FORT EUSTIS, Va. –
Military and civilian workers from the Air Land Sea Application Center visited the Hampton Veterans Administration Medical Center to carry on a long-standing tradition. Armed with "goodie bags," t-shirts, caps and cold juices, members of this small command located on Langley Air Force Base, set up to play bingo with residents and patients of the Spinal Cord Injury unit at the facility Oct. 3.
Twenty-five years ago, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, which recently moved to Fort Eustis from deactivated Fort Monroe, and Monroe garrison and tenant organizations became involved with playing bingo once a month, from fall to spring at the VA hospital. This first-Monday-of-the-month game is still the only one hosted by uniformed military personnel, according to VA staff members.
In an effort to continue this tradition and keep the games going, ALSA, a command of 22 Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps individuals, volunteered to sponsor the first game of the new season.
"As leaders, it is important to be a part of this effort to remember and encourage the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who served before us. Taking a few moments out of our day to spend with the veterans is the least we could do to honor their service," said Col. Bruce Sones, ALSA deputy director.
Sones' desire to help disabled veterans comes from a legacy established by his grandmother, Jean Sones, who volunteered at a VA Medical Center in Butler, Pa. As a youngster, the deputy director and his brothers would join her in playing board games and working puzzles with patients at the facility whenever their family visited her.
"Bingo at the Hampton VA hospital, and volunteering at a picnic last month, were just a couple of opportunities ALSA has had to interact with the veterans there. We look forward to interacting with these veterans in the future and encourage other organizations from Joint Base Langley-Eustis to take advantage of every opportunity to appreciate these veterans," Sones said.
Lt. Col. Dana Smith, who recently transferred to ALSA, had never visited a VA medical facility until participating in the bingo game. Smith said it was an enjoyable experience.
"I thought it was a lot of fun. It was also a chance to visit folks who don't get a lot of visitors. One man from Ohio said he waited 10 years for an opening at the Hampton facility, because he heard it's the best. But, because of the distance from his home state, he doesn't get to see his family very often," Smith said.
"It's easy to see that many of these veterans have had long, productive lives," Smith continued. "And, it's good to see Uncle Sam holding up its commitment to take care of them."
The injured veterans at the VA facility applauded the ALSA team's visit with smiles, cheers and thanks.
"We were told we are a family when we join the service; and we should take care of family first," said Air Force veteran and long-time VA Medical Center resident Joe Lewis.
"When (ALSA) came, it was just like having family here and, they took care of family."
The family included more than just ALSA workers. It extended to the USO of Hampton Roads, located on Langley, the Joint Base Langley-Eustis 733rd Force Support Division (Morale Welfare and Recreation) on Fort Eustis, and the Spouses Club of Fort Eustis.
USO Vice President Josie Berry and her co-workers assembled more than enough goodie bags filled with socks, toiletries and snacks, for the participants in the bingo event. Extras were distributed to residents who could not leave their rooms due to illness or severe injury. Also, the USO provided a special, patriotic basket won by one of the patients as a bingo grand prize.
Yong Dascenzo and the 733rd Force Support Division provided various giveaway items, including caps, t-shirts, lanyards, and cups. These were special prizes awarded during the bingo games.
The Spouses' Club honchos the event each month. They donate $40 in quarters that are doled out in $1 increments to the winners of each game. Also, they provide the bingo rules and ensure parking spaces are reserved at the facility for the volunteer organization.
The ALSA sponsors provided juice and bottled water, and most of all, camaraderie for the residents.
"They will be talking about y'all for days," Lewis said. "There usually aren't enough volunteers to interact with each person, but you brought a bunch. That's great.
"I sometimes become anxious to see the military folks come over and ask, 'is it the first Monday yet?'
"The bingo game gives me a whole hour of playing a game. The money and prizes are nice, but aren't important. Just to have a whole hour to talk to people in uniform, knowing that y'all remember us ... that's golden. That's golden," Lewis said.
Anyone interested in participating in VA bingo may contact Sue Miller, Spouses' Club's bingo coordinator, at 224-6898 or dougnsue@cox.net. Three months are still available in 2012.