Department of Indiana Commander Bob Oeth volunteers at the Legion’s activation display in May to encourage visitors to support the suicide prevention mission.
When American Legion Department of Indiana Commander Robert “Bob” Oeth had an opportunity to combine his love for the Legion, Be the One and INDYCAR, he took the chance. Oeth volunteered at the Legion’s Be the One activation display that was set up in the Fan Zone at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Sonsio Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500 during the month of May.
“I wanted to share the word about Be the One, it's near and dear to me, and to be able to talk to not only veterans but just everyday people that was out at the raceway,” Oeth said, referencing the Legion’s suicide prevention mission to be the one to save a veteran’s life. “If they wanted to talk about any subject of The American Legion, I can relate something to them. It was a great opportunity to be able to share my experience with The American Legion and that involves about 53 years of being a member.”
As people visited the Be the One activation display, many asked how to get involved with The American Legion, join or renew their membership. A service officer was onsite during the Indianapolis 500 race weekend (May 24-26) where he helped 75 veterans and their family members with questions on how to file a claim or the status of a claim.
Another question asked often by visitors was, “What are you giving away?”
“It’s not what we're giving away, it's that what we want to give you the chance to take this pledge and Be the One to help us combat veteran suicide and all suicides,” was Oeth’s response, adding that people then took the pledge and asked what more they could do to support the Legion’s mission. “I said, ‘You've done the first step. You took the pledge to Be the One.”
Oeth then shared the available Be the One resources on the website, which includes a monthly podcast, newsletter and suicide prevention training classes held virtually for free.
“People were receptive that we were there spreading the word about Be the One,” he shared. “Everybody has been touched by somebody that's made that decision to end their life by suicide. Everybody's got a different story.
“A lot of time (at the Be the One activation display) it was talking to people that suicide has touched. That's what they need. They need to be assured that feeling of, ‘Hey, I can talk to this person. I can kind of let some of this go.’ Let some of this sadness or grief or whatever out and that happens sometimes.”
Oeth spoke with an American Legion Auxiliary member who lost a nephew to suicide following his military service.
“She just kind of really opened up about it. And it feels good,” Oeth explained, “that you can look at people, talk to people, in a short period of time and they feel comfortable in releasing some of their emotions to you. It reinforces that we’re all one great big American Legion Family and if one person can’t find the answer, we have somebody we can turn to and help find the answer.
“It reinforced our message of being out there to spread the word about Be the One.”
- Be the One