Tom Duggan
For the last five years The Valley
Patriot has reserved this space for
honoring military heroes in the Merrimack
Valley. It is, and has always been our
mission to publicly thank the men and
women who honorably serve our nation,
answer the call to put themselves in
harms way and continue contributing to
the betterment of our nation when they
returned home.
This month, we honor a non-veteran as our
first ever, honorary Valley Patriot of
the Month.
Methuen resident Jim Wareing, while never
having served in the military has
dedicated his life to helping our men and
women in the armed forces fighting
abroad.
Wareing has spent thousands dollars of
his own money purchasing and collecting
items for care packages to send to our
troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, paying
the postage, keeping in contact with
soldiers in the field and calling
attention to their needs here at home.
Wareing is also single handedly
responsible for the patriotic displays,
flags, and welcome home messages to
returning troops posted on highway
overpasses and bridges across the state.
With no personal interest or gain for
himself, Wareing has designed and lobbied
for a “Support the Troops”
license plate in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, the proceeds of which will
go towards additional care packages to
service men and women in the Middle East.
Wareing also established New England
Caring for Our Military an organization
established to network with military
families, help the families of deceased
military personnel and raise awareness of
the needs of returning vets.
Last summer, Wareing volunteered his
time, efforts and energies to help the
family of slain American Hero Sgt. Alex
Jiminez who was killed by terrorists in
Iraq. Wareing spent countless hours with
the grieving family of Sgt.
Jiminez, organized the funeral and public
services and served as the family
spokesman with the press, shielding them
from the onslaught of publicity
associated with those services.
If all this wasn’t enough, Jim
Wareing suffers from Multiple Sclerosis,
a debilitating and painful disease that
makes ordinary daily tasks difficult if
not impossible for some.
Given his personal limitations it is
nothing short of amazing that Jim Wareing
has been able to accomplish all that he
has to honor the men and women in our
armed forces putting their lives on the
line for our country.
With his health failing, Jim is now
embarking on a new endeavor in the name
of our troops and their families by
lobbying congress and the public to
defeat the cleverly named Fallen Heroes
Commemoration Act (HR6662).
If passed, this bill would give the press
unrestricted access to military bases
when the bodies of fallen soldiers are
returned home for burial services.
Currently, the decision to allow or
restrict the media is left to the
grieving families, many of whom prefer to
have private time alone with their loved
one when they arrive back in the states.
Jim Wareing has been honored by President
George W. Bush and former Secretary of
State Don Rumsfeld for his unending
dedication to our servicemen and his
efforts to make their and their families
lives a little more comfortable.
For these reasons and so much more the
Valley Patriot is proud to name Jim
Wareing as our very first (and possibly
last) Honorary Valley Patriot of the
Month. The amount of care and compassion
Mr. Wareing has provided to our brave
troops can never be measured.
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All
pictures and material are
(C) copyright, Valley Patriot, Inc., 2008
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