thedrifter
10-12-05, 12:26 PM
Article published Oct 12, 2005
Saying thanks
Her memorial project comes from the heart
MONTPELIER – The newspaper clippings in Dorothea "Robin" Foster's large album show photos of faces of anguish, somberness and just plain sadness.
They're the family members of fallen soldiers, shown at funerals, on front stoops, in backyards.
It would seem that nothing a stranger could do could give comfort or solace to the parents who have lost their child, the wife who has lost her husband, or the children who lost their father. But Foster has dedicated herself to creating an individualized plaque for each of the families to memorialize their family members killed in the war on terrorism.
With the support of several central Vermont companies and some government offices, Foster sends a plaque with a poem and an engraved nameplate to families who have lost one of their own to the war.
"I just read this and kept it," Foster says of the "Veterans" poem, which appeared in The World, a weekly free paper in central Vermont. "I cut it out and kept it, just thinking I'd send this to my family, because I thought it was a very strong statement. It was months later – that's the way in my house I find things – I just ran across it, and then I was looking at it, reading it, and thinking, yes. And it was about the time our boys were being called into service overseas. It just fell into place that I ran across this at the time our men were called into war."
Foster, who lives in a modest home in Montpelier with her dog, Slovo, and occasionally plays the piano in her spare time, has had some family in the military in the past, but says that has nothing to do with her current project. She's quick to defer recognition for the project to the companies that have volunteered goods and services.
"What I found especially extraordinary, in a sense, is how eagerly the people accepted the idea of volunteering. They said, "Yes, of course we'll do this." No hesitation at all. And no matter how many times I go back to them, and I've had to go back, we've had more than 18, maybe as much as 20 now, … they're still comfortable with the idea of offering their particular piece of the puzzle."
Companies including Leahy Press, Kinney Drugs, Brault Engravers, Mailboxes Etc., The Restore, Lizzari's and Wal-Mart have donated products. The state's Veteran's Affairs office and Sen. Patrick Leahy's office have helped also, and The World allowed Foster to reproduce the veterans' page and photos. The Kellogg-Hubbard Library and the American Legion have helped her compile her album of newspaper clipping, she said.
Foster said she sends a plaque to the family of every soldier killed in the war who was living in Vermont or who had significant Vermont ties. In her album, she dedicates a page or two to each soldier, including some touching thank-you letters from the families who have received the plaques.
Gov. James Douglas even sent Foster a letter thanking her for her efforts.
"Most of them are Vermonters," she said. "They went to school here and so forth, and are established as Vermonters and were living here before they went overseas, but not all. There are some who are sort of in a fringe situation, but nevertheless, they have ties. … Either the bulk of their families are here, even if they were living in California at the time they were sent over. That's where we're at now."
"It's a privilege, it's incredibly encouraging to us," said Vicki Strong of Albany. Her son Jesse, a Marine, was killed in Iraq eight months ago. "That's the kind of thing that keeps me getting up every day, receiving very lovely, thoughtful gestures like that in the mail."
Strong said that she receives something in the mail each day from a stranger honoring the life of her son. "It's an incredible blessing, I can't even describe how comforting it is that people continue to recognize Jesse, his service in the Marines and in Iraq."
Clayton Clark, veteran services coordinator for the state, agreed that efforts like Foster's have significant meaning to the families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"Certainly I think the unexpected gift that these families receive to let them know that someone who has never met them or their family appreciates their sacrifice and their loved ones," he said. "It hammers home the feeling that folks in Vermont appreciate those who serve in the military." Clark said Foster, who drops off packages at the VA office to be addressed and delivered, has been a "joy to work with."
Foster has written to the five other New England states explaining her activity to them, and offering to help them do the same. So far, she's heard back from Rhode Island and New Hampshire. In the meantime, she keeps an eye on the newspaper.
As she flips through newspaper clippings of stories about fallen Vermont National Guard members and Marines, she offers her thoughts on the war itself.
"You can't stay with one thought," she says. "Some days you can think one way and some days you can have different thoughts. I guess nobody really knows what to think, except in hindsight. Was it right, was it wrong? Initially, I think the country's been led into something it should not have been led into. And I think that's been made plain more and more. It's just gotten out of control. And it's no longer just a small, relatively, on a global scale, small war. It can go anywhere now."
While the effort takes a lot of time and energy, Foster says she will continue the project for all fallen soldiers with Vermont ties.
"The fighting forces don't give up. Neither can I," Foster said.
And while she's done much for the families, she says the unwavering support from local businesses has touched her heart.
"I often say to family members when I'm hanging up the phone, 'Consider yourselves hugged,'" Foster said. "And now, I'm seeing my volunteers, because I'm in contact with them so much, as sort of an extended family. And in my heart, I'm saying, 'Consider yourselves hugged' to them.
"It's just kind of a silly little thing, but I do appreciate how much support I'm getting from all of these organizations and all of these individuals."
Contact Sky Barsch at sky.barsch@timesargus.com or 223-3335.
Ellie
Saying thanks
Her memorial project comes from the heart
MONTPELIER – The newspaper clippings in Dorothea "Robin" Foster's large album show photos of faces of anguish, somberness and just plain sadness.
They're the family members of fallen soldiers, shown at funerals, on front stoops, in backyards.
It would seem that nothing a stranger could do could give comfort or solace to the parents who have lost their child, the wife who has lost her husband, or the children who lost their father. But Foster has dedicated herself to creating an individualized plaque for each of the families to memorialize their family members killed in the war on terrorism.
With the support of several central Vermont companies and some government offices, Foster sends a plaque with a poem and an engraved nameplate to families who have lost one of their own to the war.
"I just read this and kept it," Foster says of the "Veterans" poem, which appeared in The World, a weekly free paper in central Vermont. "I cut it out and kept it, just thinking I'd send this to my family, because I thought it was a very strong statement. It was months later – that's the way in my house I find things – I just ran across it, and then I was looking at it, reading it, and thinking, yes. And it was about the time our boys were being called into service overseas. It just fell into place that I ran across this at the time our men were called into war."
Foster, who lives in a modest home in Montpelier with her dog, Slovo, and occasionally plays the piano in her spare time, has had some family in the military in the past, but says that has nothing to do with her current project. She's quick to defer recognition for the project to the companies that have volunteered goods and services.
"What I found especially extraordinary, in a sense, is how eagerly the people accepted the idea of volunteering. They said, "Yes, of course we'll do this." No hesitation at all. And no matter how many times I go back to them, and I've had to go back, we've had more than 18, maybe as much as 20 now, … they're still comfortable with the idea of offering their particular piece of the puzzle."
Companies including Leahy Press, Kinney Drugs, Brault Engravers, Mailboxes Etc., The Restore, Lizzari's and Wal-Mart have donated products. The state's Veteran's Affairs office and Sen. Patrick Leahy's office have helped also, and The World allowed Foster to reproduce the veterans' page and photos. The Kellogg-Hubbard Library and the American Legion have helped her compile her album of newspaper clipping, she said.
Foster said she sends a plaque to the family of every soldier killed in the war who was living in Vermont or who had significant Vermont ties. In her album, she dedicates a page or two to each soldier, including some touching thank-you letters from the families who have received the plaques.
Gov. James Douglas even sent Foster a letter thanking her for her efforts.
"Most of them are Vermonters," she said. "They went to school here and so forth, and are established as Vermonters and were living here before they went overseas, but not all. There are some who are sort of in a fringe situation, but nevertheless, they have ties. … Either the bulk of their families are here, even if they were living in California at the time they were sent over. That's where we're at now."
"It's a privilege, it's incredibly encouraging to us," said Vicki Strong of Albany. Her son Jesse, a Marine, was killed in Iraq eight months ago. "That's the kind of thing that keeps me getting up every day, receiving very lovely, thoughtful gestures like that in the mail."
Strong said that she receives something in the mail each day from a stranger honoring the life of her son. "It's an incredible blessing, I can't even describe how comforting it is that people continue to recognize Jesse, his service in the Marines and in Iraq."
Clayton Clark, veteran services coordinator for the state, agreed that efforts like Foster's have significant meaning to the families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"Certainly I think the unexpected gift that these families receive to let them know that someone who has never met them or their family appreciates their sacrifice and their loved ones," he said. "It hammers home the feeling that folks in Vermont appreciate those who serve in the military." Clark said Foster, who drops off packages at the VA office to be addressed and delivered, has been a "joy to work with."
Foster has written to the five other New England states explaining her activity to them, and offering to help them do the same. So far, she's heard back from Rhode Island and New Hampshire. In the meantime, she keeps an eye on the newspaper.
As she flips through newspaper clippings of stories about fallen Vermont National Guard members and Marines, she offers her thoughts on the war itself.
"You can't stay with one thought," she says. "Some days you can think one way and some days you can have different thoughts. I guess nobody really knows what to think, except in hindsight. Was it right, was it wrong? Initially, I think the country's been led into something it should not have been led into. And I think that's been made plain more and more. It's just gotten out of control. And it's no longer just a small, relatively, on a global scale, small war. It can go anywhere now."
While the effort takes a lot of time and energy, Foster says she will continue the project for all fallen soldiers with Vermont ties.
"The fighting forces don't give up. Neither can I," Foster said.
And while she's done much for the families, she says the unwavering support from local businesses has touched her heart.
"I often say to family members when I'm hanging up the phone, 'Consider yourselves hugged,'" Foster said. "And now, I'm seeing my volunteers, because I'm in contact with them so much, as sort of an extended family. And in my heart, I'm saying, 'Consider yourselves hugged' to them.
"It's just kind of a silly little thing, but I do appreciate how much support I'm getting from all of these organizations and all of these individuals."
Contact Sky Barsch at sky.barsch@timesargus.com or 223-3335.
Ellie