Legion presents grant to local veteran

American Legion Louis K. Juden Post 63 presented a $500 check on March 14, 2008 to a local veteran who was injured while serving in Iraq.

Thanks to a half-million dollar check from The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes to the national headquarters of The American Legion, Post Commander Dennis Woeltje presented a $500 grant to Staff Sergeant Leo McElrath IV during a ceremony at the American Legion hall for the Louis K. Juden Post 63 in Cape Girardeau.

"It is with sincere thanks that we present this grant today to a fellow military veteran who served our country with honor and pride," Woeltje said. "We present this on behalf of your fellow veterans and a grateful nation."

"These grants are just a small token of appreciation for the sacrifices made by so many of American's men and women in uniform," said Thomas J. Palma, general manager of the Coalition. "Our Coalition was able to raise a lot of money from caring people, but we do not have the distribution network of The American Legion. The Legion is a well-respected organization with a presence in communities across America. The American Legion will do an excellent job in getting those grants to deserving veterans."

"This is a perfect partnership—the Coalition"s generosity teamed with The American Legion's 'Heroes to Hometowns" program, Woeltje said. "Our members stand ready to assist with veterans and their families along with community members of our local H2H team in providing a vast array of assistance to ease their return to a productive civilian life."

American Legion National Commander Marty Conatser said that The American Legion is honored to participate in such a worthy project. "The program was so successful two years ago that The American Legion's National Executive Committee unanimously passed a resolution at our last convention authorizing our assistance in this great endeavor," Conatser said.

The funds are being divided into $500 grants and awarded to veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq across the country who are rated with disabilities of 30 percent or more. The American Legion has assumed all distribution administrative costs, meaning that 1,000 grants will be awarded—the entire amount of the coalition's contribution.

Woeltje said 29 Missouri veterans received awards statewide. There was an extra tone of pride in his voice when he added, "Eight of those 29 were awarded to servicemen in our own 14th district of the American Legion." The district consists of 23 posts with a total membership of 3121 individuals in southeast Missouri.

"Post 63 is honored to deliver this gift to our comrade here in Cape Girardeau," Woeltje said. "We can never fully heal all of the trauma of war, but we can show our gratitude to those who went in harm's way for America."

Leo McElrath IV is his family's fourth generation to serve in the military. He and his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all served in the army during wartime, each of them achieving the status of sergeant. Their service times spanned World War I, World War II, the Viet Nam War, and most recently for Leo McElrath IV, the Iraq War.

McElrath was born in 1972 in Cape Girardeau. He attended school in Marble Hill until the third grade when his family moved to Jackson. In 1990, when he graduated from Jackson High School, McElrath was married and the father of an infant son, Aaron McElrath, his only child.

At age 17, as a young husband who had a family to support, McElrath had attended school and worked at Ward's Food Mart in Jackson before joining the National Guard. He said his dad's military background and later position as a trooper in the Missouri State Highway Patrol made the military a natural fit for him.

In 1991, McElrath was sent to work on road projects in Panama. When he returned to Missouri, his assignment was with the unit responsible for the repair and maintenance of the National Guard trucks and equipment used in that effort.

During the 1993 floods in Ste. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau and Dutchtown, McElrath was on state emergency duty to construct retaining walls in those areas.

In 2002, McElrath joined the Army Reserves in Cape Girardeau. In January, 2003, the Army activated him to Iraq, where he served from April, 2003, until May, 2004. He sustained a neck injury while driving a heavy equipment transporter over rough terrain and rutted desert sand roads. The transporter he was driving was designed to haul the Abrams tank with a trailer that required 40 tires to support the weight.

"I'm proud of my family's military legacy, and I am grateful for the many things I've learned during my own military service," McElrath said. He expressed his gratitude to the Iraq War Veterans Organization for initiating the steps for him to receive The American Legion award. When asked for his favorite military memory, without hesitation McElrath said he values the people he's met and the friendships he's formed. When asked what is most difficult about a life in the military, again McElrath replied without hesitation: "The waiting."

McElrath is a member of American Legion Louis K. Juden Post 63 and also a member of the newly formed American Legion Riders Post 63, a motorcycle organization for veterans.

The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, www.saluteheroes.org is a nonprofit organization that was created to provide a way for individuals, corporations and others to help severely wounded and disabled Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqui Freedom veterans and their families rebuild their lives.

The American Legion, www.legion.org, was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and patriotic youth programs. The Legion's 2.7 million wartime veterans work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.

Veterans who served at least one day of active military duty in a United States branch of service during a time of conflict within dates set by Congress are eligible for membership in the American Legion. They are also required to have an honorable discharge or still be active in the military in an honorable status.