“Nobody knows your situation unless they’ve been in it,” said Larry Hinton, one of the organizers and a Marine Corps veteran who was once homeless, about why it’s important for veterans to help each other.
In addition to the turkeys, they gave out items such as cereal, cookies, macaroni and cheese, fruit cups, toothpaste and laundry detergent.
William Howard of Riverside said he served in the Army 15 years and every year at the Army post the troops got donated turkeys.
“It’s nice to see that…you still have that support, people are still thinking of you and want to give away a free turkey,” he said, “especially this year when everything is so expensive. It’s nice.”
“I think it’s a good thing to do,” said Army veteran Rufus Frazier of Dayton as he waited in line, “because a lot of them don’t have access to a lot of things right now.”
VFP Post Vice-Commander Dustin Clark said his post jumped at the chance to help.
“A lot of people are in need. There are a lot of veterans who are in need. There are veterans who are struggling to pay their bills and things of that nature,” said Clark, who spent seven years on active duty and still serves in the Army Reserve.
“That’s the great thing about the veteran community. We tend to help each other,” Clark said. “When we were are in the military, we relied on each other. And a lot of us who get out, we miss that and want to help other veterans who need help as well.”
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