerts and sporting events, Missouri is making sure the military family unit stays active and strong.

The Hidden Heroes project even provides emergency grant money to military families, and their support is inclusive.  The first family to receive assistance from the Hidden Heroes program at the Kansas City Armory was from the Marine Corps.

 

It is just another way in which we all band together to fight for a common cause. 
 And there are other ways, too, that Missouri volunteers can deploy to support these Hidden Heroes at home.  As springtime blossoms in Southern Missouri and lawns begin to grow again, one parent may be watching the grass get long while another parent is watching sand drift up beside a Humvee tire.  Acts of neighborly kindness, like cutting an extra yard, mean more than lifting the burden of physical labor for a military family.  They also send the message that we are united in our support.   

In the same spirit, the Missouri Family Readiness Program is a group of volunteers working throughout the state.  By coordinating services and providing information directly to families dealing with the transition of a loved one to a deployment overseas, the Family Readiness offers invaluable service.  This group is led by military family members who undergo “basic training” for service to the family unit.  Often, they are the first volunteers on the scene to give families the guidance and strength they need. 

There is no question that our men and women in uniform have a tough job to do.  Our troops look to their spouses and children as sources of strength.  Our support for the Hidden Heroes keeps families positive; contributions of time and talent to help out a military family in your neighborhood has much the same effect as shipping a care package overseas to a man or woman in uniform.  Morale at home is just as important as morale among the troops in the field. 

So keep sending those cards and letters to Southern Missouri’s brave sons and daughters deployed around the world, but also send a message to their families at home: We are soldiers in your family unit, too, and you can count on us.