Support groups help young veterans
By ELENA GRIMM egrimm@daily-chronicle.com
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| Paula Ruff and Justin Faulkner view the Illinois Traveling War Memorial within the Regency Room at the Holmes Student Center at NIU. |
The first memories JD Kammes has of a veterans organization are fish fries and pancake breakfasts.
He went with his grandfather, who was a Marine in the 1950s, to various functions at the Sycamore post of Veterans of Foreign Wars. Now, the 31-year-old Kammes is a member of the VFW and president of the Northern Illinois University Veterans Club.
As young men and women return from current overseas conflicts, they're not only rejoining civilian life but joining new ranks as veterans. How involved one gets post-military depends on a lot of things, Kammes said.
"I really enjoyed being in the service," Kammes said. "Some people, not as much. That really shades how some people feel when they get out."
Some have told Kammes, who is always looking for new members, that they're happy to be out of the military and want nothing else to do with it.
Despite this, local veterans organizations know it's important to keep the door open.
"We want the organization so that we can keep benefits, entitlements and all that stuff as our legacy," said Paul Kallembach, state membership director for VFW. "We can always protect the future of veterans. Unfortunately, we're convinced that we'll always have veterans in this country."
At the DeKalb VFW post, about 15 new members signed up last year and 26 have joined this year, the majority having served in the Iraq war. Though this group is joining at a quicker pace than before, recruitment is always a challenge, Kallembach said.
Getting young blood into the organization is more important than ever, he added, because of the growing age difference between Vietnam veterans and Iraq veterans.
About 12-15 Iraq war veterans have joined the American Legion post in DeKalb, with total membership nearing 250, post adjutant Harry Begovich said.
Both Begovich and Kallembach said that one of the biggest challenges in recruiting is getting the word out about what the organizations do. To reach out to younger veterans, local posts have made stronger connections with the NIU Veterans Club.
To kick off a series of Veterans Day events, the NIU club sponsored a roundtable discussion last week, inviting the public and non-student veterans to talk about bridging gaps.
At least 500 veterans attend NIU, but it's hard to know how many unless they self identify, Kammes said. About 40 are active in the club, which was founded in 1954.
With so many veterans on campus, Kammes believes that the face of the veteran is changing, and organizations for veterans need to change with it.
"I think veterans really understand service and volunteering and really want to be a part of that," he said. "Especially younger veterans feel that way because you volunteered; no one was forced."
Kallembach believes the VFW is already changing, as evidenced in the cooperative programs with the campus group, like the roundtable discussion.
"But when they graduate from school, they've lost that [camaraderie]," he said. "We need parent groups like VFW then."
Nick Schneigert has joined only the NIU Veterans Club because he doesn't have the time for additional groups. Schneigert, 32, is a Navy reservist who was called up after Sept. 11. He thinks that being a joiner is the best way that veterans can reintegrate into society post-service.
"Community service is important because we're making ourselves interact with the community and the campus," he said.
Despite the differences in age and the wars they fought, most veterans, young and old, say their similarities are much stronger.
"Veterans help veterans. When you fall on hard times, we're there to support each other," Begovich said.
"I think we've all been in the same boat," Schneigert said. "It's already a universal brotherhood. Once you meet someone who is a veteran, you already know what that person's been through."
Veterans Day events
What: Veterans Day Observance
When: 10:59 a.m. Wednesday
Where: DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore
What: Veterans Day Observance
When: 11 a.m. Wednesday
Where: Flagpole at NIU's Altgeld Hall in DeKalb
What: Veterans Day Observance
When: 11 a.m. Wednesday
Where: Memorial Park, First Street and Lincoln Highway in DeKalb
What: Special programs for Veterans Day
When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, National Geographic documentary "Arlington Cemetery: Field of Honor" shown at noon and 1:45 p.m., History of Veterans Day presentation at 1 p.m.
Where: Midwest Museum of Natural History, 425 W. State St. in Sycamore
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