Wrapping It Up
This email marks the final week of our Veterans Resource Center (VRC). We’d like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all who have joined Capt. Rich Abele (below) and added their names to the WELCOME SIGN for our VRC.
We’re excited to get the sign rolling and see all the names adorning it, ready to greet our veterans as they enter the center.
![](https://pacificbattleship.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/rich-abele-vrc-1024x766.jpg)
A Message From The Chairman
To finish out the VRC Inscription campaign the Battleship IOWA Museum’s chairman of the board, RADM Mike Shatynski, USN (Ret.) took a moment to speak on the importance of supporting our veterans. As someone who served in the U.S. Navy for over thirty years, Mike knows all too well about the challenges facing the nation’s veterans and wants your help to combat many of these issues, especially suicide.
More Than Just A Number
When we talk about veteran suicide and hear numbers like “22 per day,” we react with dismay, but do we really connect to what those numbers mean?
Each one represents a human being – a life snuffed out because all hope was lost. A face accompanies each name and with each loss, loved ones are left behind to ask why, to wonder what more they could have done to help, to grieve and miss a voice, a laugh, a smile they’ll never see or hear again.
To put those words into perspective, take a few minutes to learn the story of Marine sniper Clay Hunt. A veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, Clay could not find the answers he needed to reconcile what he experienced in combat with his civilian existence. He took his own life at the age of twenty-eight.
Hear Clay’s story here.
Unfortunately his story is not unique, and it’s one of the reasons Battleship IOWA Museum has developed its Veterans Resource Center. We want to be a place veterans can turn when they need help.
By supporting this inscription campaign, you support our efforts in the fight against veteran suicide. Tell these men and women you care: put your name and a message on our welcome sign.
We’ve got four inscription options:
- One-Star: $1,000 – Your name will be included on the Veterans Resource Center welcome sign alongside other one-star donors.
- Two-Star: $2,500 – Your name will appear on the Veterans Resource Center welcome sign with other two-star donors. Two-star level donor names will be displayed in a larger size than one-star level donors.
- Three-Star: $5,000 – You’ll receive a plaque inscribed with your name and two additional lines of text (total of three lines for your inscription).
- Four-Star: $10,000 – Four-star level donors will receive a plaque featuring three additional lines of text (total of four lines for your inscription).
But that’s not all. Your support matters at any level. If you prefer, you can donate an amount of your choice by clicking here.
One thing you can always do that’s free is help us spread the word. Share this campaign with friends and family. Let them in on your passion: tell them why this program is special to you and what makes you choose to support it.
All donors will receive a link to an online form when the campaign closes, telling them the number of characters they will be allowed to use and confirming their inscription. All funds raised through this campaign will support Veterans West programs at the Battleship IOWA!
You’re more than welcome to donate with a check if you prefer. Please mail it to:
Pacific Battleship Center
250 South Harbor Blvd.
San Pedro, CA 90731
Attn: VRC Campaign
If you have questions or need assistance making your donation over the phone, please contact Matthias Leier at 877-446-9261 ext. 746.
Thanks on behalf of Battleship IOWA, the veterans who served, and those we serve now!