National commander, Auxiliary president visit Landstuhl
American Legion National Commander Dale Barnett and American Legion Auxiliary National President Sharon Conatser honored Memorial Day by visiting the halls of a hallowed hospital where many fallen heroes gasped their last breath – the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
“To share the story of how (American Legion) Operation Comfort Warriors (OCW) began under Past National Commanders Paul Morin and Dave Rehbein with the special group of men and women here at Landstuhl means a lot,” Barnett said after presenting an OCW donation of more than $6,350 in gift cards, electronics and apparel to wounded, injured and ill personnel at the medical center and its surrounding Fisher House and USO warrior center. “The American Legion saw a need, and we delivered.”
“It was emotional visiting our service personnel in the hospital,” Conatser said. “It takes you back to when all of our veterans were young.”
The Legion delegation wasted no time visiting the troops immediately following a red-eye flight from the United States to kick-off a Department of France tour that will take them to Luxembourg and Brussels before concluding at The American Legion’s birthplace in Paris. The group will also participate in D-Day commemorations in Normandy on June 6.
“The American Legion always supports us with donations and the local American Legion Post GR01 always preps and serves meals to wounded warriors and staff here at the center,” said USO Warrior Center Manager Tess Massey. “We are nonprofit and only have a staff of five, so when The American Legion helps us out it’s huge. It’s not just a once-a-year kind of thing.”
Col. James Laterza, commander of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, estimates that 90,000 war-wounded military personnel have passed through Landstuhl since the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism. “Of the wounded that get here, about 99 percent survive,” he said.
While The American Legion will forever honor and remember the fallen, Barnett and Conatser are committed to improving the quality of life for the wounded, injured and ill servicemembers and their families. “I was honored to present them with some Amazon gift cards just to show our appreciation and hopefully bring a little sunshine to their days,” Conatser said. “That’s what The American Legion Family is all about.”