Residents of Smith County and surrounding areas gathered at the Raleigh Multi-Purpose Building for a day of fun and fellowship Saturday.
But most importantly, they gathered to show their support for American troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Simpson County’s VFW Post 9122 sponsored the “Support Our Troops” benefit that was held from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The event featured live music throughout the day, raffles, live auctions and plenty of food.
“We are doing this to raise funds for care packages for our troops and to help us with welcome home events,” explained Glenda Luckett, president of the VFW Post’s Ladies’ Auxiliary. “We’ve been sending care packages to our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as troops not from our area.
“We just want our troops to know that they are appreciated and we want to bring more awareness to the sacrifices they are making for us to enjoy the freedoms we are enjoying today.”
Vietnam Veteran Ray Bishop, Commander of District 5 Veterans of Foreign War (VFW), said it’s wonderful to see the community coming together to rally behind the troops.
“I know it makes them feel good to know that they have the support of the community,” he said. “It’s just good for them to take time to tell the soldiers thank you.”
Bishop explained that things are lot different for those who fought in Vietnam.
“We didn’t receive nothing like the support you’re seeing here today,” he said. “A lot of times we had to pretend that we weren’t veterans just to get a job.
“We don’t want another veteran to have to go through something like that again,” Bishop added. “We want them to always know that the people support them. That’s why events like this are so great.”
The fundraiser began with the posting of colors by the Mississippi National Guard Honor Guard from Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg. Honor Guard members were Sgt. 1st Class Earnest Burton, Staff Sgt. James Sanders, Sgt. John Adcock and Sgt. Brandon Ezell.
Wendy Gates led the crowd through the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem.
Musical entertainment was provided by gospel groups Leaf River, Victory Bound, the Hamilton Sisters and Hosanna. Participating country music groups were Tasha Turnage & Brianna Hearn, J.D. Barrett and the Country Boys, the Tommy Sullivan Band and the Old Habits Band. Robby Austin was the guest musical artist.
Also on tap was an 8 p.m. wrestling match featuring the School of Hard Knocks, the Midgets from Memphis, the “BullDog” from Raleigh and others.
Danny Partlow of VFW Post 912 said the community turned out in a great way to support the fundraiser. He said the hard work and months of planning was all worthwhile.
Lisa Bryant, another member of the Post, added, “We were up here until after 11 p.m. (Friday) preparing for this event and got up early this morning to get things ready for 10 a.m.
“You don’t mind because it’s all for a good cause,” she said. “We need to do everything we can to let our soldiers know how much we appreciate them.”
Local News
Related Photos
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Photo/Charlotte A. Graham
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Smith County residents ‘support the troops’
Benefit for those serving in Iraq, Afghanistan
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