PORT ANGELES — “Thank you for serving our country and fighting for me when I could not fight for myself,” reads a handwritten note submitted as part of Operation Valentine.
“You are a hero!” it continues.
The annual Valentine’s Day card drive, now in its sixth year, collects valentines from area students, public service organizations and the public at large to be delivered to local veterans and active-duty military members.
The drive is organized by Drennan-Ford Funeral Home & Crematory of Port Angeles.
Another card reads: “I don’t know your name, but I want to tell you thank you for giving all you did and going through that pain. All you did made a difference. Love, Skyler.”
This year, 1,621 valentines were collected, said Steve Ford, funeral home co-owner and co-founder of the event.
“It was a good turnout,” he said.
The cards are being distributed by Gerald Rettela and Charles Gagnon — both of the Korean War Veterans Association Chapter No. 310 — to area active-duty personnel and veterans.
“Any extra valentines are distributed regionally to veterans centers in the Seattle area or surrounding communities,” Ford said.
Students, teachers
A majority of the cards were created by students and teachers at nine Clallam County schools, Ford said.
“I basically reached out to all the principals of schools in our area at the end of January asking them to participate,” he said.
“We have nearly every school in Port Angeles and Sequim that participates yearly.”
Ford, along with his wife and co-founder of the event, Leah Ford, visited area schools Feb. 2 to pick up the valentines.
When Operation Valentine was established, “it was a way, we felt, to have teachers be able to maybe initiate conversation to their students and classes about current events and what is happening in the world and to bring about a little bit more patriotism within our schools,” Steve Ford said.
It is important to recognize current and former members of the military, he said.
“I think it is just important [they] know they are appreciated, from young children producing these to older people of the same age as some of these veterans.”
Sweaters for Veterans
The funeral home also organizes the annual Sweaters for Veterans drive, held each autumn.
Through the drive, new or gently used sweaters, warm clothing, blankets, rain gear, gloves, hats, socks and other items for warmth or comfort are collected and distributed.
“We literally collected thousands of pieces of clothing this last November, and that was all delivered to our local veterans center, and we just have a lot of veterans in our community that are not only in need of that, but they may live in the woods,” Ford said.
“We just don’t see them a whole lot.”
Clallam County Voices for Veterans distributed the items to veterans.
________
Reporter Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
