Soldier's Wish grants meet unmet needs of America's heroes

Leonard Atchley of Longmont, Colo., is looking forward to the day he can chew food again and not hide his mouth with a mustache. He has 11 teeth.

The 85-year-old U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War is on a fixed income and does not qualify for VA dental care. The total dental work required costs about $4,500.

Just when Atchley thought new teeth were never in his future, he is scheduled in early July for the fitting of new dentures thanks to a grant by Soldier’s Wish.

“It’s fantastic. Absolutely fantastic,” Atchley said about the grant. “I grew my mustache long so I didn’t have to show people I only had two teeth in my mouth. It’s embarrassing for me. When I get my new teeth I’m going to shave everything off so I look good.”

Soldier’s Wish is an American Legion-supported nonprofit organization that raises funds to honor and support members of the U.S. military personnel, veterans and their families by granting wishes to improve their lives. “We make wishes come true by meeting unmet needs,” said Mark Ochsenbein, a Legionnaire and volunteer director for Soldier’s Wish.

Recently, Soldier’s Wish provided a grant to Marine veteran Cody Nichols, who owns and operates Our Troops Services, a landscaping, fencing and construction business in Tulsa, Okla., that hires veterans. His business was recently robbed, resulting in a loss of expensive landscaping equipment. Soldier’s Wish donated $15,000 worth of new equipment so Our Troops Services could continue to support veterans and its community. “(Soldier’s Wish) really saved us,” Nichols told the Tulsa World.

Another grant supported a husband and wife in Little Rock, Ark., both veterans with an 11-month-old son and a baby on the way, who fell on hard times and became homeless. Soldier’s Wish helped them find a house, paid for five months’ rent, and provided a $1,000 Walmart gift card to purchase household items.

Soldier’s Wish and the American Legion Family often work together to provide grants. Last December, 12 American Legion departments and Soldier’s Wish gave holiday gifts and gift cards to military personnel, veterans and their families with Operation Christmas Wish.

Grants oftentimes not only benefit the veteran, but also their spouse. Soldier’s Wish helped remodel the bathroom of an 87-year-old veteran and his wife in Staten Island, N.Y. The veteran slipped trying to climb into his bathtub. He was transported to the hospital where he received 23 stitches in his head and is fighting vertigo as a result of the fall. Ochsenbein said the veteran and his wife are “very thankful for the work Soldier’s Wish was able to do to remodel their bathroom to make it safe, for not only the veteran but his wife too.”

For more information, or to request a wish, visit www.soldierswish.org. Donations to Soldier’s Wish can be made at www.legion.org/donate.