It started with a couple of pictures that an old classmate of Firefighter Gerry Vessels posted on Facebook. FF Vessels saw the photos of what was supposed to be Philly Cheesesteak and a can of Coke, written in Arabic writing. It kicked FF Vessels in the gut when he saw these pictures so he reached out to his old classmate, Bill Lintner, who is serving overseas with the 150th Engineering Company from NJ and obtained the address of where he and his company are stationed. FF Vessels then reached out to Cape Trinity Catholic where his 3 daughters attend school. The kids at school made cards for the Troops. Then FF Vessels contacted John Lynch of the Wldwood Convention Center and the founder of the Lunch with Lynch Program in the Wildwoods. John took the idea and ran. Before we knew it all of the schools on the island became involved, as well as the local Vietnam Veterans of America and American Legion Post 184. What started out as a few boxes of fudge and salt water taffy turned into seven (7) twenty pound boxes of goods that were escorted by the Wildwood Fire and Police Departments from the Convention Center to the Post Office to be mailed on Good Friday. The boxes contained all kinds of goodies for the Troops including Wildwood Fire Department FMBA Local 50 T-shirts. We then received the pictures of the Troops with the contents of the boxes. Sometimes pictures are worth a thousand words. Job well done by FF Vessels for starting the whole thing and thanks to John Lynch for making it much more than anyone could have asked for as always. God Bless our Troops and God Bless America! |
