They should never be forgotten

We must never forget the sacrifices that our fighting men and women in the military do for us.  Many are neglected and do not get the care or help they need.   Some turn to crime and go to jail.   Such as this case:

We have a very special request for your support right now. We have a USMC Vietnam Veteran, Silver Star recipient waiting to be buried. He was in prison, was being transported to the VA for medical treatment and he died in route. He is homeless and has no family. I would like to see him buried with honors at the TN State Veterans Cemetery off I-40 here in the Nashville area. I need $700 for a funeral home to complete body preparations in order to have this done.

Normally I would not have to make this special request. I would take care of it out of a separate Fund we have for special needs called the Gerald Fund. However, because of the unusually large requests for veterans needs, our Gerald Fund is depleted, but the special needs continue to come in, such as this one. This special Fund supports veterans in need when there are no other grants or resources available. It is named after Mr. Gerald Muriel, a Marine veteran. Gerald spent over 20 years homeless and addicted to alcohol. He made the decision to get sober and change his life. He completed Operation Stand Down Nashville’s Transitional Housing Program. As a successful Alumna, he was an inspiration to others providing encouragement and setting an example of the change they too could make in their lives. Gerald died almost three years ago. He had no family. He left everything to OSDN. In his memory, we established the Gerald Fund so we would be able to provide support even when the need does not meet normal grant requirements – this allows us to ‘fill in the cracks’, to make sure that no veteran’s real need has gone unmet. Right now, our Gerald Fund is empty and that is the reason for this special e-mail.

We appreciate your continued support for those who have served our country. If you would like to help, please send your donation to –

Operation Stand Down Nashville, Inc

ATTN: Gerald Fund

1125 12^th Avenue South

Nashville, TN 37203

Thank you,

Bill Burleigh

Operation Stand Down Nashville, Inc.

www.osdnashville.org

(615) 2481981

I know there are also organizations all around the country.  Please think of giving to the Gerald Fund or many of the other thankless organizations that do their all for our soldiers.

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