DAR Project Patriot Day is Saturday

Mayor Sue Murray, seated left, signs a proclamation making Saturday DAR Project Patriot Day in the City of Greencastle. Present for the signing are seated right, Sharon Baldwin, regent of Washburn Chapter of NSDAR; back row from left, Jinsie Bingham, chaplain of the Washburn Chapter of NSDAR; Sue Ryland, corresponding secretary for the Washburn Chapter of NSDAR; and Doris Stoelting, librarian for the Washburn Chapter of NSDAR.

On Saturday, the Washburn Chapter NSDAR will be sponsoring DAR Project Patriot Day in order to purchase phone cards for the military patients hospitalized at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center located in Germany and for those Hoosiers being deployed overseas from Indiana's Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center. The chapter will be having a bake sale/funds collected at the Tri-County Bank and Trust in Bainbridge on Saturday.

The community is invited to be part of this worthwhile project in support of our men and women fighting the war on terrorism. All donations will be used for phone cards with no personal or administrative fees taken from the funds. Contributions are tax deductible.

Following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the Daughters of the American Revolution established the DAR Project Patriot Committee to lend support and aid to America's service personnel in current conflicts abroad.

The first major project was the assignment by the Department of the Navy of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. John C. Stennis (CVN 74) to the DAR for sponsorship. Phone cards and care packages were sent by the DAR to the 3,200-member crew of the Stennis, with support continuing until the Stennis went into dry dock.

In the spring of 2005, a new project was undertaken: the support of the wounded active duty military personnel at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany. The ongoing military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, continue to bring wounded soldiers, marines and airmen to receive healthcare at Landstuhl. Many arrive with no clothing.

While every patient receives a voucher from the Department of Defense to be used at Army Air Force Exchange Services for clothing, other items for comfort and encouragement are needed, especially phone cards.

In addition to the project at Landstuhl, the local DAR chapters have initiated other activities to support active military units in their communities. Since being activated in 2003, Indiana's Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center has trained and mobilized over 50,000 men and women for duty in the U.S., as well as overseas. Phone cards are also needed for these men and women being mobilized from Camp Atterbury for foreign service.