GROUP HELPS AREA FAMILIES OF GULF TROOPS

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- With the outbreak of hostilities in the Persian Gulf in mid-January, and the activation of military reserve units in the area, Larry Holdman quickly realized there would be a need for a support group to care for those left behind.

The day after Operation Desert Storm began, Holdman, a counselor with the Beacon Recovery Center and a Vietnam War veteran, contacted several other counselors from different agencies in Cape Girardeau. They agreed there was a need for the counseling agencies in the community to pull together to help the families of servicemen and women in Desert Storm.

That initial concern has prompted the development of the Desert Storm Support Group, which will began operating Monday.

Families, with servicemen and women serving in Operation Desert Storm, who need some type of assistance are urged to call 335-4975 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

"We felt there was a need for the counseling agencies in the community to pull together," said Holdman. "It was felt that it would be very important to know who was offering support groups and in what areas they were being offered for the families."

To meet the challenge, Holdman and the other counselors turned to the Area Wide United Way to coordinate the information and referral service for the Desert Storm Task Force.

Holdman said it marks the first time in the 15 years he has lived in Cape Girardeau that he's seen the entire community come together to work as a single group.

The task force office will be staffed by volunteers from various organizations. Office space and equipment have been loaned to the task force. Holdman emphasized that no United Way campaign funds will be allocated for the operation of the task force office.

Jim Bowman, a United Way volunteer and member of the board of directors, will serve as the chairman of the Desert Storm Task Force.

Other organizations involved in the task force include: the Joint Veterans Council of Cape Girardeau County, including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Disabled American Veterans; the Community Counseling Center; Lutheran Family and Children Services; Beacon Recovery Center; St. Francis Medical Center; Southeast Missouri Hospital; American Red Cross; Salvation Army; Southeast Missouri State University; and the wives of servicemen on duty in the Persian Gulf.

Holdman explained the Desert Shield Support Group will serve as an "umbrella," or focal point for resource organizations that provide all types of assistance to family members of military personnel.

A list of the resources available will be entered into a computer, he explained. When a call comes in for help or assistance, the volunteer will call up the resource list and match the need with a specific support group or service agency that can meet that need.

"For many of these families, this is the first time they are without a husband, wife, or head of the household," Holdman said. "Mothers face the prospect of being a mother, and now, head of the household with all of the duties and responsibilities that go with it, such as paying bills on an already limited income, and taking care of the daily problems that were handled by their husbands or wives."

Holdman said the task force can assist these military families with such daily problems as financial assistance, food and other needs, household or car repairs, helping with student homework, and baby-sitting to allow time for shopping, or other needs.

"Right after the war started, we got a call from a mother with two young children, one in diapers, and no food for the children," Holdman said.

"Her husband was overseas, his civilian paycheck had been cut off, and his military pay records were lost. When she called," said Holdman, "we were able to contact support groups to help with the food. The American Legion sent a couple of their members over to get her car repaired.

"We were able to meet her needs immediately, and we know that others are going to call with similar needs as Operation Desert Storm continues."

Holdman said a number of businesses in the area have contacted him and offered their services to family members, if needed.

Although targeted for Cape Girardeau County, Holdman said the task force expects to receive calls for assistance from families living outside the county, who have someone serving in military units that were activated in Cape Girardeau County.

"For us, it's doing what we can to support the troops who are over there in the Persian Gulf, to let them know there is a group back here that is organized to provide coordinated help to their wives and children," he remarked.

"Desert Storm is different from Vietnam in that there are husbands, wives, and heads of households over there, and most of them left with their units," said Holdman.

"In Vietnam, we had the draft, so most of the people were single, and left their communities individually, and not as a group."

Holdman said that when the Desert Storm troops come home, the task force, along with a group of Vietnam veterans, will be ready to offer counseling to help them "unwind and fit back into the community."

Holdman said this kind of community support was not available to his mother and father, and parents of other Vietnam servicemen. "In World Wars I and II, there was strong community support for the troops in the Pacific and in Europe in the form of patriotism and Americanism."

He said all of that was lost in the Vietnam War. "I hope we have learned our lesson from Vietnam," he said. "When we send our troops overseas to defend democracy and the United States, we should support them, and welcome them back when they return."