Teddy bears, dressed in desert camouflage, wearing black berets, tiny combat boots and dog tags, will be helping 418 children cope with the deployment of their mother or father, thanks in part to donations from residents and the Pope County Salute to Freedom Committee.
Jim Bob Humphrey is chairman of the Salute to Freedom Committee.
"One of the most important ways our soldiers know that we are supporting them in their mission is how we treat their families while they're gone," Humphrey said.
Approximately 600 soldiers of the 206th Field Artillery Battalion, which is one of six battalions making up the Arkansas National Guard's 39th Infantry Brigade, deployed to Iraq in March after spending about eight weeks training at Camp Shelby, Miss. Before the troops left for Camp Shelby, there was a pre-deployment luncheon in January for about 150 of the soldiers and their families at First Baptist Church in Russellville.
"The committee members noticed all the children, and it really tugged at our heartstrings, so we decided we needed to do something that would resonate with their families, not just the soldiers," Humphrey said.
That something for their families came in the shape of a teddy bear. Humphrey's 4-year-old grandson, Landon, had just had a teddy bear-building party at Build-A-Bear, a store where children can create custom teddy bears and other animals, even military bears. That's how the Soldier Bear project started.
After discussing the idea with Build-a-Bear's corporate headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., the committee was able to order 600 bears at a discount along with free shipping. The bears were paid for through donations.
"We put the word out that we needed 600 people to send us $20 each and the money just poured in. I believe it to be truly remarkable when you see families and individuals whose budgets are stretched so tightly, and they hear about a need like Soldier Bear, and they just say to themselves 'Surely we can afford $20 to support the child of a soldier who is serving our country,'" Humphrey said.
In addition to being dressed like soldiers, they also havesomething special: a recorded message.
"Each bear has a sound module, which is a little Oreo cookie-sized recorder. We sent them down to Camp Shelby, Miss., where the soldiers were training and the soldiers were able to record 20 seconds of their voice for their children back home. They labeled the sound modules, put them in plastic bags and sent them back," Humphrey said.
The sound modules were then installed into the teddy bears' paws.
The bears were distributed in a ceremony Tuesday at the Russellville Area Chamber of Commerce community room. The first bear was presented to Maj. Brenda Cluck, wife of Lt. Col. Damon Cluck, commander of the 206th Field Artillery Battalion, for the couple's 16-month-old daughter, Annabelle Lee.
"When she first heard it, she was a little puzzled because there was Daddy's voice but no Daddy. Now when she hears it, she just grins and hugs the bear," Cluck said.
Cluck is the family readiness group liaison for the 206th. She also served in the 39th Brigade's 2003-05 deployment to Iraq.
"The bears brings the soldier a little closer to home, not just for children but for spouses, parents and siblings, too," she said.
As a symbolic deployment, one child from each of the batteries that make up the 1-206th received a bear. The rest of the bears will be distributed through the family readiness group.
"I'm a civilian and have never served in the military, but I believe it the responsibility of civilians to honor our veterans. I don't think it's up to the military to do that," Humphrey said.
In 1998 Humphrey had just finished reading Tom Brokaw's book The Greatest Generation.
"It made me realize this national treasure was disappearing from the landscape. I went to the Veterans Day parade that year, and therewere more people in the parade than watching it, and I thought 'We can do better than this as a community,'" Humphrey said.
A group of patriotic residents came together in 1999 to form the Salute to Freedom Committee to help honor and support veterans and their families throughout Russellville and Pope County. Part of the committee's mission is to help put on a big Veterans Day parade and make sure it is well-attended. The committee, which has about 10 members and numerous volunteers, works with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Rogers-Rye Post and the Riggs-Hamilton Post of the American Legion projects for veterans. At times, there are more than 100 volunteers helping out, like with homecoming festivities in April 2005 for the 39th Infantry Brigade of the Arkansas National Guard.
"We planned that for six months, raised $20,000 for the ceremony, parade and we minted a challenge coin for them. Since then we've minted about 13 different challenge coins," Humphrey said. Challenge coins are large commemorative coins.
Humphrey said the Salute to Freedom Committee is applying to become a nonprofit group so it can continue to help families in the River Valley area.
He said even with tough economic times, the generosity of people giving money for the Soldier Bears showed more than just patriotism.
"That just shows the tremendous tenacity and optimism of
River Valley Ozark, Pages 147 on 05/18/2008