Blue Star Mothers support troops from home, find solace

FARMINGTON, Nov 08, 2009 (The Daily Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- BUSRF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- The Blue Star Mothers are busy year-round, but the support they provide to our country's fighting men and women is especially crucial during the holidays.

Whether they celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or another winter holiday, soldiers are used to spending that time at home with family, not thousands of miles away in the war-torn Middle East.

So the Blue Star Mothers try to bring a little bit of home to them. The group is accepting donations for its annual Christmas food and gift drive, and packages will be mailed Dec. 7.

Blue Star Mothers is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1942. It exists to provide a support network for active and veteran service members from every branch of the U.S. military.

"The goal and the mission is to totally not let people forget that our sons and daughters are over there, to make sure that they're welcomed home, and that they get the proper support when they get home," said Rita Gibson, president of the organization's Four Corners chapter.

The Four Corners chapter, which was the first in New Mexico, typically has about 75 deployed troops on its mailing list. Each soldier receives three boxes during the December mailing: one with food, one with hygiene items and one with gifts.

The majority of the troops benefited by the local chapter are from the area, so the things they desire most tend to be distinctly New Mexican.

"So at Christmas we always try to get dried refried beans and green chile to

send to them," Gibson said.

The food and gift drive isn't the Blue Star Mothers only holiday event. Members on Saturday threw a dinner and dance for veterans and helped the city unveil its Medal of Honor Memorial, and they'll assist with the districtwide high school JROTC competition next weekend at Bloomfield High School.

The Blue Star Mothers also were selected to be parade marshals for this year's Christmas parade, Gibson said.

Though the holidays are one of the organization's busiest times, members provide support for troops 365 days a year.

Gary Groomer, who served a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2007-08 with the Army's 10th Mountain Division as a combat medic, said the Blue Star Mothers' contributions are especially appreciated by soldiers without spouses or children.

"There's a lot of people over there, they may be a single soldier or whatnot. I've seen guys that don't even get a letter a month," Groomer said. "When you're hanging out for 15 months and you don't get nothing, it's a hard deal."

While deployed, many of Groomer's fellow soldiers had a hard time obtaining socks. He found himself spending hours each day caring for the soldiers' feet. Then he called his mother for help.

It didn't take long for the Blue Star Mothers to purchase an army of socks and send them to Groomer's unit, providing needed relief.

Cathy Tucker joined the Blue Star Mothers in 2003 when her eldest son, Jeremy, was stationed in Germany and about to be deployed to Iraq. Jeremy returned from his deployment safely, but younger brother Josh has followed in his footsteps.

Josh is a member of the 506th Infantry Regiment of the Army's 101st Airborne Division. He recently returned from 12 months in a remote region of Afghanistan. While setting up a mountain base at 8,000 feet, Josh and his companions were constantly enduring frigid nights in their tents without sufficient heat.

The Four Corners Blue Star Mothers, upon hearing of the 506th's plight, sent two blankets to each of the 30 soldiers in Josh's unit.

When Cathy went to her son's homecoming celebration in March at Fort Campbell, Ky., the soldiers and their families expressed heartfelt gratitude.

"That was a really special feeling to me. Those guys really needed those blankets," Cathy said.

Josh, then a private, earned the bronze star during his deployment.

The Blue Star Mothers don't just provide items for soldiers when they need them. The soldiers also receive throughout the year wet wipes for days they can't shower, random gifts and treasured snacks.

"Anything that you get that's not (an Army-issued Meal Ready to Eat), it's like gold. Anything you get that's different, it brings you back to reality," Groomer said.

Blue Star Mothers is open to mothers, fathers, friends and extended family members of soldiers actively deployed or veterans. Often, they need the support as much as the soldiers they're aiding.

"It's extremely tough. Some days you feel like you're on kind of a roller-coaster ride, especially when they're over there," Cathy said of having her sons deployed. "Most of the mothers there, they either know what you're going through because they've been through it or they're currently going through it."

G. Jeff Golden: jgolden@daily-times.com

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