Published: February 28, 2008 11:29 pm            

Skillman supports military mothers

Blue Star Mothers helps families of troops

Denise Young can’t wait for her son to arrive back home, even knowing he’ll only be around for two weeks or less before he’s off to his next duty station.

The fact U.S. Army PFC Richard Young’s future could include a stint in Iraq or Afghanistan only adds to her nervousness, but that’s the main reason Denise and a group of other local military moms have banded together.

Last week, Denise Young and the group she’s helped form, the North Central Blue Star Mothers of Indiana, received some unexpected support from one of the highest officials in the state, Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman.

On the back of Denise’s business cards for the newly formed Blue Star chapter is a quote: “We military moms share a special bond that can’t be explained. When it happens to one of us ... it happens to us all.”

That quote, along with meeting Young and mothers from two other Indiana chapters at the Indiana Statehouse, was enough to enlist Skillman in their cause.

Last week the lieutenant governor put out a special appeal on her Web site, urging the public to support the Blue Star Mothers in their mission.

“We have more reasons than ever before to support our Hoosier military mothers and families,” Skillman said. “No state, including large states like California, is represented more than Indiana.”

“Unless you’ve been through it, it’s hard to understand what a military mom is going through,” Young said Tuesday. “But that’s the way the military community is — they will reach out and help anyone they can.”

Given their official charter by the national organization last November, the north central Indiana chapter already has about 27 members, Young said, all working to help each other through the trials of waiting for sons and daughters to return home safely from harm’s way.

The group has a prayer vigil planned for 6 p.m. March 21 at the National Guard armory in Kokomo, with Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight and a National Guard chaplain among the dignitaries expected to attend, Young said.

The group also will be represented at the Kokomo Home Show March 29 at the Johanning Civic Center, offering support to new members and accepting donations for care packages to send to troops overseas.

The group can be contacted at ncindianabluestars@insightbb.com, or at P.O. Box 572, Kokomo, IN 46903.

“We just try to take care of Mom back at home so the troops can keep their minds on their own work, and not have to worry so much,” she said.

Part of that mission means getting military moms out of their houses and involved in activities: writing letters to troops, putting together care packages and attending support meetings.

The group also keeps members informed on the latest developments, something which becomes especially necessary when their kids are in areas where communication isn’t available on a daily basis.

So far, Young said her son’s been safe, stationed in Korea with the ability to talk on the phone and over the computer daily. He has a Web cam and Vonage, so he’s just a phone call or an e-mail away.

But he’s been “itching” to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan, Young said, and that has her worried. Many parents are in the same boat, she said, thanks to a large deployment that will rotate fresh troops into the danger zones.

If something should happen in an Iraqi hotspot like Ramadi, the Blue Star Mothers can often get information on the situation much quicker through their own phone list than by waiting for official word from the military, she added.

“It just gives [military moms] someone to talk to, or a shoulder to cry on. Whatever you need, we’ll try to be there for you.”

Scott Smith may be reached at (765) 454-8569 or via e-mail at scott.smith@kokomotribune.com

        

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