INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Saturday was one of those crisp, Indian Summer days, with gentle breezes blowing across the Pointe West Green. Local families enjoyed a festive day out, while helping a private nursing agency raise money for Indian River County’s Honor Flight Program, a nonprofit organization created solely to honor American’s World War II veterans.
The inaugural Family Fun Day, sponsored by Nurse on Call Home Healthcare, lived up to its name, offering live music, apples, doughnuts, cupcakes, popcorn, hot dogs, cotton candy, two bounce houses, games, face painting, and petting zoo.
One of the more popular events was the “Dunk-a-Doc” tank, where several nurses lined up to hit the target, landing several Sebastian River Medical Center doctors in the drink.
Pointe West resident Mandy Stalls was enjoying the fresh air with her three year old son, Brock.
“It’s been a really fun day,” said Stalls, balancing Brock, who had a hankering for a hot dog, on her hip. Brock’s favorite thing at the event was the bounce house.
All of the proceeds from food, raffles and T-shirt sales will be used towards transporting veterans of World War II from Vero Beach to Washington D.C., so that they can visit the monument, built in 2004, honoring the 16 million soldiers who served in the armed forces of the United States, the more than 400,000 who died, and all who supported the war effort from home.
“We are hoping to raise at least $10,000,” said Nurse on Call Employee Teresa Hilton. “All proceeds go directly to help Indian River County veterans.”
Nurse on Call works closely with the Veterans’ Council to provide blood pressure screenings, and services for local homeless veterans. Their goal is to get veterans the help and support they need, including counseling, jobs, and housing.
“The Veterans Administration hasn’t gotten around to dealing with the large number of soldiers returning with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” said former Air Force Colonel Martin Zikert, and President of the Veterans’ Council and the local chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America. “These vets are getting on their feet with our help.”
The Veterans Administration Medical Center is located in West Palm Beach, the distance formerly a huge obstacle for many veterans to overcome in order to get treatment. The Veterans Council received a sizable donation from Barrier Island resident Sandy Johnson, which has been used to purchase two buses to transport veterans to West Palm Beach, as well as to assist a soldier returning from Afghanistan, and his family, find employment and housing.
Former Army Captain Dillon Roberts, an attorney at Rossway, Moore, Taylor & Swan, moved back to Vero Beach last summer, after serving in Afghanistan and got involved with several veterans groups, because of the support they provided.
“No one can understand what you’ve been through like another soldier,” said Roberts.
It costs approximately $500.00 per person to fly to Washington, DC. Since the World War II veterans are aging, “we need a plane to fly out of Vero Beach Airport, and we want our own local motorcade to honor these heroes. We are looking for the guys who want to see their monument,” said Zikert.