Wounded warriors a 'noble' cause

Zoe Herrington was looking for a charity to support, and she found a cause.

The Noble House Jewelry store owner began asking friends and acquaintances a few months ago to recommend community programs she might support. There were many good ideas, but it was Jackson County Undersheriff Hugh Mills’ suggestion that really piqued her interest and ultimately touched her heart.

Mills, a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran, recommended that Herrington look into a program at Fort Riley, Kan., called the Warrior Transition Battalion. She did, and the more she learned the more deeply committed she became to the needs and hardships she discovered.

The battalion is one of five in the country that helps wounded soldiers recover, rehabilitate and then make what often is a difficult return to civilian life. The units were formed in the wake of embarrassing revelations that surfaced almost three years ago regarding the care and sometimes squalid conditions encountered by injured soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

“That caused the Army to take a holistic look at how to handle the war-wounded,” said retired Lt. Col. Art DeGroat, director of military affairs for Kansas State University, which assists the nearby Fort Riley transition unit with some unique programs and research.

When Herrington initially sought information about the unit, it was DeGroat who did most of the educating about the unit and the struggles of soldiers who will return to civilian life with serious physical, mental or emotional scars. Now, Herrington wants to relate to others what she has learned. In fact, she says her newly formed nonprofit Nobel Cause USA Foundation, which supports the injured soldiers in the battalion through multiple programs, is as much about raising awareness as it is about raising money.

“It’s not that there’s a thanklessness on people’s parts, they just aren’t aware,” Herrington said. “We want to shed light on the plight of the warriors of our country. We do have a responsibility to give back to these people who have given so much to us. They are the gatekeepers to our security.”

When seriously wounded soldiers return to the states, they still are sent first to major medical institutions like Walter Reed for treatment. But once their condition improves sufficiently, they now are assigned to the transition battalion of their choice, and their families join them. The Fort Riley battalion currently has almost 200 soldiers, most of whom will live in Kansas and surrounding states when discharged.

The extent of today’s services for returning soldiers exceeds anything heretofore provided by the Army, DeGroat said, but more can be done that is beyond the wherewithal of government resources.

That is where Herrington and her foundation come into the picture. The donations will lend financial support where little now exists. In fact, DeGroat said he knows of no other charity quite like it.

“I don’t know of another nonprofit that is taking on this kind of responsibility to have a transformational impact on these people’s lives,” DeGroat said.

Charitable organizations already fund supplementary care and support at the major military hospitals and treatment centers like Walter Reed, DeGroat said, but there is scant private backing for those in the relatively new transition battalions.

While the Army provides all the services needed for soldiers’ recovery and rehabilitation, there are many challenges in transitioning back to civilian life that cannot be met fully without private support, DeGroat said.

Nonprofit groups and individuals in communities near Fort Riley have been assisting with programs and donations for several years, but those resources are stretched thin.

“I wouldn’t say they’re tapped out, but they are doing all they can,” DeGroat said. “That’s why help like Zoe’s that gets another part of the state involved is so important.”

Donations to the foundation will help by:

* Educating both soldiers and family members on a variety of topics aimed at helping them adapt to civilian life.

* Offering occupational training for the soldiers, or help them with college entrance exam preparation.

* Providing activities and recreational programs that have therapeutic value and help soldiers regain confidence and comfort socializing in the community. (“There’s a tendency to shut yourself in if you’re in a wheelchair,” DeGroat said).

* Implementing new programs and support mechanisms being developed through research at K-State’s Institute for Health and Security of Military Families.

* Providing programs that help the soldiers’ spouses, parents and children understand and deal with challenges that they and the returning disabled soldier are likely to experience.

The longer a soldier is on active duty, the more arduous the transition to civilian life, DeGroat said.

“It is profoundly difficult to leave the military profession and start a new life in the society you chose to defend but really have not been a part of while you were in the military,” DeGroat said. “It’s easier to be a warrior than it is to take off the armor.”

And the return is much more difficult for some.

“It’s a daunting task in the best of terms, but for the wounded it’s even harder. Most of them are younger and more resilient, generally, but when you hamstring them with major physical or emotional wounds they’re going to struggle,” DeGroat said.

In a way, the fundraising effort is a natural for Herrington. She said her work on establishing the foundation became especially emotional and personal in light of the death last February of her father, Frank Herrington.

As the daughter of the 20-year Air Force veteran, Herrington lived the nomadic life common to military childhoods. She expresses an empathy heightened in part by what she says she saw of the sacrifices and of the special closeness unique to military personnel and their families.

DeGroat said many benefits for the military families would not be possible without the kind of private funding Herrington is offering.

“Zoe’s influence in this is absolutely paramount,” DeGroat said. “This thing is in her heart and she is a catalyst for these important programs.”

Just how long the nation’s wars and its victims make the foundation necessary is unknown. But Herrington said she is in it for the long run.

“We all hope the wars end yesterday and the troops will be home tomorrow, but that’s a wish and not reality.”

Anyone interested in making donations to assist Warrior Transition Battalion soldiers and their families can send checks made to Noble Cause USA Foundation, c/o Noble House Jewelry, 11620 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, KS 66210.

A black-tie gala fundraiser for the foundation takes place on Dec. 4 at LionsGate Country Club in Overland Park. The event will include a silent auction. Tickets, which cost $250 each, still are available by calling the jewelry store, 491-4861, and asking for Jeanne Israel.

Foundation founder Zoe Herrington’s store also will begin a jewelry sale on Dec. 4 featuring a designated collection of merchandise, with proceeds going to the Foundation. Coinciding with the sale’s kickoff date will be an exhibit and reception marking the official introduction of Gabrielle Diamonds at the store. Gala ticket holders can attend the private reception featuring master diamond cutter Sir Gabriel Tolkowsky from 6 to 7 p.m. 

The store also has begun collecting public donations of Christmas gifts that will be taken to the battalion members and their families. The gifts should be new and unwrapped, and can include toys, toiletries, clothing and other items. Donations can be dropped off at the jewelry store and at all M&I Bank locations.

In addition to the bank, Lucas Liquors is contributing to foundation efforts, but it is not a site for gift collections.

Herrington said all foundation monetary collections will be used exclusively for Warrior Transition Battalion related programs.

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