US Army Logistics Unit Kabul, Afghanistan
To find an Operation Adopt A Soldier drop-off site, make a donation, or find more information go to OperationAdoptaSoldier.org Glens Falls Army National Guard unit
“It’s not about the war and not about the politics. It has to be in a person’s own self to serve. We’re going to keep doing it until every soldier comes home,” said Cliff. From personal care items, to hand-written Christmas cards, to Girl Scout Cookies, Cliff strives to meet any request sent to him from soldiers stationed as far away as Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Germany. Once, when a soldier wished for two mountain bikes, Cliff bought the bikes, but shipment size requirements limited his ability to send them over. He painstakingly took them apart and sent them in six different boxes. A short while later he received word that all the pieces had arrived safely and that once reassembled, the bicycles worked beautifully. “Every day they get a box, it’s like Christmas for them,” said Cliff. Like Santa Claus and his elves, Cliff, Operation Adopt A Soldier’s Board of Directors, and the thousands of helpers they’ve had over the years are all volunteers. In addition to the care packages, which cost an average of $6-$10 each to ship, the group holds regular family support programs, has placed 14,000 flags within the Saratoga National Cemetery, grants scholarships, and welcomes home military servicemen at the airport. Community and business donations are combined with the proceeds from collections gathered at events to raise funds and awareness. The more than $50,000 that was collected through the organization’s two biggest fall events this year only gets them through the holidays, said Cliff. Still, the need is so great, and so continuous, that just weeks after Veteran’s day, the floor-to-ceiling shelves were empty. “The American public really doesn’t realize that we still have soldiers over there, and they’re dying every week,” he said.
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Just in the time it took to pull this article together, Cliff received notice that another of the group’s adopted soldiers had died. OAS presenting Saratoga National Bank for their "Honor our Soldier Day" In addition to sad news like this however, there are binders and binders stuffed with notes of thanks, certificates, and letters of honor. The walls are plastered with photos of grateful recipients with wide smiles. What touches Cliff the most, he said, is when soldiers (or their parents) stop in personally to thank and hug him. “You know you’re doing the right thing when you hear back from the soldiers – it’s humbling.” Constantly looking ahead, Operation Adopt a Soldier has dedicated $86,000 into a building fund. Because the town of Wilton doesn’t have a V.F.W., American Legion, or other meeting place for the community’s military and retired military personnel, the hope is that one can be built. This structure would also contain apartments where soldiers could be housed while readjusting to civilian life after returning from deployment.
Cliff thanking the Dorothy Nolan kids
“It will be a place where any soldier can stop by, relax, feel free to use the facility and just feel at home. This is our home base. This is where we started and I’ve been here all my life,” said Cliff. Home is where the heart is and Cliff plans on putting his heart into sending a piece of home to the soldiers for as long as he can do it. “It’s the drive that I have for the American soldier that keeps me going. I know how my son felt, how his mother felt, how I felt,” he said.
517 packages and 1123 for the month of December
“There are ups and downs to everything you do, but we get through them.”
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