Jersey post sends Coast Guardsmen home for holidays

Legionnaire James Fleischmann remembers what it was like to serve in the Air Force and not have much in the way of expendable income. And he remembers what it was like to be away from family over the holidays during service.

So Fleischmann – a member of Stephen Ludlam American Legion Post 331 in Stone Harbor, N.J. – went to his post with the idea to send a Coast Guardsmen stationed at nearby Training Station Cape May home for the holidays to see either mom or grandma. As a result, Petty Officer 3rd Class Cameron Hutchens and Seaman Betty Siscoe will be heading home soon, all expenses paid.

“I was in the Air Force, and I know that at their ranks they don’t have two nickels to rub together,” Fleischmann said. “So I went to the post and said, ‘Let’s pick someone to send home on The American Legion.'"

The post, which each year gives Cape May $2,000 so Coast Guardsmen stationed there can purchase holiday meals, gave Fleischmann the go-ahead. A member of 331’s executive board, Fleischmann then met with Coast Guard officials to get their OK and determine a way to pick the recipients of the trips home; it was determined there would be a drawing of names.

Next came the fundraising aspect, which Fleischmann said was an easy sell. One business, Diller & Fisher Realtor, donated enough that Fleischmann realized the post could now send two Coast Guardsmen home, along with a spouse. So Fleischmann kept asking. Other businesses, individuals and organizations contributed. Post 331’s Auxiliary unit donated $100 for each individual.

“It was such easy pitch asking for money to send these heroes home,” Fleischmann said. “People are very generous when they find out they’re giving to a good cause. It didn’t take that long to get what we needed.”

The money raised allowed Hutchens, his wife Rebekah and their two dogs to fly home to North Carolina, and Siscoe – who isn’t married – to head back home to Texas. The trips include limousine service from their home or Cape May to the airport, flight tickets, ground transportation from the airport to their home, and flowers for their mother or grandmother. Siscoe and Hutchens also each got $600 to take their families out for a meal while they are home.

“The command and the staff of Coast Guard Training Center Cape May are thankful that The American Legion brought this opportunity to our members,” Chief Warrant Officer John Edwards, the training center’s public affairs officer, told the Cape May Gazette. “A lot of Coast Guard men and women are far from home conducting front-line Coast Guard missions during the holidays, and going home isn’t always an option, but these two members do get that opportunity thanks to The American Legion.”

Hutchens and Siscoe got their tickets Dec. 7 at a reception the post hosts to honor area World War II veterans. When Hutchens told his wife they were going home for the holidays, she cried. “He told me she said, ‘No one has ever done anything like this for us,’” Fleischmann said.

Fleischmann said he’s already received commitments from businesses and individuals in the community that will allow the post to repeat the generous act during the 2015 holiday season. He also would like to see other posts do the same thing.

“There are military installations all over the country that are close to Legion posts,” he said. “With a little work it can be done, and I think other posts can do the same thing if they give it a shot.”

Anyone who wants advice from Fleischmann on how to do the same thing at their post can contact him via email.