JINSA Report #1080
April 12, 2011

Celebrate Veterans Day for Passover or Easter

It's an old Jewish joke about holidays - "They tried to kill us, they
failed, let's eat." In a more serious vein, we read at the Passover Seder,
"Let all who are hungry come and eat." Observant Jews give charity before
holidays to ensure that people have what they need. It wouldn't be a Jewish
holiday without food - and it wouldn't be a holiday at all without the
emphasis on fellowship and family that goes along with food.
 
This year as you prepare for Passover, or for Easter, please celebrate
Veterans Day by doing something to ensure that a very special group of
veterans continues an important dining tradition.  
 
Please support the Fran O'Brien's Soldier Dinners. 
 
Beginning in 2004, JINSA and you, our readers, have supported the Fran
O'Brien's dinners for young soldiers - primarily amputees and victims of TBI
(traumatic brain injury) - recuperating from their wounds at Walter Reed
Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda. The
dinners, which take place outside of the hospital, offer recovering soldiers
a chance to socialize, eat a good meal, and take their first steps towards
easing back into society at no cost them or their family members. They are a
safe haven for men and women facing probably the most difficult time of
their young lives. Although the restaurant that first hosted them and gave
the event its name has closed, with the help of embassies, clubs,
restaurants and a small band of dedicated volunteers, the dinners have
become a moveable feast, giving ever more people the opportunity to host and
thank our heroes.  
 
Last week, more than 100 American and Israeli soldiers and their families
ate, drank, laughed, swapped stories and shared friendships in the Israeli
embassy as guests of the Israeli Defense Attaché accompanied by the
Ambassador.   
 
In our book, every day is Veterans Day. And the fact that we read less now
about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan makes it all the more important that
we not forget the soldiers who have come back needing our help. The injuries
caused by IEDs and other explosive devices are often permanent, and in the
best case it may take multiple operations stretched over many months - or
years - to enable soldiers to return home and begin their futures. They need
a break and you can help provide it.
 
Click here to donate online and type "Soldiers Dinners" in the Dedication
box, or you can send in a check [write "Soldiers Dinner" in the memo line]
to JINSA at 1307 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005. Every
penny goes to the soldiers.
 
We don't think you need our affirmation that food is more than just food,
but if you do, please read the letter Col. Jonathan Jaffin, then-Commander
of the Medical Corps at Walter Reed, wrote to JINSA: 
 
If you doubt the impact of your magnanimity, from my perspective, the
benefit on these soldiers and their families is incalculable... While the
dinner is in itself a treat for those who have been eating in a dining
facility... the meal is so much more than a dinner: it is a night out, a
chance to get away from the hospital environment for a few hours, an evening
to do something as normal as going to a restaurant for dinner. Even more, it
is a tangible demonstration of the support, respect, and even love that
Americans feel for our troops. I have heard from many, many of the grateful
participants who were, without exception, touched and deeply appreciative.
They may not know who supports the costs but I now do and must tell you how
much it has meant.


email: [log in to unmask]
phone: 202-667-3900 
web: http://www.jinsa.org

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