Remembering our Veterans

PRIME – November 2013

Veterans invited to USO Armed Forces Appreciation Breakfast Nov. 11

GREATER SPRINGFIELD – The Pioneer Valley USO invites all local veterans to start their Veteran's Day by attending the 3rd annual Armed Forces Appreciation Breakfast at The Log Cabin and Meeting House, 500 Easthampton Road in Holyoke, Mass. This thank-you event, which runs from 8 to 11 a.m., includes a breakfast buffet and program that honors local service men and women, featuring Colonel Steven Vaultrain, wing commander at Westover Air Reserve Base as guest speaker. Call 413- 313-5695 for tickets, to reserve a table, or to make a donation and sponsor a veteran to attend. For more information contact Allan Tracy, USO executive director at 413-557-3290. The Pioneer Valley USO provides "hometown" services in the most remote corners of the world: Europe, Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia and the Persian Gulf as well as places closer to home – such as western and central Massachusetts and northern Connecticut. Thousands of active and reserve military personnel and their families utilize the important support and services of the local Pioneer Valley USO, which include a local food pantry, holiday baskets, hospitality and entertainment, children's parties and email and Internet service. For more information about the USO and the Pioneer Valley USO, contact Al Tracy, executive director, Pioneer Valley USO at 413-313-5695.

East Longmeadow studio to host Mindful Yoga for Veterans Nov. 10

By Debbie Gardner debbieg@thereminder.com EAST LONGMEADOW – For those who have served in battle, the emotional and psychological effects can linger. Suzanne Manafort, director of the Newington Yoga Center in Newington, Conn., and a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, has helped develop a yoga practice, Mindful Yoga Therapy for Veterans Recovering from Trauma, designed to help veterans cope with these effects as the readjust to civilian life. "We want to let military families in the greater Springfield area know that Heartsong Yoga has a mission to provide yoga classes for veterans and their families and that we have a staff of teachers who have been trained specifically in Mindful Yoga therapy protocols to teach veterans," Sheila Magalhaes, co-owner of Heartsong Yoga, said of the class, which will be offered Nov. 10 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its 264 Main St. location. The class will be free for veterans and their families. A free-will donation will be collected from other attendees to help support the work of Mindful Yoga for Veterans ( www.mindfulyogatherapy.org ). For more information call Heartsong Yoga at 525-0720. Magalhaes, a Mindful Yoga Therapy for Veterans faculty member, has visited other yoga centers across the country to teach the practice. Her goal is to establish an ongoing Mindful Yoga class for local veterans at Heartsong. Originally developed to aid a group of Vietnam-era veterans in Connecticut suffering from the effects of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Mindful Yoga for Veterans classes feature instructors who are trained to follow strict protocols to create a yoga practice, and practice space, in which the service person or veteran can feel safe while learning to use yoga to achieve a greater sense of peace of mind and relief from their symptoms. During the past year the not-for-profit Give Back Yoga Foundation, in association with Mindful Yoga for Veterans, has distributed 10,000 free Mindful Yoga toolkits through classes across the country in an effort to help former service men and women find relief from post service stress, including PTSD symptoms.

Longmeadow, Mass. to host 5K for Wounded Warrior Project on Nov. 9

LONGMEADOW – The Town of Longmeadow's Department of Veterans' Services will be conducting its inaugural 5K run/walk on Nov. 9. This event will raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members and support the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that takes a holistic approach when serving warriors and their families to nurture the mind and body, and encourage economic empowerment and engagement. The race will start and finish at the Greenwood Center, 231 Maple Road. Registration starts at 9 a.m. and race will begin at 10:30 a.m., rain or shine. The registration fee is $25 for adults, $15 for children 12 and younger, and a special team rate of $80 for up to five registrants. All race participants and supporters are invited back the Greenwood Center afterwards to enjoy music, food, awards, raffles, and more. A Veterans Day observance ceremony will take place before the start of the event at 10 a.m. with special tributes to all those who serve and have served the country. Every participant registered prior to the day of the event is guaranteed to receive a commemorative Longmeadow's Warriors 5k Run/Walk T-shirt. To register for the event or for more information, log on to www.active.com/running/longmeadow-ma/longmeadows-warriors-run-2013 . Runners can also call Anthony Lawrence at 413-565-4150 for more info.

AIC to host Veteran's Day events

SPRINGFIELD – American International College (AIC) will be hosting "Honoring Our Heroes," a series of events to celebrate veterans. It begins on Veteran's Day, Nov. 11, with the annual Veterans Day Ceremony. Edward Lamoureux of Hampden will present a tribute to his deceased father, Francis, who stormed the beach at Normandy with the 82nd Airborne's 508 Parachute Infantry Regiment on D-Day, June 6, 1944. The ceremony will be held on the AIC Campus Quadrangle at 11 a.m. There will also be a presentation of the Military Friendly Campus Award, an honor recognizing AIC for its efforts to serve current and former military personnel in their efforts to earn a college degree, and a reading by the winner of the Freshman Patriotic Essay Award. The celebration continues on Nov. 12 with a screening of the film, "The November War," a documentary by Garrett Anderson about one day of fighting and 10 marines who were in the middle of it. Anderson, who served as a U.S. Marine from 2003 to 2007, was deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. In the film, Anderson interviews members of his former platoon who fought alongside each other on Nov. 22, 2004 in the second battle of Fallujah. The film will be shown at 6:45 p.m. in the Griswold Theatre. On Nov. 13, Anderson and his father, Dennis, an embedded war journalist, will take part in a panel discussion about "The November War." Several marines featured in the film will also participate in the discussion, which will take place at 10 a.m. in the Griswold Theatre. There will also be a Veterans Resources Fair from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in lobby of the Griswold Theatre. Several veterans-related agencies will be on hand to talk about the services they provide. All events are open to the public free of charge.