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AMVETS sending special shirts to overseas troops

Posted December 03, 2007 10:00 pm

Sarah Antonacci

It looks like your average olive-drab, long-sleeved T-shirt.

But to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's much more.

Each shirt is both fire-retardant and wicks, or draws away, moisture from the wearer's body, keeping him or her cooler in hot weather and warmer in cold weather. The Illinois AMVETS organization is sending 5,000 of the shirts to troops serving in the two countries.

"What we're trying to accomplish is to save lives," Len Baumgartner, executive director of AMVETS, said Monday. "It's a huge humanitarian task to rebuild a country, and with so many people trying to stop them by putting so many bumps in the road, we wanted to help."

The shirts' material is similar to what firefighters and racecar drivers wear beneath their uniforms.

In soldiers' cases, the shirts reduce the chances they will suffer serious burns when confronted with roadside bombs and other explosive devices.

The shirts will be distributed to unit chaplains, who will distribute them.

Baumgartner said any local soldier can get a shirt directly, as long as AMVETS has e-mail addresses for them.

The money for the shirts, which cost a total of more than $350,000, was provided by the AMVETS foundation and from other fundraising efforts the organization has taken part in. This is the third round of shirts Illinois AMVETS has sent overseas.

Last year, 10,000 Under Armour shirts were distributed, something the soldiers appreciated because they could be washed and dried quickly. But the material was not helpful in the event of a fire.

AMVETS this year switched to 5.11 Tactical Gear shirts. Earlier this year, 4,500 shirts were sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.

In addition to the shirts, AMVETS is sending 275-minute telephone calling cards to soldiers so they can stay in contact with friends and family.

For more information, or to make a donation toward the purchase of more shirts and phone cards, call AMVETS at 528-4713 or go to the group's Web site, www.ilamvets.org.

Ed Wright, the organization's department commander, said, "We've received quite a few letters from the troops" in appreciation of the group's efforts.

Baumgartner noted that the organization receives e-mails every week thanking AMVETS for the items.

"I sleep well," he said. "If one person's life is saved, it's worth it."

However, he added, AMVETS would like to send more.

"Five to six thousand shirts sent two or three times doesn't cover a (fraction) of the soldiers who are there," he said.

Sarah Antonacci can be reached at (217) 788-1529 or sarah.antonacci@sj-r.com.

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