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thedrifter
03-15-07, 08:18 AM
WWII veteran has marched in their shoes

Irving: Ex-sailor started Seniors in Action to help current troops

12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, March 15, 2007

BY TY A. ALLISON / The Dallas Morning News
tallison@dallasnews.com

Carl Henry Belknap, 81, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Mr. Belknap, an Irving resident, fought as a plane captain at age 19. He witnessed planes plummet because of enemy fire. They carried fellow sailors and flight crew comrades to their deaths.

Memories of his war days reverberate daily, calling him to act in compassion to those currently serving.

He started Seniors in Action in 1987 along with his wife, Donna Belknap, after doctors discovered he had macular degeneration.

"I wanted to find a way to carry on with my life," Mr. Belknap said. "You can't drive a car with this sort of condition. But I have a lot of talents that I don't want to see wasted."

Mr. Belknap started flipping through the Yellow Pages, calling restaurants, clothing companies and other businesses that would provide items to help benefit his community-service efforts.

In the past, Seniors in Action has helped Buckner Children's Home and UT Southwestern Medical Center's Department of Ophthalmology.

Recently, the nonprofit organization increased its efforts to help U.S. Marines serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and the troops' families.

"I began to focus on helping the Marines and their families because I know what it's like to fight in a war," Mr. Belknap said. "There is a terrific need for food, clothing and ladies' apparel because their paychecks often don't generate enough revenue to sustain their households."

In September, the organization coordinated a welcome-home barbecue at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth. About 15 local businesses contributed food, beverages and other items, enough to feed 400 Marines. They also gathered a trailer load of new jeans for the Metroplex Marine Coordinating Council, which was given to servicemen and women and their families.

"Seniors in Action tells these young servicemen and women that they have not been forgotten by the citizens they protect," Mike McCollum, a Marine coordinating council member, wrote in a letter.

The group is working with a U.S. colonel who has the duty of establishing an Iraqi police unit in the region. The colonel has asked for a hundred soccer balls for the children of Iraq because their soccer equipment has been destroyed. Mr. Belknap, in turn, has asked FC Dallas to help him in this venture. The soccer balls should arrive sometime in April.

"I know that there is more time behind me than in front of me," Mr. Belknap said of his efforts. "I want to do as much as I can with the time that I have."

Ellie