By: Bill O’Connell
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
Most Americans would agree the answer to the question “How much are we doing for our military veterans?” would be a simple two-word response. “Not enough.” For every dollar we currently spend on defense we spend seventeen cents taking care of hundreds of thousands of men and women who put themselves in harm’s way to protect this country once their service is completed.
American Legions, like the Murbach-Seifert Post #479 in Swanton, do whatever is possible to make up for the government shortfalls that affect the daily lives of local veterans and their families. Last year the Swanton Post put on a fund raising event for The Battle Buddy Foundation (TBBF), a non-profit organization that helps provide highly trained psychiatric and mobility service dogs, which can cost as high as $25,000, to military veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or other combat related injuries.
They used a Poker-Run format where members of the American Legion Riders (motorcyclists) traveled to several other American Legions in the area to raise money and awareness of their cause then returned to Swanton for a dinner and auction. “We did very well our first year,” explained Deb Miniaci, one of the event’s main organizers.
“I was told we would be lucky to have 50 bikes. We had 163 bikes and over 400 people and over $8,000 in donated items to raffle off.”
Encouraged by that success, the members of Post #479 decided to raise the bar this year and challenge themselves to raise enough money to sponsor a dog on their own.
They started by inviting Co-Founder and Executive Director of TBBF Kenny Bass and Deputy Executive Director Chrissy Faulkner to be the featured speakers at Swanton’s 2016 Memorial Day Celebration. Kenny is a former infantry Marine who received a traumatic brain injury while serving in Iraq rendering him 100% disabled and was subsequently diagnosed with PTSD after returning home. What followed was a ten-year descent into hell that medication, counseling and therapy could not stop and self-medicating alcohol only made much worse. “After five years I was taking thirty-three pills a day with eight to ten different prescriptions with black box warning labels cautioning users about the increased risk of suicide as a possible side effect,” said Kenny describing the struggles he faced on a very different but equally lethal battlefield. “I never felt crazier than when I was fully medicated. I had a wife and kids and none of it was pretty at the time.”
Finally, someone from the Veteran’s Administration suggested he get a service dog. “A dog? What’s a dog going to do for me?” said Kenny to himself. But after raising the money he acquired a dog, a West German Shepherd by the name of “Atlas” and it completely turned his life around. Based on his experience, Kenny partnered with another former Marine and Iraq War veteran, Joshua Rivers, to start The Battle Buddy Foundation. Three years later this Cincinnati area-based organization has made an enormously positive difference in the lives of veterans across the country.
“Our job is to provide long term intangible changes in the lives of veterans and their families,” said Kenny. The hope is that these dogs will not only change lives for the better but that they will save lives as well. A recent study by the US Department of Veteran Affairs found that 22 veterans commit suicide every day, a staggering statistic that is twice the national average of non-veterans. It is also believed to be much higher since many states, including Ohio, do not list a military status in their suicide reports.
This year’s event will take place on August 27 at the Swanton Legion with the Poker Run registration starting at 10:00 AM. The Legion Riders will be traveling to Whitehouse then Napoleon, returning to Swanton by 4:00 PM for dinner, drinks, entertainment, raffles and auctions. Kenny and his “Buddy” Atlas plan to be in attendance as well. Anyone wishing to make a monetary donation can stop at any local PNC Bank where a TBBF account has already been set up. If you would like more information about the event or sponsorship you can call the Swanton American Legion at 419-826-2936 and ask for Debbie Miniaci or look on their Facebook Page for details.
Bill O’Connell may be reached at
publisher@thevillagereporter.com