BY CLIFF SMELLEY
With its November meeting taking place one week prior to Veterans Day, the Daughters of the American Revolution, Col. Samuel Elbert Chapter, took part in a tree-dedication ceremony at Soldiers Freedom Outdoors, a nonprofit organization that serves veterans locally at Camp Freedom.
The DAR group donated a lemon tree and a lime tree, with President Anne Smoak saying, “These trees are planted in commemoration of our American veterans and to the glory of God.”
Smoak and Charlotte Carlee spoke verses of scripture from Genesis, Deuteronomy, Ezekiel, 1 Corinthians and Revelation that had to do with planting and trees. Carlee provided the brief ceremony’s closing prayer, asking God to provide “thy richest blessing on our sincere effort to add beauty to the world.”
“We plant this small, living thing with a hope and an expectation that it will grow strong, beautiful and useful — a joy for generations yet to come,” Carlee said.
Prior to the ceremony, the DAR members heard from Soldiers Freedom Outdoors Chairman Dan DiMarco, who talked about the origins of the organization and what it does. Soldiers Freedom Outdoors is in its 13th year. It began at DiMarco’s home in Hawthorne, offering veterans two fifth-wheel RVs to stay in.
The organization has been at its current Camp Freedom, which consists of more than 300 acres, since 2013. The property includes a house, situated near Indian Lake, that veterans stay in.
“We do four-day retreats for our veterans at no cost,” DiMarco said. “It doesn’t cost them a penny. When they come here, it’s all home-cooked meals except on Friday nights when we do pizza.”
DiMarco described it as veterans’ home away from home. Veterans can enjoy a variety of activities, including fishing, hunting, kayaking and riding horses.
“Or you can sleep,” DiMarco said, adding, “They pick and choose what they want to do.”
The retreats provide eco-therapy, which is healing through nature.
“I started this because a lot of times veterans need to know you’ve got their back or that they’re cared about — you love them — or they just need a second ear to listen to them, to let some of that stuff out that they normally wouldn’t talk about with their family.”
Camp Freedom does more than host the four-day retreats. It offers one-day events, such as water-sports days for the whole family and a Horses 101 program for children of military families. It also hosts beekeeping and blacksmithing classes, giving veterans new hobbies to occupy their time.
The classes and one-day events can help lessen the anxiety veterans may have about attending one of the four-day retreats.
“It’s less pressure on the veteran,” DiMarco said, adding that the veterans may come away thinking, “Man, that four-day retreat might be good.”
Soldiers Freedom Outdoors expanded into Mississippi this year, utilizing 175 acres of what was a Girl Scouts camp. It also provides fishing and hunting opportunities in South Carolina.
“I haven’t shared this with anybody, but I just got a phone call from a lady who’s got a ranch in Montana, on the Wyoming-Montana border,” DiMarco said. “They want to do something with us up there.”
One of the DAR members asked DiMarco about all-women’s retreats. He said Soldiers Freedom Outdoors will host such retreats if requested to do so by a women’s organization. Otherwise, the retreats are co-ed.
“We tried to do a lot of women veterans retreats, but a lot of them didn’t show,” DiMarco said. “Here’s a reason: A lot of them have kids and feel guilty for leaving (them), and at the last minute, they have anxiety and just cancel or are a no-show.”
DiMarco said a lot of women feel more comfortable at co-ed retreats.
“They served with men,” DiMarco said. “They fit right in.”
A DAR member asked if the organization had a need for volunteers and if volunteers needed any special training. The answer was Soldiers Freedom Outdoors can always use more volunteers, who only need to possess a care for others.
“There’s no specific training,” DiMarco said. “If you love helping our veterans, and you want to serve, that’s all you need.”
Visit soldiersfreedomoutdoors.org for more information on the organization or if you interested in volunteering or supporting its mission in any way.
Veterans Day facts
Following DiMarco’s presentation, club member Carole Montgomery shared some facts about Veterans Day.
—It was originally called Armistice Day. Hostilities in World War I ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the armistice, or peace agreement, with Germany went into effect. Armistice Day began as a celebration recognizing the victory of the Allied forces of World War I. It was renamed Veterans Day by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1954 and is now dedicated to veterans of all wars.”
—Veterans Day has no apostrophe because it’s a day that belongs to all veterans.
—Veterans Day hasn’t always been observed on Nov. 11. In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Holiday Bill, which ensured three-day weekends for federal employees on Veterans Day, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day and Columbus Day. President Gerald Ford returned Veterans Day to Nov. 11 in 1975.
—Arlington National Cemetery hods an annual Veterans Day service, which includes guards laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11. A parade of colors, presented by various veterans’ organizations, is also held.
—New York City’s Veterans Day parade, which began in 1919, is the oldest and largest such parade in the country.
—The first known Veterans Day celebration in the U.S. was held in Birmingham, Alabama, on Nov. 11, 1947. A World War II veteran named Raymond Weeks, a native of the city, organized the event, which included a parade and other festivities. He was awarded the Presidential Citizenship Medal by President Ronald Reagan in 1982.
—Canada and Australia honor their countries’ military personnel on Nov. 11, but they call it Remembrance Day. The United Kingdom marks Remembrance Day on the second Sunday in November.
—The Veterans Day Moment of Silence Act was passed in 2016, signed by President Barack Obama. At 2:11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time each Veterans Day, the current president will order a moment of silence lasting two minutes.
—Americans honor veterans on many other holidays: Medal of Honor Day (March 25), Vietnam War Veterans Day (March 29), POW/MIA Recognition Day (April 9), Armed Forces Day (third Saturday in May), Women’s Veterans Recognition Day (June 12), Korean War Veterans Armistice Day (July 27), Purple Heart Day (Aug. 7) and Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (Dec. 7).
—Millions of Americans have served. According to the Census Bureau in 2021, there were 16.5 million veterans living in the United States, which is about 6.4 percent of the adult population. Sixteen million Americans served in World War I and World War 11. In 2022, just over 167 of them were still alive. Also, 1.8 million served in the Korean War, 2.7 million in the Vietnam War and 650,000 in the Gulf War.
“This year on Veterans Day, be sure to thank a veteran for their service and, even better, strike up a conversation about what they did when they were in uniform,” Montgomery said. “Without them, our country would not be what it is today.”
